All posts by Dr. Robin Starbuck

About Dr. Robin Starbuck

Professor of English 1973 M.A., New York University 1989 Ph.D., New York University Linguistics

Advaita


Home
       Meditation       Freedom       Who Am I       Why Be Good

Advaita Vedanta is a three thousand year old school of Hindu philosophy and spiritual practices. The term Advaita first appeared as the Sanskrit term अद्वैत वेदान्त, which means not-two. Advaita teaches that moksha or freedom (sometimes translated as liberation, enlightenment, spiritual awakening or self-realization) can be achieved in your lifetime. The most prominent exponent of Advaita was Adi Shankara who lived around 800 AD. Today some call Advaita non-duality or direct inquiry. (Wikipedia)  

This page discusses what freedom means in Advaita and how to achieve that freedom.

Freedom

What is freedom in Advaita? Is it freedom from death, from illusion, from suffering, from bad luck, from this world?

In our experience freedom in Advaita means freedom from thoughts. Each of us lives two lives. We live the life in our thoughts and we live the life we experience at present. Those two lives are the duality of Advaita and freedom from that duality – the not-two of Advaita – is when thoughts are absent and our experience of the present is all that remains, which is the oneness of Advaita.

Achieving Freedom

So how do you achieve that freedom? You achieve that freedom by shifting the balance from living your life as thoughts to living your life more in the present.

That balance towards freedom is not shifted through words and teachings. Putting more words into your head does not decrease thoughts. No, you shift that balance by training yourself to have less thoughts.    

Meditating regularly is one way to shift that balance. In meditation thoughts tend to decrease and you become more familiar with the silence that remains – with the absence of thoughts that remains. And by meditating regularly you become more and more familiar with the absence of thoughts, which then helps you recognize and expand the absence of thoughts in everyday life.

Spending time alone in nature is another way to decrease thoughts and shift that balance. Take long walks alone in the forests, fields or parks. Better yet, put on a backpack and walk deep into nature, and spend many days there alone.

Meditation and time alone in nature may not shift that balance for you however. For you that balance may shift through gardening, dancing, yoga, singing, tai chi, sports, making music, knitting, etc. You are the only one who can know what shifts that balance for you.

Adi Shankara, the most prominent exponent of Advaita Vedanta, said around 800 AD:

“A clear vision of [freedom] may be obtained only through our own eyes, when they have been opened by insight – never through the eyes of some other seer.  Through our own eyes we learn what the moon looks like: how could we learn this through the eyes of others?”

                                                      Viveka-Chudamani; Isherwood,

                                                       Prabhavananda translation; p. 40

Again, freedom is not achieved by reading or listening to words about Advaita, non-duality, direct inquiry or unity consciousness. In fact such words become actual barriers to achieving freedom because whenever you do experience the absence of thoughts you might dismiss it as irrelevant to achieving freedom because your experience of the absence of thoughts does not match up with any of the words you have learned.

That the absence of thoughts cannot be described or expressed with words is central to achieving freedom. Shankara said:  

“He who seeks [freedom] must meditate upon it in the shrine of his heart. The intellect cannot understand it. It is out of the reach of thought. It is beyond the expression of speech.”   Ibid; p. 75  

Those who believe that Advaita’s freedom can be achieved through words also tend to believe that that freedom will reveal things that are hidden such as the true nature of consciousness, the true nature of the self, their oneness with the universe or witnessing sleep. However when some people first start to notice the absence of thoughts it brings no such revelations. Nothing hidden is revealed and everything remains the same, except perhaps that life is more pleasant. So you dismiss your glimpses of the absence of thoughts as irrelevant to achieving freedom since the absence of thoughts revealed nothing that the words you learned said they would. So you continue on, endlessly seeking freedom.  

In summary, you navigate your way to freedom on your own, you avoid words and you trust yourself. That’s it.

Good luck.

After Thoughts

Once the absence of thoughts is established in your life you might notice that:

          When thoughts are absent the present

          seems eternal.

          When thoughts are absent your self that

          lives in thoughts disappears and you are

          what smells the honeysuckle.

           Photo: relaxing sadhu, wood & paint, 19th century;

                           Uttar Pradesh State Museum, Lucknow; anonymous

Adi Shankara Advaita Vedanta

Why Be Good

We are here today because our ancestors learned that survival depended on every person doing the right thing and having each other’s back. Today our survival still depends on that, as do our inner peace and sense of well-being.

Celebrate Life

If you want your heart to be more open, if you want to feel more connected to others, get together with friends and sing. On this page are some songs we like to sing to celebrate being alive, and to express our gratitude,our wonder and our joy.

Freedom Is

Being Present

We live two lives: we live life in our thoughts and we live life as our experience of the present moment. Freedom comes as our life in thoughts diminishes and our experience of the present moment predominates. Freedom comes through learning how to balance thoughts and the present moment.

Who Am I

Have you ever wondered Who Am I? You are stardust that somehow came alive, and whatever made that happen remains a mystery. Inner Peace is about knowing who you are, where you came from and how you got here.

Home

A New Beginning

We are living in the dawn of a new beginning. Traditional religious and spiritual ways are in decline and new ways are replacing them. Learn how to approach this new beginning, and how to increase inner peace, love, freedom, fellowship, goodness and sacredness.

____________________________________________

Visit Our Other Pages

Tap Image

© InnerPeaceFellowship.org  2015 – 2019

All Rights Reserved

Table of Contents

Pages and Sections

(Tap title to connect)

Home – A New Beginning

This Astonishing Mystery Called Life

Another Approach To Sacredness

Freedom Is Being Present

Overview

Exercises

Words and Teachings About Freedom

Our Biggest Problem

Psilocybin Can Diminish The Fear of Dying

The Rise of Abstract Thinking

How To Meditate

Introduction To Mantra Meditation

Meditation Instructions

Frequently Asked Questions

How To Know Whatever Created Life

A free ebook about the mind vs. the heart, and love vs. the certainty of beliefs.

Your Beliefs Quiz

A quiz to help you better understand your beliefs.

Why Be Good

How Humans Came to Dominate Earth

Learning To Control Fire

Building and Defending An Established Nest

What Has Value

How To Build Good Values

Learning To Do The Right Thing

Good Values Are Earned and Quiet

The Work You Do

Are your Caveman Instincts Making You Crazy?

We Are One Group

Who Am I

You Are Stardust

Stardust Comes Alive

Life Learned How To Learn

DNA Molecule

Still The Same Old Mystery

Celebrate Life

Songs of Gratitude + Joy

    Amazing Grace

    Shri Guru Charanam

    My Sweet Lord

    Pratah Smarami

    About Us           Terms of Use

PAGE 2: “NOT POSSIBLE” – Dr. Patitpaban Panigrahi & rjs

PAGE 2: “NOT POSSIBLE”

“NOT POSSIBLE”

Patitpaban Panigrahi [PP]:
Thank you.welcome
I can discuss on some subjects and topics ,which l have read.But l can’t discuss on Wisdom.cos in reality there is no wisdom and nothing like Western and Eastern wisdom., as there is no objective reality in the World and so no reality of regional division of Orient and Occident.
There is no subjective reality in the World either.
So in a total unreal realm, all knowledge is unreal so
there can’t be any wisdom in the manifest world…And the un manifest world is ever absent.

Robin Starbuck [rjs]:
Thanks for your graciousness. 🌹
You mentioned that you studied advaita, right? Rupert Spira was talking about the non-existence of objective reality too. Then he alluded briefly to neo-advaita…. Do you know about it?

PP
Actually l haven’t read much on Advaita, meager.
I have heard Rupert Spira very little.and not read much.About “Neo Advaita” l have no idea…
I don’t know Spirituality.
There is no spirit , so no spirituality.Spirituality is a hoax, a Human’s mental construct. In reality-
• There is no path,no destination and no quest•
As U R Changeless, stateless and Timeless,
Nondoer, nonvolitional, a kinetic, non learner.Fixed
Maas of Absent Pure Awareness , that cuts though the objectivity like a hot knife in melting butter.
It is a pathless path–
No Dvaita,no Advaita,BishisthaAdvaita,
No Shunyabad.
No duality, no non duality
No neo Advaita…
No nonbeingness/Nothingness

PP
I don’t know myself, what to speak of Neo-Advaita of
Super Spira.!!! That is BIG knowledge, But l am bereft of knowledge..
Whatever is express as my
knowledge is that–which l don’t know. And whatever l know I can’t express.

rjs
Patitpaban Panigrahi
You realize you’re blowing my mind, don’t you? Lol
(Laugh Out Loud!!!)
What do you do in your life? (I can’t believe I asked such a stupid question! Lol)
Kari, help!!!

rjs
Why would I not want to cut through all the way to the end of the nonsense that is this world? I don’t know…..

rjs
Nothing would please me more! But I don’t want to be selfish. I feel I have something valuable to offer people in need of healing.

rjs
I try to get such people to realize that they don’t need another person to do for them what they can and should do for themselves: heal.

rjs
They need to change their focus 180° and realize they have NO BODY. They should lose themselves in what is really true and never look back.

PP
On–//What do you do in life//
Actually I can’t answer any question nor clear any doubt !!
I am non doer l don’t do.
There is no world.
None is born in to it
Nobody does anything in it
Nobody gets birth in it
Nobody dies in it
Nobody is bound in it
Nobody free from it
No happiness no suffering
NONE EVER GETS ENLIGHTENED IN IT..
Nobody acquired knowledge or wisdom it it

PP
On // not being Selfish
and helping others //
There is no entity in you
that can or can’t ‘be’ or ‘ ‘become’ anything including selfish or not selfish.

rjs
But I know people are suffering (I don’t allow them to discuss details on my site because the whole point is they don’t have symptoms in a non-existent body).

rjs
But “me” wants to help them….

PP
//On helping others//
There are no others.
•You haven’t come to this world to help other and establish peace in this world., you have come here to awaken from the mortal dream of life.•
Ha ha ha.
The one who attempts to awaken is the ‘person’ is always false..
None to awaken coz. U never Slept, never came to this world, U have transcended the world from the outset.U never moved.U R Constant and Fixed and Changeless.in
the Timeless NOW in the realless realm of Nothingness.

Kari Churchill Laidman [KCL]:
I feel that way too

rjs
He just makes so much sense! I feel like I have too much mental clutter. I’ve got to be the best me and that’s no me!!!

KCL
Was trying to add that post above to another. I mean that I feel the same way about having to be here. I also feel the need to be here for others but when I realize the truth I know I really dont have to do anything

KCL
Yes I know the mental clutter lol

rjs
You did say once that you’re not 100%, right?

PP
On// being 100% right//
I said —
Whatever I say is that– which l don’t know and whatever I know that I can’t say.
I am 100% wrong.
I am that which is appearing to you is an appearance , a person is always a false, so the me I am is a Fraud. The Real I am is nonexistent.
The fraud-you is interacting now The real
‘no-u’ doest not , can’t, and needn’t interact.BE That
U R That, in timelessness

rjs
Patitpaban Panigrahi you misread the one marked WoW. There’s a comma which means “right” = “do you agree” that you intimated that you’re not absent from this body-world 100% of the time, do you agree?

PP
On// not being absent from the body-world 100%
of the time///
“I” Am independent of the Time.In reality there is no Time. So what does it matter if “some apparent me” is functioning in the
”falsified time”.”I” Am untouched by that.and I can’t and don’t show concern to anything false
including spirituality.

rjs
I wonder what both of you and anybody else would think of this writing by Robert Adams:
“Every negative condition you see in the world is a lie. Every positive condition you see in the world is a lie. Reality is beyond positive and negative. Why do you see these things? Why do you worry and fret about your life or about the life of someone else?

What can possibly happen to you? Where can you go? Who suffers? Only the body-ego-mind suffers. To the extent that you can realize that you are not the body-ego-mind, to that extent do you become totally, absolutely free.”

Robert Adams
20th century
American Advaita mystic

PP
On//Writing of Robert Adam//
All positive and negative observation in life are are false. Because the world is false. Absent. Can’t be positive ,negative.
None came to live in this world including u. So no observation or Botheration of your life and others life.Ha ha ha,
Question — then to whom is he advising and why !!!!
Answer—
The great master is not advising anybody.
HE is Unborn, Did not come, Did not talk, the apparent Master is an illusion,and appearing in spontaneity bereft of objective and purpose.
In reality there is no Advisor or Advised or the act of advising.No subject
No object no act.Still .Silence. Nothing is ever happening…..
What ever the apparent may think, mind, do, enjoy or suffer……
Omnamoshivaya

rjs
Patitpaban Panigrahi
I guess I need to ponder and meditate on all that you’ve said.

rjs
Patitpaban Panigrahi
I do think there are various paths but that 99% of them are very slow.

PP
On//Various paths and 99% are slow//
U R already what U R -changeless, Fixed. Nowhere to move, go or achieve.The one who is thinking about the path is the person – false – fraud-
a dream character and the dream is always on in real time, But U R not and never in the this dream called reality but U R Free
No path no where to go.
Whatever effort.may the person do , can’t be enlightened.There is no necessity of it…

rjs
I’m having a physical reaction to this info. My tummy hurts 😢

PP
I stop then . Relax.
Nothing ever happens .
Nothing has happened
I am a Fraud. Forget , Don’t believe me.

rjs
I do believe you. It’s what I learned in childhood except there was so much leeway that I floundered.

PP
Where is the point of self blame. We were discussing happier things.
Where was the point of being repentant. Why pple
decidedly and dedicatedly want to be Human, when the know the truth that they are not. Why forcibly bring decadence , is strange.!!! The ego. the.Maya is such powerful!!! I understand …

PP
There is no past, and there is no future.U R Changeless Fixed bereft of soorriw and happiness .
Relax. Enjoy

rjs
Patitpaban Panigrahi
Thank you for that. Thank you for all your efforts. If anyone told me you were a fraud I would punch him in the nose!

KCL
This is all amazing!! Have had to read it a few time. Some of the words, I admit I dont understand but that dosnt matter because I get the concept of it all. Its amazing!

rjs
Well, you’re doing better than I did last night! I got one of those wake up calls by way of a stab in the belly! It soon disappeared and so much cleared up. I realize that all of my hard efforts in the past had finally paid off. It’s not that I was so wrong, it’s that I needed to go the full length, like most people never do.

rjs
I gave our chat a new title: “NOT POSSIBLE”.
My ‘physical reaction’ has lifted and left me with a very positive conviction: all that you had so painstakingly spelled out for me yesterday was THE ANSWER to a lifetime of searching. I believe that everyone is searching for the same ULTIMATE REALIZATION but they just never go far enough, so they keep having to start all over again.
(Even our friend, Rupert! Lol)

rjs
It’s so damnably hard for mortals to quit with the ego: we’re so driven by it. But alas the onus is upon us to do just that.

rjs
My tummy ache yesterday was physically quite out of character for me. It was not a headache, indicating a mere overload there: it was in the gut, telling me that gut-wrenching conclusions lie ahead!

PP
Good morning, l am writing , these are very primary school standard knowledge or no knowledge at all, You are aware of all these, I am just trying to build up the lessions from basic.I am a teacher by profession,besides other things, you know that, It takes time to go to higher class. Actually I don’t qualify to be a teacher of Advaita and l don’t have aim, desire ambition of being anything but a learner.I have no authority and no capacity, I am going in writing purposelessly and without any expectation and result.It is not spiritual and
is brereft of enlightenment
Kindly put questions and doubts, so that the discussion becomes bilateral and directional.
I am totally silent and Absent , these movements are in spontaneity, the
Jiva-me is ignorant ….

PP
Namaste , welcome , thank you.I came late ,vwas busy else where.
Wisdoms is a function of mind- brain activity.Brain is body part and there is neither subjective nor objective reality of the Body-Mind.
— So all the knowledge and wisdom are devoid of subjective – objective reality.Hence are Unreal, absence of truth in it -false
By same count the matter, the energy, the world are False , so Absent.
No world, so no Orient and no Occident , classification is false and we said there is no wisdom , all so called wisdom are false not any wisdom.
So no question of an unification–
NOT PISSIBLE.
to unite the nonexistent.

PP
On
// Everyone is searching for the same ULTIMATE REALUSATION but they just never go far enough…//
The one who strives for the realization , tries to walk a path to reach some imginary point is the ‘person’, the Jiva,is a dream character, is false.
And false can’t achieve the Truth.Forget it.
The world is false, non existent, Absent, .
Can anybody come to this world to live here.None.
Nobody ever lived , nobody ever did any, nobody born and nobody died, Nothing ever happens there.
You never came to this world, You are Unborn Birthless and so deathless.So endless .
You are nondoer, don’t do anything.
You are not in this world ,but you are in a nonexistent tealmless realm of notime n no space.Spaceless timeless.
without past and future.You are in timelessness , continues ever. So it is called Timeless – NOW..

