Emotion
My favorite emotion is fascination.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
NIne Days of Mother Divine Oct 5-13
It is said that Sri Anandamayi Ma did not go through incarnations. Rather, She incarnated for her devotees. This has been my favorite picture of Her for over thirty years.
“When it is found, nothing else remains to be found; the sense of want will not awaken anymore, and the heart’s torment be stilled for ever. Do not be satisfied with fragmentary happiness, which is invariably interrupted by shocks and blows of fate; but become complete, and having attained to perfection, be YOURSELF” – Sri Anandamayi Ma
NIne Days of Mother Divine at Mount Soma
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
What do you live for?
When I had my practice in Florida, I repeatedly saw a particular dynamic in people. They moved down from Ohio, Pennsylvania, or wherever. For them, that was their home. Their roots remained “up north.” That’s the community they cared about. Florida was just a place to avoid the winters. It seemed their sense of responsibility, dignity, and integrity was left at the border. But what I really noticed was a loss of their own human decency, their own self-respect, meaning to their life. A lot of people move to Florida in their old age. It’s as if it’s a place they can go to die. What I think a number of them don’t realize is that it is as if the best part of them died the moment they set foot on Florida soil. Needless to say, this certainly isn’t true of all Floridians, but it certainly is a syndrome I saw.
It’s been said that a person needs to live for something greater than themselves. I only agree with that with respect to the small self, the personality self. (Needless to say, there is nothing bigger than the true Self, the Transcendental Self, but that’s not what we are referring to here.) You would do well to ask yourself what it is you live for. What is it that you live true to?
I have spoken in the past of the Cosmic Flow, the Divine Flow of life. I’ve said coming into tune with your own true nature, your dharma, your life’s purpose, is all about living in accord with the Cosmic Flow. You are one with it.
But let’s take a closer look at this. On a day-to-day level, what does that look like? What does it mean to you? For some people, it’s just making money. Other people would say it is their family. I certainly see the truth in that, understand it, and can completely relate to it. However, that is not the extent of it. A person needs to have some purpose, something to achieve, something to commit their life to. Some would say it is their profession. That may or may not be true depending upon the profession chosen.
In my life, my commitment is clear. That commitment is what brought Mount Soma into existence. Though it is understood on so many different levels that it almost becomes meaningless, I feel from my side that my commitment is a commitment to God. God is the Divine Flow, the Cosmic Flow.
You are one with God. To be committed to God is to be committed to the true Self. The true Self is far bigger than the small self, the personality self. In that sense, you have to live your life committed to something greater than the personality self, greater than family, friends, and loved ones. A life without that is a life without roots. It’s a life without true purpose. It saddens me to see how few people know their purpose, or even if they do, how few have all out commitment to it. And people wonder why they are not happy. The truth is you need to know your Self fully enough that the theme of your life is something that on a daily basis you live for, and that if need be, you would be willing to die for.
Few people understand this. They project their priorities and their value systems onto me. I’ve come to realize it is simply because they cannot begin to comprehend what motivates me. What motivates me is the Divine Flow. It is almost as if I have ceased to exist. If by “I”, you mean my personality self, I no longer live for that. I live and breathe the divinity that dwells at the depth of my being, a level of the Self that remains shrouded from the perception of most individuals. My purpose is to assist every individual in removing that shroud. Only commitment to that will bring you the fulfillment you long for.
Do not waiver. Do not compromise. Your true purpose is divine. Your true purpose is not limited to a handful of people or a fistful of dollars. Your true purpose is one with all that is. When you find it, nothing would ever be able to distract you from it. It is then that you will find what it is you long for. Think big.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
More on the Experience of Oneness
I was asked the following question:
I am currently in Afghanistan and the knowledge that you speak of is very touching. But this place brings it out of me. There is so much pain and suffering here. People die everyday of the common cold. Children are starving and neglected. I can feel it. It takes it out of me. Mentally and physically drains me. How is this my reality? I cannot be in a unified field with these people yet I’m connected. I guess I am asking, “ How can we always be one if there are always going to be those few that make you have doubts? Those few, in my case, that drain you with their pain and suffering. How can this be my reality?”
To which I respond:
Your question displays your beautiful honesty. I respect that about you.
Until you are awake to the level of Unity Consciousness, you cannot function from that level. You are looking too superficially at the notion of oneness. Trying to experience true oneness from the perspective of (on the level of) duality is denial at best, mood making most often, and in the final analysis is futile. True unity slips into your life in an almost unidentifiable manner… as they say, ‘like a thief in the night.’ Proper meditation is your most powerful tool.
Your preconceived notions of the experience of oneness keep you looking for it where it is not. You can know all about the taste of a strawberry, but if you have never tasted one, when you finally do you would likely say, “I am an authority on strawberries and I can assure you this is not a strawberry.”
