Hidden Gems: Meet Michael Mastro of Vastucreations

Hi Michael, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story. 
I grew up in Seattle, Washington. I remember staring up at the stars almost every night and feeling very expanded and wondering why I couldn’t have that same feeling inside my house. As a young child, I had a dream to design buildings that that could make us feel uplifted like I felt when I looked up at the stars.

My mom wanted me to learn about all the religions of the world. She told me that God was everywhere in all religions not just one. She also taught me that the guiding principle that unites us all is LOVE. My grandmother was a strong influence, and to please her, I became an altar boy in the Catholic church. I loved the high ceilings in the church, but it was not the same expanded feeling I got when I stared up at the stars.

Like many kids in the 60s, I experimented with recreational drugs and felt that mental expansion, but did not like the after affects. One very fortunate day in 1968, I was walking down Haight Ashbury in San Francisco, and I saw a sign tacked onto a telephone pole that announced a lecture being given by a spiritual teacher, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi that evening. I went to the lecture where he said that through meditation, we can experience expansion of consciousness. He quoted something that Christ had said, “The Kingdom of Heaven lies within.” Maharishi pointed out that many religions quote scriptures but do not follow Christs’ advice. Instead, they seek happiness outside themselves. He said that drugs are like a stick dynamite in the brain.

I met him after the lecture and told him I was an architecture student. To my surprise, he said someday I would come to Rishikesh, India, and design some buildings for him. I felt very uplifted in his presence and decided to learn meditation and never do drugs again. I was going through a transformational time in my life and had many spiritual insights which led me to new ways of thinking.

Maharishi said that the balance of rest and activity is very important to be successful in life. In the Bhagavat Gita, Krishna told Arjuna, “Yogastha kuru karmani”. Which means, “First establish yourself in Yoga (being in the present moment), then act.” Don’t be attached to the results, whether success or failure.

In architecture school at the University of Washington, I was spending many all-nighters feeling stressed and tired designing sustainable buildings for the Tulalip Indian Tribe, whose community is in Marysville, Washington.

Once I started my meditation practice, I noticed that 20 minutes of Transcendental Meditation (TM) reduced the stress and tiredness that I was feeling and gave me the sustained energy to stay creatively focused so I could finish projects even without much sleep. I wanted others to experience the deep rest and relaxation from meditation that I had felt, so I became a TM teacher and ended up teaching thousands of people to meditate.

A few years later, upon my request, I was assigned a special project from one of my professors in school where I got college credit to go to India to study ancient systems of design. It was there that I learned about the three Sister Sciences of healing: Vastu, the architectural science of building in harmony with Nature to support all your endeavors, Ayurveda, the first science of medicine and healing, and Vedic (Jyotish) Astrology, the original form of and how the planets affect us and how each of these sciences compliment each other and are interconnected. I learned how the floor plan of a person’s residence is similar to their natal birth chart and reflects their Ayurvedic strengths and weaknesses as well. The planets in the birth chart, the residence, and the body are what connect these three Sciences.

Through Maharishi and the science of Vastu, I was able fulfill my childhood dream of designing buildings that would uplift people, expand their consciousness, and support improved health, finances, career, and relationships.

Sometime after I returned to my hometown of Seattle from India in 1979-80, I was again very fortunate as I was on the architectural team that designed and built the first Microsoft building for Bill Gates in Bellevue, Washington. I designed the building according to the principles of Vastu and it helped to support success for his company.

Over the years, I studied the Manasara, a major Vedic text of Vastu, and 17 other major Vastu Sanskrit texts written about in the Vedas (a compendium of everything that is seen and unseen in the Universe) thousands of years ago, including Rajvallabh by Shilpa Charya Mandan. From the knowledge I gained from Maharishi and these revered texts, I had the honor to design many spiritual and healing centers throughout the world, as well as homes and offices using the principles of Vastu.

I have felt divinely guided on my spiritual journey and am very fortunate to have received a deeper understanding of the power of Vedic knowledge through many wise teachers, among them was Yogananda and his book, Autobiography of a Yogi. I was fascinated by what he wrote about planetary stress and astrological remedies. He said that the ancient rishis (teachers of Vedic knowledge) were able to adjust “the fingers of wisdom,” and the adverse effects of past wrongdoings could be minimized or nullified using specific, practical remedies. Yogananda spoke of the use of gem stones and different metals that could absorb or protect one from challenging astrological planetary periods. He also said that, “Just as a house could be fitted with a copper rod to absorb lightening, so the bodily temple could be benefitted by various protective measures.” It was the first time I had ever heard about astrological remedies, and it opened my mind to the possibility that we were not meant to suffer or be at the effect of a challenging astrological period. Enlightened beings, such as Yogananda, were keepers of the sacred knowledge that lived within the tradition of the Vedas that could free us from our karmic adversity.

