The Alphabet Sutras For Runners - T Is For....

Transcendence

~

We are changed...now every step

a new existence.

And still the path goes on.

• Distance takes us beyond the confines of the ego - we are delivered to spirit in the measured steps of transcendence. As if a cloth dyed in increments - each step a little more - until at once we are awakened to the solid color of our soul. In truth, every step is the length of the infinite and holds the same promise as well - one step - and our world changes. Even if it's still beyond our recognition.

 Peace,

Eric




The Alphabet Sutras For Runners - S Is For...

Silence

~

A silence stretched between thought and

steps...and carried further to the

soul.

We listen to the silent voice within.

• Distance leads to an interior silence - an absence of dialogue - yet still we converse in meaningful ways with our surroundings as well as opening a direct line to the highest aspect of ourselves. We gain a silent impression formed by a realized connection to nature. Without words there is no barrier of meaning - things simply are -  they are beyond the need of description. Silence is spirit communicating back to us only now we hear without the interference of our opinions. Running is our means to access this greater dialogue and distance becomes our deepest conversations.

 Peace,

Eric



The Alphabet Sutras For Runners - R Is For...

Revelations

~

Every step is a mystery yet

uncovered -

And distance unfolds in the

grace of revelations.

• It's not answers we seek - it's revelations - a momentary glimpse of our infinite selves that line the path as mysteries. We are teased by the very steps that hold the secret of our stride - a sense of something given and yet still a mystery stretched for miles. We run not to know the answers - but to be revealed as the source that holds the mystery.

 Peace,

Eric

The Alphabet Sutras For Runners - Q Is For Quest

Quest

~

And larger than the path itself...our

stride belongs to infinite

steps.

Every step seeks distance.

• Our quest is not the impossible - but to know ourselves as infinite possibilities. We seek distance only to find ourselves through far horizons. Our own largeness is reflected in the quest of our endeavor and a universe can be imagined in a single step - our only goal is to take it and find how vast we really are.

 Peace,

Eric

 

The Alphabet Sutras For Runners - P Is For Prayer

Prayer

~

Our stride...a whispered prayer of

steps and breath and

sacred ground.

And distance is the prayer returned.

• Prayer is our communication with the Divine. It's the openness to speak to all of creation and the awareness to hear its sacred reply. Running itself is our prayer - our breath in holy exchange with the air, steps offering a moments touch and receiving one in return, creation at play in sight and sound. Running is our prayer of gratefulness for the life and motion granted. Our every step a thank you.

 Peace,

Eric

The Alphabet Sutras For Runners - O Is For Openness

Our steps are given...and the

world opens to

receive.

We run with the grace of what is given.

• To be open is simply to be receptive to what is - no wish nor demand for other than the experience at hand. Yet in that same moment our openness allows for infinite possibilities to unfold. Miracles occur in the field of openness. As we run we open further to the grace bestowed by distance - we ask for nothing - and the path responds with joy to our reception.

 Peace,

Eric

The Alphabet Sutras For Runners - N Is For Now

Now

~

An instant...and our steps

meet the world in

perfect timing.

• We exist within a realm of stillness - yet we live our daily lives in whirl of thought and motion. The reality is that nothing exist outside this moment. Now - an instant - our feet and the ground meet in perfect awareness. There are steps to follow and each allows its own perfection. Our stride is the continuous unfolding of now. With just bare attention - we can run within the single moment of eternity.

 Peace,

Eric

The Alphabet Sutras - M Is For Merge

Merge

~

Our steps meet the earth in a

moment of becoming.

We are larger now...merging with the

ground of our existence.

• On contact - our feet touch the earth with a subtle yield of all we once held solid. There is no single point of existence, no place where the ground leaves off and we begin. We are an extension of Self in all directions - merging in contact between ground and sky. We run to find this place, to know this connection. We run to merge again with the truth of our original state of Being.

 Peace

The Alphabet Sutras - L Is For Lean

We lean...always

towards -

And the path gives way in

its resistance .

• Resisting nothing - everything we encounter on the path becomes complete in its experience. We lean into the moments of discomfort - opening to their message and allowing ourselves to be present to our own suffering, our sorrow, fatigue and fear. We lean into the perfect nature of our run - fully becoming each joyful step. We are unafraid to simply feel. We lean towards the truth of Being.

