An Advaita forum focusing on Realisation, enlightenment, non-duality, Real Love, peace, freedom, Your original nature, abiding naturally, the Oneness, the Nothingness, and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.
Here, there is nothing that is believed, so there is no one here who wants you to believe anything, either. Here, the invitation is to be free of all that you have been programmed, conditioned, acculturated, and domesticated to believe so that you can be free, period.
[Final comments by Louise:]
Eliminating the violent man may result in the non-violent man, but the seed of violence remains present in essence. This is unstable. What is the state that is beyond both violence and non-violence? This is your true nature – the only stable condition. You cannot get there by thought but only by direct understanding.
Louise: Is it possible for The Seeker, self-identified, to grasp what is meant by the absence of self-directed activity? Here – this scene – ordinary and mundane – drinking a cup of coffee at Steers (local fast food outlet) overlooking a video rental shop. What happens when the “self” is blotted out? Not even an absence of self, but a "never, ever having been there at all". Where there was never presence, how can there be "absence"? Where there was never self, how can there be "non-self"? Yet – this consciousness – filled with colour, taste, sensation, sound, changing vistas – is always moving.
Here, the ears do not carry sound clearly; the eyes do not function perfectly (corrected with lenses) so the view is perceived with limited filters, physical limitations – inconsequential, simply the particular flavour of the perceiving apparatus. The habitual filter that confines most persons to the “self-identified” life (identification with the constant sea of thought) does not occur here. Thoughts arise but are simply witnessed, without any sense of ownership. (Maharaj: "Do you shake hands with every man you meet?")
The thought comes that these individual physical forms are telescopes into consciousness, but this is just another learned and regurgitated idea, as are all thoughts. The awareness is silent; incapable of thought or action. The bodies function, but the consciousness remains. Have you ever wondered why, when a person dies, life continues as always? There is no stopping or grinding to a halt (except with the emotional pain of an ego-persona).
The reason is obvious – there was no death, there was no person. Consciousness persists – the people come and go within it ceaselessly. You are no different. Identified as the person your parents have labelled you, you are destined to die, after suffering the vicissitudes of everyday life. The questions you are invited to ask take you directly to a vantage point that is outside of life and death, but to know this Reality, you must give up the limited perceiving apparatus.
How can an ant see with the perspective of a lion? How can a telescope see with the perspective of the whole universe? It cannot. You attempt to perceive Reality with a faulty apparatus that is not up to the task. Even these metaphors are not correct, but are just designed to break up your habitual thinking. Your mind tells you it can grasp this; that it is up to the task. It is wrong.
Self-identified thought is simply the computer code that keeps the programme running. How can the computer code know itself as the programmer? It cannot. It is, by definition, limited and constrained. Only when you give up all identification with the self can this understanding dawn on you. Who you are is already self-evident; you camouflage this view with self-motivated thoughts.
Yes, even your thoughts of Realization, of being selfless, of acting with compassion and helping others, are self-ish thoughts. Remove the emotional taint of the word “selfish” and see that any movement that delineates the individual from the field is self-centred. This is not emotional, but objective. See it dispassionately in others until you can apply it to yourself.
The Seeker, Helper/Rescuer, and Spiritual Giant personas perceive this pointer as wrong and judgmental. These personas – attached to the desire to find truth, help others, or understand and teach spiritual concepts, and reacting to the fear that these actions are meaningless and superfluous – are unable to see the neutrality of this statement: that any thought or action that springs from the self and is identified with is self-ish, or delineates a separate sense of self.
See, what we are attempting here is understanding. Does it matter if the separate sense of self is a “good” self or “bad” self? No matter at all. All selfhood is false and binds you into a false perception of reality. The false persona – struggling to maintain its self-identity – will try to argue that letting go of the “good” self that seeks truth, helps others, etc will mean an instant regression into the “bad”self persona – that sloths out, hurts others, etc. Not true. Eliminating a persona does not automatically mean identification with another. You are invited to examine who you are in the absence of ALL personas – good and bad.
