Thursday, October 29, 2015
How did you know when you 'found yourself'?
When asked a question, to really know the answer means to find it deep within yourself. But what does that mean?
There is a big difference between feeling as deeply within as you are capable of feeling and feeling all the way to the depth. Commonly, people are taught that the depth of their being is an emotional level. That is not correct. Others believe that it is an intellectual level of clarity, which is also incorrect.
The depth of your being is generally a highly elusive thing. Why? Because of what I call ‘astral echoes’. When you drop a pebble in a pond, rings ripple out in concentric circles. Each circle corresponds to the circle closer to the center. All existence, including your being and your psyche, is like that. For example, when someone says they feel their oneness with everything, it means different things on different levels. New Agers may hold hands and emotionally feel they are one with everything. Many religions incite this emotional response with music and pomp. I remember when I would lecture about oneness in the early 1970s, hippies would say they took LSD and had the experience of Oneness, or God, and therefore, knew everything I was talking about. Even intellectuals reflect on modern physics theories of Oneness and decide that they ‘get it’. Spiritual leaders also decide that they ‘get it’ and promote their perspective. I call that the ‘I Get It Syndrome’. Due to astral echoes, everything has a corresponding meaning on all levels (concentric rings around the pebble in the pond) and the listener is certain they know exactly what you are talking about. This is why spiritual knowledge is so highly elusive.
Memorizing spiritual teachings and texts is not the solution. Why? Because they are read from the level of understanding of the reader and are thusly interpreted. That is why so many spiritually oriented people think they are ‘enlightened’. After all, they totally ‘get it’. Right?
To truly under-stand is to look deeper, to see deeper, to experience deeper and deeper levels until the very depth of your being is known.
The depth of your being lies beyond the reach of thoughts… beyond the reach of emotions. It transcends relativity. To attain it is to refine, refine, refine, your awareness. The most powerful tool to do that is PROPER MEDITATION. The cultivation of discernment is also essential. Otherwise, you lose yourself to echoes of Truth, perceived as Truth, which then holds Truth at bay.
Indeed, the path to Truth is highly elusive. Of course, that is actually a good thing. If not so elusive, everyone would have figured it all out long ago and the game would be over!
What Do You Know, and How Do You Know It?
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What kind of meditation is effective for enlightenment?
This simple principle is responsible for the profoundly elusive mysteries of life. Everything is an echo of something deeper. Unless we are attentive, we equate the echo with the real thing. Many well-intended teachers provide meditation techniques that provide students with an echo. Echoes of truth, perceived as truth, hold truth at bay. This exists eternally in all of life. It is why true spiritual growth is likened to traversing a razors edge or passing through the eye of the needle.
~
So how do you take this and decide if you are doing a proper meditation that is actually working? Well, there are a few fundamental qualities… the meditation must be natural… easy… simple… etc. However, you can say that about many things. So the ultimate answer boils down to the cultivation of discernment. You must become discerning in your evaluation of all things… including the choice of the meditation technique you use.
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Keep in mind that we do not meditate to attain a particular experience during meditation. We meditate for the benefits meditation provides… the purification of the nervous system and physiology. The actual experience of meditation can vary, based upon the way each individual’s physiology is purifying at a particular time.
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I know this can be unsatisfying, but it is the truth. We all would like to have a signpost along the way, confirming we are moving in the right direction. However, the only genuine signpost is accessible deep within you. As you cultivate and employ wise discernment, it becomes more accessible to you.
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Listen carefully in life and choose wisely. Admittedly, it is enjoyable and encouraging to have a meditation that feels deep and profound, but let the path of discernment be your guiding light.
Learn Surya Ram Meditation
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Friday, October 23, 2015
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
What is the best way to practice patience?
“Genius is eternal patience.” – Michelangelo
What does it mean to be patient? On the surface, it may involve some self-control… resisting the impulse to speak or act. However, at the depth it is rooted in something quite different.
The Transcendent is infinitely patient. There is no time. There is infinite silence… infinite peace… infinite love, infinite understanding. The Transcendent stands under all that is… underlies all that is… understands all that is. It is the wellspring of infinite intelligence, infinite wisdom, infinite love, and infinite creativity. It is the very source of all the intelligence and creativity that birthed this entire universe. It is the silent, eternal witness.
By resting into that and living from that place within, you give nature the time and conditions required to well up through you with the full grandeur of all those qualities… intelligence, wisdom, love, creativity, understanding… i.e. the genius which is eternal patience… Divinity… Your True Nature.
Patience
Michael Mamas Blog
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How do you become less attached?
Some speak of enlightenment as a state of non-attachment. However, the state of non-attachment is generally misunderstood as an outward state of no material possessions or affinities. That is not correct. Such non-attachment on the surface of life is more a personality trait than an attribute of enlightenment.
There certainly is the state of being where you are eternally awake to that which is the source of all that is… one with all that is. On that level, you need not cling to (be attached to) anything because you are already one with it. You do not desire something when you already have it. However, the surface of your life is still active on the level of duality… separation. On that level, desires still exist.
“Cross realm projection” means taking the laws of nature on one level and trying to project them upon another level where they are simply not valid. That type of error is the source of the notion of no desire or attachment on the surface of life. It is nonsense. Enlightened people still love their families. They still have desires. They are still compelled to act, for example, out of their desire to help others. However, they are also simultaneously awake to the level of their being that is eternally one with everything… non-attached… desire-less.
The Law of Subtraction, in the deepest sense, refers to your depth being overshadowed by less and less. The Sun shines forth more and more as the clouds are subtracted away. On the more relativistic (i.e. more dualistic or superficial) levels of life, the Law of Subtraction means the discarding of unhealthy habits, addictions, lifestyles, etc. Slowly your life is lived more in harmony with your true nature. In so doing joy, happiness, fulfillment etc. are experienced more and more fully. This sort of distinction (between how laws of nature apply differently to the depth and the surface) is critical in many areas of life.
The Sun within is always shining. It need only be revealed to each and every level of your being in a manner unique to each level.
Non-Attachment
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Friday, October 9, 2015
How can I vote responsibly when my views are non-partisan and candidates (or their publicists) continuously lie about what they are going to do in office?
We should be asking ourselves what is the nature of their character.
How do we evaluate character?
Through a feeling we get from watching them during debates and public appearances on the campaign trail. Yet, if we are not careful, the feeling is swayed, not by the integrity of the person, but by superficial criterion.
Does a candidate’s moral code need to align with ours? How do we reconcile their career success with their polarizing stances on hot button topics like immigration? Does the lack of charisma or good looks turn us off?
Asking these questions requires brutal honesty and self-enquiry.
Are we capable of taking a step back and looking at the candidates anew?
Only by taking a step back and feeling that person from an unbiased place within ourselves, can we get a sense of that individual’s character.
The point here is that we should look out for our knee-jerk reactions and tendency to dismiss certain candidates without asking the deeper questions. Wisdom means balance. It’s not black and white.
Before we can evaluate a Presidential candidate, we must be able to find the place of balance within ourselves.
I have no intention here of offering my personal perspective on any of the candidates. Instead, I offer questions as food for thought.
I ask you to look beyond your biases and conditioned responses, because only then can you access the wisdom that lies deep within you.
As you watch the presidential debates, remember that a wise, discerning and effective leader will only be elected by wise, discerning and reflective voters.
Presidential Debates: What We Should be Asking Ourselves.
Michael Mamas Blog
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What qualities and accomplishments do you look for in a presidential candidate?
We should be asking ourselves what is the nature of their character.
How do we evaluate character?
Through a feeling we get from watching them during debates and public appearances on the campaign trail. Yet, if we are not careful, the feeling is swayed, not by the integrity of the person, but by superficial criterion.
Does a candidate’s moral code need to align with ours? How do we reconcile their career success with their polarizing stances on hot button topics like immigration? Does the lack of charisma or good looks turn us off?
Asking these questions requires brutal honesty and self-enquiry.
Are we capable of taking a step back and looking at the candidates anew?
Only by taking a step back and feeling that person from an unbiased place within ourselves, can we get a sense of that individual’s character.
Wouldn’t it be refreshing if one candidate could respond to the other by saying, “That is an excellent point you make. On the other hand, let’s consider this.”
The point here is that we should look out for our knee-jerk reactions and tendency to dismiss certain candidates without asking the deeper questions. Wisdom means balance. It’s not black and white.
Before we can evaluate a Presidential candidate, we must be able to find the place of balance within ourselves.
I have no intention here of offering my personal perspective on any of the candidates. Instead, I offer questions as food for thought.
I ask you to look beyond your biases and conditioned responses, because only then can you access the wisdom that lies deep within you.
As you watch the presidential debates, remember that a wise, discerning and effective leader will only be elected by wise, discerning and reflective voters.
Presidential Debates: What We Should be Asking Ourselves.
Michael Mamas Blog
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Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Why do I feel uneasy when I see someone as happy or as successful as me?
Happiness is, for most people, more about one’s internal dynamic than a set of external circumstances. Happiness boils down to the principle of “relationship with….” If you want to be happy, spend time looking at your relationship with whatever is on your mind. Start fixing a problem first by attending to your relationship with problems. That is not just the key to happiness, but is also the key to fixing life’s problems…
Please remember that having a healthy ‘relationship with….’ does not mean talking yourself into looking at things a certain way. That’s just denial of what you are really feeling, trying to sweep it under the rug or bury your head in the sand. That doesn’t really work.
A “healthy relationship with…” is an exploration. There are an infinite number of simultaneously valid though contradictory realities. Explore them! That exploration will free you. Your biggest obstacle to happiness is the addiction to “mental loops.” Mental loops are habitual mind-sets. They are habitual ways you tend to view your world and yourself. Don’t try to override them, push them out, or talk yourself out of them. If you do that, they will just stick with you longer and be driven deeper inside you…
I am a firm believer in exploring the reality that we are all nuts and finding the humor in it! Don’t always strive for perfection in yourself, your life situation, or in others! Take time to laugh at the reality that perfection is a mirage.
What is the key to happiness?
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Thursday, May 21, 2015
A Flower’s Essence by Michael Mamas
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| Image Source: wonderslist.com |
Do you know that little aura that is around a flower? When you sniff a flower, you take that in. You take it away from the flower. The personified correlate to that, the astral correlate to that, is called a “fairy.” A fairy is the soul of a flower.
When I first bought the land for Mount Soma, there were places where people hadn’t set foot for a very, very long time. I noticed that if we drove by in a truck, even 100 feet away, something was lost. In that space, something wasn’t quite the same. It got disturbed. Not a big deal, but it subtly was there. The same is true with flowers. When you take the essence from a flower by sniffing it, you are certainly compromising a component of the flower.
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| Image Source:srisomesvara.org |
During a Vedic ceremony, I noticed the pandit (Vedic priest) had many flowers around a statue of the Divine Mother. He had done several pujas to that statue for a long period of time. When he took the flowers off, the quality that was held by the mantras and imbibed into the flowers, was taken away too. It wasn’t as strong. Essences of flowers are similar. They have the capacity to hold some energy, and they also have the capacity to take a ‘charge’, so to speak. I haven’t worked enough with it to say how much it would take to put that energy back into a flower essence, or even if it is a pragmatic thing to do. However, the potential is there.
Now I know sometimes when a friend of mine visits, he likes Mount Soma water. He takes it and puts it in the moonlight. The water picks up some value. So, there are ways to increase the energy of things.
That fineness, that very subtle fineness, is everywhere. It is more evident in some things than others. It is more effervescent on superficial levels of existence in some things than others. Everything is the Transcendent. The liveliness of the Transcendent wells up through a natural flower more so than through an alley in downtown Manhattan. But, they are both the Transcendent.
The more deeply you understand the subtleties of life, the better you are at looking. It is not so much about knowing where to look, as it is about knowing how to look.
Dr. Michael Mamas is the founder and the CEO of the Center of Rational Spirituality. To know more information about his work, visit this Facebook page.
Excerpt from Unconditioned Spirit, Chapter 23, page 98: When light shines through different filters, a broad range of color is displayed. Similarly, when the knowledge within the Transcendent wells up through different cultures, a diverse range of natural laws emerge. Over the ages, unique cultures developed based upon the laws of the land where those cultures existed. Corresponding spiritual, moral, and legal codes emerged.
Truth is universal. But expressions of truth diverge, just as flowers, born of the same soil, come in many types.
So too, the traditions appropriate to each culture are unique. The religious teachings then, unique to each great culture, are something very precious. They are the expression of the light of the Transcendent in the form appropriate for each culture. They are to be cherished and honored. However, at the same time, we must not forget that the moment those words are spoken, they are misunderstood by the listener.
Because times change and people change, the appropriate expressions of truth must also change. So here we have a double-edged sword. On one hand, we have something precious to be protected and upheld—cultural integrity. On the other, we need to adapt to the times which are ever-changing and eternally in flux. Navigating those waters is a delicate craft. Individuals must simultaneously uphold tradition, while all the while breathing new life and new ways into those traditions.
Friday, April 24, 2015
A brief history of the Vedas, the mother of all scriptures
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| Image Source: speakingtree.in |
The Vedas are a collection of sacred books containing the oldest scriptures of Hinduism and the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature in the form of poems and hymns. The books contain knowledge that encompasses all aspects of life. They are the basis of Sanatana Dharma, the universal religion or sacred order, and have influenced other religions such as Buddhism Sikhism, and Jainism, which is why they are often called the mother of all scriptures.
The Vedas are thought to have been composed during the first to second millennium BCE. Believers say that man did not write them, but taught by the gods to sages and seers and passed down through oral tradition.
The Vedas are divided into four: Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, and Atharvaveda. Rigveda is considered the main Veda and is the oldest among the four. It is a collection of hymns and songs, many of which are still recited as Hindu prayers today. The Yajurveda provides information for priests on how to perform rituals and sacrifices and includes mantras to be used during their execution of these rituals. The Samaveda is a collection of songs, hymns, melodies, and verses, drawn from the Rigveda. The Rigveda, Yajurveda, and Samaveda are collectively known as trayi-vidya, or “threefold knowledge.” The fourth Veda, Atharvaveda, contains numerous spells and charms, such as harmonious family relationships or finding a husband. It contains about 760 hymns, some of which were taken from the Rigveda. The Atharvaveda provides insights on numerous aspects of Vedic culture. However, some scholars do not consider the Atharvaveda as part of the Vedas at all.
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| Image Source: pathofdharma.org |
The Vedas praised a full pantheon of gods, such as Indra, the leader of the gods and lord of heaven, Surya, a solar deity, and Soma, a lunar deity.
Scholars estimate that at about 900 BCE, the Brahmanas, a collection of texts that provided commentaries on the Vedas were composed. The Brahmanas provided more detail on rituals, explained symbols and contained many more myths. The Brahmanas were followed by the Aranyakas and the Upanishads. Together, the Samhitas or collection of hymns of the Vedas, the Brahmanas, the theologies of the Aranyakas, and the philosophies of the Upanishads create a body of ancient texts called Shruti, which comprise the tenets of Hinduism.
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For more discussions on the history and importance of the Vedas, follow this Michael Mamas Twitter account.
~Excerpt from article, Veda, Right-handed Tantra, Left-handed Tantra: In the spiritual arena, it’s important to clearly distinguish between three terms: Veda, right-handed tantra, and left-handed tantra. Simply stated, Veda correlates to physics, right-handed tantra correlates to engineering, and left-handed tantra correlates to hot-wiring a car.~
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
What is Mount Soma?
A number of people who have come to visit Mount Soma have all had the same question: What is this place? They see a Shiva temple up on the hill, they see a community where people are living, and they just wonder what it is all about.
To understand what Mount Soma is all about, first you need to understand what the Veda is, and I’ve done videos on that in the past. Also, you need to understand what it is to be human, and I’ve done a video on that. Mount Soma is being built as a Gurushala. The Knowledge of a Gurushala comes right out of the Veda, you could say, the technology of how to build an Enlightened City. And, that’s what we are doing. We are building an Enlightened City. What is an Enlightened City? An Enlightened City is a place that acts as a beacon light. It takes the intelligence, the harmony, the creativity, and the wisdom inherent in the underlying basis of all existence. The quantum mechanical level, the unified field, the Veda. It takes that value and radiates it out to the environment.
