The Early Years

by | Friday, February 11, 2011 | Spirituality | 8 comments

Teaching around forty years now, it has been over twenty years since I left the ashram.  I felt so full of knowledge, not just facts but real direct experience Knowledge, that I was compelled to go out and teach full time.  I had no idea at the time what a shock I was in for.

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I remember feeling that I would get up on a stage, give a lecture, everyone would be inspired by what I was saying, and that would be that.  It did not happen that way at all.

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People had read and studied various teachings.  They had become vested in their resultant understanding of spirituality, healing, personal development, the nature of life and existence, etc.

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It is certainly not that the knowledge is nowhere else out there.  However, it is not something that can be comprehended easily.  Furthermore, many who are teaching do not really comprehend the depth to which the knowledge really goes, nor do they comprehend the degree of distortion they have imposed upon it.  In many cases, they have turned spirituality upside down and backwards.  I do feel sad when I think of the people who never really ‘got’ what I was offering.  It is as if they were right there.  It was in their hands and it slipped away–tragic.

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Real communication of sublime knowledge requires not only direct experience of Truth by the teacher but also time, patience and proper attitude of the student. Even among those few that actually do have the knowledge, even fewer have it in their nature to be teachers.

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In the early years of the school, when I tried to explain the distinctions that made all the difference, people were confused.  It was as if difficult for them to grasp the distinction between an echo and the real thing.  Being vested in the echo only made it more challenging for them.  Sometimes they just got angry, feeling like I was unfairly (even arrogantly) criticizing the teachings of others.  I was stunned and exasperated by the response.  Admittedly, all those years in the ashram cultivated an innocence within me.  I guess I had forgotten how hostile and jaded it could be ‘out there.’

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In retrospect, I realize that it took years for me to find ways to communicate my teachings.  Of course, that learning is ongoing.  It will never end.  However, the proof is in the pudding.  I am getting the information across much more effectively now.  I do wonder though, if my method of teaching has changed much or if the people that are coming around now are from a somewhat different cross section of society.

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I do feel that the US spiritual society itself has changed.  I do not see nearly as much superficiality (eye fluttering, hand waving, etc.) in the name of spirituality as I did ten or twenty years ago.  Society does change rather quickly.  I remember forty years ago, when many people thought drugs were the path to enlightenment.  After that came the eye-fluttering era.  Now it seems people are looking for something more solid, real world, reflective, and significant.

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Whatever the cause, we have come a long way in the past twenty years.  I feel I am getting things across much better now.  How much is it a refinement of my method of teaching?  How much is a drawing from a group of more ardent and sophisticated students? It is hard to say.  What I can say is I am pleased.

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.

Depression

by | Wednesday, February 9, 2011 | Health, Spirituality | 6 comments

Periods of depression are common.  I have been asked to discuss it.  Let me begin by saying that I have observed over and over again that proper meditation is the greatest cure. Depression is primarily physiological. Proper diet and exercise also help greatly.

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But what about behavioral causes of depression?  Depression is the result of suppressed flow of life force.  There are multiple motivations to stifle your life flow.

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You may have imposed upon yourself a strict value system that is in actuality not in harmony with truth – not in harmony with your true nature and the true nature of life.

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Always trying to do the right thing can be most depressing if in actuality it is not really the right thing for you.  Take care to not devote your life to invalid notions.  You may tell yourself it is valid, but deep inside, where it really counts, you know better.

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You may be more image-conscious than you realize… acting and behaving in a manor that is not your true nature in the name of how you may appear to others.  Proper manners is one thing, but to depress your true nature in the name of a facade you feel will win people over, is quite another.

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Second guessing yourself is another common cause.  You may be unable to make a decision fearing it will be wrong.  Whatever you do, you wonder if you should have made another choice.  You tie yourself up in knots and end up depressed.

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Judging yourself based upon an internalized standard is always depressing. Standards are external.  Internalizing anything external causes depression. Use the external as an aid to explore your inner being, but not as an imposition upon it.  Freedom, joy, and fulfillment come from within.

