Whatever Else

follow the breath, mindful, and then - whatever 

else the moment holds. 

nothing more to do

than this

~

Peace,

Eric 

This Very Moment Being Enough

it's not awakening to anything, no brighter future, nor enlightenment waiting. No, this is simply waking from the illusion that there is something other than this, right now, here. It's the awareness of this very moment being enough. And this alone is the miracle and beauty of our existence. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

And All That's Found Is Love

looking - and all that's found is love. We see this in the view itself, expanding always to include just a bit more, accepting even in the judgement of our thoughts. Simply seeing. Through this too we may find ourselves as love - our gaze traced back to source and seeing nothing but the inclusive void that holds the world. 

We look - and all that's 

found is 

love. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Things Are Exactly As They Are

it's always like this, right now, an allowance for all things to come, to be, and to pass through in their own measured way. Our acceptance of this is optional - yet even the suffering caused by our refusal to acknowledge what the moment holds, or a demand for things to be other than what's present fits in perfect order. Things change - and always on their own their own accord. Our actions amount to help only in a sense of perceived relief, we are geared for motion and to seek solutions, and again, even this is part of the great belonging of each moment. 

There is nothing really to do.

Things are exactly as they are - for no reason other than they are here, right now, and this moment alone is all that really, ever, exists. 

Yet we will do all we can to bring about a change - or to hold still a cherished thought in place and  time. It's how things are, or at least the way it all seems to be. But knowing now that it's all allowed, and more, that by virtue of appearance it all fits in some incredible way - we find too that Grace is part of this acceptance. 

And always guides the 

way. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

No Less Than an Entire World to See

today - my practice is seeing, to trace the origin of the view to source, and see the world again from there. It's simple really, with no effort aside from directing attention to objects and then back to where attention begins. True sight is in being honest in what's found. From an outward glance, is there a defining line from form to form? Does a tree become suddenly on its own, without being touched upon by all else held within our view? And then traced back, again is there a line crossed in which a sudden seer is found apart from the world observed? Looking towards what I hold as a belief in self, eyes, face, head, thought - do I see anything at all that could be described as any of these things within my own sight? Do my eyes find themselves - or do they find everything but their own appearance? Looking, right now, I see a world of form in a sudden (yet subtle) stop at where my head should be. It's all still there, everything, accept a solid me. 

So I practice seeing. 

From a headless place that holds a surprising amount. 

No less than an entire 

world to see. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Nothing More To Be Awakened

this is it, seeing, the inclusive take of view - from the

point of one existence. 

no effort

and nothing more to be

awakened.

~

Peace,

Eric 

It's The Myth of Self Improvement

it's the myth of self improvement - as if the assumption of a particular self, and even more that it is subject to demands, could in anyway be other than what the moment holds. We are not a entity fixed in place or time. Certainly there are steps taken for comfort and well being - yet is there a self that benefits beyond the immediate needs of body and mind? In terms of presence - there is nothing that is apart from any other appearance, it's one thing touched upon a differing aspect of itself, and no improvement needed. As a flower is its own perfection - we too are gifted to the earth and sky without a single thought of change. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Awake

awake - as in this moment, seeing all 

there is to see

until the moment passes

and then awake - to whatever 

comes to be

~

Peace,

Eric 

As Exactly What I Am

it's not about redemption, I'm not seeking a better version of myself, and have no interested in being reborn beyond this very moment. This is enough for me. Here. Now. My sins do not accumulate and I find myself free of karmic baggage. By no means am I rid of emotional storms - yet I know of the calm that sits as their center. That's where I abide. 

This is exactly what I am. 

Original innocence. 

But only here - my faceless void that also serves as capacity for all the other things I am as well. There is room for life to be played out in every guise of doubt and damage, fear and the faith of my redemption. It's the appearance of duality that allows me to rest in non-dual understanding. I am none of the things that may appear, and yet too they are not apart from me. 

Seeing this - 

there is no choice, but to 

relax

as exactly what I am. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

That Only One Could Give

it's what you give - your own 

spaciousness for me 

to simply come to form

and so as well - I am the 

same for you. 

~

ours is not truly a relationship - as it would take two for this to be. As I see my own spacious awareness, I find no lines to distinguish us as two. And yet here we are, arising, appearing within a boundlessness in exquisite form. It's a gift that only One could give. 

