by Michael Mamas | Wednesday, July 4, 2012 | Spirituality |
I was recently asked via email if I could help a couple that has two different views on spirituality… one is Christian, the other is not. I responded as follows:
This is a big question that can not be well responded to in a few sentences. It would be good if i could talk with you both in person. However, since that will likely not happen, I suggest Bible quotes, like “the kingdom of heaven dwells within.” As a religion is understood more deeply, one comes to understand the union of all religions.
There are not different religions… not within the depth of life. The differences only exist on the surface. The surface is more about cultures than spirituality. In that sense, religions are half spiritual and half cultural. So your differences really are more cultural than spiritual. If you could both really take that to heart and really understand that from the depth of your being, there would be no problem.
To some, a Christmas tree means a great deal. To others, a temple is what touches their heart. These things run deeply within the heart. Such fine feelings are the fabric of life. It is best if a couple shares the same cultural orientation. However, when they do not, it can be celebrated as a union of opposite values… an enrichment of both person’s lives.
There is one God. All the rest is perspective.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Monday, July 2, 2012 | Mount Soma, Spirituality |
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I hold all of you in my heart as we give thanks to the Tradition of Masters who have passed down this Knowledge throughout the generations.
Jai Shiva Sankara
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Friday, June 29, 2012 | Spirituality |
In a late entry to the Heaven and Hell blog comments, Charlie asked if there was any humor in the Veda. Really, Charlie?? Of course, that is why we all love Charlie. Such sincere well-intended innocence.
Every single thing in the Veda has an incredibly hilarious component:
- The very fact that this is all maya… illusion… get it??
- Truth lies in the gap between perspectives… hilarious… right??
- The only true knowing is knowing that you know nothing… wow that’s a real knee slapper if ever I heard one!!
- Ever read the Jaimini sutras? Every statement is followed by an, “On the other hand…” Really great stuff.
You see, the Cosmic Joke is not a one liner. It is woven in to the very fabric of all that is. Grasping the ungraspable… Looking outward for lifetime after lifetime for what actually dwells inside you… on and on.
The Zen Masters had really great senses of humor… The sound of one hand clapping, for example. Now that is a fall down, laugh out loud, belly buster!! Great fun!
No humor in the Veda??? Really?? When the entire field of opposites come together… good and evil… right and wrong… up and down… then it all cancels and you are left with no-thing-ness. At the deepest level of that unification, right when it all dissolves into the transcendent… right at that moment, what have you got? Pure, infinite happiness. It is called BLISS. At that point, you just got the cosmic joke. It is a physiological thing. You may have touched into it during a “great meditation.”
On course, until you get the cosmic joke… well, the joke is on you. During that time you strive so hard for happiness and try for humor or anything to make you smile. The intent is so pure, but so desperate. Reaching so hard to grasp that ungraspable ice cream cone in the sky. So wanting the Norman Rockwell paintings to depict real life. Come on now! Where is your sense of humor??
I do so love you all. I do so wish you could see the humor in all this… get the cosmic joke… which is to say, find the resolution of all this paradox in the depth of your own being. Of course, there is no punch line here that, once stated, finalizes the joke. To love it, you need to transcend it.
There’s that cosmic joke again…
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Wednesday, June 27, 2012 | Personal Growth |
A dream is often a symbolic representation of the current tone of your psyche. For example, if you watch a frightening moving and then go to bed, you may have a nightmare. If you are feeling wonderful and go to bed, you may have a lovely dream about flowers and sunshine.
Life after death is the same, only it is based on the longer cycle of lifetimes. Tend to the tone of your psyche. Perhaps you can rationalize how you are thinking now, but after you drop the physical body, you are left with the realm that corresponds to the tone of your psyche… be it love, good will, lust, fear, nobility, divinity, or whatever.
The best way to cultivate a desirable tone to your psyche is to practice proper meditation. I recommend the Surya Ram Meditation which is taught free. Then after a few months, you may choose to progress to the Surya Ram Meditation with Advanced Technique.
The second important thing to do is to watch your thoughts. What you put your attention on grows stronger in your life. Cloaking poor thinking in humor or other rationalizations does not get you through the pearly gates. That is the place where all bluffs are called.
Speak the sweet truth, never denounce anyone, do not entertain negativity, avoid base desires. And yes, you can do that while remaining practical and realistic in your relationship with life and people. Embrace the high road of righteousness, good will, harmony, and peace. You will thank me for this, five seconds after you’re dead.
Do not worry, just do your best. That will be successful. Count yourself among the most fortunate in that you have this knowledge.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
by Michael Mamas | Tuesday, June 26, 2012 | World View |
And now for a totally politically incorrect and socially inappropriate blog…
I was talking with a private investigator who had an unprecedented and remarkably high success rate in recovering stolen goods in the trucking industry. When I asked him how he achieved such incredible results he said, ” Oh, it is easy. If its cigarettes, then it is the ____s in Atlanta. If it is computers, it is the _____s in Miami.”
Shaken by the blunt inappropriateness of his response I asked, “Well, what do you do with that information.” He responded, “Well, if it is cigarettes, you go into the toughest neighborhood in that town, walk into the corner quick shop gas station, buy a pack of cigarettes, compare the serial number to the list of stolen cigarettes, and confront the store owner with a demand to tell where he purchased the stolen goods.”
I offer no opinion on this. I leave that to you. But the story is true. In fact, the private investigator could have written an entire book, jam-packed with such information entitled, “The Ethnicity of Crime”.
My purpose in writing this blog is nothing more than to offer you the opportunity to see for yourself how you deal with and process uncomfortable information. Perhaps this story was challenging for you to hear. Perhaps not. I think the more uncomfortable you are with this, the greater the opportunity to gain from an exploration of how you responded to it.
Again, please hear me when I say I am offering no opinion on the politics of this. I only offer it as an opportunity for you to perhaps learn a bit more about yourself.
If you turn it around to a judgment of the private investigator (or God forbid, of me!) then you miss the purpose of this blog entirely.
© Michael Mamas. All rights reserved.
