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.)
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THE ABUSED-ABUSERS-ABUSED CYCLE
(continued)
“The cause of all is all.”
--Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
When the subject of “bullies” comes up, most respond with answers that focus on the bullies in schools and the approach to bullying in schools has changed completely since those days when my teacher Mr. Bruce Middlebrooks advised me to punch out my bully, Donnie Leone.
Some psychologists and politicians suggest that the only way to respond to a bully and shut down his / her bullying is to confront the bully - to assume their role and bully right back - but they are in the minority nowadays.
[One Eight said: “Challenge us. Showing that you have a spine and that you're willing to stand up for yourself while showing absolutely no fear and no mercy because this will ensure our respect; however, showing any weakness or fear will just entice us into bullying you more.”]
Nowadays, de-escalation is a word frequently used, be the case one involving individual, school-age bullies or involving bullies on the global stage.
The advice my granddaughters are hearing is something like this:
“Do not respond to bullying by fighting or bullying back. Avoid the bully. For example, stay with a friend at lunchtime. Together, practice acting brave, telling the bully to stop, walking away, and ignoring the bully.”
Of course none of that is applicable since bullying is no longer limited to attacks in the schoolyard but has moved into the classroom.
Bullying has likely taken place since the first human-like beings began walking about and hunting with a crudely-fashioned spear or ax. It spread as agricultural skills and acculturation spread, an action which set the stage for individuals to experience more and more stress as they tried to protect their crops from others;
as they tried to protect their shelter from others; as they tried to protect their family members from others; as they tried to protect their tools from theft; as they tried to avoid being made captives or being killed by marauding, bullying tribes, etc.
One key stressor is experiencing the trauma imposed on persons or tribes or cultures or large populations by bullies or others in charge who had control over people and who were abusing and stressing others and who were torturing or killing others.
Nowadays, while the evidence of bullying is widespread, the evidence of people finding ways to effectively address bullying or finding ways to change or stop bullies is pretty much non-existent.
Wade Shaw has offered the following regarding Personality Type Eight bullies:
“This is the most aggressive type on the Enneagram. They are natural leaders and fighters. This type is part of the anger triad and directs their anger outward.”
“The main desire of an 8 is to maintain control, and their biggest fear is being controlled. This is why you see most 8s in a leadership role. They are perfectly willing to take on a subservient role, but only to a leader who has proven that they can be trusted and that they are strong enough to hold the 8.”
“Because of this intense need for control, 8’s can be very prone to conflict. As they pick apart the weaknesses in everything around them, they can become abrasive and aggressive toward perceived threats and problems. It’s important to remember that although most people aren’t huge fans of conflict, it doesn’t bother 8s.”
“8’s innate ability to see problems and do whatever is in their power to fix them makes for an inspirational and motivational leader. 8’s are great at ‘rallying the troops’ and getting people motivated to take the next hill.”
“As such, they are not often found in staff roles, but quickly rise to leadership. They aren’t content to let others make decisions for them, and have no problem asserting their own will and opinion. This often leads to trouble, or to higher levels of leadership.”
“The massive level of energy that 8’s have can often lead them to bully and belittle people around them. 8’s in leadership will be hard on their teams yes, but much harder on anyone who threatens their team. They are protective and territorial. Anyone on the outside hurting, offending, impending, or upsetting one of their team members will feel the full wrath of an angry 8!”
Another noted that
“Ultimately they’re subconsciously afraid of not feeling dominant in life, so they take hold of any opportunity to belittle or bully people who won’t react, and if they do react, then great. A fight. They feed off conflict because it helps them feel in charge and like nothing bad will happen to them. They’ll include stories of abuse to justify their mindset, but it isn’t always true.”
Bottomline:
BS comes with every personality identification when “barely-healthy or unhealthy levels” of that type manifest. That said, most of the fighting on the planet has involved an 8 - or groups of 8’s in a leadership role.
Avoid forming alliances with 8’s. They have no qualms about tossing anyone under the bus, including spouses, children, so-called friends, allies, and - of course - anyone on their very long “enemies list.”
The National Geographic film A Portrait of a Killer examined how stress is known to kill. Dr. Robert Sapolsky studied primates in Africa in order to learn more about what effects stress has on the body.
As noted earlier, one key stressor involves the trauma imposed on persons or tribes or cultures or large populations by bullies or others in charge who have control over the people they are abusing and stressing and killing.
In all cases, Maharaj noted, “The cause of all is all.” The abused, such as Jews throughout much of their history, can become the most egregious abusers, and when others have the audacity to fight back, then they can become the most egregious abusers.
Most people will never see the true causes in any given behind sequences. For example, sports fans have all seen when a fight takes place on the field, resulting in one or more referees tossing their yellow flags in the air and assessing a fifteen year penalty to one team or the other.
In many cases, a referee throws the flag for a personal foul but it is the retaliator - not the original assaulter - who is often penalized. A replay sometimes shows what happened prior to what the referee saw.
Player “A” stuck the first blow to player “B” before player “B” retaliated, player “B’s” offense being the only part of the conflict which the ref witnessed.
To get a clearer picture, persons seeking the truth might study the entire history involved and see who struck the first blow. Then, the one being labeled “the assaulter” or the one being assigned all of the blame might actually be the offended more than the offender.
Were the indigenous people the original offender or the retaliator? Who scalped first? Certain U.S. governmental agencies or institutions put out bounties on “Native Americans / The Indians.” They paid whites for scalps as proof that the holder actually made a kill.
The prices some paid ranged from $1 per scalp to $5 for a head; others paid up to 100 pounds sterling for the scalps of Indian men older than 12;
some paid $25 for a scalp; others paid $25 for an adult Indian male scalp and $5 for a child’s or female’s scalp; etc.
In the long history of Middle East hatred, were Palestinians the first to attack others, or were many of the nations in the areas pre-disposed to abuse the darker-skinned Palestinians?
In the Jewish writings, the God of the Jews (who would become the God of Muslims and the God of Christians) supposedly went about the business of “siccing” his supposedly “Chosen (Jewish) People” on others, ordering the Jews to move into Canaan and kill off the populations of the seven nations already living there.
[So much for the excuse that “The devil made me do it.” In their case, it was God made us do it.]
Sometimes throughout history, the wise come
to see that the one they believed to be “the offender” was actually first “the offended.” In any case, winners seldom emerge, and supposed winners seldom hold that status for very long.
One bloody feud between the members of two families lasted from 1863 to 1891. The origins of the feud are obscure. Some attribute it to hostilities formed during the American Civil War, in which the McCoys were Unionists and the Hatfields were Confederates; others claim the feud was rooted in one McCoy's belief that a Hatfield stole one of his hogs.
There was no eventual winner in their feud. Thoughts lead to words and words lead to actions, and when thoughts are generate by the agendas of false personality identifications which are then verbalized in spoken words, the resulting actions almost never end with a true “winner.”
So it is when the Ultimate Sickness is untreated, resulting in three symptoms especially which Maharaj identified as “ignorance, stupidity, and insanity.”
If you’re looking for evidence of those symptoms and you're more into visuals than words, just watch the evening news any day from now until the day that you take mahasamadhi.
To be continued.
Please enter into the silence of contemplation.
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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.
