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.
As for Maharaj, you will find here some of his early pointers for beginners but some of his later pointers that are for seekers farther along the "path." During his last years, he said of I AM THAT: "That book and whatever was expounded at that time was only relevant for that period. I am speaking differently today" and am "emphasizing different aspects." What he offered later differed considerably from his earlier talks, making clear that the pointers in I AM THAT will take you to the midpoint of "the race" but that his final talks point the way to "the finish line."
[The following post is also an excerpt from this soon-to-be-released book]:
GOING CRAZY / GOING SANE
F.: Some have asked about "the experience here," about how the "going crazy" to the "going sane" process unfolded here:
It has been noted that here, learned ignorance and insanity came later than in some cases, but it eventually came. The delay was for one reason only: the Type Four Personality developed here (as happened with Maharaj) as a result of rebelling against authority figures and their abusive behavior and their messages of distortion and delusion. Thus, it took longer for "them" to "get to me," but they eventually did.
Maharaj noted that "insanity is universal." It is noted here that, while insanity is indeed global, there are a few places on the planet where sanity reigns, namely, in all-natural settings.
That is why the "forest dweller stage" is required, though an actual forest is not. Insanity is marked by patterns of behavior that are either unnatural or supposedly supernatural (a.k.a., magical, metaphysical, religious, spiritual, etc.)
If it is sanity that is being sought, then either unnatural and supposedly supernatural patterns must be broken or, if they are not, then the person will eventually be broken.
Consider the circumstances of a man who came here last week. He had been criticized and rejected by his father throughout his childhood and teen years. Now, approaching the age of forty, he reports that he has never married although he has been involved in over fifty relationships with women. In each case, he claimed, he felt that he was going to find someone who would "accept him and be with him forever."
He said last week, "I cannot stand to be alone. I am driven to have a woman with me all the time. I'm fairly handsome and I own my own law firm that has made me rich, so my pattern is that I'll meet a woman and within a week, I'll offer her a mansion to live in for free and most will accept that offer immediately. Then, I have them where I want them, dependent on me and willing to give me what I want ... or they lose their housing."
Floyd: "Ah, so in fact you're not involved in the legal profession at all - you're involved in the sex slave trade."
Visitor: [Silence. Stony stare.] "Why don't we keep this civil?"
F.: "Continue."
Visitor: [Exasperated. Deep breath. Long exhale. Then ...] "I'm driven to have sex with women constantly, but the relationships never last. I came here because a friend told me you could relate and that you found a way out of these patterns that are wiping me out mentally and emotionally and physically. It's easy to get women to move in, but it's damn hard to get them to move out when I'm ready for them to go. You helped my buddy and I want you to help me."
F.: "Has your being with fifty women really been about the sex, or is it possible that it has been about the message that you believe is being sent by their willingness to have sex with you? To 'accept' you? If that is the case, then the next questions to be asked are, 'How many women will have to "accept" you before the trauma of your father having never accepted you is alleviated? How many women will finally be enough'?"
[No comment]
F.: "The answer is, "There will never be enough instances of women 'accepting' you in order to undo that which is inside you and which you are trying to address with that which is outside of you."
Visitor: "So what do I do? How did you get free?"
F.: "There was a two-fold approach. First, a trained professional dealt with the residual effects of the trauma that drives thoughts and words and deeds and which inspire patterns - the repetition of actions that do not work but that are repeated continuously anyway. Then, I had to go to the forest."
Visitor: [Sarcastically] "Go to the forest?"
F.: "If you are living unnaturally and supernaturally among the insane masses, where better to treat such insanity than in a natural setting where the occupants are not insane?"
Visitor: "What?"
F.: "Here, it was the same way it was with Thoreau. He said, 'I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived'."
"During my youth, that involved living for months at a time with a Cherokee Grandmother in a remote section of woods in East Texas. As an adult, it involved seeing the destructive patterns of behavior and then physically removing myself from every venue where those patterns were being played out with insane persons who were willing to play the insane games.
"That meant that I purchased an off-road vehicle and camping supplies and went into the forest for twenty-five months. I was not running away from women or running to women. I settled into a position of neutrality. What happened or did not happen was not just accepted. It was relished.
