A DAILY CONSIDERATION FOR YOU
F.: Louise Sterling is a professional writer living in Cape Town, South Africa and was at one time the co-host of this site before I encouraged her to begin her own site and share what she feels most moved to share.
[Note: One of the many series that she wrote is going to be serialized again on this site because (a) it so resonated with visitors that it generated more responses than anything ever written here before or since and because (b) in the three-and-a-half-year interim, the site has attracted many new visitors who did not have the opportunity to read her most-effectively-delivered pointers in that series which were relevant to the topic currently being addressed here.]
During the writing of that series, she was also in the process of moving into a different cottage in the community where she and her son Jesse reside. (You will hear more of him. He is a magician of the highest order and has performed not only throughout South Africa but also in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A. as well.)
In one posting, I alluded to a point that Louise shared when she relocated:
F.: "Recall that when Louise moved into her present cottage, the former occupant had left the window overlooking the garden in a dirty, contaminated condition, blocking any chance for seeing clearly. When she cleaned the contaminates away, she did not turn impure glass into pure glass. The glass was glass before the purging and the glass is glass now after 'the obstacles to seeing clearly' have been removed. The same applies to consciousness."
Here is the way she explained it specifically:
Louise: "The Advaitin Teachings invite You to de-accumulate, eliminate, remove, discard, simplify, de-clutter. The natural state is already present; but it is cluttered over with layers and layers of false conditioning. You do not need to search for and find what is true. What is true is permanent, unchanging. All that is needed is to stop holding onto these false ideas you have about yourself and the world. Here, the beautiful scene of the garden, the pear tree, the swimming pool is already present; it can be viewed through the study window. If the window is dirty, caked with layers of dust and dirt, the garden will not be visible. It may even be possible not to know the garden is there. Will praying to the garden to reveal itself help? Will visualizing the garden in all its beauty have an effect? No, all that is required is for the filth covering the window to be systematically removed, layer by layer, and the garden will appear. The garden was always present, just the perceiving mechanism was clouded. The 'journey' to Realization is like this."
So, yes, there is talk here and in other Advaitin circles about "impure or contaminated consciousness," but that is merely a means for pointing toward, and for discussing, the consciousness that is soon no longer in the same, pure condition as when it first manifests.
Yet more accurate would be to speak of the consciousness as having been "blocked" or "obstructed" or - as Louise said, made "dirty, caked, or covered by layer upon layer of filth."
That blocking and obstructing happens via the dirty, caking, filthy processes of programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing and indoctrination.
In fact, though, there is only one form of consciousness - the pure consciousness - which can be blocked, or not.
That is why it has been noted here in the past that "Christ-consciousness" and "God-consciousness" and "higher-consciousness" or "Higher Consciousness" are all concepts generated by false but highly-proud ego-states.
If Realized, it becomes understood that in Reality there are no dualities at all, including such dualities as a "higher vs. lower consciousness" or as "God-consciousness vs. non-God-consciousness" or as "Christ-consciousness vs. no consciousness of Christ" or "pure consciousness vs. impure consciousness."
In March of 2010, Louise explained it in this manner:
L.: "The conditioned consciousness that appears to 'run the show' you call 'yourself' is not what it appears to be. Your sense of individuality is the pure consciousness – the 'I AM' without attributes – to which has been added thousands of chemicals and flavorings. Just as water is pure and untainted, you can add a particular cocktail of chemicals and flavorings to produce an unlimited number of so-called 'unique' beverages, for example: Coca Cola, Fanta, tea, coffee and so on. Every beverage appears 'distinct' and 'unique', but its base is the same – pure water. The sense 'I AM', the pure consciousness before additives, is like this.
"You know yourself; you are familiar with this sense of being. Maharaj calls this your 'working capital'. The Advaitin Teachings begin from this very simple and practical starting point. However, for the seeker who is not yet ripe, even discerning the sense 'I AM' can be a very difficult task. The wild mind and emotions pull the seeker into identification with fears and desires at every turn. Nonetheless, through unwavering attention and dedication, it is possible to pull the senses back from this constant identification and rest purely in the sense 'I AM'. You may notice the additives and flavorings, but you no longer identify with them. You are able to 'set up camp' as the pure consciousness prior to conditioning. [Note: this is a beginner’s step, yet it is one of the temporary locations misidentified as the final destination. This is why the Teacher is essential – to identify the location and provide the pointers to move you to the next step of the 'journey'.]"
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
October 31, 2013
[Note: One of the many series that she wrote is going to be serialized again on this site because (a) it so resonated with visitors that it generated more responses than anything ever written here before or since and because (b) in the three-and-a-half-year interim, the site has attracted many new visitors who did not have the opportunity to read her most-effectively-delivered pointers in that series which were relevant to the topic currently being addressed here.]
During the writing of that series, she was also in the process of moving into a different cottage in the community where she and her son Jesse reside. (You will hear more of him. He is a magician of the highest order and has performed not only throughout South Africa but also in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A. as well.)
In one posting, I alluded to a point that Louise shared when she relocated:
F.: "Recall that when Louise moved into her present cottage, the former occupant had left the window overlooking the garden in a dirty, contaminated condition, blocking any chance for seeing clearly. When she cleaned the contaminates away, she did not turn impure glass into pure glass. The glass was glass before the purging and the glass is glass now after 'the obstacles to seeing clearly' have been removed. The same applies to consciousness."
Here is the way she explained it specifically:
Louise: "The Advaitin Teachings invite You to de-accumulate, eliminate, remove, discard, simplify, de-clutter. The natural state is already present; but it is cluttered over with layers and layers of false conditioning. You do not need to search for and find what is true. What is true is permanent, unchanging. All that is needed is to stop holding onto these false ideas you have about yourself and the world. Here, the beautiful scene of the garden, the pear tree, the swimming pool is already present; it can be viewed through the study window. If the window is dirty, caked with layers of dust and dirt, the garden will not be visible. It may even be possible not to know the garden is there. Will praying to the garden to reveal itself help? Will visualizing the garden in all its beauty have an effect? No, all that is required is for the filth covering the window to be systematically removed, layer by layer, and the garden will appear. The garden was always present, just the perceiving mechanism was clouded. The 'journey' to Realization is like this."
So, yes, there is talk here and in other Advaitin circles about "impure or contaminated consciousness," but that is merely a means for pointing toward, and for discussing, the consciousness that is soon no longer in the same, pure condition as when it first manifests.
Yet more accurate would be to speak of the consciousness as having been "blocked" or "obstructed" or - as Louise said, made "dirty, caked, or covered by layer upon layer of filth."
That blocking and obstructing happens via the dirty, caking, filthy processes of programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing and indoctrination.
In fact, though, there is only one form of consciousness - the pure consciousness - which can be blocked, or not.
That is why it has been noted here in the past that "Christ-consciousness" and "God-consciousness" and "higher-consciousness" or "Higher Consciousness" are all concepts generated by false but highly-proud ego-states.
If Realized, it becomes understood that in Reality there are no dualities at all, including such dualities as a "higher vs. lower consciousness" or as "God-consciousness vs. non-God-consciousness" or as "Christ-consciousness vs. no consciousness of Christ" or "pure consciousness vs. impure consciousness."
In March of 2010, Louise explained it in this manner:
L.: "The conditioned consciousness that appears to 'run the show' you call 'yourself' is not what it appears to be. Your sense of individuality is the pure consciousness – the 'I AM' without attributes – to which has been added thousands of chemicals and flavorings. Just as water is pure and untainted, you can add a particular cocktail of chemicals and flavorings to produce an unlimited number of so-called 'unique' beverages, for example: Coca Cola, Fanta, tea, coffee and so on. Every beverage appears 'distinct' and 'unique', but its base is the same – pure water. The sense 'I AM', the pure consciousness before additives, is like this.
"You know yourself; you are familiar with this sense of being. Maharaj calls this your 'working capital'. The Advaitin Teachings begin from this very simple and practical starting point. However, for the seeker who is not yet ripe, even discerning the sense 'I AM' can be a very difficult task. The wild mind and emotions pull the seeker into identification with fears and desires at every turn. Nonetheless, through unwavering attention and dedication, it is possible to pull the senses back from this constant identification and rest purely in the sense 'I AM'. You may notice the additives and flavorings, but you no longer identify with them. You are able to 'set up camp' as the pure consciousness prior to conditioning. [Note: this is a beginner’s step, yet it is one of the temporary locations misidentified as the final destination. This is why the Teacher is essential – to identify the location and provide the pointers to move you to the next step of the 'journey'.]"
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
October 31, 2013
A DAILY CONSIDERATION FOR YOU
F.:Some persons (that is, those snared in the trap of identifying with their personas) have commented on occasions over the last twenty-four years that "both Maharaj and you are too direct ... too in-your-face" with pointers.
The arrogance of thinking that one has the ability and the right to control others and what they say represents a level of arrogance of the highest order and is reserved for those truly mesmerized by the kind of deep sleep state that an ego-state can inspire.
There is no effort here to control others who claim to be offering non-dual pointers when they are not. Yet here, the point is that any and all distortions and deceptions and self-deceptions must be exposed if Truth is to be found.
Many claim to teach non-duality when they are not teaching non-duality at all, but there is no effort here to silence them. More to the point, though, is why Maharaj could "tell it like it is" (and why those that understand his methods can do the same) without experiencing any concern about "reactions."
Why? Because of the Truth revealed by the answer to the question, "WHO cares?" There are only two possible answers:
1. No one reading anything on this site that has Realized Fully could care less about what is written here. The Fully Realized will witness whatever flows via the consciousness-awareness here, and the Fully Realized will understand (if the witnessing is of the Pure Witnessing variety) that the Witnessing and I are one.
2. And if the witnessing is of the subject-object variety? Then some false "I" is reading the words and in that case, there is still no "one" to be offended; there is only an illusory ego-state that is believing that it has been offended or hurt or interfered with or threatened.
Maharaj never "threw a person out of the loft"; he did purge the environment of the egotism and arrogance and self-absorption that would impede the attempts of other visitors to reach the understanding being offered.
See? Either way, it was totally clear to Maharaj (and also totally clear here) that (A) no offense can be registered by a Fully Realized (i.e., "True Self" / Pure Witnessing) visitor and that (B) any perceived offense that might seem to register can only do so in the presence of one or more phony identities.
Any sense of hurt, interference, threat, offense or emotional intoxication can only be rooted in a false ego-state, and because ego-states are assumed but not real, they can no more be offended than can a mirage in the desert.
The posts on this site are followed by the criteria for email contact:
"Have a question? Submit it. Have a comment? Just hang on to that."
Many are still driven by such high levels of arrogance and egotism they think they have the right to ignore the criteria.
To that end, when the first words of an email reveal that some person / persona / personality / mirage / ego-state is writing to express an egotism-and-delusion-based opinion, then that email is deleted without having read it.
The Realized are sane, and deletion is the only sane approach when an email composed by a phantom ego-state appears in the inbox. To open it or read it, much less talk back to it, would be the height of insanity.
One might as well drive through a desert at 2 P.M. until one comes across a mirage that seems to appear in the road ahead, park, get out of the car, stand in the desert, cup one's palm behind one's ear, and listen for what the mirage might have to say.
Then, if one is really insane, one might think he or she can actually hear a mirage saying something, might believe that the mirage was literally heard saying what it supposedly said, and might think that it is sane to enter into a conversation with the mirage.
[Certainly such activity as the above - wherein persons try to listen to a mirage or, schizophrenically, claim to have heard a mirage speaking to them - happens all around the globe on a daily basis.
One man who is awakening to his past "reality" and to Reality - and who is becoming freed from his religious and spiritual identities and their beliefs - wrote this last week:
"Thank you Floyd. Years ago I was 'listening to God' and writing down 'guidance' and a bunch of us would meet early in the morning for coffee to share our guidance with each other. Hahaha. What a colossal waste of time. Thanks for helping me wake up. W."]
Some ego-states that read a posting on this site and begin emoting - as all ego-states do - are driven to write an email containing their thoughts or ideas or concepts or notions and beliefs (that is, their misperceptions). They would have the scenario above with the mirage play out here, as if to say: "Hey. I am writing to offend you the way you offended me. Now enter into a conversation about that with my phantom self." It shall not happen.
Wisdom does not converse with insanity or ego-states or personalities or phantoms or any other kinds of mirage-like imaginings. And it most assuredly does not engage with what Maharaj identified as the three symptoms of humankind's Ultimate Sickness, namely, "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity."
Humans - with all of their personality traits and personality flaws and personality disorders - are witnessed as they go about their day and as I go about my day and encounter them.
Ignorance, stupidity, and insanity, on the other hand, are avoided, as is the meaningless, insignificant noise that those generate, either spoken or written. It is all seen for what it is: "Much ado about nothing."
Also, when any persons reading this find either now (or at some later point thoughout their day or days or months or years) that they think they have been hurt or interfered with or insulted or threatened or offended, stop and ask,
"Okay, wait a minute. I - the witnessing - cannot be hurt or interfered with or insulted or threatened or offended. I - a composite unity of plant food elements, air, and conscious energy - cannot be hurt or interfered with or insulted or threatened or offended.
"I now see that only a mirage (a false identity / phony ego-state) can think that way, so if I would understand which ego-state is triggering my discomfort, then I need to ask honestly and objectively 'WHO cares?' Which ego-state is caring about something read, something heard, or something done?"
No one can harm You, the Real You. Only the beliefs of a false you can convince the false you, erroneously, that it has been hurt or interfered with or insulted or threatened or offended. Find the false "WHO" that is emoting, see Reality, and then turn. Turn away from the anger or discontentment that only an ego-state can generate.
In other words, if a visitor feels hurt or interfered with or insulted or threatened or offended, find the actual, phony source of your discomfort, see the phony ego-state generating your dis-ease, laugh at "your" silliness ... at "your" having been fooled by your illusory selves or what you take to be "others," and then relax and take it easy. Or not.
October 30, 2013
The arrogance of thinking that one has the ability and the right to control others and what they say represents a level of arrogance of the highest order and is reserved for those truly mesmerized by the kind of deep sleep state that an ego-state can inspire.
There is no effort here to control others who claim to be offering non-dual pointers when they are not. Yet here, the point is that any and all distortions and deceptions and self-deceptions must be exposed if Truth is to be found.
Many claim to teach non-duality when they are not teaching non-duality at all, but there is no effort here to silence them. More to the point, though, is why Maharaj could "tell it like it is" (and why those that understand his methods can do the same) without experiencing any concern about "reactions."
Why? Because of the Truth revealed by the answer to the question, "WHO cares?" There are only two possible answers:
1. No one reading anything on this site that has Realized Fully could care less about what is written here. The Fully Realized will witness whatever flows via the consciousness-awareness here, and the Fully Realized will understand (if the witnessing is of the Pure Witnessing variety) that the Witnessing and I are one.
2. And if the witnessing is of the subject-object variety? Then some false "I" is reading the words and in that case, there is still no "one" to be offended; there is only an illusory ego-state that is believing that it has been offended or hurt or interfered with or threatened.
Maharaj never "threw a person out of the loft"; he did purge the environment of the egotism and arrogance and self-absorption that would impede the attempts of other visitors to reach the understanding being offered.
See? Either way, it was totally clear to Maharaj (and also totally clear here) that (A) no offense can be registered by a Fully Realized (i.e., "True Self" / Pure Witnessing) visitor and that (B) any perceived offense that might seem to register can only do so in the presence of one or more phony identities.
Any sense of hurt, interference, threat, offense or emotional intoxication can only be rooted in a false ego-state, and because ego-states are assumed but not real, they can no more be offended than can a mirage in the desert.
The posts on this site are followed by the criteria for email contact:
"Have a question? Submit it. Have a comment? Just hang on to that."
Many are still driven by such high levels of arrogance and egotism they think they have the right to ignore the criteria.
To that end, when the first words of an email reveal that some person / persona / personality / mirage / ego-state is writing to express an egotism-and-delusion-based opinion, then that email is deleted without having read it.
The Realized are sane, and deletion is the only sane approach when an email composed by a phantom ego-state appears in the inbox. To open it or read it, much less talk back to it, would be the height of insanity.
One might as well drive through a desert at 2 P.M. until one comes across a mirage that seems to appear in the road ahead, park, get out of the car, stand in the desert, cup one's palm behind one's ear, and listen for what the mirage might have to say.
Then, if one is really insane, one might think he or she can actually hear a mirage saying something, might believe that the mirage was literally heard saying what it supposedly said, and might think that it is sane to enter into a conversation with the mirage.
[Certainly such activity as the above - wherein persons try to listen to a mirage or, schizophrenically, claim to have heard a mirage speaking to them - happens all around the globe on a daily basis.
One man who is awakening to his past "reality" and to Reality - and who is becoming freed from his religious and spiritual identities and their beliefs - wrote this last week:
"Thank you Floyd. Years ago I was 'listening to God' and writing down 'guidance' and a bunch of us would meet early in the morning for coffee to share our guidance with each other. Hahaha. What a colossal waste of time. Thanks for helping me wake up. W."]
Some ego-states that read a posting on this site and begin emoting - as all ego-states do - are driven to write an email containing their thoughts or ideas or concepts or notions and beliefs (that is, their misperceptions). They would have the scenario above with the mirage play out here, as if to say: "Hey. I am writing to offend you the way you offended me. Now enter into a conversation about that with my phantom self." It shall not happen.
Wisdom does not converse with insanity or ego-states or personalities or phantoms or any other kinds of mirage-like imaginings. And it most assuredly does not engage with what Maharaj identified as the three symptoms of humankind's Ultimate Sickness, namely, "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity."
Humans - with all of their personality traits and personality flaws and personality disorders - are witnessed as they go about their day and as I go about my day and encounter them.
Ignorance, stupidity, and insanity, on the other hand, are avoided, as is the meaningless, insignificant noise that those generate, either spoken or written. It is all seen for what it is: "Much ado about nothing."
Also, when any persons reading this find either now (or at some later point thoughout their day or days or months or years) that they think they have been hurt or interfered with or insulted or threatened or offended, stop and ask,
"Okay, wait a minute. I - the witnessing - cannot be hurt or interfered with or insulted or threatened or offended. I - a composite unity of plant food elements, air, and conscious energy - cannot be hurt or interfered with or insulted or threatened or offended.
"I now see that only a mirage (a false identity / phony ego-state) can think that way, so if I would understand which ego-state is triggering my discomfort, then I need to ask honestly and objectively 'WHO cares?' Which ego-state is caring about something read, something heard, or something done?"
No one can harm You, the Real You. Only the beliefs of a false you can convince the false you, erroneously, that it has been hurt or interfered with or insulted or threatened or offended. Find the false "WHO" that is emoting, see Reality, and then turn. Turn away from the anger or discontentment that only an ego-state can generate.
In other words, if a visitor feels hurt or interfered with or insulted or threatened or offended, find the actual, phony source of your discomfort, see the phony ego-state generating your dis-ease, laugh at "your" silliness ... at "your" having been fooled by your illusory selves or what you take to be "others," and then relax and take it easy. Or not.
October 30, 2013
A DAILY CONSIDERATION FOR YOU
Several million claim that they "are not religious" ... that they are "spiritual" instead, and that assertion is proclaimed with self-pride and a sense of a "better-than identity" and a "higher-plane identity." Some of them gather like this to discuss in their group-think fashion the "new and improved beliefs" that have been handed to them and which provide them with a "new and improved (but also false) identity":
Of those who do not believe that they already know and who are - therefore - still seeking, the majority of those are seeking via what Maharaj called the "Big Name Teachers" who claim to be offering non-dual pointers (though they most assuredly are not). Millions of them gather like this:
Moreover, that which a few seekers successfully find is - obviously - not what they were given (or they would not be seeking and would merely be gathering with "like-minded" people to reinforce their beliefs).
The feature of at least one method of teaching non-duality is that it does not offer beliefs or more knowledge and does not reinforce one's hand-me-down beliefs. To the contrary, some versions of the Direct Path Method would add nothing and would undo all learning, undo all things taught, undo all things believed.
Because the masses are asleep and therefore clueless, then one who seeks with the masses, gathers with the masses, or seeks where the masses are seeking will only find what the masses have, namely, their propensity to remain asleep and to remain clueless.
Thoreau said, "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." Likewise, if a woman does not keep pace with her companions, perhaps it is because she hears a different drummer. Let her step to the music which she hears, however measured or far away.
In certain ashrams - both during the days of Maharaj as well as now - hundreds and hundreds of people gather on sprawling properties. As is the case with most persons, non-dual seekers most often gather en masse. In Maharaj's day, only a few sought in a venue that was most unlike the places where the masses sought and where the masses continue to seek:
Small, yes? Crowded, yes? No mass gatherings. No large throngs. No multitudes. No swarms. No hordes. No mobs. No packs. No cults. No sky cults. No gangs. No cliques. No congregations. No congregants.
If you would find that which You seek, seek not where the masses seek. To seek where the masses seek is to assure that you, too, shall not hear the different drummer that can guide You along a different "path" to Truth and Reality.
Otherwise, one who joins the masses shall conform to the ways of the masses and shall think as the masses think, shall talk as the masses talk, and shall do what the masses do:
Yes, that which is sought can be pointed to in a small gathering, but it shall not be found "in a group." It is found within. Thus the original purpose of "meditation": to take, in quiet and careful consideration, spot-on pointers received and to allow them to unblock the way to the inner resource - to the inner guru - and to access that source in order to tap into the Truth within so that one can finally (for the first time post-programming, post-conditioning, post-acculturation, post-domestication, post-indoctrination, and post-brainwashing) access reality and Reality.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
October 27, 2013
F.: [Continued from the previous post]
That which a seeker is seeking is that which was not given to her or him, and that which a seeker is seeking is that which has not yet been found.
If one has - or if (as is the case most often) one delusionally believes that one has - there will be no seeking.
That which the masses have - or delusionally believe that they have - did not come to them via uncompromising and unyielding and relentless and objective seeking. That which the masses have - or delusionally believe that they have - did not come to them via unbiased and independent and dispassionate and factual questioning.
That which the masses have - or delusionally believe that they have - came to them via parental choice; via family tradition and habit and custom; via unquestioning "faith"; via forced loyalty and commitment to hand-me-down beliefs; via programming; via conditioning; via acculturation; via domestication; via indoctrination; and via brainwashing.
Research shows that ninety-seven percent among the masses on this planet claim a religious affiliation (though only 35% at any given time actually practice their religion regularly), and the ones who are actually gathering regularly do so in order to blindly reinforce their legacy, namely, their handed-down set of beliefs based in myth and superstition. They are not seeking. They are merely gathering together with other of their same ilk, sometimes crowded into venues like this:
or like this:
That which a seeker is seeking is that which was not given to her or him, and that which a seeker is seeking is that which has not yet been found.
If one has - or if (as is the case most often) one delusionally believes that one has - there will be no seeking.
That which the masses have - or delusionally believe that they have - did not come to them via uncompromising and unyielding and relentless and objective seeking. That which the masses have - or delusionally believe that they have - did not come to them via unbiased and independent and dispassionate and factual questioning.
That which the masses have - or delusionally believe that they have - came to them via parental choice; via family tradition and habit and custom; via unquestioning "faith"; via forced loyalty and commitment to hand-me-down beliefs; via programming; via conditioning; via acculturation; via domestication; via indoctrination; and via brainwashing.
Research shows that ninety-seven percent among the masses on this planet claim a religious affiliation (though only 35% at any given time actually practice their religion regularly), and the ones who are actually gathering regularly do so in order to blindly reinforce their legacy, namely, their handed-down set of beliefs based in myth and superstition. They are not seeking. They are merely gathering together with other of their same ilk, sometimes crowded into venues like this:
or like this:
Several million claim that they "are not religious" ... that they are "spiritual" instead, and that assertion is proclaimed with self-pride and a sense of a "better-than identity" and a "higher-plane identity." Some of them gather like this to discuss in their group-think fashion the "new and improved beliefs" that have been handed to them and which provide them with a "new and improved (but also false) identity":
Of those who do not believe that they already know and who are - therefore - still seeking, the majority of those are seeking via what Maharaj called the "Big Name Teachers" who claim to be offering non-dual pointers (though they most assuredly are not). Millions of them gather like this:
Moreover, that which a few seekers successfully find is - obviously - not what they were given (or they would not be seeking and would merely be gathering with "like-minded" people to reinforce their beliefs).
The feature of at least one method of teaching non-duality is that it does not offer beliefs or more knowledge and does not reinforce one's hand-me-down beliefs. To the contrary, some versions of the Direct Path Method would add nothing and would undo all learning, undo all things taught, undo all things believed.
Because the masses are asleep and therefore clueless, then one who seeks with the masses, gathers with the masses, or seeks where the masses are seeking will only find what the masses have, namely, their propensity to remain asleep and to remain clueless.
Thoreau said, "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." Likewise, if a woman does not keep pace with her companions, perhaps it is because she hears a different drummer. Let her step to the music which she hears, however measured or far away.
In certain ashrams - both during the days of Maharaj as well as now - hundreds and hundreds of people gather on sprawling properties. As is the case with most persons, non-dual seekers most often gather en masse. In Maharaj's day, only a few sought in a venue that was most unlike the places where the masses sought and where the masses continue to seek:
Small, yes? Crowded, yes? No mass gatherings. No large throngs. No multitudes. No swarms. No hordes. No mobs. No packs. No cults. No sky cults. No gangs. No cliques. No congregations. No congregants.
If you would find that which You seek, seek not where the masses seek. To seek where the masses seek is to assure that you, too, shall not hear the different drummer that can guide You along a different "path" to Truth and Reality.
Otherwise, one who joins the masses shall conform to the ways of the masses and shall think as the masses think, shall talk as the masses talk, and shall do what the masses do:
Yes, that which is sought can be pointed to in a small gathering, but it shall not be found "in a group." It is found within. Thus the original purpose of "meditation": to take, in quiet and careful consideration, spot-on pointers received and to allow them to unblock the way to the inner resource - to the inner guru - and to access that source in order to tap into the Truth within so that one can finally (for the first time post-programming, post-conditioning, post-acculturation, post-domestication, post-indoctrination, and post-brainwashing) access reality and Reality.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
October 27, 2013
A DAILY CONSIDERATION FOR YOU
F.: Maharaj warned his visitors to stay away from what he called "Big Name Teachers." Why? Consider:
Maharaj had the smallest number of visitors in comparison to his non-dual teaching contemporaries because - in parts of his early message and in all parts of his later message - he had purged from his offerings the "popular" pointers that others were teaching. If so-called non-dual teachers have a big name - that is, if they are well-known and popular - such is the case because their teachings are sprinkled with popular non-dual concepts or, in most cases, are not even non-dual at all.
Consider some of the topics discussed by those who are popular among the non-Realized masses but are mistakenly believed to be "enlightened":
"Change Your Thoughts" (as opposed to "be free of your ceaseless thinking"); "Your Ultimate Calling" (and that would involve being called by whom?); "Being Successful"; "Getting Power" and "Getting Power Now"; "Advancing Your Spirit";
"The Infinite Self"; having an "Ageless Body" and an "Ageless Mind"; "Fulfilling Desires"; "Spiritual Laws"; "Knowing God"; "Love Everything That Happens to You" (including having your child killed or your being raped, according to one former disciple of that teacher); and "Nothing Is Real," to name a few of the topics raised by "Big Name Teachers."
Those discussing relative issues presented in a non-dual cloak are seeing clearly only to the degree that they see clearly how many millions of dollars can be made from the misguided seekers among the masses that end up giving credibility and funding to those teachers, but those listening to them see nothing clearly ... and will not as long as they are listening to those who are feeding the desires of the non-Realized or playing upon their fears.
So the question is, "How clearly are you seeing?" (Before answering, note that not only those who see clearly but also those who do not see clearly both believe wholeheartedly that they are seeing clearly.)
The home here is situated on a long peninsula jutting out into, and surrounded on three sides by, Lake Conroe. The roads and streets and residential areas have been carved out of what was once a vast pine forest. Even after so much development, the area has preserved much of the forest, though it will continue to be reduced in size over the coming decades.
There remains enough of the original pine forest that, in the spring when the pines are sending out their sperm cells to their female parts, their plant sperm (pollen) coats everything in a yellow dusting or even a thick coating in the absence of rain.
Everything looks yellow, but of course it is not; actual colors are merely obscured, so black and white and green and wooden shingles on rooftops all appear to be yellow shingles.
Gray roadways and gray streets and gray driveways and gray sidewalks all appear to be yellow. Sometimes, even green lawns appear to be all-yellow. Patios, patio umbrellas, outdoor tables, outdoor grills, scatterings of toys left outside ... all appear to be yellow.
Black cars, red cars, white cars, blue cars, gray cars, beige cars (in fact - every vehicle of any color that is parked outside) appears yellow during the season of pollination.
Yet it is all illusion, and that becomes clear when the rains come and begin to wash the pollen away in rivers of yellow that run along curbsides and empty like waterfalls into the storm drains.
Concepts presented by "Big Names Teachers" are like the thick coatings of pollen. A car might be dirty - the time when a wash was needed being long overdue - but then a second layer of pollution is overlaid on top of the original contaminants.
So it is among those seeking via "Big Name Teachers": the seekers' original and continuing programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing, and indoctrination have formed a layer of contamination that obscures the consciousness and blocks any effort to see clearly.
Then, the "Big Names Teachers" come along and the gullible seekers are subjected to another layer of pollution that further obscures the consciousness; the result is that nothing will be seen clearly.
Actual non-dual pointers are the cleansing rain in the metaphor. Those rain may fall slowly in the beginning, much like a light drizzle; but a light drizzle here does not clear away the pollen; then rain might begin to fall for a spell and past through the area; those fleeting showers do not completely clear away the pollen, either.
But eventually, a huge, lingering storm will pass through and drop a wall of water; that can intensify into torrents that bring a deluge so that floods follow, truly washing away all of the contaminants that had caused everything to appear to be a dull yellow in color and revealing the bright, beautiful colors that had not been seen for a very long time.
So, how clearly are you really seeing? Have the rains come to wash away all of the nonsense that is coating the consciousness and blocking it from allowing You to be Fully Aware? If not, you might try being more selective in your search. You will if you understand what makes "a popular person" popular or makes "a popular teacher" popular and what actually makes a "Big Name Teacher" a big name teacher.
The Nisarga yoga is the least popular yoga of all. It invites seekers to set aside all things unnatural and all things supernatural (i.e., philosophical, religious, ideological, spiritual, holy, saintly, pious, dogmatic, devout, divine, mystical, psychic, ad infinitum), then to see both "reality" (the present Am-ness) and Reality clearly, and afterwards to abide naturally.
If that has no appeal, then you might also end up believing those who teach that "nothing is real." In that case, the recommendation here has always been to find a brick wall. Place your back against it. Walk off fifteen paces. Turn and face the wall. Lower your head so that your chest is parallel to the ground and so that the top of your head is facing the wall. Then run as fast as you can at the wall and do not stop until you crash head first into the bricks and fall to the ground.
When you come to, you might determine that there are some things that actually are real - such as bricks - and you might see clearly that the understanding is not that bricks are not real but that they are simply not what they appear to be (a fact that can be made clear by looking at the brick by use of an electron microscope which can allow one to see clearly "a swirling mass of subatomic particles" rather than "brick").
Or, you can "accept" the blocking of the consciousness and try to "love what is," which - in the case of those taking that approach - will allow them to experience
(1) a fleeting glimpse of what seems to be "peace," followed by continuing distortion and delusion and misery and suffering ... including the misery and suffering that are denied but which are manifest, nevertheless;
and which will allow them to experience
(2) a huge drain on their bank accounts after paying thousands of dollars for the chance to hear that message of denial and ignorance at a weekend or week-long gathering.
So many, unconsciously or unconsciously, know that they need to see something clearly that they have not yet seen; yet in the venues where persons are searching, their teachers have no more ability to see clearly than do the seekers coming their way.
The answer: seek not the unnatural and seek not the supernatural. Seek the natural. How to find the limited venues where the natural is endorsed over the unnatural and the supernatural? The natural is not popular when compared to the high regard that the masses give to things unnatural and supernatural; so, seek not where the masses seek. See? It's really simple. That is the simple answer regarding where to seek and where not to seek, and that is the advice Maharaj offered.
Seek not among the "popular" because "popular" and "sane" will never appear side by side; nor will "popularity" and "wisdom" appear side by side; and neither will "popular" and "reality & Reality" ever appear side by side.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
October 24, 2013
Maharaj had the smallest number of visitors in comparison to his non-dual teaching contemporaries because - in parts of his early message and in all parts of his later message - he had purged from his offerings the "popular" pointers that others were teaching. If so-called non-dual teachers have a big name - that is, if they are well-known and popular - such is the case because their teachings are sprinkled with popular non-dual concepts or, in most cases, are not even non-dual at all.
Consider some of the topics discussed by those who are popular among the non-Realized masses but are mistakenly believed to be "enlightened":
"Change Your Thoughts" (as opposed to "be free of your ceaseless thinking"); "Your Ultimate Calling" (and that would involve being called by whom?); "Being Successful"; "Getting Power" and "Getting Power Now"; "Advancing Your Spirit";
"The Infinite Self"; having an "Ageless Body" and an "Ageless Mind"; "Fulfilling Desires"; "Spiritual Laws"; "Knowing God"; "Love Everything That Happens to You" (including having your child killed or your being raped, according to one former disciple of that teacher); and "Nothing Is Real," to name a few of the topics raised by "Big Name Teachers."
Those discussing relative issues presented in a non-dual cloak are seeing clearly only to the degree that they see clearly how many millions of dollars can be made from the misguided seekers among the masses that end up giving credibility and funding to those teachers, but those listening to them see nothing clearly ... and will not as long as they are listening to those who are feeding the desires of the non-Realized or playing upon their fears.
So the question is, "How clearly are you seeing?" (Before answering, note that not only those who see clearly but also those who do not see clearly both believe wholeheartedly that they are seeing clearly.)
The home here is situated on a long peninsula jutting out into, and surrounded on three sides by, Lake Conroe. The roads and streets and residential areas have been carved out of what was once a vast pine forest. Even after so much development, the area has preserved much of the forest, though it will continue to be reduced in size over the coming decades.
There remains enough of the original pine forest that, in the spring when the pines are sending out their sperm cells to their female parts, their plant sperm (pollen) coats everything in a yellow dusting or even a thick coating in the absence of rain.
Everything looks yellow, but of course it is not; actual colors are merely obscured, so black and white and green and wooden shingles on rooftops all appear to be yellow shingles.
Gray roadways and gray streets and gray driveways and gray sidewalks all appear to be yellow. Sometimes, even green lawns appear to be all-yellow. Patios, patio umbrellas, outdoor tables, outdoor grills, scatterings of toys left outside ... all appear to be yellow.
Black cars, red cars, white cars, blue cars, gray cars, beige cars (in fact - every vehicle of any color that is parked outside) appears yellow during the season of pollination.
Yet it is all illusion, and that becomes clear when the rains come and begin to wash the pollen away in rivers of yellow that run along curbsides and empty like waterfalls into the storm drains.
Concepts presented by "Big Names Teachers" are like the thick coatings of pollen. A car might be dirty - the time when a wash was needed being long overdue - but then a second layer of pollution is overlaid on top of the original contaminants.
So it is among those seeking via "Big Name Teachers": the seekers' original and continuing programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing, and indoctrination have formed a layer of contamination that obscures the consciousness and blocks any effort to see clearly.
Then, the "Big Names Teachers" come along and the gullible seekers are subjected to another layer of pollution that further obscures the consciousness; the result is that nothing will be seen clearly.
Actual non-dual pointers are the cleansing rain in the metaphor. Those rain may fall slowly in the beginning, much like a light drizzle; but a light drizzle here does not clear away the pollen; then rain might begin to fall for a spell and past through the area; those fleeting showers do not completely clear away the pollen, either.
But eventually, a huge, lingering storm will pass through and drop a wall of water; that can intensify into torrents that bring a deluge so that floods follow, truly washing away all of the contaminants that had caused everything to appear to be a dull yellow in color and revealing the bright, beautiful colors that had not been seen for a very long time.
So, how clearly are you really seeing? Have the rains come to wash away all of the nonsense that is coating the consciousness and blocking it from allowing You to be Fully Aware? If not, you might try being more selective in your search. You will if you understand what makes "a popular person" popular or makes "a popular teacher" popular and what actually makes a "Big Name Teacher" a big name teacher.
The Nisarga yoga is the least popular yoga of all. It invites seekers to set aside all things unnatural and all things supernatural (i.e., philosophical, religious, ideological, spiritual, holy, saintly, pious, dogmatic, devout, divine, mystical, psychic, ad infinitum), then to see both "reality" (the present Am-ness) and Reality clearly, and afterwards to abide naturally.
If that has no appeal, then you might also end up believing those who teach that "nothing is real." In that case, the recommendation here has always been to find a brick wall. Place your back against it. Walk off fifteen paces. Turn and face the wall. Lower your head so that your chest is parallel to the ground and so that the top of your head is facing the wall. Then run as fast as you can at the wall and do not stop until you crash head first into the bricks and fall to the ground.
When you come to, you might determine that there are some things that actually are real - such as bricks - and you might see clearly that the understanding is not that bricks are not real but that they are simply not what they appear to be (a fact that can be made clear by looking at the brick by use of an electron microscope which can allow one to see clearly "a swirling mass of subatomic particles" rather than "brick").
Or, you can "accept" the blocking of the consciousness and try to "love what is," which - in the case of those taking that approach - will allow them to experience
(1) a fleeting glimpse of what seems to be "peace," followed by continuing distortion and delusion and misery and suffering ... including the misery and suffering that are denied but which are manifest, nevertheless;
and which will allow them to experience
(2) a huge drain on their bank accounts after paying thousands of dollars for the chance to hear that message of denial and ignorance at a weekend or week-long gathering.
So many, unconsciously or unconsciously, know that they need to see something clearly that they have not yet seen; yet in the venues where persons are searching, their teachers have no more ability to see clearly than do the seekers coming their way.
The answer: seek not the unnatural and seek not the supernatural. Seek the natural. How to find the limited venues where the natural is endorsed over the unnatural and the supernatural? The natural is not popular when compared to the high regard that the masses give to things unnatural and supernatural; so, seek not where the masses seek. See? It's really simple. That is the simple answer regarding where to seek and where not to seek, and that is the advice Maharaj offered.
Seek not among the "popular" because "popular" and "sane" will never appear side by side; nor will "popularity" and "wisdom" appear side by side; and neither will "popular" and "reality & Reality" ever appear side by side.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
October 24, 2013
A DAILY CONSIDERATION FOR YOU
F.: Maharaj noted accurately that the Ultimate Sickness - which is suffered by all among the non-Realized masses - is marked by "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity." Note that those all deal with "the mind."
Because the approach used with seekers here since 1989 has been to (A) note that humanity's main problem centers in "the mind" and to (B) share the fact that the non-dual understanding has been able in some cases to address the Sickness rooted in "the mind" of people all around the globe, this site over the years has attracted the interest of many psychologists and therapists and counselors.
In conversations with them, many have spoken of the resistance of their clientele to address any of the seminal issues of their childhood that are still, subconsciously, driving their often-insane behavior as adults.
While their childhood issues played a decisive role in forming their primary personality type (and in forming the other personality types that are driving them in their multiple-personality-plagued adulthood and in determining their present adulthood thoughts and words and actions that were shaped by their childhood) most nevertheless dismiss and minimize the influences of their childhood events and the absence of effective parenting skills during those days.
So these tools of denial are used:
"That was then; this is now! Let's stick to our problems today instead of focusing on what happened 35 and 40 years ago, okay?"
or
"We came in here to fix our marriage, not to talk about what our parents did and didn't do decades ago!"
And in their egotism-inspired defense of parents who actually had no understanding of proper parenting techniques at all, clients often resort to this statement of avoidance which many counselors have said they hear most frequently when clients are asked to consider - without resentment or anger - any shortcoming of their parents that might be affecting them now as adults:
"Hey, they did the best they could! Leave them alone."
One therapist says that she sometimes tries to wake up the most stubborn males among her clientele in this way:
Client: "Hey, they did the best they could!"
She: "So did Hitler. Yet the effects of his actions even to this day are affecting people all around the globe, and it does no good for the affected to deny that."
One therapist who taught elementary-age children before going into the counseling profession said that she is often reminded of the schoolyard fights that broke out during recess. She always knew that a blow was about to be thrown when she heard the words screamed, "Don't you dare talk about my momma!"
She said that she often has a sense that - rather than talking with the 45-year-old adult seated before her - that she is speaking to a six-year-old with that same "don't-you-dare-talk-about-my-momma-or-daddy" mentality.
An egotism-driven ego-state hates the notion of admitting that one parent might be flawed. To admit that one parent might have damaged one's psyche is - by way of the warped thinking of some persons - might be to also admit that if one is the product of 50%-flawed loins, then one might be half-flawed as well;
to admit that both parents passed on flawed thinking and false beliefs would be - to a pride-based ego-state - an admission that one is totally flawed. The ego cannot stand that; hence, the resistance that many counselors witness when they invite clients to find not only the ways that they are presently manifesting dysfunctionalism but to find the roots of their dysfunctionalism as well.
Yet the wise know that (1) the main problem of humanity centers in "the mind"; the wise know that (2) the main problems with "the mind" are rooted in childhood programming and conditioning and acculturation and domestication and brainwashing and indoctrination; and they know that (3) it is the way of the mind to normalize that which was - and still is - totally abnormal ... totally unnatural.
Once the early conditioning process is complete, then the remainder of the existence will be driven by that conditioning, no matter how non-Nisargan (that is, no matter how unnatural) one's mode of living and functioning and thinking and talking and behaving might be.
By way of comparison, consider this illustration:
Southwest of Oslo, Norway, the fresh-water Drammen River flows into fjord-fed salt water. At the point of convergence, the merging waters are neither purely fresh water nor purely salt water. One might conclude that neither fresh water fish nor salt-water fish would be found there, and they are correct to a degree;
however, researchers have found that certain fish have been warped or distorted or deformed or bent or twisted or perverted and have become conditioned to living in impure, dual-natured, hybrid water; thus, they are no longer pure, fresh water fish or pure salt water fish. They are an impure, perverted version of what nature originally intended, and so it is with the non-Realized masses.
One author wrote of the perverted species and how they are completely abnormal, completely unnatural, but it is the way it is in those somewhat-brackish, somewhat-pure waters. Of the species now living there, he wrote that now they are "so perverted they couldn't cope with the water [that] normal life forms have to have."
And the same is now true of the masses on this planet: they were conditioned early on to live in an impure, dual-natured manner, that is, living under the auspices of the impure or blocked consciousness that drives their dual-mindedness.
And in that regard, the Realized understand the Advaitin's pointer that "a dual-minded person will be unstable in all ways."
Yet how aware of that fact are those fighting with counselors in an effort to preserve the illusion of their assumed ego-states? Not at all. As is the case with the perverted fish that have been conditioned to live in an abnormal, unnatural way in the dualistic waters where the Drammen River meets the "Drammensfjorden," so it is with the masses who are abiding in an unnatural, abnormal manner in the duality of their dreamed up "world."
And in their subconscious efforts to protect their illusory identities by using denial and minimization, the masses are assured that their sleep in a "world" that is a product of dreams (and nightmares) will not be interrupted.
Moreover, just as the offspring of the abnormal, unnatural fish living in the hybrid, dualistic waters of Norway are also abnormal and unnatural, so it is with the offspring of the non-Realized masses.
So it is, but so it need not be.
October 22, 2013
Because the approach used with seekers here since 1989 has been to (A) note that humanity's main problem centers in "the mind" and to (B) share the fact that the non-dual understanding has been able in some cases to address the Sickness rooted in "the mind" of people all around the globe, this site over the years has attracted the interest of many psychologists and therapists and counselors.
In conversations with them, many have spoken of the resistance of their clientele to address any of the seminal issues of their childhood that are still, subconsciously, driving their often-insane behavior as adults.
While their childhood issues played a decisive role in forming their primary personality type (and in forming the other personality types that are driving them in their multiple-personality-plagued adulthood and in determining their present adulthood thoughts and words and actions that were shaped by their childhood) most nevertheless dismiss and minimize the influences of their childhood events and the absence of effective parenting skills during those days.
So these tools of denial are used:
"That was then; this is now! Let's stick to our problems today instead of focusing on what happened 35 and 40 years ago, okay?"
or
"We came in here to fix our marriage, not to talk about what our parents did and didn't do decades ago!"
And in their egotism-inspired defense of parents who actually had no understanding of proper parenting techniques at all, clients often resort to this statement of avoidance which many counselors have said they hear most frequently when clients are asked to consider - without resentment or anger - any shortcoming of their parents that might be affecting them now as adults:
"Hey, they did the best they could! Leave them alone."
One therapist says that she sometimes tries to wake up the most stubborn males among her clientele in this way:
Client: "Hey, they did the best they could!"
She: "So did Hitler. Yet the effects of his actions even to this day are affecting people all around the globe, and it does no good for the affected to deny that."
One therapist who taught elementary-age children before going into the counseling profession said that she is often reminded of the schoolyard fights that broke out during recess. She always knew that a blow was about to be thrown when she heard the words screamed, "Don't you dare talk about my momma!"
She said that she often has a sense that - rather than talking with the 45-year-old adult seated before her - that she is speaking to a six-year-old with that same "don't-you-dare-talk-about-my-momma-or-daddy" mentality.
An egotism-driven ego-state hates the notion of admitting that one parent might be flawed. To admit that one parent might have damaged one's psyche is - by way of the warped thinking of some persons - might be to also admit that if one is the product of 50%-flawed loins, then one might be half-flawed as well;
to admit that both parents passed on flawed thinking and false beliefs would be - to a pride-based ego-state - an admission that one is totally flawed. The ego cannot stand that; hence, the resistance that many counselors witness when they invite clients to find not only the ways that they are presently manifesting dysfunctionalism but to find the roots of their dysfunctionalism as well.
Yet the wise know that (1) the main problem of humanity centers in "the mind"; the wise know that (2) the main problems with "the mind" are rooted in childhood programming and conditioning and acculturation and domestication and brainwashing and indoctrination; and they know that (3) it is the way of the mind to normalize that which was - and still is - totally abnormal ... totally unnatural.
Once the early conditioning process is complete, then the remainder of the existence will be driven by that conditioning, no matter how non-Nisargan (that is, no matter how unnatural) one's mode of living and functioning and thinking and talking and behaving might be.
By way of comparison, consider this illustration:
Southwest of Oslo, Norway, the fresh-water Drammen River flows into fjord-fed salt water. At the point of convergence, the merging waters are neither purely fresh water nor purely salt water. One might conclude that neither fresh water fish nor salt-water fish would be found there, and they are correct to a degree;
however, researchers have found that certain fish have been warped or distorted or deformed or bent or twisted or perverted and have become conditioned to living in impure, dual-natured, hybrid water; thus, they are no longer pure, fresh water fish or pure salt water fish. They are an impure, perverted version of what nature originally intended, and so it is with the non-Realized masses.
One author wrote of the perverted species and how they are completely abnormal, completely unnatural, but it is the way it is in those somewhat-brackish, somewhat-pure waters. Of the species now living there, he wrote that now they are "so perverted they couldn't cope with the water [that] normal life forms have to have."
And the same is now true of the masses on this planet: they were conditioned early on to live in an impure, dual-natured manner, that is, living under the auspices of the impure or blocked consciousness that drives their dual-mindedness.
And in that regard, the Realized understand the Advaitin's pointer that "a dual-minded person will be unstable in all ways."
Yet how aware of that fact are those fighting with counselors in an effort to preserve the illusion of their assumed ego-states? Not at all. As is the case with the perverted fish that have been conditioned to live in an abnormal, unnatural way in the dualistic waters where the Drammen River meets the "Drammensfjorden," so it is with the masses who are abiding in an unnatural, abnormal manner in the duality of their dreamed up "world."
And in their subconscious efforts to protect their illusory identities by using denial and minimization, the masses are assured that their sleep in a "world" that is a product of dreams (and nightmares) will not be interrupted.
Moreover, just as the offspring of the abnormal, unnatural fish living in the hybrid, dualistic waters of Norway are also abnormal and unnatural, so it is with the offspring of the non-Realized masses.
So it is, but so it need not be.
October 22, 2013
A DAILY CONSIDERATION FOR YOU
F.: In 1987, a novel entitled "Sleeping with the Enemy" was published, followed in 1991 by the movie version of that book.
Some psychologists might used the term "sleeping with the enemy" when discussing the notion of "giving someone else free rent in your head," making clear that one's misery is rooted in an internal obsession rather than something or someone external.
Or they might use the term when pointing out that someone is in a relationship in which that person is dealing with someone who is totally out of control. Some advisers might use the term when one is dealing with someone whose relative existence is marked by "self-will run riot."
Some marriage therapists - while encouraging partners to find and address their own personality defects that they are bringing into the relationship - use the term to describe the fact that (no matter how much one party might change) the other partner is so destructive and self-destructive and / or endangering that one needs to move out for her or his own safety, whether that safety refers to mental, emotional, physical, or financial safety.
The term has been used in some instances where it was clear that, though one party in a "personal relationship" or in a business partnership had plenty of personality traits that needed to be discarded, it was far clearer that he or she was dealing with a lover or spouse or partner who was so insane that the mental, emotional, psychological and financial harm being generated repeatedly was not going to stop. Even as such behavior was witnessed, partners have been seen to stay in the mess that was accurately identified as a case of "sleeping with the enemy" (indicating that insanity is actually driving the thoughts and words and actions of both members of the relationship).
So why do persons stay in such situations? Because they are being driven by the agendas of their multiple personalities. Personality Type Ones stay in clearly-futile situations because they want to be seen as being perfect. Type Twos stay because they had a father who could not and did not give love, so they are on a quest to be loved. Type Threes stay because, above all else, they fear failure and a poor public image.
Type Fours and Fives and Sevens and Nines stay because they are driven to avoid, including avoiding the taking of actions that are clearly being called for. Type Eights stay because they really believe that they can control the other party, so they stay and fight. Type Sixes stay because they want caretakers, and they will put up with what no one should put up with as long as they have a co-dependent partner who is providing shelter, clothes, food, etc., damn the toll on their happiness and / or safety.
And many stay because of the insane perception (misperception) that they presently have a better lifestyle than they could have if alone.
For the most part, though, the enemy of those among the non-Realized masses is within, not without, and that is why most are sleeping with the enemy, even if alone.
Thus, the enemy within is ...
the content of the mind, containing all of the false ideas and concepts and notions and perceptions / misperceptions and thoughts and designs and plans and schemes and impressions and opinions and views and theories (a.k.a., "beliefs") that were implanted via programming and conditioning and domestication and brainwashing and indoctrination, along with the acculturation that puts persons to sleep, even as they believe that they are fully awake.
Yet they are actually walking in their sleep, talking in their sleep, driving in their sleep and, in fact, doing everything that they do while asleep but "sure" that they are awake. They are totally unawake, unconscious, and unaware:
Maharaj: "To be aware is to be awake. Unaware means asleep."
He said, "As I look at you, you all seem asleep, dreaming up words of your own. I am aware, for I imagine nothing."
Maharaj said, "To be a person is to be asleep." That is, if you accept any persona - any personality - as an identity, then you are asleep. You have been totally fooled. And the enemy within is the accumulation of beliefs that drive you to fear and to desire and to suffer.
Ignorance is not bliss. And sleep-walking and sleep-talking are not blissful. Ignorance is merely ignorance, and sleep-walking and sleep-talking are merely sleep-walking and sleep-talking.
Moreover, being asleep while believing one is awake and aware is also ignorance. And ignorance - the enemy within - brings physical pain and emotional and mental suffering.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
October 21, 2013
Some psychologists might used the term "sleeping with the enemy" when discussing the notion of "giving someone else free rent in your head," making clear that one's misery is rooted in an internal obsession rather than something or someone external.
Or they might use the term when pointing out that someone is in a relationship in which that person is dealing with someone who is totally out of control. Some advisers might use the term when one is dealing with someone whose relative existence is marked by "self-will run riot."
Some marriage therapists - while encouraging partners to find and address their own personality defects that they are bringing into the relationship - use the term to describe the fact that (no matter how much one party might change) the other partner is so destructive and self-destructive and / or endangering that one needs to move out for her or his own safety, whether that safety refers to mental, emotional, physical, or financial safety.
The term has been used in some instances where it was clear that, though one party in a "personal relationship" or in a business partnership had plenty of personality traits that needed to be discarded, it was far clearer that he or she was dealing with a lover or spouse or partner who was so insane that the mental, emotional, psychological and financial harm being generated repeatedly was not going to stop. Even as such behavior was witnessed, partners have been seen to stay in the mess that was accurately identified as a case of "sleeping with the enemy" (indicating that insanity is actually driving the thoughts and words and actions of both members of the relationship).
So why do persons stay in such situations? Because they are being driven by the agendas of their multiple personalities. Personality Type Ones stay in clearly-futile situations because they want to be seen as being perfect. Type Twos stay because they had a father who could not and did not give love, so they are on a quest to be loved. Type Threes stay because, above all else, they fear failure and a poor public image.
Type Fours and Fives and Sevens and Nines stay because they are driven to avoid, including avoiding the taking of actions that are clearly being called for. Type Eights stay because they really believe that they can control the other party, so they stay and fight. Type Sixes stay because they want caretakers, and they will put up with what no one should put up with as long as they have a co-dependent partner who is providing shelter, clothes, food, etc., damn the toll on their happiness and / or safety.
And many stay because of the insane perception (misperception) that they presently have a better lifestyle than they could have if alone.
For the most part, though, the enemy of those among the non-Realized masses is within, not without, and that is why most are sleeping with the enemy, even if alone.
Thus, the enemy within is ...
the content of the mind, containing all of the false ideas and concepts and notions and perceptions / misperceptions and thoughts and designs and plans and schemes and impressions and opinions and views and theories (a.k.a., "beliefs") that were implanted via programming and conditioning and domestication and brainwashing and indoctrination, along with the acculturation that puts persons to sleep, even as they believe that they are fully awake.
Yet they are actually walking in their sleep, talking in their sleep, driving in their sleep and, in fact, doing everything that they do while asleep but "sure" that they are awake. They are totally unawake, unconscious, and unaware:
Maharaj: "To be aware is to be awake. Unaware means asleep."
He said, "As I look at you, you all seem asleep, dreaming up words of your own. I am aware, for I imagine nothing."
Maharaj said, "To be a person is to be asleep." That is, if you accept any persona - any personality - as an identity, then you are asleep. You have been totally fooled. And the enemy within is the accumulation of beliefs that drive you to fear and to desire and to suffer.
Ignorance is not bliss. And sleep-walking and sleep-talking are not blissful. Ignorance is merely ignorance, and sleep-walking and sleep-talking are merely sleep-walking and sleep-talking.
Moreover, being asleep while believing one is awake and aware is also ignorance. And ignorance - the enemy within - brings physical pain and emotional and mental suffering.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
October 21, 2013
A DAILY CONSIDERATION FOR YOU
F.: Of all of the non-dual teachers in Bombay / Mumbai during the time of Maharaj, he provided the smallest of all spaces where visitors gathered. Rather than requiring a large ashram, his small loft accommodated the relatively small number of guests who came his way, comparatively speaking. Certainly the same has been true here as well over the last twenty-four years.
Cathy Boucher, in describing her January, 1978 visit to 10 Ketwadi Lane, gives insight into why that was the case, the reasons including Maharaj's unique take on "spirituality" and his invitation to abide naturally rather than supernaturally ("spiritually") or unnaturally ("religiously"):
She said, "We Westerners were eager for the instruction which was so direct. Maharaj had little patience for Western intellectualism, spiritual concepts, and marketplace mentality, and over the time I was there, he threw some people out."
(Later, regarding his lack of patience for "spiritual concepts," she noted that "He ... was intent on unmasking all spiritual fraud.")
On her first day, she wondered "if I was insane to have come all this way" because "his intensity was simultaneously frightening and captivating." But what she soon found regarding the physically diminutive but intimidating teacher in the loft was this: "He wasn’t angry, he was just pure intensity."
She also found this, eventually: "What I was to learn on other occasions was that he was also pure Love." Of her first visit, she explained:
"It was customary to prostrate before him and I could feel certain 'American' resistances within myself to bowing down before another human being. The translator explained that the prostration meant, 'none of me, only you'. Prostration became increasingly blissful the more I did it, but this was only my first time and I was anxious and uncomfortable."
She wrote: "As time went on in this little room, I realized that Maharaj had a very direct way of pointing out our self nature, that he had practical instruction."
[Regular visitors to this site will recall that, from the very beginning, it was also noted that what would be offered here was properly characterized as being "Applied Advaita." Topics about relative happenings which illustrate the symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness that non-duality can treat (namely, what Maharaj called "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity") are discussed; then, pointers based in the non-dual understanding are offered for seeing clearly what is behind such issues, for transcending the effects of such forces, and for abiding in a natural fashion as happens during the pre-manifestation state when there is only the original nature.]
While some gurus of his day inspired many to "drop out" or "live in an ashram," Boucher noted that the message offered by M. was:
"You should live the domestic life like a labourer, who does his work always with an eye on his wages. In the same way you should work sincerely for the wages, that is, earn enough money to maintain your family ...." Yet it is "the body alone [that] should be engaged in work," meaning that no mind or personality should be at play during one's employment.
So what of this "dropping out" and becoming a "Spiritual Giant"? Rejecting those notions left Maharaj one of the least popular teachers of his day. While many needed huge ashrams and large receiving areas for those who came their way, Maharaj never required any more than a small loft. Here, a Direct, Nisargan version of non-duality is offered and, similarly, is sought and grasped by the few, not by the many.
Boucher continued: "Up until I had met Sri Nisargadatta, my concept of a Self-Realized sage was that of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, who was totally removed from worldly life. Meeting Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj on a noisy street in Bombay would shatter most of my concepts about what a realised sage was like or how my life could be utilized to become enlightened."
She noted that, "Many Westerners came to meet Sri Nisargadatta in India, holding certain preferences for 'spiritual life in India' over life in the United States and Europe. Sri Nisargadatta would send many home to confront these issues. He felt that one was able to realise and abide as the Self anywhere, in any circumstance. He would push the Westerner to look deeply within his / her own circumstance."
Yet she also pointed out that, at the same time, "Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj was not enamored with being a householder; he did not take himself to be any designation whatsoever. On the other hand, he had no patience for people who had cloaked themselves in spiritual imagery; he was ruthless about tearing down all images and attachments."
Here, the invitation has always been to Realize Fully, overlay Reality on the relative (on "reality," with a little "r") and then abide naturally as Your Original Nature. (See the EBook below with that title if interested in the complete discussion on "Your Original Nature.")
Maharaj said: "The world has only as much power over you as you give it. Rebel. Go beyond duality; make no difference between east and west."
She noted that "He wanted us to understand that we could practice and Realise at home. That we did not have to continue these dualisms at all. With such encouragement, Maharaj literally pushed people out his door. He had no desire to have an ashram; his only desire was to show people how to be as they truly Are."
In early 2000, an invitation was extended by a very wealthy man for me - "and anyone I wanted to bring along" - to move to a remote area in the mountains of California where I would be provided a large, multi-bedroom house on a mountainside tract of land with the title for both in my name.
The land and home would be private, about a ten-minute drive by golf cart from the rest of the estate, and food and clothing and furnishing and utilities would be included. One of his private jets would be available to whisk me from his own private landing strip to any airport near anyone I would like to visit anywhere in the U.S.
On a huge parcel of land, the man had built an ashram where a monk was already teaching Buddhist principles and where he soon intended to begin providing housing and treatment for those suffering from addictions. He was expanding his estate even more and he wanted me to be the one to offer the non-dual teachings there.
As further enticement, he offered to cover all moving expenses and would provide a one-time, very-high, six-figure payment to "assure security and to leave an inheritance to my loved ones." Moreover, I would set my own schedule and "could do one retreat a month, a few a year, or - on the other hand - could offer satsang daily - my call entirely."
Of course he and his plans were dismissed instantly. Since 1989, there have only been a few that have come here for retreats, that have Realized Fully, and that have grasped the understanding to such a degree that visiting with them is engaging enough that their company would be pleasurable on a regular basis.
And they do not have any notions about "security needing to be assured" and they do not have any notion that they became spiritual giants as a result of reading my writings and attending a retreat in my home.
Yes, there are those - as was the case with Maharaj - that provide the resources which have helped to guarantee for the past several years that both the opportunity and the time are available for offering these teachings, but - as was also the case with Maharaj, especially in his later sessions - the teachings offered will continue to be the least popular among all non-dualists because (a) the natural will always be endorsed over the unnatural and the supernatural and because (b) the invitation will always be to transcend all identification and enjoy the freedom of the no-mind, no-personality, zero concepts, non-dual, no-thing, Original Nature.
Cathy Boucher, in describing her January, 1978 visit to 10 Ketwadi Lane, gives insight into why that was the case, the reasons including Maharaj's unique take on "spirituality" and his invitation to abide naturally rather than supernaturally ("spiritually") or unnaturally ("religiously"):
She said, "We Westerners were eager for the instruction which was so direct. Maharaj had little patience for Western intellectualism, spiritual concepts, and marketplace mentality, and over the time I was there, he threw some people out."
(Later, regarding his lack of patience for "spiritual concepts," she noted that "He ... was intent on unmasking all spiritual fraud.")
On her first day, she wondered "if I was insane to have come all this way" because "his intensity was simultaneously frightening and captivating." But what she soon found regarding the physically diminutive but intimidating teacher in the loft was this: "He wasn’t angry, he was just pure intensity."
She also found this, eventually: "What I was to learn on other occasions was that he was also pure Love." Of her first visit, she explained:
"It was customary to prostrate before him and I could feel certain 'American' resistances within myself to bowing down before another human being. The translator explained that the prostration meant, 'none of me, only you'. Prostration became increasingly blissful the more I did it, but this was only my first time and I was anxious and uncomfortable."
She wrote: "As time went on in this little room, I realized that Maharaj had a very direct way of pointing out our self nature, that he had practical instruction."
[Regular visitors to this site will recall that, from the very beginning, it was also noted that what would be offered here was properly characterized as being "Applied Advaita." Topics about relative happenings which illustrate the symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness that non-duality can treat (namely, what Maharaj called "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity") are discussed; then, pointers based in the non-dual understanding are offered for seeing clearly what is behind such issues, for transcending the effects of such forces, and for abiding in a natural fashion as happens during the pre-manifestation state when there is only the original nature.]
While some gurus of his day inspired many to "drop out" or "live in an ashram," Boucher noted that the message offered by M. was:
"You should live the domestic life like a labourer, who does his work always with an eye on his wages. In the same way you should work sincerely for the wages, that is, earn enough money to maintain your family ...." Yet it is "the body alone [that] should be engaged in work," meaning that no mind or personality should be at play during one's employment.
So what of this "dropping out" and becoming a "Spiritual Giant"? Rejecting those notions left Maharaj one of the least popular teachers of his day. While many needed huge ashrams and large receiving areas for those who came their way, Maharaj never required any more than a small loft. Here, a Direct, Nisargan version of non-duality is offered and, similarly, is sought and grasped by the few, not by the many.
Boucher continued: "Up until I had met Sri Nisargadatta, my concept of a Self-Realized sage was that of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, who was totally removed from worldly life. Meeting Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj on a noisy street in Bombay would shatter most of my concepts about what a realised sage was like or how my life could be utilized to become enlightened."
She noted that, "Many Westerners came to meet Sri Nisargadatta in India, holding certain preferences for 'spiritual life in India' over life in the United States and Europe. Sri Nisargadatta would send many home to confront these issues. He felt that one was able to realise and abide as the Self anywhere, in any circumstance. He would push the Westerner to look deeply within his / her own circumstance."
Yet she also pointed out that, at the same time, "Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj was not enamored with being a householder; he did not take himself to be any designation whatsoever. On the other hand, he had no patience for people who had cloaked themselves in spiritual imagery; he was ruthless about tearing down all images and attachments."
Here, the invitation has always been to Realize Fully, overlay Reality on the relative (on "reality," with a little "r") and then abide naturally as Your Original Nature. (See the EBook below with that title if interested in the complete discussion on "Your Original Nature.")
Maharaj said: "The world has only as much power over you as you give it. Rebel. Go beyond duality; make no difference between east and west."
She noted that "He wanted us to understand that we could practice and Realise at home. That we did not have to continue these dualisms at all. With such encouragement, Maharaj literally pushed people out his door. He had no desire to have an ashram; his only desire was to show people how to be as they truly Are."
In early 2000, an invitation was extended by a very wealthy man for me - "and anyone I wanted to bring along" - to move to a remote area in the mountains of California where I would be provided a large, multi-bedroom house on a mountainside tract of land with the title for both in my name.
The land and home would be private, about a ten-minute drive by golf cart from the rest of the estate, and food and clothing and furnishing and utilities would be included. One of his private jets would be available to whisk me from his own private landing strip to any airport near anyone I would like to visit anywhere in the U.S.
On a huge parcel of land, the man had built an ashram where a monk was already teaching Buddhist principles and where he soon intended to begin providing housing and treatment for those suffering from addictions. He was expanding his estate even more and he wanted me to be the one to offer the non-dual teachings there.
As further enticement, he offered to cover all moving expenses and would provide a one-time, very-high, six-figure payment to "assure security and to leave an inheritance to my loved ones." Moreover, I would set my own schedule and "could do one retreat a month, a few a year, or - on the other hand - could offer satsang daily - my call entirely."
Of course he and his plans were dismissed instantly. Since 1989, there have only been a few that have come here for retreats, that have Realized Fully, and that have grasped the understanding to such a degree that visiting with them is engaging enough that their company would be pleasurable on a regular basis.
And they do not have any notions about "security needing to be assured" and they do not have any notion that they became spiritual giants as a result of reading my writings and attending a retreat in my home.
Yes, there are those - as was the case with Maharaj - that provide the resources which have helped to guarantee for the past several years that both the opportunity and the time are available for offering these teachings, but - as was also the case with Maharaj, especially in his later sessions - the teachings offered will continue to be the least popular among all non-dualists because (a) the natural will always be endorsed over the unnatural and the supernatural and because (b) the invitation will always be to transcend all identification and enjoy the freedom of the no-mind, no-personality, zero concepts, non-dual, no-thing, Original Nature.
You can also scroll down through the book section below if interested in receiving a free copy of the eBook
entitled
"GOOD vs. EVIL?" or "IGNORANCE, STUPIDITY, and INSANITY?"
Submit to:
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.
* * * * * * *
RELATED TOPICS: alcoholism treatment, enneagram, addiction, Mark Houston, non-duality, non-duality ebooks, liberation, enlightenment, liberation, realization, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, unity, oneness.
entitled
"GOOD vs. EVIL?" or "IGNORANCE, STUPIDITY, and INSANITY?"
Questions?
Submit to:
Comments?
Just hang on to those please.
Just hang on to those please.
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";
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.
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
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.
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(Four by Floyd Henderson and two by Dennis Waite. Click the picture for more information or to order)
(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
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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
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Click the button to pay and you will be contacted to arrange a date and time for the call.