PP
On // It is so damnably hard for mortals to quit the ego…..//
The dream of a the Jiva, the Person is continuously on , is functioning in time and is very powerful is impelling the Jiva to believe the dream as real and the ego is busy in defending the myth that–people are born in to this world and living, loving,doing,during, and striving for liberation , for freedom , heavens and God. …….
Here is the appearance of the person, the Jiva or the
HUMAN and the doership of the person.
The Universe is an appearance, along with its
all contents and the Human life is a ” mental construct”…..All are unreal false..
COMPNENTS OF LIVING—
Are Birth, Death,Sleep, Awake, Deep Sleep, Happiness- Sorrow, Pain-Pleasure,Intellect-Memory.Bondage-Liberation-Nirvana …..All are apparent real not the real real.Human believes that these are real by egoic compulsion and efforts to
get liberation –Nirvana..
••The born apparent is a falcified person that can’t have bondage, so can’t have LIBERATION•••
The YourSelf,The Self, U are in the Realmless-realm
of The Real, untouched by the components of the world of Time and are oblivious of the manifest apparent world of illusion-
Maya.

rjs
Patitpaban Panigrahi, as you may have surmised, I have been taking all that you’ve said very seriously. I’m sure it will click in place in my consciousness very soon so that I can comment more fully.
One thing I’m sure of is that I would not have reached a point of receptivity or even curiosity about a dvaita if I hadn’t trodden the path that I did. That’s why I think my path was successful.

PP
So nice of you.
Thank you

¤○¤○¤○¤○¤○¤○¤○¤○¤○

3/5/2020

Patitpaban Panigrahi

-THE SHUNYA-
PURITY OF ONENESS
And that purity was ever there as ‘I Am ‘ is ‘l Am ‘-Everything and Nothing; as I alone Am –including the Dream, Dreamer, Dreamt and Dream Character : And that Everything and Nothing outside of the Dream, all assertions, negations and nutral
There is none other than the “l”..
କରୁ କରାଉ ଥାଏ ମୁହି
करू कराउथाए मूहि
( l alone Am keeping on doing)
~The Odia Bhagvat of Sharala Das

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Nice.
That Absent Nothing is
The Brahman too, whether immanent or apparent.
• Something and Nothing
what is not the Brahman•?
-I am the Absolute-
.is the Brahman

  • I am the Relative-
    is the Brahman.
    Yes
    Robin Starbuck
    Jacobi Padua
  • ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

rjs

Brah·man (brä′mən)
n.

  1. also Brah·ma (-mə) Hinduism
    a. The divine and absolute power of being that is the source and sustainer of the universe.
    b. The divine universal consciousness pervading the universe and sustaining the souls of individual persons; Atman.
    c. A religious formula or prayer and the holy or sacred power in it and in the officiating priest.
  2. Variant of Brahmin..
  • ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

PATITPABAN PANIGRAHI :

To: Robin Starbuck
Brahman– God ( Sanskrit)
Parabrahman- Also God, The Absolute.
Brahma– is a deity , the creator of the Creation.
( Vishnu- deity is maintainer , ruler of Creation , who takes Avatar like Ram, Krishna etc– total 9 Avatars , Buddha is the last Avatar .
Shiva- deity is the destroyer of the creation)
To add to the confusion there is another word–
Brahmin –is a caste specific of human.The highest caste in Hinduism,
is by birth to a Brahmin father and Brahmin mother, supposed to be n persuit of knowledge, practicing spirituality, guiding society, living in austerity, the priest performing rituals and worshing in temple..They are respected in the society by all people,revered by all even today.21 st century.whatever profession they may be in..For information -by birth – I am a Brahmin-
Advaitabadi, my clan is small practicing the path of Shankaracharya —
–Sarba khalva idam Brahman–.means
All the manifest is Brahman.
This embodies Shunyabad, means-Nothingness,
Void , Nonbeingness
Ha ha ha
It implies that I am a congenital
Advaitin , Shunyabadi. Ha ha

