by Michael Mamas | Sunday, November 4, 2012 | World View |
You have been raised to think a certain way. Influences include your parents, your culture, your schooling, your friends, and your associates.
People love to learn. But few are willing to change their world view. They neatly tuck away new information they gain that does not conform to their world view. It is like they stuff it away in a shoebox in their closet, labeling it as an ‘interesting philosophy’ or worse.
Some may even live by the new philosophy (or tell themselves and others that they do) until it is time to live up to those principles in a pressure situation. Then they fall back onto the old belief system they have been indoctrinated into.
When you ask yourself what you really believe, do not look to times when all is wonderful. Look to times when you have been put under pressure. Recall how you behaved and learn about yourself from that. Do not use it to judge yourself. Use it to learn about yourself. But do learn.
Real change, real evolution, is a gradual process. Far too many rush to find more information to pack into their notebooks and call that learning. True learning requires courage.
I know so much more than I am able to share. To say too much… to try to help people transform too fast… is to have the knowledge bounce off and galvanize the listener. It makes little sense to try to teach calculus to those that doubt the validity of arithmetic. At best, your knowledge is tucked away in that box, labeled ‘interesting philosophy.’ It bothers me to think anyone would do that to my teachings.
For those willing and able to truly learn, the future is bright. For others, the day will come when they mourn over what might have been.
Please do not take this as an ominous warning. Instead, take it as inspiration to reflect deeply, and wisely move forward with your life. For the ostrich to take his head out of the ground, courage is required. To not bury your head, you must be a true hero.
Be that hero. Move forward, forward, always forward. Growth means change.
To ‘know about’ is a nice beginning. To ‘become’ requires fundamental transformation. Who are you really? Are the philosophies you adhere to simplistic, or are they profound? They must be profound, because I assure you that life is not simplistic… it is profound.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Wednesday, October 31, 2012 | World View |
A terrible storm that has directly affected millions… Yet so many more feel her wake…
Have you found it difficult to sleep the last couple of nights? Many report that challenge. Do you feel a tightness and trepidation in your heart, your chest and belly? You are not alone. It is as if, through the ethers… the akasha… many are feeling Sandy’s wake. If you are among them, you may do well to lie in bed, curl up, and allow yourself to feel it.
The hardship and turmoil of those millions reaches out and grasps at the heart of so many more. Is it empathy? Or are you an empath? Or is it just the shift in barometric pressure affecting the psyche? Or are you just purifying out old childhood issues… perhaps post Mother Divine retreat purification? Or could the visions of the ancients regarding this time in history be correct and now felt? Or is it a combination of all or some of these things?
If, in Sandy’s wake, you are feeling the discomfort that so many are reporting, you would do well to understand what you are feeling. The answer lies within you. It seems some I have spoken with do not understand why they are feeling the way they do these past few days. Know that is quite understandable. Yet one thing is for certain: you do well to acknowledge that this is a time of great transition and a time to keep your eye on the ball with a steady hand on the rudder.
Many say the upcoming presidential election is the most important in our nation’s history… a time of great transition… a pivotal point in history. Perhaps that is so. Perhaps not. Yet we must all come together in prayer, in longing, that our nation chooses wisely.
Our hearts are with those who found themselves in the path of Sandy and, of course, with all those suffering throughout the world. One thing for certain… this is a time of great transition. May we reflect earnestly, to wisely choose a course that makes that transition as smooth as possible.
To live better, you must look deeper.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Thursday, October 25, 2012 | Mount Soma |
The Nine Days of Mother Divine has been among the most beautiful times we have ever had at Mount Soma. With the lovely group of Chinese in attendance, the lectures were translated into Chinese as the Chinese, Indians, and Americans came together to create a deeply moving feeling of our world family.
The vision for Mount Soma is becoming a palpable reality now. Clearly politicians will not pave the way to a United Nations… a world family. We can proclaim that the seed has been planted now for the blossoming of that world family. There is no need for any global suffering or conflict. This world provides for the prosperity and happiness for all humanity. We have only to receive it properly. It is happening.
The Student Union building was inaugurated on the last of the nine days… Victory Day.
I believe that all in attendance will reflect for some time upon the profound experience we all had over these past days. What transpired will be remembered throughout history. Those in attendance are invited to add comments describing their experience of the course.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Monday, October 15, 2012 | World View |
I’ve noticed that the term “demagogue” has been used it the news lately. Lest anyone has forgotten, the following definition from Wikipedia is worth repeating:
A demagogue or rabble-rouser is a political leader in a democracy who appeals to the emotions, prejudices, and ignorance of the poorer and less-educated classes in order to gain power.
Demagogues usually oppose deliberation and advocate immediate, violent action to address a national crisis; they accuse moderate and thoughtful opponents of weakness.
