Bridging Mentalities

by Michael Mamas | Monday, July 13, 2015 | Personal Growth, Spirituality | 12 comments

We speak of the ‘family of humanity’.  We speak of love. We speak of world peace. We speak of open-mindedness.  Yet these things are not so easy to accomplish.

Some have a strong bias against spirituality as irrational.  Others find solace in embracing the heartfelt aspect of spirituality, even as a reprieve from having to think.  Cultures have their differences.  One religion judges another.  One political group despises the other. Many ‘open-minded’ people condemn those who do not think the way they do.  One cultural or sub-cultural group is uncomfortable with another.  Cultural Integrity so easily crosses the line into the biases of bigotry and racism.

My work honors the unique integrity of each culture while inviting you to see past the bias.  In so doing, we can create a true family of humanity that honors the uniqueness of each culture – that respects diversity, not just tolerates it.

In my attempts to create a family of humanity, I often trigger a knee-jerk controversy. When I speak of God, ‘rationalists’ immediately reject my words.  When I ask people to take a step back and see the rationality hidden beneath any spiritual superstition, I am accused of being too ‘heady’.  When I wear Indian attire as a sign of respect to that tradition, I am judged as ‘another white guy trying to do the guru thing’.  When I wear western clothes, I am not respecting the ancient traditions of spiritual knowledge.   Casual observers so quickly cast my hat into the ring of their impulsive choosing.

Prejudice reigns.  We are so quickly pigeon-holed, judged, and rejected or accepted based on the prejudices of every individual in this 30-second sound bite world. It happens in the blink of an eye, even by the most “open minded” individuals.

So where is the learning?  How can people see beyond their biases?

I strive to move humanity forward.  I encourage everyone to look deeper to live better.  In so doing, the world will come together in harmony.  In so doing, world peace can become a reality.  I invite you to take a step back and reflect with me. Look more deeply into my words and actions than just a first glance may provide. We can heal this planet.  We can have a loving family of humanity.  It is within our grasp.

Be willing to reach beyond the limitations of your current mentality.

Knowledge is Understanding

by Michael Mamas | Tuesday, July 7, 2015 | Personal Growth, Spirituality | 6 comments

Memorizing facts has its value.
Memorizing mantras has its value.
However, to really know them is to understand them.

What does it mean to understand them?
Where does understanding come from?

Deep within you, deep within your soul, lies the source of all that is.
It is
… not physical.
… not material.
… not grasped.
It is felt.
… sensed
… deep within your soul.
… deep within your self.
It is the place within where you make sense of things.
For something to be understood is for it to make sense.
Feelings lie deeper than thoughts.
Feelings birth thoughts.
The seed of knowledge is feeling.

Understanding stands under, births, feeds, and supports all of life.
Facts emerge from that place, just as the tree emerges from the seed.
The seed of life births life.

To gain true knowledge, awaken to the source of thought.
The thoughts themselves are secondary.
One can know many facts and not be a person of knowledge.
One can know few facts and be a person of true knowledge.

Awaken to the place within where you understand everything.
Facts are useful tools.
But they are most useful in the hands of those who know the Self.