 Peace,

Eric

The Alphabet Sutras - K Is For Karma

Karma

~

The path is laid by subtle realms of

thought and word and

action.

May our steps reflect a graceful journey.

• Karma - our steps reflected on the path. We are joined in a responsive relationship of steps and journey. The path is our projection and each moment holds the promise of coming steps. A heart filled with peace brings a peaceful response to these moments - especially those that hold suffering. Offer only love - everything is reduced in its presence.

 Peace,

Eric

The Alphabet Sutras - J Is For Joy

Joy

~

 Our response is joy - to all the

path may offer.

The journey is our destination.

• Distance strips us to the bare essence of emotion - we are stripped of layers through miles and suffering and sheer repetition of steps. We reach our basic core. There is only joy. Through the illusion of emotions we seek to cling to - joy is the hidden constant - it is the reality of our connection to the ground we run on and sky that embraces us. We smile as the clouds of emotions pass through our blue sky nature - joy is all we have to offer.

 Peace,

Eric

The Alphabet Sutras - I Is For Insight

Insight

~

Revelations - in every step we

lay against the

path.

We run deep into the mystery.

• Insight is a glimpse behind the veil - reality viewed in its primordial essence where all of time and space exist within a single moment. We are given answers in their intuitive form, whispers of creativity brush the ears and guide our fingers, and a sense of who we truly are becomes clear. Running leads us to the edge of this great mystery- and yet from here we must truly give ourselves to distance. Insight arrives to those who are unafraid of their own suffering, to those who are ripped open by a slashing ache and long for the tenderness of an answer - insight comes to those who take one more step.

 Peace,

Eric

The Alphabet Sutras - H Is For Happiness

Happiness

~

We pause in the midst of our

creation. The path trails

ahead in miles of

wonder.

The world's in perfect order.

And our steps

continue.

• For us - running is not the way to happiness - it's happiness expressed in the form of steps and stride. This a deep happiness independent of conditions. It's separate from moods. It's a show of life and spirit. Our every step leads inwards to this - our essential nature. We are light itself given a moment in a body and seek to share our brightness with the world. Sometimes we forget. But our steps remember - and always lead the way.

 Peace,

Eric

The Alphabet Sutras - G Is For Grace

Grace

~

Steps given...and grace

received -

We are blessed by the distance of

our travels.

• Grace is a mystery. It's always present, yet we are seldom aware. Ineffable. There are moments though when grace and awareness meet in holy recognition. We know it. It could be nothing but grace even if words are absent in its description. There is an instant - the body no more than an instrument of spirit, the mind empty of thought yet full of subtle meaning, the path we run and the earth itself an intimate part of the experience - nothing would exist without the other. We feel the world alive. Grace. An instant is a gift from heaven.

 Peace,

Eric



The Alphabet Sutras For Runners - F Is For Freedom

Freedom

~

Unbound...and one

more step -

The infinite

• Running is the expression of freedom given motion. We are flight swept against the ground. Surrendering to the ecstatic point where steps become effortless in stride and erased in their individual existence - we too become more. We are free. Spirit unbound.

 Peace,

Eric



The Alphabet Sutras For Runners - E Is For Ease

Ease

~

There is an ease to steps

given lightly -

As if the path unfolds

for us alone.

We run with the grace of our being.

• Run with the ease of simply being - birds know the sky with the faith of flight born to them. We are no different. Our flight is grounded to the earth yet no less soaring. Our hearts beat and breath is drawn without the labor of thought - life is happening through the grace of being. Run like that - with faith in the flight our steps are taking.

 Peace,

Eric

The Alphabet Sutras For Runners - D Is For Dreaming

Dream

~

    

 From stillness - we dream of distance 

covered. And then give ourselves

to the grace of

motion.

Believing in the truth of

what is dreamed.

• We are artist. The world is our canvas and imagination is the medium for creation. There is nothing outside this potential for creativity, nothing to large to dream and nothing to lose for reaching so far. To dream is to connect to heaven and know ourselves for what we are - infinite. Dream of distance, dream of grace and the ease of motion. Then bid your steps to follow.

