Advaita Vedanta: Mary, the Non-Realized, and the Realized, Part Twelve in the Series

Today's "DAILY CONSIDERATION" for You

F.: Mary began a slow retreat during her teen years, moving away from what is called "this world" and toward the no-name place in her mind where she resides to this day. By the time she reached her early twenties, her retreat was already near-complete. Yet who among the non-Realized masses, by their twenties, are not also lulled into a state where they can no longer differentiate true from false?

The cancerous mind of the non-Realized - after twenty years of programming and conditioning and acculturating and domestication and brainwashing and indoctrination - has metastasized among the non-Realized masses and left them almost as sick as Mary.

The masses gather daily or weekly to hear messages that are no less absurd than what Mary was hearing early on from the so-called "leaders" throughout her culture; what the masses are hearing and believing and accepting as gospel truth is no less ridiculous and illogical and bizarre than what Mary heard and was taught and experienced, all of which combined eventually and drove her to the condition she was in by the time she was admitted to a mental hospital.

As one site visitor noted yesterday, Mary is trapped in what many would call a "toxic system" though most do not acknowledge the fact that there exists "a myriad of other systems" that are controlling persons and "corrupting" the consciousness in the same way.

The point: those persons who are suffering from the blocked or corrupted consciousness ... they are also Mary. Once the illusion of personality is able to determine the thoughts and words and actions of a person, that person is just as much a "goner" as Mary. Once mirages control a person's behavior, that person is as far "gone" as Mary.

Yes, the homeless and the incarcerated and the institutionalized can be judged "insane" by the masses who are walking about unimpeded, but to be given a glimpse of (a) not only the insanity that is observable in public on a daily basis but also of (b) the insanity that is being displayed behind closed doors, it should be seen that there is not one mentally and emotionally Mary; instead, there are millions and billions of Mary's around the globe.

What insane nonsense do they believe?

A virgin was impregnated by angels sent from a god in another world, and she had a baby, and it was both god's son and her son but she was still a virgin afterwards? Okay. A whale swallowed a man for three days and he lived? Okay.

There is a god who loves everyone unconditionally, but one time he did drown everyone on the planet except for the members of one family? Okay. There is a god that wants me to kill everyone who is not a member of my religion? Okay. I will go to heaven if I strap on a suicide bomb vest and blow up a busload of people? Okay.

If a woman is legitimately raped, her body will not allow her to be impregnated? Okay. If a woman is raped and becomes pregnant, god wanted that to happen? Okay. The earth is only 6000 years old? OK. You say it is "those people" who are going to destroy the sanctity of marriage although the divorce rate among heterosexuals has long been 50-60% at any given time? Okay.

And people who know about Mary's circumstances think she - and the ones like her who are also locked away - are the only truly crazy people on the planet?

George Bernard Shaw was once asked if he thought there was life on other planets. His reply: "I know for a fact there is. They are using earth as their insane asylum." To paraphrase him on another occasion, nations around the globe are nothing more than open-air asylums where the insane are allowed to walk about freely.

Thus Maharaj said that he was offering the pointers that he offered to try to address the widespread "stupidity, verging on insanity" that is so commonplace among the billions of non-Realized, personality-driven persons on the planet.

And where is belief in those personalities stored? In "the mind," of course.

[After returning from Austin in a couple of days, the series will look at what Mary and the Realized have in common, at what Mary and the non-Realized have in common, and at what Mary and the non-Realized do not have in common with the Realized]

Please enter the silence of contemplation.

A Non-Duality Online Course is currently available at a reduced rate. See above for details.

[Received from Mac, 10/17/12]: "Glad to see the online teaching offered at a discount. Hopefully, more who are ready will be able to take the course. For me, the course was the beginning of the unlearning that led to the trip to the lake for a retreat and the understanding."

SHIFTING THE FOCUS FROM THAT WHICH DOES NOT WORK TO THAT WHICH DOES, Part One
A "movement" or "shift" happened here that added another parallel to the many parallels in terms of the phenomenal "experiences" and the noumenal revelations that "Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj" and "Floyd" share in common. (Many visitors over the years have said that they also shared the same parallels with "Maharaj" and "Floyd" as well.) In the case of "Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj" and "Floyd": 1. both grew up in very poor families 2. both moved to populated areas to seek employment opportunities 3. both exhibited business skills that led to their opening and operating many businesses and to their having a large number of employees working for them 4. both succeeded financially 5. both became attached to accumulating; 6. both married and had a family 7. both were initially religious 8. both moved away from organized religion and became interested in "spiritual" matters, finding and following the teachings of a big name teacher (or, in "Floyd's" case, many big name teachers) 9. both had highly religious wives who were quite displeased with the shift away from religion and toward "spirituality" 10. both began to feel empty in spite of all of their "spiritual seeking" and in spite of all of their accumulated "spiritual knowledge";
11. both began to de-accumulate after both saw that they could survive quite well on a fraction of the income they had been making 12. both had wives who were unhappy when the de-accumulation stage was entered and both had wives who became unhappy about their husbands' focus on non-duality and who blamed their unhappiness on no longer having a religious husband (The facts be known, in both cases the unhappiness involved the fact that their husbands were no longer interested in - or willing - to work 80+ hours per week and that their husbands were no longer interested in accumulating wealth and possessions and providing the rich lifestyle to which their wives had grown accustomed) 13. both eventually came to see that the religious and spiritual states were also ego-states, and both saw that there are far more steps on the "path" to complete after reaching the religious and spiritual steps and after playing those roles which are the third of seven steps on the entire "path" 14. both "lost" their wives (one via "death," the other through divorce) 15. both accelerated their seeking;

16. both entered into the "forest dweller stage" 17. both Realized 18. both began to de-accumulate even more 19. both began sharing the teachings 20. for years, both answered questions in whatever order those questions were received, though both said that the movement from identification with the false "I" / "I's" involved an exact, step-wise manner of moving along a "path" that involved "going back" in the same (but reverse order) of the way they "came in" - that is, the way that the manifestation happened and the way that the consciousness was blocked through seven stages that resulted in their becoming identified solely with their false personas, with the content of the "mind," and eventually, with the body. But the most significant awareness that finally came to both after years of offering satsang and after having answered thousands and thousands of questions was this: After years of "Maharaj" offering satsang in his loft, and after years of "Floyd" offering satsang in meeting halls and in his home and via what one site visitor called "Floyd's electronic loft," this fact became obvious to both: "Maharaj" came to see in the 1970's and into 1980 and 1981 that his approach was not working and "Floyd" finally came to see the same.

21. Both saw that many who heard the teachings are not going to understand (Maharaj reporting that "only 1 in 100,000 are going to 'get' this" understanding) 22. both soon saw that even more than expected of those who heard the teachings were not going to understand (Maharaj modifying his "guesstimate" and reporting that "only 1 in 1,000,000 are going to 'get' this" understanding) 23. eventually both saw that even far more than expected of those who heard the teachings were not going to understand (Maharaj eventually concluding that "only 1 in 10,000,000 are going to 'get' this" understanding). And the failings were not the fault of seekers. A "one -in-ten-million" estimate is proof that satsang was not working for most seekers, and the evidence here lately is proof of the same.

Both "Maharaj" and "Floyd" invited seekers to focus on the exact, step-wise "path." Yes, during satsang, "Maharaj" sometimes alluded to the steps while discussing them in no particular order - but he never once laid out the steps in the exact order in which they had to be completed. That was not his teachings style or approach.

Therefore, another movement or shift is happening here spontaneously after reflecting on the more than two decades since the teachings were first offered here and looking at the results of Maharaj sharing pointers in his loft and looking at the results of "Floyd" sharing pointers in this electronic loft: Looking objectively at his results, Maharaj's satsang method of sharing - in the end and by his own admission (only "one out of 10,000,000") - did not produce the intended outcome.

Looking objectively at the results here when using an "electronic loft" satsang method of sharing has not produced the intended outcome nearly as often as any of the three "face-to-face" methods used with seekers by which they have been led through the seven steps in order. Here, the body is growing older, of course. Mahasamadhi could be taken today, or it could be taken in twenty years.

Obviously, that cannot be known. But the decision here has been made that whatever amount of the relative existence remains shall be spent in sharing the teachings in the ways that have been seen over the last 20+ years to be the most effective methods.

Looking back over the list of those that have truly received the understanding, it is seen that Robert R. read all of the books, then took the online Advaita course and then completed some face-to-face Skype sessions to receive the final clarifications required. It was seen that Mac read all of the books, completed the online course, and then attended a retreat where he was guided through the seven steps. Mac said that the online course work inspired him to attend the retreat in order to be able to receive the final "pieces." It was seen that Andy Gugar, Jr. read all of the books, then came here for a retreat and was taken through the seven steps in order, and then returned once more for the final clarifications required. After reviewing the shifts that happened with him after attending two retreats, he reaffirmed this past week his commitment to helping spread the non-duality, nisarga understanding as presented here. As a result of seeing what has "worked" during the last 20+ years of sharing the non-duality understanding - and seeing what had not "worked" as well - changes will be made.

SHIFTING THE FOCUS FROM THAT WHICH DOES NOT WORK TO THAT WHICH DOES, Part Two

In "Part One," examples were given of seekers that were led to Realization not by satsang but by following the various protocols outlined farther down this page which provide the understanding in the step-wise, orderly, required fashion which moves seekers along a "path" that is as prescribed by Maharaj ... "going back" in the "reverse order" by which the consciousness manifested and became blocked.

However, conversations with some that just read the majority of the books have revealed that they certainly seem to have grasped the understanding and Realized as well. As a result of seeing what has "worked" during the last 20+ years of sharing the non-duality understanding - and seeing what has "not worked" as well - changes are being made. There are seven specific steps that happen when awareness-energy is "pulled" into a cycle of manifestation. When that energy manifests as conscious-energy, that formerly pure and unadulterated energy becomes "corrupted" (or "blocked" from seeing clearly) via programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, and brainwashing. Soon, there is a belief in the not-Real as a result of seven degrees of separation from an understanding of the Real. Using the method that was also employed by his contemporaries - a method which focused on offering non-duality pointers via satsang - Maharaj addressed questions in the order in which they were received. He might receive a question from a seeker at the third step and his reply would include what amounted to an invitation to move to the fourth step. The next question might come from a seeker at the first step, and the reply would include an invitation to move to the second step. The information offered to the second seeker would seemingly contradict what was offered to the first seeker, so visitors who have come here for decades have asked questions which showed how confused they were by the fact that Maharaj's statements to each visitor in his loft were "level-appropriate" yet were provided in no precise order, resulting in what seemed to be an inconsistent message. So the process overall was confusing in that seekers were told to follow the "path back" in the same way that they "came in," except in reverse order, but pointers were not given in a specific, step-wise order at all. Maharaj did recognize the seven steps that are taught here, but by offering the teachings in an order that was dictated by the order in which questions were received from seekers who were at different steps on the "path," the result was this: a pointer about moving beyond the fourth step might be followed by a pointer about moving beyond the first step, and that pointer might be followed by a pointer about how to move beyond the sixth step. The same was done on this site for seven years. The result is a collection of 1,800 or so essays discussing almost every non-duality topic that can be discussed, and the search button on the top right side of this page will now allow seekers with a question about a specific topic to find an explanation. That method, however, will never provide the manner in which the seven steps on the "path" must be transmitted and received in order to Realize Fully. An objective study of the history here of more than twenty years of offering non-duality pointers reveals this: seekers that were given pointers in the exact order in which they needed to receive them were the ones that Realized.

They read the books, then they completed the online course and / or completed seven Skype or telephone sessions or came here for a retreat (or watched the downloadable DVD version of an actual retreat, available below).

Some found that which they were seeking by reading the author's book that deal with non-duality subject matter. Via all of those venues, the steps are taught in their proper order. The essays available on this site will remain for those interested in searching for a discussion of a particular non-duality topic without charge, but the focus here until mahasamadhi is taken is going to be on offering the teachings in the step-wise fashion that has been seen to work.

THESE PAPERBACK BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH AMAZON.COM
(Four by Floyd Henderson and two by Dennis Waite. Click the picture for more information or to order)

* * * * * * *

ALL EBOOK AND PAPERBACK VERSION OF HENDERSON'S NON-DUALITY BOOKS and RECOVERY LITERATURE and FINANCIAL BOOKS are available at

Floyd Henderson's Website

Within minutes of purchase you can be reading any of the eBooks below on your mobile devices, including an iPhone, iPad, Android tablet, Android phone, laptop, home computer or on a Kindle reader. For Apple and Android, either download the eBook directly onto your device or email the eBook file to your mobile device and open the file from your email. For Kindles or other similar devices, use your USB cable to transfer the eBook to your reader.

FOR THOSE SEEKING FURTHER EXPLANATION OF THE NON-DUALITY UNDERSTANDING, AS NOTED ABOVE, SOME SEEKERS HAVE REALIZED BY USING THE METHODS BELOW, OR A COMBINATION OF THE METHODS:

WAYS THAT SEEKERS HAVE REALIZED:

I. 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, 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.

II. BY READING the explanations offered in the collection of non-duality books that are available on this site and at www.floydhenderson.com.

III. 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

IV. BY ATTENDING an Advaitin retreat with floyd and being guided through all seven steps. For details of the retreats offered, please visit the retreat information site.

V. BY ARRANGING a one-hour session via Skype or telephone with Floyd. (Skype is a free service.)

Click the button to pay and you will be contacted to arrange a date and time for the call.

VI. ALL OF THE FOLLOWING BOOKS are available at

Floyd Henderson's Website

and ALL CAN BE SENT TO FRIENDS OR FAMILY MEMBERS AS GIFTS [details at floydhenderson.com. Once on that site, click on the picture of the book you would like to send as a gift for details]

FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE: A Seven-Step Journey to the Absolute