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.
F.: Many seekers who believe that if they have discarded all of their personal identities / false selves and who believe that they have found the "True Self" also believe that they have "arrived" and completed "The Journey."
In fact, they have not completed even half of the steps on the entire "path" that must be completed, in reverse order from the way that "the coming in" happened, if the seeker is to reach the no-concept, no-identity, non-dual Reality. As Maharaj taught, you must go back as you came, in reverse order, to the source.
The following must be asked of those who claim they have found "the True Self" or "the Real Self" or "the Highest Level of Consciousness: God-consciousness" or "Oneness with Brahman":
1. Do you believe that by assuming that new identity that you have "gone all the way back to the source?"
[Most seekers who stop at the third of seven steps on the "path" after assuming a religious and / or spiritual and / or supreme identity believe exactly that, if only unconsciously.]
2. Do you believe that "at the source," prior to manifestation, your existence was marked by some sort of Self-ness?
3. Do you believe that whatever you take to be the proper definition of "Your Self" actually existed as that originally, at the source, with some sense of Self-ness?
[If you buy into #2 and #3, then Sacred Contracts is the "holy text" for you with its core, but totally nonsensical, teaching being: "I believe that each of us is guided by a Sacred Contract that our soul made before we were born."]
4. Do you believe that, post-manifestation, your relative existence will experience continuity (maybe even including continuity of body and mind and personality?) and that you will exist as some sort of noumenal Self-ness?
[If so, then the texts and teachings of one the three sky cults that evolved from Abraham - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - will be for you.]
5. If you see that consciousness is a form of energy, are you equating your original Self-ness with energy? So it is, but do you believe that the energy prior to manifestation had any degree at all of "Self-ness" or any ability to know a Self (or anything else)?
Advaita teaches that the unmanifested consciousness can be pointed to with the term "Awareness with potentiality" - awareness that is not aware of but that has the potential - if manifested - to exercise conscious-of-ness.
Thus, any consciousness of anything taken to be "a Self" is restricted to the province of the relative, and that which is restricted to the province of the relative is also relative as far as naming and labeling and identifying is concerned.
So why discuss any of this?
A. Because the abandonment of false identities is part of the process of being free of ignorance and insanity and false beliefs that generate misery and suffering during the relative existence.
B. Because discomfort and irritability can be replaced by comfort and contentment if thorn-concepts and splinter-ideas are eventually removed.
[So yes, all along the way, concepts are used to remove concepts, to remove bogus ideas about self and ego and magical beliefs and magical thinking and the duality of believing in "the erroneousness of the supernatural vs. the authenticity of the natural"; yet, in the end, as with thorns used to remove thorns, concepts are used to remove concepts and are then discarded. And that includes concepts about some pre-existence existence of a self or Self and about the post-existence existence of a self or Self.]
C. Because otherwise persons will continue to answer the question "Who / What am I?" with a litany of false identities.
D. Because the "path" must be traveled in a step-wide manner so that along the way, the false selves can be discarded and it can be seen that (a) that which is asking the question is also (b) that which knows the answer and that which can recognize "ItSelf" as something other than the body-cum-consciousness.
E. Because there are certain "mini-understandings" reached at each step that must be reached before The Understanding can be reached, but after that, even The Understanding can be discarded and replaced by The Nisarga Understanding, after which all understanding and any other sense of self-ness / Self-ness is discarded so that natural living can happen.
All is energy / matter. Neither can be created nor destroyed, so that which is eternal, forever, and infinite is energy / matter; however, energy / matter has neither the trait of self-ness nor the trait of Self-ness.
The nisarga understanding is an invitation to travel the "path," of course, but to travel it to its no-concept, no-identity, non-dual end and then relax and take it easy for the remainder of the relative existence with the Absolute understanding overlaid upon it, and, ultimately, with the understanding of Nothingness overlaid upon it.
Then, nothing needs to be understood, pondered, thought about, contemplated, deliberated, brooded over, studied, learned, or mulled over. Life will no longer be a second job. A third job involving spiritual workaholism will not be undertaken.
In the absence of ego / identity and the egotism that supports identity, preoccupation with neither self nor Self can happen. Has that been considered? Has it been seen that preoccupation with "The True Self" is egotistical, too?
Has it been seen that being "Self"-absorbed can leave one as arrogant and conceited and haughty and proud and, yes, even condescending, as being "self"-absorbed?
In the end, if the no-concept, no-identity, non-dual state is reached, then WHO is left to care about self or Self? And if one (that is, some who-ness or Who-ness) cares about Self, then is it not clear that the no-concept, no-identity, non-dual state of Reality has not been reached, all beliefs to the contrary notwithstanding?
WHO believes, or WHO cares, that he / she knows that which most do not? Not that which is abiding naturally as the no-concept, no-identity, non-dual state. Sure, find the answers to all of the questions addressed by these teachings, but in the end, be free of all that was found along the "path." To carry anything afterwards is to encumber the lightness of merely being.
In the end, for those seekers that were far along the "path," moving from "the false I" to the source in step-wide fashion, Maharaj said: "I have no form, no identity."
Here, too, I have no identity because "The Knower" dissolved along with all other personas. Both the ego-state that cared nothing about uncovering the lies of false identifications and the ego-state that cared everything about finding the Authentic Self...both have now dissolved.
Here and now, in the absence of a large or lofty or noble or grand identity, absent because all has been de-accumulated, what is happening is what some would call "living small" as opposed to those with their grand identities who think they are "living large."
In the absence of ego-states, and in the absence of the use of defense mechanisms that are intended to present mirages and images as "the real," abidance now happens spontaneously, just as with the deer.
The identity-less deer understands nothing and adopts nothing as an identifiable self; as a result, the deer can abide naturally with a prevailing sense of freedom and peace and contentment throughout the entire manifestation. Oh that persons might do so well.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
In fact, they have not completed even half of the steps on the entire "path" that must be completed, in reverse order from the way that "the coming in" happened, if the seeker is to reach the no-concept, no-identity, non-dual Reality. As Maharaj taught, you must go back as you came, in reverse order, to the source.
The following must be asked of those who claim they have found "the True Self" or "the Real Self" or "the Highest Level of Consciousness: God-consciousness" or "Oneness with Brahman":
1. Do you believe that by assuming that new identity that you have "gone all the way back to the source?"
[Most seekers who stop at the third of seven steps on the "path" after assuming a religious and / or spiritual and / or supreme identity believe exactly that, if only unconsciously.]
2. Do you believe that "at the source," prior to manifestation, your existence was marked by some sort of Self-ness?
3. Do you believe that whatever you take to be the proper definition of "Your Self" actually existed as that originally, at the source, with some sense of Self-ness?
[If you buy into #2 and #3, then Sacred Contracts is the "holy text" for you with its core, but totally nonsensical, teaching being: "I believe that each of us is guided by a Sacred Contract that our soul made before we were born."]
4. Do you believe that, post-manifestation, your relative existence will experience continuity (maybe even including continuity of body and mind and personality?) and that you will exist as some sort of noumenal Self-ness?
[If so, then the texts and teachings of one the three sky cults that evolved from Abraham - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - will be for you.]
5. If you see that consciousness is a form of energy, are you equating your original Self-ness with energy? So it is, but do you believe that the energy prior to manifestation had any degree at all of "Self-ness" or any ability to know a Self (or anything else)?
Advaita teaches that the unmanifested consciousness can be pointed to with the term "Awareness with potentiality" - awareness that is not aware of but that has the potential - if manifested - to exercise conscious-of-ness.
Thus, any consciousness of anything taken to be "a Self" is restricted to the province of the relative, and that which is restricted to the province of the relative is also relative as far as naming and labeling and identifying is concerned.
So why discuss any of this?
A. Because the abandonment of false identities is part of the process of being free of ignorance and insanity and false beliefs that generate misery and suffering during the relative existence.
B. Because discomfort and irritability can be replaced by comfort and contentment if thorn-concepts and splinter-ideas are eventually removed.
[So yes, all along the way, concepts are used to remove concepts, to remove bogus ideas about self and ego and magical beliefs and magical thinking and the duality of believing in "the erroneousness of the supernatural vs. the authenticity of the natural"; yet, in the end, as with thorns used to remove thorns, concepts are used to remove concepts and are then discarded. And that includes concepts about some pre-existence existence of a self or Self and about the post-existence existence of a self or Self.]
C. Because otherwise persons will continue to answer the question "Who / What am I?" with a litany of false identities.
D. Because the "path" must be traveled in a step-wide manner so that along the way, the false selves can be discarded and it can be seen that (a) that which is asking the question is also (b) that which knows the answer and that which can recognize "ItSelf" as something other than the body-cum-consciousness.
E. Because there are certain "mini-understandings" reached at each step that must be reached before The Understanding can be reached, but after that, even The Understanding can be discarded and replaced by The Nisarga Understanding, after which all understanding and any other sense of self-ness / Self-ness is discarded so that natural living can happen.
All is energy / matter. Neither can be created nor destroyed, so that which is eternal, forever, and infinite is energy / matter; however, energy / matter has neither the trait of self-ness nor the trait of Self-ness.
The nisarga understanding is an invitation to travel the "path," of course, but to travel it to its no-concept, no-identity, non-dual end and then relax and take it easy for the remainder of the relative existence with the Absolute understanding overlaid upon it, and, ultimately, with the understanding of Nothingness overlaid upon it.
Then, nothing needs to be understood, pondered, thought about, contemplated, deliberated, brooded over, studied, learned, or mulled over. Life will no longer be a second job. A third job involving spiritual workaholism will not be undertaken.
In the absence of ego / identity and the egotism that supports identity, preoccupation with neither self nor Self can happen. Has that been considered? Has it been seen that preoccupation with "The True Self" is egotistical, too?
Has it been seen that being "Self"-absorbed can leave one as arrogant and conceited and haughty and proud and, yes, even condescending, as being "self"-absorbed?
In the end, if the no-concept, no-identity, non-dual state is reached, then WHO is left to care about self or Self? And if one (that is, some who-ness or Who-ness) cares about Self, then is it not clear that the no-concept, no-identity, non-dual state of Reality has not been reached, all beliefs to the contrary notwithstanding?
WHO believes, or WHO cares, that he / she knows that which most do not? Not that which is abiding naturally as the no-concept, no-identity, non-dual state. Sure, find the answers to all of the questions addressed by these teachings, but in the end, be free of all that was found along the "path." To carry anything afterwards is to encumber the lightness of merely being.
In the end, for those seekers that were far along the "path," moving from "the false I" to the source in step-wide fashion, Maharaj said: "I have no form, no identity."
Here, too, I have no identity because "The Knower" dissolved along with all other personas. Both the ego-state that cared nothing about uncovering the lies of false identifications and the ego-state that cared everything about finding the Authentic Self...both have now dissolved.
Here and now, in the absence of a large or lofty or noble or grand identity, absent because all has been de-accumulated, what is happening is what some would call "living small" as opposed to those with their grand identities who think they are "living large."
In the absence of ego-states, and in the absence of the use of defense mechanisms that are intended to present mirages and images as "the real," abidance now happens spontaneously, just as with the deer.
The identity-less deer understands nothing and adopts nothing as an identifiable self; as a result, the deer can abide naturally with a prevailing sense of freedom and peace and contentment throughout the entire manifestation. Oh that persons might do so well.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
Much of what Louise has shared has resonated with many site visitors. to that end, some have inquired recently if Louise offers the online Advaita Internet Course. The answer is, "Yes."
Whether taking the course with Louise or Floyd, the price of the course includes all 11 of the Advaita eBooks, questions sent after completion of the assigned readings, replies to your answers, and follow-up as required.
With either teacher, you will be guided through all seven of the steps, in order, that lead from identification with the false "I" to the Absolute (and beyond). For more specific information and details about the course, you may click on the link to the right.
Purchase at Discount the Advaita Internet Course with Louise
by
Clicking the Buy Now Button below:
Purchase at Discount the Advaita Internet Course with Floyd
by
Clicking the Buy Now Button below:
Whether taking the course with Louise or Floyd, the price of the course includes all 11 of the Advaita eBooks, questions sent after completion of the assigned readings, replies to your answers, and follow-up as required.
With either teacher, you will be guided through all seven of the steps, in order, that lead from identification with the false "I" to the Absolute (and beyond). For more specific information and details about the course, you may click on the link to the right.
Purchase at Discount the Advaita Internet Course with Louise
by
Clicking the Buy Now Button below:
Purchase at Discount the Advaita Internet Course with Floyd
by
Clicking the Buy Now Button below:
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.
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.
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.
The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders offers the non-duality message by way of a mystery-adventure novel, discussing the movement from pain to healing to awakening to peace.
From Dr. R.F. Maley, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus and former Head of the Department of Psychology, University of Houston: "Floyd Henderson's book, The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders, is a fun read and an interesting mystery, but perhaps more importantly it serves as a vehicle for blending Eastern Philosophy and Native American Spirituality to make an intellectually challenging novel. The book's insights into both relationships and authoritarian conditioning of people in our society make it a must read, tracing the roots of narcissistic, sociopathic and psychopathic behaviors to the very core of the culture. This truly witty and politically-incorrect study of the aggressive nature of 'the American character' offers not only a diagnosis but also a treatment plan, making the book an excellent supplemental reading in courses such as psychology, anthropology, philosophy, sociology and counseling."
You may purchase your copy of the ebook version of THE TWICE-STOLEN NECKLACE MURDERS then start reading within minutes:
The Sequel to The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders:
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WARS
For a paperback or eBook version of the book, click:
[THE YOUTUBE ADVAITA VEDANTA VIDEOS ARE AVAILABLE IN LARGER FORMATS BELOW WHICH MIGHT PROVIDE MORE COMFORTABLE VIEWING FOR SOME SITE VISITORS]
[RE: The "Subscribe To" feature: In some cases, all of the month's postings might be sent the first time after subscribing; after that, you should receive only one day's posting at a time.]
YOUTUBE ADVAITA VEDANTA YOGA VIDEOS
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Please enter the silence of contemplation.
