by Michael Mamas | Sunday, March 30, 2014 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
The following quote is true in all fields of life… politically, philosophically, socially, morally, economically, and so on. The field of spirituality is no exception. Like a reed blowing from side to side in the wind, society swings like a pendulum through varying degrees of perception of truth.
Though all things are rooted in Truth, few see the Truth underlying all things. Yet people cling to their current notions of truth. This is the way of the world.
“The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.” – George Orwell
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Friday, March 21, 2014 | Favorites, Personal Growth |
Like all children learning to play a musical instrument, my daughter gets frustrated when she has to play the scales. At such times, with frustration, she decides she doesn’t want to play piano anymore.
Playing piano is an art. It is learned through practice. Even if you are enlightened, it doesn’t mean you are a good pianist. It requires practice.
Perhaps the most challenging art in all of life is dealing with people. It takes practice. Frustration is part of that process. Like children with music, adults often feel inclined to give up on learning the art of dealing with people. They would prefer to live in a bubble, isolated from the world. This is just like the ostrich burying his head in the sand. The ostrich may think that makes him safe, but in truth, it makes the ostrich more susceptible to danger.
The simple truth is that life is all about people. Your ability to deal with people directly affects the degree to which you are successful in life. Success in this regard is measured on all levels: personal fulfillment, financial success, happiness, the list goes on. The sooner you accept that and dedicate yourself to cultivating the art of dealing with people, the better off you will be. As with playing the scales, you will become frustrated. You will hit the wrong note many times, but practice makes perfect.
I offer many tools to assist you in the process. It takes time to learn those tools, but learning them is just the beginning. You must practice their application over and over again. You are not just learning to play a musical instrument here. You are embarking upon the greatest challenge of life, second only to the attainment of enlightenment.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
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 | 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.
by Michael Mamas | Saturday, February 1, 2014 | Personal Growth |
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“Trust the Power from Within”
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This quote came from a Duracell battery advertisement, but it certainly is an important concept we can apply to ourselves.
Your power is in fact infinite. You have only to tap into it more fully and stop turning it back on yourself.
To understand your potential, is to trust your potential, is to find the motivation to do whatever it takes to bring it forth. But such understanding is not just an intellectual concept. Such understanding comes from experiencing it… sampling a taste of it.
When I look in the eyes of the people attending the deep dive course, I see that blossoming so beautifully. To truly trust is to know, at least to some degree… to sense it deep within.
Once that is experienced, nothing will stop you… forward, forward, always forward.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Sunday, January 26, 2014 | Favorites, Personal Growth |
Another thing I like about the fitness world in general, and about my trainer in particular, is the strong results orientation. Do what works! If it doesn’t work, stop doing it! This makes his following declaration quite interesting. “Do not associate with negative people. Stay away from them. Get them out of your life!” That is easy to understand on a philosophical level, but in the real, results-oriented world of fitness, it is more compelling. It works!
When I was in the ashram, we always favored positivity. Note, that is different from oblivion. Eyes can be wide open while you favor a positive approach. It is important to know, not believe but know, there is always a solution. If you think there is not, your world is too small… you are not thinking broadly or patiently enough.
The world today is addicted to negativity. The news broadcasts are not really the news. They are all skewed toward negativity. Even worse, most people live their lives in that way – one crisis after another, interrupted by periods of worry as they await the next crisis to erupt. That is no way to live; yet it is a pandemic addiction. Know that an addiction is not just to something you like. In fact this addiction to what you do not like, crisis, is perhaps the strongest and most common addiction of all. Addiction is habit.
I remember when I was a kid. Everything was fine. Life went on day to day and stability was taken for granted. Imagine living your life that way. Imagine viewing your life as a stream of one joy on to the next, with periods of calm contentment between them. Because you are no longer a child, you are not oblivious. You plan and act wisely and responsibly, but the state of your mind is not negative or in crisis mode. You are positive. You understand that life is fine… things work out.
Life is a bell curve. Yes, there is the rare instance of the guy who was, for example, sleeping in his bed when a sinkhole erupted taking him away never to be seen again. But such things are way, way far out to the edges of the bell curve of life. Worrying, worrying, worrying, in anticipation of the next crisis is life destroying in and of itself. Yet ‘the news’ bombards us daily with reports of the sinkholes of the day.
Some are taught to take nothing for granted. However, there is one thing you can and should take for granted: Nature supports. Your nature and Mother Nature are supportive to your life. Life has a way of working out. Free yourself from the addiction to crisis. Appreciate yourself. You are a resourceful and capable being. That is your greatest asset, certainly greater than some money in the bank. Somewhere along the line people stopped believing in themselves. Then they turned to God and spirituality as a crutch to lean on. No! It is not a crutch, it is your greatness… It is the greatness of life, of humanity, of nature, of YOU.
Positivity breeds the positive in your life. Everything is fine. You are fine. Life is good. When challenges arise, they are challenges, nothing more. You will be quite capable of dealing with them. Find contentment within and act from THAT place within you. That is your home base. That is your touchstone. That is the true nature of life. When everything is quiet, you naturally and spontaneously settle into the silence of contentment… peace… shanti. When you put your head on your pillow at night, know that everything is fine. Life is positive.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Thursday, January 23, 2014 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
Regarding the ‘Strength” blog, I was asked the following question:
How can you distinguish for yourself what is a strong ‘grip’ versus a strong clinging to a belief or a perspective? How do you know you’ve rested into your essence/soul or just an overlay?
To which I respond:
This is a very good and important question. In a nutshell, the answer is that you don’t know. If you really knew you were clinging to something, you would be seeing beyond it. If you really saw beyond it, you would not be clinging to it.
I like to say that the exploration tills the soil that facilitates the natural self-correcting mechanism… i.e. evolution. That process is called discernment. It is cultivated through reflection, proper counseling, self-honesty, proper meditation, openness, etc. The art of discernment is a major portion of what I teach.
In extreme cases, it is obvious to others when a person is clinging to a belief… for example, radical fundamentalism or a digging in of the heels. But as you move forward, the process gets more and more elusive. As has been said, the only true knowing is knowing that you know nothing. Knowing nothing means knowing no-thing… knowing that which is beyond things, beyond beliefs and perspectives.
It is not about the thing so much as it is about your relationship with the thing. It is like learning to swim. If you cannot swim, you cling to the rubber ducky to keep you afloat. It is everything. Without it you feel that you would drown. Slowly, slowly you get comfortable in the water and in time no longer need the rubber ducky to stay afloat. Then you swim freely in the ocean of being. You may still enjoy the rubber ducky, but your relationship with it is completely different. See?
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Saturday, January 18, 2014 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
“If your grip is weak, YOU’LL be weak.”
This is another quote from the fitness world. I would like you to reflect upon how it maps on to your speedy spiritual evolution… and also how it could be twisted to compromise your spiritual evolution.
After you formulate you thoughts, you can click on “comments” to see mine.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
