IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Fourteen, The Conclusion

[EXCERPTS from the book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS, to be released next week. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS.]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: The Direct Path Method of no-concept, non-dual Reality takes no prisoners; gives short shrift to those who want to fight to defend their ego-states; gives nothing to anyone; encourages de-accumulation rather than more accumulating; takes away all of the mirages that persons have attached to; eliminates the “mind”; and brings to an end the belief in all false personas and roles and phony images in order to put an end to disharmony-causing personality once and for all.

If one completes the entire “journey” to Full Realization, then what manifests afterwards, spontaneously and automatically, is the sweetness of the resulting Void…the peace that manifests when beingness happens from The Sweet Void of zero concepts.

Personas experience a constant state of flux, so happiness and unhappiness will constantly “come and go.” Persons are caught up in a play in consciousness, and it has many characters…some of which they play and others which they take to be real. In that fictional play, there is no stability. Ultimately, of course, there is no stability, period. All is in a constant state of fluctuation.

Persons, taking the relative to be real, feel incomplete; they are trapped in the turmoil and flux. As a result of that constant fluctuation, their “relationships” will be marked by fluctuations as well; thus (in their "minds"), their favorite sinner will become an intolerable saint, or their beloved saint will become a much-despised sinner. They will constantly shift into and out of states of emotional intoxication, whether in traffic, at work, at home…wherever…whenever.

Such is the relative existence for those trapped in any identity and experiencing the fluctuations. In their attachment to the play and the drama and the roles, persons will walk the stage of the Drama of the Lie and will be the histrionic mouthpiece of “the something” and the “someones” and the "somebodies." By contrast, what functions here is the consciousness which speaks as the mouthpiece of the Nothingness and the Void.

Whereas the Consciousness/Awareness is the Final Frontier of the understanding, the Nothingness was prior to the Frontier.

Seekers are only able to move to Stage Four and toward Stage Five when they truly grasp the simplicity of natural functioning. [See The Essence of the Teachings for an explanation of “The Five Stages” discussed by the early Advaitin sages, not to be confused with "the Seven Steps to Reality."] The relative is maddening to persons; abiding as the Absolute, madness cannot happen since there is no “mind.”

Similarly, “something” can always be maddening to persons; the Nothingness, on the other hand, can have no effect at all…“good” or “bad.” The Nothingness is the essence of AS IF living after Stage Five de-accumulation. The nothingness, and even the no-nothingness, are at the core of no-concept non-duality.

The ultimate freedom and independence can only happen if abiding as that Void. In that mode, abiding as that state of Nothingness with zero concepts, the relative existence happens naturally as the consciousness remains manifest but does not attach to any identities or ideas or beliefs or dogma or religious teachings or so-called "spirituality" or any other form of "learned ignorance." Functioning in that void, even the noble (and often ego-supporting) identity of THAT is of no concern.

The alternative to the peace of the Nothingness is that state of innumerable concepts in which most will live out the manifestation, trapped in personas, driven by fears and desires, imprisoned by attachments, never able to relax and take it easy, but convinced in that dream (or nightmare) state that they are free and happy. They will be in such denial that they will really believe, and enthusiastically proclaim, that they are not bored and that they are not depressed.

Yet they are not free, so they cannot possibly be happy. They are so bored that they can eventually develop an addiction to chaos in an effort to try to counteract their world-weariness (rather than seeing that "the world" is just another part of their dream—their Drama of the Lie). They are depressed, often on two levels: organic and situational. Why? They want to be “SOMEBODY” and they want to "be someone" significant or important or relevant or successful. Those aims will always be illusory and will generate desires that cannot be met, so frustration is guaranteed.

Happiness begins when the Stage One and Two search for more goes and when being content with less comes at Stage Five. Happiness becomes fixed when nothing is desired. It reaches a new height during AS IF living when the Void is enjoyed. It reaches the ultimate bliss after it is seen that, paradoxically, the Void is the fullness.

The re-purified consciousness will lead to de-accumulating, to understanding the bliss of the nothingness, to touching the validity of the void, and to being free of the insanity and/or personality disorders that will otherwise dominate their relative existence.

To understand the sweetness of the Void does not prevent the happenings that will happen for the remainder of the manifestation. It will merely allow the arrogance that drives the seeking of significance to dissolve, will allow persons to stop thinking that everything matters so much, and will allow the end of making mountains out of proverbial molehills. That can bring to an end their living in the shadows of the valleys generated as a result of over-reacting and misperceiving.

The Full Understanding can end your attachment to illusions such as “this life”; such as, “my significance”; such as, "the great meaning that my life has"; such as “the need to cling to certain 'valuable' concepts, though they haven’t provided the real answers even after thirty years or more”; ad infinitum. See, and then you can stop screaming for help and just…be.

Understand the Void. Rather than “having it all,” go for “The Grand Prize”: Nothing. When aligned with the nothingness, what needs to be said? Nothing. What needs to be heard? Nothing. In terms of noise, what is required? Nothing. What is there to be concerned about? Nothing. What is desired? Nothing. What is needed? Nothing. What can take away your independence? Nothing. What can take away your peace? Nothing. Via this understanding, what can happen in the relative existence that is not natural and peaceful? Nothing. What can move you from your position of neutrality and non-attachment? Nothing.

Will the elements still always return to the pool of universal elements? Yes. Will the air return to the pool of universal air? Yes. Will the energy return to the universal field of energy? Yes, but now, that which was before the elements, before the air, and before the manifestation of energy and matter, will be understood.

That which is beyond beingness and non-beingness will also be understood. That which was prior to either is understood. When that is understood, no desire for an identity manifests, and no fear of having “no identity” can manifest. What manifests is a position of zero concepts.

Zero concepts guarantees zero identities, zero fears, zero desires, zero unhappiness, zero anxiety, zero restlessness, zero conflict, zero attachments, zero imprisonment, zero…period.

Enjoy the Nothingness and even the No-Nothingness. Peace and Light. Please enter the silence of contemplation.

AN OVERVIEW:
NOTE: If you’ve read some of these books but know that a firm foundation and/or a review is indicated, or if you merely want to engage in some non-duality entertainment, go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, provide your information and in the "Special Message" box, indicate which of the three Advaita packages below you want, and then read the books in proper sequence. Your multi-book discounts will be applied. Here is the order in which the books are to be read and how to get the three packages at the reduced rate:

Consider the Meditation CD, the Meditation Guides, Bullshit, and Spiritual Sobriety to be a “Beginner’s Package,” providing a foundation from which persons can begin to consider realities that are beyond the beliefs which they accept unquestioningly as a result of their enculturation. Used as a group, the works encourage inquiry (which is at the core of the Advaita approach) where questioning has not occurred before. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]

Consider Peace of Mind, Liberation, What Happens When I Die? and The Essence of the Teachings to be a “Mid-Level Seekers” Package, freeing seekers of the false identification with body and mind and personality and explaining the basic terminology that must be understood before moving to the advanced teachings. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]

Consider From the I to the Absolute, Consciousness/Awareness, and From the Absolute to the Nothingness to be an “Advanced Seekers” Package. From the I to the Absolute can serve as a guide for earnest and capable seekers, putting the teachings into an orderly context that reveals the exact steps that must be taken in an exact order to move through all of the degrees of separation from belief in the false “I” to Realization. Consciousness/Awareness offers the next level of understanding, explaining that which is beyond the beingness and how happiness can manifest each day via the understanding. Finally, From the Absolute to the Nothingness will allow earnest and capable seekers to understand the state that is even prior to beingness and non-beingness, even prior to the Absolute. The seeker who understands the content of this book will realize how it is that—from a state of non-existence or nothingness—everything in this universe (and all universes) came to be. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]
MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE (FOR A LIMITED TIME): 10% OFF if two books are ordered at the same time; 15% OFF if three books are ordered at the same time; 20% OFF if four or more books are ordered at the same time. Visit http://www.floydhenderson.com/

IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Thirteen

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS.]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

A review of the main points:

· Understand that everything which you take to be “spiritual” and “noumenal” is really nothing more than an accumulation of relative and phenomenal concepts.

· According to the earliest teachings shared among the Indigenous Peoples, that which is “true” is only the space between exhalation and inhalation. Close enough.

· “True Self” is not “God,” though many who have morphed this philosophy into a religion will adopt and defend that Self-God, false self concept as well.

· Ultimately, to try to support any “identity” alongside “the no-concept, non-dual Reality” is itself contradictory.

· At the “highest level” of understanding, any “identity” is seen to be conceptual.

· "Bliss" is merely an undisturbed, unconcerned vibration.

· The ultimate Advaita understanding is that there need not be any understanding. So relax.

· When a "state" of zero concepts is reached, it is understood that there is no "identity" at all. Nothing from nothing leaves…nothing, not “SOMETHING.”

· “Absolute,” “THAT,” “Brahman,” “God,” “energy,” “energy-matter,” “Consciousness,” “Awareness,” and “SOMETHING” are still man-made labels generated by persons.

· Ultimately, to find out “who or what you are” is useless since there is no who to benefit, no user to use; on the other hand, finding out “who you are not” could eliminate unnatural and supernatural living and allow natural, AS IF living to happen throughout the remainder of the manifestation. That would also allow freedom to happen, and only if free can bliss happen.

· Only when the addiction to the sound and the fury ends can the joy and bliss of the silence begin.

· To look to the universe and to focus on the concept of “SOMETHING” prevents seeing “The Reality of the Emptiness,” “The Reality of the Void,” “The Reality of the Nothingness.”

· Ego always wants more; freedom from the bondage of ego results in giving value to less.

· Ego is about going and doing and zooming in order to collect more; freedom from the love of more allows the non-doingness (the beingness only) to manifest, at least temporarily.

· Persons search for “the divine” and for an understanding of all that is "supernatural" when, in fact, there is nothing that is supernatural at all.

· The result of their having been fooled is an endless stream of desires and fears among persons. Those create a constant sense of longing, and longing generates a constant sense of dis-ease.

· The non-Realized never come to the understanding that it is only from a condition of emptiness (empty of concepts, of identities, of a “mind”) that a sense of fulfillment can happen during the manifestation.

· The Realized can taste what the Italians call il dolce di fare niente—“the sweetness of doing nothing.” The Fully Realized will shift even beyond that and will understand something even simpler than “the sweetness of doing nothing,” namely, il dolce di Niente—“the sweetness of Nothing,” period. Trace your roots. Go beyond self and Self, beyond Consciousness, beyond Awareness, and even beyond the Absolute to the seminal Nothingness. Abide as such.

· All identities are limiting. Limitations restrict freedom. Restrictions of freedom prevent the manifestation of happiness during the relative existence. Preoccupation with finding identities and assigning labels has the same effect.

· If you would be free, align with the nothingness. Reach the space.

· If you/You would be unconcerned, then all of your knowledge must go into liquidation. Has that happened? Have you reached the space?

· “The supreme Absolute…is only a name for communication purposes.” (Maharaj)

· “This is all a big hoax, a big fraud, created out of nothingness.” (Maharaj)

· Ultimately, even “nothing” as a concept is abandoned.

· Advaita (at the purest and most advanced level of the Teachings) endorses...(continued in the book)

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (Tomorrow: The Conclusion)
FOR THOSE STILL ASKING ABOUT THE ORDER IN WHICH THE BOOKS SHOULD BE READ:
AN OVERVIEW--The order in which the books are to be read and how to get them at a package rate:
Consider the Meditation CD, the Meditation Guides, Bullshit, and Spiritual Sobriety to be a “Beginner’s Package,” providing a foundation from which persons can begin to consider realities that are beyond the beliefs which they accept unquestioningly as a result of their enculturation. Used as a group, the works encourage inquiry (which is at the core of the Advaita approach) where questioning has not occurred before. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]

Consider Peace of Mind, Liberation, What Happens When I Die? and The Essence of the Teachings to be a “Mid-Level Seekers” Package, each guiding seekers beyond the false identification with body and mind and personality and then explaining the basic terminology that must be understood before moving to the advanced teachings. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]

Consider From the I to the Absolute, Consciousness/Awareness, and From the Absolute to the Nothingness to be an “Advanced Seekers” Package. From the I to the Absolute can serve as a guide for earnest and capable seekers, putting the teachings into an orderly context that reveals the exact steps that must be taken in an exact order to move through all of the degrees of separation from Reality, from belief in the false “I” to Realization. Consciousness/Awareness offers the next level of understanding, explaining that which is beyond the beingness and how happiness can manifest each day via the understanding. Finally, From the Absolute to the Nothingness will allow earnest and capable seekers to understand the state that is even prior to beingness and non-beingness, even prior to the Absolute. The seeker who understands the content of this book will realize how it is that—from a state of non-existence or nothingness—everything in this universe (and all universes) came to be. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]
MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE (FOR A LIMITED TIME): 10% OFF if two books are ordered at the same time; 15% OFF if three books are ordered at the same time; 20% OFF if four or more books are ordered at the same time. Visit http://www.floydhenderson.com/

IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Twelve

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS.]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

[NOTE: It should now be possible to read, with an expanded view and an even deeper interpretation and understanding, certain pointers. If you review some of the pointers from yesterday’s post as well as pointers offered by other Advaitin Teachers, you can likely apply the considerations in this book and thereby uncover realizations beyond any you’ve imagined so far]:

********************

F. Since neither energy nor matter can be created nor destroyed, and since both can simply “appear” in a vacuum, then all universes began as chance happenings where, in a vacuum of nothingness, “something” spontaneously appeared.

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj: "Prior to taking this form, you were formless; spontaneously the form came, and when the form came there was a natural longing to return to the formless state. When you want to return to the formless, desireless state, then only you come here.”

********************

F.: Just understand that what has always been prior to something has been…nothing. If you were to trace your “roots” (or the “original identity” that now concerns you), the search would lead to…nothing.

Maharaj: “If they come face-to-face with that root, they will be stunned into silence.”

F.: It is stunning to realize that you may have understood the root for years but now find "the root of all roots."

********************

F.: Earlier, the statement was offered that “Not only do I not believe in something, I don’t even believe in nothing…no person, no concept, no form, no nothing. ‘Something’ is temporary and ‘nothing’ is also temporary—all fleeting aspects of an ever-changing universe that wasn’t at first and that later suddenly was.”

Maharaj: “You are so used to the support of concepts that when your concepts leave you, although it is your true state, you get frightened and try to cling to them again.”

F.: In that “true state,” there are neither concepts about “SOMETHING” nor even concepts about nothing. The consciousness-manifested condition can become the bliss-manifested condition when belief in any and every concept ends.

********************

F.: Those trapped in their limited “minds” will not understand how all possibilities are indeed possible. They will not be able to grasp the fact that, when there is nothing to prevent organizing and disorganizing (and there isn’t), that anything can happen.

Maharaj: "From the Absolute no-knowing state, spontaneously, this consciousness ‘I am’ has appeared—there is no reason, no cause."

F.: And from the no-thing state, the Absolute manifested. In the case of all universes that have ever “formed,” the nothingness has always been antecedent to all. Next, if you understand that "a total absence of concern" can only happen in that no-knowing state, why not enter that state now and forget about knowing self, Self, and all other concepts as well?

********************

F.: Now, some Advaitin sages (and some other philosophers as well) will remind protégés at this point that all possibilities are possible because they are being seen as functionings and happenings in a self-defining reality and in a Self-defining Reality.

Dennis Waite: "Advaita defines 'real' as being that which exists in or transcends all three periods of time (i.e. past, present and future)...."

F.: Yes, there is that which was even prior to “the past.” In the space called “this universe,” prior to Consciousness there was Awareness. Prior to Awareness there was…a vacuum…nothingness…emptiness. If you seek “your roots” or your “origin” or some “true identity,” reach the space. Know the nothingness. If you would be totally free and independent (and thereby happy) throughout the remainder of the manifestation, then be the emptiness now that you were even before there was “a past”...before there was beingness...before there was non-beingness...before there was "a before."

********************

F.: Your effort to find the noble or lofty "SOMETHING" that you are is an exercise being conducted within both a self-defining reality and a Self-defining Reality.

Maharaj: "There is no question of elevating to a higher level. Here it is only a question of understanding" and “Whatever you have tried to understand during your spiritual search will prove false.”

F.: Persons at the third of seven steps to Reality fixate in their religious or spiritual roles, sure that they understand all. Those who complete all seven steps fixate in "Reality," sure that they have reached the final understanding. Those who understand Consciousness/Awareness are sure that they have reached "the height" of understanding and purity.

Now, they are told here that all three assumptions regarding spirituality, Reality, and Awareness are false. They are told that their most cherished understandings are no longer valid. They are told that their spirituality is a fraud. They are told that anything and everything that they think they have found on their "search" should now been seen as a fraud.

That is why persons either reject the “most advanced” teachings outright or are stunned into silence. Realization happened. An awakening occurred. Liberation manifested. It all seemed so joyously “final.” Now this! Just when they were so sure of their “identity,” now this! Just when they thought they were really “SOMETHING,” some space called “maharaj” or some space called “floyd” informs them that they are really nothing:

Maharaj: “From my angle, you are nothing. You have no identity.”

********************

F.: Now it is known that from the nothingness, “something” can manifest. Yet what is pervasive in "this universe"? Not the “something.” Only the nothing. The nothingness precedes all. It is the emptiness that is most pervasive.

[NOTE: How pervasive is the emptiness? If you were to divide the emptiness of the universe into cubes measuring twenty-seven inches on each side, the average density of the universe would be one atom per cube of nothingness. If one argues that he is "x" number of atoms, then he will be told that he is more accurately hundreds of cubic units of nothingness times "x"; of course, no is-ness or Is-ness can be accurately defined at all in a space wherein all is in flux...seemingly "appearing" and then seemingly "disappearing" as manifestations of specks of consciousness try to define self and Self...as they try to "fix" that which is in flux...as they try to guarantee continuity for that which is without continuity.]

Dennis Waite: "Worldly pursuits cannot bring lasting happiness. They are limited while our true nature is unlimited."

My true nature is emptiness…not fullness. I Am not atoms. I AM nothing, yet even that is not fixed. Ignoring the nonsense in your cultures of accumulation, including the accumulation of titles and labels and identities and personas, can you admit that you are nothing to the degree that... (continued in the book)

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Eleven

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS.]

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: This pointer was offered yesterday:

Physicists who understand the null state can provide insight into the particulars, but the “advanced” Advaitin seeker need not understand all of the particulars to understand “how we got from nothingness to the Absolute,” to use Sim’s words.

For starters, consider two understandings that are referred to as the “Genesis Vacuum” and as “Quantum Genesis.” The “Quantum Genesis” teaching explains that the origin of this universe (and all universes) may be understood in terms of a quantum chance.

Since neither energy nor matter can be created nor destroyed, and since they can simply “appear” in a vacuum, then all universes began as chance happenings where, in a vacuum of nothingness, “something” spontaneously appeared. Just understand that what has always been prior to something has been…nothing. If you were to trace your “roots” (or the “original identity” that concerns you), the search would lead to…nothing.

Related to that understanding is the “Genesis Vacuum”—a scientific principle which has shown how this universe (and all universes) began within a vacuum of nothingness. From that nothingness, energy and matter simply arose in a manner that has now been repeated in the scientific laboratory where a perfectly-sealed vacuum was arranged. Then, within that vacuum, a particle suddenly appeared.

It is now known that within total vacuums of nothingness, something can suddenly arise. Physicists who understand the null state join with philosophers and metaphysicists to explain how—from a state of non-existence or nothingness—everything can be. Without delving too deeply into the science behind the philosophical understanding, here’s what some researchers have to offer by way of clarification:

Mark I. Vuletic: “Few people are aware of the fact that many modern physicists claim that things—perhaps even the entire universe—can indeed arise from nothing via natural processes.”

Paul Davies: “In the everyday world, energy is always unalterably fixed; the law of energy conservation is a cornerstone of classical physics. But in the quantum microworld, energy can appear and disappear out of nowhere in a spontaneous and unpredictable fashion.”

Heinz Pagels: “Once our minds accept the mutability of matter and the new idea of the vacuum, we can speculate on the origin of the biggest thing we know—the universe. Maybe the universe itself sprang into existence out of nothingness—a gigantic vacuum fluctuation…. Remarkably, the laws of modern physics allow for this possibility.”

Finally, both Steven Weinberg and Ya. B. Zel'dovich suggest that "the universe began as a perfect vacuum" and that "all the particles of the material world were created from the expansion of space."

Further, consider the Laws of Thermodynamics, discussed many times on this site, for comparison. All is in a state of flux...dynamic and changing. More specifically, the Law of Entropy says that elements disorganize and organize and can disorganize and organize again.

That is what happens when a particle arises in a vacuum and then organizes with other particles that appear spontaneously and naturally. That is what happens when atoms split and combine and split and re-combine. “Universes” are nothing more than the spaces in which such organizings and disorganizings happen.

Just as the Law of Entropy explains how elements can organize and disorganize and re-organize, so Null State Physics explains how everything can organize, disorganize, and re-organize from nothing...from a state that was originally null and void.

Earlier, the statement was offered that “Not only do I not believe in something, I don’t even believe in nothing…no person, no concept, no form, no nothing. ‘Something’ is temporary and ‘nothing’ is also temporary—all fleeting aspects of an ever-changing universe that wasn’t at first and that later suddenly was.”

Those trapped in their limited “minds” will not understand how all possibilites are indeed possible. They will not be able to grasp the fact that, when there is nothing to prevent organizing and disorganizing (and there isn’t), that anything can happen. And such organizing and disorganizing is all that is happening. Nothing comes or goes, though much "appears" and "disappears." Rather than "cycling," a more accurate description might be that groupings and un-groupings are happening (or not).

Nothing is actually as it is perceived by observers, and all which is supposedly “seen” is only a momentary appearance involving something being mistaken for what it is not. Continuity of anything with name and form is a mental, fictional construct only.

Now, some Advaitin sages (and some other philosophers as well) will remind protégés at this point that all possibilities... (continued in the book)
To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
FOR THOSE STILL ASKING ABOUT THE ORDER IN WHICH THE BOOKS SHOULD BE READ:
AN OVERVIEW:

The order in which the books are to be read and how to get them at a package rate:
Consider the Meditation CD, the Meditation Guides, Bullshit, and Spiritual Sobriety to be a “Beginner’s Package,” providing a foundation from which persons can begin to consider realities that are beyond the beliefs which they accept unquestioningly as a result of their enculturation. Used as a group, the works encourage inquiry (which is at the core of the Advaita approach) where questioning has not occurred before. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]

Consider Peace of Mind, Liberation, What Happens When I Die? and The Essence of the Teachings to be a “Mid-Level Seekers” Package, freeing seekers of the false identification with body and mind and personality and explaining the basic terminology that must be understood before moving to the advanced teachings. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]

Consider From the I to the Absolute, Consciousness/Awareness, and From the Absolute to the Nothingness to be an “Advanced Seekers” Package. From the I to the Absolute can serve as a guide for earnest and capable seekers, putting the teachings into an orderly context that reveals the exact steps that must be taken in an exact order to move through all of the degrees of separation from belief in the false “I” to Realization. Consciousness/Awareness offers the next level of understanding, explaining that which is beyond the beingness and how happiness can manifest each day via the understanding. Finally, From the Absolute to the Nothingness will allow earnest and capable seekers to understand the state that is even prior to beingness and non-beingness, even prior to the Absolute. The seeker who understands the content of this book will realize how it is that—from a state of non-existence or nothingness—everything in this universe (and all universes) came to be. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]
MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE (FOR A LIMITED TIME): 10% OFF if two books are ordered at the same time; 15% OFF if three books are ordered at the same time; 20% OFF if four or more books are ordered at the same time. Visit http://www.floydhenderson.com/

IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Nine

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS]

NOTE: Several e-mails are arriving, asking about the sequence in which the various books should be read if seekers are to be able—as one said—“to fit all of the pieces of the puzzle together, in order.” An overview will be offered at the end of this post to explain.

This caution is offered again: the content of this series is not for beginners or mid-level seekers. Pointers with broader applicability will continue in a few days.

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: Maharaj said, “This is all a big hoax, a big fraud, created out of nothingness.” Ultimately, even “nothing” as a concept is abandoned.

Maharaj said, “The sum total of my spirituality now is nothing, even the word ‘nothing’ is not there, so there is no spirituality left.” After reaching the point of zero concepts, how could there be such a thing as “spirituality”? It is just another concept, dreamed up by men. The Full Understanding lies far beyond the assumption of any spiritual or religious personas.

Maharaj also said, “The Absolute state cannot be explained by words.” Of course, that pointer cannot be offered to beginners. The functioning of the totality must be understood before “the totality” can be dismissed as just another concept.

Ultimately, it can be asked, "So what is with all this talk—what is with all these words—about the 'anything'? About 'something'? About 'nothing'?" If one sees any part of this spontaneously-happening process as anything more than entertainment during the brief period of manifestation, then one has been fooled. Is this Advaita-heresy? Of course not. It is a pointer toward truth, but then, even "truth" is a concept, is it not?

Why cast aside all concepts, ideas, emotions, attitudes, and beliefs? Because the consciousness, once conditioned, believes in the false. It becomes the supposed knower of concepts, the supposed thinker of ideas, the supposed emoter of emotions, the supposed believer of beliefs. All of that leads at least to unhappiness or to misery and suffering in the extreme. Once even the consciousness is dismissed, what remains to sustain concepts? Nothing. In the absence of concepts, freedom can happen and peace can follow.

Every person, however, is trapped in the belief that his/her mind-flow and her/his thought-life is "the real." What nonsense. All is imagined or seen incorrectly; all concepts were dreamed up by ignorant, controlling men and passed down—generally without any questioning of those concepts at all—from one generation to the next.

Because that has been the case for generation after generation after generation, the planet is now dominated by non-Realized persons who are living their lives under the influence of the most ignorant concepts imaginable—ideas dreamed up millennia ago by men who had no understanding of facts and science and reality but who were driven by their superstitions and their ignorance instead.

Such remains the current status of the masses. To be free of a life driven by the influence of learned ignorance, one must abandon the belief in any belief...including the belief that everything must be labeled...including the labeling of whatever you think you are.

Advaita (at the purest and most advanced level of the Teachings) endorses zero concepts. It invites programmed and conditioned persons to be free of all beliefs and all ideas, recommending not that “minds” should be full but that all “minds” should be emptied, step-by-step, until no “mind” exists at all.

To assume no identity during the manifestation of consciousness will produce the exact same results as abiding as the Absolute or as the Awareness that is unaware of awareness. A relative existence marked by weariness and heaviness is steeped in concepts. A relative existence marked by lightness is burdened with few concepts. One in which total freedom is happening is marked by a belief in no concepts.

A relative existence characterized by complete freedom and peace is marked by emptiness. Meaning? Meaning it is not marked at all. A sense of heaviness results when identities are assumed. A sense of lightness happens when a minimum of identities are assumed. A sense of total freedom and a sense of peace (a sense of the unburdened emptiness) only happens when no identities are assumed.

Why are persons so opposed to these advanced teachings? Because they are driven by desires and fears. Because they have been programmed from early on to accept identities and to accumulate identities. Because they have been conditioned to “be somebody.” Because they want to “be somebody”…to really “be something.”

Yet all of that is based in the duality of “loss-gain.” There has never been any belief held by any person that did not have behind it a notion that some payoff would result from holding that belief. What nonsense when there is no WHO to gain and no WHO to lose…when there is nothing to gain and nothing to lose.

Nothing more is happening in this universe than a series of groupings and ungroupings, nothing more than being and not-being, nothing more than... (continued in the book)

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
AN OVERVIEW
Consider the Meditation CD, the Meditation Guides, Bullshit, and Spiritual Sobriety to be a “Beginner’s Package,” providing a foundation from which persons can begin to consider realities that are beyond the beliefs which they accept unquestioningly as a result of their enculturation. Used as a group, the works encourage inquiry (which is at the core of the Advaita approach) where questioning has not occurred before. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]

Consider Peace of Mind, Liberation, What Happens When I Die? and The Essence of the Teachings to be a “Mid-Level Seekers” Package, freeing seekers of the false identification with body and mind and personality and explaining the basic terminology that must be understood before moving to the advanced teachings. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]

Consider From the I to the Absolute, Consciousness/Awareness, and From the Absolute to the Nothingness to be an “Advanced Seekers” Package. From the I to the Absolute can serve as a guide for earnest and capable seekers, putting the teachings into an orderly context that reveals the exact steps that must be taken in an exact sequence in order for one to move through all of the degrees of separation from Reality that result from belief in the bogus “I.” Consciousness/Awareness offers the next level of understanding, explaining that which is beyond the beingness and how happiness can manifest each day via the understanding. Finally, From the Absolute to the Nothingness will allow earnest and capable seekers to understand the state that is even prior to beingness and non-beingness, even prior to the Absolute. The seeker who understands the content of this book will realize how it is that—from a state of non-existence or nothingness—everything in this universe (and all universes) came to be. [See MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE below.]
MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE (FOR A LIMITED TIME): 10% OFF if two books are ordered at the same time; 15% OFF if three books are ordered at the same time; 20% OFF if four or more books are ordered at the same time. Visit http://www.floydhenderson.com/

IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Eight

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: Maharaj also said, “This knowledge is for those who have no desires.” It is obvious that your desire for an identity inspires your talk of “something.” Since you desire an identity, the content of this book will not likely appeal to you. Are you also desiring life eternal? Then the ultimate understanding is not for you. Because you want to be “something” (and something forever) then the ultimate teaching will likely have no appeal for you.

If you still desire to know who you are (and that is appropriate at the earlier levels), these highest level teachings will not be for you. It can be asked legitimately, “Then what is any of this about? Why are the teachings happening? Why does the consciousness continue to speak?”

Maharaj was asked that very question and he answered, “What is the worth of all these activities of human beings? It is all entertainment, just to pass the time. You get pleasure only when you forget yourself.” So for ultimate pleasure, forget your self, and forget Your Self.

He said, “Liberation means what? It is no more there. [Flicking his cigarette lighter off and on.] This cigarette lighter is the body; the consciousness is the flame. Now it isn’t there anymore; it is liberated. Where is the need to label it…?”

“First I thought I was the body, then I experienced that I was not the body but I was the consciousness, then I got the experience that this consciousness is not really me, and there is no form, no individuality, no nothing.”

It has been asked even by more advanced seekers during satsanga sessions and Advaita Seminars and Advaita Retreats, “Isn’t there something that you believe in?”

The reply: “Not only do I not believe in something, I don’t even believe in nothing…no person, no concept, no form, no nothing. ‘Something’ is temporary and ‘nothing’ is also temporary—all fleeting aspects of an ever-changing universe that wasn’t at first and that later suddenly was.” (More on that in a later chapter.)

Wherefore your desire for permanence? Wherefore your desire for an “identity” when even before the “SOMETHING” you reference, there was nothing? Ultimately, either your view of Reality involves no concepts and no duality, or your false sense of reality involves concepts (which, in turn, support duality and falsehoods).

Far more pervasive among persons who will never find a “true identity” are their distortions regarding all of the false, assumed identities which they are not but which they think they are. (And those are the “identities” that have a far more influential impact, relatively speaking).

If persons would be free of the suffering that is rooted in the ignorance of their ego-states—and the egotism that always accompanies their false identities—then (continued in the book).

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE (FOR A LIMITED TIME): 10% OFF if two books are ordered at the same time; 15% OFF if three books are ordered at the same time; 20% OFF if four or more books are ordered at the same time. Visit http://www.floydhenderson.com/

IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Five

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: Egotism drives persons to want to “be something” and to "be somebody." Programming and conditioning and enculturation and domestication convince the non-Realized that they “are something”…that they are, in fact, “many things.” (Hence, "duality.") Desires drive persons to seek states of rapture; fear, combined with a desire for power and control and continuity, drives persons to seek “the divine.”

Ego always wants more; freedom from the bondage of ego results in giving value to less. Ego is about going and doing and zooming in order to collect more; freedom from the love of more allows the non-doingness (the beingness only) to manifest.

Thus, persons search for “the divine” and for an understanding of all that is "supernatural" when in fact there is nothing that is supernatural at all. That which is thought to be supernatural is contained entirely within the warped consciousness. Though the only style of living that makes sense in the relative is natural living, the fact is that persons either live unnaturally or think that they are living supernaturally as a result of their having been fooled.

The result of their having been fooled is an endless stream of desires and fears that create a constant sense of longing. A constant sense of longing generates a sense of emptiness…of not being full…of a lack of fulfillment. The desires and fears generate the adoption of one false self after another, so the non-Realized end up being "full of themselves"—meaning, mentally full of their false selves.

Since those selves are illusions without substance, the sensation of emptiness among persons seems ever-present throughout the manifestation. They think that they are experiencing that sensation when, in fact, there is no one to experience anything. That sensation saddles "emptiness" with a negative connotation among the non-Realized. Few of them will ever understand the joys of de-accumulation. Few of them will ever come to the understanding that it is only the emptiness that can be fulfilling during the manifestation.

Yesterday, after securing the lines on the boat and then leaving the harbor, this exchange was overheard as one man asked another: “What have you got lined up for the weekend?” The second answered, “Nothing. Not a GD thing. Isn’t that great?”

If an empty schedule for two days can be considered “great,” imagine how wonderful such emptiness could be 24-7 for the remainder of the manifestation.

Yet who that has been programmed to accumulate more could possibility prefer de-accumulation and less? The answer is, “Only those who have tasted even the slightest bit of that sweetness of less…of nothingness.”

A pointer that has been shared before will be repeated here since it is relevant to this discussion:

The Realized can taste what the Italians call il dolce di fare niente—“the sweetness of doing nothing.” The Fully Realized will shift to a level even beyond that and will understand something even simpler than “the sweetness of doing nothing,” namely, il dolce di Niente—“the sweetness of Nothing,” period.

It has been asked, “If nothingness is the real deal, then why are words gathered into books or posted on a site? Someone is doing that gathering and posting.” That comment indicates delusion. Consciousness speaks, but consciousness is without personal attributes or individuality or doership. Here, there is no person or being or consciousness choosing anything. All happens spontaneously. Words come automatically, without thought...without thinker.

Consciousness has neither body nor mind nor personality. It assumes no identity if pure or if re-purified. No matter how dedicated you are to finding an identity and "being somebody" and thereby "being fulfilled," the fact is that whatever you might claim your permanent identity to be, it cannot be any part of a non-permanent relative existence. You really aren't anybody.

Thus, whatever you would claim as your real identity must be void of self existence and void of SELF existence. Whatever you might think you are is actually...(continued in the book)

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)
MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE (FOR A LIMITED TIME): 10% OFF if two books are ordered at the same time; 15% OFF if three books are ordered at the same time; 20% OFF if four or more books are ordered at the same time. Visit http://www.floydhenderson.com/

IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Four

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS. The pointers in this book are only for the most advanced seekers. The reading of this book should follow a reading and an understanding of the pointers in FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE and CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: In response to the pointer that

“advanced” seekers can reach a “state” of zero concepts and thereby understand that “Absolute,” “THAT,” “Brahman,” “God,” “energy,” “energy-matter,” “Consciousness,” “Awareness,” and “SOMETHING” are nothing more than man-made labels

and that

since Awareness is not even aware of awareness, then there is no reason to be “concerned” with any labels at all

some will say, “How dare you discount spirituality.” Others will ask, “How can you dare to minimize the Pure Absolute that I AM?” Some will exclaim, “How dare you close the door to immortality by suggesting that there is no eternal reward…or punshment,” or “How dare you suggest that all of my good works here will not be rewarded there.”

Even among those who claim to be “Advaitins” and who claim to have “cast aside their ideas and concepts,” many begin to cling to their newly-discovered Advaita concepts. They refuse to cast aside the thorn called “the Advaita Teachings” even after all other thorns have been removed.

The pointer has been offered that “to look to the universe and to focus on the concept of ‘SOMETHING’ prevents seeing ‘The Reality of the Emptiness,’ ‘The Reality of the Void,’ ‘The Reality of the Nothingness’.”

In fact, "the entire universe"—no different at all from "this world"—is contained in consciousness as well. Many will reject the no-concept, no duality, no identity pointers being offered in this book. Some will claim that to even discuss “emptiness” is an affirmation of consciousness (and proof that consciousness is their true identity).

Those making that claim will suggest that denying consciousness as one’s ultimate identity requires consciousness to be a true identity because the refutation itself proves that consciousness is present to make the denial. At the conceptual level, their argument is accepted.

Yet what of the “no concept” level? For a philosophy that invites seekers to find out all that they are not, an inordinate amount of energy is being expended in seeking the answer to “Who am I?” instead (even though the ones asking the question—or answering the question—are still assuming false identities: “The Spiritual Giant,” “The Seeker,” “The Religious One,” “The Advaitin,” “The Realized One,” “The Guru,” “The non-Doer,” ad infinitum).

The question ignores the simple fact that “there is no who to discuss or to find anything.” At best, only a “what” can be legitimately discussed, and it could be asked, “Why discuss even that?”

[INSERT: At the seminar this week, seekers asked such questions as the following:

“So who am I, really?” and “What is love?” and “What is permanent?” Another made the comment, “I’m sick of trying to ‘get this.’ I understand that I’m not those roles I’ve played all my life. Why is that not enough?”

The consideration was offered: "Maybe it is enough. If you were never to find the answer to questions regarding who you are, but you were able to discover everything that you are not, then the course of events in your relative existence would turn 180 degrees. If you were never to find the answer to questions regarding what love is, but you were able to discover everything that love is not but that is driving you nevertheless, then the course of events in your relative existence would turn 180 degrees.]

Persons are driven by what they are not. That Which They Are will have no effect whatsoever on the only existence that they will ever be cognizant of, namely, the relative existence. (Again, the post-manifestation Awareness has no awareness of itself.)

Maharaj predicted that only one in a million will ever Realize That Which They Are. That miniscule percentage has never impacted the planet, has never "made the world a better place," and it never will. However, were all of the non-Realized on the planet to abandon belief in all of the personas which they have assumed as identities...(continued in the book)

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued)

MAKE YOUR OWN PACKAGE (FOR A LIMITED TIME): 10% OFF if two books are ordered at the same time; 15% OFF if three books are ordered at the same time; 20% OFF if four or more books are ordered at the same time. Visit: http://www.floydhenderson.com/

IDENTIFICATION: Something, or No thing? Part Three

[EXCERPTS from the soon-to-be-released book FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS]

FROM A SITE VISITOR: No identity at all? Everybody is SOMETHING, and whatever that SOMETHING is, is our identity.

F.: Most who read pointers dealing with zero concepts (as offered by some Direct Path Advaita Teachers and by some “Neo-Advaitins”), will feel as if they are dying or being robbed of their “true identity.” Some will feel that their “true identity” is being minimized and not recognized for the glorious post-manifestation "SOMETHING" that it is...all “heavenly” and “celestial” and “splendid”…maybe even “saintly” or “godly” or “cherubic” or “spiritual” or “divine” or “holy” or "something" which they believe will be "even above and beyond" all of that.

Some resent the implication that their relevance, either during the relative manifestation or after the relative manifestation, is being decreased or diminished or underestimated. They hate the suggestion that to have taken themselves and their beliefs seriously for so many years was all nonsense. They hate hearing that their years of fighting for their causes were uselessly passed in vain and were steeped in egotism and efforts to support their false identities/ego-states.

They hate hearing that their entire existence is all much ado about nothing. They despise being told that they have been fooled. They hate pointers dealing with purposelessness and meaninglessness. They hate pointers which suggest that all of those times when they made mountains out of molehills was pure foolishness. They hate the notion of "nothingness" and thrive on all their concepts that deal with "somethingness." They hate hearing their their beliefs and their concepts are fiction.

They hate when their dualistic belief in their own eternal reward is exposed as a fraud or when their belief in an eternal punishment for their enemies is debunked. They bristle when it is pointed out that their "life-long" attempts to defend their various concepts have amounted to nothing more than a waste of breath.

They hate to hear that the energy spent in trying to make their views understood and accepted was for naught. They can become livid when it is noted that their actions (which earned applause from the masses who considered those actions to be “accomplishments”) were for nil. They despise the pointer that no one has ever "made the world a better place" as a result of any action.

They are offended when it is suggested that the naming of streets after them, that the building of statues in their honor, and that the construction of libraries built to laud their "achievements" amount to just so much rubbish. They reject any suggestion that the desire to extend in perpetuity the memory of them and their “identity” is mere tripe.

Similarly, the following pointer was offered to the seeker who raised the issue of “SOMETHING” in defense of his “identity,” desiring as he does to verify it and to be assured that it will be extended in perpetuity:

Whether your identity is of a phenomenal nature or a noumenal nature in your “mind,” your preoccupation with it is evidence of the fact that you hold in esteem either that which you currently believe you are, or that SOMETHING which you think you shall be forever, or both. In fact, when a "state" of zero concepts is reached, it is understood that there is no "identity" at all. It is also realized from that "state" that there is nothing deserving any esteem at all, contrary to the tendency among the non-Realized to demand that they be shown “the honor they deserve.”

The pointer offered earlier was that “there's no identity to be concerned with at all.” Another pointer is offered for those seekers who would reach the "next level" of understanding and who are capable of reaching the zero concepts "state":

“Absolute,” “THAT,” “Brahman,” “God,” “energy,” “energy-matter,” “Consciousness,” “Awareness,” and “SOMETHING” are still man-made labels generated by persons; however, since Awareness is not even aware of awareness, what justification can be offered for being “concerned” with any of those labels, if Fully Realized?

The concept of “SOMETHING” blocks the understanding of what is most pervasive in this universe (and in all universes). What is most pervasive? Not something but…no-thing. The physical body of a human is neither “primarily energy” nor “primarily matter.” It is primarily space, primarily a void, and can thereby serve as a microcosm of the universe which is primarily space, primarily nothingness, primarily no-thingness.

Similar to every bridge that will eventually be reduced to rubble, a couple of hundred pounds of “floyd” will be reduced to a few pounds of ash. That which is mainly “space” is misperceived by the non-Realized as being “something.”

Typically, "the nothing" is neither seen nor understand as persons show deference to, and preference for, “something.” Only for "the most advanced" is this pointer offered: if the nothingness is understood, then not an iota of attention is wasted with concern about the “SOMETHING” the seeker mentioned.

At "the peak" of understanding, it is realized that “concern” with a post-manifestation identity is just so much silliness. Persons who focus on “SOMETHINGS” become “concerned,” and "concern" about anything will generate unnatural or supernatural thinking and living. All “concerns” prevent peace and natural living from happening. If an excess of energy is available, employ it to realize all that you are not if you would eliminate insane-like thoughts and words and deeds and relative destructiveness from an otherwise ego-dominated existence.

To focus on the concept of “SOMETHING” prevents seeing “The Reality of the Emptiness,” “The Reality of the Void,” “The Reality of the Nothingness.” All “mind”-stuff attached to “somethingness” will preempt any understanding of the no-concept, non-dual, no-thing Reality.

Peace and happiness only happen...(continued in the book)

To order your copy of FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS ($16.99+ S&H) go to http://floydhenderson.com/order.htm, complete all of the information, and in the “Special Message” box, type in FROM THE ABSOLUTE TO THE NOTHINGNESS.

Please enter the silence of contemplation. (To be continued on Friday)
READINGS RELATED TO TODAY’S POSTING:
WORKING ON LEARNING TO QUESTION IT ALL AND BEING FREE OF THE FALSE (BUT HONORED) CONCEPTS AND BELIEFS OF YOUR CULTURE?

Click IT’S ALL BULLSHIT

WORKING ON BEING FREE OF RELIGIOUS PROGRAMMING AND DOGMA?

Click SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY

WORKING ON BEING FREE OF BODY AND MIND IDENTIFICATION?

Click WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?

WORKING ON BEING FREE OF MIND AND PERSONALITY IDENTIFICATION?

Click THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS “PEACE OF MIND” (There Is Only Peace If You’re Out of Your Mind)

and

Click LIBERATION

WORKING ON “THE FINAL PIECES” AND PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER?

Click THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS

and

Click FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)

and

Click CONSCIOUSNESS/AWARENESS

ADVAITA: A PHILOSOPHY THAT ANNIHILATES ALL, INCLUDING ITSELF? Part Two

F.: The determination of which pointers are offered or not offered to any particular seeker is governed by how far along the seven-step “path” the seeker has progressed. The Realized teacher can determine that “placement” in short order after the seeker shares a few views or asks a few questions. (For example, in an e-mail received this morning, only a few statements were required to reveal a fixation at “The Spiritual Giant” stage. The seeker has abandoned the “journey” at the third level, believing that he had arrived at some ultimate place on the “path” when, in fact, the halfway point has not even been reached. He is being influenced by a group that promotes "spirituality" as "the ultimate state" rather than recognizing it as one step on a longer "journey.")

For those who have taken only the initial steps, their pointers might include a suggestion that “the ego must be annihilated” or that “false identities must disappear.” If the “journey” is completed, though, it will be seen that "the ego" and “the philosopher” and the “user of philosophy” had no basis in fact at all.

Yesterday, one example was offered of the type of “seasonal distortion” that will soon be occurring again. Another example came during a session conducted last December with a group of men who were incarcerated. All were bemoaning the fact that they were being “prevented from spending the holidays with family.” After questioning each of the men for details, it was revealed that nearly 60% could not even recall specifically where they had been during the prior Christmas season.

Advaita invites seekers to see that there can be no accuracy at all to their “present understandings” because those “understandings” are based in “past” misunderstandings. Moreover, those “past” misunderstandings were based in misunderstandings that were formed even prior to those. The “human experience” is thus marked by (1) attachment to a series of misunderstandings, by (2) the notion that truth is anathema and by (3) exhibiting no real desire to be truly free and independent.

(If you want to challenge that assertion, review the historical evidence: the record shows that, not only do few seek truth but that [a] the masses hate those who have invited them to see that their beliefs are lies and that [b] the masses hate those who have invited them to seek the truth. As a few examples, consider the fates of Socrates, Christ, Gandhi, John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., et. al.)

Thus, everything which is now perceived by persons is, by default, completely erroneous, rooted in faulty memories from “the past”; furthermore, those current misperceptions will be the foundations that support “future” distortions.

Some Advaitins see that all of the “memories” that drive current misperceptions are nothing more than the residue of residue, just reflections of reflections, merely distortions of distortions, only the twistings of the twisted, mere deformities of that which has been previously-deformed, and nothing more than perversions of already-perverted perversions.

If the use of a philosophy of reason exposes a misperception as nothing more a mirage, then it will eventually make clear that the “user” of that philosophy is also a mirage…that even the seeker is not at all what it appears to be and not at all who it takes itself to be.

Thus, if the misconceptions of appearance and beingness and tale-telling are removed via use of a philosophy of reason and clarification, then the illusion of a “user” must eventually be removed as well. In that process, the philosophy provides a means by which reason-based understandings manifest in place of illogical beliefs and concepts; provides a means by which argument and reason can cleanse a speck of consciousness of its contaminants; offers a means by which the truth which cannot be stated can nevertheless be understood; and a means by which all that is involved with the functioning of the totality can be realized.

At that point when all belief in “The User” is cast aside, even philosophy is no longer of use. Since nothing has been killed off, because nothing thought to be actually existed as perceived, then what remains is the nothingness of no philosophy, no philosopher, no user of philosophy…nothing in fact except the original and eternal quantities of energy/matter that have not been added to nor subtracted from.

Only a few of the seekers who fear being “killed off” by the Advaita teachings will eventually stop the dualistic questioning of the rightness or the wrongness of the pointers offered and will start questioning the falsity of themselves. A few will understand that all the talk about THAT state is really talk about no state. A few will understand that thorns are used to remove thorns and that eventually, when all the thorns are removed, all of the thorns will be cast aside as well.

For a philosophy to direct seekers to Truth, it can proclaim neti-neti along the way, but in the end, it will claim no claim, including a claim that truth can be stated.

Therefore, “Advaita” is merely a label applied to a process whereby processes are processed for a time but whereby, eventually, processes are no longer processed because all of the illusory "processors"(which never really existed anyway) will no longer be thought to exist or thought to have ever existed.

If a philosophy really makes no claims, offers no truths that can be stated, exposes contradictions and dualities as lies, and offers no substitute concepts in the place of lies, then it can be seen as nothing more than a part of the play…one short song played during the purposeless and meaningless dance about nothing.

Then, freed of the mental and emotional bondage of body-mind-personality identification and freed of the ego's struggle to appear purposeful and meaningful, the dance can be enjoyed without attachment to perceived needs and distorted desires and without the misery that is generated by mental intoxication and emotional intoxication.

It will, if valid, allow seekers to be free of the bondage of the illusory anything and the illusory everything and to realize the freedom of the no-thingness. And that freedom extends to any need to keep using a philosophy…an impossibility since no user will exist.

So WHO is writing this posting? No one. Who is reading it? No one. The consciousness is at play, and if the consciousness has been re-purified, play time can be what some call “fun.” If the consciousness has not been re-purified, then play time will not manifest and what remains will appear to be quite burdensome.

Ultimately, though, Advaita annihilates nothing because all that persons take to be real is not the Real...and never has been. Please enter into the silence of contemplation.
READINGS RELATED TO TODAY’S POSTING:
WORKING ON LEARNING TO QUESTION IT ALL AND BEING FREE OF THE FALSE (BUT HONORED) CONCEPTS AND BELIEFS OF YOUR CULTURE?

Click IT’S ALL BULLSHIT

WORKING ON BEING FREE OF RELIGIOUS PROGRAMMING AND DOGMA?

Click SPIRITUAL SOBRIETY

WORKING ON BEING FREE OF BODY AND MIND IDENTIFICATION?

Click WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DIE?

WORKING ON BEING FREE OF MIND AND PERSONALITY IDENTIFICATION?

Click THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS “PEACE OF MIND” (There Is Only Peace If You’re Out of Your Mind)

and

Click LIBERATION

WORKING ON “THE FINAL PIECE” AND PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER?

Click THE ESSENCE OF THE TEACHINGS

and

Click FROM THE I TO THE ABSOLUTE (A Seven-Step Journey to Reality)