Windows of Perception

by Michael Mamas | 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

What the US Needs Now

by Michael Mamas | 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.

Truth, Echoes, Modern Thought

by Michael Mamas | 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.

The Path to God

by Michael Mamas | 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.