TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Following eye surgery, clear focusing has not returned and eye strain results from anything other than a brief exposure to a computer screen; moreover, two follow up procedures must be arranged to "fine tune" the effects of the surgery; hence, the postings will be brief for awhile.
2. [See the offer following this post for details on how you can watch a retreat on video which includes a detailed discussion of all seven of the steps on the path as used by Maharaj]
3. 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.
4. A new video ("Number Ten: Awakening Together Satsang, March 2018") has now been added in the far right column of this page, offering the opportunity to view a recent 2018 satsang session with Floyd being interviewed by Regina and Jacqueline of "The Awakening Together Group."
Consider the understanding which can come if the messages contained in these two quotes are considered together:
1. Maharaj: "First of all you identify something as being good or bad for yourself. Then, in an effort to acquire good or to get rid of the bad, you have invented a God. Then you worship such a God and . . . you pray to that God for something good to happen to you."
2. Floyd: "With the few exceptions among 'the realized,' all humans have a primary addiction and a secondary addiction which manifest before they develop other addictions to other things and people. Their primary addiction is to their desire to control. Their secondary addiction is to power and Powers or A Power which they erroneously believe will give them the ability to control."
Presently, a family member is facing a significant challenge which requires that she be bedridden. Because of a divorce years ago, instead of two sets of people playing the role of "parents / grandparents," there are now three such sets.
For four of us, (deemed to be "satanic non-believers"), we are taking shifts as we prepare meals, clean dishes, run errands, clean the house, help with laundry, and pitch in, in any other ways that we can, in order to possibly lighten the present load in that household.
Beyond that, we are witnessing, having no illusion that if a team of physicians and a large hospital staff cannot correct the current situation and make it go away, neither can we. The situation is natural in cause and involves one of those peculiarities of nature which allow certain quirks and anomalies or twists of fate to happen. Four of us understand that clearly.
For one in the third set of parent / grandparent role players, there has long been a desire to control and to have power and a belief that she is far more hooked up than most with "The One True Power."
The belief is that, being in constant contact with God and being a devout follower to the extreme, there is a greater chance than with most people that the Power will respond to her calls for divine intervention and will make "a miracle" happen by providing a supernatural solution to a problem which is rooted entirely in the natural . . . not in the supernatural.
Hence, four of us are being told that we best change our ways and start praying if we truly care and truly love . . . etc., etc., etc.
With the fifth who is constantly entreating us and all others to join her in prayer, there has been a long-standing addiction to power - and "The Power" - which is rooted in a desire to control. (Her current husband told me, "She gives commands and I just follow them. If I don't, well . . . . ")
Consider the relevance of the following:
Persons can look at the acts which were the origin of the rituals now called "Holy Communion" or "The Lord's Supper" and see this:
The members of ancient tribes were convinced by their religious / spiritual leaders that droughts were not natural events but were events based in the supernatural. There were gods in other worlds controlling events in this world, and withholding rain needed for crops was a sign that the Rain God was not pleased with them. The solution?
A priest would claim that he was god's representative on earth and that when male gods are angry, what can calm them down - the same as with human males - is sex.
Thus, the priest would have sex with a virgin, bring her out from the holy chamber where he had raped here, cut from her body her beating heart, drink the blood and eat the body and then pass the heart among the religious community to share in "an act of communion with the Rain God."
If it did not rain by the next day, another sacrifice would be made, and another and another and another, until the rain finally came.
See? They had a desire. They wanted control. Thus, they tried to tap into an other-worldly power to come up with a supernatural solution to what was actually a problem rooted in nature, in things natural, and in things natural which could also involve a quirk or twist of fate (such as a rare aberration in an all-natural happening or such as a stationary weather system resting over their fields and blocking any chance for rain to fall).
See?
Therefore, "With the few exceptions among 'the realized,' all humans have a primary addiction and a secondary addiction which manifest before they develop other addictions to other things and people. Their primary addiction is to their desire to control. Their secondary addiction is to power and Powers or A Power which they erroneously believe will give them the ability to control"
and
"First of all you identify something as being good or bad for yourself. Then, in an effort to acquire good or to get rid of the bad, you have invented a God. Then you worship such a God and . . . you pray to that God for something good to happen to you."
When my daughter was concerned over the years about tests or relationships or the hard-hearted, sociopathic politicians who relish making life even more miserable for those already living miserable lives in poverty and deprivation, I would ask: "Is there anything we can do right now about that?" If we discussed it and found that, indeed, there was, then we did it. If there was not, we witnessed until we reached a point where we might be able to - if not solve the problem - then at least reduce the effects when possible.
To those who say, "I refuse to stand by and do nothing. I can pray and I'm going to," to those types, no breath is wasted in reply.
There is no need to say, "Well then, go ahead. Rock and roll" because that is what's going to be done anyway and is what will be done with or without my "permission" or encouragement. There is also no need to say, as Carlin did, Pull out all the stops and add to the mix "a lucky horseshoe, a rabbit's foot, a four-leaf clover, a wishing well, a Mojo Man, and a Voodoo Lady. Just pick your superstition, sit back, make a wish, and enjoy yourself."
There is no need to say, "Pull a Jiminy Cricket and sing, 'If you wish upon a star'."
There is no need to say, "Drive through the desert and talk to the mirage you think you see in the road ahead and invoke its assistance as well."
In short, there is no delusion-and-distortion-filled magical thinking happening here. There is no sense of grandiosity rooted in the notion that I am godly by virtue of being in constant contact with a god and I can change the course of natural events and can alter whatever happenings are happening.
Meanwhile, I'll continue to volunteer to assist with the day-to-day needs in that home in any way I can without adopting a delusional belief that I can intervene and change the course of nature by begging to dreamed up, invented "Beings" that it be changed.
Here, post-realization, there is no delusion that I am hooked up with some "Almighty Power in the Universe" which allows me a means by which desires and wishes and be granted; which allow me to control events and happenings and their outcomes; which leads me to believe in "miracles";
which leads me to believe that I am more capable of addressing such issues than the team of medical specialists who have demonstrated the success of their skill set thousands of times before; which would inspires me to assume god-related personas and feel egotistical about my "high state of goodness" or about being "Super Religious" or about being "A Spiritual Giant" or about being in touch with "A Supreme Self," etc.
Nope. Here, there are just awarenesses which this speck of unblocked consciousness, circulating through a temporary-manifested composite unity, has. Those include an awareness that I no power and, therefore, can only witness was is happening and lend a hand with relative needs when called on to do so.
Meanwhile, do I "care"? As Maharaj once responded to that question, "More than you'll ever know." Do I have the power to alter natural events? Of course not. Is there some Power which will do that were I to call on that invented Power to do so? Of course not. How can that be understood?
All is energy / matter. Neither energy nor matter can be created or destroyed. Therefore, there cannot have ever been any "creators" or "Creator" of anything. Energy-matter is merely circulating, coming together sometimes in a variety of composites but guaranteed to eventually come apart as well.
To be continued.
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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 relevant is the "loving and caring" 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."
--Yeshu'a (Jesus)
and
"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,
a writer used by the Pope to issue off the record
teachings
which become a part of the Papal Magisterium]
Here's
the direct link to the VIDEO VERSION
of the "Awakening Together" satsang session with Regina and Jacqueline referenced earlier, 18 MARCH 2018
If preferred, here's
the direct link to the AUDIO VERSION
of that session.
