Next week an invaluable podcast series on the five Tanmatras [i.e. The Five Divine Currents] begins. Powerful, compelling, deeply personal yet universal. I encourage you to join us.
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not ego, not childhood wounds cloaked as one’s ‘truth’. not perspective, bias, or beliefs
Real ‘inner grit’ comes from the transcendent. the witness, the Shiva value. Yet positive attracts negative. Being that in kali yuga attracts negativity, judgement, resentment, projection, misunderstanding, jealousy, anger, etc. and that will come not just from strangers but from those closest to you. The other option is low profile, like the Mona Lisa smile. So, some choose to speak from that place openly while others prefer to hide it. The choice is theirs but the decision comes from a spontaneous place called their own true nature. Either way one has little choice in which they live… and the process of living it is not clear cut. It is awkward and difficult as one integrates the ‘house of mud’ of the superficial self, with the awakening process to one’s inner Divinity… the undefinable, ungraspable field of Perfection… The silent, unbiased, unopinionated Shiva value within. From there, commitment is infinitely solid, yet paradoxically not black and white.
Cultured life vs behavioral modification
Spiritual growth is not about outward appearance. it is an evolutionary process. though there are phase transitions along the way, it is essentially gradual with no surface displays of progress. It is natural, like the growth of a tree or the rising of the sun. So, it is common to put on ‘behavior airs’ to convince one’s self and others that they have spiritually ‘advanced’. Are the changes rooted in subconscious chit or genuinely from within a stronger connection with the transcendent? That is not so easy for one to tell for sure. Yet the desperation to want confirmation compels many to modify their behavior in an attempt to convince themselves and others of their progress.
The following is a lovely note from one of my long-term students reflecting the truth of the genuine process of spiritual development… humble, uncertain or even confused on the surface, yet life changing, solid and profound:
Dear Michaelji,
I could not write a good ‘about me’ page for my blog. Then yesterday I wrote one that [my husband] also liked. I was wondering if it sounds correct to you? It has been my experience.
About Me:
From a young age, I started to define myself through others. I would/and still do want others to validate me and my existence. While growing up, I could not find a clear mirror, not from my family, friends, or teachers. I didn’t always receive a positive reflection when I was myself. I learned that I was much more accepted if I mirrored others instead of them mirroring me. Although superficial, I finally had connections with people. However, over time, I forgot that I existed at all.
Then, in my early 30’s, I met my teacher. The first day of class I walked into the room to the cleanest mirror I had ever experienced. Because the reflection was so clear, I could barely hold back my tears. All day, I felt a burst of emotion move through my body. I was too embarrassed about crying around a bunch of strangers. Because of this, I ran to my car after class, drove home, ran inside my apartment while avoiding all my neighbors, and shut my door. I let out years and years of a false sense of myself. I did not stop crying until I woke up the next day.
Over time, I have realized that I have karma, and people look at me through this karma. Somehow, my teacher could see me outside of my karma, and in return, I developed a sense of myself. Not immediately, but over time, I developed a reference frame outside of the world reflection. I call this my inner grit. When I feel myself reaching out there for answers and validation, I return to this place of uncomfortableness and stay with it until it disappears. It is not fun or easy, so I call it “inner grit.”
This blog is about what I find during my explorations. In the past, I would have been too afraid of what others thought to speak out. But now, if what I say is ridiculed, questioned, or picked apart, I know I have a place to go that will transcend it all. Once I stop wanting to be heard, I will be heard. This is how I feel life works, and my inner grit will get me there.
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“If you don’t like your personality, you better change it now because after you are enlightened, you won’t care.’”
attributed to Swami Muktananda
“Failure will never stand in the way of success if you learn from it.”
HANK AARON
“graveyards are full of indispensable people”
anonymous
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
“Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.”
HENRY DAVID THOREAU
To listen to the audio version, please click here.
Happy Easter, Christ Resurrection, What does Supernatural mean?
Jesus and the Veda
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Exquisite Structure of Vedic Knowledge:
How to Become Great
Upangas, Samskruthi, Sampradaya
How to remain sane in an insane world…
Samskruthi – Culture
Sampradaya- Tradition.
Upangas/Vedangas
Nyaya/Shiksha
Karma Mimansa/Chhandas
Vedanta/Jyotish
Embodiment/Sound
healthy value systems endangered:
buckaroo bonzai syndrome vs. staying in your lane
diet, exercise, play musical instrument, be good at a sport, social media, internet, make money, liberal/conservative, global warming, covid, nuclear war, sitting, judgements, easy money, sex, short attention spans, looking good, popular, nice body, pretty, smart, clever, street wise, spam mail, electric lives, comparing yourself to others, grass is always greener on the other side of the fence
YouTube, TikTok, social media pressures, wide receiver in half back body
dharma
focused yet unbounded awareness vs. narrow minded, oblivious
who are you?
“If it was easy, everyone would be doing it”
Anonymous
“Perseverance, secret of all triumphs.”
VICTOR HUGO
”I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.“SOCRATES
“Success is the sum of small efforts – repeated day in and day out.”ROBERT COLLIER
To listen to the audio version, please click here.
Opening Thoughts: The Supreme Court, Ancient Egypts Right and Left Hands
Insight vs. Projection, Celestial vs. Astral, Free Will vs. Predetermination
I will respond to the following two comments:
Hello Michaelji,
I’ve been thinking about the afterlife a lot in the past couple of years, since I’m getting older and the body is beginning to fall apart. It just seems to do that, no matter how clean or wholistic a life you’ve led. Now I wish I’d had more ice cream. Question is, do we have any control where we go after we leave the body? Many NDE’ers go directly to the void and bypass the astral altogether. To me that seems to be the better option, I don’t quite trust the astral characters. Also wondering what you think of people who practice out of body trips on purpose, not near death experiences? Sounds a bit risky to me. Thank you, I really enjoyed this podcast.
Hello Michael,
Is it alright if I ask you a question? I have been having experiences where I can see how I am projecting onto people and things. I realized the other day in traffic as I looked at a McDonald’s that I had even been projecting onto how I had always seen McDonald’s. It was like a light film of my own perception that had nothing to do with the franchise. I wrote about it in a blog. But since I have put it down in words, I have had a pit in my stomach. The pit is a feeling that nothing I feel is real. So every time I feel something, I don’t know if it is real. I am now questioning everything I feel. I know it is about relationship with, but it goes into my belief that what I feel is not valid. I know I need to figure this out on my own, and I know other people don’t have my conditioning around what they feel. But how do you move forward when nothing makes sense?
Thank you! Great Podcasts
It doesn’t matter and it matters a lot… when the anchor is strong, one feels deeper without the ship toppling
“You can’t have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.”
CHARLES KETTERING
“All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible.”
FRANK HERBERT
To listen to the audio version, please click here.
Opening Thoughts: climate change, the mid ’70s and now, modern physics fiasco and the upcoming re-alignment, here we address delicate issues so the exploration is yours.
the key to integrated awareness… culturing the awareness
Everything maps onto everything else. It is all right there in ‘how to play the piano’
what they don’t tell you about liberation
body of mud, body of crystal
As in music: what key are you playing in?
What is in harmony with nature and how to find it
you are unique, and there is mother nature
your truth or your ‘stuff’/issues
healthy relationship with learning to ride a bike
field theory and the key of the music
the formula and the dance on the scale
Culturing your groove.
modern times expanded sphere of influence.
can we play in all keys? In other words: Who are you?
boat in the water, no water in the boat.
Cultured/Developed vs Narrow minded
What is freedom?
What are roots?
The Inner Grandmother: What is the deeper meaning of:
A saint was asked: “My mother does not know about healthy food. What should I eat?
He answered: “Ask your grandmother”
Hint: It is not about food, or your grandmother.
A great saint made a comment about a well-known spiritual figure:
“He is a young avatar… Stay away from him”
Liberation is the easy part, but you can start working on the hard part now.
This all relates to:
How to find your passion.
How to find your friends.
“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people. “
ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
The deeper meaning of the following quote:
“As for myself, I met with as much success as I ever could have wanted.
In other words, I was enthusiastically run-down by every critic of the period.”
Claude Monet
“When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.”
CAROL BURNETT
“Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion.”
MARTHA GRAHAM
To listen to the audio version, please click here.
Rare But Essential Knowledge: Mahabharata Revisited
emotional stability: be it international or interpersonal: emotional maturity
kindness is the greatest gift
keep your balance, otherwise don’t speak until you gain balance and then speak
holding it in until you explode is not a good strategy!!
speak sweetly, kindly, wisely and you can say almost anything…. communion/communication…
be constructive… don’t lose yourself over the little things
the key to healthy relationships: learn to talk with stability while pressured… the rare art of expressing yourself wisely
human beings [all of us] are incredibly vulnerable creatures…
a kiss does not make up for a cut/punch… speak responsibly or say nothing until you can find a better way
healthy communication takes effort…. and when you are tired and want to not effort, alone at home with family, most important to be attentive to the relationships
worst time to speak is when you are angry
get in touch with your ACTUAL motivation. you are often not angry about what you think you are angry about
anger is just a shroud for hurt
you can say what you need to say IF you can keep your balance
confrontation vs communion… the key is staying stable, in BALANCE
projection vs perception
taking a deeper look at: ‘faith in god gives life meaning’… the essence of ‘faith’ is inner knowing. Know what you know and strive to understand it better.
World History is an accounting of emotional instability.
Clouds part for each of us on only certain portions of the sky…. e.g. Bobby Fischer
please visit ‘Mystery History’ on YouTube
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.”
GEORGE ORWELL
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
HARRIET TUBMAN
To listen to the audio version, please click here.
Dharana of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras… effortless focus…
Pashya… ‘see’, but what/who really sees?
is there really such a thing a subtle sight?
tired minds: lackadaisical minds give lackadaisical results
There’s always a ‘new kid in town’, drugs and torn open ‘third eyes’
Depths of the human psyche… Bats, Flying Monkeys, and the Wizard of Oz
Somebody should write the book ‘How to manipulate mass mentality’… a plethora of modern and historical references to choose from… covers spectrum from world history to local and interpersonal history
Essential emotional stability
“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.”
R. BUCKMINSTER FULLER“There is no doubt that it is around the family and the home that all the greatest virtues, the most dominating virtues of human, are created, strengthened and maintained.”WINSTON CHURCHILL
To listen to the audio version, please click here.
nurture people for what they have as opposed to judging them for what they don’t have. do your best to understand them and speak to them accordingly. not as easy as it sounds
the teacher can only suggest or point in a direction. the rest is up to the student.
yet it takes pressure to make a diamond. push but only so much.
at the same time:
someone said my podcasts are too deep and people have a hard time understanding them. my interest is not in popularity via superficiality but rather is for people who do want and need a deeper level of understanding. It is best to take not understanding as an invitation to pursue not a discouragement or criticism. My heart goes out to those who need and long for a deeper knowledge when it is not available. Relying on the knowledge I have been given integrated with my own experience, I offer to the best of my ability, whatever insights I have. There are great scholars out there and I rely upon their insights, but discernment as Adi Shandara said, is the path. We must discern the level of the people they are addressing at any given time. Even the greatest master can target the average level of consciousness. My goal is twofold: 1] build the enlightened city and 2] provide the deepest understanding I can… direct and undiluted.
He who has no name. Beyond perspective.
It’s not just about new thoughts, but rather a new way of thinking.
Two human needs: communion and privacy
It’s not about over thinking but perhaps just sitting with it. To be interested solely in technique would be a very superficial thing to me.”
ANDREW WYETH
someone sent this to me at just the right time:
“The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave.”
RONALD REAGAN
To listen to the audio version, please click here.
if thousands of years of history has proven one thing, it is that current approaches to world peace do not work: clean the fish bowl is the only answer: Mt Soma is dedicated to that; residents gain liberation in the process
Kamila Valieva Russian skater
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blog:
This week’s unedited notes randomly collected, loosely or directly related to this week’s podcast:
‘bounded’ works here in place of ‘small’:
scripture, cognition, teaching, movement,
both eternal and changing
Maharishi: ‘These are Brahma Sūtras (sūtras about Brahman), not Jagat sūtras (sūtras about the world).’
you are Brahma
“I am Brahma[n]”
The World Reveals Brahman
pashya: ’see’ and early Brahma Chaitanya [Brahman Consciousness]
K + A = KA, manifest [consonates] are rooted in unbounded [unmanifest]
without the observer, there is no pillow
Ramayana in the Physiology:
Ravana: specificity [space, time, etc.] ultimately a misunderstanding about reality, Rama restores Absolute in awareness… why Lanka is so beautiful
projection/perception: our sensory functions project a ‘reality’ onto the Absolute; Brahman is all of this together: a level of consciousness, not a ‘thing’. point of view creates ones ‘reality’ [e.g. science, religion, business, music, etc.]; is physiological as well determined by karma as education, heritage, etc. [dynamics of structure of physiology], can view from any perspective and is fine if it ultimately meets all other perspectives
Bhagavad Gita 9.8: curving back on myself I create over and over again
Trimutri and Prakritis: structure, function, purpose:
what defines silence [Shiva] is sound [Parvati], everything is creation is Parvati [Prakriti], She is every structure that defines every space. Parvati is Prakriti of Shiva
Vishnu dynamism, function is Lakshmi… Prakriti of Vishnu:dynamism is Lakshmi:function
Brahma Knowledge Prakriti is Saraswati Organizing Power [Plan] … House has a function but how to use it is a plan. Brahma holds the 4 Veda… logic, plan
Purusha is all of them together: they are all the same thing seen from different perspectives/realities
Ram is Brahm… Totality… The embodiment of Chaitanya [the Absolute]… the 50% of Vishnu: the embodiment of the other parts, the other 50%…. takes all values and puts them together in their full value in wholeness
This is full; that is full. from Fullness comes Fullness Upanishad from Shukla Yajur Veda
My universe is my self
Atma is subjective, personal, individual: yet in a wholistic or collective manner/way.
experience atma as the field of sensory perception
Silence, or space, is found as Shiva.
He Who Has No Name observes without bias the illusion
Consciousness is Brahman (Prajnanam Brahma).
Upanishad 3.1.3
To listen to the audio version, please click here.
"Take the time to reflect on what is said here. If you find yourself associating this material with things you have heard elsewhere, please take the time to diligently explore how they are different. This knowledge is elusive. I share it here because I have seen how much this knowledge helps people – the potential is enormous." – Michael Mamas
"True knowledge slips through the fingers of those not willing to ponder…" – Michael Mamas
"Take what I say and work with it to develop a deeper understanding of life, rather than taking what I say and forcing it into the mold of your current relationship with life." – Michael Mamas
"Evolution means change." – Michael Mamas
"Your disposition is the tone with which you hold yourself, your cells, your psyche, your beliefs. More than anything else, it determines your life." – Michael Mamas
