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. Also, by clicking on NUMBER FOURTEEN," visitors can also see the introductory discussion on non-duality on Walter's non-duality site and then a Q and A session which followed.]
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 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?
6. 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.
ARE YOU AT THE WET CHARCOAL STAGE OR THE GUNPOWDER STAGE?
(Most haven’t a clue and must be told)
Pointers from Maharaj make clear that both (2) keeping the relative existence simple rather than complicated and (b) casting aside belief in any and all personality identifications are vital.
“. . . Personality is only an obstacle.”
“The dissolution of personality is followed always by a sense of great relief, as if a heavy burden has fallen off.”
“How utterly dependent is the personality.”
“You are deeply complex, mysterious, hard to understand.”
“Give up all ideas about yourself and simply be.”
“It is all very simple; it is the presence of the person that complicates.”
and
“You are afraid of being impersonal”
On this site for the last two decades, I have invited visitors to find the answer to this question:
Who are you beyond form, shape, color, and texture of relative life?
A woman named Louise living in Cape Town, South Africa years ago gave her take on the answer to that question. Her post is relevant now as it was in 2009 when first published on this blog:
The ego-driven
corrupted consciousness mistakenly believes itself to be planning, creating and
directing the scribble that you call your life. It is fixated with the colour,
the shape, and the story in the scribble. It is convinced it can improve the
quality of the scribble.
From the outside looking in on this metaphor, perhaps it is easier to see that
the ego and its personas are phantoms - they are just clusters of thoughts:
temporary, fleeting, ephemeral. They provide the faulty lenses through which
the scribble of “your” life is perceived.
Before examining these lenses in more depth, ensure that You have a clear understanding that the scribble of the individual human life itself is of no particular consequence. It too is temporary, fleeting, ephemeral. Non-duality points you beyond to abidance as the Absolute -- that which is eternal, stable, unchanging.
However, for the
seeker, there is a strong sensory attraction to the colour, shape, and form of
the temporary scribble. For this reason, it can be clarifying to see the faulty
lenses of perception from the mind-identified state, which "hook" the
mind and draw it into the external.
1. The filter of personality typology: the nine types
The Enneagram model of personality typing used on this site reveals nine
distinct personality types. (There are other personality models; however the
Enneagram is an effective tool, and the idea is to “see” the filter of
personality and be free of it, not “fix” or dig deeper into the conceptual mess
from which personality arises).
The effect of personality is like a lens which tints the scribble with its particular flavour. For a FOUR, the scribble may be flavoured with the hue of romanticism and melancholy. The NINE, may superimpose the flavour of peacefulness and inertia. The THREE lens may view the scribble in terms of great achievements and accomplishments – and the frustration when achievements are not realized.
Be sure that You see clearly that the SAME scribble viewed through the lens of each personality type, will be perceived differently with a different character and flavour. In other words, the life witnessed is interpreted via this filter of personality.
This is the
viewpoint of attachment - the stance is evaluative, judgmental, separating,
egotistical. Non-duality invite you to “see” this filter or lens of personality
and be free of it; to simply witness the life as it unfolds in the absence of
attachment.
Are you aware of the filter of personality through which you see the
scribble you call your life? Are you able to identify the particular
flavourings - the desires and the fears which make up this filtering mechanism?
Remember - you need to see what is false to discard it; so that you can see
what is true.
2. The filter of persona identification: the typical personas
The prevailing personality type is usually “fixed” by a young age. However, the
ego personas are generated via roles played by persons and shift and change
over the course of a “lifetime” or in ego-driven reaction to circumstances.
Common personas played out include: The Mother, The Father, The Child, The Helper, The Rescuer, The Employer, The Boss, The Lover, The Wife, The Husband, The Teacher, The Friend. Listed like this, the personas appear quite neutral. However, this is not the case. Let’s take the example of The Friend.
This persona driven by desires may become The Loyal Friend, The Best Friend, The True Friend. Imagine the scribble of your life viewed through the filter of The True Friend. Do you see that the mind will select events, thoughts, and circumstances that “prove the case” - that you are indeed a Fine and True Friend? In duality, everything dissolves into its opposite eventually. The same persona driven by fears may become The Betrayed Friend, The Used and Exploited Friend . . . The Enemy.
Now, the same
scribble is viewed through the lens of the fear-based Betrayed Friend - and incidents and circumstances that
show betrayal of the Innocent One are revealed. Again - notice that the scribble has remained unchanged. Only the
filter or lens through which the scribble is perceived has changed.
This is why “Floyd” repeatedly describes the instability of the non-realized.
It is because their so-called reality is constantly being re-interpreted to fit
the pattern of desires or fears of endlessly shifting ego-driven personas --
some of which are highly volatile.
Are you aware of the personas that drive you? Are you aware of the desires and
fears that trigger these personas? Can You see clearly how the View of the
relative life is not stable or neutral, but constantly changing to match the
egoic needs of fluctuating personas? Are You able to observe any remaining
personas as desires or fears are triggered, and simply witness without
reaction?
As Nisargadatta Maharaj explains:
“When is there an ego? The ego is there when you have a reaction, when you
register and take delivery of whatever is being observed spontaneously. Only
when you cling to the observation, then there is an ego. If you are nobody, you will not bother . . . you
will just observe and go on your way. But, if instead, you receive delivery and
cogitate over it, then ego will start.”
“Don't say that you are an individual, just stay in the beingness; that is true
bliss. You fill the world with selfishness due to your association with the
body; but that selfishness vanishes once you understand the underlying
principles and dissolve the personality.”
To be continued.
Please enter into the silence of contemplation.
To watch the most recent talk and Q&A with Walter and his guests, 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 and why learning more is not the answer and why unlearning is the answer, click:
