Monday, July 19, 2010

HOW MISUNDERSTANDING CAUSATION REINFORCES MAGICAL (SUPERNATURAL) THINKING: The Universe Decides Nothing, Part Three

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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.: The pointer has been offered that if persons do not understand causation and the functioning of the universe, they will be (to use one of Krishna's descriptors) "fools."

They will think in the magical ways in which fools think, so their talk will be foolish as well, assigning cause to personified, personalized supernatural beings or forces ("god," "the universe," "the universal intelligence," etc.). They will be convinced that such beings or forces intervene in all relative activities, and they will foolishly assign supernatural cause and significance to happenings that are in fact totally natural;

furthermore, they will believe that they are so closely aligned with some god or gods or the universe that they become arrogant - so arrogant as to believe that the planets and the heavens and the clouds and a god or gods are attuned to their personal activities and react to the relative events in their lives on a minute-by-minute basis throughout their phenomenal existence.

As Louise said, the examples are legion:

Magical / supernatural thinkers will believe that clouds open and allow light to shine through in reaction to events in their personal lives; they will believe that such reactions are signals sent especially to them from the forces that they believe control all phenomenal and noumenal happenings;

and they will hear voices that supposedly originated from some other world, that supposedly manifested within their bodies, and that supposedly spoke to them from within (that is, they will fabricate some wild claim that they know is false in order to appear "spiritual," or they will experience auditory delusional schizophrenia and not know they are mentally ill).

Magical / supernatural thinkers will believe that "the universe" or "god" decides when each person should die or should be "saved by a miracle of divine intervention." They will believe that a "successful" surgery performed by a medical practitioner who has studied and trained for decades and who is experienced as a result of having performed that surgery hundreds or thousands of times was a successful surgery because of...

...a healing partnership with "the Lord of this" or with "that particular swami" or with "this or that spiritual healer" or with "that one who lays on hands and speaks in tongues" or as a result of "the prayer chain organized within their church or by their prayer group."

For those who find quotes from Maharaj to the contrary, about what the universe does or does not do, know that those quotes came during his earlier talks and were offered to seekers who were at earlier points along "the path."

So, yes, Maharaj spoke of "a universe / cause and effect connection" to some seekers at certain levels, but he made clear to seekers that were farther along "the path" the actual facts involved. Consider:

Questioner: A Tibetan Yogi wrote that God creates the world for a purpose and runs it according to a plan. The purpose is good and the plan is most wise.
Maharaj: All this is temporary, while I am dealing with the eternal. Gods and their universes come and go, avatars follow each other in endless succession, and in the end we are back at the source.

Here, on other occasions, is how Maharaj addressed the misunderstandings regarding cause and effect: "Once you create for yourself a world in time and space, governed by causality, you are bound to search for and find causes for everything. You put the question and impose an answer"

and

"Looking for causes and results is but the pastime of the mind"

and

"What is beginningless cannot have a cause"


and

"Everything has numberless causes."

F.: Not just one cause - the universe? No. Not just one cause - a god? No. Not just one cause - the gods of specialization that each handle one specific event or "need" or "request"? No. "But might the 'numberless causes' be the numberless gods we have dreamed up?" No.

The Cherokee "Grandmother" (whose "Native American" lineage can be traced back to Asia / India) used the now-distorted Far Eastern teachings at times to explain that all is caused by all.

Yes, she understood that if this universe had not come about, and that if trillions upon trillions of happenings had not happened, then she and I could not have been sitting on the front porch of her cabin that was located in an isolated East Texas woods, talking of such things.

Yet she would never have made so senseless a comment as to say that "such and such a man died because the universe decided his time was up." Nor would she teach that "there is a god who killed a singer because he needed him in heaven" or "he killed a young girl because he needed another little angel."

When Grandmother spoke of causation, she could see the most immediate cause in any given situation, but she could also see the endless, infinite trail of causes. And nowhere in any of that understanding did she teach that relative events or things either come about or come to an end because of one direct, intervening causer, including "the universe" or "god" or "gods."

