by Michael Mamas | Wednesday, January 21, 2015 | Personal Growth, Relationship |
Many factors are involved in most everything… every perspective, every decision, every philosophy, etc. Disagreements arise. Not so much because of the difference in opinion, but rather on how adamant one is regarding his perspective. Usually, if one is willing to reflect, he can see at least some truth in both perspectives.
Conflicts amplify further when one overstates his viewpoint to be sure he has made it. A tug of war results. It may be feared that acknowledging the truth in the other perspective may result in losing the argument. The other perspective is then underrated. Nothing is black and white, but people try to make it all black and white. As it is said, yin creates yang… right creates left… the wheel of life goes round and round.
I recently told someone something I felt would help him… encouraging him to be bolder and move forward with his life. I knew it would stretch his comfort zone. It will be easy for him to take a stand and overstate my words in his mind – to make me wrong – to justify his current worldview. We will see what he does with my words.
Balance is the key.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Thursday, November 27, 2014 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
Giving thanks is not so much in the words or the actions as it is in the feeling.
Yet it is in the traditions that we give ourselves the invitation, the opportunity, to rest in those sublime feelings that culture a life well lived.
This is, in the larger sense, called cultural integrity. Traditions culture the heart and soul of the members of that culture.
Traditions are no more arbitrary than is our daily bread…
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Saturday, November 22, 2014 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
“When there’s fire in the heart, there’s smoke in the head.”
The fewer impurities in the fuel, the ‘cleaner’ the fire burns and the less smoke rises from the flame. As you evolve, you purify and the heart fire burns cleaner so you think more maturely… i.e. less smoke in the head.
You do well to reflect upon how you think and behave when something triggers a fire in your heart. You do well to manage that wisely as you continue to evolve. At first, the management may require effort, keeping the fire in check with patience, humility, reflection, and self-honest exploration. As you work with it, and as you evolve, the process gets better and also easier. Working with this responsibly is called the path to wisdom. With wisdom comes success.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Wednesday, November 19, 2014 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
I have come to realize that when people hear me say, “All cards face up on the table” they think something is coming that they may not want to hear. That is not what I mean. “All cards face up on the table” means communion… that is to say, communication. It can be done in words or in an understanding, humble glance.
Life is all about communication…
Communication with your Self
Communication with Life…
with Nature…
with all Existence…
Communication with others.
All conflict arises from lack of communion… lack of communication.
We are all Divine.
Not seeing, hearing, feeling that in yourself,
and in others,
is the source of all disharmony.
To have “All cards face up on the table” means to communicate…
first with Self, then with others.
It is called the Art of Living.
It is the final frontier to unraveling the mystery of life… of existence.
It is found through wisdom.
Wisdom is found in humility.
Humility is not subservient… it is understanding.
Standing under… not standing over.
As it is said, when the mango tree is full of fruit, its branches naturally bow down and touch the earth in humility.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Thursday, October 23, 2014 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
It is not uncommon. I am giving a lecture and people are with me. They understand what I am saying, and from within their own selves, they know it is true. They can feel the truth of it deep within themselves. It is the great joy of every teacher to see the ‘light bulbs’ go on as they speak – to see the students light up with the fascination of inner discovery and knowing. As I continue to unfold the teaching with the natural and inevitable logical progression, the entire lecture hall fills with the joy of learning as the expansion of understanding continues to blossom.
Then at some point, it sometimes happens. The feeling in the room drops down several octaves. I can see it on their faces as clearly as I can feel it in the hall. I know that I took them too far. They may well understand my words. They may be following it along with their intellects. But it is no longer being assimilated. It is then that I know to stop… to not push it… to not force the issue. Pushing it further would not be True teaching, it would be indoctrination.
You see, there is a huge difference between understanding something intellectually and assimilating it from deep within. The expansion of ones ability to assimilate truth is the hallmark of human evolution. It is what human evolution is all about. It comes from inside, not outside, the person.
Even Real Truth is dropped due to the inability of the listener to assimilate. The listener may understand it intellectually, but the clarity at the depth of ones being is not sufficient enough to really assimilate the information. Unfortunately, that is where most people stop and reject what is being offered. Of course, most people are, from childhood, so indoctrinated into a belief system, that they consider it Truth. It is what is familiar. It is what they are comfortable with. What perhaps would have made no inherent sense to them has been taken on with such overwhelming power that their innate sense has been compromised. Their indoctrination becomes the filter they embrace to decide what is truth and what is not. That indoctrination is what guides their life… their decisions.
The point is that there is learning and there is True Learning. True learning means the expansion of ones ability to assimilate truth… to recognize Truth from deep within. Most people are so indoctrinated into their belief system that they are unable to see beyond it. They go through life projecting that belief system upon the world and judging everything from the perspective of that belief system. Where is the True Learning in that? There is none. What they then ‘know’ is not real Knowledge. It is indoctrination… It is the world of samskaras that Maharshi Patanjali spoke of.
