An Advaita forum focusing on Realisation, enlightenment, non-duality, Real Love, peace, freedom, Your Original Nature, abiding naturally, the Oneness, the Nothingness, and the teachings of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.
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hendersonfloyd@gmail.com
PLEASE NOTE: Some outside the Continental U.S. who have our older "G-mail" address have reported that the newer e-mail address associated with the "contact and question link" is blocking e-mails. If you have experienced a problem contacting us, you may use the following address to send your questions or comments:
hendersonfloyd@gmail.com
[To new visitors: As with Maharaj, the intent here is not to try to turn seekers into "Super Religious Persons" or "Spiritual Giants." Ultimately, it can be seen that those, too, are just roles. Here, there are two invitations: (1) to use religion or spirituality as nothing more than a plane that can carry You to the Your Destination and (2) an invitation to then exit that plane and abide for the remainder of the manifestation in a Nisarga (natural) fashion, marked by freedom and peace and by enjoying the relative existence fully, relishing all of its available pleasures and bliss rather than merely sitting on the plane for the remainder of the manifestation.]
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COMING SOON AT AMAZON
Now available at Amazon in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, and Spain:
For more information, clickFROM A READER IN LONDON: Hello Floyd,
Three of us were sharing a flat in London when a fourth moved in recently to help with expenses. One day I began browsing through a collection of four of your books that was on the nightstand we share and became interested in non-duality. We have began discussing your teachings before bedtime. My friend said that, by the time she had finished reading the collection, what she felt could only be described as a kind of depressurisation and a sense of freedom after seeing how much in our culture really is just so much fictionalised propagandising that has lobotomised an entire nation of people. She left the book here for me to read while she is presently travelling, and I am understanding the seven steps to some degree. My query is in regards to the five stages which she said we would discuss upon her return. What is the difference, please? Might one study the stages rather than the steps or should both be studied? Cheers, and thank you. Kaitlyn
Three of us were sharing a flat in London when a fourth moved in recently to help with expenses. One day I began browsing through a collection of four of your books that was on the nightstand we share and became interested in non-duality. We have began discussing your teachings before bedtime. My friend said that, by the time she had finished reading the collection, what she felt could only be described as a kind of depressurisation and a sense of freedom after seeing how much in our culture really is just so much fictionalised propagandising that has lobotomised an entire nation of people. She left the book here for me to read while she is presently travelling, and I am understanding the seven steps to some degree. My query is in regards to the five stages which she said we would discuss upon her return. What is the difference, please? Might one study the stages rather than the steps or should both be studied? Cheers, and thank you. Kaitlyn
F.: And hello to you, Kaitlyn. Please share with your flatmate upon her return that the use of "depressurisation" and "fictionalised propagandising" are spot on assessments. Well said.
As for steps vs. stages, if you complete the first book in that anthology, you should comprehend the seven steps. Those are specific steps on a "path" that must be completed in their exact order if one is to be free of the "pressurisation" that accompanies the unquestioning acceptance of the "fictionalised propagandising" that is commonplace in all cultures around the globe.
The "Five Stages" are discussed in order to provide an overview for beginners - to encapsulate "the big picture," so to speak - so that they can see what has happened that has blocked the pure consciousness from seeing clearly and what must happen to be free of such blockages. Your flatmate probably heard something which suggested that you might be assisted by seeing that big picture before moving on.
Here is the way the stages are explained:
THE FIVE STAGES
The "Five Stages" offer an overview that shows how persons are programmed and conditioned and acculturated and domesticated and brainwashed (and, yes, near "lobotomised") and shows what is required to be free of the effects of those processes and then reach a condition of Full Realization (which, in turn, allows for AS IF living).
To paraphrase the explanation offered in the non-duality-based fictional novel "The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders" (available in pdf format at floydhenderson.com or in ebook format for you at amazon.co.uk):
Stage One includes ages 1-20 when person are conditioned, indoctrinated, domesticated, acculturated, brainwashed, and programmed to accumulate ... to get.
