by Michael Mamas | Wednesday, July 18, 2012 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
I’ve been struck to witness attempts to define “common sense”. They all seem to fall so short. The reason being, the nature of life that would provide a context for the answer is not readily available.
We know there is an underlying basis to all existence that is the source of infinite harmony and intelligence. We also know it is common to all people. “Common sense” is simply sensing into that level and acting from that place.
So what is “wisdom”? “Wisdom” is simply taking that to a deeper level.
This nicely illustrates how the essential context for life and existence (the big picture) provides answers to many questions that are otherwise elusive and fleeting. Attempting to answer such questions without this context is putting the cart before the horse. That lack of understanding is the unfortunate foundation of most philosophies.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Monday, July 16, 2012 | Favorites, Personal Growth, Spirituality |
Everything about a person is completely transparent… right there on the surface for everyone to see. Some think they hide, but they do not. Denial is the only shroud. Denial begins with how one views ones self. From there it projects outwardly upon the world as oblivion.
Life is all about people. Facts and figures are secondary. Your relationship with fact, figures, and everything else is what makes all the difference. Life is paradox. For every perspective, there is an equally valid yet contradictory perspective. Which perspective you adhere to is determined by conditioning… the sum total of your life experiences… your karma.
Life is that way. Everything blows in the winds of karma… not only the perspective of individuals, but also of groups… subcultures and cultures. Want to know the way the wind is blowing? Watch the news. Experts in every field disagree. Why? The winds of karma.
When everyone is leaning one way, under-stand the other. Not just to be contrary, but because the universe needs balance. A full head of steam in any direction will eventually run you off the road. For every perspective, there is an equally valid yet contradictory perspective. Life is politics… all prescribed by karma. Everything is political. It’s all perspective. Think science is not? Think again.
Want to understand the world? Want to understand life? Watch a field of wheat blowing in the wind. Want to understand yourself? Ask which direction you lean and then attempt to fathom why. Only the transcendental, eternally silent witness knows…. and it speaks not. Like the stable earth it is unmoved by the wind. Root yourself in that.
From there, everything is virtual… lightly etched on the face of being – completely transparent.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Thursday, July 12, 2012 | Favorites, Spirituality, World View |
When people criticize Romney for out sourcing money and jobs, I wonder why he seems unable to say the following:
“You guys, you politicians, (democrats and republicans alike) create such ridiculous laws. You make it so anyone with any common sense can see that it just makes financial sense to hire workers in other countries and buy goods from those countries. Then you expect Americans to make the poor financial move of putting our money in the US so you can take it and spend it on your political cronyism in hopelessly inefficient government programs because we are supposed to be blindly allegiant to you! All the while, even you yourselves are buying foreign and out-sourcing. Even the CEO of General Electric, and head of President Obama’s Jobs Council is moving jobs and economic infrastructure to China at an alarming rate!! All the while, GE is paying essentially no taxes!! If you want the US to prosper, pass laws that make sense! If I am elected president, that is exactly what I will do.
If this was the only outrageous issue, it may be somewhat tolerable, but government is permeated with such foolishness. For example, first they (with Barney Frank playing lead) pressured banks to make bad loans to people who could not afford them. Then they went after banks for having done so! If we keep up like this, I can imagine them, sometime in the future, prosecuting corporate CEOs who did not out source to other countries… claiming they sabotaged the company with incompetent financial decisions.”
So what place does this blog have on this website? There is an important point here for everyone. People need the backbone (Karthikeya mantra?) to get up and say what they believe… directly and clearly. You have to be able to say what you need to say. Some never do for fear of being too forceful. Some just lack conviction, being riddled with self-doubt. Some become confrontational when anticipating that another may respond poorly. Some do so with such anger that they only make an enemy.
You would do well to ask yourself what keeps you from speaking up. What keeps you from doing so in an effective manner? Know that you can effectively say whatever you must. First your heart must be in the right place. Then, through exploration and reflection, you can, you must, find a way to say what must be said. Develop the art of speaking up in the most life-supporting manner possible.
It is an art that you must cultivate, lest life’s opportunities will pass you by. Over time your skill will develop as you find your own unique style that works best in your relationships. But do not wait. Start now. Do it!
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Friday, July 6, 2012 | Mount Soma, Spirituality |
This past week at Mount Soma has been really fantastic, starting with the two-day Surya class. Then Guru Purnima, which for me, was the most profound and beautiful yet. The meditation retreat is still going on with people beginning to come down in rounds soon.
If the purification process ever has any roughness to it, that is the most likely time. So as usual, we are reminding everyone attending to take their thoughts and emotions a little less seriously over the next several days and just be easy with the process. This is not to say that thoughts during this time have no validity, but rather that the emotions around them at this time can be more substantial. Reducing the meditation time while keeping this in mind insures a smooth and enjoyable reintegration of the physiology. This is, after all, the primary purpose of meditation… an integrated physiology being the foundation of a life lived in harmony.