●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●

HISTORY
Story wise all began only
when l was 66.Then l knew Advaita, before that it was nil.
I got Nothing at 68.yrs.
At 70, before retirement from Professorship, l was
shakily with Nothingness–
Shunya, After 70 it solidified. Now l am 72+3months..with health issues, and worldly Botherations, Wife’s health issues.Children are married ,families, earning well, settled, 3 grand daughters always waiting to be spoiled,3 ur, 5 yes10 yrs, gargling monkey like.
No problem, My students are great surgeons settled every country of the globe and every city of India, bringing laurel, pride.like that.Ha ha. Grace.

RJS: I think if you incorporate your so-called “life story” in with your explanations of how to approach enlightenment, people will understand more easily. It would give them something they can relate to.

PATITPABAN PANIGRAHI:
Professionally l am a teacher of medical science.So l know how to be a student first with perfection. Thats how . The dangerous cancer surgeries l undertook for 40 years, made me thoroughly subdued. Every moment l worked in crisis,
Cancer is a very frustrating subject, what to do, so many cases are missed.Learning is very meticulous, terrible patience, holding emotions, frustration, humiliation all are same.

RJS: Forgive me but I must tell you that I deeply admire you.
I have one question for you: how do you have the passion and desire to share your enlightenment knowledge now?

PATITPABAN PANIGRAHI: Robin Starbuck, Actually this sharing alone is my Sadhana, meditation, prayer, .. This alone is my exercise, l can’t do meditation or contemplation outside of the face book, This writing is my self enqiry , search and path. I have no experience, realization or knowledge. Mine is only at intellectual plane , l have no knowledge of higher planes.l read very small amount from Nisargadatta
and Robert Adams only.
I have no enlightenment, l share only analysis.Can’t claim anything nor l be dogmatic.I am ordinary only. It was you who showed continued interest to interact so l continued, lest many people discontinue at some point
Because of your acceptance l opened up,thats all. You have been very helpful and encouraging for me to be go deeper. I am thankful to you. Thats all

SONG OF MYSELF
(and absolutely everyone)
A Cube in a Globe – yin yang RJS
MOST IMPORTANT AND THOROUGHLY ENLIGHTENING !!!
🎶💖💓🌞🎼💞
“I don’t know why it took me 20 years!”
The knowing itself has no limits.
I’m full puts an end to lack.
Separate self activities . . .
I am awareness = a discovery.
It’s so obvious.
How to live this understanding?
Live all realms of our life with expression of this understanding.
Attention = a tendere = to stretch.
Get used to letting your mind slowly sink back into your heart (with no focus).
Separate objects – tea, person, thought – Knowing never divides into separate objects. See through appearances to God’s infinite being.
When you you turn your attention back on yourself, it ceases to be attention. We are too close to ourself. The sun can shine on everything except itself, nor does it need to. Just by being itself it knows itself. When you’re abiding as yourself (BE-ing yourself) you’d never ask the question of how do I get there. When you notice yourself thinking, and you bring it back to I, that’s all you need to do. But don’t discipline your thoughts: don’t make thoughts a problem. Be loving with them. Whenever you’re thinking you’re moving away from your Self. Where are you going and why? Encourage thoughts. They’ll come to a natural end, not a discipline. That thought can’t give us lasting happiness. If thought turns its attention back on itself it ceases to be thought and is revealed as pure consciousness. This open, empty dimensionless awareness that we essentially are is not limited to any of the thoughts, feelings, sensations in it just like the space in this room is not limited by anything in it, not even the walls. The awareness that we essentially are only seems to share the limits of the body-mind but it doesn’t. It was present prior to the body-mind and is present during the appearance of the body-mind and will remain present after its disappearance. We don’t discover it when we die, we can discover it before. We experience the disappearance of the body-mind world but we never experience the disappearance of ourselves.
This is the great discovery to be made about ourselves and if the source of true peace and happiness. What I essentially am does not share the limits or destiny of the body. Until we have made this discovery about ourselves we can never really know what anything is because everything appears in conformity to our belief about ourselves. The only way we can know what we truly are is to give ourselves the attention and turn our attention away from the things we seem to know and shine the light of knowing back upon ourself. In this abidance the memory of our true nature gradually in most cases, suddenly in some cases dawns on us. That is the royal road to peace and happiness – THE DIRECT PATH TO PEACE AND HAPPINESS.
[What is neo-advaita?…]rjs
What is the experience of being aware? Awareness is self-aware. I am aware. That non-objective experience is unique. Awareness knows itself. For awareness to know itself is non-practice of being itself. Self- resting, abiding, being. Sinking of mind into heart.

