TODAY'S CONSIDERATIONS
6. Or, you may purchase a Floyd Henderson Shopify Gift Card here for someone and offer recommendations for the books in Floyd's store which might be of assistance to them.
"There is no such thing as mind. There are ideas . . . ." and "Abandon the wrong ideas, for they are false and obstruct your vision . . . ." and "The death of the mind is the birth of wisdom" and "To know that you are a prisoner of your mind - that you live in an imaginary world of your own creation - is the dawn of wisdom" and "I have no mind . . . ."
--Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
"Realization is nothing more than a process which results in a person being freed from believing in all learned ignorance."
--Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Anatomy of Human Memory Storage: The Elemental Brain vs. the Non-Elemental Mind
or
The Natural Brain vs. the Never-Natural Mind
TABULA RASA
“Tabula rasa,” Latin, means "blank tablet" or "clean slate" or, as Aristotle called it, the “unscribed tablet”).
The term refers to the absence of - at the point of the manifestation of a "human" composite unity - any and all preconceived, predetermined ideas, notions, concepts, perceptions, images, views, thoughts, etc. (a.k.a., “beliefs”).
The understanding among the wisest has long been . . .
A. that the parts of the elemental brain associated with “mind-ness” - a prefrontal cortex, a neocortex, a basal ganglia, a cerebellum, a hippocampus and an amygdala – are present in a normal human brain at “birth”
but
B. that none of those are storing at the time of manifestation any innate ideas, notions, concepts, etc.
The term “Tabula rasa” points to the fact that “individuals” do not manifest with any built-in mental content and that “all knowledge, therefore, comes from experience or from perception” (or from misperceptions and the teaching of ignorance; hence, Maharaj’s references to “learned ignorance.” He also made clear in his later talks that “realization simply refers to the result of discarding all belief in learned ignorance.”)
Tabula rasa can be traced back to the writings of Aristotle who shared the following in his treatise De Anima:
“Haven't we already disposed of the difficulty about interaction involving a common element, when we said that mind is in a sense potentially whatever is thinkable, though actually it is nothing until it has thought? What it thinks must be in it just as characters may be said to be on a writing-tablet on which as yet nothing stands written: this is exactly what happens with mind.”
In the 11th century, the understanding of tabula
rasa was developed more clearly by the Persian philosopher Avicenna (in
Arabic, Ibn Sina). He argued
that the "human intellect at birth resembled a tabula rasa, a pure
potentiality that is actualized through education and comes to know” [and is, therefore, no longer "pure"].
Moreover, it is now understood by the wise that so-called "knowledge" is passed down verbally and by example from humans to other humans via use of ignorant and insane programming, conditioning, acculturation, domestication, indoctrination, and brainwashing.
The more modern explanation of tabala rasa
is attributed mostly to John Locke’s
discussion of the subject in “Essay Concerning Human Understanding,”
particularly using the terms "white paper" and "blank tablet."
Locke understood the facts around tabula rasa and used that “blank tablet” term to describe the state of the prefrontal cortex, a neocortex, a basal ganglia, a cerebellum, a hippocampus and an amygdala at the point of what persons call “birth.”
That said, nothing regarding the take here on tabala rasa negates the fact that certain genetic information is passed along from human to human which can result in a body of archetypal images and which can affect IQ and which can result in alcoholism, gender identity and many, many other “traits.”
[Note that those "traits" are not passed down via any "mind" or via any of the parts of the brain associated with "mind-ness."]
To review Maharaj’s take on this topic, he said:
“There is no such thing as peace of mind.”
That pointer has been expanded here to make this point:
“There is no such thing as peace of mind. There is only peace if you are out of your mind” (meaning – actually – out from under the control and influence of “their” minds).
What he came to understand about the fact that
the Ultimate Sickness is a mind Sickness
and that
it is not a too-little-dogma Sickness
and that
it is not a spiritual malady Sickness
and what realization is and what it is not
resulted in what may have been the most significant advancement ever regarding the genuine and only authentic and valid meaning of the non-dual message.
The understanding which was arrived at in the third, psychology-focused stage of his message’s evolution - and which elucidated and clarified the genuine and authentic and valid meaning of the non-dual message - had actually been explicated some 1,980 or so years earlier by Yeshu’a / “Jesus” when he purportedly said: “A dual-minded person is unstable in all ways.”
In that one line, Yeshu’a made clear that the non-dual message is not that “A non-religious or atheistic person is unstable in all ways.”
In that one line, Yeshu’a also made clear that the non-dual message is not that “A non-spiritual or secular or worldly and or earthly or non-celestial natural vs. supernatural human is unstable in all ways.”
An illustration used to provide an example of a naïve optimist is this:
Trackers trace scat (wild animal droppings) to find a particular animal they are hunting. The lad pictured above thinks he is doing the same: surely a huge pile of horse manure must indicate that he’s on the trail of a pony which he wants; unfortunately, he could dig through such piles for years and never find a pony.
So it was with Maharaj and millions or billions before him. He and billions dug through religious scat and spiritual scat and philosophical scat and ideological scat in search of what they were hunting.
Like so many seekers, including this author, Maharaj dug through scat for years, seeking in the same manner that a young, naïve optimist might seek for that which he longed for, namely an understanding of what the hell was wrong with him and with humankind in general and an understanding of some way to address and eliminate the problem.
He searched via religious teachings and writings and talks and via spiritual teachings and writings and talks for an understanding of the Sickness and for the Medicine to cure it. After decades, he realized that he had found nothing of use in those venues.
It was not until he looked beyond the conventional methods of seeking the answers to his questions that he realized that his problems and the problems of all humanity centered, as Yeshu’a had pointed out, in the mind (and specifically, in the duality-based nonsense and scat and BS stored therein).
After decades of offering dogma-based talks followed by spirituality-based talks, he came to understand that the piles of manure in which he had been searching had no pony (or, in his case, had no valid pointers to truth, no clarity and no genuine and authentic significance for him or other seekers).
Once he came to understand that the Sickness is rooted in dual-mindedness, he stop focusing on piles of dogma and piles of spirituality and finally began focusing on the actual nature and roots of the Ultimate Sickness and thus found the only effective version of the Ultimate Medicine.
Then, he came to understand what realization is actually all about, namely, the contaminated, non-sense-filled mind, and the need to purge from it all belief in the learned ignorance which is stored therein.
That final shift in the evolutionary process of understanding what should actually be sought lead to the true substance and import and consequences and of his long-lasting but finally-complete search. Same here.
So let’s review what he did not say about the mind and the brain and what he did say about the mind:
WHAT MAHARAJ DID NOT SAY:
"All illness begins in the brain."
"Your confusion is . . . in your brain."
"Whatever is conceived by the brain must be false, for it is bound to be relative and limited."
"Distrust your brain, and go beyond."
FURTHERMORE, HE DID NOT SAY:
"There is no chaos in the world except the chaos which your brain creates."
" . . . The brain obscures and distorts."
"It is the brain that creates illusion."
"There is no such thing as peace of brain. Brain means disturbance. Restlessness itself is brain."
"Don't rely on your brain for liberation. It is the brain that brought you into bondage. Go beyond it altogether."
NOR DID HE SAY:
"Beyond the brain there is no suffering."
So if the problem centers in the brain, and since a sick brain - obviously - cannot heal a sick brain, then what is the solution, per Maharaj?
"Stop making use of your brain and see what happens."
"Learn to separate yourself from the image and the mirror. Keep on remembering: I am neither the brain nor its ideas."
"There is no such thing as brain. There are ideas . . . ."
"Abandon the wrong ideas, for they are false and obstruct your vision . . . ."
"The death of the brain is the birth of wisdom."
ADDITIONALLY, HE DID NOT SAY:
"To know that you are a prisoner of your brain - that you live in an imaginary world of your own creation - is the dawn of wisdom."
"I have no brain . . . ."
Want to be free of the brain? Maharaj advised, then . . .
"Reach a state of zero-concepts."