I also was fortunate to meet Dr. Vasant Lad, one of the great Ayurvedic physicians alive today. I studied his teachings and had many opportunities to hear him speak. I also met with him in person and discussed how the environment and Vastu affect our physiology and how the planets influence our physical bodies. He spoke about the importance of herbs, their connection to the planets, and the interconnectedness of Vastu, Ayurvedic remedies, and Vedic astrology and how they could be used to enhance health and prevent illness.

I deepened my understanding of astrology studying the Systems Approach to Vedic Astrology with Dr. V.K. Choudhry. He developed accurate, predictive astrological techniques and remedial measures. He taught me that everything is predestined according to your birth chart; however, we have free will to utilize Vedic (Jyotish) remedies to strengthen weak planets and transform challenging planets to change and even improve our destiny.

I started utilizing Vastu rectification techniques I had learned in India on friends and family and had great results. I found great success and realized there was immense benefits through applying this sacred knowledge in people’s homes and offices. I began presenting Vastu at various types of businesses, bookstores, Hindu temples, and community organizations. I began doing specific energetic corrections to rectify existing homes per Vastu for people who loved their living spaces, be it an apartment, home, or even office. I helped my clients to improve health, finances, career, and relationships without expensive remodeling or the cost of building a Vastu home from scratch.

I traveled the world for many years helping to educate people on the benefits of the Vedic Sciences during a period in my life which showed up in my astrological chart as a time of teaching and traveling. During that time, I was a guest presenter on the topic of Vastu for success, productivity, and wellbeing at Microsoft, Intel, NASA, World Bank, Amazon, Boeing, and the United Nations Enlightenment Society, as well as Hindu Temples in the South America, US, Europe, and India.

Wherever I went, many people had heard of Feng Shui but not Vastu. Vastu is 7,000 to 10,000 years old. About 2500 years ago, the knowledge of Vastu was carried over the mountains from India into China and was adapted to the local conditions and customs of the time and became known as Feng Shui. During that time of my initial studies and application of this knowledge, I practiced both but found quicker, more lasting results using the science of Vastu.

Over the years, I have had the honor to present the knowledge of Vastu alongside many renowned scholars of the Vedic sciences. Among them was the famous astrologer Chakrapani who was known as the “astrologer to the stars.” Many years ago, my wife and I had a private reading with him where he told me my good fortune would come through her, which turned out to be true. Through her research, educational pursuits, and intuitive insights, she continues to inspire me through her enlightening books, writings, and her work with Vastu and life-changing altars in the Vedic tradition.

I have also presented Vastu along with Vedic scholar David Frawley at many events, including the National Ayurvedic Medical Association annual conference (NAMA). Along with him, we taught a course that was organized by best-selling author and Ayurvedic scholar Dr. Suhas, called The Vedic Counseling Course. David inspired me about the importance of utilizing all three Sister Sciences –Vastu, Ayurveda, and Jyotish– to help people with health challenges. It further reinforced what I had learned over the years about the power of this knowledge and how it synergistically could end people’s suffering and bring about holistic healing.

Many years ago on one of my trips to India, I met a young man who was Maharishi’s secretary. His name was Ravi Shankar. Twenty years later, I became one of his early students, and then, along with my wife, Robin, we became teachers for his international humanitarian organization, the Art of Living Foundation. Robin and I started the first Art of Living Center in the state of Washington in our home in Seattle in 1993. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar taught us how to accept people and situations as they are, without expectations. He also taught us to take responsibility for our own happiness and to be happy in the present moment, not waiting for some future event to bring us happiness. His presence in our lives has been an incredible gift to our work and our spiritual path, and we are more than grateful to have served our community through him and his teachings.

Online Vastu Consultation with Products – https://vastucreations.com/product/vastu-consultation-with-instructions-and-products-2/

Yearly Astrology Reading  – https://www.vastucreations.com/product-page/yearly-astrological-reading

The Art of Vastu Course – https://vastucreations.com/the-art-of-vastu/

Vedic Medical Astrology Course – https://vastucreations.com/vastu-courses/transformational-vedic-medical-astrology-with-michael-mastro/

Check out our YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/c/vastucreations – where I present the Vedic Medical Astrology readings for over 300 celebrities, and so much more.

My Bio:

• Website: vastucreations.com
• Instagram: @vastucreations
• Facebook: vastucreationsfb
• Linkedin: michaelmastrovastu@gmail.com
• Youtube: vastucreations

• Yelp: vastucreations