Stage Two includes the ages of 20-40 when persons unconsciously do what they were programmed to do, repeating what they were programmed to say, and believing what they were programmed to believe. Stage Two is marked by frenzied efforts to accumulate. Most never transcend that stage.
For those who undertake “the journey” and follow the Advaita “path,” they enter a Third Stage and begin Self-Inquiry. (After dealing with thousands of seekers over the last two decades, it has been noted that those Westerners who reach the understanding are generally around an average age of 42-1/2 when they reach a level of misery and suffering that inspires them to begin to seek earnestly.) Some say, "This life is shallow, hollow, unfulfilling. There must be more. I don’t even know who I am. Who am I'?"
If they find the True Self, they begin to de-accumulate in the Fourth Stage. De-accumulation is the mark of becoming free of the effects of accumulating and personality and programming and conditioning and being acculturated and being domesticated and being brainwashed and being psychologically "lobotomised."
After that, one can enter the Fifth Stage and abide in an AS IF fashion, as if this life were the real; then, they can enjoy whatever remains of the relative existence, free for the first time—free of educational indoctrination, free of spiritual indoctrination, free of religious indoctrination, free of political indoctrination, free of economic indoctrination. Free. Independent. Period.
AS IF living means that the Realized know that this relative existence should be taken as nothing more than an amusement, not as anything that is really serious. Anything offered on this site is posted as a pastime, as an amusement, but never seriously as the Real.
For more information on any of those topics, you may use the search feature at the bottom of this page. Cheers to both you and your eloquent flatmate! Peace, Love, Light.
As for steps vs. stages, if you complete the first book in that anthology, you should comprehend the seven steps. Those are specific steps on a "path" that must be completed in their exact order if one is to be free of the "pressurisation" that accompanies the unquestioning acceptance of the "fictionalised propagandising" that is commonplace in all cultures around the globe.
The "Five Stages" are discussed in order to provide an overview for beginners - to encapsulate "the big picture," so to speak - so that they can see what has happened that has blocked the pure consciousness from seeing clearly and what must happen to be free of such blockages. Your flatmate probably heard something which suggested that you might be assisted by seeing that big picture before moving on.
Here is the way the stages are explained:
THE FIVE STAGES
The "Five Stages" offer an overview that shows how persons are programmed and conditioned and acculturated and domesticated and brainwashed (and, yes, near "lobotomised") and shows what is required to be free of the effects of those processes and then reach a condition of Full Realization (which, in turn, allows for AS IF living).
To paraphrase the explanation offered in the non-duality-based fictional novel "The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders" (available in pdf format at floydhenderson.com or in ebook format for you at amazon.co.uk):
Stage One includes ages 1-20 when person are conditioned, indoctrinated, domesticated, acculturated, brainwashed, and programmed to accumulate ... to get.
Stage Two includes the ages of 20-40 when persons unconsciously do what they were programmed to do, repeating what they were programmed to say, and believing what they were programmed to believe. Stage Two is marked by frenzied efforts to accumulate. Most never transcend that stage.
For those who undertake “the journey” and follow the Advaita “path,” they enter a Third Stage and begin Self-Inquiry. (After dealing with thousands of seekers over the last two decades, it has been noted that those Westerners who reach the understanding are generally around an average age of 42-1/2 when they reach a level of misery and suffering that inspires them to begin to seek earnestly.) Some say, "This life is shallow, hollow, unfulfilling. There must be more. I don’t even know who I am. Who am I'?"
If they find the True Self, they begin to de-accumulate in the Fourth Stage. De-accumulation is the mark of becoming free of the effects of accumulating and personality and programming and conditioning and being acculturated and being domesticated and being brainwashed and being psychologically "lobotomised."
After that, one can enter the Fifth Stage and abide in an AS IF fashion, as if this life were the real; then, they can enjoy whatever remains of the relative existence, free for the first time—free of educational indoctrination, free of spiritual indoctrination, free of religious indoctrination, free of political indoctrination, free of economic indoctrination. Free. Independent. Period.
