ANNOUNCEMENTS
[Walter Driscoll asked to interview me in order to preserve on video some of the latest modifications and evolutions in the versions of the message offered here since 1989. He would label the discussion, "Unlearning with Floyd Henderson."
Please note: For those who have a problem hearing what is being shared, the video offers a fairly accurate set of closed captions which some listeners might want to activate.
The interview is available for viewing by clicking on video "NUMBER THIRTEEN" in the column to the right.]
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 newer 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 receive it and have to pay more for a printed book and its shipment. Now, 10 paperback books by Henderson are in print and available in two anthologies through Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and over 40,000+ booksellers around the globe including in the Americas, Germany, India, Italy, Poland, Russia, China, Spain, Brazil and South Korea. See the end of this post in red text for details.
5. Would you like to have us send to someone as a gift from you a copy of any ebook in our inventory? See the offer in purple text at the end of this post.
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.
7. You may click here to visit Floyd's bookstore which offers both digital books and paperback books which deal with non-duality, non-duality-based fictional adventures, recovery, and financial budgeting.
BEING FREE OF THE CONSTANTLY-CHURNING, PEACE-DESTROYING MIND
“It is one thing
to see children engaged in and controlled by their magical thinking (including Santa,
the tooth fairy, guardian angels, floods from an angry god, and - as George Carlin
said - ‘same as the four-leaf clover and the horseshoe, same as the voodoo lady
who tells you your fortune by squeezing the goat's testicles,’ etc.”
“It is quite
another thing to see adults being driven by a childish, magically-thinking
mind. The most widespread evidence of their magical thinking is this: all
around the globe, there are adult-aged (but child-minded) persons who think
that natural events are really supernatural events, caused by god to “send a
message.”
“Their examples include hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, blizzards, cyclones, wildfires and pandemics, ad infinitum.”
--Floyd
When a visitor said, “The
scriptures say that we have our karma and our sins and that is why we are here,”
Maharaj answered: “That is for the ignorant masses. One who has realized the .
. . I AM,’ for him these stories are of no use.”
When the doctors misdiagnosed the internal state of “floyd’s body” - failing to
realize that the observable symptoms were a result of benign, pre-cancerous,
and cancerous polyps - then all that they recommended prior to a proper
diagnosis was the same as spirituality and holy books and holy concepts,
namely, “of no use.”
One doctor defended the failure of the medical community to me, saying that, “In
the long run, you had to go through all of that and find out what did not work
and eliminate other possibilities before the stage was set to come up with a
proper diagnosis.”
That is not unlike the addict who tells another, “We had to do everything we
did in order to get where we finally got to so we could be given the proper
treatment.”
BS.
Treatment that is based in “a process of elimination” is not treatment. When
antibiotics were prescribed as a treatment for what was actually polyps, that
was not a treatment. When antacids were prescribed as a treatment for what was
actually polyps, that was not a treatment.
When Imodium, Pepto-Bismol,
and Kaopectate were prescribed as a treatment for what was actually polyps,
that was not a treatment.
Snake oil salesmen of days gone by sold a product that they claimed was a
single cure-all: “No need to buy a variety of products or undergo a variety of
medical procedures when you can buy one product that will wipe out anything and
everything that ails you.”
There is a modern version of the snake-oil salesmen that is alive and doing
well, financially. The modern snake-oil salesmen are also presenting a supposed
cure-all that could be called “Fix-It-All-Dogma” or “The-All-In-One-Spiritual-Fixer-Upper.”
But not unlike the medical community’s efforts to address a polyp problem with
antibiotics, antacids, Imodium, Pepto-Bismol, and Kaopectate, people are
reaching into their grab-bags of dogmatic and spiritual remedies and pulling
out that which Maharaj made clear is “of no use.”
So when dogma or spiritual exercises are prescribed as a treatment for
addiction, emotional illness, personality disorders and neuroses and psychoses,
trouble with “relationships,” health problems, family crises, financial
predicaments, physical pain, endless misery and suffering, grief, guilt,
resentment, body issues, mind issues, and / or personality issues, that is not
a treatment at all.
As with the process the doctors used here, improper treatment plans only
prolong misery and suffering and provide a false sense of hope that extends the
pain and that prevents a discovery of what is really needed to address any
given issue.
And again, that is why Maharaj made clear that “the great noble meaning of
spirituality . . . has been disproved” and why he asserted that religious and
spiritual concepts and scriptures and stories are “of no use.”
So Maharaj - especially in his later talks, but occasionally even in some
earlier talks - made clear that spirituality was not the treatment for the
Ultimate Sickness. (In fact, spirituality is not the cure for anything and is
merely used to bring about an illusory replacement of old, “bad” roles with new
and improved “good” roles).
Thus, Maharaj’s comments regarding the fact that (A) no god created humankind
but that fearful and desiring humans created god, that is, dreamed up the
concept of a god (or gods and goddesses) and that (B) you should “give up
spirituality.”
Some look at Maharaj’s advice to seekers which was offered in his later talks
and dismiss those pointers completely, preferring to accept totally his earlier
comments which (1) seemed to support spirituality and the adoption of spiritual
identities;
such persons prefer to totally ignore the more evolved message which (2)
advised giving up spirituality and giving up the inventing of a god or gods and
goddesses.
Beyond that variance in messaging, there are other cases where people have
criticized Maharaj for inconsistencies and seemingly self-contradictory
pointers. All of that is discussed (and explained) in detail in the ebook Sri
Nisargadatta Maharaj and His Evolution:
On some level, his evolution might be outlined in the following way, though
Maharaj never adhered to one type of yoga consistently until he finally settled
into what might be called an “all-nisarga” approach:
FROM
guru-bhakti and bhakti
TO
bhakti and jnana (and mention of “atma”)
TO
jnana and nisarga
TO
nisarga
So, yes, there were shifts in the focus of his talks as he shifted from one
yoga to another, and the same happened here over the decades. Such evolution,
in fact, can lead to a “mea culpa,” as was offered in “Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
and His Evolution”:
In the case of the first 8,000 or so who came to hear “floyd,” the fact is
this: the consciousness - yet blocked - was not able to speak (to the relative
misfortune of those who listened). As with “Early Maharaj,” some came for what
they took to be “a religious message,” and they heard one.
Others came later for what
they took to be “a spiritual message,” and they heard that. In both cases,
those early seekers were often hearing “Diet Floyd” or “Maharaj Lite” when
compared to the later offerings.
Both drinks were intoxicating for those who came for nothing more than
reinforcement of their bogus beliefs and who were actually content to remain
thirsty . . . totally dry . . . even parched.
Both “Maharaj Lite” and “Diet
Floyd” were adulterated (or at least “blocked”) and therefore unable to quench
the thirst for Truth or Understanding or Realization that some were
seeking.
Later, when the unadulterated versions of the drinks were offered, either (a)
more popular teachers were sought or (b) seekers left because their false
religious or spiritual or philosophical roles were not being reinforced.
Many who come now claim that they are placing an order for a “Big Gulp of a
BS-Free Beverage,” but when the order is filled and they receive their first
taste, it becomes clear that they really need a big dollop of “Super Sweet
Spiritual Cream” dropped on as a topping in order for that “Heavenly Splotch of
Sugary Syrupiness” to provide a more palatable taste, a flavor more like what
they are accustomed to. In the end, though, the “goal” of Maharaj (and in the
teachings as presented by this author) were to
1. remove ignorance, including the ignorance that inspires attachment to
religious or spiritual or philosophical concepts and exercises and
accoutrements and to
2. bring to an end all thoughts and words and deeds which support
unnatural / supernatural living, giving way to
3. living in an all-natural fashion as one’s Original Nature.
Moreover, the charge regarding Maharaj’s overall message being “inconsistent”
and “self-contradictory” is not a valid one. To understand why that is the
case, one must understand “level-appropriate pointers.”
That tomorrow.
Please enter the silence of contemplation.
THE NEWEST OFFER
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.
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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:
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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."
teachings which become a part of the Papal Magisterium.
