Einstein Again

by | Friday, September 16, 2011 | Spirituality | 1 comment

~

A person starts to live when he can live outside himself. – Einstein

~

shadowsHere is another Einstein quote that again refers to the small self versus the True Self.

~

To live in accord with the True Self, the Divine Self, seems like living ‘outside’ the self only to the small self.  To the True Self, it feels like freedom from the pettiness of the inane.  Though the small self is experienced as, and believed to be, the True Self, it is in actuality a drag on life.  Yet this is not really realized until you awaken to the True Self, i.e. become enlightened.

~

Interestingly, Einstein here is thinking of the small self as the Self.  Or perhaps it is really just his choice of words… semantics.  From the perspective of the small self, the True Self lives outside the self.  From the perspective of the small self, the small self is what you are.

~

From the perspective of the True Self, the small self is a Cosmic Joke… a mirage… just a little dust on the surface of life, remarkably being embraced as the essence of one’s life.

~

From one perspective this is so absurd.  From another it is so lovely, for without that illusion, the universe would cease to exist as all would simply melt back into Oneness.

~

How exquisite that there is a level of life where one can live in relativity without losing the Self to relativity… or as Rama Krishna said, ‘have the boat in the water but no water in the boat.’

~

There is a cosmic stream.  It is a flow that permeates and overtakes all existence.  It is the Krishna value, or quality or aspect or facet of all that is.

~

Lose your small self to that. Discover your True Self and become free.  This is the highest form of devotion.  It is also the destiny of all that is.  Your emancipation is just a matter of time.  How long will it take is up to you.  How long do you choose to cling to limitation?

~

As the poet said, ‘“The answer is blowing in the wind.” Yet God calls out to you, “I am here and I will teach you how to fly… how to soar… if, or rather when, you choose to.”

~

The path is subtle, yet the door remains wide open.

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.

Being True to Yourself

by | Monday, September 12, 2011 | Spirituality | 1 comment

The greatest religion is to be true to your own nature. Have faith in yourselves.

– Swami Vivikenanda

~

~

dharmaThis is a lovely quote from the great saint Vivakenanda.  Being true to your own nature is, of course, only truly attained by the enlightened.

~

It is, in fact, by definition, what it means to be enlightened.  It is a physiological state, not an attitude or philosophy.   Yet it is something that you must have the courage to strive for every day.

~

What is your nature?  What would you do if you were truly free?  What is your heart really saying to you?

~

Very few people responsibly respond to these simple questions.  All bias, be it fear, affinity, aversion, anger, or resentment, interfere with the process of resting into your true nature.   Bias, be it well intended or not, distorts your view of who you are.

~

The spiritual path is a path of courage.

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.

The World

by | Saturday, September 10, 2011 | Spirituality | 4 comments

If upon seeing suffering and unhappiness in the world, I did not see how I could do much about it, I could understandably just go about my life trying not to think about it.

~

However, I know we can change the world… I know there is a technology that can change the world… so how can I do anything but try to bring it forth?  How can I rest?  How can I take even a moment off?

~

There are people out there suffering.  I am telling you that we can create Heaven on Earth.  The only question is, will people understand what I am saying?  Or will you think,  “How can that possibly be so?”

~

We must not waste time.  I assure you that at some point my words will be proven true.  People will then be compelled to wonder, how it is they sat on the sidelines, sipping their tea, while others stepped forward to help pull the world out of the grip of misery?

~

There are those out there that believe they understand my teachings.  If they do understand me, how is it they are not involved… shoulder to shoulder with me… striving to transform this world?  It can only be that they will not really understand until we have accomplished our goal.  Then they will deal with the question of why they did not join in.

~

My appeal is to become a visionary.  Learn to connect the dots that are in front of you to see the direction the arrow points.  Then believe in yourself and what you know enough to move forward with conviction and determination.

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.

To Parents Everywhere

by | Thursday, September 8, 2011 | Relationship, Spirituality | 1 comment

It has been said that there is no stronger force in the universe than a mother’s love for her children.

~

Certainly we all have aspirations for our children.  Understandably, those aspirations are an expression of our own relationship with life and the world.  My life has not been exempt from that.  I recall as a young man, the difficulty my parents had with my decision to pursue a spiritual life.  Their well-intended world view revolved around more traditional and money oriented pursuits.  Their idea was to get a college education, get a good job/profession, get a house, a wife, kids, and live a traditional life until death.

~

The only problem was that was their calling, not mine.  I was compelled to follow a spiritual path.  Interestingly enough, that direction, for me, ultimately lead to a rather traditional lifestyle in many regards.  My wife and I have two lovely children, a nice home, and a traditional lifestyle, while embracing and living true to our own inner truths.

~

As opposed to attempting to overly control our family member’s lives on the surface, we would do better to look to the depth.  Who are they?  How true do they live to laudable core values?  Raising children is no easy thing.  As a parent, I too am extremely committed to doing right by my children.  I have deep concern that as they grow, their lives will be good and healthy.

~

If one of my children chose a spiritual path, I would have many reservations.  Cults certainly do exist and are most worrisome in this regard.  I would want to know, beyond question, that my child was not going to be indoctrinated into such thinking. If my child chose a spiritual path, I would make it my business to look into the teaching they were following.

~

There have been a number of individuals that, upon discovering that their spouse had interest in my teachings, took the time to personally explore them also.  I have a great deal of respect for that.  Such an approach brings the family members closer together enabling them to evaluate things as a team.

~

In contrast, an immediate knee jerk reaction of opposition only divides the family.  I am sorry to say that is what happened in my family, when as a young man, I chose the spiritual path.  The years have proven that those concerns and that reaction were unfounded and damaging to our family unit.

~

I’ve noticed that sometimes when a family member chooses to go on a spiritual path, their relatives think of it as a life commitment.  The truth is, more often than not, it’s a life-enriching sabbatical.  Life’s journey is not a straight line. You move in one direction for a period of time and then shift. Yet life is constructed of that series of shifts. We would do well to reflectively support a family member in the building of his or her own life.

~

Love is not always an easy thing.  It becomes entwined with our own personal fears, biases, and limitations.  To deal with all that can be most demanding of time and energy.  Yet is has been said that if you do not have the time to do something properly, where are you going to find the time to go back and correct the results of a poor approach?

~

I encourage you to take the time to do your very best.  I pray that I too will devote myself sufficiently to raising my children wisely, as they grow into independent adulthood.  Like love, life is not always easy.  May we all do our best to approach it wisely.

~

Ultimately, perhaps the best we can do for our children is to model nobility and wisdom within our own behavior.

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.

Interesting Einstein Quote

by | Sunday, September 4, 2011 | Spirituality | 1 comment

“The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which he has attained to liberation from the self.”

~

I am going to give Einstein the benefit of the doubt here and assume he means the superficial self…  the self identified with conditioning or programming.

~

Though that is the ‘self’ most consider to be real, the true self lies deeper.  It is the transcendental self… the universal self. Though universal, it wells up through and as your own unique individuality… the Atma.

~

The superficial self dissolves away as you evolve… “liberation from the self.”

~

The last words of the quote could read “liberation from the self” if he was referring to the true self. To be more accurate though, the true Self is eternally liberated.  It is only your awareness of it that is awakened (liberated) as you evolve to enlightenment.

~

Every step of the way the superficial self, which you believe is the real you, feels threatened – fighting, screaming and squirming.  However, at the same time, the true you feels ever increasingly free, blissful, emancipated and joyful.

~

Which side of the coin you focus upon is up to you.  My suggestion: go with the bliss.

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.

The Big Picture

by | Tuesday, August 23, 2011 | Spirituality | 3 comments

It was great to give a one-day talk in Rhode Island last weekend after not being there for some time.  Seeing everyone again was very heartwarming.  The old tromping grounds and lovely weather made the entire experience feel like one big grand déjà vu.

~

I did my best to convey ‘the big picture of spirituality’ in my talk.  There is an essential model, a reference frame if you will, to all life and existence.  The idea is that there is one thing (the unified field, or in other words, God) that underlies and birthed all existence.

~

It is like the axel, root, or seed of existence around and out of which all things spin, emerge, blossom.

~

It is the essence of anything and everything.  All things are unified through it with seamless and infinite harmony.  There, science, spirituality and all aspects of life merge in full unity and harmony. To understand that nothing is really understood, until it is understood in context of this big picture, is to make a huge step forward in one’s life.

~

Enlivening the connection with it, heals, feeds, harmonizes every single thing by re-membering it with its essence.  All fields of knowledge, all understandings, all methodologies are rooted in that.  By more and more fully awakening to that and seeing all things rooted in that, you evolve.  That evolutionary pathway to reunion with God, with one’s true nature, with health, fulfillment, abundance, and joy offers fulfillment to all beings in all areas of life.

~

If in Rhode Island, I helped some folks realize that from within their own being (not as just an intellectual concept but as an inner awakening), then the trip was a wonderful success.

~

In fact, I could say the same thing about my entire life.  It is a great honor, to have the opportunity to help others in that way.  I continue to do my best to help humanity awaken to this big picture.

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.

Imagination

by | Monday, August 15, 2011 | Spirituality

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions”

– Albert Einstein

~

The deepest form of imagination comes right out of the absolute… unencumbered by the limitations of conditioning (samskaras).

~

When you awaken, all life is known to be born of imagination.

~

Only then are you truly free.

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.

True Genius

by | Thursday, August 11, 2011 | Spirituality | 2 comments

Here is a great quote:

~

Talent hits a target no one else can hit;
 Genius hits a target no one else can see.

– Arthur Schopenhauer

~

The mind usually operates through association.  It sees something and interprets that based upon what it has seen in the past. That is the result of conditioning, i.e. samskaras.

~

Genius looks and sees what actually is. Genius is free of association.  Genius can pull concepts and principles out of what it observes, not because those concepts and principles were already leaned but simply because they are there.

~

Everything is permeated with all the principles that exist in nature.  True genius means freedom from conditioning, i.e. enlightenment.  This is why an enlightened individual sees whatever observed to be pregnant with knowledge.  All of life is seen in everything in life.

~

I drove my daughter to her lacrosse lesson the other day.  We were talking about something when she teasingly made the comment, “You can’t just have a normal conversation can you?”  I smiled and confessed, “No, I can’t.”  To me everything is profound.  Everything is magnificently deep.

~

All knowledge is everywhere and in everything.  And most of it remains hidden in plain sight.

~

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.

Emerson

by | Saturday, July 30, 2011 | Spirituality

I discovered Emerson early on in my life… I think 5th or 6th grade and loved his work immediately.

~

Here is a nice quote.   Of course it is one thing to ‘get/understand it’ and quite another to live by it.

~

“What lies behind us, and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.