Advaita Vedanta: THE OSTRICH EGG: AN ADVAITIN ANALOGY. PART 3

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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.

Furthermore, for those who have developed a preference for any non-nisargan yoga or who prefer Traditional Advaita Vedanta, Neo-Advaita, Neo-Vedanta, or Pseudo Advaita: here you will only find the use of the Direct Path Method of teaching along with the Nisarga (Natural) Yoga, all shared in simple, everyday English.

(Please note: The Annual Fall / Winter Season Book Sale is now under way. Most Non-Duality eBooks at floydhenderson.com are on sale at 30-50% off regular price.)

The ostrich egg is legendary because of the tensile strength of the shell. The egg must be able to bear the weight of an adult female weighing 290 pounds. In this way, the ostrich egg appears fixed, solid, difficult to shatter or break.

In persons, the construction of the “I-concept” has been through a process of conditioning and enculturation. Layer after layer of false beliefs and concepts are temporarily “glued” together to create a sense of self-identity. Like the ostrich egg, this egoic self-sense appears fixed and solid. It is not easily shattered.

In an earlier post, the ostrich egg was perceived through “time-lapse” photography and was seen as just a temporary appearance. The fictional sense of self can be perceived in the same way. Observe that sense of self-identity against the background of “emptiness”. Separated from the physical body, it is just a phantom. Give it any shape or form you choose. Observe closely. What is it composed of? Ask yourself honestly, and put everything into coming up with a clear answer.

Probably you will see that the phantom consists of descriptors, attributes and labels e.g. name, shape, place of “birth”, current location, education, profession, marital status, physical appearance etc. Note it all down.

Next notice that the phantom consists of a clustering of thousands of thoughts you have about yourself and that describe the self-reflective process; an on-going narrative that describes in terms that are negative and positive and neutral. For example:

I have the ability to look at a beautiful sunset and weep.

I take the bad in order to have the good.

To be able to relish the beauty, I tolerate whatever ugliness comes along.

Observe this phantom self and the “elements” that compose it. Examine it objectively, just as you observed the ostrich egg against the background.

Now, observe with pure understanding. See as if looking through “time-lapse photography”. Find the origin of the “I-thought” – that first assumption you learned through hearsay. See how that original assumption is added to with more labels, and descriptors. See how first these are taught to you, and how later you learn the technique and add them for yourself.

Trace the phantom over time. See how the descriptors change. See how the thoughts you have about yourself fluctuate.

Observe the phantom at the end of the physical body or “death”. What happens to those thoughts, descriptors and labels?

Remember the analogy given of the flock of birds. The birds flying in formation give the appearance of a single, solid entity. This is a false perception. Each bird is separate, individual. Use this metaphor to see the phantom self not as an entity, but instead as a clustering of thoughts, self-centred ideas, labels or attributes.

See that in reality the thoughts stream like the water in a river. They are not actually fixed or frozen.

Notice that the mind connects the thoughts; it knits them together to create the garment of self-identity. See that the garment does not really exist – instead there are simply concepts with an appearance of similarity and continuity.

Rigorous investigation of this phantom self will show that the continuity is entirely fictitious. It is habit that makes it seem so fixed. Examine the fluctuations – the loved who became the despised or forgotten; the dreams or obsessions that have fallen away; the beliefs or ideologies that have changed completely; the physical appearance that alters moment by moment.

Just as the ostrich egg shell is a collection of elements in constant flux at an atomic level, so too is this phantom self a collection of thoughts in constant motion.

See for a moment that the thoughts just appear. If you drop the habit of claiming them, owning them, and weaving them into the fabric of self-identity, they simply appear and disappear. Why take them for your own?

In this way, the self-entity is seen directly as fiction. If thoughts simply arise, and no one takes ownership of them, where is the phantom self? It does not exist. There is no need to shatter the self-construct; simply see logically and clearly that it does not exist.

As Maharaj explains: What you see as false, dissolves. It is the very nature of illusion to dissolve on investigation. Investigate - that is all. You cannot destroy the false, for you are creating it all the time. Withdraw from it, ignore it, go beyond, and it will cease to be.

You have been stuck in a habitual way of perceiving. You were taught to perceive this way, and you exist in a society in which this is the dominant mode of perception. It is a difficult habit to break. Develop the habit of seeing with pure understanding. Separate the physical self (the human animal body) from the conceptual self. Observe the phantom self; see the lack of actual connections. Be free.

End Note: How do these posts happen? An idea arises spontaneously accompanied by the movement of LOVE – the words, the writing, the writer are one – pure expression. This is the movement that has prompted “floyd” to rise and write 1700 daily blog posts; it is the movement that inspires “louise” to post on occasion. Long after the physical bodies of “floyd” and “louise” have disappeared, this movement of LOVE will express truth.

The gratitude for the Teacher is a perennial spring. There is no difference between the Teacher and the Teachings – there is just this vacancy that is the unconditioned movement of LOVE. The gratitude flows – unstopping and unstoppable – simply another label for LOVE.

To be continued.

Please enter the silence of contemplation.

Comments or clarifications may be sent to: louise.advaita@gmail.com

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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.
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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).
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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.
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[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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NOTE: When you order this package, you receive three additional ebooks free: CASTING LIGHT ON THE DARK SIDE OF RELATIONSHIPS, FINDING REAL LOVE IN AN UNREAL WORLD and THE TWICE-STOLEN NECKLACE MURDERS (offering the Advaita teachings in a fictional novel format)

You may visit The Official Website of Floyd Henderson for information on each book.

3. BY ENROLLING in the Online Advaita Classes

Received 19 August 2010 from one that just completed the entire course:

I would like to extend deepest appreciation towards you for these teachings that you have offered. It has been most valuable towards what may not have been revealed throughout this manifestation labeled "anthony." Understanding Truth and finding words for gratitude are one as is all. Thank you again for pointing "me" to THAT and the understanding that came as well. Hopeful for future "contact"! Sincerely, Anthony M. W.

For information, visit Information on the Advaita Classes on the Internet
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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.

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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

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The Board of Directors of Wars

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