AS IF living means that the Realized know that this relative existence should be taken as nothing more than an amusement, not as anything that is really serious. Anything offered on this site is posted as a pastime, as an amusement, but never seriously as the Real.
For more information on any of those topics, you may use the search feature at the bottom of this page. Cheers to both you and your eloquent flatmate! Peace, Love, Light.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
COMING SOON AT AMAZON
THE CONDITIONS FOR YOUR JOURNEY: "Severe Clear?" Or "Severely Unclear?"If you would like to support the site or to help insure that those seeking this understanding have someone available, you may click the following button to donate:
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The Relative Results of Returning to "The Child Ignorance Stage" or "The Child No-Knowing State"
The Relative Results of Returning to "The Child Ignorance Stage" or "The Child No-Knowing State"
Now available at Amazon.com in
the US, the UK, GERMANY, FRANCE, ITALY and SPAIN:
For more information, click
(QUOTATIONS AND POINTERS dealing with NON-DUALITY, ADVAITA, NISARGA YOGA and more)
(QUOTATIONS AND POINTERS dealing with NON-DUALITY, ADVAITA, NISARGA YOGA and more)
(Note: Contrary to what you might read, every quote in this book is identified by its author or speaker)The work contains quotations and pointers not only from scores of non-duality books and talks but also offers non-duality pointers that have appeared in works of non-fiction, fiction, classic literature, and movies.
The book include the following:
The offering of non-duality quotations and pointers by category and subject matter but from Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj exclusively.
Quotations and pointers from Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj that discuss nisarga yoga and nisarga living.
Quotations that other seekers / readers have indicated that they found to be significant.
A section with an arrangement of non-duality quotations and pointers by category and subject matter. The rationale: when offering non-duality quotations, some collections provide key pointers that are offered in no particular order, but here the approach is to group pointers according to subject matter so that a seeker dealing with "body identification issues" can find quotations addressing body identity while a seeker dealing with "being free of the influence of the mind" can find quotations and pointers that offer information on that topic. Other subjects in this part of the book include personality, the child ignorance or no-knowing stage, the two types of witnessing, the Absolute, the Void or the Nothingness, and many more.
Miscellaneous non-duality quotations and pointers which are relevant to Advaitins and that have been offered by philosophers and sages and seers of truth from various periods, including Plato, St. Francis of Assisi, Desiderius Erasmus, Albert Einstein, George Bernard Shaw, Richard E. Lingenfelter; Robert Burton, Daniel H. Boorstin, Gary Zukav, E. Bayda, Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Brad Thor, Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr.; Nelson Mandela, Immanuel Kant, Bruce Lipton, Clive Cussler, Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, Lewis Thomas, Max Planck, Heinrich Hertz; the bands "Pink Floyd" and "The Beatles"; and others.
Non-duality pointers that have appeared in the non-fiction writings of Ralph Klein and in the works of such scientists as Barbara McClintock, Erwin Schrodinger, Fritjof Capra, Niels Bohr, David Bohm, Neil deGrasse Tyson. Also, there are selections from the works of Marvin Kaye, S.H. Sharp, Paul Krassner, Ken Kesey, Russell Brand, G.I. Gurdjieff; and a variety of examples of the non-duality messages that are contained in the body of Native American wisdom as well as non-duality pointers that can be found in the book "ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS" (a.k.a., "the A.A. Big Book").
An offering of non-duality messages that have appeared in the fictional works of Jack Kerouac, Michael Connelly, Mary Shelley, Victor Hugo, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Robert Lewis Stevenson, Abraham "Bram" Stoker and others as well as quotations with the non-duality message as offered in film with a list of over thirty movies that are based in non-duality, including The Matrix (Part One), The 13th Floor, Inception, The Truman Show, Dark City, Existenz, Avatar, and many more.
