Friday, January 16, 2015

THE IRONY OF REALIZATION: At First, It’s All-Important; Later, It Should Become Totally Unimportant

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A DAILY CONSIDERATION FOR YOU

[You may scroll down to "Section Four" to find how to receive up to five, free eBooks which deal with a variety of non-dual topics


F.: So why can people not just abide simply and let “life go on,” as Maharaj advised? Why can they not “abide naturally” but ened up being abide driven instead to either live unnaturally (for example, eating body and blood) or trying to abide supernaturally (by producing ringing sounds by placing a special bowl on a special pillow and striking it with a special stick, by arranging expensive crystals in particular patterns, by sitting under a pyramid made of metal rods, etc.)? 

Why can most persons never be free of all encumbrances and just take it easy? Why can they not relax and "just live"? Why can they not abide more simply? Why can they not enjoy? Why can they not lose the excess seriousness? Why can they not simply “Dance Lightly” for the remainder of the manifestation? 

There are many reasons, some based in conscious motives and some based in the subconscious, hidden agendas of the personalities which are driving their every thought and word and deed without their having a clue that such is the case. No matter the reason, though, everything that is done is done because there is a perceived payoff


Note that on the seven-step “path” to Realization, it is at the third step where persons play religious and / or spiritual roles. For 97% of the people on the planet, that begins in childhood and continues for the entire relative existence. Sometimes the payoff which is being sought involves clinging to a religious role, considering religion to be all-important. An example:


Recently on the outskirts of Paris, two men who killed twelve people inside the offices of Charlie Hebdo were eventually cornered and surrounded in a warehouse, and one told a negotiator on the telephone that they “wanted to die as martyrs.” 


The payoff? According to their beliefs about their Harem Heaven, if they committed suicide, they would not be rewarded, but if they were killed in a supposed "campaign for Allah," they would receive not only seventy-two virgins but also thousands of wives and thousands of concubines, all to be at their beck and call to gratify the male martyrs' every sexual desire for all eternity. At the end, the two men rushed outside the warehouse, firing away and knowing they would be mowed down by a hail of bullets from the police which would supposedly guarantee them a ticket into their conceptualized "celestial brothel."

A man who left the Christian church after having received treatment for his alcoholism from a professional counselor told me that he did so because - as a Christian - he could “never abide in a way that did not harm others” as long as he could say, “Hey God, I’m sorry” and (as he put it) “have my slate wiped clean.” See? Payoff? 


He admitted that he had “lived the life of a Christian-alcoholic-narcissistic-sociopath” until that life finally wore him down and his drive to escape all that led him to a search that ended when he found this blog and began waking up to what had been motivating him all along: a self-absorbed self who wanted what he wanted when he wanted, who hated being told “No” by anyone, but who was also trying to deal with his early programming in the Catholic Church which set him up for a lifetime of guilt and anxiety and fear on one hand and reckless daring and audacity on the other. 

In other cases, the payoff is attention and money. The supposedly non-dual Big Name Teacher millionaires and multi-millionaires are certainly receiving attention and money, as are their Big Name religious counterparts. 


Consider an example of the latter which can illustrate the current pointers in this series as well as explain why there is an invitation in the free eBook below (“The Most Dangerous Belief of All”) to become free of the all of the negative, relative effects of being driven through life by blind faith. 


Billions believe in a god or in gods and goddesses, but the point is offered in that eBook that nothing should be believed if it cannot be proved. Always, religious leaders have offered what was claimed to be proof of God’s existence via "this miracle" or "that miracle." Recently, new methods have become popular because persons are claiming that they died and went to heaven and were sent back to tell people that god and heaven are real. 


[Just as many claim to have been abducted by aliens who performed experiments on their bodies and then released them and now offer their "proofs," which are similar to religious accounts which also claim to prove that other-world beings are real.] 


Consider a recent example of one such tale that has been told in a Christian book that has become a New York Times bestseller (and which has also been made into a movie) which is entitled “The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven: A Remarkable Account of Miracles, Angels, and Life beyond This World” (with the words “A True Story” also appearing on the cover). 


Tyndale House Publishers said, “As you see heaven and earth through Alex’s eyes, you’ll come away with new insights on miracles, life beyond this world, and the power of a father’s love.” 


The book, written by Alex Malarkey and his father Kevin Malarkey, a Christian therapist in Ohio, claimed to detail a boy's trip to heaven and his return to earth. 


It has been read by millions and the movie has been seen by  millions and has been touted as “the evidence that non-believers and atheists have always dreaded might come someday.” See? Payoff.


The book has a 4.2 stars rating on Amazon.com, and some of the hundreds of review include these: 


Aquila Clark: “I believe he really did go to Heaven.” 


From “Firstimer”: “God’s power and love for Alex and his family and anyone who chooses to have faith is truly amazing!” 


Joe D. Kelly: “This book is a true story about a boy named Alex Malarkey who was in a terrible car accident.” 


In 2004, when Alex was 6, the two were badly injured in an automobile accident. Alex ended up in a coma for two months, and the book claims to tell the story of his trips to heaven during that time. In the book, he describes “the hole in heaven” that leads to hell, he details his conversations with Jesus Christ, and he provides an account of meetings with the devil (who at one point blamed Alex for the accident). 


Beth Malarkey, Alex's mother and caregiver, is divorced from Kevin Malarkey. Along the way, as the book and movie soared in popularity among Christians, she said that she “was troubled by the book.” She wrote years ago that "it is both puzzling and painful to watch the book 'The Boy who Came Back from Heaven' to not only continue to sell but to continue, for the most part, to not be questioned."


Those who have read “The Most Dangerous Belief of All,” or the excerpts from that book which were shared on this site, know that Maharaj advised: “Question everything” and “Question it all.” 


Among the many who did just that - who questioned the content of the Malarkey tale - their skepticism has now been validated with this news release: 

“The Christian mega-hit 'The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven: A True Story' is being pulled from the shelves of stores after one of its co-authors admitted he made the whole thing up. Tyndale House, the book's publisher, has reported that it would take the book and all ancillary products out of print. That comes after Alex wrote in the open letter, ‘I did not die. I did not go to Heaven'.” 

[Consider the irony of the names of two key players in the writing of the book - Alex Malarkey and his father Kevin Malarkey - as you note the definition of the word “malarkey”: “malarkey is speech or writing designed to obscure, mislead, or impress, as in ‘the claims were just a lot of malarkey’.”


As for the various payoffs mentioned above, Alex confessed to his motivations: "I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention.” [See? Payoff.”] “When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies, and continue to.” His father, Kevin Malarkey, has not publicly commented on his son's statement as of this writing.


See? The motives of those who continue to act as if their “journey” is all-important are doing so in order to gain one kind of payoff or another. Involved with that can be egos (that is, ego-states or personality identifications) and egotism (one of the many ego-defense mechanisms used by those trapped in their false identities). 


Among those roles which are usually at play (and which generate a sense of being important) are “The Super Religious One” and “The Spiritual Giant” and “The Super Seeker.” 


Also at play can be those personas which inspire people to claim that they want to be Fully Realized but who are actually only seeking to escape reality and to dissociate from the relative existence and the responsibilities that it can require. More on that later. 


To be continued. 


Please enter into the silence of contemplation. 



NOTE: Sections Two through Six follow: 

Section Two offers other recent posts. (All of the nearly 2,400 posts as well as any specific topics which you’re interested in can be accessed by using the search feature at the top of the right column.) 

Section Three offers ways that seekers have Realized, tools which some have used, and information on floyd's books.  

Section Four offers five free eBooks, compliments of Andy Gugar, Jr.  

Section Five discusses parallels in Maharaj's and Floyd's "journey" and provides a chance for you to see if you've had any such parallels as well. 

Section Six offers information on paperbacks that are available through Amazon.com for those who prefer a book in hand.
 
* * * * * *
 

SECTION TWO:
Other Recent Posts
15 January 2015 


A DAILY CONSIDERATION FOR YOU

[You may scroll down to "Section Four" to find how to receive up to five, free eBooks which deal with a variety of non-dual topics



[Continued from yesterday

Maharaj said that “it is enough to know what you are not.” What is the full implication of that pointer? 

If you or any other human on the planet never understands “THAT”; never understands Sanskrit; never learn the proper pronunciation of certain words and terms used in Hinduism or any other Eastern teachings; never understands the difference in “Brahma” and “Brahman” and “Brahmin”; 


never knows what “moksha” or “atman” refer to; and never read any Eastern writings at all, it won’t make even the slightest bit of difference in the relative existence you can live and enjoy if you become free of the effects of your programming and conditioning, etc. and then abide naturally. 

So why are there so many differing messages being offered by those who purport to be teaching non-duality, many of which prescribe or require the above? Because there are five different teaching methods, and each focuses on something that is different from the focus of the others. 


Here, the DIRECT PATH METHOD is used. There are seven steps on the “path” which Maharaj never enumerated but which he discussed in depth. After that, the invitation of the NISARGA YOGA, also used here, invites persons to abide naturally rather than unnaturally or “supernaturally” / “religiously” / “spiritually.” 

Then there is PSEUDO ADVAITA, which will be ignored completely for what should be obvious reasons. 


Third, there is TRADITIONAL ADVAITA as defined by Shankara in his discussion of the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Brahma Suttras around the 8th century AD. This approach focuses on the content of those scriptures. 


Fourth, there is NEO-VEDANTA, the method used primarily by Vivekananda and his followers. Some consider this method a “watered down” version of Traditional Advaita, a result of the fact that Vivekananda and his followers have tried to make the teachings more suitable to Western tastes where concepts and ego-states have dominated persons for millennia. Neo-Vedanta teachers often employ seemingly sublime or exalted or lofty or emotion-inspiring statements which encourage followers to adopt more concepts and identities instead of encouraging seekers to forfeit all concepts and identities. 


Fifth, there is NEO-ADVAITA which teaches that there is no need for study, questioning or inquiring into anything and that there is nothing to seek and nothing to teach: “Get that and move on.” 


While some claim to hear adumbrations of Nisarga Yoga in that approach, actually there is no jumping from entrapment in programming, conditioning, etc. to freedom from the effects or programming conditioning, etc.; from having assumed multiple personalities as identities; from thereafter suffering from being driven by the hidden agendas of those personas; and from being free of the personality defects and personality disorders and personality-based neuroses and psychoses that mark the Ultimate Sickness. 


If a counselor could snap a finger and thereby free her or his clients from all of the mental garbage that has led to the misery of the Ultimate Sickness and its pervasive “ignorance, stupidity, and insanity,” then millions with any clarify at all would be lined up at that counselor’s door. 


But that is impossible. Here, the point is, you do not need more knowledge about all of the Traditional words and terms and concepts in order to be free. That is really just a further encumbrance to being totally free. You do not need lofty and sublime or exalted or emotion-inspiring catch phrases. You do not need to spend the entire relative existence involved in religion and religious meetings or spiritual exercises and spiritual meetings. You do even need to know “WHO or WHAT You Are”; instead, “it is enough to know what you are not.” 


Maharaj offered this: Non-identification, when natural and spontaneous, is liberation.” See? John was no longer “The Sleepwalker” or “The Somnambulist.” Freed from that label via the use of an all-natural process, he became liberated. From that point forward, no special exercises would be required. No daily-reprieve-only treatment need be tried. No special accoutrements would have to be used. 


And when this plant-food body became cancer-free, I quit hanging out in the cancer ward. Now a "Helper" / "Savior" ego-state might convince some “Cancer Survivors” that they can help other cancer patients by visiting with them each day and sitting around a table in the hospital with some really sick people and droning on and on and on about their experiences with cancer. Some of those “Survivors” might claim that by “sharing their hope” with cancer patients that those patients will be helped. 


Any subsequent “positive mindset” which might result from such “helping” and “service” notwithstanding, that "help" would be seen to be negligible if the same amount of time spent listening to persons prattle on about their past days with cancer were spent with actually receiving treatment from trained professionals with a high record of success rather than from those with an abysmal failure rate. 


If the doctor had told me, “We’ve only temporarily arrested what is going on inside you, and we don’t have a plan that can free you up permanently,” then be assured, a second opinion would have been sought. The seeking would not have ended with a medical team that was telling me that their totally inadequate plan “is the best that they can do and the best I can ever hope for.” 


The reply would have been, “Well adios, amigos. I suppose I’ll continue to search for a medical team that can come up with a cure rather than a reprieve.” 


If you have something that ails you, have you found someone or some means by which you can be permanently free of the ailment for the remainder of the manifestation? Or are you hooked? Have they convinced you have to keep coming back constantly, forever, for more and more of their inadequate treatment? 


Is it possible that there’s another way to live and that you really do not have to do - every day for the rest of your existence - all of the things that those offering a no-cure treatment plan are telling you that you must do? 

Are you accepting the plan of someone or some people who are openly admitting that they do not have a cure but can only offer a twenty-four hour respite? If so, why have you settled for that instead of seeking a solution that offers more than a chance for you to abide in an endless series of intervals or breaks or lulls in what ails you? Does that really make any sense, to accept that plan as feasible and acceptable and okay by you? 


The irony of the “path” to Realization which is offered here is this: at first, it’s all-important; later, it should become totally unimportant. 


After the cancer was removed from the plant-food body, it was not decided that I would spend the rest of my life finding out about cancer. After the internal bleeding was brought to an end and its cause was understood and avoided from thereafter, there was no pledge to myself that I would study internal hemorrhaging and become more of an expert that the doctor of internal medicine who treated me. 


After John stopped sleepwalking, he did not enter into a life-time quest to become an expert on somnambulism. 


In all those cases, there were issues that were important, relatively speaking, which need to be addressed. Once treated, the issues were totally unimportant. The same applies to those suffering from the symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness.

The relative existence is going to be a wreck unless freed from the symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness; however, once free, the process, the "path," and "the journey" are totally unimportant and should end so that natural abidance can begin.

But in all those cases, after the answer was found, we were able to merely abide naturally and spontaneously. We did not make a second job of merely living. We did not enter into a quest to be knowledgeable experts in all fields. 


If persons on a "journey" reach their destination, why would they stand there and run in place for the rest of their life rather than enjoy what the destination has to offer? Would it not be insane for persons to reach their destination but then conclude that they have more traveling to do before they can really and truly get to their destination? Time to wake up.

Let “life go on,” Maharaj advised. “Abide naturally,” he suggested. Be free of all encumbrances and just take it easy. Relax and live. Abide more simply. Enjoy. Lose the excess seriousness. Then, as the eBook below suggests, “Dance Lightly” for the remainder of the manifestation.


To be continued. 


Please enter into the silence of contemplation.



15 January 2015


A DAILY CONSIDERATION FOR YOU

[You may scroll down to the book section “Section Four"  to find details on five, free eBooks which deal with a variety of non-dual topics



[Continued from yesterday

In the previous post, examples were offered of instances where relative sicknesses and relative issues were addressed, after which what had been all-important at first later became totally unimportant: 

1. Cancer polyps were found and removed; later, a process was found that ended the bi-annual need for outpatient surgical procedures, that process providing prevention rather than constantly treating further instances of cancer;


2. the cause of internal hemorrhaging was found to be the by-product of certain prescribed medications which induce bleeding in hundreds of thousands of patients annually;


3. John’s somnambulism was treated naturally and it ended. 


In none of those cases was any of the treatment deemed by John or by me to involve something “supernatural” or “divine” or to be something that came only after we had become “noble” and “worthy” and “deserving.” In none of those cases did John or I come to believe that the treatment was “special” or “unique” or “exceptional” or that it involved something “other-worldly” or “mystical” or “paranormal” or “exclusive.” 


In none of those cases did we forever after speak to everyone we met and endlessly “share” the specifics about our sicknesses or the details of our experiences which brought about wellness. 


The case was not that everyone whose paths we crossed was subjected to hearing our story or to hearing it being bragged about that “I had cancer a year ago, but I’m well now” and later, “Five years ago I had cancer, but I’m well now” and later, “Ten years ago I had cancer but I’m well now” or “Guess what! Twenty years ago I had cancer but I am cancer-free now.” 

Once the treatment was received which brought about freedom from the sickness and then provided wellness, that was that. Ever since, life was simply lived without any effort to make anymore believe that the changes which came made us “better people” or proved we were “blessed more than others” or that we had been rewarded with freedom from sickness and moved into a state of wellness because we had first become “good” and “righteous” and “moral” and “upright” and “honorable” persons. 


We did not adopt the identity of “The One Made Well by Virtue of Being Virtuous.” 


Maharaj: “Only that person will visit this place whose virtue and sin have come to an end." 


We did not come to believe that we had become sick because of our sins, and we did not believe that we had become well because of our virtues. 


The deal here is so simple. Maharaj said it time and again, but few understood: this really is all so simple. Why is the deal so simple? 


Because it is not about studying for decades in order to accumulate knowledge and then become “An Expert Regarding All Things Holy”; because it is not about working day in and day out to become “A Spiritual Giant” and then maintain that role through daily spiritual exercises; 

it is simple because it is simply about one simple thing: because of the way that everyone is programmed and conditioned and acculturated and domesticated and acculturated and brainwashed and indoctrinated and assigned scores of roles to play, the Ultimate Sickness is passed on to everyone. 


Three of the key symptoms of the Sickness were identified by Maharaj as “ignorance, stupidity and insanity.” He did not say that the symptoms manifested in those with too little religion; he abandoned the notion that the symptoms involved some sort of spiritual malady; and he came to see that “ignorance and stupidity and insanity” were not eliminated by religion or by spiritual programs but were often actually aggravated by those organizations. 


The single intent of the teachings is not to prepare one for an afterlife, because there is not one; the intent of the teaching is not to insure that one will receive a reward rather than punishment after this manifestation ends, because there will be no “one” to enjoy a reward or suffer from punishment. 


The simple offering is to provide the Ultimate Medicine and to thereby bring to an end the misery and suffering that come with the Ultimate Sickness. This whole deal differs not at all from the deal by which cancer was removed, from the way that hemorrhaging was brought to an end, and from the way that sleepwalking was brought to an end. The only variation? Those were about treating physical issues. Realization is about treating the mental illness which is at the core of the Ultimate Sickness.


There is nothing magical or supernatural about this process. It involves seeing the real problem for what it really is - namely, a mental problem - and then addressing that problem in a way that sanity can be restored. 


After that, Maharaj said: “Life is to be lived."


Just live, without making a second job out of trying to live supernaturally. See? Simple. Abide simply. De-accumulate. Take the steps to be free of the effects of having been assigned personalities as identities and thereby be free of the personality disorders (and neuroses and psychoses) that personality identifications always generate. 


This was discussed in the newest free eBook entitled “The Most Dangerous Belief of All”


A man who came here for a retreat this year has finally begun to allow the pointers which were offered to truly “steep” and thereby make up a healthy dose of Realization tea. 


In the process, he is finally realizing that all of his efforts for so many years involved his desire to escape and to avoid all things relative by reaching some “other state” far removed from the relative state. 


Now he’s beginning to see that the only state that he will ever “know” is the relative state. Post-manifestation, there will be no “one” to know or experience anything. To that end, he is beginning to realize that the existence for every living thing on the planet (except for humans) is a fairly-simple existence and that non-duality is offering the opportunity to join all other life-forms and thereby enjoy a fairly-simple existence as well. 


He explained in a recent email that he had finally “realized something” which he had been missing. He said that he had come to see that “Realization / the Understanding has nothing to do with being in a ‘certain state’ such as Awareness or whatever.”


He said: "The Understanding of things is itself the whole key. It is a done deal in and of itself. I still had a lingering thing of being 'in Awareness' or in 'a certain kind of state' or feeling"; then, he went on to explain how miserable that has been.


He is seeing that his primary personality type’s key objective is to escape and that he had been trying to reach a state of Realization in order to do just that . . . to escape. 


His entire subconscious motive in all of his years of non-dual seeking was to be able to live with his head in the clouds rather than having his feet planted firmly on the ground. 


(So much for the advice to live dualistically by having your head in the clouds and also having your feet planted firmly on the ground. See, there is no “living in the clouds” or “beyond the relative.” Now, there is a temporary composite unity. Later, there will be free-ranging conscious-energy / unmanifested awareness-energy. One can be conscious of things relative now, but no one will ever be conscious of what happens post-manifestation, which will involve nothing more than conscious-energy returning to the universal field of conscious-energy. As for Jews and Christians expecting a “heavenly reward” and for Muslim martyrs expecting a “harem heaven” or Hindus expecting either Nirvana or another relative birth? Surprise!


See, the man who sent the email above has longed for years to move - mentally - away from relative responsibilities and challenges and to escape to Foo-Foo Land. 


In the process, he had come to believe that this “non-dual journey” (A) is not about the Am-ness and abiding NOW without being dominated by all of the widespread ignorance and stupidity and insanity but (B) is about something “lofty” and “Supreme” and “divine” and “other-worldly.” 


He had not understood that “freedom” - in non-dual, Nisargan terms - is not about being free of the relative existence but is about abiding naturally and sanely and wisely throughout the remainder of the manifestation. 


Persona-generated beliefs notwithstanding, being sick does not render one “different” or “special” or “unique”; furthermore, getting well (that is, being freed from being driven by the “ignorance and stupidity and insanity” which characterizes the Ultimate Sickness) does not make one “different” or “special” or “unique” either. 


To abandon the abnormal, the unnatural, and the supposedly supernatural (and then abide naturally and sanely and logically and reasonably instead) is neither “an achievement” nor a “special accomplishment” nor a “triumph” nor a “blessing from some Power beyond” nor grounds for pride or arrogance or conceit or esteem. 


In circles of normalcy and sanity, annual awards are not given for finally behaving in the way that normal and sane people have behaved all along. 


A man shared that he had joined AA and upon the occasion of reaching 365 days of sobriety, a party was thrown for him, he received a medallion in recognition of his achievement, he was allowed to give a speech before his group, and he was made to feel special and unique. 


He said that later that night, still being unemployed and unemployable and financially broke, he went to visit his rich grandmother (who had experienced considerable grief dealing with him for years) and bragged to her about his accomplishment (expecting her, he admitted, to reward him with a large monetary gift as congratulations for his “accomplishment”). 


He said: “Grandmother! Guess what! As of today, I have been sober for exactly one year! What do you think about that? I bet you think that worth something, huh?”


She replied: “As of today, I’ve been sober for seventy-nine years. Now get the hell out of here. You’re not going to get another single penny out of me.” 


See? Getting well and behaving sanely rather than insanely and behaving normally rather than abnormally, that's all just routine to those who can witness clearly. It's no big deal, really. It's just . . . simple. It's just . . . natural.


To be continued. 


Please enter the silence of contemplation.


13 January 2015

A DAILY CONSIDERATION FOR YOU


[An additional consideration for the day: Of “Je suis Charlie,” what might Maharaj say, were that speck still manifest”? It is clear, based in what he did say: “I do not see a sufferer. I am the sufferer. I know him from within . . . .” The same would be his reply in all such cases: “Je suis Trayvon M.”; “Je suis Wenjian L.”; “Je suis Michael B.”; “Je suis Rafael R.”; and “I Am All”; and “I Am One.”] 


Now, a new series begins:

F.: There are some parallels which exist between the way that sane persons behave after a physical problem with the plant-food body has been effectively addressed and the way that previously-insane-but-now-sane persons behave after a mental problem has been effectively addressed: once an effective treatment has resulted in an end to a problem, all focus upon the past problem should end. 

A couple of examples involving the plant-food body here will be offered. When certain medications prescribed by a doctor led to internal bleeding, the blood count in the body became so low that physical consciousness was lost. Finding the source of the bleeding became all-important, relatively speaking. 

During the first stay in the hospital, the source was not found. The conclusion drawn by the medical team was that the hemorrhaging had stopped on its own (which does happen on occasion) Once released from the hospital, other medications prescribed by the attending physician began to cause even more bleeding. Four days later, back in the hospital, the source of the hemorrhaging was found and cauterized; that ended the ordeal. Back home a few day later, the issue which had been all-important for a time, relatively speaking, became totally unimportant. 

The same had happened years before when cancer had been diagnosed. When the cancer was found, the need for its removal became all-important, relatively speaking. After several cancerous polyps had been removed, a process was found that prevented its recurrence; after tests confirmed that the new, preventive protocol was working to keep that part of the plant-food body cancer-free, everything involved with the earlier events became . . . totally unimportant. 

The same happened after “seeking” and “searching” and “doing all kinds of work” and then, eventually, “completing the journey” and “following the proper path”: those last steps finally led to Realization (that is, to being freed from the bondage of learned ignorance and being freed from all parentally-and-culturally-induced insanity). 

After that happened in conjunction with an understanding of the message of the Nisargan Yoga (and because of the understanding of the message of the Nisargan Yoga) then natural, spontaneous abidance began and has continued for the nearly twenty-six years since. (Are any of you beginning to see already where this is going?)

Maharaj said: "Awareness itself is all-important" [but] "not the content of it." Here, once awareness became aware of itself, all content – as set forth by institutions and programs and an endless supply of other sources – became irrelevant. 

Similarly, if I am hunger at night and go about the kitchen searching for food, one of two things are going to happen: 

(1) If food is found and eaten, the search for food will end and the fact that I had been hungry becomes irrelevant; 

or 

(2) If food is not found at first, the search will continue until food is found and eaten. 

If anything other than those two options are used to address my hunger, then there would be evidence of ignorance and / or insanity.

In the recently-made-available eBook entitled “The Most Dangerous Belief of All,” mention was made of the relative dangers faced by a neighbor named John K. who was plagued for years by sleepwalking, often leaving the house and walking in the street at night. Being conscious and awake and aware when walking about became all-important to him and his parents. 

Nothing took priority over that issue. Nothing else could be important to them if their son was forever likely to be run down by a car at night in the dark. Suddenly, neither other health issues nor problems in the neighborhood nor problems at school carried any weight at all in light of the obstacle to basic survival which John was facing. 

His parents having no religious beliefs, they did not take John to a church for “the laying on of hands” and a healing ceremony. They did not try to find an SA group (Somnambulists Anonymous) in which amateurs could offer their non-professional advice to John about his problem and do nothing else except talk endlessly about the problem; thus, no one told him that his nighttime episodes of restlessness “were due to a spiritual malady” or that his problem was so unique and special that “only God would be able to help him with his troubles.” 

Instead, after seeking help from one medical professional after another, his parents finally crossed paths with a medical doctor who had found - via her own trial and error experiments - that a certain all-natural, non-synthetic, side-effect-free sleep aid had brought an end to the sleepwalking episodes which some of her other patients had been experiencing. After only a few nights, that treatment worked and John’s somnambulism ended. 

The concept of “sleepwalking” – which had been all-important – soon became viewed as something which was totally unimportant. The end to walking about in his sleep allowed attention to be focused on other health issues, on problems being experienced in a neighborhood that was dominated by the members of two gangs, and on problems that were being experienced in the classroom or in the schoolyard. 

For John, walking about while conscious and aware and aware became automatic . . . became spontaneous. It was basically just taken for granted from that point on. The issue fell from the rank of “all-important” to “totally insignificant.” 

The new perspective happened without thought or special effort. There was no notion that walking about while being fully awake and aware and conscious was some “wonderful accomplishment” or that the ability to walk while awake rather than asleep made John “different” and “special” and better than others.

Additionally, the ability to do what was simply normal and natural did not become a source of arrogance or false pride. John did not believe that there was a "New Self" that was superior in all ways to his “former self,” and he did not feel superior to “others.”

Furthermore, after he began walking about in a fully conscious and awake and aware state, he did not begin to feel self-important; instead, his existence began to unfold in a way which was more in line with the way that Maharaj described his existence: “From my point of view, everything happens by itself . . . quite spontaneously.” 

Nor did John become condescending because he was suddenly able to do what was simply normal and natural. He did not look back at his former life and compare his “old lesser self” with his “new Supreme Self” which had come into being and which was allowing him to walk about while being fully awake rather than fully asleep. 

And he did not become haughty about the fact that he was finally abiding in a natural way after so many years of having lived in an unnatural way. 

Nor did he proclaim that “God is good!” or that “God gives me special attention and blesses me each day with His almightily healing powers!” The sleepwalking just stopped after receiving a natural treatment, and it stopped with no evidence whatsoever of an intervention in his behalf from “some other-worldly being / Being / Supreme Being.” That which gave him freedom from what was unnatural was not supernatural but was all-natural instead.

Thus, he simply slept well at night and walked about sanely and safely during the day. 

Maharaj: “Life is to be lived. There is no time for analysis. The response must be instantaneous; hence, the importance of the spontaneous, the timeless.” 

After receiving a natural treatment for what was ailing him, John’s existence became marked by spontaneity and lightness and a new sense of freedom instead of dominated by the anxiety which resulted from sleepwalking and which had generated miserable challenges and which had led him into danger, all of which had been part and parcel of his previous tendency to walk about in a dream state . . . in an unconscious state. After receiving a natural treatment, he began to merely abide naturally and spontaneously. 

Maharaj: “Once you are quiet, things will begin to happen spontaneously and quite naturally without any interference on your part” 

and 

“What you are, you already are. By knowing what you are not, you are free of it and remain in your own natural state. It all happens quite spontaneously and effortlessly” 

and 

“I live my physical, waking life automatically, reacting spontaneously and accurately.” 

Maharaj said that, after awakening and being fully conscious and fully aware, “Spontaneity became a way of life, the real became natural and the natural became real.” 

See? What had been all-important at first later became totally unimportant. With Maharaj, engaging in religious activities and study of “holy books” ended; engaging in spiritual exercises and meditation and meetings ended; and making a second, arduous job out of living ended. And what began was a simple, enjoyable manner of abidance. 

That is what happened with Maharaj and with Floyd and with John. It can also happen with you.

To be continued. 

Please enter the silence of contemplation.

SECTION THREE:
WAYS THAT SEEKERS HAVE REALIZED
 
I. BY WATCHING the 4-Disk, Seven-Hour Video (DVD) Set of an advaita retreat, or the downloadable file version. To find out more or to purchase the DVD or downloadable computer file version of the retreat, DVD or Downloadable computer file versions of the Four-Day Advaita Retreat
 
International buyers: note the separate option for those outside the continental U.S.
 
II. BY READING the explanations offered in the collection of non-duality books that are available on this site and at www.floydhenderson.com.


III. BY ENROLLING in the Online Advaita Classes For information, visit Information on the Advaita Classes on the Internet To enroll visit Enroll in the Advaita Internet Course

IV. BY ATTENDING an Advaitin retreat with floyd and being guided through all seven steps. For details of the retreats offered, please visit the retreat information site.
 
V. BY ARRANGING a one-hour session via Skype or telephone with Floyd. (Skype is a free service.)


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






VI. BY USING EBOOKS available at
Floyd Henderson's Website




Within minutes of purchase you can be reading any of the eBooks below on your mobile devices, including an iPhone, iPad, Android tablet, Android phone, laptop, home computer or Kindle reader.


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



CONSCIOUSNESS / AWARENESS
 



FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS
 



THE FINAL UNDERSTANDING
 


THE ADVANCED SEEKERS' SERIES


Anthology of four books


THE BLISSFUL ABIDANCE SERIES


Anthology of six books


SRI NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ AND HIS EVOLUTION




THE FINAL FIFTEEN TOPICS DISCUSSED BY SRI NISARGADATTA MAHARAJ





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 TWELVE STEPS AND ADVAITA / NON-DUALITY: A 21-DAY PLAN FOR A PSYCHIC CHANGE
 


SELF-TRANSFORMATION MEDITATION GUIDE (VOLUME ONE)

 


SELF-TRANSFORMATION MEDITATION GUIDE (VOLUME TWO)
 


WHY NISARGA YOGA IN ADDITION TO THE ADVAITA TEACHINGS?
 


A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE via the Non-Duality Teachings and the Nisarga Yoga
 


YOUR ORIGINAL NATURE
 


GOING CRAZY / GOING SANE
 


INSTABILITY / INSANITY: WHAT THE ADVAITA TEACHINGS CAN (AND CANNOT) ADDRESS
 


THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS "PEACE OF MIND" (THERE IS ONLY PEACE IF YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR MIND)
 


FREEDOM FROM SHIFTING BETWEEN STATES OF HAPPINESS AND UNHAPPINESS
 


THE ULTIMATE SICKNESS / THE ULTIMATE MEDICINE
 


PROGRAMMING, CONDITIONING, DOMESTICATION, AND ACCULTURATION (THE SOURCES OF THE ULTIMATE SICKNESS; THE NON-DUALITY TREATMENT)



"WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?"
 




THE MYTH OF "DEATH"
 


THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS: THE SIMPLICITY OF REALIZATION
 


FINDING REAL LOVE IN AN UNREAL WORLD
 


CASTING LIGHT ON THE DARK SIDE OF RELATIONSHIPS
 


OVERCOMING THE FEAR OF BEING TOTALLY INDEPENDENT
 


THE NON-DUALITY POINTERS OFFERED BY YESHU'A ("JESUS THE CHRIST")
 


WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE THE ADVAITIN
 


WHEN ONLY THREE HOURS OF MANIFESTATION REMAIN (THE "FINAL" TALKS OF FLOYD HENDERSON)
 


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


QUOTATIONS AND POINTERS DEALING WITH NON-DUALITY, ADVAITA, NISARGA YOGA, AND MORE
 


DANCING LIGHTLY
 


THE PATH TO FREEDOM VS. THE PATH TO MISERY
 



THERE IS NOTHING THAT IS PERSONAL (INCLUDING YOU AND INCLUDING GOD)
 



LIBERATION (ATTAINING FREEDOM FROM PERSONALITY VIA REALIZATION)
 

WHY YOU MUST BE EMPTY IF YOU WOULD BE FULL

 


