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.
WHY? TO REVIEW:
"Heaven and hell are not geographic places but are states of mind, nothing more than concepts dreamed up by men."
--Pope John Paul II
"There is no hell."
--Pope Francis, the current pope
[in an interview with journalist Eugenio Scalfari]
"No one shall ever see 'the kingdom of heaven.' It is within"
and
"Heaven and earth shall fade away."
--Yeshu'a (Jesus)
REALIZING WITHOUT DOGMA, WITHOUT CONTINUOUS SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND WITHOUT A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL”:
The "I'm Not Religious, I Am Spiritual" Braggadocios Delusion
["The rest of his story," continued from yesterday]
Yesterday, we saw the end result when one is raised in a part of a nation that deems itself to be better-than those in other parts, specifically "The Heartland of the U.S." and "The Real America";
and when a man ends up being one of the most mentally-and-emotionally-disturbed individuals ever worked with here because of . . .
sexual abuse by a parent and grandparent (who were both deemed to be "pillars of the church and community"); because of
physical, sado-masochistic abuse at the hands of an ignorant and insane father (who was deemed to be "a pillar of the church and community"); because of
being raised to believe that image and authenticity and appearance is all and substance is nothing;
and that only "the church" has the answer to all hurt and suffering (even though it ignored all of the obvious signs that he needed some serious help because many of the leaders in the church were also sexually abusing some of its young congregants); then
one can become a deeply-disturbed and psychically-unhealthy Personality Type Three Performer, putting up a false front; wearing masks to hide reality; and keeping up a "good" and respectful" and "admirable" appearance which becomes the be all and the end all and sets up a lifetime of hypocrisy; then
the abused is set up to become the abuser and can be driven by the hidden agenda of a deeply-disturbed and psychically-unhealthy and sociopathic Personality Type Eight Controller; and
one can become trapped in dissociation and denial and those will become a person's most used tools of the trade;
but, being an expert at cover up and charm, one can draw persons to him or her as moths are drawn to the seemingly appealing glow of a burning candle but will eventually end up going down in flames as a consequence of being manipulated by a charming sociopath or psychopath.
Next, the fellow recalled for me the stops on his long and arduous and fanatical "path to healing," and he was convinced for years that if he sought the religion of his youth in the most fanatical way possible, that would be the answer to his problems . . . that would be a way to find peace and happiness.
During his late teen years, his "Midwestern Patriot and "Great American" roles inspired him to volunteer and enlist in the army and to travel 9,000 miles to kill people deemed to be "a threat to America" and therefore "the enemies of America."
Years later, he would get an occasional glimpse of the truth that some of the people he killed, such as a rice farmer standing in a narrow boat which he was pushing along with a pole, could have never threatened America at all; but the role of "The Super Patriot" would always prevail and he would defend the actions taken by him and his fellow brothers-in-arms in that war.
A few years later, he became ordained in the Christian church and he lived in a monastery for a time, wearing floor-length robes and cutting his hair in a special way and wearing a huge cross on a rope around his neck and wearing leather sandals year-round and carrying a Bible with him at all times; then he retreated into isolation, living for a while in a cabin in a remote woods in the Midwest. Yet all of his calloused and malicious behaviors continued when he came into contact with people.
Rejoining society, he was introduce to “spirituality” and soon became not only a religious fanatic but also a spiritual fanatic, convinced that such a combination - providing a “double dose” of a special medicine - would be the answer to his problems and would lead to peace.
His status elevated among his fellow “Spiritual Giants,” and he became globally famous . . . a recognized leader among spiritual persons in their Twelve Step recovery programs. Along with the Bible he carried everywhere, he also began carrying what that program called their "Big Book" everywhere he went as well.
He attended more meetings than anyone else; he shared more than anyone else; he rose each morning at 4 A.M. to begin readings and meditation and had crowds joining him in the act. Man oh man did he look super religious and super spiritual. Yet alone, he cried, knowing what a fake he was and how false his image was, but the next morning, he would get up and start his image-building and image-maintenance stuff all over again.
He spoke to others all around the globe, but all along, he was living the greatest lie of all. He talked only generally about his abusers during his early years, but he talked in great detail about how he had forgiven his abusers even though they had never asked for forgiveness. And he really believed that lie too.
He felt trapped between a desire to maintain his elevated image and an occasional inner longing for authenticity. The image won out until the end. His fanaticism around earning applause and recognition and maintaining his false image prevailed to the very end of the manifestation.
To the very end, he was one of the most fanatically-spiritual, obsessive, and compulsive persons that anyone was ever likely to meet. Yet to the end, he knew no peace. He never once relaxed. He was the epitome of pain and misery and suffering, partly in spite of his fanaticism and partly because of his fanaticism.
Such is guaranteed to be the case when a program encourages and reinforces obsessive-compulsive tendencies of its members who need more than anything to be treated effectively for their Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder.
When it was suggested that some method other than the organized religion which his mother and grandmother had modeled in public might be more effective, he balked. Later, when it was suggested that some method other than the spirituality which his father had modeled in public might be more effective, he balked. He did look at the non-dual pointers offered here for consideration, but he was "never quite ready for the whole deal" (though he said that he felt "the real answers might be contained in that understanding").
He would, in fact, send certain suffering persons to come here - persons who were quite like him, actually - encouraging them to "be open and explore what a non-dual understanding might offer," but he never fully accepted the message himself.
He never realized that the religious / spiritual belief systems espoused by his parents and grandmother in order to maintain a positive public image were the same belief systems which he was espousing in order to maintain a positive public image. He never saw that he was engaging in a repetition compulsion. He never understood that he was trapped in the Stockholm Syndrome and was idealizing his abusers. He never understood that he had become his mother, his grandmother, his father.
Now that is only one of billions of cases of unchecked fanaticism which should make clear that one can be as fanatical as can be but will remain miserable and unhappy and, yes, insane.
Whether one's fanaticism has been continuously reinforced by way of the continuing programming, conditioning, etc. offered in the place where it originally took root - either in a church / temple / mosque or in a spiritual group or in a satsang session or anywhere else - the invitation here is to understand what cannot coexist with fanaticism:
Peace cannot coexist with fanaticism.
Resting and relaxing cannot coexist with fanaticism.
Sitting in what Maharaj called “the cool, blue shade as do the deer" cannot coexist with fanaticism.
Taking it easy cannot coexist with fanaticism.
Seeing clearly cannot happen in the presence of fanaticism.
Being free of the false identities which trigger the use of egotism to sustain them cannot happen in the presence of fanaticism.
In fact, nothing that religious role players or spiritual role players are seeking - or claim to have found – can manifest alongside fanaticism.
Moreover, nothing that religious role players or spiritual role players are seeking can be found via fanaticism.
Fanaticism inspires belief systems and thinking and talking and behaving in ways that are the very antithesis of that which can lead to peace and resting and relaxing and sitting in “the cool, blue shade” and taking it easy and seeing the false identities which trigger the use of egotism and arrogance.
Maharaj’s end message was this: see who / what you are not; then empty the mind and reach a state of zero concepts; then abide in a Nisargan (natural) fashion. Enjoy the pleasures available when freed from ignorance and insanity (pleasures which can only be enjoyed now during the relative existence because, post-manifestation, there will be no “one” to enjoy anything).
Again, as Yeshu'a (Jesus) said after reaching the non-dual understanding, there is no "kingdom to come," explaining: “No one shall ever see the kingdom of heaven. It is within.”
Analogous to “the kingdom of heaven” is being free; being at peace; being able to relax; being able to take it easy.” Those states are all possibilities which have nothing to do with externals and which have everything to do with internals. They have the potential to come forth now, yet they cannot be experienced unless that which is blocking the ability to enjoy those (namely the content of the mind) is removed entirely.
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."