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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:
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
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]
This anthology of four books by Floyd Henderson contains the volumes that make up what has been called "The Advanced Seekers' Series" for those seeking Realization via the Advaita teachings
This anthology contains the six books that make up what has been called "The Blissful Abidance Series" for those seeking to live blissfully and happily for the remainder of the manifestation, including these books
This book can be read as a "Stand-Alone eBook" or as a "Companion Piece" or "Follow-Up" to be read after "When Only Three Hours of Manifestation Remain."
After having guided over 8,000 people through the Twelve Steps, the focus eventually turned toward working with the few who have been seeking recovery for some time but sense that "there must be something more" or who have said, "I am still not where I want to be." A few - even with double-digit "sobriety" - have said, "I don't want to drink ... I want to die."
NOW ACCEPTING REQUESTS FOR FREE COPIES OF THE FOLLOWING EBOOK:
A free copy of the 278-page eBook entitled
"GOOD vs. EVIL?" or "IGNORANCE, STUPIDITY, and INSANITY?"
is available to be sent to you and anyone else you choose.
The book will be emailed to you as a PFD attachment upon request
Gift copies can also be sent to your friends and relatives. The eBook
can be read on any computer (using Adobe, for example) or can be
transferred to any electronic reader or tablet or phone for reading.
Open the attachment via the email on your iPad or Android tablet or
phone and begin reading.
[Please note: When the Direct Path Teaching Method is offered in conjunction with the Nisarga Yoga, something unique results when compared to what happens via the approach used by religions, spiritual movements, philosophies, ideologies, etc.:
rather than inviting seekers to learn more, the invitation here is to unlearn all; rather than offerings teachings, what is offered are unteachings; rather than offering to provide seekers more of anything, seekers will find that the process will take away everything. And via that process, the bliss of Your Original Nature will manifest and remain until mahasamadhi is taken.
To that end, the content of this book will seem radical to the seekers of more, but for those truly ready to be totally free and totally independent - and for those who are truly ready to abandon efforts to accumulate and to de-accumulate instead - the pointers in this book might be relevant.]
To receive your free copy, or to have us send a free copy to your friends or relatives, send your email address (or their addresses) to the following:
(Sorry, but for security reasons, we no longer have a clickable link. You will have to type in our gmail address above. By the way, your email addresses will never be used to contact you or your friends or relatives and email addresses will never be shared with anyone else.)
Simply state in your email that you want the book sent as a gift to you (or as a gift from you to as many people as you like. Copies are now ready to be sent.)
FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE: A Seven-Step Journey to the Absolute
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
CONSCIOUSNESS / AWARENESS
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS
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THE FINAL UNDERSTANDING
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
THE ADVANCED SEEKERS' SERIES
This anthology of four books by Floyd Henderson contains the volumes that make up what has been called "The Advanced Seekers' Series" for those seeking Realization via the Advaita teachings
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
THE BLISSFUL ABIDANCE SERIES
This anthology contains the six books that make up what has been called "The Blissful Abidance Series" for those seeking to live blissfully and happily for the remainder of the manifestation, including these books
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
SRI NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ AND HIS EVOLUTION
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
THE FINAL FIFTEEN TOPICS DISCUSSED BY SRI NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ
This book can be read as a "Stand-Alone eBook" or as a "Companion Piece" or "Follow-Up" to be read after "When Only Three Hours of Manifestation Remain."
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
A TWELVE-STEP JOURNEY TO SELF-TRANSFORMATION
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
A GUIDE FOR WORKING THE STEPS (IN THE MANNER USED BY THE FOUNDERS)
The author of this book is also the co-author of a book with Mark Houston entitled "A Twelve-Step Journey to SELF-Transformation" 
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
THE TWELVE STEPS AND ADVAITA / NON-DUALITY: A 21-DAY PLAN FOR A PSYCHIC CHANGE
After having guided over 8,000 people through the Twelve Steps, the focus eventually turned toward working with the few who have been seeking recovery for some time but sense that "there must be something more" or who have said, "I am still not where I want to be." A few - even with double-digit "sobriety" - have said, "I don't want to drink ... I want to die."
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
SELF-TRANSFORMATION MEDITATION GUIDE (VOLUME ONE)
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
SELF-TRANSFORMATION MEDITATION GUIDE (VOLUME TWO)
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WHY NISARGA YOGA IN ADDITION TO THE ADVAITA TEACHINGS?
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE via the Non-Duality Teachings and the Nisarga Yoga
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
YOUR ORIGINAL NATURE
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
GOING CRAZY / GOING SANE
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INSTABILITY / INSANITY: WHAT THE ADVAITA TEACHINGS CAN (AND CANNOT) ADDRESS
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THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS "PEACE OF MIND" (THERE IS ONLY PEACE IF YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR MIND)
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FREEDOM FROM SHIFTING BETWEEN STATES OF HAPPINESS AND UNHAPPINESS
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
THE ULTIMATE SICKNESS / THE ULTIMATE MEDICINE
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PROGRAMMING, CONDITIONING, DOMESTICATION, AND ACCULTURATION (THE SOURCES OF THE ULTIMATE SICKNESS & THE NON-DUALITY TREATMENT)
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
"WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?"
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
THE MYTH OF "DEATH"
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS: THE SIMPLICITY OF REALIZATION
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
FINDING REAL LOVE IN AN UNREAL WORLD
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CASTING LIGHT ON THE DARK SIDE OF RELATIONSHIPS
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OVERCOMING THE FEAR OF BEING TOTALLY INDEPENDENT
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
THE NON-DUALITY POINTERS OFFERED BY YESHU'A ("JESUS THE CHRIST")
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
NOW ACCEPTING REQUESTS FOR FREE COPIES OF THE FOLLOWING EBOOK:
A free copy of the 278-page eBook entitled
"GOOD vs. EVIL?" or "IGNORANCE, STUPIDITY, and INSANITY?"
is available to be sent to you and anyone else you choose.
The book will be emailed to you as a PFD attachment upon request
[Please note: When the Direct Path Teaching Method is offered in conjunction with the Nisarga Yoga, something unique results when compared to what happens via the approach used by religions, spiritual movements, philosophies, ideologies, etc.:
rather than inviting seekers to learn more, the invitation here is to unlearn all; rather than offerings teachings, what is offered are unteachings; rather than offering to provide seekers more of anything, seekers will find that the process will take away everything. And via that process, the bliss of Your Original Nature will manifest and remain until mahasamadhi is taken.
To that end, the content of this book will seem radical to the seekers of more, but for those truly ready to be totally free and totally independent - and for those who are truly ready to abandon efforts to accumulate and to de-accumulate instead - the pointers in this book might be relevant.]
To receive your free copy, or to have us send a free copy to your friends or relatives, send your email address (or their addresses) to the following:
(Sorry, but for security reasons, we no longer have a clickable link. You will have to type in our gmail address above. By the way, your email addresses will never be used to contact you or your friends or relatives and email addresses will never be shared with anyone else.)
Simply state in your email that you want the book sent as a gift to you (or as a gift from you to as many people as you like. Copies are now ready to be sent.)
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE THE ADVAITIN
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
WHEN ONLY THREE HOURS OF MANIFESTATION REMAIN (THE "FINAL" TALKS OF FLOYD HENDERSON)
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
I AM THAT (vs. "This Is Who I Think I Am")
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
QUOTATIONS AND POINTERS DEALING WITH NON-DUALITY, ADVAITA, NISARGA YOGA, AND MORE
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
DANCING LIGHTLY
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THE PATH TO FREEDOM VS. THE PATH TO MISERY
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THERE IS NOTHING THAT IS PERSONAL (INCLUDING YOU AND INCLUDING GOD)
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LIBERATION (ATTAINING FREEDOM FROM PERSONALITY VIA REALIZATION)
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
WHY YOU MUST BE EMPTY IF YOU WOULD BE FULL
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FREEDOM FROM BELIEFS (Believers, Non-Believers, and "No-Belief-ers")
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WHEN REALITY IS OVERLAID ON THE RELATIVE
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
THE RELATIVE RESULTS OF RETURNING TO "THE CHILD IGNORANCE STAGE" OR "THE CHILD NO-KNOWING STATE"
For more information on this book, or to purchase a copy now, click:
WHAT BLISS IS AND WHAT BLISS IS NOT
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THE TWICE-STOLEN NECKLACE MURDERS
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THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WARS
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LESSONS IN NON-DUALITY FROM TRAVELS IN SOUTH AFRICA
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A SERIES OF ESSAYS DISCUSSING THE FIRST STEP ON THE SEVEN-STEP PATH TO REALIZATION
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A SERIES OF ESSAYS DISCUSSING THE SECOND STEP ON THE SEVEN-STEP PATH TO REALIZATION
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A SERIES OF ESSAYS DISCUSSING THE THIRD STEP ON THE SEVEN-STEP PATH TO REALIZATION
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A SERIES OF ESSAYS DISCUSSING THE FOURTH STEP ON THE SEVEN-STEP PATH TO REALIZATION
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A SERIES OF ESSAYS DISCUSSING THE FIFTH STEP ON THE SEVEN-STEP PATH TO REALIZATION
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A SERIES OF ESSAYS DISCUSSING THE SIXTH STEP ON THE SEVEN-STEP PATH TO REALIZATION
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A SERIES OF ESSAYS DISCUSSING THE SEVENTH STEP ON THE SEVEN-STEP PATH TO REALIZATION
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SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY (RECOVERING WHAT RELIGIONS LOST)
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IT'S ALL BULLSHIT (AND WHY KNOWING IT SETS YOU FREE)
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RELATED TOPICS: alcoholism treatment, enneagram, addiction, Mark Houston, non-duality, non-duality ebooks, liberation, enlightenment, liberation, realization, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, unity, oneness.
