TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. [See the offer in gold text 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]
2. 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 green text after today's post for the full meaning and implications of that.
3. 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." (See the details in the blue text after this post.)
The point in this series is that the non-dual message has long been widespread but has seldom been understood either then or now.
To continue:
THE NON-DUALITY MESSAGE AS OFFERED IN FILM
Today, the three films discussed will not be given ringing endorsements but might have something to offer seekers who are at certain (early) places on the “path”:
“What Dreams May Come,” “What The Bleep Do We Know?!,” and “Calling It Quits”
“What Dreams May Come”
[The title is pulled from Hamlet's "To Be or Not to Be" soliloquy.]
Two critics wrote of what they saw as central themes of this film:
Eternity is similar to the realm of the imagination.
The ‘afterlife’ is totally individualistic.
There is no God in heaven.
Thus is no place offering union with a Creator.
Yet there is an excess of magical thinking as well, suggesting that . . .
1 . . . as far as an afterlife is concerned, "belief ‘creates’ experience”
and
2 . . . "Thought is real; the physical is an illusion," [the former is usually rejected by most “non-dualists” and the latter is often clarified to makes clear that the physical is real but it is not what it appears to be. Of course the “illusion” happens, therefore, as a result of the mind erroneously believing that all is as it appears to be. A steel beam is not what most take it to be. An electron microscope makes clearing it a mass of swirling subatomic particles moving through an otherwise empty space.]
and
3 . . . there is an immortal soul.
"Nuh uh"
The core flaw in the novel and movie: the inconsistent messaging.
The author said that “he was raised as a Christian Scientist but that he gradually developed what he called ‘his own religion’.”
That might explain the diverse jumble of religious and spiritual messages in this film.
Moreover, that might also explain why some Hindus claim this is movie based in Hinduism, but not consistently; why some Christians claim that it is a Christian movie for the most part, but not consistently; and why some non-dualists see occasional messages regarding the Oneness and Love / compassion, but not consistently.
In fact, the film offers a smorgasbord of religious and spiritual concepts with the ingredients laid out as if on a buffet line which allows person to choose a host of beliefs drawn from the doctrines of a host of religions and spiritual movements and which allows consumers to toss together whatever they might like or identify with to make a dogma casserole out of what they pick and choose to satisfy their palate depending on where they might currently be on the "path" of their "religious / spiritual quest."
Some might sample all of the conflicting pointers in this film and shout to the author Richard Matheson, “Make up your damn mind,” forgetting that his mind is seemingly burdened with a plethora of religious and spiritual beliefs culled from hundreds of ancient concepts and beliefs from hundreds of ancient sources. He seems to still be walking the buffet line and picking morsels from all of the serving dishes without having decided what he really wants to eventually put on his plate and make a meal of.
It is almost as if someone boarded a train in Los Angeles headed for New York City, arrived in Chicago for a temporary layover, de-boarded, and is now shouting, “I have arrived!! Now, let me tell all of you how to get to New York City!!!”
The wise might say, “Hey, get your ass back on the train. You’re only about halfway there.”
Nevertheless, the author bragged that “this is the most important (read 'effective') book I've written. It has caused a number of readers to lose their fear of death – the finest tribute any writer could receive."
That’s the finest tribute? Okay.
The message in the story of "the blind men and the elephant" applies here, that story explaining how various blind men who are feeling different parts of an elephant all believe that they can now accurately describe what an elephant looks like in its entirety.
P.S. The cinematography and “effects” are masterful.
“What The Bleep Do We Know?!”
Part of one synopsis says, “As our DNA and consciousness activates, we quest for the truth behind our creation asking the age old questions, "What is reality and why am I here?"
[The “realized” understand they were not created.]
For everyone there is a wake-up moment when the journey in the physical is activated to seek for more.
[Actually, “everyone” does not seek; in fact, only a few will ever even attempt to do so.]
Hence the journey into awakening, the sleeping prophet within us, begins. Along the way people try to heal their issues and emotional problems, seek to heal others as part of the process, read books, do energy works, travel, take classes, etc.
Alas the final truth . . . reality is a virtual holographic experiment in linear time and emotion.