"I did not run away from intoxicants or other things that had been used in an effort to try to escape from that which I could not escape because I had always taken along with me everywhere I went the core problem, namely, the Ultimate Sickness ... the insanity. I eventually settled into a position of neutrality about all things. Whatever happened or did not happen was not just accepted. It was relished.
"So I went to the woods to see what the woods and the inhabitants there had to teach me. I went into the forest to see what lessons it might teach about how to stop living unnaturally and supernaturally, both of which had been tried and both of which had failed miserably.
"In the forests, I watched the deer as they modeled a natural style of living. I watched a spider build a web and then it showed me that, after doing all that it could do, it then did nothing. It waited patiently for what might happen ... or might not.
"I avoided bears in Arizona and found that it is best to know that I really have no power and that it is insane to enter into battles that cannot be won and that should not be entered into at all. I learned that confrontations can be seen to be truly hopeless only if the arrogance of assumed power is cast aside.
"I walked trails in East and South Texas where I came across copperhead snakes lying in the sun across the path, refusing to move an inch, ignoring all of the surrounding commotion and noise and hoopla that I created in an effort to try to scare them off or make them go away.
"I watched how those deadly creatures allowed me to use the bear claw on the end of a walking stick to move them away, a stick that has been loaned to me by a Cherokee medicine man (who could legally own such a stick with such a claw, though I could not).
"I watched how the snakes did not react when the claw was slipped beneath the belly at the midpoint of their length, how they did not panic when they were being moved to the side of the trail, and how they went back to resting wherever they were placed after events beyond their control had temporarily determined what was happening to them.
"I watched in other cases as I tried to move away from cottonmouth water moccasins, only to have them go ballistic and attack even though they were not being threatened or attacked, even though they were not even being approached, even though all efforts were being made to leave them alone. It was seen that the consciousness within them was predisposed to being more proactive in an effort to ensure that the consciousness maintain its present continuity.
"And by way of those snakes, I saw how I had been like the moccasins, and how I had associated with those who were like the moccasins. I saw that after leaving the forest, I could choose to deal with copperhead-types rather than with water moccasin-types.
"And I saw that, if I made that choice, how much calmer and easier and simpler the existence can be when dealing with copperhead-types rather than with water moccasin-types.
"I saw how some nations - such as the one where I lived - were more warlike than others, were more prone to hate peace and to relish war; and I saw how there were other nations that preferred being 'lovers' and not 'fighters'.
"After learning the lessons of the woods and returning to 'society,' it was seen that what the not-insane creatures in the forest had taught me during the twenty-five months there translated and transitioned very smoothly to the relative existence that has unfolded ever since leaving the forest.
"It became clear during those twenty-months that (1) nothing in the forest is crazy and that (2) little that is not in the forest is sane; that is, it was seen that (3) that which is natural is sane and that (4) that which is unnatural and / or supposedly supernatural is insane.
Visitor: "Good for you, but I can't leave my practice for two years and go sit and sleep and walk in the forest."
F.: "And you need not. In 1937, Maharaj abandoned his family and his business with twelve prosperous shops and began visiting temples and places of religious interest; yet his mind was restless. What he was seeking, he discovered, could not be found in temples or places of organized religion.
"So he traveled north, determined to live in the Himalayas and never to return home; however, while walking through the remote forests and mountainous regions, he chanced to meet a fellow-disciple of his guru who told him that his wanderings would avail him nothing and that they were not necessary at all. He suggested that Maharaj should go home and live an active life as a householder and as a selfless servant to the poor.
"The invitation to you is the same: abide in the natural way, even when not in a natural setting. You need not go the forest. You need only to learn to differentiate between that which is natural (and therefore sane) and that which is unnatural and / or supposedly supernatural (and therefore insane).
"You have gone crazy. The invitation is for you to take the steps now that are required for you to 'go sane'."
Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
Visitor: "So what do I do? How did you get free?"
F.: "There was a two-fold approach. First, a trained professional dealt with the residual effects of the trauma that drives thoughts and words and deeds and which inspire patterns - the repetition of actions that do not work but that are repeated continuously anyway. Then, I had to go to the forest."
Visitor: [Sarcastically] "Go to the forest?"
F.: "If you are living unnaturally and supernaturally among the insane masses, where better to treat such insanity than in a natural setting where the occupants are not insane?"
Visitor: "What?"
F.: "Here, it was the same way it was with Thoreau. He said, 'I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived'."
"During my youth, that involved living for months at a time with a Cherokee Grandmother in a remote section of woods in East Texas. As an adult, it involved seeing the destructive patterns of behavior and then physically removing myself from every venue where those patterns were being played out with insane persons who were willing to play the insane games.
"That meant that I purchased an off-road vehicle and camping supplies and went into the forest for twenty-five months. I was not running away from women or running to women. I settled into a position of neutrality. What happened or did not happen was not just accepted. It was relished.
"I did not run away from intoxicants or other things that had been used in an effort to try to escape from that which I could not escape because I had always taken along with me everywhere I went the core problem, namely, the Ultimate Sickness ... the insanity. I eventually settled into a position of neutrality about all things. Whatever happened or did not happen was not just accepted. It was relished.
"So I went to the woods to see what the woods and the inhabitants there had to teach me. I went into the forest to see what lessons it might teach about how to stop living unnaturally and supernaturally, both of which had been tried and both of which had failed miserably.
"In the forests, I watched the deer as they modeled a natural style of living. I watched a spider build a web and then it showed me that, after doing all that it could do, it then did nothing. It waited patiently for what might happen ... or might not.
"I avoided bears in Arizona and found that it is best to know that I really have no power and that it is insane to enter into battles that cannot be won and that should not be entered into at all. I learned that confrontations can be seen to be truly hopeless only if the arrogance of assumed power is cast aside.
"I walked trails in East and South Texas where I came across copperhead snakes lying in the sun across the path, refusing to move an inch, ignoring all of the surrounding commotion and noise and hoopla that I created in an effort to try to scare them off or make them go away.
"I watched how those deadly creatures allowed me to use the bear claw on the end of a walking stick to move them away, a stick that has been loaned to me by a Cherokee medicine man (who could legally own such a stick with such a claw, though I could not).
"I watched how the snakes did not react when the claw was slipped beneath the belly at the midpoint of their length, how they did not panic when they were being moved to the side of the trail, and how they went back to resting wherever they were placed after events beyond their control had temporarily determined what was happening to them.
"I watched in other cases as I tried to move away from cottonmouth water moccasins, only to have them go ballistic and attack even though they were not being threatened or attacked, even though they were not even being approached, even though all efforts were being made to leave them alone. It was seen that the consciousness within them was predisposed to being more proactive in an effort to ensure that the consciousness maintain its present continuity.
"And by way of those snakes, I saw how I had been like the moccasins, and how I had associated with those who were like the moccasins. I saw that after leaving the forest, I could choose to deal with copperhead-types rather than with water moccasin-types.
"And I saw that, if I made that choice, how much calmer and easier and simpler the existence can be when dealing with copperhead-types rather than with water moccasin-types.
"I saw how some nations - such as the one where I lived - were more warlike than others, were more prone to hate peace and to relish war; and I saw how there were other nations that preferred being 'lovers' and not 'fighters'.
"After learning the lessons of the woods and returning to 'society,' it was seen that what the not-insane creatures in the forest had taught me during the twenty-five months there translated and transitioned very smoothly to the relative existence that has unfolded ever since leaving the forest.
"It became clear during those twenty-months that (1) nothing in the forest is crazy and that (2) little that is not in the forest is sane; that is, it was seen that (3) that which is natural is sane and that (4) that which is unnatural and / or supposedly supernatural is insane.
Visitor: "Good for you, but I can't leave my practice for two years and go sit and sleep and walk in the forest."
F.: "And you need not. In 1937, Maharaj abandoned his family and his business with twelve prosperous shops and began visiting temples and places of religious interest; yet his mind was restless. What he was seeking, he discovered, could not be found in temples or places of organized religion.
"So he traveled north, determined to live in the Himalayas and never to return home; however, while walking through the remote forests and mountainous regions, he chanced to meet a fellow-disciple of his guru who told him that his wanderings would avail him nothing and that they were not necessary at all. He suggested that Maharaj should go home and live an active life as a householder and as a selfless servant to the poor.
"The invitation to you is the same: abide in the natural way, even when not in a natural setting. You need not go the forest. You need only to learn to differentiate between that which is natural (and therefore sane) and that which is unnatural and / or supposedly supernatural (and therefore insane).
