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 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
“There’s no such thing as peace of mind.”
--Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
“There’s no such thing as peace of mind. There’s only peace if you are out of your mind.”
--floyd
“Originally, every human was mindless.”
--floyd
MAKING COMPARISONS BLOCKS TREATING THE ULTIMATE SICKNESS AND REALIZATION
A wise man once told me, at some point in working with seekers, always be certain that they understand the hazard of making comparisons. I have shared pointers in that regard for over 35 years, but I have recently seen an increase in the hazards which suggest I offer a singular focus in a discussion of the problem.
Non-duality offers an end to the false belief in divisions if one comes to understand the non-dual pointers regarding the oneness. Comparisons block any effort for that understanding to manifest.
One key problem with comparing is that it prevents human from arriving at some “center point” of sameness and singularity where a position of neutrality can manifest. Instead, comparisons take persons to the false and far extremes of either a better-than or worse-than perspective. I have shared with seekers that anytime they make a comparison, they will conclude that they are either better-than someone or worse than someone or better off than someone or worse off than someone:
“That guy is nuts! That woman is crazy as hell! I can assure you, I have bad days on occasion, but I’ve never been as insane as that.”
Who is so versed in the sane-to-insane continuum that they can determine exactly where they are on the scale and exactly where any other individual most certainly is?
As often noted here, evidence of persons being driven by the “ignorance and stupidity and insanity” of a beliefs-based-in-duality mind is evidence of their belief in different-from-ment which reinforces their belief in better-than-ment:
“Non-whites are criminals. We whites are better than them.” The fact: the Bureau of Prisons reports that the U.S. prison population is 57% white and 39% blacks and 1.5% Asians. “But there are more whites in the U.S. to start with.” “Right, but the next relevant fact is that Black citizens are incarcerated at much higher rates. Nationwide, black people are incarcerated at 8.2 times the rate of whites. In the states of Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, that rate jumps to 13 times higher. In Minnesota, the rate jumps to 23 times higher and in D.C. the rate is 34 times the rate of white people. In Texas, whites comprise 58% of the population but only 30% of the prison and jail population.”
“The U.S. is the greatest country on earth. We are better than all of them. People come here for medical care from all around the globe.” The fact: the World Health Organization ranks the U.S. 37th in quality of medical care provided. More than 250,000 people die annually in U.S. hospitals because of mistakes in care. (“I was supposed to cut off which leg?” “The left, Sir.” “And which did I cut off?” “The right, Sir.” Make sure my malpractice payments are up-to-date.”) Medical errors are now the third leading cause of death in the U.S. Moreover, for all that shoddiness, the U.S. spends more of its GDP on healthcare, more than any other nation.
“My spouse is better than my sister’s spouse.” (“More details on that story at 10.”)
“Our race is treated in a far worse manner than the members of that other race. They get all the handouts and financial aid. It’s an outrage. We’re victims, just like our poorly-treated candidate for president.”
Etc. Etc. Etc.
The U.S. and much of the population of the planet are suffering from the Goldilocks Syndrome. That leads to another obstacles to clear seeing and Realization.
Consider the enormity of the obstacles which one who works for 20 or 40 or 80 years with seekers of the non-dual understanding will witness:
“The Goldilocks Syndrome”
A term which has been coined here and used occasionally encapsulates a great deal of what is discussed in terms of the causes and symptoms of the human condition which is marked so often by chaos and misery and suffering and pain.
The term is “The Goldilocks Syndrome.” Goldilocks, from the story “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” is the incarnation of many of the personality traits which make the relative existence miserable; which display the behaviors and attitudes that generate relationship problems with couples, neighbors, and other nations; and which personifies the beliefs that bring about most of the division and misery and suffering on the planet.
For those not familiar with the story, a young blond girl trespasses on the property of a family of bears and invades their home while they are out for a walk. She eats their breakfast porridge, complaining about one being too hot, the other being too cold, and the third being just right.
She tries three chairs and two are not right but a
smaller one is perfect, yet she breaks that chair which was really too small
for her size. She then goes into the bear’s bedroom and tries their beds,
complaining that one is too hard and that one is too soft but that the other is
just right.
With that, she takes a nap, not feeling the least bit of concern about trespassing on someone else’s land and entering their home; not feeling the least concern about stealing their food;
not feeling troubled at all about breaking their property; and not feeling uneasy at all about using their possessions without consent. (Remind you of any of the behaviors of xenophobic nations discussed earlier?)
When the girl is discovered by the bears, she simply runs away. She had done her damage and - obviously self-absorbed and driven by a sense of entitlement - feels no remorse, no concern, and no regrets about the chaos or harm she has generated or about the mess she has left behind for others to clean up. End of story.
Talk about an amazing sense of entitlement, an amazing level of the Sociopathic Personality Disorder, and an amazing level of the Psychopathic Personality Disorder, among others. So note first the traits that reveal which personality disorders are driving her:
1. There is her moodiness-driven complaining (“too hard, too soft, just right”) which might be caused by the Cyclothymic Personality Disorder or contributed to by the Bipolar Disorder. With both of those disorders, there is almost always the accompanying Idealization Disorder (the third bowl of porridge, the third chair, and the third bed being the ones that are perfect . . . just right).
That disorder inspires what is called “upgrading,” that is, “upgrading illusions.” That also indicates that the Perfectionistic Personality Disorder is present, which usually ends up blocking judgmental persons from ever really being satisfied and which triggers the Devaluation Personality Disorder (which is referred to here as “downgrading”). When that activates, more instability is generated as what was considered ideal is suddenly thought to be totally unacceptable.
(In the relative existence of dualities, flux is guaranteed, and so is constant alternating between extremes.)
Evident also are some of the other personality disorders which cause instability and relative problems (all of which show why non-dual guides abandonment of all personality): The Antisocial Personality Disorder;
The Avoidant Personality Disorder; the Borderline Personality Disorder (marked by a pervasive instability of mood, causing problems with interpersonal relationships; fears of abandonment; and chronic feelings of emptiness, threats, anger, and self-damaging behavior);
the Narcissistic Personality Disorder (characterized by grandiosity, a lack of social empathy, interpersonal exploitativeness, and also a sense of entitlement); and the Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD).
The OCPD is characterized by person’s rushing into action without taking the time to consider all of the relative pro’s and con’s involved, behaving in illogical and unreasonable and immature ways;
it is also characterized by one being emotionally-constricted; unduly rigid; stubborn and controlling; perfectionistic and preoccupied with trivial details; being overly-concerned with having everything done one’s own way; and being excessively-devoted to work and productivity.
2. There is in her behavior the widespread self-centeredness among the non-realized, which the teachings can address in some cases.
3. There is the arrogance and the sense of entitlement and the preoccupation with self and with one’s own desires which cause problems among persons on a local, state, national and international basis.
4. There is at least an implication of xenophobia, her rights being more important than the rights of others. And the analysis could go on and on.
Most persons on the planet are as unstable and as moody and, often, just as arrogant as Goldilocks; moreover, instability precedes the problems that persons have in relationships and contributes to those internal disharmonies which account for the awful feelings (or emotions) that persons try to deal with on a daily basis.
Yet most do not want to complete the full process required to be free. And one reason that many do not want to be free is because they are suffering from the mental illness called here “The Goldilocks Syndrome”: they are willing to readily give up what they think is “too this” or “too that” but unwilling to give up what they think is “just right” - just perfect at any particular moment.
The insanity of that is this: the only constant in the relative existence is change, so whatever the distorted seeing takes to be perfect now will change shortly. The Laws of Thermodynamics are not suspended either by ignoring them or denying them.
What has come together will come apart, be it “you with the perfect mate,” “the perfect relationship,” the “perfect locale,” “the perfect body” . . . whatever. The soup that Goldilocks found to be too hot, if left alone patiently for a few minutes, could have been “just right.”
But that condition of just-right-ness would soon have given way to soup that was perceived to be too cold. Function as a non-realized person and it will be revealed that any and all satisfaction is fleeting.
To be totally free is to be free of trying to manipulate the environment or the body - or other bodies - to one’s own self-will and instead merely witnessing whatever happens spontaneously. The freedom that precedes peace can happen “now” and “here,” not “later” and “there.”
It comes when “The Goldilocks Syndrome” has been transitioned, where there is a position of neutrality and where no dualistic judgments are being drawn about things being “too hard vs. too soft” or “too hot vs. too cold.” It comes when the equally-as-delusional-notion that “something is just right and will always remain that way” is transcended.
Trapped in “The Goldilocks Syndrome,” some will believe that the body in the mirror is too hard, and some will conclude that the body in the mirror is too soft. A few will think that the body has yet reached the perfect state but will, nevertheless, develop an egotism-based appreciation for its current condition;
others will think their bodies will never be good enough and will therefore suffer the relative misery of “low self-esteem”; but few will ever agree with Goldilocks that they have found something that is “just right.”
Only extreme narcissists believe that to be the case, and when such narcissists meet, “The Dance of Physicality” begins as some use the body to attract the type of partners who will respond to image and physical looks alone and who will thus satisfy their corporeal desires;
some use the body during the dance as they try to attain either long-term financial security or short-term financial compensation; and some use the body as a means to treat psychological issues around control or esteem.
Only the Absolute is a non-moving target. All else will be in constant flux, and the “joy” of things perceived to be “just right” will give way to the misery of those same things soon perceived to be “all wrong.” And there again are more of the extremes along the continuum, extremes generated by comparing.
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:
