Saturday, January 01, 2011

KNOWLEDGE THAT BLOCKS REALIZATION AND REINFORCES BELIEF IN WORLDLY CONCEPTS

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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.

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.

F.: A sanitation company passes through the neighborhood here on Mondays and Thursdays and collects the garbage. Two days ago, when one of that company's workers approached the side of the house where the garbage is stored, gratitude was expressed for his service.

All that was said was, "Thank you very much." His reply: "De nada." How very accurate. Rather than, "You are welcome," the Spanish words used translate literally to, "It is nothing."

On occasion, people send thanks here. A more accurate response than "You're welcome" would be ... "de nada."

In the end, it's all much ado about nothing. It is nothing. Talk of the body, the mind, the personality, the roles played, the ego-states assumed, the personas adopted, the stage characters that strut about in The Theater of the Lie - it's all about ... nothing.

The exception might be the elemental body / matter / energy, but even that is not what it seems. All of the rest of the talk about mirages is talk about nothing - about an image, about things misperceived by the masses, about things taken to be something when, in fact, it is all nothing.

Here, after all that is nothing has been seen to be nothing, then the final talks end with a discussion of ... nothing. Everything in between the manifestation and mahasamadhi is much ado about nothing, and all of the knowledge gathered in that span is also good for ... nothing (except to the degree that it can eradicate ignorance and can then be discarded as well).

Thorns pushing out thorns, then useless thorns all discarded. In the end, de nada.

All of the knowledge that persons bring here that they are advised to discard and all of the knowledge that they have gathered up that they think is religious or spiritual knowledge, all of it is less than useless. It is actually detrimental if there is any attachment to it at all.

Maharaj: "What I am expounding does not relate to worldly knowledge. You do not want to give up either worldly knowledge or so-called spiritual knowledge, and yet, through those worldly concepts, you want to understand the riddle of your existence, and that is precisely why you are not able to understand."

Note that he did not refer to worldly knowledge alone as "worldly concepts." He applied the term to both worldly knowledge and so-called spiritual knowledge.

Both worldly knowledge and so-called spiritual knowledge are nothing more than worldly concepts, even as so-called spiritual people think that they are talking about things that were not dreamed up by persons coming up with so-called spiritual concepts that are actually worldly concepts, that are mere "upgrades" of worldly concepts.

Consider the implications of one exchange that was pulled from the transcripts of a series of tape recorded satsang exchanges and shared in the book FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE:

Questioner 2: “I think your problem is that you must have been given a negative concept of God along the way. I came up with a God of my own conception. If you can’t like that God you were raised with, I suggest you come up with a God of your own understanding that you can be comfortable with.”

F.: “Yes, I’ve also read that book, but after making that suggestion to choose your own idea of God, it tells you to ‘cast aside all ideas.’ So which is it?”

Q. 2: “I don’t care what you say. The bottom line is, I have a Power that you don’t have.”

F.: “Actually, you’ve proved that your Power doesn’t exist.”

Q. 2.: “Hardly.”

F.: “You told us that you have chosen your own conception of god, that you 'came up with a god.' You created god. That itself is a very interesting twist in the dogma. But more to the point, you admit that your god is a concept—an idea fabricated by a conditioned mind. You’re admitting that you dreamed up a concept and now believe in the dream. If one dreams that he's sleeping with his favorite starlet, he's no less alone. If he awakes from that dream and still believes that she’s there, a delusion exists. We’re supposed to be moving away from the dream state and to the awakened state. All concepts are just notions or inventions or conceits. We’re on the path to no concepts, not more concepts.”

When millions around the globe are told in their so-called spiritual step meetings to "come up with a God of your own conception," what clearer evidence is there of what Maharaj was warning against when he made clear that so-called spiritual knowledge is based just as much in worldly concepts as worldly knowledge?

And interview the billions on the planet who claim a religious affiliation (97% in total) and see the diversity in their concepts of their god(s). For some, their god is mean and punishing; for others, their god in kind and giving. For some, their god is a god of creation; for others, their god is a god of destruction.

For some, their god is a celestial Santa; for others, their god is a heavenly Hitler, wiping out thousands - and later millions - of "his children" as a result of his co-dependency, allowing them to determine how he feels, allowing them to make him angry. For some, their god is forgiving; for others, their god is a record-keeping god that will exact punishment for sins at some point, either now or later or both.

When there is that much diversity in the image / images of god that religious people fabricate mentally, how could it not be seen clearly that it is all about image and nothing more?

Yet, as Maharaj noted, some people might be willing to cast aside their worldly knowledge, only to replace it with so-called spiritual knowledge, both of which are based in worldly concepts and both of which are, ultimately, not unlike the garbage that is hauled away from this house regularly.

Now garbage might be allowed to rot away and fertilize a garden for a time, but beyond providing nutrition for plants that can sustain the plant food body, what good is garbage? So, yes, use the garbage for a time, but then be done with it. Furthermore, who is willing to cast aside one type of garbage, only to become preoccupied with gathering up garbage of another type?

The conversation here two days ago did not go like this:

F.: "Here are two bags of garbage. Thank you very much."

The Collector: "De nada."

F.: Now what I would like to do is exchange my two bags of garbage for two of the other bags of garbage that you have on the truck."

Would not his sane and logical response have been:

The Collector: "¿Cómo?" ["What did you say?"]

Other Collectors: "Pendejo!! Hahaha." [Idiot, or worse.] "He is not willing to give up all garbage! He merely wants to exchange his old garbage for some new garbage. Hahaha!!"

Let your new garbage serve as a "compost" for a time. Let it be used for a time to fertilize plants that can be used to eliminate hunger, including the hunger for the type of knowledge that can be used to eliminate ignorance.

But in the end, once knowledge has eliminated ignorance, toss it out. All knowledge in the end - be it worldly or spiritual - is still just an accumulation of worldly concepts dreamed up by persons either to satisfy their wants and desires or to alleviate their fears.

The fact is that no matter how worldly or spiritual one claims to be, desires and fears will continue as long as any persona is adopted as an identity, be that the persona of "a man or woman" or the upgraded version of those personas that take themselves to be "A Highly Religious Man or Woman" or "A Highly Spiritual Man or Woman."

Pride over any type of accumulated knowledge is ego-based, and ego-states are all illusions that, ironically, can still generate negative effects, relatively speaking. And what greater ignorance can there be than to try to differentiate between the phenomenal and the noumenal when both are based in worldly concepts?

These teachings (un-teachings) result in an understanding of the no-concept, non-dual reality, not in the accumulation of more concepts and more dualistic beliefs, especially those concepts that lead to beliefs about being "better than" while others are "worse than" and those concepts about being "different from" (including "different from the way I was" and "different from them, now").

You cannot be different from what You have always been, and You cannot be different from anything else. Any sense of difference is all based in misperception and in the kind of knowledge that blocks Realization and reinforces belief in worldly concepts.

Please enter the silence of contemplation.

For those seeking the full explanation of the topics addressed here, there are more than a dozen non-duality books available at http://www.floydhenderson.com/ .

There are another half dozen titles available at http://www.amazon.com/ for those with a Kindle Reader, and the following titles are available through Amazon.com only:

The Final Understanding

The Ultimate Sickness, The Ultimate Medicine

I AM THAT (vs. "This Is Who I Think I Am")

Freedom From Shifting Between States of Happiness and Unhappiness

Why You Must Be Empty If You Would Be Full

The Myth Of Death

What BLISS Is and What BLISS Is Not

(If you do not have a Kindle Reader, you can still read Kindle books by visiting Amazon and downloading one or more of their five free applications so that you can read Kindle books on your PC, iPhone, Blackberry, iPad, or Android.
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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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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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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]
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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

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
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.
Presently, Skype sessions are being conducted with parties in Australia; The Netherlands; New Jersey, U.S.A.; London, England; Italy; and India.
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


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Please enter the silence of contemplation.

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