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The list goes on and on.  However, there is one cause underlying them all – fear.  To discover what depresses you, ask your self what you are afraid of.

Then ask yourself how you impose restriction upon your life as a result of that fear.

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This exploration is not to be taken lightly or acted upon too impulsively.  It is a process.  But rest assured that freeing your self, i.e. living your true nature, is the only path there is to fulfillment.

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.

Windows of Perception

by | Sunday, February 6, 2011 | Spirituality

When I see quotes like the one below, I often wonder how clear and far reaching the understanding actually was.

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Did Churchill understand that when a person lives in harmony with God (Natural Law) then the person, though totally free, also has no choice but to do what he must?

Did he understand that the connection rises as a deep abstract feeling from within, not just a concrete commitment to a goal or purpose?

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In other words, did he understand that thoughts are based in reason, reason is based in finest feelings, and finest feelings come from the Divinity within?

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Did he understand that the Divinity underlying an individual is the same Divinity dwelling as the essence of all people and all things?

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Did he understand that the issue of life then, was merely a matter of clarity of connection of the surface of life with the depth?

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Did he understand that people with clear connections could have missions in life that may conflict with one and other on the surface of life?

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Did he understand that support of Nature comes from that integration of life (transgradient integration) while, at the same time, brings “obstacles and dangers and pressures” arising from that which is not in harmony with nature?

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Such quotes hold within them the gateway to all knowledge.  Of course, everything does so.  That is not the question.  The question is, how deeply does one see into all that is around them?  This, of course, includes even their own quotes.

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Everything is rooted in the Divine.  The question is only regarding the clarity, the integration, the correlation brought forth.

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“A man does what he must – in spite of personal consequences,

in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures –

and that is the basis of all human morality.“

– Winston Churchill

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.

What the US Needs Now

by | Saturday, February 5, 2011 | Spirituality

In the US today, we do not have an economic problem, an energy problem, a pollution problem, or an educational problem.  We have a political problem.

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If the political problem went away, the others would be solved.

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However, politics goes right to the hearts of the people.  It revolves around their deepest issues.  To heal that, we must heal all the way to the soul.

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That process is call evolution… spiritual evolution.  Not religious bias, not secular allegiance, and not identity with any belief system.

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I recently heard a funny quote…  something to the effect of, “In life, look to your moral convictions, and then do the right thing anyway.”

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There is a valid point to it, isn’t there?  In that sense, we could add, “not moral convictions” as well.

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.

Truth, Echoes, Modern Thought

by | Friday, February 4, 2011 | Spirituality | 1 comment

When I saw the following quote, I smiled, but also knew immediately that I needed to comment on it.

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“The first human who hurled an insult instead of a stone was the founder of civilization.” – Sigmund Freud

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Freud and Reich both contributed to the development of modern thinking.  It seems both viewed the glass of life as half empty.  Psychology seemed to them to be the study of what was wrong with people.  Even the quote here views civilization from that sort of angle.  With respect for the contributions they did make, it is important to recognize that the perspective misses the fundamental point.

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The glass of life is rooted in fullness.  Divinity underlies all things and all processes.  Lack of health is, in that regard, not the engine of life.   Health is the engine of life.

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We must not lose our way to the extent that our viewpoint turns life upside down.  Divinity underlies all things and to understand anything, one must begin with that understanding.  Living life in harmony with the true nature of things is to live in accord with that law of nature.

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Prana, the Divine Breath of Life, interacts with Karma to create Mind.  It is said that the enlightened mind is a state of no mind.  What that means is that one has awoken to the truth of life’s essence, and lives from that place of Divinity within.

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Otherwise, one sees reflections of truth, hears echoes of truth, and perceives them as truth.  The path is indeed a subtle one.

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.

The Path to God

by | Wednesday, February 2, 2011 | Spirituality | 1 comment

When visiting the Ashram people, I am often reminded of my days in the ashram.

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Those were such great years, all carefully constructed to maximize evolution, with great attention to the subtle principles of evolution, while most attentive to what is simply human nature.  It is only natural to want to see progress.  It is natural to want sudden shifts or powerful and dramatic experiences.

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Though there are moments of such phase transition, evolution is more like a tree growing.  Purification is like ice slowly melting away.  It is a gradual process.  My job is to just keep the process moving along.  As I have said in the past, it is almost like taking a bubbling caldron and setting it in the corner of the room to give it time to calm down.  Of course, in the case of people, that bubbling is often experienced as unrest and impatience.  It is natural to “want something to happen.”  That is most understandable.

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When there are openings, opportunities if you will, to facilitate a sudden shift, I take those opportunities.  It is natural to look to me, as the head of the ashram, to provide those moments.

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However, the truth is that you are the one who creates those moments naturally as you evolve.  I only seize the opportunity when it arises.  I must admit that I feel the desire to interact more than I do at times.  I would just enjoy the connection with you.  However, I remain dedicated to your evolution over and above all else.

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It is like a gardener, who simply sees when the plant needs more water, shade, sun, or whatever.  However, most of the time, the plant needs to be left alone, allowed to grow naturally on its own.  The gardener has already provided the environment (the garden) for that to happen.

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In the case of the ashram program, the garden is the ashram.  In other cases, it is your meditation routine at home and when you come to retreats and classes. Though moments of focused attention and sudden transformation do occur, by and large, the process is gradual, like ice melting.

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This is still another reason why the path of evolution is highly elusive, like traversing a razors edge.  Temptations to go for a dramatic experience are all around you.  The inclination to give up since nothing dramatic seems to be happening is also there.  Yet the genuine longing for true evolution keeps you going.

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As Anandamayi Ma said, “The longing for God is, in and of itself, the path to God.”  It is most moving to witness those who steadfastly stay on that path.

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I must admit:  Even though I too dedicated so many years/lifetimes to this, it is incredibly humbling for me to see others do the same.

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.

Meditation Question and Answer

by | Monday, January 31, 2011 | Meditation, Spirituality | 3 comments

I was recently asked,  “Why, in the Surya Meditation, which is effortless, is it not possible for bad energy to influence you?”

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To which I responded:

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The natural tendency of life is to move toward the Divine.  Moving toward the bad is not natural to the essence of our being.  It is only seen for the superficial aspects of our being to go bad.

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The Surya Meditation taps into the nature of the essence of life.  That is NEVER bad.

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It is, in every case, always Divine.

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In the world today, some have been so overtaken by the surface of life that the truth of the Divinity of life’s essence is sometimes not understood.

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It is sad that some have been so swept away by bad and the fear of bad that they no longer can see that the essential nature of life is Divine.

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If you rest into your essence, you rest into Divinity.  There is no other possibility.  The great gift of this meditation is that it employs that principle.

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As it is said, “You can’t take heaven by storm.”

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The Divine can’t be taken by storm.  It can only be rested into.

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It follows that the best meditation must be effortless.

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.

The Self

by | Sunday, January 30, 2011 | Spirituality

If there is one message to convey over and above all others, it is to find solidity, stability, fullness, and comfort not in things, but in your own inner being.

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It is fine to enjoy the support of loved ones and material possessions, but not to look to those things at the expense of your soul.

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Become established in the self.  It is an abstraction, not a concrete thing to cling to, a situation to attain, or a self image to uphold.

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It can not be touched or held, but its influence is felt as it radiates from the transcendent through the depth of your being to all levels of your life.

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The feeling of those radiations is called the soul.  Rest into your soul.  Find solace there above all else.  It is your communion with the Divine.

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Through that, you live in harmony with all life and existence.

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.

The Transcendent

by | Thursday, January 27, 2011 | Spirituality

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The Transcendent, as it wells up through your being,

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can be likened to a candle flame.

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You cannot grasp the flame of a candle,

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nor can you grasp the flame of the Transcendent.

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Yet, the closer you gravitate towards it,

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the more you come to know its nature.

© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.