Eliminating the violent man may result in the non-violent man, but the seed of violence remains present in essence. This is unstable. What is the state that is beyond both violence and non-violence? This is your true nature – the only stable condition. You cannot get there by thought but only by direct understanding.
Here, the ears do not carry sound clearly; the eyes do not function perfectly (corrected with lenses) so the view is perceived with limited filters, physical limitations – inconsequential, simply the particular flavour of the perceiving apparatus. The habitual filter that confines most persons to the “self-identified” life (identification with the constant sea of thought) does not occur here. Thoughts arise but are simply witnessed, without any sense of ownership. (Maharaj: "Do you shake hands with every man you meet?")
The thought comes that these individual physical forms are telescopes into consciousness, but this is just another learned and regurgitated idea, as are all thoughts. The awareness is silent; incapable of thought or action. The bodies function, but the consciousness remains. Have you ever wondered why, when a person dies, life continues as always? There is no stopping or grinding to a halt (except with the emotional pain of an ego-persona).
The reason is obvious – there was no death, there was no person. Consciousness persists – the people come and go within it ceaselessly. You are no different. Identified as the person your parents have labelled you, you are destined to die, after suffering the vicissitudes of everyday life. The questions you are invited to ask take you directly to a vantage point that is outside of life and death, but to know this Reality, you must give up the limited perceiving apparatus.
How can an ant see with the perspective of a lion? How can a telescope see with the perspective of the whole universe? It cannot. You attempt to perceive Reality with a faulty apparatus that is not up to the task. Even these metaphors are not correct, but are just designed to break up your habitual thinking. Your mind tells you it can grasp this; that it is up to the task. It is wrong.
Self-identified thought is simply the computer code that keeps the programme running. How can the computer code know itself as the programmer? It cannot. It is, by definition, limited and constrained. Only when you give up all identification with the self can this understanding dawn on you. Who you are is already self-evident; you camouflage this view with self-motivated thoughts.
Yes, even your thoughts of Realization, of being selfless, of acting with compassion and helping others, are self-ish thoughts. Remove the emotional taint of the word “selfish” and see that any movement that delineates the individual from the field is self-centred. This is not emotional, but objective. See it dispassionately in others until you can apply it to yourself.
The Seeker, Helper/Rescuer, and Spiritual Giant personas perceive this pointer as wrong and judgmental. These personas – attached to the desire to find truth, help others, or understand and teach spiritual concepts, and reacting to the fear that these actions are meaningless and superfluous – are unable to see the neutrality of this statement: that any thought or action that springs from the self and is identified with is self-ish, or delineates a separate sense of self.
See, what we are attempting here is understanding. Does it matter if the separate sense of self is a “good” self or “bad” self? No matter at all. All selfhood is false and binds you into a false perception of reality. The false persona – struggling to maintain its self-identity – will try to argue that letting go of the “good” self that seeks truth, helps others, etc will mean an instant regression into the “bad”self persona – that sloths out, hurts others, etc. Not true. Eliminating a persona does not automatically mean identification with another. You are invited to examine who you are in the absence of ALL personas – good and bad.
Eliminating the violent man may result in the non-violent man, but the seed of violence remains present in essence. This is unstable. What is the state that is beyond both violence and non-violence? This is your true nature – the only stable condition. You cannot get there by thought but only by direct understanding.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
[THE YOUTUBE ADVAITA VEDANTA VIDEOS ARE AVAILABLE IN LARGER FORMATS BELOW WHICH MIGHT PROVIDE MORE COMFORTABLE VIEWING FOR SOME SITE VISITORS]
Now you can receive for $40 a downloadable computer file version of the same 7-hour satsang that seekers receive when they visit for the Advaita Retreat with Floyd. You will be guided through the seven steps from identification with the false "I" to the Absolute (and beyond).