If the point is that most go through the relative existence abiding in a state of emotional intoxication, agreed.
One critic notes that the film “combines documentary interviews and a fictional narrative to posit a connection between science and spirituality based upon the Ramtha's School of Enlightenment of JZ Knight / Ramtha, of whom the three directors are devotees.”
It sets forth various ideas:
The universe is best seen as constructed from thought (or ideas) rather than from substance (see idealism);
What has long been considered "empty space" is anything but empty (see vacuum energy);
Our beliefs about who we are and what is real are not simply observations but rather form ourselves and our realities (see solipsism).
Peptides manufactured in the brain can cause a bodily reaction to an emotion, resulting in a new perspective to old adages such as "think positively" and "be careful what you wish for."
A host of Big Name Teachers have endorsed the film. All that said, there have been some seekers who have come here and said that the film must be watched with a critical eye but was still worth the two hours and twenty-six minutes they invested.
This might well be a film for seekers who are moving through the early steps on “the path” and need a prod to move along. As for a non-dual message, yes there are some non-dual pointers here, but the search for them will have to negotiate its way around many other conceptual obstacles.
Maharaj did say that science will someday advance to the point that it confirms all of the non-dual teachings.”
I’m not certain this film is exactly what he had in mind, yet many seekers may have found worse ways to pass 2-1/2 hours.
“Calling It Quits”
One summary says:
“Dante Milestone, a world-weary baby-boomer, is not happy. His struggles with everyday life, his past, even the question of 'the existence of a higher power', have led him to evaluate his own life - an assessment which ultimately drives him to leave work and success behind and set out on a quest in search of happiness.
"But Dante soon learns that it's not that simple, for after a series of painfully humorous attempts fail to provide an answer, Dante sinks even deeper. It is not until he encounters Cynthia, a spiritual guide of sorts, that he uncovers the underlying truth and finally arrives at an answer that surprises even him.”
Again, as shared in the 17 April 2019 "eXistenZ" analysis,
Maharaj said of “meaning” and “purpose”:
“To me the entire commotion [about life] is meaningless”
and
“Living is life’s only purpose.”
As for Anthony Tarsitano, the writer and director of the movie, he explains that he started following “the practice of non-duality ten years before."
His take on the non-dual message: “It helps people stop focusing on the good and bad of life and instead start to recognize that everything in life is an experience.”
Okay.
To be continued.
THE NEWEST 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 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"
--Yeshu'a (Jesus)
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.
[That said, would that the popes who have shown the courage to reject a core concept of their dogma - namely, "hell" - would find the additional courage required to question the very existence of their institution in light of the centuries-long cover-up of their history of raping children and in light of the mental and emotional and psychological scarring of billions of their members past and present.
And that need for courage also applies as questions need to be asked about why so many other sky cults are still being supported and allowed to continue to exist as well. When certain types of programming and conditioning have been shown to blind the masses, they should end. Will they? Not likely. Why?
Because what the masses think and say and do is most influenced by the international crime families which hold sway over the masses as criminals conduct their planet-wide operations. What are the major international crime families and which are the most influential and have the largest memberships?
The Mafia / La Cosa Nostra; the Catholic Church (with it 1.2 billion followers) whose Vatican Bank worked for decades with the Mafia while laundering mob earnings (for a 15% all-profit charge by the Bank); Protestant and Evangelical Churches (with over 1.2 billion followers) like the one I was raised in where the youth director molested and sexually assaulted young girls; big business which has long created environments in which people have been abused; powerful political bodies like the U.S. Congress, etc., etc., etc.)
With all of those crime families, neither the followers nor the leadership ever voluntarily step down or shut down their criminal activities. Be they gangs, organized crime families, religions, big business, politicians, etc., they all want control and they all want power and they all want money, and nothing internal will interfere with the driving forces at play.
The masses must demand that all those in charge must step down and their groups and institutions must shut down, and there's the real problem because the continuation of their crimes are enabled not as much by the people running such crime organizations as they are enabled by the masses of people who - wanting some perceived "payoff" - remain involved with them and give them money and support them and aid and abet the continued existence of those criminal enterprises and thus facilitate the ability of church criminals and political criminals and other types of criminals to continue to commit their crimes.]
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.