"You have gone crazy. The invitation is for you to take the steps now that are required for you to 'go sane'."
Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
Available in the following book, available at Amazon, is a collection of 278 perspectives that differ from the distorted views of the masses:
You may click the link below for more information or to order:
A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE via the NON-DUALITY TEACHINGS and the NISARGA YOGA
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For those seeking the full explanation of the topics addressed on this site: there are non-duality books offered below as well as retreats and Skype or telephone sessions available at Floyd Henderson's Website
The full explanations are also available in the books in the author's collection that explain in detail all of the non-duality, nisarga teachings offered here:
1. Most non-duality books below are available through Amazon.com.
2. Buy a Kindle reader at the end of this posting or
3. Read Kindle books on your own device by downloading a free app.
The full explanations are also available in the books in the author's collection that explain in detail all of the non-duality, nisarga teachings offered here:
1. Most non-duality books below are available through Amazon.com.
2. Buy a Kindle reader at the end of this posting or
3. Read Kindle books on your own device by downloading a free app.
The available books are arranged on the carousels below. Use the arrows to move each book to the forefront; then, you may click on any book that you might be interested in to find more information or to purchase.
THE ADVANCED SEEKERS' SERIES
From the I to the Absolute; Consciousness / Awareness; From the Absolute to the Nothingness; The Final Understanding; The Advanced Seekers' Series in paperback; the two Meditation Guides
From the I to the Absolute; Consciousness / Awareness; From the Absolute to the Nothingness; The Final Understanding; The Advanced Seekers' Series in paperback; the two Meditation Guides
The BLISSFUL ABIDANCE SERIES, PART ONE
What BLISS Is and What BLISS Is Not; Why You Must Be Empty If You Would Be Full; When Reality Is Overlaid Upon the Relative; There's No Such Thing As "Peace of Mind" (There Is Only Peace If You're Out of Your Mind); Freedom from Shifting Between States of Happiness and Unhappiness; Liberation; The Blissful Abidance Series (6 books) in paperback
What BLISS Is and What BLISS Is Not; Why You Must Be Empty If You Would Be Full; When Reality Is Overlaid Upon the Relative; There's No Such Thing As "Peace of Mind" (There Is Only Peace If You're Out of Your Mind); Freedom from Shifting Between States of Happiness and Unhappiness; Liberation; The Blissful Abidance Series (6 books) in paperback
The BLISSFUL ABIDANCE SERIES, PART TWO
THE MAHARAJ TRILOGY, including: (1) Why NISARGA YOGA in addition to the ADVAITA TEACHING? (2) Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and His Evolution and (3) A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE via the NON-DUALITY TEACHINGS and the NISARGA YOGA; The Ultimate Sickness, The Ultimate Medicine; Dancing Lightly; Overcoming the Fear of Being Totally Independent; I AM THAT (vs. "This Is Who I Think I Am"); The Essence of the Teachings; There Is Nothing That Is Personal (Including You and Including God); Lessons in Non-Duality from Travels in South Africa
THE MAHARAJ TRILOGY, including: (1) Why NISARGA YOGA in addition to the ADVAITA TEACHING? (2) Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and His Evolution and (3) A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE via the NON-DUALITY TEACHINGS and the NISARGA YOGA; The Ultimate Sickness, The Ultimate Medicine; Dancing Lightly; Overcoming the Fear of Being Totally Independent; I AM THAT (vs. "This Is Who I Think I Am"); The Essence of the Teachings; There Is Nothing That Is Personal (Including You and Including God); Lessons in Non-Duality from Travels in South Africa
RECOVERY LITERATURE, the NO DEATH books, the RELATIONSHIP books
A Twelve-Step Journey to SELF-Realization [Kindle]; A Twelve-Step Journey to SELF-Realization [Paperback]; A Guide for Working the Twelve Steps (In the Manner Used by the Founders); The Twelve Steps and Advaita / Non-Duality: A 21-Day Plan for a Psychic Change; Instability / Insanity: What the Advaita Teachings Can (and Cannot) Address; The Path to Freedom vs. the Path to Misery; Finding Real Love in An Unreal World; What Happens When I Die?; Casting Light on the Dark Side of Relationships; The Myth of Death