For more information or to order, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
SIX WAYS THAT SEEKERS HAVE REALIZED:
1. BY WATCHING the 4-Disk Video (DVD) Set, or the same retreat available as a downloadable file. Either will provide an entire seven-hour retreat / series of satsang sessions showing three seekers being guided through all seven steps by Floyd and can provide viewers with an “experiential,” step-by-step series of satsang meetings that will move the viewers from identification with the I to abidance as the Absolute and then to abidance as That Which Is beyond
Some seekers are already using the computer file version and the DVD sets for meetings in groups in homes, playing the retreat, pausing for discussion, etc.
To find out more or to purchase the DVD set or the downloadable computer file version of the retreat, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
Option “A” is for the downloadable file version, Option “B” is used to order the DVD set for delivery inside the U.S., Option “C” for international orders.
For the download, Paypal will send me a notice that payment has been received and then I will send by e-mail the downloading instruction, password, etc.
[It is recommended that you watch the video with pen and paper in hand. Write whatever you need clarified. You'll see that there are constant reviews and you might find an answer later in the seven-hour presentation. Then, after you watch it all, there will be a common ground for discussion. Purchase of the DVD’s or the file will include the right to clarifications and answers to your specific questions via e-mail.]
2. BY READING these books in this exact order:
IT'S ALL BULLSHIT (And Why Knowing It Sets You Free)
SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY (Recovering What Religions Lost)
[Those two prepare the seeker to question it all]
THE MEDITATION GUIDES
[Provide a broad overview of the understanding]
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?
[Begins to free the seeker of body identification and the desire for body continuity]
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS "PEACE OF MIND" (There Is Only Peace if You're Out of Your Mind)
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of the false content of the “mind”]
LIBERATION
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of personas]
THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS
[Provides the final preparation for the seeker to be directed along the “path”]
FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)
[Directs the seeker along the “path”]
CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS: The Nature of Reality Beyond Self-Realization (Peace Every Day When Abiding as The Absolute)
[Allows the seeker to understand the functioning of the totality, the manifestation, and what is involved with the un-manifestation]
FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS
[Provides the seeker the wisdom to understand the Noneness as well as the Oneness]
Purchase an e-Book now and begin reading it in minutes (except with e-checks that can take 7-10 days). Trusting our clients as we do, all e-Books are provided to you in printable form.
SAVE IF YOU BUY ALL ELEVEN AT ONCE:
(You may order the books one at a time or you may use the following link to acquire the entire 11-e-Book set on sale for $99 if ordered at one time with the “Buy Now” button below. For this option, there will be no download links provided; once the near-instant notice of payment is received from PayPal, your e-Books will be sent to you as e-mail attachments. All are printable for your convenience.)
For more information or to order, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
SIX WAYS THAT SEEKERS HAVE REALIZED:
1. BY WATCHING the 4-Disk Video (DVD) Set, or the same retreat available as a downloadable file. Either will provide an entire seven-hour retreat / series of satsang sessions showing three seekers being guided through all seven steps by Floyd and can provide viewers with an “experiential,” step-by-step series of satsang meetings that will move the viewers from identification with the I to abidance as the Absolute and then to abidance as That Which Is beyond
Some seekers are already using the computer file version and the DVD sets for meetings in groups in homes, playing the retreat, pausing for discussion, etc.
To find out more or to purchase the DVD set or the downloadable computer file version of the retreat, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
Option “A” is for the downloadable file version, Option “B” is used to order the DVD set for delivery inside the U.S., Option “C” for international orders.
For the download, Paypal will send me a notice that payment has been received and then I will send by e-mail the downloading instruction, password, etc.
[It is recommended that you watch the video with pen and paper in hand. Write whatever you need clarified. You'll see that there are constant reviews and you might find an answer later in the seven-hour presentation. Then, after you watch it all, there will be a common ground for discussion. Purchase of the DVD’s or the file will include the right to clarifications and answers to your specific questions via e-mail.]
2. BY READING these books in this exact order:
IT'S ALL BULLSHIT (And Why Knowing It Sets You Free)
SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY (Recovering What Religions Lost)
[Those two prepare the seeker to question it all]
THE MEDITATION GUIDES
[Provide a broad overview of the understanding]
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?
