by Michael Mamas | Saturday, March 15, 2014 | Personal Growth |
Every chain has its weakest link. When the psychology is stressed, aspects of the physiology are stressed, and vice versa. During those times, the psyche crumbles into the weakest link of its chain, which we call the Psychophysiological Addiction.
“Addiction” is the right word. It is a habit. For some people, it’s fear. For others, it may be anger, depression, sadness, feeling hurt, not wanted, not appreciated, not liked, rejected, and so on. You would do well to know your Psychophysiological Addiction. If you’re not sure, in all likelihood, your friends and loved ones can tell you.
The power of its grip is not to be underestimated. During those times, it is your world view. Everything that happens is perceived in a manner that justifies it, that proves it, that confirms its perspective is truth. It is very difficult for a person to see past it. It is an addiction as powerful as an addiction to a drug or any bad habit. Everyone knows how difficult it can be to break a bad habit. It is even more difficult to do so when it is self-justifying.
You have an idea what it takes to break a bad habit. Use those resources to move past your Psychophysiological Addiction. At the same time, don’t judge yourself along the way. Breaking a bad habit is a process. Awareness of your Psychophysiological Addiction is a huge first step well begun, half done. The other half requires tenacity and courage, self-honesty, and humility. In a sense, this is not so much about getting rid of it, as much as it is cultivating a healthy relationship with it which entails first seeing it and then working with it constructively.
Be gentle with yourself, but be tenacious.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Saturday, February 22, 2014 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
Some speak of enlightenment as a state of non-attachment. However, the state of non-attachment is generally misunderstood as an outward state of no material possessions or affinities. That is not correct. Such non-attachment on the surface of life is more a personality trait than an attribute of enlightenment.
There certainly is the state of being where you are eternally awake to that which is the source of all that is… one with all that is. On that level, you need not cling to (be attached to) anything because you are already one with it. You do not desire something when you already have it. However, the surface of your life is still active on the level of duality… separation. On that level, desires still exist.
“Cross realm projection” means taking the laws of nature on one level and trying to project them upon another level where they are simply not valid. That type of error is the source of the notion of no desire or attachment on the surface of life. It is nonsense. Enlightened people still love their families. They still have desires. They are still compelled to act, for example, out of their desire to help others. However, they are also simultaneously awake to the level of their being that is eternally one with everything… non-attached… desire-less.
The Law of Subtraction, in the deepest sense, refers to your depth being overshadowed by less and less. The Sun shines forth more and more as the clouds are subtracted away. On the more relativistic (i.e. more dualistic or superficial) levels of life, the Law of Subtraction means the discarding of unhealthy habits, addictions, lifestyles, etc. Slowly your life is lived more in harmony with your true nature. In so doing joy, happiness, fulfillment etc. are experienced more and more fully. This sort of distinction (between how laws of nature apply differently to the depth and the surface) is critical in many areas of life.
Do not forget the concept of “Cross realm projection.” You will see it come up many times in your life in one form or another. Non-attachment (freedom from desire) is just one example. I invite you to post other examples in your comments to this blog.
Do not forget the Law of Subtraction and how it applies differently to different levels of life.
Do not forget the distinction between non-attachment on the surface as opposed the depth of life.
Do not forget this explanation of desirelessness… what it is and what it is not.
The Sun within is always shining. It need only be revealed to each and every level of your being in a manner unique to each level.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Tuesday, February 18, 2014 | Favorites, Spirituality |
As opposed to adding, take away. Continue doing so until all that is left is essence, truth. Neti, neti, neti… not that, not that, not that… until the only thing left is no-thing-ness… pure ‘is-ness’… pure consciousness…pure Being… the source of pure Knowledge… the home of all Knowledge. Thereby, you come to know the One… who and what it is you truly are… Divine. Thereby, you come to know what is useful and what is not.
When asked what I teach, tell them, “The Law of Subtraction.”
The world of spirituality has been shrouded in a garb of mysticism, dogma, laws, rules, and pomp. No wonder so many today are rejecting it. The wheat has been lost to the chaff. The Truth of who and what you are has been buried beneath the indoctrination of lifetimes… conditioning, programming, samskara. Information must be used to free you, not to overtake you. How unfortunate: However well intended, so much beautiful spiritual knowledge has been distorted and misused to overtake people instead of emancipating them. After all, it is called spiritual emancipation for a reason!