Click to purchase
( QUOTATIONS AND POINTERS dealing with NON-DUALITY, ADVAITA, NISARGA YOGA and more)
ALSO AVAILABLE AT AMAZON
in
the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, Spain, and Italy
this new release:
FREEDOM FROM BELIEFS
(Believers, Non-Believers, and "No-Belief-ers")
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. 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. 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
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
Freedom from Shifting Between States of Happiness and Unhappiness
Liberation
The Blissful Abidance Series (6 books) in paperback
The ADVAITINS Collection
with THE SRI NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ SERIES, including:
(1) Why NISARGA YOGA in addition to the ADVAITA TEACHING?
(2) Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and His Evolution
(3) A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
(4) Going Crazy / Going Sane
(5) The Final Fifteen Topics Discussed by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
and
(6) The Non-Duality Pointers Offered by YESHU'A ("Jesus the Christ")
(7) William Shakespeare the Advaitin
with THE SRI NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ SERIES, including:
(1) Why NISARGA YOGA in addition to the ADVAITA TEACHING?
(2) Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and His Evolution
(3) A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
(4) Going Crazy / Going Sane
(5) The Final Fifteen Topics Discussed by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
and
(6) The Non-Duality Pointers Offered by YESHU'A ("Jesus the Christ")
(7) William Shakespeare the Advaitin
(8) The "Final" Talks of Floyd Henderson
(9) QUOTATIONS AND POINTERS dealing with NON-DUALITY, ADVAITA, NISARGA YOGA and more)
The BLISSFUL ABIDANCE SERIES, PART TWO
Overcoming the Fear of Being Totally Independent
I AM THAT (vs. "This Is Who I Think I Am")
The Essence of the Teachings
The Relative Results of Returning to "The Child Ignorance Stage" or "The Child No-Knowing State"
There Is Nothing That Is Personal (Including You and Including God)
Lessons in Non-Duality from Travels in South Africa
The Path to Freedom vs. the Path to Misery
Overcoming the Fear of Being Totally Independent
I AM THAT (vs. "This Is Who I Think I Am")
The Essence of the Teachings
The Relative Results of Returning to "The Child Ignorance Stage" or "The Child No-Knowing State"
There Is Nothing That Is Personal (Including You and Including God)
Lessons in Non-Duality from Travels in South Africa
The Path to Freedom vs. the Path to Misery
The FREEDOM FROM THE MIND Series
Instability / Insanity: What the Advaita Teachings Can (and Cannot) Address
PROGRAMMING, CONDITIONING, DOMESTICATION, AND ACCULTURATION
Your Original Nature
The Ultimate Sickness, The Ultimate Medicine
Going Crazy / Going Sane
There's No Such Thing As "Peace of Mind" (There Is Only Peace If You're Out of Your Mind)
Freedom from Beliefs (Believers, Non-Believers, and "No-Belief-ers")
Dancing Lightly
Instability / Insanity: What the Advaita Teachings Can (and Cannot) Address
PROGRAMMING, CONDITIONING, DOMESTICATION, AND ACCULTURATION
Your Original Nature
The Ultimate Sickness, The Ultimate Medicine
Going Crazy / Going Sane
There's No Such Thing As "Peace of Mind" (There Is Only Peace If You're Out of Your Mind)
Freedom from Beliefs (Believers, Non-Believers, and "No-Belief-ers")
Dancing Lightly
RECOVERY LITERATURE, 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
Finding Real Love in An Unreal World
Casting Light on the Dark Side of Relationships
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
Finding Real Love in An Unreal World
Casting Light on the Dark Side of Relationships
The NO DEATH books, NON-DUALITY IN FICTION, FINANCIAL SANITY
The Myth of Death
What Happens When I Die?
The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders (Non-Duality) [Kindle]
The Board of Directors of Wars (Non-Duality) [Kindle]
The Board of Directors of Wars (Non-Duality) [Paperback]
Living Within Your Means
How Your Personality Type Shapes Your Spending Habits
The Myth of Death
What Happens When I Die?
The Twice-Stolen Necklace Murders (Non-Duality) [Kindle]
The Board of Directors of Wars (Non-Duality) [Kindle]
The Board of Directors of Wars (Non-Duality) [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.
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).
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:
