What am I Grateful For?

What am I grateful for: 

each morning my inquiry always ends with the final question of what am I truly grateful for, and with this I slide seamlessly into the easy thought of my mantra, softly, effortlessly settling into a quiet mind. Yet this inquiry isn't left unanswered, it's just later revealed in more subtle ways, less obvious than surveying my life and taking stock of my health or material possessions, although, of course, there's deep appreciation for all this as well. 

it's just not the final revelation to be shown. 

the answer always seems to come to as this, truly right now, that this is what I'm grateful for, everything and absolutely nothing at all - I'm thankful for what each exact moment offers and how my life unfolds through curiosity and wonder. 

and it sneaks up on my, quietly so, a gratefulness that catches me completely by surprise with an easy force that overwhelms me. I am truly happy to be alive, to exist, having arrived to this point in life and no longer in need of any answers to the mysteries of the world. 

it's enough to simply be,

and for that...

I'm truly grateful. 

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Ever Closer

Also, please visit to buy: A Complaint Free World 

Thank you. 

Ever Closer

Ever closer:

slowly, slowly, I make my way towards sunlight, or really, it's the dawn that travels ever closer to me, with each morning a slight increment of light gained. Throughout winter I've walked in near darkeness, being several hours before the first hint of dawn. As spring approached the cycle of light began to lean in my direction, barely noticable at first, but eventually gaining momentum to reach me. I'm now walking in a lighter shade of morning, not yet true dawn, but ever closer to its arrival. 

my morning hours just a bit brighter. 

most truly though, I love every expression of early morning, darkness and light both belonging to the start of my day. In yogic terms this the hour of Brahma, not really a measure of time, but a quality of light that has a certain magic to it, the quietness of a new beginning, a time of prayer and self-reflection. In winter I bundle up and brace myself for the cold, almost always a sharp wind cuutting through each layer. This is the season of endurance, bearing whatever the weather offers and accepting myself in darkness. There's a price to be paid for walking in winter and I'm willing to endure it. 

eventually, I know...

the light of dawn comes ever closer.

It's almost here now, arrivning in first hint midway through my walk and coming into full display just as I near home. Soon, I'll step outside to true dawn, greeted by light as I begin walking. That promise is still some time away right now, perhaps a month or so, and then after, ever closer, darkness gains in its advantage. It's how things world. 

being the lesson of these early hours.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Heart-Center 

Also, please visit to buy: Jain Way of Life 

Thank you.

Heart-Center

Heart-center: 

can I live my life from heart-center, expanding past the borders of my own lines drawn from a lifetime of restraint? That's the question I find myself asking now, sensing that a time has come to let go of past pursuits and enter fully into a wide open heart that holds the entire world. The answer that comes to me is that I really don't know, more so, it's beyond my ability to even understand...

it simply calls for my surrender.

and live my life from there. 

this is the spiritual heart, Hridaya, the true center of existence, recognized within the body but actually being more the universe itself, without boundries, and it's only point is unconditioanl love. It's where I'm called to live from, all of us are really, yet it seems to takes a certain amount of time to recognize this inner urge of returning home, life repeatedly breaking us open until we're ready to live within its spacious hold. The truth is, of course, that we always present in this embrace, it's our reality, but the busyness of everyday life keeps us in a constant state for forgetfulness, and we come to believe ourselves to be more limted than we actually are. 

life continuously breaks us open to a larger reality.

and we then live our lives from here.

and this is where I find myself now, broken up, spacious, and willing to embrace the largeness of the world. It feels as if my entire life was a practice to simply return to its beginning, to what's always been present but missed for so long. 

can I live my life from heart-center?

the question itself is rhetorical in asking.

I've been all along.

and finally recognive the nature of my home. 

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Constant 

Also, please visit to buy: The Upanishads 

Thank you. 

Constant

Constant: 

it's constant, at least in my own beautiful neighborhood, that even surrounded by a verdant landscape, songbirds, and wildlife, there remains an underlying din of busyness, a world that's always rushing towards a sense of completeness yet never truly ever arriving - just staying always in motion and producing the soundtrack of a stress-filled lifestyle. 

there never seems to be a moment of true rest. 

and the effects are startling to consider.

our pursuit of always being in motion, cars in constant commute, flight patterns filling airspace, and lawns in need of maintaining their perfect look - it's literally the sound of stress and a way of life that disrupts the very nature of our support system. We're in need quietness and a sense of solitude, a landscape that cultivates emotional health and allows for restoration. Instead, we have the whirl of turmoil that fills every bit of silence throughout the day and even into what should be the deep silence of the night. 

there's never the sound of complete rest.

society it seems, is now in the business of noise production, and it's constant and disruptive. Studies show that human noise is the cause of the decline of mating behavior in our animal neighbors, making communication near impossible for many of our most treasured songbirds, altering how many species forage, and disturbing their spatial orientation on land and aquatic ecosystems. This is also to our detriment, as well, for we thrive only so long as nature does, and it's decline only foreshadows our own.

