TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
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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.
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opportunity to view a recent 2018 satsang session with Floyd being
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MAHARAJ’S SHIFTS AWAY FROM DOGMA, FROM SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND FROM A PREOCCUPATION WITH “THE NATURE OF REALITY AND THINGS NOUMENAL”
In the realm of duality, there are hierarchies. On those hierarchies, there are some who have consciously worked for and assumed the role of “leaders”; there are the masses who have unconsciously assumed the roles of “followers” – “sheepersons” or "sheeppersons" some call them.
In terms of non-duality, there are no “leaders who are very different from seekers” and there are none who are "different from or better than others." Consider the point of this exchange and the other following quotes by which Maharaj affirmed that point:
Questioner: “What is the basic difference between us?”
Maharaj: “There is no basic difference.”
Also, he said:
“The only difference between us is that I am aware of my natural state while you are bemused”
and
“I do not claim to know what you do not. In fact, I know much less than you do”
and
"I take my stand where no difference exists, where things are not, nor the minds that create them."
Along the way, another non-dualist was heard to say something about not having a single thing that all seekers don’t also have. The problem, he said, is that seekers (and all persons) believe something that he did not.
Maharaj made clear, once he switched to a psychological approach which addressed the “learned ignorance” and the “insanity” associated with the Ultimate Sickness, that this deal is not about accumulating more knowledge but is about being free of all the knowledge already acquired.
That is why the talk here is about un-learning rather than learning, about un-teaching rather than teaching.
While there are no leaders in non-duality, there are what can be called for the sake of discussion “pointers,” those who point out the way along a certain “path.” There are some that takes the steps necessary to move along that entire path, but most never will.
Many like the supposed “status” of being close to the leader of the pack, so many want to associate with “the leader,” but even then, the supposed leader of non-Realized persons is not a leader in the form of a teacher or a preacher or a priest or a rabbi or an imam or an ayatollah or a Supreme Leader or a parent or a politician, etc.
As cunning as many in those groups might be, the real leader among the non-realized masses is far more cunning because each person among the non-realized has his / her own little personality cult, worshipping the leader which is actually the self (or, more accurately, the selves).
With such types, in the end, the personalities – the many assigned and assumed personas – become that which is really all-important. Ultimately, only the ideas and notions and concepts (i.e., beliefs) of the leader / the self / the selves are given any value because the self really only “loves” the self.
What is this self among the non-realized? It is that which believes the lies of duality and multiplicity while having no clue at all about the oneness . . . the unicity.
The self can be said to be an accumulation of all ego-states which are assumed and employed by persons to identify incorrectly who they think they are. Those ego-states may also be called personas, roles, facades, masks, images, false selves, or any number of other words or terms that point toward the false identities which persons adopt (or unquestioningly accept when they are assigned by their cultures).
In their always dualistic and unstable character, some identities which are assigned carry “negative” connotations among those who are into downgrading (“thief,” “bastard,” “whore,” “homewrecker,” “deserter,” “foreigner,” "immigrant," “insurgent,” "gay," "bi-sexual," "liberal," "progressive," "elites," "an 'aggressive' woman," "an unmarried mother," "a childless woman," "a non-believer," "peace freak," “user,” “heartbreaker,” “sinner,” “infidel”)
while some are assigned “positive” connotations by those who are into upgrading in various cultures (“priest,” “preacher,” “imam,” “rabbi,” “soldier,” “patriot,” "sniper," “law enforcement officer,” “mother,” “religious person,” “spiritual person,” “helper,” “volunteer”).
Early on and for many years, Maharaj endorsed “Self-Inquiry,” advising seekers to find out "Who You Are"; he later changed his tune, so to speak. Why did Maharaj endorse "self-inquiry" and suggest that “it is enough just to know who you are not?” Because his actions prove that he came to understand that most approaches used by seekers only add to the accumulation of false selves – only add to the already-far-too-large body of false identities.
His actions prove that he came to understand that sky cults (religions) and other cults (including those operating as “ashrams”) and spiritual movements and ideologies and philosophies did nothing to eliminate belief in the false self / selves but actually inspired the assumption of additional ego-states as identities.
In some cases, new roles can be added to the body of roles which have already been adopted.