That is what I mean when I say the world is ‘sticky’. It is easy to get stuck in your indoctrinations. Indoctrinations reach deep inside. Even when you see what lies beyond them, those indoctrinations are easily reinforced and can readily reclaim you. They are reinforced by the world you grew up in, by all your old friends and loved ones. It is very easy to slip back and once again reach out to those indoctrinations as truth. But once the Truth that dwells within you has been glimpsed, on some level, it is not forgotten.
Real Truth dwells deep within you, as you, at the very depth of your being. Evolution is about waking up to that. For this, meditation is your number one tool. It is the purpose of my lectures to facilitate the process. Truth is revealed to the Self, by the Self, and through the Self. A real teacher merely facilitates that process. Unfortunately, many teachers are indoctrinators. Even if real Truth is being offered, if it is taken on but not assimilated, it is just indoctrination. The connection is not there deep within the person’s Being. But let there be no mistake. The conviction, belief, and passion behind such indoctrination can be strong. It can be so strong as to not be seen for the indoctrination that it is and can be identified with as being Real Knowledge. Real Knowledge is only Real Knowledge when it transcends indoctrination and is an awakening to that which eternally dwells at the depth of your being.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Friday, October 17, 2014 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark;
the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” – Plato
Humans are such vulnerable creatures, particularly with respect to their inner feelings. The truth is that people are afraid of many of their feelings. They are even more afraid of expressing them. Instead, they suppress their feelings. They deny them, not only to others, but also to themselves. They are ashamed of their feelings. They are afraid what they might do or who they might become if they allowed themselves to feel their feelings.
Know that you can responsibly manage your feelings. Know that you do not become less of an adult by feeling them. In fact, you become more of an adult. Artistry in life is about feeling your feelings and dealing with them wisely. Bring your feelings into the light. Doing so requires a great deal of self honesty, which can at times require a great deal of courage, yet it is the light of awareness that heals and evolves you. It is not about impulsively acting out. It is about knowing, with the full light of awareness, what dwells within you and holding those things responsibly. As you do so, the psyche and physiology purify and you begin to live more and more in harmony with Mother Nature, your own true Divine nature.
Few people really understand that their true nature is Divine. They fear that it is not Divine. They feel they must not bring to light all that is within them. They feel that to do so is to release a beast. It is the suppression, the hiding away of what is within you, that causes the distortions and convolutions. As you work with the feelings within, you become more and more skilled at dealing with them all. You also become more free. It is about creating a healthy relationship with what dwells within. Suppression and denial is not healthy. This certainly does not mean that you act out whatever it is you are feeling. Those feelings are not necessarily your Truth. They are often just your personal issues. But to heal them, you must feel them. Then you learn how to deal with them responsibly and maturely. In time, you gain the ability to share the depth of your being with others. That is the greatest gift you can give to another and to the world. That is your own personal genius.
The art of living is being able to find a way to “put your cards face up on the table”. In other words, to share yourself with the world… to bring what dwells deep within you to the light of day. That is not done with reckless abandon. It is done with thoughtful insight and respect for yourself and others. It is about having a healthy relationship with your self, other people, society, and the world. It is the process of becoming no longer afraid of the light.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Thursday, October 9, 2014 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
Perhaps it is the most common question I hear: “How do I know if I am being judgmental or discerning?” Considering that “the spiritual path is the path of discernment” (Adi Shankara), it is perhaps the most important question you can ask. Yet it is also the most difficult for you to answer.
Lady Justice wears a blindfold. The idea is that She is unbiased and objective. But let’s realize that the blindfold also signifies that justice is administered through oblivion. She is not objective alone. She is also subjective. Laws change as people change. A 5 to 4 Supreme Court decision molds social mentality often for decades to come… until the pendulum swings the other way. Is that system discerning or is it perpetually judgmental? Either way, it is simply the way of the world. History has proven that over and over again. Of course, every generation seems to consider itself to be the enlightened generation… the generation that finally got discernment right.
And who do you think you are? What molds your viewpoint? You can justify anything with the intellect, and you do according to your viewpoint. What molds your viewpoints? Do you place your thumb on the scale of your own inner justice? Or perhaps a better question is, are you willing, or able, to take a step back and see yourself? Consider how you hold the scale of self-evaluation. Judging yourself harshly is putting your thumb on the scale. Any issue you have puts a thumb on the scale. Issues with authority? Self doubt? Self-righteousness? Defiance? Fear? For any and all issues, you place your thumb on one side of the scale.
I suggest you consider placing a counterbalancing thumb on the other. Of course you may think to suggest removing the thumb from the scale. But if you see the thumb is there, it is already removed. Or is it? If you judge yourself harshly, I suggest considering the opposite. If you are self righteous, I suggest the opposite. If you see your own bias, I suggest your reaction to that realization compromises your understanding of it. Those who are instinctively kind to others are often the first to cruelly judge themselves as sometimes being unkind. Those instinctively judgmental of others are often the first to stand up for their self-righteous viewpoint.
Are you judgmental or discerning? It all comes down to the nature/tone of “your relationship with…” Your relationship with what? Your relationship with everything within and without you. With yourself, with society, with authority, with friends, with loved ones and so on. To overcome being judgmental and to become discerning, you must find balance within yourself. To do so, you need to consider your nature and the nature of all things.
Consider strengths and weaknesses. Look at world history, social history, and your history. When the scales tip one way, consider the other. In all situations, be open to seeing the strengths as well as the weaknesses within and without. To anarchists I say, consider the value of society and authority. To puppets I say, think for yourself. To the self critical, I say be kind to yourself. To the self righteous, I say be humble. It starts with your relationship with yourself. Find balance there first. Only then can you have a healthy relationship with what lies outside of you.
Do understand that discernment does not preclude passion. The more fully you find your Self, the more discerning you will be. You will know your wisdom and thereby find your true path in life. And your true path in life is filled with passion. It is the river that carries you to the ocean.
Yet judgment also can be most passionate, so life’s journey must begin within. Find your inner wisdom first. As Lord Krishna said to Arjuna, “Established in Being, perform action”.
Be you in conflict or comradery, always do your best to keep to the high road. There are no absolutes in the relative. Yet everything gravitates back to the Absolute, back to the Divine. That is the nature of existence. The path of discernment is the path of balance. You will fall. That is fine – just get back up. Your job is to do your best to keep your balance as you face the wind and go forward, forward, always forward.
That is called the Path of Discernment.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Thursday, September 11, 2014 | Personal Growth, Relationship, Spirituality |
You exist on many levels. On the most superficial level, you are your physical body. Some would say the physical body has attributes like consciousness, thoughts, emotions, feelings, etc.
On a bit deeper level, you are a personality that is beyond the body. The body is just a vehicle.
Some would define themselves by their work.
Some by their family and relationships.
Some by their thoughts, emotions, and beliefs.
Now you may understand all of this, but that is not enough. Take a moment to reflect and to be honest with yourself. Who are you? How do you define yourself? Do not answer based upon a philosophy that you hold true to. Do not answer based upon what you think you should believe or intellectually know. Answer based upon what you feel. Answer based upon how you live your life. Answer based upon what you feel and experience from within your own life, not based upon what you have been told. On what level of life do you put most of your energy? What level are you invested in? To find the answer, do not just think, but FEEL. Also, look at how you live your life. The term for that is IDENTITY. What level of life are you most identified with?
Now, there are many more levels to you than the ones mentioned so far. Your being exists beyond your thoughts and emotions. Take a moment to feel into that. Who are you? What are you that lies beyond thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and the “story” of your life? What part of you lies beyond all of that?
It is quite normal and healthy for your attention to move from one level to the next. Sometimes your attention is mostly on your body. Sometimes your thoughts, sometimes emotions, sometimes the activity you are engaged in. At each moment, your ‘self’ is related to on a different level. That is fine.
But there is a particular level that you identify with as ‘you’ most of the time and put most of your life force into. What level is that? Do ponder this, but do not think you have to have an exact answer.
The value of the question is in the pondering of it, not in the answering of it.
Now, there is a level beyond all the levels we have discussed so far. It is the Transcendental basis of all the other levels of not only you as an individual, but of all life and all things. Just as the earth is the basis and the essence of all the plants, the one Transcendent is the basis, the essence, of everything. It is who you really are. The eternal you. The you that lies beyond space, time, thoughts, emotions, the story. It is the source of infinite bliss, harmony, intelligence, love, wisdom, and yet it lies beyond all of those things. It is pure Is-ness. It is one with all that is. You sense it inside yourself, though you may speak of it differently.
In the state of enlightenment, that is what you know your self to be. That is what you rest into, like the idle of an automobile. The engine is always running. It is always there. But the awareness naturally rests into that.
It is who you know yourself to be. You can still act with passion on all levels of life. But you are no longer identified with anything. You are in the world, but not of it. This is not an attitude or philosophy or belief. It is a state of consciousness. You simply see the world as it truly is. The deepest mystery of life is simply self evident, obvious. You spontaneously and naturally live your life accordingly.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Thursday, September 4, 2014 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
Point Two of the Fundamental Principles is explained very well in this blog with the corresponding videos. Please click to view:
POINT TWO
I plan to get all the main points online.
Please understand that these points are not something to just understand intellectually and move on. They must be found within you. That takes time. Then the connection between them must be found within you. Know that the main points are valuable, but merely catalysts. Your greatest tool is PROPER meditation. Please learn the meditation I teach FOR FREE. Overcome any and all resistances to doing that. Those resistances are your karma. Overcome your karma. I am pouring my heart out to you in hope that you will move forward with your evolution.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Sunday, August 24, 2014 | Personal Growth, World View |
These days, it is far too often assumed that this individual or that is enlightened.
Actually, that level of life is far rarer than so assumed.
Mother Teresa was one of those very rare and precious individuals.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
