TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. [See the offer in gold text
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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.)
4.
Some prefer paperback books even if they have to wait a day or so to
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Now, 10 paperback books by Henderson are in print and are available
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MAHARAJ AND THE RELIGION VS. SCIENCE DEBATE
and
THE LIES VS. TRUTH DEBATE
and
THE LIES VS. TRUTH DEBATE
"In
the realm of permanence, there is no WHO-ness, no personhood, and
nothing personal. There is only WHAT-ness or THAT-ness, and all else
remains imagined and dreamed up and illusory beliefs. Moreover, it is
science which can not only make that clear but can also prove it is
fact."
--Floyd Henderson
"Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is just opinion."
--Democritus
(Yes,
"opinion" (or ideas, concepts, imaginings, misperceptions, notions,
distortions, delusions, thoughts, theories, and views - a.k.a., "bogus
beliefs.")
--Floyd Henderson
Those Who Have the Opportunity to Be Free of False Beliefs
In earlier postings, the discussion focused on two of the most entrenched sets of beliefs:
1. those dealing with supposed "payoffs" from believing in a "personal god" (or gods and goddesses); and,
2. those dealing with supposed "payoffs" from believing in one's false "personal" roles / identities, especially those which are rooted in the various "ism's" which is so popular in various cultures around the globe.
Now, the focus will turn to those few that have some chance of being free of their beliefs in images and distortions and misperceptions and myths and superstitions as opposed to those that typically do not any chance at all of being free of the effects of their beliefs.
In the former group, there are those who are intelligent (that is, those who have the capacity to understand) but who are functioning under the auspices of their wisdom-blocking "learned ignorance"; in the latter, there are those who are functioning under the auspices of complete ignorance, period (or under the auspices of a genetically-inferior brain or under the auspices of a damaged brain).
In the latter case, there is also the presence of learned ignorance, but because there is also an absence of intelligence, there is in those latter instances no reasonable likelihood that wisdom will ever manifest.
The intelligent in the former group above have the potential to be free of the effects of learned ignorance and to complete the "journey" to full realization (that is, to a state of being freed from believing in that which is false or ignorant or insane).
Those in the latter group above will most likely never understand that all notions involving ego or ego-states (or a sense of "a personal being" or belief in "a personal do-er" or the belief in "a personal god") are all illusions . . . all mis-perceptions based in delusion.
So, for those with the capacity to cast aside the accumulation of their "knowledge" (their "learned ignorance") which they are so very proud of prior to realization, the challenge becomes, "How to be free of belief in illusions and to see truth instead?"
First, most persons - including those in "the intelligent group" - will never be freed from their foolish beliefs. When intelligence is neutralized via learned ignorance, then even the intelligent will be fooled and will most likely remain in that state.
[A day does not pass when some intelligent human - or when many intelligent humans - are seen to have been completely fooled - by a spouse or partner, by a favorite politician, by someone who is playing the role of a super religious person, by someone playing the role of a spiritual giant, etc. That was certainly the case with "floyd" when fooled for years by someone who convinced me that she "loved" me but who was actually engaged in a "transactional, quid pro quo relationship" where the transaction involved a bartering-type exchange of (a) "love-making" (actually, just physical sex) for the paying of all of that person's bills and maintenance expenses. Like Rip Van Winkle, I too was totally asleep for many years in regards to one aspect of my existence, and the eventual awakening to the truth in that regard brought with it quite the mental and emotional shock.]
To continue:
[A day does not pass when some intelligent human - or when many intelligent humans - are seen to have been completely fooled - by a spouse or partner, by a favorite politician, by someone who is playing the role of a super religious person, by someone playing the role of a spiritual giant, etc. That was certainly the case with "floyd" when fooled for years by someone who convinced me that she "loved" me but who was actually engaged in a "transactional, quid pro quo relationship" where the transaction involved a bartering-type exchange of (a) "love-making" (actually, just physical sex) for the paying of all of that person's bills and maintenance expenses. Like Rip Van Winkle, I too was totally asleep for many years in regards to one aspect of my existence, and the eventual awakening to the truth in that regard brought with it quite the mental and emotional shock.]
To continue:
Some few will understand the full import of these pointers and be free of their belief in false ideas and concepts. Again, in those cases where ignorance is combined with learned ignorance, the chances for enlightenment are practically nil. So it is.
Secondly, if the intelligent are to be freed of entrapment in learned ignorance, then all beliefs must be forfeited, without exception, yet who wants to discard the beliefs that most persons prize so highly? The fact is, however, that to discard a thousand beliefs but to cling to even one as if it were "your ultimate 'sacred cow' or 'belief'" will avail you nothing.
Furthermore, to invite one who believes in a personal self and in a personal god to consider the possibility that their beliefs are pure fiction will usually only reinforce, not diminish, their attachment to their beliefs.
The very invitation itself - to consider a different possibility - will usually inspire persons to “dig in their heels” and stubbornly defend what they mistakenly take to be "their" beliefs (which, as noted, are really the beliefs of other persons that have merely been passed along to them . . . and passed along for generations).
Once the programming has extended beyond the age of 6 or 7 or 8, beliefs will be taken by persons to be a part of what defines them . . . that help to identify “who they are” as much as the labels that they have been assigned or that they have adopted on their own.
They will cling forever to their conceptual lies, and only a small fraction will ever be free of the hold of beliefs (and thereafter realize fully). So blind have non-realized persons been rendered by way of programming, conditioning, domestication, acculturation, brainwashing and indoctrination that even the intelligent among them cannot begin to fathom the veracity of the facts that contradict their beliefs, even when they hear them stated most clearly.
Should they happen to hear the consciousness speak to say, “Every belief you have is a lie,” most persons will close themselves off from the voice of pure consciousness and cling to the blockages that prevent the hearing and acceptance of facts.
They will refuse to so much as consider the possibility offered by the consciousness when it says, "In fact, you have no beliefs. What presently fills 'your mind' are 'their' beliefs, not 'your beliefs,' yet you have adopted them with such conviction and pride that you behave as if those ideas were original to you."
Again, to tell one believing in a "personal self" that there is no such thing is to only reinforce their belief in a personal self. To tell one believing in a "personal god" that there is no such thing is to only reinforce their belief in a personal god and will incite them to enter into defensive—and often offensive—modes.
Offensive modes by those who believe in a "personal god" or "gods and goddesses?" Yes, absolutely and most assuredly. For 5000 years, Jews have been killing non-Jews and non-Jews have been killing Jews; for 2000 years, Christians have been killing Jews, Jews have been killing Christians, and Christians have been killing others Christians that belong to different denominations or religions;
For 1300 years, Muslims have been killing Jews and Christians, Christians and Jews have been killing Muslims, and Muslims have been killing Muslims that belong to different sects. Now, not a day passes without a report of how many Muslims killed other Muslims of a different sect, how many Christian soldiers killed how many Muslims, how many Muslims blew up how many Christians, ad infinitum.
The evidence of the results of their beliefs could not be clearer, but rather than saying, "Hey, maybe it's not that 'they' are wrong . . . maybe the fact is that we are all in error," instead, lines are drawn and opposite sides are taken as persons align against persons once their beliefs generate a false sense of separation and a false belief in "our rightness vs. their wrongness";
after their beliefs foster erroneous, dualistic conclusions about "right beliefs vs. wrong beliefs"; and after their beliefs drive them to defend "the proper dogma supported by my god vs. the improper dogma supported by their god." The same roots - erroneous beliefs - are the basis of every fight, including those in "relationships," between cities, between states, between nations, etc.
To all of the results generated by the beliefs above, add in not only the results that are generated and disseminated by religious and spiritual and philosophical and ideological "-ism's" but also add in the beliefs disseminated by political "-ism's," nationalistic "-ism's," economic "-ism's," governmental "-ism's," etc. See the hundreds of thousands of beliefs that are driving the non-realized to feel "apart-from" and that are blocking them from understanding the unicity.
Next, for freedom from believing in false beliefs to happen, the readiness of the intelligent seeker has to be there; only then can the teacher begin her / his task effectively.
Here, there are four steps (or, for some, seven steps) which can be used to shift from identification with the false "I" to abidance as the Absolute. Too, Maharaj discussed the three "levels" among seekers ("wet charcoal," "dry charcoal," and those at the "gunpowder stage"); therefore, there is the additional requirement of a teacher that can listen to a seeker, that can determine "where" on "the path" that seeker is, and that can then offer level-appropriate pointers that might facilitate a shift to the next step on "the path."
What is said to one seeker in regards to a topic may differ entirely when addressing the same topic with a different seeker.
The “Wet Charcoal” Level
Persons at the “wet charcoal” level (which includes the masses) will likely never be able to understand non-duality pointers (or much of anything else). The teacher will never be able to “fire them up” enough to burn away their beliefs - their learned ignorance.
The “Wet Charcoal” Level
Persons at the “wet charcoal” level (which includes the masses) will likely never be able to understand non-duality pointers (or much of anything else). The teacher will never be able to “fire them up” enough to burn away their beliefs - their learned ignorance.
The “Dry Charcoal” Level
Those at the “dry charcoal” level include persons who have completed some of the necessary study and reading and contemplation and in those cases, with much effort, the teacher might be able to generate a spark of light that can move them closer to "The Understanding."
Those at the “dry charcoal” level include persons who have completed some of the necessary study and reading and contemplation and in those cases, with much effort, the teacher might be able to generate a spark of light that can move them closer to "The Understanding."
The “Gunpowder” Level
For those at the “gunpowder” level, they are very close to full realization, being blocked by attachment to only a few remaining concepts and beliefs. With the proper pointers offered by a teacher that knows “where they are on the path,” the teacher can often say to those at the third (religious or spiritual) level exactly what is required to trigger an explosion that blows away all of their remaining beliefs and allows them to continue along the “path” in order that full realization might happen.
What about you? Have you been fixated at the religious / spiritual / "personal god" stage which is only the third of the seven, required steps to move away from "personal identification" and to abidance as the Absolute and to overlaying Reality upon the remainder of the relative existence?
Is the consciousness finally beginning to inspire some questioning? Might the consciousness have reached a level where it is beginning to sense that there might be “something else” to be understood beyond religious dogma and beyond "spiritual principles"?
An alternative consideration was offered recently to a seeker in the U.K. that has been trapped at that level. He was asked if he might be willing to set aside all of his spiritual exercises;
if he might be willing to take a break from all of duality-reinforcing meditative practices during which he has been focusing on "positive" ideas in order to block out "negative" ideas; and if he might consider taking a vacation from all of his other spiritual employment.
If so, the alternate possibility presented for his consideration was this:
that abiding might simply happen - and happen simply - without his continuing to turn mere "living" into another full time job.
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.
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 their god / their 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
or
You can click on the picture link which has now been added for video "Number Ten" in the upper right-hand column on this page.
If preferred, here's
the direct link to the AUDIO VERSION
of that session.