In other cases, new roles can be assumed to replace former roles, and the new ones are always deemed to be better than the old ones . . . until some other newer and even better ones come along.
If he had seen that any of the various approaches he used over the years had worked, he would have stuck with that. Yet he abandoned the use of all of his earliest approaches until he began to address the core of the Ultimate Sickness - the mental aspect.
His actions prove that he came to understand that
(A) instead of eliminating the dualistic belief in hierarchies and allowing persons to come to understand the classless nature of the unicity, he came to see that
(B) all of those approaches actually generated and reinforced and perpetuated a dualistic sense of different-from-ment and better-than-ment.
His actions further prove that he came to understand that the approaches he tried early on, and for decades, were inspiring persons to assume what they took to be “new and improved” ego-states as identities.
His actions also prove that he came to understand that all of those identities were then inspired endlessly to practice either the upgrading of themselves and people and places and things they liked and to practice the downgrading of people and places and things they did not like.
So, to continue with the earlier discussion of the ways that the approaches Maharaj tried early on - as well as all of the teachings in homes and schools and societies and cultures all around the globe - actually inspire upgrading and downgrading (and, therefore, dualistic thinking and dualistic beliefs).
An example of an upgrade is when "I am a man" becomes "I am a good man," "I am a loving husband," "I am the best boss ever," or "I am a spiritual man," so actually "I am a great man."
Another example is when the belief that "There is this world" is upgraded to "There is a better world, a heaven, and if you do what I tell you, you can go to that better world someday”; or, "There is a way to escape an endless series of cyclings over and over through this world and a way to escape to an existence of eternal bliss and joy.”
A downgrade can happen when "There is this world" can be downgraded to "There is a world of pain and punishment called hell which awaits you"; or, “There are multiple cyclings over and over through this world which you will have to go through unless you live as I tell you to live and then finally escape those cycles.”
Some upgrades later become downgrades because ego-states are like chameleons, never knowing stability and always in a state of flux and movement. Thus, "He is a man" can be upgraded to "The man I'm going to marry has a great work ethic," but that can later be downgraded to "The ass I married is a workaholic." And "He is a man" can be upgraded to "The man I'm going to marry is a great lover," but that can later be downgraded to "The ass I married is a sex fiend."
Or, as one man told me, "The woman I married is a bitch."
F.: "Then I must ask, why would you marry a bitch?"
He: "She wasn't a bitch when I married her, dumbass."
F.: "Ah, so what does that tell you?" [At that, he gave me a "go to hell" look. I continued.]
"You're like the man who told me that he married a woman who later left him for . . . another woman; then, he went on to berate her unmercifully." I then asked, "Did she tell you that she was bisexual before she met you?"
He: "Just the opposite. She said she had never considered being with another woman until sometime after she married me."
F.: 'Ah, then what does that tell you about what it was like to live with a man like you'?" [The maintenance of some degree of decorum requires that his reply not be shared.]
"You're like the man who told me that he married a woman who later left him for . . . another woman; then, he went on to berate her unmercifully." I then asked, "Did she tell you that she was bisexual before she met you?"
He: "Just the opposite. She said she had never considered being with another woman until sometime after she married me."
F.: 'Ah, then what does that tell you about what it was like to live with a man like you'?" [The maintenance of some degree of decorum requires that his reply not be shared.]
In every case involving false identities, though, one commonality exists: every persona is driven by a hidden agenda. All are embroiled in (false)-self-service even as they fabricate and display a façade of altruism; all are bound up in (false)-self-absorption and (false)-self-delusion; and all desire that their roles will last and will continue to fulfill perceived needs.
Moreover, all selves form their own mental cult wherein they are in control, in power, and in charge or wherein they believe that they should be in control, in power, and in charge or wherein they desire with an obsessive passion to be in control, in power, and in charge.
Additionally, with all cult leaders, the self that worships itself usually has a superficial charm, is always manipulative, has a grandiose sense of itself, and displays no realistic perspective.
The multi-step process of separating from the self, from being free of the false belief that false selves are real, whether on the seven-step “journey” to Reality or on the four-step “journey” to Reality
Understanding that one is not the false selves which have been assigned and which have been assumed and which subconsciously drive every thought and every word and every action . . . that alone "really would be enough."
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.
which offers both digital and paperback books.