[Begins to free the seeker of body identification and the desire for body continuity]
THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS "PEACE OF MIND" (There Is Only Peace if You're Out of Your Mind)
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of the false content of the “mind”]
LIBERATION
[Shows the seeker how to be free of the subconscious motivators of personas]
THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS
[Provides the final preparation for the seeker to be directed along the “path”]
FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)
[Directs the seeker along the “path”]
CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS: The Nature of Reality Beyond Self-Realization (Peace Every Day When Abiding as The Absolute)
[Allows the seeker to understand the functioning of the totality, the manifestation, and what is involved with the un-manifestation]
FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS
[Provides the seeker the wisdom to understand the Noneness as well as the Oneness]
Purchase an e-Book now and begin reading it in minutes (except with e-checks that can take 7-10 days). Trusting our clients as we do, all e-Books are provided to you in printable form.
SAVE IF YOU BUY ALL ELEVEN AT ONCE:
(You may order the books one at a time or you may use the following link to acquire the entire 11-e-Book set on sale for $99 if ordered at one time with the “Buy Now” button below. For this option, there will be no download links provided; once the near-instant notice of payment is received from PayPal, your e-Books will be sent to you as e-mail attachments. All are printable for your convenience.)
You may visit The Official Website of Floyd Henderson for information on each book.
TRANSLATED ADVAITA EBOOKS AVAILABLE
Beginning today, the 11 Advaita eBooks listed at the end of this post are available in twenty-two non-English languages. If you are interested in purchasing an eBook in another language, click Contact Floyd to see if the language you prefer is available. Again, the quality of the translation cannot be guaranteed but it might make some pointers available to seekers that might not otherwise receive them. If you want to send a translated eBook to someone as a gift, that can also be arranged via the contact link above.
(Charges will include the regular price of the eBook + a US$10.00 translating fee.)
TO PAY FOR A TRANSLATION - US$10.00 - CLICK THE BUY BUTTON BELOW
(Contact Floyd before paying to be certain the language you prefer is available)
3. BY ENROLLING in the Online Advaita Classes
For information, visit Information on the Advaita Classes on the Internet
To enroll visit Enroll in the Advaita Internet Course
4. BY ATTENDING an Advaitin retreat for satsang with floyd and being guided through all seven steps. For details of the retreats offered, please visit the retreat information site.
5. BY ARRANGING satsang by telephone in the U.S. or by Skype internationally:
Use the Contact link for details or for information on making arrangements for a session
6. BY ARRANGING for floyd to travel to your location and meet with you or your group. Use the contact link above to discuss details.
TRANSLATED ADVAITA EBOOKS AVAILABLE
Beginning today, the 11 Advaita eBooks listed at the end of this post are available in twenty-two non-English languages. If you are interested in purchasing an eBook in another language, click Contact Floyd to see if the language you prefer is available. Again, the quality of the translation cannot be guaranteed but it might make some pointers available to seekers that might not otherwise receive them. If you want to send a translated eBook to someone as a gift, that can also be arranged via the contact link above.
(Charges will include the regular price of the eBook + a US$10.00 translating fee.)
TO PAY FOR A TRANSLATION - US$10.00 - CLICK THE BUY BUTTON BELOW
(Contact Floyd before paying to be certain the language you prefer is available)
3. BY ENROLLING in the Online Advaita Classes
For information, visit Information on the Advaita Classes on the Internet
To enroll visit Enroll in the Advaita Internet Course
4. BY ATTENDING an Advaitin retreat for satsang with floyd and being guided through all seven steps. For details of the retreats offered, please visit the retreat information site.
5. BY ARRANGING satsang by telephone in the U.S. or by Skype internationally:
Use the Contact link for details or for information on making arrangements for a session
6. BY ARRANGING for floyd to travel to your location and meet with you or your group. Use the contact link above to discuss details.
YOUTUBE ADVAITA VEDANTA YOGA VIDEOS
Click on the arrow below to start Video One:
Click on the arrow below to start Video Two:
Click on the arrow below to start Video Three:
Click on the arrow below to start Video Four:
Click on the arrow below to start Video Five:
