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.
HOW RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL AND NON-DUAL MESSAGES HAVE BEEN WARPED BEYOND RECOGNITION
You have no choice, only the illusion of it.
--Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
“This is the function of the Guru is to make us see the madness of our daily living. Life makes you conscious, but the teacher makes you aware” [of having been fooled’].”
--Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
“I have no faith in anything which has ever been told, not even what has been told by the Vedas. Only my own experience.”
--Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
“There is nothing to seek and find . . . .”
--Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
“Give up all and you gain all.”
--Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
“You have accumulated knowledge and experience; this cannot be denied. But of what use is it all to you?”
--Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
“It is less - not more - that is required in order to treat the Ultimate Sickness.”
--floyd
THE NEED TO CLEAN
(continued)
To review: The masses understand that windows need to be cleaned occasionally; that mirrors need to be cleaned occasionally; that septic systems and sewage lines need to be purged occasionally; and that the garbage accumulated in homes needs to be removed regularly.
What the masses do not understand is that minds also need to be purged. Purge the mind properly and it will not require any further attention or work or effort.
THE PERIPETEIA
Realization cannot happen unless there is a cleaning, a wiping away of the content of the mind which blocks the pure universal consciousness from seeing clearly and perceiving accurately. The “moment of peripeteia” must come and make one aware of just how asleep a he or she has been during almost all of her or his existence.
So what is the peripeteia?
In Greek drama, it referred to “a reversal of circumstances” or “a turning point.” In non-duality usages, it refers to that “moment of awakening to the fact that one has been fooled - lied to - throughout one’s entire relative existence.”
It is explained this way in a conversation from the non-duality mystery and adventure novel entitled THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WARS as the lead charaters Brett and Kirk engage in a duality-based discussion:
“Well look at every drama you’ve ever seen. The main character, who represents you and me and everyone, runs around like a chicken with his head cut off. He is confused and in the dark.
“Those who are in a position to sit back and witness the drama objectively can see that he's just an actor on a stage and that none of the drama is real. But for entertainment's sake, he and the witnesses can pretend it's real. Both, in fact, can get so absorbed in the role that they can take it to be the real for a time.
“But even amidst all the drama, a time comes, that moment in the play when even the actor finds out the truth. It is called the peripeteia in drama - that moment in the play or the movie when the lead actor finds out that everything he thought to be true is really false;
“when he sees that he was being misled at every turn; when those he thought he could trust the most and who thought they were telling him the truth were also wrong.
“It’s the moment of freedom that comes when one finds out that everything he ever thought or believed or held sacred or thought worth fighting for was a lie. The freedom comes when he gives up all of the concepts he bought into, drops his head in relief and amazement, shakes his head back and forth, wonders for a moment how he had bought into all their crap, smiles at how easily he was duped, watches how all the rest of the play unfolds automatically until its end, and leaves the stage after saying to himself, Well sonofabitch. I'll be damned. And then he laughs. He laughs at it all. And then he's done with it, once and for all.”
Now, here’s part of the chapter in which that conversation occurs, shared now to allow the discussion of the “moment of peripeteia” to be seen in perspective as well as to offer additional non-dual pointers for consideration:
As Kirk looked about the harbor again, enjoying the beauty and the quiet, he sensed Brett staring at him.
“Yes?” he asked.
“I don’t know, really. It’s just that I think about how poorly Harry and I slept last night and how we awoke in a miserable mood, and then I look at you. You evidently slept well and seem to have awakened in good spirit. I don’t get it. I know you’re not cold-hearted because I’ve seen evidence that you have strong feelings, but you seem at peace in the middle of this chaos.”
“Well, my peaceful state had not always existed,” Kirk countered. “For a long time, I lived in such a state of anxiety that I felt like a pane of glass. I felt as if the world had me in its hands with its thumbs pushing against me, and I felt so bent out of shape that if anyone applied even the slightest additional pressure, I’d shatter into a million pieces.”
“I can’t imagine your ever having felt like that.”
“Then you have evidence that a shift can really occur, huh?” Kirk countered.
“How?” I want that peace,” Brett almost demanded.
Kirk paused again, not to consider the answer for he knew it exactly. He paused to decide if Brett was anywhere near ready to hear. Then, admitting that Brett had asked, Kirk would offer the answer.
“Brett,” you’ve been shown the answer all your life. It was there for you to see in every play, in every movie, in every mystery you’ve ever read.”
Brett’s confusion kept him in the silence, so Kirk went on.
“My man Shakespeare borrowed the dramatic technique from the Greeks,” Kirk began.
“Today, it is the basis of all mystery and suspense stories, and it’s also the basis of Realization.”
“I’m lost,” Brett confessed.
“Well look at every drama you’ve ever seen. The main character, who represents you and me and everyone, runs around like a chicken with his head cut off. He is confused and in the dark. Those who are in a position to sit back and witness the drama objectively can see that he's just an actor on a stage and that none of the drama is real. But for entertainment's sake, he and the witnesses can pretend it's real. Both, in fact, can get so absorbed in the role that they can take it to be the real for a time. But even amidst all the drama, a time comes, that moment in the play when even the actor finds out the truth. It is called the peripeteia in drama - that moment in the play or the movie when the lead actor finds out that everything he thought to be true is really false; when he sees that he was being misled at every turn; when those he thought he could trust the most and who thought they were telling him the truth were also wrong.
“It’s the moment of freedom that comes when one finds out that everything he ever thought or believed or held sacred or thought worth fighting for was a lie. The freedom comes when he gives up all of the concepts he bought into, drops his head in relief and amazement, shakes his head back and forth, wonders for a moment how he had bought into all their crap, smiles at how easily he was duped, watches how all the rest of the play unfolds automatically until its end, and leaves the stage after saying to himself, Well sonofabitch. I'll be damned. And then he laughs. He laughs at it all. And then he's done with it, once and for all.”
Kirk paused to allow the words to sink into Brett’s consciousness.
“I just can’t imagine making such a major change, and that brings me to what I really need to talk to someone about.”
Kirk signaled with a bow of his head for Brett to continue, knowing that Brett was not yet ready for his own moment of peripeteia, for his own complete freedom to come. He would allow Brett to follow whatever tangent he preferred.
“You know . . . deep down inside, Kirk, I’d like very much to have something special with a woman, like what you have with Marie. But I think my stress and anxiety have ruined every relationship I’ve ever had.”
“Are you asking for an answer, because I don’t go where I’m not invited?” Kirk asked.
“I’m asking because you were a psychology professor and because you’re the only one I know who has the type of relationship with a woman that I want. So yes, please answer.”
“First, let me say that anything I share with you I received from others when I was in your place and needed a truthful answer. I had an excellent therapist, and much of what she taught me might apply to you today. Then Chief Two Hawks took me to another level, and my teacher Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj helped the most. I don’t claim that I’m the repository of this wisdom. I simply pass on what was given to me, if you ask for it and if you choose to accept it. So, I must ask you how much truth you really want?”
“I want all the truth,” Brett answered.
“We’ll see,” Kirk said. “The truth will set you free, but it’ll usually piss you off first.”
“Let’s see if I can take it,” Brett said.
“Okay, to start with, I doubt your problems come only from your stress and anxiety, though they’re probably factors. Secondly, I suspect that the problem doesn’t involve a failure to attract females. One of Marie girlfriend’s talked excitedly about ‘Brett’s bronze tan and his shiny black hair with a wisp falling over his ears on either side and hanging loose in back and his steel-gray eyes’.”
“If she liked my looks, why didn’t we meet?” Brett asked, laughing.
“Well, as much as her friend found you attractive, she also recognized her own aversion to tornadoes.” Kirk declared.
“Hey, come on, man. Give me a break here,” Brett begged.
“Ah, so we’re already seeing how much tolerance you really have for the truth. Ha. Actually, she knew that nothing could come of a relationship with you as long as you continue to live the way you live. Surely you’ve met few women who would enjoy parachuting into a foreign country under gunfire, infiltrating and killing alongside ‘Lover Brett’.”
As much as he hated hearing that comment, Brett still had to laugh.
“If you want what Bird and I have and don’t have it, then we need to discover what you do have . . . what you have that prevents what we have from coming to you.”
“I know you and Marie have both worked with a lot of couples to solve problems. I’d rather start avoiding them first.”
“A wise approach. Find out the problem areas first. I like that, Brett. So let’s talk about a few deal-breakers that I’ve seen over the years in relationships, shall we?”
“Go,” Brett said.
“Well, first, I agree with you that the pane-of-glass problem can hurt. If anxious in relationship with yourself, then a healthy relationship with another cannot happen. Then,” Kirk hesitated, thinking, “I guess I’d say a lack of congruence relates as well.”
“Meaning?”
“I’ll explain. Let me see if I can list the key hindrances while fresh in my mind. I’d also ask you to look at past sabotaging of relations; at blaming others for how you feel; at the habit of making love before you have made love; and ultimately your lack of peace because of all that.”
“Kirk, I have a degree,” Brett said, “but we’ll get nowhere if you can’t keep it real. I need facts, not these far-out theories. And how can anyone make love before they make love?”
“I’ll discuss that and the far-out theories and then you see if the facts apply.”
To be continued tomorrow.
Please enter into the silence of contemplation.
A talk and Q&A session on Walter Driscoll's non-dual site provided an opportunity to see some totally artificial ego-states fighting for their (imagined) lives.
To watch that talk and Q&A, click:
Walter Driscoll and Floyd Henderson
To watch the interview when Walter and Floyd discussed the fact that the Ultimate Sickness is a mental / mind sickness
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.
(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.]
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."
teachings which become a part of the Papal Magisterium.
