Quote
“Through patience and balance you will learn reverence for all things.” – Michael Mamas
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
The “Real World”
I just returned to Mount Soma from a wonderful class in San Francisco. It had a bit of a different feeling from any class I have ever given.
One memorable moment was when someone said that they felt that they needed to live in the “real world” which is what they are accustomed to. My relationship with this person is so long standing and solid that I knew I could respond bluntly. “You mean that twisted pinball machine of a world?”
Her smile invited me to go on, “You call that the real world? What a strange relationship with life… with the notion of reality. It is as if you are so accustomed to living in a meat grinder that it has become the only reality you believe in. Life is not meant to be the way your ‘real world’ has led you to believe.”
She responded very well. It was, I believe, eye-opening for her. After a brief pause I could not help but to look down, shake my head, and mutter under my breath, “The real world.”
Life is meant to be evolutionary. “Street Smart” is a rationalization for looking out at life while your nose is in the gutter and deciding that things stink.
Do not allow yourself to live that kind of life. Bringing forth the Age of Enlightenment is about birthing a lotus flower out of the muddy swamp.
Please do not live a life where you believe the mud is the real world. If you must believe in a “Real World,” believe in the lotus flower and join me to bring it forth for all humanity.
That is not so far away, but we must keep our eye on the ball.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
We All Share the Same One Humanity
I received the following comment on my recent blog:
In response to “brahmarishi says, October 18, 2011 at 3:07 pm” and the larger context as well… I was rough with this and sent some of my angst towards you…I can see now that it was my misunderstanding, as I do reflect upon several times in class when you spoke those words…please accept my must humble apologies.
I forgot that you said that you were only preparing us with tools for self discovery…You never said you would tell us how to think or that you would direct our path…only that you would show us the door to truth…you did and continue to do so.
This hurts…at many levels…I trust the damage can be healed…I miss you…and will look forward to seeing you again. I realize it is our responsibility to use the tools wisely and not to simply grasp the tools and hold on to them. This has helped hammer the lesson home…
To which I responded:
I know full well that I ask a lot of my students. From time to time a student may recoil, or get upset, or even quit. It always breaks my heart when that happens. But I have freely chosen my role as a teacher of this most precious knowledge.
I do understand that few are willing to pursue deep spirituality. In fact, more often people look to spirituality as an escape from reality instead of an embrace of truth wherever it may lead.
I do ask that people do their best to act respectfully. I also understand that from time to time most everyone loses their balance. If angst rises again in the future, perhaps it can be more appropriately directed to a pillow instead of me. The energy we send is real and I do feel pain.
Dear friend, you are most welcome to be my student. The love in my heart seems to have no limit. I see Divinity in everyone. I am deeply committed to all those who come to me, just as I am deeply committed to doing all I can to remove the suffering that plagues most all beings on our beloved Earth.
As a teacher of this knowledge this confirms for me one thing about myself; I truly love everyone.
Also, I am shy. I know this may seem like a contradiction with my position as a teacher. But I can only talk about deep matters. I am just not good at superficial small talk.
Somehow both my daughters are great at it. When I spoke with my daughter about it, she giggled and said, “How can that be? It is so simple. All you have to do is open your mouth and say something… anything. That is the beauty of it. It doesn’t matter what you say. Talk about the weather.”
I carry you all in my heart. Please do not mistake my shyness for anything other than shyness. For some reason the interaction above compelled me to say this.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
Obstacles to Finding Truth
My teachings, when first experienced, are for some difficult to understand. Once understood, my teachings can take time to accept, more time to embrace, and even more time to find as truth from deep within yourself.
A belief system, even an inaccurate one, you have held for many years is not easy to move beyond. It feels like home. It offers a sense of security, righteousness, and comfort. Yet the world is not as you have been lead to believe. My teachings are for you. They will assist you in finding truth.
The path of evolution is, as Adi Shankara said, the path of discernment. Even that may be something you would prefer to not believe. Beware: you may think that evolution is a path of emotional indulgence (not to be confused with true Bhakti) or the path of finding someone who shares your current beliefs about what the scriptures say and is even more well versed in those beliefs than you are.
Projection is problematic here. Usually, those beliefs are so strongly projected on to the world that you may be convinced they apply even when they do not. I have seen this many times as it applies to a person standing by their spouse, even when that spouse is clearly acting improperly. In such instances, you may refuse to acknowledge what is actually true out of allegiance to your spouse.
Self honesty is perhaps the most difficult part of discernment. Fear, on the other hand, may outrank self honesty, including not only fear of what you may have to face if you were truly honest with yourself, but also fear of the unfamiliar, fear of change, fear of the unknown, etc. Fear comes in many applicable forms.