A Twelve-Step Journey to SELF-Realization [Kindle]; A Twelve-Step Journey to SELF-Realization [Paperback]; A Guide for Working the Twelve Steps (In the Manner Used by the Founders); The Twelve Steps and Advaita / Non-Duality: A 21-Day Plan for a Psychic Change; Instability / Insanity: What the Advaita Teachings Can (and Cannot) Address; The Path to Freedom vs. the Path to Misery; Finding Real Love in An Unreal World; What Happens When I Die?; Casting Light on the Dark Side of Relationships; The Myth of Death
FREEDOM FROM PROGRAMMING, THE ADVAITINS, NON-DUALITY IN FICTION, FINANCIAL SANITY
PROGRAMMING, CONDITIONING, DOMESTICATION, AND ACCULTURATION: The Sources of the Ultimate Sickness and the Non-Duality Treatment; Jesus Christ the Advaitin; William Shakespeare the Advaitin; The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders (Non-Duality) [Kindle]; The Board of Directors of Wars (Non-Duality) [Kindle or Paperback); Living Within Your Means; How Your Personality Type Shapes Your Spending Habits
PROGRAMMING, CONDITIONING, DOMESTICATION, AND ACCULTURATION: The Sources of the Ultimate Sickness and the Non-Duality Treatment; Jesus Christ the Advaitin; William Shakespeare the Advaitin; The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders (Non-Duality) [Kindle]; The Board of Directors of Wars (Non-Duality) [Kindle or Paperback); Living Within Your Means; How Your Personality Type Shapes Your Spending Habits
NON-DUALITY BOOKS, EACH CONTAINING A SERIES OF ESSAYS DISCUSSING ONE OF THE SEVEN STEPS ON THE PATH TO REALIZATION
FOR THOSE WHO PREFER PAPERBACK, THE FOLLOWING PAPERBACK BOOKS ARE ON SALE NOW
(Click the pictures for information on the paperback versions)
(Click the pictures for information on the paperback versions)
(FOUR BOOKS IN ONE)
(SIX BOOKS IN ONE)
FOR THOSE SEEKING FURTHER EXPLANATION
An online Advaita Internet Course is offered here. The price of the course includes the four Advaita eBooks used as the texts; questions sent after completion of the assigned readings; replies to your answers; and follow-up as required.
The price of the course includes the four Advaita eBooks used as the texts; questions sent after completion of the assigned readings, replies to your answers, and follow-up as required.
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. To get started now now, click the pay button below and receive the $365 course for a discounted price of $325.00.
Purchase at Discount the Advaita Internet Course with Floyd
by
Clicking the Buy Now Button below:
Or, if you prefer, begin by arranging a one-hour Advaita session via Skype with Floyd:
Next, you can now 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).
The price of the course includes the four Advaita eBooks used as the texts; questions sent after completion of the assigned readings, replies to your answers, and follow-up as required.
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. To get started now now, click the pay button below and receive the $365 course for a discounted price of $325.00.
Purchase at Discount the Advaita Internet Course with Floyd
by
Clicking the Buy Now Button below:
Or, if you prefer, begin by arranging a one-hour Advaita session via Skype with Floyd:
Next, you can now 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, Seven-Hour Video (DVD) Set of an advaita retreat, or the downloadable file version. To find out more or to purchase the DVD or downloadable computer file version of the retreat, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
International buyers: note the separate option for those outside the continental U.S.
2. BY READING the explanations offered in the collection of non-duality books that are available on this site.
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 information or use the link below to pay for your first Advaita session.
You may click the BUY NOW button below to begin arrangements for your first Advaita session with Floyd via Skype and he will contact you to schedule:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
SIX WAYS THAT SEEKERS HAVE REALIZED:
1. BY WATCHING the 4-Disk, Seven-Hour Video (DVD) Set of an advaita retreat, or the downloadable file version. To find out more or to purchase the DVD or downloadable computer file version of the retreat, click:
DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
International buyers: note the separate option for those outside the continental U.S.
2. BY READING the explanations offered in the collection of non-duality books that are available on this site.
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 information or use the link below to pay for your first Advaita session.
You may click the BUY NOW button below to begin arrangements for your first Advaita session with Floyd via Skype and he will contact you to schedule:
6. BY ARRANGING for floyd to travel to your location and meet with you or your group. Use the contact link below to discuss details.