Now, human beings, as individuals, have the ability to do that. As you purify your physiology, you awaken to your divine essence, live life from that level, and you act like a beacon light that radiates that value of harmony out to the whole environment. There is a technology whereby you build a Vedic temple. It’s a building; it’s a structure. And there is a complete system of how to maintain it, how to work with it on a day-to-day basis, so that whole building radiates that value to a great extent. And you can feel it. When you are around one, if you are in one, you can tell that something really powerful is happening.
What we are doing is taking it to the next step, the next level, building a Gurushala, a whole Enlightened City. An entire city that resonates, vibrates, thrills with that value of harmony and intelligence that dwells within every individual, that dwells within everything, but remains hidden. It enlivens it and brings it out and radiates it forth as a beacon light to the whole planet, to the whole world, to all levels of life.
You see, it is not enough to sit in a cave and meditate, and radiate out that value. Because, there are different levels of life. And we can touch all those different levels simultaneously with a Gurushala, an Enlightened City. It’s a city that brings forth and lives on a daily basis business on an enlightened level, family units on an enlightened level, community on an enlightened level, the temples on an enlightened level. Everything, all different levels of life. Through that, we interface with all the different levels of life throughout the world and it acts, kind of like, fiber optics with cords that carry forth that value and bring it to all corners of the earth. It’s called a Gurushala. The knowledge is there in the Veda.
Now you may ask, if there knowledge is there, why aren’t there Gurushalas all over the place? Now, that’s a very interesting question and a very profound question. It speaks to the nature of time. The Knowledge isn’t a cookbook. It’s not simple. It’s abstract. It’s profound. It’s highly, highly elusive. So, there are time periods in the history of our planet where that Knowledge becomes lost and there are time periods where it becomes revealed. Even the ancient seers and some people say the Mayans have said that we are living in a time now when that knowledge will come forth again. And it seems to be the case. It’s happening. And, that is what we are dedicated to here at Mount Soma, is to create a perfect Gurushala, a city that radiates that value.
But there has to be a tremendous amount of humility in that. You see? It can’t become just another dogma. It can’t just become another fanaticism: “Oh, we have the answer and here it is.” The Knowledge is profoundly abstract. It is profoundly elusive. So, we do it with great humility, dedicated to it because we understand the basic nature of life, but also with the humility of understanding that it is a very fine tuning, a very delicate thing. And the slightest amount of distortion can throw the whole thing off. Also, we have to understand that it is as much a science as it is an art. Just as there is a science as to how to make the violin. But there is also the art of playing it. You see? We need to cultivate both. And that is what Mount Soma is dedicated to. That’s what we are doing here.
Self-improvement
generally
focuses on your personality.
However,
personality is superficial.
True
self-improvement
frees
something deeper,
a
central source of harmony that emanates,
transforming
you personality,
your
body,
and
your soul.
It
is the natural process of
harmonizing
with your true nature.~
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Developing the human consciousness
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| Image Source: thenewsdoctors.com |
Dr. Michael Mamas, the founder and the chief executive officer of the Center of Rational Spirituality, shares his knowledge with others through programs that enliven one’s depth, free people from conditioning, and facilitate the natural unfolding of a person’s true nature.
Dr. Mamas has embarked on a lifelong search for wisdom and it has led him to seek tutelage from the great thinkers of the United States, India, Europe, China, and the Philippines. He now uses the wisdom and knowledge to develop people’s consciousness and enable them to achieve a higher state of being.
As individuals develop their consciousness, they are awakened to their inherent spirituality and health. Many people feel that seeking enlightenment is too difficult and they give up before they have even started on their own journey. However, in reality, enlightenment can be the simplest thing in the world because it is all a matter of being natural.
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| Image Source: thelivingyogablog.com |
Within each individual is the source of human potential and wisdom in its natural state. This is often obscured by conditioning and a host of barriers posed by a person’s economic, cultural, intellectual, and social circumstances. Through proper meditation and rational spiritual thought and practice, however, it is possible to return to one’s natural state and become once again connected with one’s own divinity and goodness.
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| Image Source: higherperspective.com |
Find more articles about developing the human consciousness through meditation by visiting this Facebook page.
~ Excerpt from article, The Awakening: Throughout history, it has been commonly recognized that all things are one. For centuries, that unifying factor has been called God. In recent times, it has been referred to as the unified field of modern physics. What has been far less commonly recognized is man’s place in that unified system of existence. ~
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