by Michael Mamas | Monday, July 28, 2014 | Personal Growth |
Several people asked that I post this as a separate blog instead of a comment to the previous blog:
What contributes to the challenge of life is that beliefs, be they based upon Divinity or samskaras within, are experienced as truth. Notions considered positive, constructive, wise, and laudable can still be the result of samskaras. People hold to them as Divine. They justify them with scripture and quotes from the Veda or other Holy books. Life experiences justify your world view, whatever that world view may be. That is why often the most ‘educated’ or ‘advanced’ people are the hardest to move forward… Because from their perspective, they already have the answers. Indoctrination is all too often mistaken for evolution. That is to say, samskaras are all too often mistaken for the Divine.
Only rarely, does one catch a glimpse of what lies beyond those world views. The Guru can help you with that, but only if you are open to it.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Wednesday, July 16, 2014 | Personal Growth |
I entered the following as a comment to a previous blog, but was asked to post it as a separate blog:
Everyone has negative thoughts in one form or another. That is ok… That does not matter. View them as nothing more than gnats buzzing around as you go about your business… your purpose…
~
As the stagecoach goes forward, it naturally stirs up some dust. Who cares? Our focus is on the goal, not the dust. Our focus remains on our purpose… steady hand on the rudder!
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Tuesday, July 15, 2014 | Personal Growth |
Do you feel unappreciated? Or maybe you would say it another way? Not Seen? Misunderstood? Taken advantage of? Walked all over? Judged unfairly?
Do not feel alone. Essentially everyone feels that way… at least from time to time. Perhaps you would pick a different term than the ones listed here. What term do you relate to most?
Let’s first take a step back and take a look at the anatomy of this. What is really going on here? Everyone can feel that place deep inside where they are precious. Some would say where they are one with God or their inner Divinity. Even atheists feel that place within them. They would just name it differently. You live from that place. Your life revolves around it. Even thieves, liars, and all other unscrupulous people are acting from that place, though the dance they do around it can be quite distorted and confused. Everything you do is done to support it, nurture it, feed it, bring it forth, share it, show it, manifest it, express it, live it. How frustrating, hurtful, insulting, enraging, humiliating, depressing, offense, painful, disheartening, etc. it can feel when others do not seem to see it or acknowledge it. From one perspective, you could say that this world is filled with people who feel unappreciated. You may think that some are exempt. For example, some famous people are showered with appreciation all day long. The Dali Lama and the Pope are worshipped all day long. Yet in a sense, that makes it even worse for them. Famous people often feel so misunderstood… so not seen for who they really are… so projected on to as having a life that is not what their life is in reality.
So what do you do about this? How do you live with it? We just took the first step and that is to understand it. You are Divine, but others just can’t or don’t seem to see it. In fact, they are caught up in trying to express their own Divinity. The essence of this problem is the same as the essence of every other problem in life… looking to the surface for satisfaction and fulfillment instead of looking to the depth of your being. Rest in the depth. That is where you find peace, fulfillment, satisfaction and Grace. Then act from there.
When your cup is full, it naturally overflows. When it is not full, it desperately longs to be filled. Filling your cup is not an attitude – it is a state of being. When living that level of life, you still have the full range of human emotions. You can still feel unappreciated, hurt, sad, and taken advantage of at times. However, the under-standing is there… not just an intellectual understanding, but a standing-under the churning ocean of wanting… just as the depth of the ocean remains quiet and peaceful beneath the waves of even the harshest storm. That is what it means to be wise. Wisdom means understanding. Rest upon you wisdom.
To live better, you must look deeper.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Tuesday, July 1, 2014 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
Someone recently asked me to write something about devotion. It would be easy enough to put down some soft and lovely words about waves of love and beauty. They would be true and inspiring. However, there is something here that, though delicate and easily misunderstood, reveals an exquisite aspect of devotion if it can be conveyed.
Let’s start by acknowledging that throughout history, people have been devoted to many different things, not all of them laudable. Extremists in the world today are highly devoted to their cause. It seems that extremists would agree with most anything we say about devotion. We could say devotion comes from deep within. They would agree. We could say devotion satisfies and fulfills not only the heart, but also the mind. They would agree. We could say it is the result of wisdom and discernment. They would agree. We could say to look to the wise, the ancient masters, for direction. They would agree. It seems fanatics and devotees have all too much in common.
As Socrates said, the only true knowing is that you know nothing. Yet everyone longs. Stripped away from the superficialities of what you think you long for, we all long for the same one thing. Call it fulfillment; call it God; call it what you will. But what is true devotion? It is the pursuit of that longing. We are like iron filings around a magnet or moths around a candle flame. We long. We are drawn toward… It does not stop. We are eternally devoted.
Real devotion has its beauty, not in the concrete, but in the abstract. Just as all things in our solar system are drawn toward the Sun, all things gravitate back to Oneness. As you get closer, the pull is stronger. You come to know the nature of what pulls you more and more clearly as you get closer and closer to it. Your inner experience of that which pulls you along the way is, in and of itself, called “devotion”.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Thursday, June 26, 2014 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
Many of you have heard the story… God created the world. People entered the world, looked around and just wanted to return to God in Heaven and so they did. God was disappointed. No one wanted to enjoy his creation. Therefore he created a key to life so no one could return to Heaven without it. But where to hide it? If on the highest mountain, people would climb up and get it. If at the bottom of the ocean, they would get down there and get it. Then He got an idea that delighted him. He would hide it at the last place anyone would look… in the depth of their being. The idea worked and the world became quite populated.
Though you may have heard the story, you still probably look outside of yourself for fulfillment. It is fine to enjoy life and prosper, but what are you psychologically and emotionally invested in? Or (dare I say?) addicted to? Where do you look for safety, satisfaction, joy, and fulfillment? Your money? A creamier ice cream? An ideal relationship? Family and friends? One sort of boon or another? Or maybe the inside story on the topic of your choosing?
And people wonder why they are not happy.
What are you waiting for? Come on…
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Tuesday, June 24, 2014 | Personal Growth |
“It’s better to walk alone than with a crowd going in the wrong direction.” – Diane Grant
It is fascinating to witness how many consider truth to be that which is most popular. Not a wise thing to do, particularly in Kali Yuga. Of course, these days it is most popular to want to be the person ‘hearing a different drum a-drummin’. But that only works when your connection to the depth of your being is stronger than your desire to be ‘special’.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Tuesday, June 10, 2014 | Personal Growth |
“Perseverance is the Hard Work You Do AFTER You Get Tired of Working Hard”
Another nice quote from the fitness community.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Thursday, May 22, 2014 | Personal Growth |
I was recently asked what I mean by “feeling your way” to which I respond:
This is a big topic, but to say a little something about it: Essentially it means that anything can be justified with the intellect. Thoughts matter little. How you feel about those thoughts is what matters.
As you evolve, the entire process becomes more and more refined with less and less conditioning.
The best a person can do is to reflect thoughtfully and feel within themself honestly and sincerely. Then make a decision and act accordingly. Then see what happens and evaluate reflectively again, adjusting accordingly.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Monday, May 19, 2014 | Health, Personal Growth |
Here is a nice little quote my fitness coach passed along today.
“If you continually do the stuff you’re already good at, you’re not training, you’re performing… When you focus on what needs to improve, now you’re training.”
Everything maps. The principles of fitness map nicely on to life. People aspire to a comfortable life of familiarity. People also wonder why they are not happy. Happiness means evolution, means expanding beyond that which is familiar and comfortable.
You have only two choices: drop back and punt, or go for a touchdown.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Friday, April 4, 2014 | Personal Growth |
Instead of just looking to the outside world to determine your karma,
look to what lies within your emotions and your mind, your heart and your ‘head’.
For an illustration, watch the video below.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