Do not try to make your experiences conform to your notion of what they should be. That is just trying to impose a sort of trance state upon yourself. When you finally awaken to the transcendent, it will become so obvious to you… you will wonder how you could have ever missed it. All of the knowledge you have gained will shift to align with the actual experience. This is what is meant by “Knowledge is structured in consciousness.” You may use the same words to describe it, but those same words will take on a whole new meaning.
True knowledge is an experience, not an intellectual understanding.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
Fear of Death
I was asked the following question:
When and how can I lose the fear of death? Lately, the thought that death may be “the end,” and not the beginning of a different awareness or a new lifetime has repeatedly surfaced in my mind, bringing a moment of fear or even terror. Does it take full enlightenment to truly rest into the knowing that life continues after death?
To which I reply:
As one awakens to the transcendental reality of their being, one comes to sense more and more clearly that they are not the body… and what they truly are is eternal. The fear of death then subsides. Others may cling to the notion of eternal life and find some limited relief of the fear in that manner.
However, there is often some misunderstanding around this. When it is said that the enlightened have no fear, it is in reference to the depth of their being, to which they are fully awake… that level is fearlessness.
However, on the personality level, fear is normal and natural. Though not commonly understood, the full range of human emotions exists on the personality level for the enlightened. However, they are simultaneously awake to what lies deeper. The kite of life then has a tail. Without that tail, people spin in fear as well as all the other emotions. They then cling to beliefs, faith, philosophies, etc. for stability and strength. I compare that to floating on the ocean of being with an rubber duck to keep you afloat. Once enlightened, you know how to swim. The rubber ducks then may still have their charm, but are no longer clung to for security, self esteem, etc.
For the time being, meditate to awaken more and more fully to the Self. Also, a rubber duck is fine. Belief, faith, philosophy, trust in God, etc. then serve a purpose, though they are like training wheels on a bicycle. In time, they are no longer needed for yourself… because you Know the Truth of life by direct experience. You may use the rubber ducks however, to assist others along their path.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
Humility
“What is enquiry into the Truth? It is the firm conviction that the Self is real, and all, other than That, is unreal.”
– Adi Sankaracharya
When a pebble is tossed into a pond, concentric rings ripple out from the point of entry. The innermost ring may think, “I touched the pebble. I felt the pebble. I know the pebble.” The next ring out might think, “There is no difference between the innermost ring and me. After all, I am right next to it. I felt everything it felt. So I know the pebble too.” This process continues all the way to the outermost ring.
Of course no ring fully knows the pebble. Furthermore, any point on any ring has a unique perspective of the pebble. One may say the pebble is in the northern direction. Another sees the pebble to the south. To fully know the pebble, you must be the pebble.
As one gets closer and closer to the Sun, one may feel they know it. They may say, “The Sun is hot.” Yet someone further away may say, “Yes, I know that also.” But the closer you get, the more you know the true meaning of ‘hot’.
Similarly, as water cools to ice, it may feel it knows the nature of ice. But only after water becomes ice, is its full value experienced.
This principle is universal. To know anything, you must be it. Yet what is anything in its essential nature? It is beyond the maya of relativity. It is the Self, the One, the source of all that is… beyond ‘thingness’… no-thing-ness… pure “isness”… pure unbounded consciousness.
So what does this have to do with humility? What is humility? As you evolve, you come to see that your previous understanding, your previous life experience, was a ring outside of the pebble. You take a step forward to a deeper understanding. That is why I say that Knowledge, real Knowledge, is not so much about gaining new facts and information as it is about cultivating a deeper understanding of the facts and information you already have. Ultimately, you arrive at the Self, which lies beyond the grasp of life experiences, knowledge or information. You come to know “that the Self is real, and all, other than That, is unreal.” This is the source of great humility. True wisdom is infinitely humble. Even Adi Shankara said that he knows nothing. The Self lies beyond the grasp of what one thinks one knows. Knowers of the Self experience that directly. Until that awakening, it is another fact or notion… another ring around the pebble in the pond.
It is exquisite, that as one becomes truly great, one becomes truly humble. To know everything, is to know nothing… to know no-thing-ness. To know that for every ‘thing’ that you know, there is another truth that contradicts it. There is a deeper truth until all truths are transcended and the One Self is realized. Arrogance is the opposite of humility. The source of arrogance resides in the belief that you know something, that you know anything.
True humility is not a perspective that one adheres to. It is not an emotion or attitude. It is a quality of a physiological state, a level of consciousness. In the state of enlightenment, the nature of relativity becomes self evident. One rests upon the Self, upon not knowing… that which lies beyond notions and beyond the need to cling to notions. The sublime beauty and the exquisite “absurdity” of life is known. And why the word “absurdity?” Well, once that which lies beyond the illusion is revealed, it seems absurd that you were caught in the web of maya for so many lifetimes. Yet the magnificence of that web remains profoundly humbling. The word reverence comes to mind.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
On My Mind
Today we launch a made for iPad series, “On My Mind.” This series is a compilation of Michael Mamas blogs from past years, beginning with his earlier blogs. Those of us that have worked on compiling this series are pleased to present this first book on Guru Purnima to honor our teacher.
We will release another book every few weeks until there are no more blogs in the archives. Then, future books will come when there are enough blogs to compile another book.
I hope you enjoy revisiting these blogs in this way. Any ratings and comments in the iTunes store would be appreciated and a wonderful way to spread the word to those who may not know about Dr. Michael Mamas and Mount Soma.
Thank you all for your continued support.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
The Longing
Longing for the deepest reality is the nature of all life and even of existence itself…. gravity moves everything back to center, back to oneness. Though all creatures have a sense of that, the clarity of understanding is not there. (The clouded glass Kathy referred to in her comment to my previous blog.)
The lack of clarity has caused many rational thinkers to reject religion and spirituality in its entirety… throwing out the baby with the bathwater as they say. But that rejection could be viewed as a demand, a crying out to look deeper than what is now being promoted by spiritual leaders in general. Lack of clarity is not limited to western religion or new age thinking, but also permeates eastern religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. That deepest reality, that all long for, is highly elusive.
Not only the mass mentality but sadly also spiritual figureheads of our time remain woefully deficient. Even those spiritual scholars that ‘know all about it’ very rarely embody it. And those that believe they embody it have merely conformed to an overlay… a candy coating of behavioral modification and philosophical identity. What they think spirituality looks like and what it actually IS are radically different.
That confusion sends humanity running off in countless directions chasing the mirages of their choosing. Yet in spite of all of this, very few are willing to take the time to look deeper. There is far more interest in reinforcing current convictions than there is in seeing beyond them. ‘Most every individual on the planet agrees with me about all of this with only the one exception of their own perspective on spirituality.
To find what you long for, you must be willing to move past what you currently cling to. Humility and wisdom go hand in hand. To live better, you must be willing to look deeper. Your potential is enormous. I do not offer you a philosophy or belief system. I offer you a method to look more and more deeply within yourself. Truth is not a concept or notion.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
Resting into the Ocean of Bliss
Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it? Just rest into your Self. Isn’t that what everyone wants? Inner peace, inner contentment, satisfaction, fulfillment? But what happens when you do that? What happens inside of you?
You see, most of life is lived as a distraction, an escape. By keeping your attention on the surface, the depth is avoided. Now why would someone want to avoid that? Well you see, there are inner issues… stresses and strains, emotional tensions, inner turmoil. If you are left to go inside, then those things come up. They are no longer overshadowed by the distractions people create in their lives.
Yet if you were simply willing to live a life that supports resting within the Self, then those issues naturally bubble out. The physiology purifies. Of course the process does not always feel so simple. As those issues you have been avoiding bubble out, you feel them. You experience them. They seem so real.
The ordinary response is to make it stop. I hear the rationalizations all the time, “Oh, I have done enough long mediation” or “Oh, I am a householder, not a monk” or “Oh, I have responsibilities in the world I need to attend to” or “Oh, I need to stay in the ‘real’ world.”
The truth is that people cannot bear what dwells within them, so they look for distractions. Those distractions usually come in the form of idealized notions (mirages) they long for and relentlessly pursue and fleeting superficial pleasures they consume themselves with. That is called living a lie. What people really long for dwells deep within, beyond the barrier reef of inner issues, stress, and turmoil. But few are willing to do what it takes to free themselves from those things. They prefer to try to bury it all under the rug of distractions. Then they look back at their lives and wonder why they are not happy and fulfilled.
I remember all those years when I was in the ashram. The Master would just have us do our meditations and routine with very little, and for long periods of time no, attention given to us. We felt abandoned or brushed aside. Only after some time did I come to understand what he was doing.
People are like seething, bubbling buckets of emotional issues. They spend their lives trying to avoid those issues. In the ashram, the Master just takes that bucket, sets it in the corner and (with the catalyst of meditation and a supportive daily routine) allows it to calm down naturally. It was only after some time that I realized he was watching very carefully. Allowing the pot to bubble, but giving it a stir at just the right moments and in just the right way. This was all done so seamlessly in accord with nature, our nature, that it was not generally recognized.
Getting overly caught up in the turmoil of inner issues just fans the flame. The balance of personal process and physiological purification is essential. Also, the distractions must not overtake the individual. When they do, the rationalizations emerge and the individual finds the ‘reasons’ to throw in the towel, give up, and return to a life of distractions. Very few are willing to stay the course, the journey of the true hero.
Now do not misunderstand me. Relative life is wonderful and important. But it must be built upon the transcendental fullness of your own being, not an inner landfill of emotional issues caramelized with rationalizations. You must live a life that supports the process of inner awakening to that which dwells deep within. I offer that to you. The degree to which you receive or reject it, is your choice alone.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
Your Destination
“Your direction, not your intention, determines your destination.” – Anonymous
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
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