Truth is not attained. It is revealed… uncovered. It is already there within you. Nothing need be added. It need only be found within. You merely subtract away this and that and that until your own inner wisdom is uncovered. This is the real purpose of spiritual doctrines and teachings… to awaken you to what is already there within you. I use spiritual texts to reveal what lies beyond all texts. When asked what I teach, tell them the Law of Subtraction. I take away, I unencumber, I free, until you are left with essence, the grandeur of your own being… the Divine, the Truth. This is called true spiritual teaching… the Law of Subtraction. It is an art. It is a science. The diamond is perfected by chipping away and polishing. Nothing is added. There is only to be taken away.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Wednesday, February 12, 2014 | Personal Growth |
I was asked the following question:
I feel I need a sense of ego to get me moving in a direction. A feeling of deserving, with my back straight and ready to face the day. But then I tell myself it is a lie, that it is just ego and I become deflated. My question is without a false sense of self, what makes you feel worthy or motivated?
To which I respond:
The answer to your question lies in the question: “What is it that motivated you to ask this?” It is a sense of Self. Your relationship with your Self is one of doubt… but the Self shines through anyway in the form of this question. You are well intended. That is the Self shining through. Doubts merely dance around it, like clouds around the sun. What a wonder that something so ethereal as a cloud can seem to shroud the almighty sun.
Life is all about your relationship with all things in life. Know your relationship with the Self for whatever it is. Then you come to understand it. Then you evolve it. That is an organic, i.e. a natural, process. Meditation and reflection move it along much more quickly. You are doing well. But do not try to turn an apple into an orange. The humility of your relationship with your Divinity is a thing of beauty. No need to judge it harshly. Embrace it, not only for what it is, but also for what it will naturally blossom into.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Monday, February 10, 2014 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
“People harvest only what they plant.” (Galatians 6:7)
“Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.” (Proverbs 4:23)
Though these beautiful quotes are valid enough at first glance, lets take a deeper look. If you were not careful, you may think that you should just control your thoughts so your actions and everything would be healthy and productive. Again, that is true enough at first glance, but how do you ‘control’ your thoughts and actions? What criterion do you go by to determine what thoughts and actions are right and what are wrong? Is there a rulebook to follow?
Surely rules are of value. They are like training wheels on a bicycle. They are useful touchstones along the path of your life. But if you misuse them, they act as a lid of suppression on top of a volcano of life force. As I am fond of saying, life is about “relationship with.” You can have an unhealthy relationship with anything, even a good thing. There are so many good rules to follow that if you attempted to follow them all, you would drive yourself crazy. So what is the key to healthy thinking?
For thoughts to be healthy and productive, look to what lies deeper than thoughts… look to the source of thoughts. Look to your Being, your Essence.
Deep within you is the transcendental field of pure consciousness. It is what Einstein called ‘the unified field.’ It is the source of all that is. It is a field of infinite harmony, wisdom, and grace. To master life is to live from that place. In so doing, your thoughts are automatically, spontaneously, and naturally in harmony with all of nature… with the source of all that is. In so doing, you do not need to control thoughts so much as you spontaneously live and think in a manner that is in harmony with nature… with Mother Nature… with your own true nature. Your own nature best organizes your life.
The problems people experience are the result of not living in harmony with their True Nature. They attempt to live life by conforming to their limited understanding of life. Even their interpretation, their understanding, their relationship with good rules and principles are strained or distorted. They habitually act in a manner that is not true to their deep inner being, their True Nature. To really understand the wisdom underlying the life supporting rules and principles, they must be viewed from the depth of your being, not the surface that may be strained or confused. Only when the surface is finally in harmony with the depth does one live, understand, and think wisely. To attain that level of life is a process called the path to enlightenment. It is no small task.
The two quotes above have validity, but must be understood in the context of what is said here. Otherwise, they lead even the most well intended people down a blind alley.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
Every chain has its weakest link. When the psychology is stressed, aspects of the physiology are stressed, and vice versa. During those times, the psyche crumbles into the weakest link of its chain, which we call the Psychophysiological Addiction.