When you finally get enlightened, you discover how ridiculously physiological the whole thing is. Enlightenment can, of course, be viewed from different angles, but it is invaluable to understand and honor this physiological perspective.
Later this morning we will have a Ganesh puja at the temple. With the transcendent enlivened by all that has been going on, it should be really something. As you get more and more comfortable and settled in the temple, the sublime quality of the akasha (atmosphere) there becomes increasingly palpable. This is referred to as the presence of the Gods. I encourage you all to aspire to that level where you directly experience the Gods as your personal friends. After all, that is your birthright.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Wednesday, July 4, 2012 | Spirituality |
I was recently asked via email if I could help a couple that has two different views on spirituality… one is Christian, the other is not. I responded as follows:
This is a big question that can not be well responded to in a few sentences. It would be good if i could talk with you both in person. However, since that will likely not happen, I suggest Bible quotes, like “the kingdom of heaven dwells within.” As a religion is understood more deeply, one comes to understand the union of all religions.
There are not different religions… not within the depth of life. The differences only exist on the surface. The surface is more about cultures than spirituality. In that sense, religions are half spiritual and half cultural. So your differences really are more cultural than spiritual. If you could both really take that to heart and really understand that from the depth of your being, there would be no problem.
To some, a Christmas tree means a great deal. To others, a temple is what touches their heart. These things run deeply within the heart. Such fine feelings are the fabric of life. It is best if a couple shares the same cultural orientation. However, when they do not, it can be celebrated as a union of opposite values… an enrichment of both person’s lives.
There is one God. All the rest is perspective.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Monday, July 2, 2012 | Mount Soma, Spirituality |
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I hold all of you in my heart as we give thanks to the Tradition of Masters who have passed down this Knowledge throughout the generations.
Jai Shiva Sankara
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Friday, June 29, 2012 | Spirituality |
In a late entry to the Heaven and Hell blog comments, Charlie asked if there was any humor in the Veda. Really, Charlie?? Of course, that is why we all love Charlie. Such sincere well-intended innocence.
Every single thing in the Veda has an incredibly hilarious component:
- The very fact that this is all maya… illusion… get it??
- Truth lies in the gap between perspectives… hilarious… right??
- The only true knowing is knowing that you know nothing… wow that’s a real knee slapper if ever I heard one!!
- Ever read the Jaimini sutras? Every statement is followed by an, “On the other hand…” Really great stuff.
You see, the Cosmic Joke is not a one liner. It is woven in to the very fabric of all that is. Grasping the ungraspable… Looking outward for lifetime after lifetime for what actually dwells inside you… on and on.
The Zen Masters had really great senses of humor… The sound of one hand clapping, for example. Now that is a fall down, laugh out loud, belly buster!! Great fun!
No humor in the Veda??? Really?? When the entire field of opposites come together… good and evil… right and wrong… up and down… then it all cancels and you are left with no-thing-ness. At the deepest level of that unification, right when it all dissolves into the transcendent… right at that moment, what have you got? Pure, infinite happiness. It is called BLISS. At that point, you just got the cosmic joke. It is a physiological thing. You may have touched into it during a “great meditation.”
On course, until you get the cosmic joke… well, the joke is on you. During that time you strive so hard for happiness and try for humor or anything to make you smile. The intent is so pure, but so desperate. Reaching so hard to grasp that ungraspable ice cream cone in the sky. So wanting the Norman Rockwell paintings to depict real life. Come on now! Where is your sense of humor??
I do so love you all. I do so wish you could see the humor in all this… get the cosmic joke… which is to say, find the resolution of all this paradox in the depth of your own being. Of course, there is no punch line here that, once stated, finalizes the joke. To love it, you need to transcend it.
There’s that cosmic joke again…
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Wednesday, June 27, 2012 | Personal Growth |
A dream is often a symbolic representation of the current tone of your psyche. For example, if you watch a frightening moving and then go to bed, you may have a nightmare. If you are feeling wonderful and go to bed, you may have a lovely dream about flowers and sunshine.
Life after death is the same, only it is based on the longer cycle of lifetimes. Tend to the tone of your psyche. Perhaps you can rationalize how you are thinking now, but after you drop the physical body, you are left with the realm that corresponds to the tone of your psyche… be it love, good will, lust, fear, nobility, divinity, or whatever.
The best way to cultivate a desirable tone to your psyche is to practice proper meditation. I recommend the Surya Ram Meditation which is taught free. Then after a few months, you may choose to progress to the Surya Ram Meditation with Advanced Technique.
The second important thing to do is to watch your thoughts. What you put your attention on grows stronger in your life. Cloaking poor thinking in humor or other rationalizations does not get you through the pearly gates. That is the place where all bluffs are called.
Speak the sweet truth, never denounce anyone, do not entertain negativity, avoid base desires. And yes, you can do that while remaining practical and realistic in your relationship with life and people. Embrace the high road of righteousness, good will, harmony, and peace. You will thank me for this, five seconds after you’re dead.
Do not worry, just do your best. That will be successful. Count yourself among the most fortunate in that you have this knowledge.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Tuesday, June 26, 2012 | World View |
And now for a totally politically incorrect and socially inappropriate blog…
I was talking with a private investigator who had an unprecedented and remarkably high success rate in recovering stolen goods in the trucking industry. When I asked him how he achieved such incredible results he said, ” Oh, it is easy. If its cigarettes, then it is the ____s in Atlanta. If it is computers, it is the _____s in Miami.”
Shaken by the blunt inappropriateness of his response I asked, “Well, what do you do with that information.” He responded, “Well, if it is cigarettes, you go into the toughest neighborhood in that town, walk into the corner quick shop gas station, buy a pack of cigarettes, compare the serial number to the list of stolen cigarettes, and confront the store owner with a demand to tell where he purchased the stolen goods.”
I offer no opinion on this. I leave that to you. But the story is true. In fact, the private investigator could have written an entire book, jam-packed with such information entitled, “The Ethnicity of Crime”.
My purpose in writing this blog is nothing more than to offer you the opportunity to see for yourself how you deal with and process uncomfortable information. Perhaps this story was challenging for you to hear. Perhaps not. I think the more uncomfortable you are with this, the greater the opportunity to gain from an exploration of how you responded to it.
Again, please hear me when I say I am offering no opinion on the politics of this. I only offer it as an opportunity for you to perhaps learn a bit more about yourself.
If you turn it around to a judgment of the private investigator (or God forbid, of me!) then you miss the purpose of this blog entirely.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Saturday, June 23, 2012 | Favorites, Mount Soma, Personal Growth, Spirituality |
Each of us has a world we live in. Of course, in the deepest sense, you have no limit. However, on the level of daily life we each have a certain size to our sphere of awareness, activity and influence… our world. Our global group mentality, too, is a world… a group consciousness… a self perpetuating system.
The other morning at the temple, around 4 a.m., sitting in front of the linga, I saw the size of our world – the group consciousness of humanity. It was represented as the size of the linga before me. Then my awareness went to the bigger invisible linga that reached infinitely up and out of the temple and into the earth, engulfing the physical linga before me. It was as if the physical linga was a small gateway to its greater nature. It started with a mudra that took me over, raised back my head, pushed back my arms, and showed me what was always there, but not yet physiologically lived by humanity.
To accomplish our goal for Mount Soma, the group sphere of awareness is expanding to this size. This is not a conceptual shift but a physiological shift. As your sphere of influence expands, your world expands – your physiology expands.
We are all ever-expanding – always opening to new horizons. But to open further, you must be willing to open. If not, the process is resisted and constrained. But to want to open is not to know what that really means or to see what direction it leads… what it feels like in the physiology, in the psyche. Even among those wanting to open, few are willing to open, preferring that it would conform to notions of how it should be… conform to your current sphere, world, mentality.
Even a small glimpse of that new world is a wonderful gift pointing in a direction and opening the way. Each sphere, each world you may for a time be living in, seems small, cloistered, and constricted in contrast to the next. Yet the physiology must be prepared before the next shift can take place. Otherwise, the individual can not hold it… like a lotto winner who can not deal with the world they find themselves thrown into… or an overnight success in the entertainment business unable to live in the new world they find themselves in. When done in this balanced manner, each successive sphere brings with it greater joy, wisdom, happiness, evolution, positive influence, and vision. It is like the successive blossoming of a flower. Through proper meditation and discernment, you culture your physiology for expansion. When done by even one individual, it supports the future expansion of global consciousness.
There is no end to expansion. It happens gradually, yet with phase transitions along the way. The next stage of expansion of our global mentality is on its way. A glimpse, of not just the conceptual details but the physiological experience of an expanded global mentality, changes lives. It will be quite something when it happens globally. We are most fortunate to be living at this time of great transition.
Now it is important to make it clear that each individual’s role will expand as the global awareness expands. Those leading the way will expand to take on greater roles, opening the doors for all others. The shift in the linga size represents the shift in each individual’s role.
The other night this expansion from the physical to the bigger linga was experienced as the expansion of my own personal role that will, and needs to, take place. It may or may not look dramatically different on the surface. That will depend upon the perceiver. However, inside, where it really matters, the shift will be huge.
I invite you to join me.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