If one chooses to speak of "the laws of the universe" and understands that they operate spontaneously with no "Guide" or "Controller," so be it. Of course The Second Law of Thermodynamics will assure that whatever has come together will come apart, but that law has not one iota of anything "personal" involved. When a bridge fell in Minnesota, the law was shown to be in operation, but there was no personal intervention involved. It just happened.

Furthermore, that which would be "The Causer" would have to be fixed, stabilized, constant, unchanging. None of those words apply to this ever-expanding, ever-changing universe. What the universe was one nano-second ago, it is not that now. Expanding and changing faster than the speed of light, the universe is not fixed, is not stabilized, is not constant, is not unchanging.

One might as well watch smoke rising from a stick of incense and say, "My life is being regulated by the exact shape and form that this smoke has assumed right now...well, no, by this quantity of smoke that is here now...well no, by this smoke that is here now...I mean, now...I mean, now."

So much for the notion of a universal plan and a universal purpose and a universal planner and the concept of universal, individualized intervention; so much for a universe being the deciding factor in regards to when a person's "time is up"; so much for the notion that any power or force or intelligence or entity has infinite continuity and that "It" has been "running things" since "the beginning of time."

[If there were some "supreme something" that is in charge of what is happening on this planet, wouldn't the only logical conclusion to draw is that you are not impressed at all with that "supreme something's" planning abilities and skill set? What a completely inept fiasco that entity or force would be.]

But what of universal consciousness or awareness? As a drop of water dropped into the ocean instantly changes "what the ocean is" at any given second, so the movement of consciousness into and out of the ocean of conscious-energy is ever-changing - sometimes blocked or not, sometimes impure or not - but always and forever changing.

There has never been one fixed block of such energy that could be said to be the-one-unchanged-quantity-of-consciousness-with-an-agenda-that-has-constantly-intervened-in-the-lives-of-individuals-to-control-each-individual-and-all-else-at-the-same-time-in-order-to-manipulate-the-millions-of-pieces-in-a-pre-planned-puzzle-that-will-come-together-according-to-plan-at-some-future-"time."

If one is speaking of "infinite," then how could "time" have any beginning or end or any "past" and "future"? If the universe is ever-changing, how could it be the constant that is the driving or deciding force? If all is energy/matter, and if neither can be created nor destroyed, wherefore a "creator"? And if no creator, wherefore any intervening and controlling power or force or entity?

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)


Seven years ago, a novel in a new genre entitled The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders, was published. It offers the non-duality message by way of a mystery-adventure novel. For those years when my published held the rights to the work, copies sold through the major online dealers such as Amazon for anywhere between US$14.00 used and US$148.72 new. The author's take: $1.92, though often not paid at all. Now, the author's exclusive rights have been regained so the book is now being made available in ebook form so that it will be accessible and affordable to seekers around the globe.

WHAT READERS HAVE HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE NON-DUALITY BASED-MYSTERY-ADVENTURE NOVEL OVER THE LAST SEVEN YEARS:

"Henderson has created an entirely new genre. This is a 'Personal Growth' and 'Self-Help' book in a mystery-romance format". ["Henderson" would not endorse the notions of "personal" growth or of a "self" helping itself, but so it is.]

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."

"I had an epiphany!"

"I've read a lot of spiritual or self-improvement books that are merely expository. This book gives the reader something that is completely experiential".

"This book freed me. I was locked into a state of self-inquiry and playing 'helper' and 'savior' to others, and that was taking a toll on me that I could not see. Freedom now is freedom from those roles and from seeking to know more and from letting others 're-program' me. I'm at peace now, seeing I didn't need more knowledge and more programming but needed freedom from past programming".

"The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders is a 'wonderful Slaughterhouse for the Sacred Cows' of this culture. It should have been opened for business years ago. I felt like I was living with the weight of the world on my shoulders, when the real burden was from carrying around all those 'cows' in my mind".

"This book showed me that I can reach Part Four in the novel, 'the Peace state', only if I give up all the things I was so proud of and that I was willing to fight about: my city, my state, my country, my leaders, my group, my religion, my beliefs (which Henderson points out were really 'their' beliefs), my parents' values, all the 'my stuff' vs. 'their stuff' he talks about. What a lesson! I can be at peace if I give up the concepts I fought for!"

"I found out why I felt empty, even when I had it all".

"As with William Shakespeare, that writer of tragedies, comedies and histories whose quotes introduce each chapter, this work uncovers the tragedy of fighting, whether personal, national, or international; the comedy of the lives lived by conditioned or programmed humans; the history of mankind's constant state of what Floyd calls 'emotional intoxication' around fears and love; and beyond all of that, the author offers a vision of an idyllic life that once was, and can be attained again, one individual at a time".

"The phrase 'You can't judge a book by its cover' has never had more relevance than when used to describe this novel. While the cover of The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders points to the novel-within-a-novel set in Venice, Italy (and while the lovers shown on the cover do play a central role in the larger story) this work is no simple murder mystery or love story."

"The work is a no-holds-barred challenge to those who would discriminate against others with different beliefs or along racial, gender, economic, and religious (or no-religion) lines. It is a call for tolerance and peace and is a step-by-step guide for attaining such peace on an individual basis".

"At a time when more and more cases of clergy-perpetrated physical abuse are coming to light, this book at once questions the practices of modern religions while endorsing the TRUE advaitic teachings of Christ. It is a book that sympathizes with those who have been harmed at the hands of so-called religious people, not just physically but also emotionally, psychologically, and mentally. Then the book offers something hopeful for those who are yet seeking the peace that they did not, and cannot, find in the venue of the church".

"I loved the 'Novel Within the Novel' love story. For anyone who let that first love get away or who had given up on ever finding True Love, this book provides a spark of hope and is a two-fold how-to manual on love: how to break relationships and how to make relationships".

"You've heard 'It'll make you laugh, it'll make you cry', The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders really made me laugh and made me cry."

"If you've ever said, I don't even know who I am, or if you have ever asked, What is this all about? or Where did I really come from, where am I going, and what is the meaning of all this in between? then you have a source that can give you the answer. This book is it".

"I only thought I had a social consciousness before reading this book".

"Gratefully, I'll never be the same after having read this book. I now know Who I Am, and that has set me free. Thank you".

"I thought I was buying a murder-mystery; the further I read, I realized I was reading a great love story; later, I realized I was reading as insightful a psychological-novel as I've ever read; as I moved further along, I realized that I had a book of sociology that captured the entire life-span of those of us who are 'baby-boomers'; by the end, I wasn't sure what I had read, but I knew it was something beyond anything I would ever read again".

"If freedom from abuse and relief from trauma come only after seeing abusers for what they are, after standing up to them, and after shouting, 'No!' in order to finally be free, then this work might well be the author's Declaration of Independence".

SYNOPSIS OF
THE TWICE-STOLEN NECKLACE MURDERS

(The First in the Kirk Wildman Series)

The devastation from his encounters with a group of Aryans, who stole his family, fortune, and future, finally eases after Kirk Wildman's reunion with his college sweetheart. Their Venetian holiday inspires a novella, The Bridge of Sighs, detailing love rekindled. Then, tragedy strikes again. On Kirk's ensuing journey, some find a murder-mystery, pursuing his son's killers across Europe, Africa and Belgium, exposing diamond thieves and terrorists along the way. Others discover romance, realizing with Kirk the psychology behind obstacles that destroy relationships and overcoming them to find true love. Others join Kirk's quest for peace and wholeness, transcending religion and spirituality (via Native American perspectives and Far Eastern non-duality) into Reality. Finally, some accompany Kirk on a philosophical passage, transcending pain and healing, shifting beyond the tiring games and phony images and finally settling into the perfect peace that comes after awakening to the truth of Who We Really Are.

EXCERPTS FROM THE TWICE-STOLEN NECKLACE MURDERS

KIRK WILDMAN ON . . .

Inconstancy in Relationships
She admitted that she had prayed every morning for a year that he would die. It's not right, Kirk thought, that District Attorneys will only prosecute solicitation for murder if God is NOT the one being solicited. Solicit a man to kill your husband, Go to jail. Solicit God to kill your husband, You skate. What a rip-off, huh? Compelling, also, the way things can shift: from stranger to acquaintance to friend to lover to spouse to enemy to . . . corpse, if her God, typically more available to her beck and call, had allowed her to have her way.

