by Michael Mamas | Sunday, January 26, 2014 | Favorites, Personal Growth |
Another thing I like about the fitness world in general, and about my trainer in particular, is the strong results orientation. Do what works! If it doesn’t work, stop doing it! This makes his following declaration quite interesting. “Do not associate with negative people. Stay away from them. Get them out of your life!” That is easy to understand on a philosophical level, but in the real, results-oriented world of fitness, it is more compelling. It works!
When I was in the ashram, we always favored positivity. Note, that is different from oblivion. Eyes can be wide open while you favor a positive approach. It is important to know, not believe but know, there is always a solution. If you think there is not, your world is too small… you are not thinking broadly or patiently enough.
The world today is addicted to negativity. The news broadcasts are not really the news. They are all skewed toward negativity. Even worse, most people live their lives in that way – one crisis after another, interrupted by periods of worry as they await the next crisis to erupt. That is no way to live; yet it is a pandemic addiction. Know that an addiction is not just to something you like. In fact this addiction to what you do not like, crisis, is perhaps the strongest and most common addiction of all. Addiction is habit.
I remember when I was a kid. Everything was fine. Life went on day to day and stability was taken for granted. Imagine living your life that way. Imagine viewing your life as a stream of one joy on to the next, with periods of calm contentment between them. Because you are no longer a child, you are not oblivious. You plan and act wisely and responsibly, but the state of your mind is not negative or in crisis mode. You are positive. You understand that life is fine… things work out.
Life is a bell curve. Yes, there is the rare instance of the guy who was, for example, sleeping in his bed when a sinkhole erupted taking him away never to be seen again. But such things are way, way far out to the edges of the bell curve of life. Worrying, worrying, worrying, in anticipation of the next crisis is life destroying in and of itself. Yet ‘the news’ bombards us daily with reports of the sinkholes of the day.
Some are taught to take nothing for granted. However, there is one thing you can and should take for granted: Nature supports. Your nature and Mother Nature are supportive to your life. Life has a way of working out. Free yourself from the addiction to crisis. Appreciate yourself. You are a resourceful and capable being. That is your greatest asset, certainly greater than some money in the bank. Somewhere along the line people stopped believing in themselves. Then they turned to God and spirituality as a crutch to lean on. No! It is not a crutch, it is your greatness… It is the greatness of life, of humanity, of nature, of YOU.
Positivity breeds the positive in your life. Everything is fine. You are fine. Life is good. When challenges arise, they are challenges, nothing more. You will be quite capable of dealing with them. Find contentment within and act from THAT place within you. That is your home base. That is your touchstone. That is the true nature of life. When everything is quiet, you naturally and spontaneously settle into the silence of contentment… peace… shanti. When you put your head on your pillow at night, know that everything is fine. Life is positive.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Thursday, January 23, 2014 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
Regarding the ‘Strength” blog, I was asked the following question:
How can you distinguish for yourself what is a strong ‘grip’ versus a strong clinging to a belief or a perspective? How do you know you’ve rested into your essence/soul or just an overlay?
To which I respond:
This is a very good and important question. In a nutshell, the answer is that you don’t know. If you really knew you were clinging to something, you would be seeing beyond it. If you really saw beyond it, you would not be clinging to it.
I like to say that the exploration tills the soil that facilitates the natural self-correcting mechanism… i.e. evolution. That process is called discernment. It is cultivated through reflection, proper counseling, self-honesty, proper meditation, openness, etc. The art of discernment is a major portion of what I teach.
In extreme cases, it is obvious to others when a person is clinging to a belief… for example, radical fundamentalism or a digging in of the heels. But as you move forward, the process gets more and more elusive. As has been said, the only true knowing is knowing that you know nothing. Knowing nothing means knowing no-thing… knowing that which is beyond things, beyond beliefs and perspectives.
It is not about the thing so much as it is about your relationship with the thing. It is like learning to swim. If you cannot swim, you cling to the rubber ducky to keep you afloat. It is everything. Without it you feel that you would drown. Slowly, slowly you get comfortable in the water and in time no longer need the rubber ducky to stay afloat. Then you swim freely in the ocean of being. You may still enjoy the rubber ducky, but your relationship with it is completely different. See?
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Wednesday, January 22, 2014 | Spirituality |
I was asked the following:
In more ways than one it is possible to determine by experiment how the spirit helps even the development of muscles. I do not speak of Hatha Yoga, in which physical exercise is emphasized primarily. In other Yogas, physical exercise has not such significance, but the spiritual development gives the muscles a special tone. Take two athletes let one develop along physical methods alone and the other realize the power of the spirit. How much more will the latter excel! This comes from a book fiery world, the last sentence you see what do you say about this, isn’t it beautiful?
To which I reply:
Yes it is beautiful. Spiritual Energy (life force) underlies all that is. It can be directed into any endeavor be it physical, intellectual, musical… anything, even the performance of what some would call miracles.
Where it is directed is a highly individual matter. As you evolve, you have greater access to it and you direct it more and more along the lines of your nature and what is appropriate for you at the given time. Your true nature is in harmony with Mother Nature.
It also happens that people develop in a manner that is not well integrated on all levels. Then they may have a great deal of spiritual energy, but it is not directed in a manner that is in harmony with their true nature… with Mother Nature… with Natural Law. This is an aspect of Kali Yuga, the Age of Ignorance.
Imagine a time when people have access to unlimited spiritual energy and spontaneously use it in harmony with nature. That is the time we are working to bring forth.
I do what i can to care for my body which is my ‘vehicle’, but I choose to direct most of my energy into assisting humanity to attain greater integration with the Spiritual Power that dwells within. It is clear to me that the best way to do this is to build Mount Soma… a Light of Life for all humanity.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Tuesday, January 21, 2014 | Spirituality |
“An instrument should be in tune with itself,” he says. “Everything else will then fall into place.” …John Monteleone
This is a lovely quote. In particular, a number of the old blues guitar players had little access to ‘properly tuned’ instruments or even intentionally down tuned their guitars for one reason or another.
Certainly with evolution you become more and more in tune within your own self. However, the Self is one with the Absolute, i.e. the underlying basis of all existence. So as you evolve, you automatically not only become independently in tune with your own self, but simultaneously with all of nature… with Mother Nature.
My daughters have recently resumed their music lessons (piano and guitar) and I am very happy about that. Science is of the intelligence of existence. Music is of its Heart. Yet the two are seamlessly intertwined. They dance together as one and the same, in perfect union… the King and Queen of the universe… the mind and heart… the mechanics and the spirit… the body and soul… the two facets of the one God out of which all emerges.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Saturday, January 18, 2014 | Personal Growth, Spirituality |
“If your grip is weak, YOU’LL be weak.”
This is another quote from the fitness world. I would like you to reflect upon how it maps on to your speedy spiritual evolution… and also how it could be twisted to compromise your spiritual evolution.
After you formulate you thoughts, you can click on “comments” to see mine.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