So I do understand why the spiritual path is avoided by many or substituted with a version of spirituality that more suits ones current beliefs. Yet like education, spiritual growth means moving beyond what you currently know, not clinging to it.
To see truth, you need only open your eyes. But that is the most challenging thing you will ever do. Everyone longs for truth. It is the most fundamental of all passions. Though you may not think of it in these terms, you look for it everywhere. We look for it in our children, our loved ones, our belief systems, and in fact all of our pursuits.
The following Einstein quote is beautiful. Yet the challenges you will encounter in employing it are many. Only a few of those obstacles have been mentioned here.
“Ethical axioms are found and tested not very differently from the axioms of science. Truth is what stands the test of experience.” – Einstein
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
Beyond Cookbook Spirituality
I receive lovely comments to my blogs. My last blog, “Your Church,” was certainly no exception. You may wish to read the comments to that and all my blogs. The following quote applies:
“If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention.” ~ Tom Peters
We have been indoctrinated into an on/off switch cookbook mentality. This works very well for many things, building a car for example. But in questions of life, it is another matter.
We struggle with if/thens and pro/cons. My teachings will help you with that… help you with life. I do not just believe in you. I know you. You are wise. You are one with God. I see that in everyone I meet. My teachings are designed to introduce you to your Self. Therein lies the one and only answer to your innumerable unanswerable questions.
I intentionally present unanswerable, unfathomable questions to you. Then, we navigate those water together for a time. Then I set you free to find Truth within. I believe in you. Even when you hurt me, I believe in you. I know for certain that in time, you will find your Self. Yet I also cry for you when you lose your way.
Some ask how they can help me. I would only ask that you do your very best to not lose your way. I know that at times that can be asking a lot. But that is what I ask of you.
Please, please note that when I say to look within for answers I do not mean for you to act impulsively based upon your emotions or simplistic thinking. I am, in fact, saying the opposite. You must pursue wisdom. That can require a great deal of reflection. Listen to good advice. Seek the wise. Good advice is all around. But it is the rare person that knows it when they hear it. Strive to become that wise person. Thinking for yourself must not be mistaken for justification of whatever you are feeling or thinking. You must look deeply. You must have the courage to pursue wisdom. You must have humility to receive wisdom. You must have discernment to navigate the ocean of life. Looking for a cookbook that tells you what to do and what to think will not work. At best, you are asking to be given one fish to eat. You must learn to become a fisherman. You must learn to fish for knowledge in the depth of the ocean of your own being. I give you tools to do that: meditation, the Vedic Temple, my lectures, blogs, books, etc.
Remember the Veda is not a religion. The Veda is the finest fabric of existence. It is the Unified Field of Physics. It is not a philosophy. It is nature itself. You must strive to find it within you. Truth does not dwell in books, or religions or philosophies. Truth dwells as the root of all things. Ultimately you can only find it within. All the things I offer are catalysts to help you do that.
One of my students was once asked why my school was not a cult. They responded beautifully by saying that cults tell you what to think. Dr. Mamas teaches you how to think for yourself.
If you think about it you will realize that everyone acts based upon what they think and feel about whatever they are dealing with… whatever they are told. You have no real lasting control over your children beyond their respect for you. That respect comes from how they really feel about you as a person. The best you can do for your children is to be wise. They will see that. As a result they will honor your words. They too will become wise.
Also remember that blind faith is not true “Faith.” Your relationship with God is determined by your level of wisdom. A healthy relationship with God is not based upon oblivion. Through my years of pursuit of truth I have found wise teachers. How do I know this? Because I look inside and question what people say to me. I have respect, but I still question. If you do not question wisely, you are subject to the way the wind blows you. In extreme cases, blind faith leads people to such things as fundamentalist terrorism simply because they are born into the environment of terrorists. In other cases blind faith is an “opiate of the masses.” Do not allow your longing for a spiritual cookbook lead you down the path of blind faith.
You MUST believe in yourself, but you also must know that your wisdom is not always immediately accessible. If you are not careful, you can easily be swept away by your emotional impulses or superficial rationales. You must look deeper to live better. If you are worried about your children, teach them to do that. If they cannot do that, they are subject to the winds of fate. The best you can do for your children is to help them become wise.
I have spoken of the challenges of writing blogs. Please be willing to strive to pull from them what I am really saying. If something does not seem right, send in your questions. Over the years, I have seen a number of times when people question my words because they do not understand them. When the misunderstanding is cleared up, the truth shines through.
The coach of great tennis player, Rafael Nadal, gave him one word of advice above all others: “Stay hungry and stay humble.” With regard to you spiritual growth, I say the same to you. Remember that intellectually understand what I teach is a good beginning all too often mistaken for completion of the goal. Stay humble. Enlightenment is far more elusive than you may think. It is a rare and precious physiological transformation of consciousness. Stay humble. Stay humble. Stay hungry. Don’t stop.
So I am very thankful to those of you who do comment if something I write does not seem clear or feel right. That gives me the gift of the opportunity to express my teachings more clearly. In the subtle arena where I dare to venture, where we must venture to grow as individuals, such interacting is often essential.
I thank you for your thoughtful questions. I am most grateful.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
Your Church
I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish Church, by the Roman Church, by the Greek Church, by the Turkish Church, by the Protestant Church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church.
I do not fully agree with this quote, but do agree with the direction it is leading. My point is that truth dwells within your soul, i.e. at the depth of your being. Only if you listen to that will your heart be true.
And only if you think in accord with what such a heart knows, will your mind be clear, true, and pure. Only then will it be your genuine Church.
No matter how well intended, a mind overtaken by creed is no Church. Just as a church overtaken by creed, is no house of God.
No matter how pious it presents itself to be, a life lived in servitude to such superficiality is not a path to God. It is a path to the underworld. It is the path, not of the righteous, but of the coward fancying himself righteous, but setting himself up for a terrible awakening to come.
To live true to the whispers of your soul is to live true to your God. It is a path strewn with the temptations of simplistic ways out that present themselves as proper, yet lead to a barren wasteland.
A mind not in accord with the heart of your being is not your Church. It offers innumerable rationalizations, which are, in actuality, only escape hatches to oblivion.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
Truth
Truth dwells within the eternally unknowable.
It lies forever just beyond the horizon.
Set your sights there and never, never stop moving
forward,
~~~~~forward,
~~~~~~~~~~forward.
You cannot grasp the horizon, but you can find its grandeur within your heart,
at the depth of your soul.
It is yours to live, but only if you have the courage and commitment to do so.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
The Future
“Fantasizing about the future is one of my favorite pastimes.” – Richard Branson.
The relationship of many with the future is well expressed here. Future fantasies are made in quantum leaps.
But progress in life is usually made through small, yet continuously patient, nibbles.
Those unwilling to take those nibbles rarely achieve the quantum leaps.
This relates to another quote from a golfer whose name I cannot recall: “The more I practice, the luckier I get.”
You must learn to take the small nibbles day by day. Then, in time you will live the future you long for.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
More Dots Connected
What one thing do the two following quotes address?
If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.
The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. – Winston Churchill
There is nothing of greater value than a free mind. A free mind naturally gravitates to the highest just as assuredly as a helium balloon when released soars upward to the sky.
A free mind’s domain is the universe.
Education, real education, frees the mind.
A free mind is creativity.
A free mind is imagination.~
A free mind is joy.
A free mind is one with God.
A free mind is enlightenment.
A free mind is a free soul.
~
Do you want to be happy? Do you want to be fulfilled? You must free your mind.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
The Morality Paradox
I was asked to comment on the following quote:
~
”Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much of life. So aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something.” – Henry David Thoreau
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The question here is what is meant by ‘morality.’
~
Certainly, there are some extreme views here. What some consider moral, others consider barbaric. Some fundamentalist, middle-eastern groups see the west as barbaric and visa versa. Culture certainly plays a major role in what is considered moral.
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A healthy cultural tradition is a blessed touchstone. Yet is the culture healthy? Where then does one look to find what is truly moral?
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The simple answer is to evolve and act from the place within you that is in harmony with God, the Divinity within. However, you might use that as a rationalization to do whatever you want to do by telling yourself that your impulses are a ‘higher calling.’ Similarly, you may use it as a rationalization to judge others or yourself.
~
Life is a paradox. Most look for simple solutions, rules, or justifications to hang their hat on. But life is not that simple. Through discernment you must learn to weigh the many variables and components in life. Are your feelings ‘your truth,’ i.e. God’s Voice, or are they your issues, i.e. your distorted views? How can you tell?
~
The answer lies within you. Yet the path to it is riddled with conflicting perspectives. Though many demand it, I do not offer simplistic solutions for they are lies used to placate people.
~
Morality, dharma, and happiness are all facets of the same diamond. What is true of one is true of the other. As Sri Ramana Maharshi put it: “Happiness is your nature. It is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside when it is inside.”
~
You must learn to discern. Take the time to reflect, ponder, and question. Be willing to look deeper with humility and patience. Do not look for a simplistic formula to navigate life’s waters. Though such roadmaps are offered, and even imposed upon you, look beyond them. Truth lies, just beyond the horizon. It is not something you grasp with an iron fist. Truth is a subtle whisper you sense at the depth of your soul. Through refinement of your inner world, you begin to hear it more and more. Yet it is never a dictate. It is a song… sweet, simple… sublime.
~
To live in tune with the song is called Dharma. All else is called Karma.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
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