Applied Tolerance
. . . His lesson in Applied Tolerance came during time spent with Grandmother and his grandfather. They modeled such tolerance perfectly. The grandfather went to church every Sunday, serving as the choir director; Grandmother went into the woods every Sunday, exercising some kind of communion of her own. They never questioned the other's practice; they never challenged the other's beliefs; they never tried to change the other. They did what they did separately and felt just fine; and they did what they did together and felt just fine. Applied Tolerance. No judging. Total acceptance. Unconditional Love.

His Spiritual Quest
In his energy-consuming search for salvation, he'd been dipped, dunked, sprayed, spayed, sprinkled, and neutered; in the quest for truth, he'd been blessed, cursed, cussed, lectured, scolded, and praised; in his pursuit of Life's Meaning, he'd been communion'd, Om'd, grape-juiced, wined, ahsram'd, accepted, rejected, Mu'd, and yoga'd . . .

"Life"
Some days, the pain in the body or in the mind seems to be so great that one must rest in order to heal. On awakening, one can live in peace as if all is well. So it is with what some call 'life': PAIN, HEALING, AWAKENING, and PEACE.

You may purchase your copy of the ebook version of THE TWICE-STOLEN NECKLACE MURDERS for $15.00 by visiting the site below; then, start reading within minutes:


If you would like for us to send a copy of the ebook to someone with your compliments, you can click the BUY NOW button below to pay and then use the "Submit Questions or Comments" link in the right column to provide us with the name, the e-mail address of the recipient, and the message that you would like to accompany your gift. We will send the downloadable file to that person with your note included and also inform you when the ebook has been sent.


The Sequel to The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders:
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WARS


WHAT SOME REALIZED ADVAITINS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE SEQUEL IN THEIR UNSOLICITED REVIEWS:

Jerry Katz (Nonduality.com, Nonduality Salon, Editor of One: Essential Writings on Nonduality) said of the novel:“I think we may be seeing the emergence of the first literary nonduality novel. Not of all times, but the first one fed by the teaching of nonduality as set forth in the last ten years. That kind of fiction is going to be different from any other kind of nonduality fiction."

Dustin LindenSmith offered an excerpt from the novel on his site and said:“My old friend Jerry (Katz) has never been a fan of fiction that tries to be nondual. Too often, it's written by people who may have nondual insight, but who are terrible writers of fiction. The two don't have to be mutually exclusive, but anyone whom he'd read that had tried to meld the two had been unsuccessful. Until now, maybe. In "Issue #2800" of "The Nondual Highlights," Jerry provides an excerpt from a novel by Floyd Henderson called The Board of Directors of Wars. It's a passage of dialogue, but the portion I'm including just has one character making a little speech to another. When taken out of context like I've just done, the passage sounds a bit like the proverbial discourse between a spiritual teacher and a student. I think this speech is quite good."

In the sequel to The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders, Realized author Kirk Wildman takes on the three sources that have always generated the highest number of dualistic concepts and relative corruption: big business, big government, and organized religion.

Using fifty years of history as a framework, the novel deals with the following:

From the 1950's through the 1990's, baby-boomers saw that many famous deaths worldwide had never received thorough investigation. Early television showed variety shows, but later TV exposed scandals in government, church, and corporations. Politicians, starlets, billionaires, and royals made news involving sex, sin, death, and murder. But what if all those deaths had been orchestrated by one group? And what if an Italian mobster on his deathbed became willing to expose the group? When Kirk Wildman travels with Marie to southern Italy to conduct 'a routine interview' with that Mob killer, they stumble blindly into the crossfire between one ready to expose a group's past, and that group's willingness to kill any who interfere with their plans to trigger World War III.

"Directors of Wars struck me as 'The Da Vinci Code' meets 'The Most Mysterious Deaths of the Last Fifty Years'." -M E. Tran, New Pathways

For a paperback or eBook version of the book, click:
The Board of Directors of Wars

[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.]

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


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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.
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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.


YOUTUBE ADVAITA VEDANTA YOGA VIDEOS

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Please enter the silence of contemplation.

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