"As to my brain, I have no such thing. There is consciousness in which everything happens."
"I am double dead: not only am I dead to my body, but to my brain, too."
"I find I have lost the brain irretrievably."
So what did Maharaj have to say about the mind specifically?
WHAT HE DID SAY:
"All illness begins in the mind."
"Your confusion is . . . in your mind."
"Whatever is conceived by the mind must be false, for it is bound to be relative and limited."
"Distrust your mind, and go beyond."
"There is no chaos in the world except the chaos which your mind creates."
" . . . The mind obscures and distorts."
"It is the mind that creates illusion."
"There is no such thing as peace of mind. Mind means disturbance. Restlessness itself is mind."
"Don't rely on your mind for liberation. It is the mind that brought you into bondage. Go beyond it altogether."
"Beyond the mind there is no suffering."
So if the problem centers in the mind, and since a sick mind - obviously - cannot heal a sick mind, then what is the solution, per Maharaj?
"Stop making use of your mind and see what happens."
"Learn to separate yourself from the image and the mirror. Keep on remembering: I am neither the mind nor its ideas."
"There is no such thing as mind. There are [bogus] ideas . . . ."
"Abandon the wrong ideas, for they are false and obstruct your vision . . . ."
"The death of the mind is the birth of wisdom."
"To know that you are a prisoner of your mind - that you live in an imaginary world of your own creation - is the dawn of wisdom."
"I have no mind . . . ."
Want to be free of the mind? Maharaj advised, then . . .
"Reach a state of zero-concepts."
"As to my mind, I have no such thing. There is consciousness in which everything happens."
"I am double dead: not only am I dead to my body, but to my mind, too."
"I find I have lost the mind irretrievably."
To be continued.
Please enter into the silence of
contemplation.
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:
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.
If you prefer PAPERBACK copies
(collected in two anthologies).
Links for ordering are below with
BARNES and NOBLE presently providing better service
than AMAZON
when it come to fulfilling orders for
paperback and hardcover books
as opposed to delivering digital books.
[NOTE: Wherever you live, you can search for the books below by title with booksellers in your country. With 40,000+ retailers distributing my paperback books, you may order from U.S. stores or you may find someone nearer to you.]
For NON-DUALITY AUDIENCES
The Advanced Seekers' Series (344 pages) is an anthology of four books that share Advaita-based, non-duality pointers that can guide seekers to abide as their original nature. Included in the anthology are
"From the I to the Absolute (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality");
"Consciousness / Awareness: The Nature of Reality Beyond SELF-Realization (Peace Every Day When Abiding As the Absolute)";
"From the Absolute to the Nothingness";
and
"The Final Understanding."
from BARNES AND NOBLE by clicking here
or (sometimes less efficiently nowadays in terms of paperback delivery)
This anthology (438 pages) contains the six books that make up what has been called The Blissful Abidance Series for those seeking to live blissfully and happily for the remainder of the manifestation, including:
“What BLISS is and what BLISS is not”
“There’s No Such Thing As Peace of Mind (There’s Only Peace If You’re ‘Out of Your Mind’)”
“Liberation (Attaining Freedom from Personality via Realization)”
“Freedom from Shifting Between States of Happiness and Unhappiness”
“Why You Must Be Empty If You Would Be Full”
and
“When REALITY Is Overlaid on the RELATIVE.”
Order a PAPERBACK copy of The Blissful Abidance Series
from Amazon by clicking here.
SEND A GIFT BOOK TO SOMEONE
(1) You may purchase
a Floyd Henderson Shopify Gift Card here
for someone and offer recommendations for the books in Floyd's store which might be of assistance to them.
Or,
(2) To make an arrangement for us to send in your name as a gift from you any of our books to someone you choose:
(a) Visit www.floydhenderson.com.
(b) Purchase the ebook you’d like to send.
(c) Contact us using the email below, tell us which ebook you just purchased, and provide the name and email address of the person you want to send the ebook to. (They will never be contacted again or solicited for any reason.)
Send your information to:
THE EXPLANATION
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
"There is no hell."