 Peace,

Eric

The Alphabet Sutras For Runners - C Is For Calm

Calm

~

We are the stillness between the

jagged breath of effort

given.

Abiding in the calm of

our existence.

• Our reality is stillness - only lent to motion for a length of time and effort. Reality is always present, even within the illusion of chaos. No matter what issue confronts us on the run - find that stillness between the breath - it's there. It's our oasis. Nothing can touch it, it never waivers, and it's always present. It's who we are.

 Peace,

Eric

The Alphabet Sutras For Runners - B Is For Bold

Bold

~

Our stride is the dream of a

single step taken.

The infinite is our imagination.

• Run bold - know that our stride is supported by infinite steps gathered for the grace of motion. There is no failure beyond not dreaming. The world exist for our participation. There is no reason not to try. Run bold. Imagine the grandest plan, the longest race, or simply one more step - and then go for it. Act with love. Be unattached to outcome. It is enough to be in motion.

 Peace,

Eric



The Alphabet Sutras For Runners - A Is For Appreciation

Appreciation

~

The path gives its length for

every step

taken.

• Running is gratitude expressed as motion. We participate within a sacred cycle of giving and receiving - a breath inhaled to give life to the body and then released in an exhale to feed the world. Appreciation means we recognize our essential relationship with all of life - even in the solitary aspects of our longest runs there is an exchange of energy with the trail, trees, animals earth and sky. We are supported by the world for our giving, we are appreciated for simply being. In recognition we give even more - our steps become a prayer of thankfulness, our eyes drink in the beauty of the world and offer a smile and laughter in return - in short, we give the path we travel our awareness. In appreciation - we are never alone.

 Peace,

Eric

The Running Sutras - Verse 11:2

The Blessed Lord Said:

Those who realize the essence

of duty, who trust me completely

and surrender their lives to me -

I love them with very great love.

                                                      (Bhagavad Gita 12:20

~

Surrendering to a single step - we come to

know the path and the stride of

our deliverance.

A single step contains the path.

• We are loved by the path we choose - the earth gives back with every step and the sky opens in a vast caress. We are part of a whole. Running is a commitment of steps and they are recognized for their devotion. The path unfolds before us.

 Peace,

Eric

*Verse 12:20 translated by Stephen Mitchell 

The Running Sutras - Verse 11:1

The Blessed Lord Said:

Concentrate every thought

on me alone, with a mind

fully absorbed, one -pointed,

you will live within me, forever.

                                               (Bhagavad Gita 12:8)

~

The path unfolds as the Self - and

distance the means of

our discovery.

We run only to remember.

• Running is the unraveling of ego, it brings us to the edge of a subtle realization that we are more than legs, and lungs, and motion. There is something more going on. Running with the mind and body brings us here, to this edge of understanding - running with spirit, surrendering to the whole of the experience - takes us all the way.

 Peace,

Eric

*Verse 12:8 translated by Stephen Mitchell 

The Running Sutras - Verse 10:2

Arjuna Said:

You are wind, death, fire, the moon,

the Lord of life, the great ancestor

of all things. A thousand times

I bow in front of you, Lord.

                                         (Bhagavad Gita 11:39)

~

Our steps fall holy in worship to

their travels.

All things are the path.

.

• We tread on sacred ground - welcomed and received as worthy. Distance provides a length of prayer for our steps to travel. We run in worship and offer ourselves as a shared expression of both creator and creation. One thing in worship to another.

 Peace,

Eric

*Verse 11:39 translated by Stephen Mitchell 

The Running Sutras - Verse 10:1

Arjuna Said:

If you think I am strong enough,

worthy enough, to endure it,

grant me now, Lord, a vision

of your vast, imperishable Self.

                                                (Bhagavad Gita 11:4)

~

and every step reveals a world

received by its

reflection.

We are the path of our salvation.

• We seek visions. Running is our prayer drummed in steps against the path - subtle, hushed close to silence yet relentless through the distance covered. This is holy ground. We keep running - all will be revealed.

