by Michael Mamas | Saturday, January 19, 2013 | Favorites, Spirituality |
In response to my Razors Edge blog, someone asked how you can recognize who is a real master and who is not. The one word answer is ‘discernment.’ You must cultivate discernment. Of course that leads to the question, “How do you cultivate discernment?”
That cultivation is a process. It can be compared to learning to play a musical instrument. It takes time, patience, humility, and a willingness to look beyond what you currently understand. You cannot just read a book about how to play the piano and then be able to play the piano. In the case of music, everyone knows that. In the case of spirituality, people generally do not know that. They think they can read a book and then ‘get’ spirituality. I call that the I Get-it Syndrome. The world is full of people practicing the I Get-it Syndrome of spirituality. It is a good beginning all too often mistaken for the goal.
It would be fair to say that all of my lectures, blogs, classes, etc. are all for the cultivation of discernment. Adi Sankara called the entire path of spiritual evolution the path of discernment. You see, discernment is not just done with the intellect. Absolutely not (pun intended). Discernment is done with the mind, the heart, and most importantly with the soul… the depth of the soul.
So what is the soul? Well, you know about the Absolute, i.e. the Transcendent… pure consciousness… that which lies beyond relativity. It is pure No-Thing-Ness. Cannot be grasped. It is pure consciousness … the Unified Field… that which birthed the entire creation… pure Is-ness… God. You can not touch it, but you can feel it radiating out through you. Just as you can feel the Sun, but you cannot touch it. The soul, then, is the glow of God welling up through and permeating your physiology. It is your life force. It is the source of all intelligence, wisdom, harmony, and love that flows through and feeds you and all that is. As you evolve, your perception of it becomes clearer. The clouds, veils, and cobwebs of life clear away.
Everyone feels his soul. Even an earthworm has some primitive sense of self, of the soul. But the nervous system of an earthworm is not developed nearly enough to perceive the full grandeur of the Absolute, even though the earthworm is (like everything else) the Absolute. In other words everything is God, but your degree of evolution is the degree to which you perceive and embody the full value of that.
Discernment is done with all levels of your being. As you evolve all those levels integrate with one another, and most importantly, with the Absolute. Discernment with the body is sometimes called a ‘gut feeling.’ However, if you are riddled with bias, then your gut feelings are not clear. They are not in clear harmony with the absolute… with God. They are confused.
The spiritual path is the path of clarification of your relationship with your True Nature, with God, with the Absolute. See?
If you evaluate from the perspective of your biases, you go astray. You need to look deeper. You need to ponder. By ponder I mean strive to find truth within. This means looking beyond mental, emotional, and psychological bias. It is a sort of double bind. You must use what discerning ability you have to cultivate more discernment. You must ‘pull yourself up with your own bootstraps’. That is no simplistic task, which is why so few are willing to do it. They would prefer to listen to someone pat them on the head and tell them what a great spiritual being they are. As a result, spirituality is often reduced down to an ‘opiate of the masses.’ The New Age is most certainly no exception.
Spiritual evolution is indeed the Razors Edge. That is why a true master is so important. The student keeps slipping to one side or the other. The master holds the beacon light that illuminates the way.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Thursday, January 17, 2013 | Spirituality |
I was asked the following:
A master who talks about the light body says that you can transform your body from flesh to light. Is that true?
To which I reply:
There is an important lesson here. Yes, what you say here is valid, but the true meaning of words often eludes the use of the words… even for those who speak the words.
My purpose is to offer deep understanding of profound truths. Superficial interpretations of profound truths have cast the field of spirituality into a garb of mystical mush. A big part of my purpose is to clear up the confusion.
You ask for deep understanding. Are you willing to do what it takes to achieve that?
For many, the most difficult step is discerning to what you should listen. For others, the challenge is to take the time and effort required to really discern.
We live in a time when people want quick, simplistic, short answers… even in fields where such answers only scratch the surface and mislead. Thirty-second sound bites will not suffice, though they are what the mainstream mentality demands.
This is Kali Yuga… the Age of Ignorance. So many are thought of as Masters. So few are.
You must think carefully or be led astray, even by so many who may be quite well intended.
Choose wisely.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Sunday, January 13, 2013 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
Anger comes in two forms.
That born of the True Self, the Divine Self, one’s own True Nature, which commands the world to align with Natural Law.
And that born of the conditioned, programmed, personality self, with which most are identified and which demands the world conform to its petty will.
Based upon observation, the latter almost always perceives itself to be the former.
Even when one knows it to be the latter, the individual is rarely able to confess to that… particularly to those most deserving of the confession.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Tuesday, January 8, 2013 | Spirituality, World View |
Though a great invention with many practical applications, the on/off switch has overtaken our lives. Turn off the lights, turn on the car, start the computer… there is no end… ongoing throughout the day.
However in nature, the day gradually turns to night and the night to day. The seasons change gradually. Temperature, climate, arrival of a storm and then sunshine…. it all happens gradually. The few things in nature that are ‘on/off’ are at least somewhat shocking to the nervous system… for example lightening, thunder or an earthquake.
We run our physical life with on/off switches. It is no wonder that people try to run the rest of their lives that way asking, “What is THE right answer?”, “What time does it start?”, “How much do I owe?”, etc. We are taught to answer when, how, and why all of them with on/off, yes/no, types of answers. Then people wonder why they are so stressed by life.
The only straight lines in nature are sunbeams and moon beams. You can’t grab on to either one. Enlightenment is life in accord with Nature, your own true Nature.
You can function through a world of on/off. That is fine. But cultivate a state of awareness that is not lost to on/off. Life just doesn’t work in accord with your on/off switches. It’s time for a new way of thinking.
After writing this, my wife told me that Apple Computer’s Steve Jobs could not stand on/off switches. My iPod does not even have one. Interesting.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Monday, January 7, 2013 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
Thomas Edison said, “There is no expedient to which a man will not go to avoid the labor of thinking.”
On face value, I do not agree with Mr. Edison. People think all the time… way too much. Thoughts, thoughts, and more thoughts run through their heads incessantly. However, the deeper point I am sure he is alluding to, is that few think in a clear, coordinated, coherent manner. Scientists are trained to think rationally but that too is not sufficient for a fully developed life. In the scientist’s laboratory as many variables as possible are fixed. In life, all variables are dynamic and ongoing.
The mind is like a muscle. It must be used properly to develop. If it is not exercised properly, it remains weak. Connections between variables are flimsy. A single point can consume the mind and cast the thinking process in a skewed direction of no return.
I believe Mr. Edison’s point was that few are adept at attentive, mindful thought. That process remains atrophied from lack of use. Until the mind is developed, such thinking just seems to require too much effort. The brain quickly becomes fatigued and jumps to a justification to stop the process. It is similar to lifting weights in the gym. No rep seems most desirable, but certainly after several, that next rep feels like pure torture. Mindlessly floating through life is then more appealing, though not truly rewarding. Mind-numbing entertainment, primitive or sensual over-stimulus, presents itself as the easy way out. But it is, in the final analysis, a downward spiral.
Consider color blindness. Usually a color-blind person does see and appreciate the full range of colors even though the color receptors are weak. It requires focus and effort to identify the color that is right in front of their face. The mind is similar. The connection between the mind and the world at hand is often weak. Some say that you must open your mind. More correctly, you must develop your mind. However, few are interested or willing to do that.
Fortunately, there is an effective methodology for development. Namely, meditate and act. You cannot meditate your way to enlightenment. Enlightenment means an integrated mind. For those willing to do it, my writings and lectures along with proper meditation offer the steps of progress. I ask you to think… but not just in a limited manner… instead in an expanded sense, integrating feelings and emotions with thoughts, perceptions and profound concepts.
Such far-reaching reflection integrates the mind with itself by harmonizing it with nature, which is the mind’s true nature. The whole brain harmonizes. It is simply the state of healthy function of the mind. Attaining that can be challenging. You may jump off on a tangent, just as a weightlifter finds a reason to not do those last couple of reps.
However, the reward is enlightenment, if you are willing to stay the course.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Friday, January 4, 2013 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
Wherever you look (life’s daily situations, business, politics, proper diet, proper exercise, personal relationships… it doesn’t matter where) life is permeated with wrong information. Even in what seems to be the simplest matters, contradictory perspectives collide. If your relationship with that is not healthy, life can be most frustrating.
What is the source of that frustration? Looking to the surface for the depth. Looking for the absolute in the relative. Looking for perfection in the world of imperfection…. for ‘relative’ essentially by definition means ‘imperfection’. You may need to reflect upon that a bit to under-stand it. Relative means perspective, means no bottom line.
What is the solution? Understanding the nature of life. Delighting in that. Marveling in that. Acting in harmony with that. The absolute is the trunk of the tree of life. See the connection of the movement of the branches to the solidity of the trunk, but do not look for the solidity in the branches… only look to see the connection, the pathway, from all the branches to the trunk.
Opinions fly in every direction. The more opinions you hear, the more different directions you are pointed. Look for the connection. Connect the dots. When all the wrong information is assimilated within your being, the truth is felt… but never put in a box. Truth, the Absolute, by its very nature lies beyond grasp. By living in peace with, in harmony with, that simple understanding, your proper course of action will lie before you.
We all long for That.
What to do? Where to go? How to live? What to think? There is a simple approach expressed in the Veda… Neti, neti, neti… not that, not that, not that. By holding things lightly, you rest into Truth, which lies beyond relativity… beyond information.
To be well informed is to have a healthy relationship with information, is to see beyond the surface… neti, neti, neti.
Arguing a perspective is a futile exercise, lest you see beyond your point, even while you are making it.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Sunday, December 23, 2012 | Spirituality |
I saw a brief interview with a neurosurgeon who had a ‘near death experience’. He spoke very well. I liked what he said about consciousness… something to the effect that scientists see nothing to explain how the physical brain gives rise to consciousness.
He said that the brain just acts as a filter (a reducing valve that reduces consciousness to a trickle) through which our greater consciousness flows and is limited by.
He spoke of meditation as something that can open people to what lies beyond those limitations.
He spoke of the inner voice (I sometimes refer to it as an aspect of the ‘personality self’) that people think is the self, but it is not.
He said that the true being we are lies deeper and is eternal and spiritual.
That’s pretty good. I have not looked at his book and do not know anything more about him other than what I saw in the interview. At any rate, the link to his website is listed here if you have any interest in investigating it.
http://www.lifebeyonddeath.net/
After writing the above blog, I visited his website for a moment. In the brief video on his website he mentioned something to the effect that at one point he realized he was a speck on the wing of a butterfly. In the context of what I have said about Unity Consciousness, do you see what he was referring to? We are one with everything. He briefly had the beautiful experience of his oneness with a speck. In reality, you are one with every speck that is, ever was, and will ever be. You are one with everything and everything is God.
In the state of enlightenment, that is an ongoing living reality… not an attitude or philosophy, but a self-evident truth.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Thursday, December 20, 2012 | Spirituality, World View |
It’s simple enough, isn’t it? So much can be accomplished through friendship. So much damage is done through conflict. Yet so many try to get what they want from others with vinegar… so few with honey.
Think about it. There are those who are reliably polite and kind. Then there are those that consistently stir hard feelings. Of those, whom do you feel naturally inclined to help? And for whom do you feel like you are the one who always has to ‘take the high road’, even though your inner child’s first response may be the opposite. Which of those people get the most from you?
Interestingly enough, the vinegar type of behavior seems to come about more readily when things really matter or when money is involved. Usually immediately, and certainly long term, honey will get you better results. So why is it that vinegar is so prevalent in world… especially when it seems to really matter!? Wouldn’t you think that when it really mattered, people would behave the most wisely, not the least?!
The answer is quite simple… weakness. It is easy to put on a honey facade when everything is fine and minimal inner strength is required.
Everyone would do well to ask themselves how they behave during more challenging times. Remarkably, it is not only individuals in our daily lives but also our world leaders who behave from such emotional and psychological weakness. Wars are fought over such weaknesses. Unbelievable really… isn’t it?
I bring this up in hopes of inspiring a better way. Yes the angry inner child is there. Yes, it is not healthy to stuff your feelings away. But it is even more life damaging to act out the vinegar. There is such a thing as working with your inner emotions in a constructive manner. Finding that way and using it… perhaps that is what being a mature adult is all about.
This simple lesson is a major component to the art of manifesting. The light of awareness heals. By holding this up to the light of awareness, may we progress as the family of humanity.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Wednesday, December 19, 2012 | Spirituality |
In response to a recent comment:
The Christ is The Self. We are all one with God. Whether someone knows it or not, this still holds true.
Or in scientific terms: Everything is the Unified Field. Whether someone knows it or not, this still holds true.
The more you understand science, the more you understand anything, then the more you understand God. It is all very simple really. But it is not simplistic.
Simplistic understandings of what Christ said, what he was, have created many problems (as you are well aware).
Wisdom is rooted in sweet simplicity. Arrogance is rooted in the simplistic. To the simplistic, the most simple can seem so complex.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Tuesday, December 18, 2012 | Spirituality |
The good thing about atheists is that they are able to stand up and declare that the prevelant understanding of spirituality is deeply flawed. The unfortunate thing is that they have thrown out the baby with the bath water.
“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.” ― Carl Sagan
“It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.” – Mark Twain
Though computer studies have clearly shown that Darwin was missing something, that evolution happened much to quickly for random chance to be a sufficient explanation, ‘scientists’ still cling to the old understanding.
Though galaxies have been identified to be older than the big bang, physicists still cling to the current understanding of the manifestation of existence.
The bamboozle permeates not only spirituality and science, but all realms of life. The Great Bamboozler is called conditioning, samskaras, identity with a paradigm. Discernment, the path of true spiritual growth, is indeed a rarity.
Discernment is the art of refining your current understanding. The latter refutes the former. Lord Shiva is sometimes referred to as The Destroyer, but in the most positive sense. He enables us to move forward – to release the past and open to a brighter future.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