FREEDOM FROM BELIEFS (Believers, Non-Believers, and "No-Belief-ers")
 


WHEN REALITY IS OVERLAID ON THE RELATIVE
 


THE RELATIVE RESULTS OF RETURNING TO "THE CHILD IGNORANCE STAGE" OR "THE CHILD NO-KNOWING STATE"
 


WHAT BLISS IS AND WHAT BLISS IS NOT
 


THE TWICE-STOLEN NECKLACE MURDERS
 

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WARS

 


LESSONS IN NON-DUALITY FROM TRAVELS IN SOUTH AFRICA
 


A SERIES OF ESSAYS DISCUSSING THE FIRST STEP ON THE SEVEN-STEP PATH TO REALIZATION
 


A SERIES OF ESSAYS DISCUSSING THE SECOND STEP ON THE SEVEN-STEP PATH TO REALIZATION
 


A SERIES OF ESSAYS DISCUSSING THE THIRD STEP ON THE SEVEN-STEP PATH TO REALIZATION
 


A SERIES OF ESSAYS DISCUSSING THE FOURTH STEP ON THE SEVEN-STEP PATH TO REALIZATION
 


A SERIES OF ESSAYS DISCUSSING THE FIFTH STEP ON THE SEVEN-STEP PATH TO REALIZATION
 


A SERIES OF ESSAYS DISCUSSING THE SIXTH STEP ON THE SEVEN-STEP PATH TO REALIZATION
 


A SERIES OF ESSAYS DISCUSSING THE SEVENTH STEP ON THE SEVEN-STEP PATH TO REALIZATION
 


SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY (RECOVERING WHAT RELIGIONS LOST)
 



IT'S ALL BULLSHIT (AND WHY KNOWING IT SETS YOU FREE)
 


SECTION FOUR:
FIVE FREE eBOOKS 
(Compliments of Andy Gugar, Jr.)

 The following eBooks are available without charge for you or for friends


I.

 
"GOOD vs. EVIL?" or "IGNORANCE, STUPIDITY, and INSANITY?" 





The content of this eBook deals with one of the most common but erroneous beliefs that the non-Realized masses cling to and which they will fight about (and even kill over), namely, that there is a planet-wide duel going on between “the forces of good and evil” in the universe. 

Maharaj said of each that visited his Bombay loft, “Only that person will visit this place whose virtue and sin have come to an end.” He also said that the problems of humankind are problems associated with the Ultimate Sickness and that three of the key traits of the Ultimate Sickness are "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity."

To that end, either (1) the ancient view is spot on: that the "ills of the planet" are rooted in evil people, in people not being religious enough or spiritual enough, and are caused solely by bad morality; or, (2) the "ills of the planet" are rooted in ignorance, stupidity and insanity and "being good" or "being moral" does not put an end to ignorance, does not eliminate stupidity, and does not treat insanity in any way. 

II.



"THE VISION"




 Comments regarding the free eBook entitled “THE VISION”:

“My thanks to you and Andy.” – Andrew “Mac” McMaster


“Thanks so much for the book! And, by the way, it is brilliant and the most effective pointing that you have done. It has served to help clear the remaining blockages.” – Stan Cross


“Greatly appreciate having “THE VISION” added to my Henderson resource library that is situated on the right side of my bed for easy access! Eternally grateful for what was received and what was given.” – Robert Rigby


‘THE VISION’ is such a well-written, condensed version of the Nisarga Yoga approach to understanding and enjoying Reality that I feel it can serve as a must-read ‘meditation guide’ for all earnest seekers.” – Andy Gugar, Jr. 

 III.




  While in South Africa in 2011, I was introduced to A Primate’s Memoir (2002) by Dr. Robert Maurice Sapolsky. Sapolsky is an American neuroendocrinologist; a professor of biology, neuroscience, and neurosurgery at Stanford University; a researcher; an author; and a Research Associate at the National Museums of Kenya. 

A Primate’s Memoir (which documents Sapolsky’s years in Africa while studying baboons), was recommended because there is much that a non-dualist or Advaitin or Nisargan can relate to by comparing and contrasting what Sapolsky reveals about the way certain troops of baboons live in Africa with the way that humans abide all around the globe. The book also portrays an unconventional way of studying neurophysiology to determine the effects of stress on life expectancy. (And the reduction or elimination of stress among humans is one of the aims of the non-dual understanding.) 

Now Sapolsky’s recent findings are offered in a documentary film entitled “Stress: Portrait of a Killer.” [The 56-minute film is available on YouTube in many countries.] 

This 152-page eBook catalogues the common, non-dual message shared by Sapolsky and Maharaj and reveals the ways that Sapolsky’s scientific research supports the non-dual pointers offered by Maharaj. 


  IV.


 
  
In “PART ONE” it will be seen that most persons on the planet are not seeking, and most will never seek, but for those who are seeking, most will face several obstacles:

Often, many do not really know WHY they are seeking. Too, many who are asked WHAT they are seeking often offer no clear-cut answer beyond the standard talk about "Realization" or "Enlightenment." For those who have come this way and have a clear notions about why they are seeking and what they are seeking, many have not yet found anyone that has shown them exactly HOW to go about the process. The content in "Part One" offers some considerations about all three.


In “Part Two” of this book, it will be seen why many criticized Maharaj for “changing his message in his later talks.” It will be seen that the changes were not about changing the message per se as much as about changing his methodology as he experimented with one version of the Ultimate Medicine after another in order to try to find an effective means for addressing the Ultimate Sickness. 


Maharaj’s loft was actually more of a laboratory in a loft in Bombay (now “Mumbai”) because he undertook in that loft many experiments in his efforts to find an effective form of the Ultimate Medicine that could treat the Ultimate Sickness effectively and successfully. In fact, he would eventually have three laboratories: 


He first ran . . . 


 ** a “Religion Laboratory,” then later 


** a “Spirituality Laboratory” and eventually 


** a “Psychology Laboratory.” 


All three will be discussed in detail in "Part Two."



V.

"THE MOST DANGEROUS BELIEF OF ALL"

Regarding the content in this 337-page book:

“Dangerous” is a term that can only apply during the relative existence. Among the Realized, there are no beliefs about “birth” so there are no beliefs about “the danger of death” (or the danger of anything else, for that matter). 

Certainly, therefore, there are no concerns about “dying,” “an afterlife,” or “receiving reward vs. punishment.” Additionally, the Realized make no judgment about suicide or the “rightness” or “wrongness” of that act. 

But of those who do commit suicide, how many shoot themselves in the foot over and over until they “bleed out”? None. They shoot themselves in the head. Why? In order to try to stop the noise - to try to stop the chatter of a thousand monkeys – to stop the noisy mind which is the area that stores the ideas, notions, concepts, mind-stuff, etc. which drives them into the depths of insanity. 

And what are those ideas, notions, concepts, etc. called, collectively? "Their beliefs." The irony? They are not their beliefs at all. They are the beliefs of “others” that were set in place via programming, conditioning, etc. and which persons then think are their own. 

And what are those beliefs rooted in, and what reinforces those beliefs and convinces persons that they are sacred and worth fighting over and even sometimes worth dying for? Blind faith. 

So how can “dangerous” have any relevance alongside an understanding which has no beliefs about birth, death, or an afterlife? It is relevant only in terms of the way that the relative unfolds. Strictly relatively speaking, there are those who move through the relative existence without being driven by what Maharaj called “ignorance and stupidity and insanity” and there are those who move through the relative existence while being driven by all three of those symptoms of the Ultimate Sickness. 

Persons in the latter group who are driven by those three traits are the most likely to generate, relatively speaking, hazard / menace / chaos / danger . . . call it what you will. While the Realized give no validity to any "a" vs. "b" duality, the Realized are wise enough to stand (a) outside the tigers’ cage at a zoo rather than (b) enter into the tigers’ cage. 

If a wise one were to somehow magically have the option of meeting either Gandhi or ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a dark alley, the wise one would be interested in the beliefs of neither and would be in awe of neither but would likely choose Gandhi over Abu Bakr, based in a wise one’s tendency to seek peace rather than peril and wellbeing rather than danger. 

Yet that choice would be based in sanity and wisdom rather than in fear or fright; it would be based more in a tendency to end suffering rather than a propensity for increasing suffering. 

Yes, to bring an end to the fear in which one might be trapped, the non-dual teacher will gladly point out that that the rope in the dark corner of a barn is a rope rather than a snake, but the teacher will be equally as glad to point out the pending “danger” to the seeker who is about to try to pick up a snake because she or he is mistaking it for a rope. 

Again, Maharaj: “The teacher does not evaluate. His sole concern is with suffering and the ending of suffering.” 

The Realized understand that, in the end, those persons with the most blind-faith-based beliefs are usually going to be the ones who are least concerned about peace and the ones most likely to generate chaos and relative dangers. 

The reason for offering the pointers in this book are in alignment with the same reasons that any true non-dual pointers are offered: to cast light onto the darkness; to allow those who cannot see to finally see; to provide a method by which those who cannot differentiate between the true and the false may finally do so; 

to offer an effective version of the Ultimate Medicine in order to alleviate the ignorance-and-insanity-induced-suffering which results from the Ultimate Sickness; and thus to facilitate the opportunity for those seeking peace and light and True Love to succeed in their quest. 

 To that end, best regards. 


To receive free copies, or to have us send free copies to your friends or relatives, send the request (or their email addresses) to the following name: 
 

nondualfloyd@gmail.com

[Sorry - for security reasons, no "clickable" link is provided. You'll need to type the address in to your emailed request manually. Also, the initial response to free eBook offerings is usually significant so it takes some time to process the requests. A new series will begin after those initial responses are taken care of. THX.]


SECTION FIVE:
COMPARE YOUR "JOURNEY" AND SEE IF YOU'VE UNDERGONE ANY EVENTS THAT PARALLEL THOSE OF MAHARAJ AND FLOYD


The "experiences" of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj and Floyd share many parallel. Many visitors have said that they have also shared some of the same parallels. Can you relate to any of these?

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 initially tried to address the Ultimate Sickness with religious teachings but realized that did not work, so both tried to address the Ultimate Sickness with spirituality, only to see eventually that "being spiritual" did not cure the Ultimate Sickness either

8. both then realized that the main problems of humanity center in the mind so both turned to the sharing of psychology and scientific-and-fact-based pointers to free persons of the effects of programming, conditioning, acculturation, domestication, brainwashing and indoctrination 

9. both had highly religious wives who were quite displeased with the shift away from religion

10. both had grown 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 (and no longer having a husband who brought in huge sums of money)

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 offered satsang


21. both saw that most who hear the teachings are still not going to understand

22. both, therefore, offered pointers without expectation, without attachment to outcome, and without any concern about the way that persons react to hearing Truth

23. both suggested that seekers focus on the exact, step-wise "path

24. both made the decision that whatever amount of the relative existence remains shall be spent in sharing the teachings in the way that has been seen to be the most effective method: not suggesting that there are not enough religious persons; not suggesting that the Ultimate Sickness is caused by being "spiritually-unfit"; but by seeing that the problem centers in the mind (which must come to an end, which it will the moment all beliefs are abandoned)

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.

SECTION SIX:
FOR THOSE WHO PREFER A BOOK IN HAND TO READING eBOOKS, THESE PAPERBACK BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH AMAZON.COM
 

(Four by Floyd Henderson and two by Dennis Waite. Click the picture for more information or to order)


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