Demagogues have appeared in democracies since ancient Athens. They exploit a fundamental weakness in democracy: because ultimate power is held by the people, nothing stops the people from giving that power to someone who appeals to the lowest common denominator of a large segment of the population.
Please Note: Several people have had similar questions about this blog, which I found quite interesting.
One felt I was referring to the anti-republican class warfare scare tactic. Another felt I was referring to the anti-democrat socialism/fascism scare tactic.
It is true that each party has accused the other of demagoguing. However, I was referring to neither in particular. I simply feel that awareness of the concept is what is important. You can apply it as you will to either political party.
Either way, the light of awareness heals and the definition of this term does shed some light on the nature of politics.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Sunday, October 14, 2012 | Mount Soma, World View |
I would like to see what you might say about the following questions. I will post the answer after I receive some responses in comments.
Please note that the 9 Days of Mother Divine course begins soon so I will be quite busy for a while. You can learn all about it HERE.
What is the Milky Way? Why does it appear as a band in the sky? Why are October skies so blue?
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Thursday, October 11, 2012 | Spirituality |
It seems a contradiction. Is God beyond you or within you? How do you find God? Though the answer comes rather easily in intellectual form, to live it, not as a philosophy but as a living physiological reality, is quite another.
The temple is an excellent place to worship the outer expression of Divinity, as it is readily accessible and lively there. There, too, is the invitation to find God within. However, much of that is dependent upon your relationship with the temple and with God. Do you hold God outside of yourself? If so, how does that ‘look’ and how does it feel? Are preconceived perspectives of God coloring your relationship with God. Does what you have come to believe from earlier life experiences interfere with a deepening understanding of God?
Reverence does not mandate subservience.
Through meditation, you awaken to deeper levels of your own being. Thereby your relationship with God deepens.
Ultimately, you find God within yourself while at the same time, you are enraptured by the most sublime reverence for God as just slightly afar… just enough so that God may be worshipped with limitless humility at an infinitesimal but exquisite distance.
Love is the Divine longing to merge. Such separation is sweet, profound, …exquisite.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Tuesday, October 9, 2012 | Personal Growth |
“Be neither silly, nor cunning, but wise.” – Benjamin Franklin
I would add:
“Be neither silly, nor cunning, nor reactionary, but wise.”
The first reactionary response is often terribly damaging. When stirred, give yourself the time to settle back into yourself before you act.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Saturday, October 6, 2012 | Personal Growth |
I was recently asked the following question (edited for content)
…what do you do with someone who insists the dimension of God they “know” is sufficient? I am a little sad because I notice when there is combativeness (as I sense in this situation), I seem to lack the maturity to disregard all that and rest into myself. Instead, I fault myself for not being able to find the right words/manner to be heard…and my joy takes a hit!
To which I respond:
We have a new kitten. My daughter loves it. It is easy to see that the kitty waits for her to come home from school. Then, when she does arrive home, the kitty hides under the cars, the porch, and bushes. This frustrates my daughter who wants to hold and pet her kitty.
I told her to just sit on the porch and play with something else or pet the other cat. It was hard for her at first but she finally did so. As you no doubt can guess, the kitty came out in little time and sat on her lap.
Who is the kitty and who is my daughter in your life right now?
Adults get into the same relationship tangles as children. We just couch them in more ‘sophisticated’ verbiage.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Tuesday, October 2, 2012 | Favorites, Spirituality |
The Transcendent is your touchstone. It is the one constant. When it is not known, people cling to the familiar as a substitute. That is the formula for failure. It is not A formula for failure. It is THE formula for failure. It comes in many forms, many guises, but it is the same one mirage. Your portal to the transcendent is your inner being. All else is illusion. The Kingdom of Heaven dwells within. The Guru holds the lamp that lights the way, but the Self is revealed to the Self, by the Self and through the Self.
We do well to learn from history. All the principles of life and existence are there. Imagine the courage of the German Jew who left their home, their wealth, all that was familiar, to escape Nazi tyranny. To pursue enlightenment is to look beyond the indoctrination of the familiar. Transcend the familiar. As perhaps Ramana Maharshi would say, it is fine to have your boat in the waters of the familiar, but you cannot afford to allow that water into your boat.
“Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.” – Raymond Lindquist
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Sunday, September 30, 2012 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
Do you want to be a great success?
What you truly love, what you really believe in, is there, alive, inside of you. Devote your life to that and your life will be a most fulfilling success.
To do so, you must look beyond ego… beyond greed… beyond any and all conditioning. It is pure and beautiful. It is Divinity as it wells up through you, as you.
It need not be conventional nor need it be grandiose, yet it is, most assuredly, grand.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