 Peace,

Eric

*Verse 11:4 translated by Stephen Mitchell 

The Running Sutras - Verse 9:4

The Blessed Lord Said:

Whatever in this world is excellent

and glows with intelligence or beauty -

be sure that it has its source

in a fragment of my divine splendor.

                                                       (Bhagavad Gita 10:41)

~

Revealed - and there we were in the

grace of steps and stride.

The path is our reflection.

• Beauty is a vision of the Self no longer hiding - revealed in moments of grace - we see the world through our original eyes. Running teases the emergence of these moments through distance - we offer miles for a glimpse of the Divine. It keeps us going.

 Peace,

Eric

*Verse 10:41 translated by Stephen Mitchell 

The Running Sutras - Verse 9:3

The Blessed Lord Said:

I am the divine seed

within all beings. Arjuna;

nothing, inanimate or animate,

could exist for a moment without me.

                                                               (Bhagavad Gita 10:39)

~

In the depth of our stride - each step is

holy in existence.

We are essential to the path.

• Nothing would exist without us - we observe aspects of ourselves with every step and the path itself is our unfolding. Running becomes a wonder when see the world as the reflection of God within. We learn to see the Self peeking through its subtle disguises - a bush, stones, birds - all things alive with God. Running is simply remembrance and recognition. A game played with the Self and distance.

 Peace,

Eric

*Verse 10:39 translated by Stephen Mitchell 

The Running Sutras - Verse 9:2

The Blessed Lord Said:

I am the Self, Arjuna,

seated in the heart of all beings;

I am the beginning and the life span

of beings, and their end as well.

                                            (Bhagavad Gita 10:20)

~

There is one stride - and yet

infinite steps are

taken.

The path unfolds in its perfection.

• Distance removes false layers of identity - each step is a mantra of revelation that leads only to the Self that resided within us all. We run to remove ourselves from the unreal - the seemingly endless thoughts that hold our identity to the single point of separation. We run to know reality - there is only the Self revealed in infinite steps.

 Peace,

Eric

*Verse 10:20 translated by Stephen Mitchell 

The Running Sutras - Verse 9:1

The Blessed Lord Said:

I am the source of all things,

and all things emerge from me;

knowing this, wise men worship

by entering my state of being.

                                          (Bhagavad Gita 10:8)

~

To know the path - our steps grow intimate

with the distance of their

travel.

There is no separation.

• Running is our return to the primordial state of boundlessness - we are more ourselves in motion, our mind grown still as the breath lengthens - we recognize the paradox of Being. We are infinite, and yet confined to path and body. We run, and find stillness in our motion. Running is the recognition of our existence - we are the sum, as well as a part - of everything.

 Peace,

Eric

*Verse 10:08 translated by Stephen Mitchell. 

The Running Sutras - Verse 8:6

The Blessed Lord Said:

Concentrate your mind on me,

fill your heart with my presence,

love me, serve me, worship me,

and you will attain me at last.

                                                               (Bhagavad Gita 9:34)

~

Never beyond our present step...the stride

lengthens in the grace of our

awareness.

The path we choose is love.

• We run to know ourselves within the present moment. Distance brings dismissal of delusions of self - we are not a mere runner - we are the connector of ground and sky, and the witness that bring into existence all of which we see. We are gods in embryo and each step a potential birth. The Self is revealed in the mantra of steps and the harmonized moments of breath and air - the soft sound of life and a silence in between. We run to simply be - this.

 Peace,

Eric

* Verse 9:34 translated by Stephen Mitchell 

The Running Sutras - Verse 8:5

The Blessed Lord Said:

Whatever you do, Arjuna,

do it as an offering to me -

whatever you say or eat

or pray or enjoy of suffer.

                                  (Bhagavad Gita 9:27)

~

We have made the offering - an exchange of

steps for stride and greater still to

know the path.

Our prayer is the motion that we offer.

• The path is sacred - a length of temple that stretches past both space and time. Motion is the prayer we offer, as well as our experiences during the run. From a mindful step and the sweep of arms to rain, snow, sun and breeze - it's the Divine experiencing itself through the vehicle of being. We have offered the whole of ourselves as a grand template of expression - and return the world is viewed as a masterpiece.

 Peace,

Eric

*Verse 9:27 translated by Stephen Mitchell