The I that I Am -JSG

THE I THAT I AM

On the Spiritual Path you will be tempted, not a hundred times, but a thousand times, to believe in a selfhood apart from the I that I am; you will be tempted to believe that you are that separate selfhood, or that your son or your daughter is a selfhood separate and apart from God.

Each time it will be an effort to remember: I is God; I is infinite being: I is infinite individuality. Then when you have achieved that realization you can rest—but only for a few minutes, until the next temptation comes along.

Joel Goldsmith
The Master Speaks
Chapter 5

Practice using unwanted thoughts -rjs

STILL GOT A HANDFUL OF UNWANTED RECURRING THOUGHTS?

Here’s an exercise to turn every one of them into a major blessing and get the “recurring” to take a permanent hike. Let’s make up a list ranging from annoying to downright nasty self-accusing thoughts to practice with. Take your time and answer each unwanted thought below thoroughly and finally (give details):

● You did [it] again – you can’t do anything right.

● You’re a murderer.

● You’ll never achieve that, you’ve tried so many times. Give up!

● You’re just a thief.

● You’ve got to do better: that just won’t work.

● Your worst enemy is ahead of you in [that].

● You’re only fooling yourself.

● You’re sick.

● You never should have trusted [them].

● You’ll never stop hating [them].

DID YOU SPEAK TO EVERY “THOUGHT” WITH AUTHORITY AND FINALITY?

Step #2: Repeat answering the above even more strongly. Make it real and personal.

DONE ? Great, now I DARE any actual unwanted thoughts of yours to try to torment you again! They can only make you stronger if you face them down like you just did on the made up ones above. After all, that’s all unwanted thoughts really are – made up and ready to go!

[Example: “You’re sick”.
Level #1: NO, I AM NOT. I’M THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD SO I CANNOT BE SICK. I DON’T EVEN LIVE IN A MATERIAL BODY BECAUSE I AM ENTIRELY SPIRITUAL.]

Level #2: Never born, never dying, I’m not a human being. I know nothing of sickness or any disharmony or harmony of the flesh. You want me to deal with aspects of an illusion?? That’s ridiculous! There is no me and there is no you. All that there is is God.
DrRobinStarbuck

Become honest investigator -rjs

HERE’S HOW TO MAKE YOURSELF AN HONEST INVESTIGATOR OF DIFFERING APPROACHES

Change sides. Thoroughly. Completely. Sincerely. Enthusiastically. For good.

When you feel a resistance to do so, investigate that resistance with everything you’ve got. As if your life depended on it. Find out every positive thing that there is about your new path. Find joy and love in it. Allow yourself the right to be impressed.

If you can’t do that and much, much more, to understand a differing path, you should remain perfectly silent: you’ve failed.

Best advice – try again. It’s way too important to give up on. The whole world is so adamantly prejudiced, including you. It’s very mesmeric, very depressing, very changeable – but only by a person with a heart of gold.

FINALLY, if you’ve finally made it, you can compare by honestly juxtaposing, the two systems, assessing their unique variations.

If you haven’t found many, many amazing surprises then I’m afraid you must return to the third and fourth paragraphs of this post.
Thank you.
DrRobinStarbuck

Consciousness is substance, law, & activity of universe -JSG

God is the substance of which this universe is formed, but when you understand that God is your consciousness, does it not even mean something more to realize that God made this universe out of consciousness, your and my individual consciousness, because there is only one?

Our consciousness is the substance, the law, and the activity of our universe, not a God-mind or God-consciousness here, not a God-substance seven thousand years ago, but the mind of you, the consciousness of you is the substance, the law, the cause, and the activity of your world, that is, of your experience.

Joel Solomon Goldsmith
Showing Forth the
Presence of God
Chapter 5
The Substance of
Universal Being