Massimo Fontana lays out four stages for personal mastery: faith in a higher power and yourself, making conscious decisions instead of letting the universe choose for you, integrity as wholeness across physical and spiritual realms, and concentration of intent to turn belief into action.
Faith, Decision, Integrity, and Concentration by Massimo Fontana. Central to my existence is my faith in a higher power. The Great Architect of the Universe, a phrase I love because it always reminds me of that moment when Neo in The Matrix meets the Great Architect. What draws me to that scene in particular is the wall of different screens providing a visual representation of all the possible choices and their outcomes, of which we are led to believe follow a predestined path, that regardless of our choice, the road of inevitability will come to power and rule supreme regardless of the circumstances. Many of us are fatalists, holding a belief much to the likes of the aforementioned clip. However, the turning point for Neo, much like all of us, is his ability to follow an integral path which overrides this belief that our lives are predetermined and he becomes master and commander of his outcome. Faith. Decision. Integrity. Concentration. We are led to believe many falsities in life, of which much is dismissed later on in life as being obsolete and irrelevant. However, there comes a point where an interesting sequence of decisions and feelings align themselves, beginning with faith, followed by decision, then being grounded in one's integrity, and finally established through intense concentration. In being able to implant such a flawless path of stages, it is vital to begin with faith. In reference to my previous writings, faith and spirituality forms one of the vital legs of existence, and without exploration of this and finding some sense of placement in our lives, can most certainly leave us with an unexplored void. As previously stated, my faith is central to my existence, and what I mean by this is quite simple. I was brought up to follow a particular religion, and yes, I have grown over the years to be more appreciative of my religion. However, I do not see my religion as a source of my faith. My faith stems from an accumulation of all religious teachings because each religion, whether I'm praying in church, mosque, or temple, still leaves me feeling that these are my brothers and sisters, and the religion itself is merely the relational platform I need to feel closer to God with humankind. My faith extends further than this into faith in humanity, faith in my own core, faith in love, faith in the human spirit, faith in the balance of light and dark, and much, much more. This all rests on an insurmountable mountain of hope that never dwindles, even in the face of the harshest circumstances. This is from where I draw my strength, my sheer determination in never allowing anything or anyone to stand in my way. I leave you with one question before we move on: where do you place your belief and faith in this world? Faith is the fuel for the vessel of delivery, and the direction in which we go is based on decision. And I mean certainty in decision. I believe we have a choice in everything in life, and if we do not make an active choice for our lives, then the universe will decide for us. And let me tell you, the universe always chooses the shitty option. So make a concerted effort to make a choice and take responsibility and face the consequences, because when you do, you will be one step closer to mastery of your decision. This will instill you with trust, courage, and never fearing failure. Are you always certain in your decisions? And if not, how can you be? There are two definitions of integrity: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, and the state of being whole and undivided. I personally prefer the second definition because it holds more substance for me. What I mean by this is that being whole and undivided is much like the three areas in life that need conscious focus: the physical, the psychological, and the spiritual realm. If one is neglected, then there is going to be some sense of disharmony in the feeling of wholeness in one's life. I've seen this thousands of times with clients I work with. Inclusive of myself. If one area is neglected, then there is usually a series of negative events which prompt a conscious decision to move towards wholeness again. The unfortunate reality about human beings is that we are complacent, and it is much easier for us to be in a state of comfort rather than learning to be comfortable with discomfort. This often leaves us feeling divided and torn, so our focus becomes fixated on factors that we perceive as having substance to fulfill this feeling of dividedness, such as relationships, material things, and any other distraction. This feeling could be satiated almost immediately if we all took the time to learn where we lack in richness and wholeness and where we keep ourselves divided. Once this has been established, understood, and furthermore actioned out, then we are ready to engage with the world. I came across a quote many years ago: "If all children were taught how to meditate, we would have a world at peace." This is beautiful and 100% correct, because the art of meditation allows us the opportunity to become conscious of where we have become unhinged, so as to reach a point of renewed wholeness and undividedness. Acting with integrity is the path to feeling whole and undivided. Do you live life with integrity, and how do you do this? The final point I have to make in the sequence is the need for concentration. This is concentration of one's intent. In the scene when Neo realizes his unquestionable faith in humanity and makes the decision to go against the musings of the Great Architect, his decision is founded on his integrity authenticity, and moral principles, and all he is left with is needing action. This is where he devotes all of his concentration to being the savior that he knows he is, and nothing will stand in his way. We may all possess the three fundamentals before concentration. However, if we do not invest every ounce of mental and physical power into acting and making the change that we've set out to do, we will always experience failure. In saying this, life is about duality, and with all success comes failure. However, it is solely down to us to decide whether we will be permanent failures.
