TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
[See the offer following this post for details on how you can watch a video which includes a discussion of all seven of the steps on the path as used by Maharaj]
Here, with those who are still driven to talk about "God," the "Son of God," the "Holy Spirit," "Buddha," "Krishna," etc., etc., etc., the invitation to them is to view those as verbs, not nouns. See the end of the post for the full meaning and implications of that.
Maharaj noted that the masses - post-programming and post-conditioning - exhibit the traits of the Ultimate Sickness (namely, "ignorance, stupidity, and insanity"). Note, too, that 97% of the masses claim a religious affiliation which, more than any other single factor, results in dualistic thinking and dualistic talking and duality-based beliefs and duality-based behaviors.
Among many of the 97%, and among millions more who brag about being "spiritual, not religious" and among the millions more who are seeking "something beyond all that" via one means or another, site visitor Bill B. - whose observations have been shared here in the past - recently offered another consideration.
Years ago, when our paths first crossed, Bill - just as I had done - had followed a "Super Seeker's" long and arduous and winding path for decades and had settled into the role of "The Super Buddhist" by the time we met.
He would eventually find freedom even from that "good" identity as the non-dual understanding began to manifest and he began moving toward a "no-who-ness" and "no-WHO-ness" perspective. He understood the "no-Soul, no-Self" teaching referenced in yesterday's post but evidently had not yet settled into that understanding completely.
He said recently that "Buddha’s First Noble Truth regarding suffering" in life seemed to ring true at times but that "a better first noble truth might be . . . 'all life is goofy'.” Can that apply not only to those programmed with and attached to dogma but also to those who consider themselves to be spiritual or even those who consider themselves to be above and beyond both?
Experience here leads to the answer, "Yes."
Thus Bill said, "If one uses the programmed mind to attempt to examine life, and make sense of it, and categorize it, and philosophize about, it is goofy. 'All life is goofy' has a nice ring to it, and it may more accurately describe the actions [which are generated by] a programmed mind."
He explained: "The goofy programmed mind creates ego-states and emotional intoxication and false identities which are fighting for their supposed survival and the ignorant and insane beliefs which ego-states generate. The result is full-blown fanaticism. Need I say more about goofiness!"
"Philosopher George Santayana defines fanaticism as 'redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim' and says that 'the fanatic displays very strict standards and little tolerance for contrary ideas or opinions.”
Bill admits, "I was a fanatic religionist. From my memory of the condition, I remember the constant 're-doubling of the effort' part; however, I am not sure that I had forgotten my 'aim' or goal."
Instead, he explains, maybe that case was that "it, the aim, was never clear in the first place. The miasma of emotional intoxication was strong, and mirages and wispy hopes were there, but the goal was fuzzy. Maybe the goal was to become more godly. That makes me wince a bit now. But at least in part, the goal was to get better masks."
"I think my programmed ego wanted to be seen as “a spiritual giant” or a “holy man.” The whole fanaticism thing really had nothing to do with waking up but with getting completely stuck in the ruts of organized religions and new alternative spiritualities."
"I am reminded of the humorous, old county road sign where the pavement ended and the mud began. It advised “Choose your rut carefully. You’ll be in it for the next 30 miles.” Not a bad analogy for religions, only instead of 30 miles, it might be 30, 40, or 50 years. That is why Buddha may have said 'All life is goofy'.”
Indeed, what is goofier than believing that one is making conscious choices after the ability to made conscious choices has been stripped away and one is operating on "autopilot" as a result of goofy programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing, and indoctrination?
For many years beginning in 1989, I found myself drawn into far too many opportunities to try to de-program fanatical, goofy persons who had been drawn into the web of deceit that is spun by the plethora of cults and cult-like institutions that are present in all cultures, be those . . .
religious cults and other sky cults
spiritual cults
Eastern cults
cults of personality
family and tribal cults
recovery cults
political, racist or terrorist cults
supremacist and hate group cults
new age cults
self-help cults
"Native American spirituality" cults
black magic, satanic, occult cults
etc., etc., etc.
Nowadays, the sharing of Direct Path / Nisargan pointers involves the same: trying to free persons of the "learned ignorance" (Maharaj) which entraps them and allowing them - if free of that - to "realize." Per Maharaj, that is all that realization is about, and that is all that de-programming is about, just as the case is with those who would free persons from the effects of buying into the goofy, insane teachings which cults disseminate.
Whether persons know it or not, all have been introduced to the goofy, insane teachings of one cult or another. It is impossible for any child nowadays - or for most adults for that matter - to avoid the widespread nonsense and lies which are being spread all around the globe by the three entities focused on in the non-duality-based adventure novel entitled The Board of Directors of Wars, namely, Big Business, Big Government and Big Religion.
The masses who have bought into their nonsense and lies - unquestioningly in almost in all cases - can only pass down the ignorance which they have lave been taught and accepted as true.
So what should the "aim" or "goal" be? What to seek? God? An Eternal Reward? Avoidance of Eternal Punishment? An Infinite Self?
or
Freedom from the ignorance and insanity and goofiness which result in a loss of freedom and in a lifetime of religious or spiritual workaholism and fanaticism and a life-long case of being driven by the Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder?
That is why, here, the invitation has long been to forget trying to gain more knowledge and, instead, submit to be un-taught so that total un-learning can happen.
Otherwise, the specter of the goofiness Bill discussed can exert itself for the next "30, 40, or 50 years." The issue with that?
The history of humanity has been littered with the garbage of goofy beliefs. Just as "ignorance and stupidity and insanity" lead to ignorant and stupid and insane thoughts and talks and beliefs and behaviors, so, too, does goofiness lead to goofy thoughts, goofy words, goofy beliefs and goofy behaviors.
To be continued.
NEW OFFER:
Watch an updated seven-hour streaming video of a retreat with Floyd Henderson which can be viewed by anyone with internet access. (In this video; all seven of the steps on "the path" as taught by Maharaj are explained and discussed.)
If interested; click the button below to pay the fee via PayPal. You will then receive an email which includes the link for you to view the private, unlisted video via an arrangement we have made with YouTube, Inc. You do not have to have a YouTube account to watch this privately streamed video.
(If you do not receive the link promptly, your computer or email provider may have high filter settings. Check your spam and trash folders because some providers automatically transfer emails containing links to those folders.)
To access the seven-hour streaming video of a retreat and begin watching right away, click this "Buy Now" button:
Please enter into the silence of contemplation.
[NOTE: The four most recent posts are below. You may access all of the posts in this series and in the previous series and several thousand other posts as well by clicking on the links in the "Recent Posts and Archives" section.]
In addition to the five non-duality books made available without charge by Andy Gugar, Jr. (see “FREEBIES” above), you can now access nearly 3,300 posts for any topics of interest to you.
Here, with those who are still driven to talk about "God," the "Son of God," the "Holy Spirit," "Buddha," "Krishna," etc., etc., etc., the invitation to them is to view those as verbs, not nouns.
THE EXPLANATION
If looked at as nouns, they point to illusions and are, therefore, a total waste of time to even discuss; if looked at as verbs which are resulting in certain sane but rare behaviors among humanity, then they are worthy of some attention during the relative existence.
Meaning? There are members of certain groups who say things such as "My concept of God in the past was of a weak God, an absentee God, A Santa Claus-type God, a mean, punishing, vindictive God, etc. Today, I am in close contact with a loving and caring God whom I worship and praise and glorify and give thanks to."
The reply to that usually goes like this: "If you are in contact with a God that wants to be worshipped and praised and glorified, then you're dealing with someone like yourself - a narcissist - and hanging out with narcissists will never bring an end to your narcissism (that narcissism evidenced by the fact that you think you are "godly").
Next, in the phrase 'loving and caring God,' any supposed God that truly had her or his act together would tell you that the totally irrelevant part of that phrase is 'God' and that the only part
"That is, a non-narcissistic god / goddess would say, "I care not an iota about being worshipped and praised and glorified by you or anyone else. How arrogant and insecure and needy would I have to be to want that? Forget the man-made, dreamed up noun 'God' and focus on the 'God as a verb' understanding and then go forth and let loving and caring be verbs - not adjectives - and let them generate the act of love and the act of caring and let those actions manifest through you."
Yeshu'a (Jesus) and Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis were spot on:
"No one shall ever see 'the kingdom of heaven.' It is within"
and
"Heaven and earth shall fade away."
and
"Heaven and hell are not geographic places but are states of mind, nothing more than concepts dreamed up by men"
and
"There is no hell."