and it's already showing this effect.

in essence, we are vibratory, being at ease within a landscape that supports frequencies of balance and well-being. Yet the soundtrack we're now producing is one that wears us down, increasing stress and causing a rise in certain hormonal levels that lead to dis-ease of spirit, mind, and body. We suffer from the lack of any length of silence, as even our nights are filled with just a slightly quieter hum of busyness. 

we're in need of true downtime.

restoration.

an escape from constant sound.

perhaps the only way to reach this is to cultivate those quite moments found between the world's noisiness, sinking into the briefest silence with deep joy and appreciation. As we begin restoring ourselves we can offer this comfort to our neighbors, humans and animals alike, having a true sabbath even if for only for a few moments through the day. 

from our own sense of peace, 

through cultivating a quietness of soul, body and mind...

we heal ourselves, as well as nature.

restoring truest, deepest silence to the world. 

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Spontaneous Inspiration 

Also, please visit to buy: The Upanishads 

Thank you. 

Spontaneous Inspiration

Spontaneous inspiration: 

if there's a struggle, it's always for the first words, the opening phrase that sets the tone for everything that follows. The reason it might seem more difficult is that I often approach the page without a clear idea of what's to be written, relying on spontaneous inspiration to guide me. And it always does, without fail, but sometimes there's still those first few moments of doubt, even after all these years, a presence of fear that whispers to me that this morning might be the point when inspiration fails to show -

and the page stays empty for the day.

of course this doesn't happen, inspiration is always present and only needs to be courted through faith and a patient wait. So it's easier for me now, I have my ritual of coffee and calm abiding sips that fill those moments with a peaceful curiosity, knowing that I can easily wait here through the course of morning, yet eager to hear those first words that inspiration might whisper. 

they never fail to cause a smile...

as even if it's a familiar theme I know that every word will be freshly delivered in a way I've never heard before, bringing a brand new arrangement that offers deeper insights and meaning. That's the magic of spontaneous inspiration, it bypasses my intellectual understanding of any topic that I've been considering writing of, and leaps directly to my intuitive sense of creatively knowing exactly what's to be written. In a way, it's channeled writing, a gift received by the spirit of whatever it is that demands these early morning hours of my attention, urging me to write directly from my heart. 

and through the years I've learned to listen, 

relying on this spontaneous inspiration,

letting of any sense of struggle- 

writing only what is hears.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Each Asana 

Also, please visit to buy: The Bhagavad Gita 

Thank you. 

Each Asana

Each asana: 

each asana holds a true moment of poise, pure yoga, an opportunity for breath and body to extend themselves to a quiet mind. I feel most open to this in the early morning hours, everything already hushed in awakening and there's less struggle in my surrender to each pose. At this time yoga feel more like a revelation to me, a moving form of self-inquiry that tells me exactly who am I through this easy motion, a whisper going through my body that contains the secret of the breath...

a silent voice that tells me that I am. 

 and with each asana revealing my existence.

a pure moment of is yoga discovered. 

the sage Patanjali defined yoga as the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind, yogas citta vritta nirodhah, and that's the essence of each posture. That's what I love about my asana practice, that the entirety of yoga is found within a single pose, or even subtler still, contained within a breath. So every practice becomes an opportunity to know myself a bit more deeply, a soft inquiry that doesn't strain towards an answer but simply allows me to reach that true moment of poise that revels itself to me.. 

I am witnessing my essence through the grace of breath,

 body, 

and the blessings of a quiet mind.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: At Once 

Also, please visit to buy: The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali 

Thank you. 

My Entire Day

My entire day: 

it's all yoga now, my entire day unfolding as a display of union, seamless, and even the disruptions that seem to throw me from the path belong completely to my practice. The truth is, this was always the case, but I just wasn't able to see it so clearly. There's never not been yoga, life itself is the path and it flows easily as a thread between the sacred and mundane, one thing really, yet divided by my own beliefs of isolation. Yoga simply bridged this gap for me, a lifetime of practice allowing me to finally come to the realization that the reality of this union was here all along. 

my entire day now shows me this.

everything is yoga. 

of course the term union, as well as the words sacred and mundane are just descriptions. Yoga too isn't really an actuality, it's a story of a practice that brings great joy and meaning to my life, but still only a story, no matter how deeply my devotion is shown. I remind myself of this whenever I find myself taking my practice too seriously, getting caught up in the story of yoga as if I'm doing anything of any great importance. 

it's just yoga.

life.

happening on it's own without any need of practice.

and my entire day reminds me of this, that it all unfolds naturally and without effort, a rhythm to it that calls for me to simply note it in curiosity and wonder, surrendering to its easy flow. That's yoga, a complete path presented in a moment's notice. 

and my entire day unfolds in this awareness. 

not a practice at all.

just the life I'm now living. 

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: At Once 

Also, please visit to buy: The Hidden Gospel: Games for the Kingdom 

Thank you.