Peace,

Eric 

It's All One Great Belonging

as we see, as we really see ourselves - first returning our view to its source, and having found a boundless sharing where we once believed a self belonged, we are free then for every detail of the world. 

we see

it's all one great 

belonging. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Exactly What We Are

moment to moment - seeing, and 

timelessness revealed 

there is no great revelation in this, it's just what's present, from the experience of body, to being lost in thought, and the appearance given by the world at large - it's all here, belonging only to this moment. 

and too,

it's exactly what we are. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Then There Only Is Belonging

it doesn't help to hear that there is no such thing as suffering, or that it is optional, only a product of our attachments. Of course this all may well be true - yet our grief, our sorrow, our loneliness, tell us otherwise. The appearance of suffering in the moment of its belief is the reality of that moment. Even in the absence of our belief it is still felt keenly. Is there a path to be free from suffering? I don't know. Perhaps a better question would be - is it necessary to be free? If we grieve, it is not right to embrace the sorrow felt for what is lost? Is the ache of loneliness not a call to seek connection? My own sense of this is that even my denial of such experiences belong to the moment of its arrival and there is nothing more to do on my part than acknowledge its appearance. And it's so with each expression of sorrow, pain, and loneliness - my suffering honored simply because it's present, felt, an has no edge offered in its passing, it is here for whatever length of its appearance. It's this edge-less nature of all experiences that allows us to be truly free, without avoidance a single thing. Everything belongs for the time that it is here. When we see that there is no edge to what the moment holds, indeed that there are no lines between the moment and ourselves - than there only is belonging. Ever. 

Peace,

Eric 

Buy A Blogger Coffee?

If you enjoy the bog or anything in particular written - or

if you're just feeling generous and want to buy a

guy a cup of coffee -

Here's your chance 

(please see the PayPal link on the right)

And thank 

you

Peace,

Eric 

There Are No Barriers in This Awakening

who I really am, my original self, and faceless face - presents itself each moment of my surrender. This is no effort of letting go, but simply being present, right now, to the play of empty nature and the rise of our appearance. Nothing needs to be done. It all happens on its own. What I surrender is only my expectation for things to be other than they are now. But even this belongs for whatever length it stays. There are no barriers in this awakening. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

No Matter Which Direction of My Looking

and how I precede the world - my capacity 

served to hold its 

wonder

Of course this is only seen from my perspective, as if there were a split between the two, one coming before the other. My capacity is, and the world appears - there is no point of time involved. Nor is one ever separate from the other. Seeing the source of observation is exactly seeing what's observed. Yet at times I am still time lagged - my emptiness seen in excitement, my original face found (again and again) that it seems the world comes after. In continued seeing I find that indeed, it's all right here, at once, no matter which direction of my looking. 

~

Peace

Eric

I'm Just Another Storyteller

it's only stories told - our view is of the world and of things described through our navigation. We tell stories in the faith of what we come to believe without a single question, labeling and giving names in the hope of better understanding. Our stories give the world a certain meaning, aiding a tradition of countless generations in their quest to give order. Yet no story ever tells a complete truth, each word another layer applied against the bare essence of reality. There is no harm to telling stories, it's the way we teach, comfort, and provide an ease of travel through the length of time we're given. Our stories though, show us only a partial world. If we turn from thought and words, attention not on labels but to the awareness that knows each item as it's own continued presence - how then would our beliefs be told? 

Silence, as important as spoken words. 

Spaciousness viewed as capacity given to form. 

Our own presence the template for the world to be. 

The truth is - I don't know. 

I'm just another storyteller. 

But there are moments, when attention turns back towards the source from which my stories are told - I find the absence of a teller. 

Only presence

mystery

an audience to itself.

And I know - I'm more than just a storyteller. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Yet So Full of Everything

there is no denial that by virtue of thought and form there is an identification of a self that navigates through the world. There is a me believed to be solid. And yet - by simply turning towards the source from which this sense of self emerges, there too is no denial that nothing solid exist. At least it's so in the view I hold. I can't deny either side, and in fact, see no need to do so. On one end - I am empty, open, an endless allowance for all things to be. On the other end there is the world. But here, which is exactly where I now find myself - there is only the view, seamless, no lines to distinguish two. Right here, it's just a mystery, empty, yet so full of everything. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Ours is a Great Welcoming

whatever arrives - it now becomes our meditation. Yet this is not to the exclusion of the world, eyes shut to all but singular object upon its arrival. Ours is a great welcoming, edges seen but not believed to be a line of separation, sounds heard through silent backdrop, and emotions known against the contrast of original void. Even as all this is welcomed - it is soon forgotten in the rush of always more, and this too now becomes our meditation, to see our forgetfulness in the play of this great mystery. It all occurs without effort. Our only role is seeing - and by extension, to simply Be. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Nothing To Seek - Yet So Much To Explore

done seeking - and now it's the mystery of 

this moment, 

as the source of my

expansion.

It seems now as an exploration, nothing frantic, no reach for something not quite within my view - it's all right here, and still it's an unfathomable mystery as to how it came to be, and what may appear in an instant known as each moment. If anything, I am more curious now by the simplicity of the present, of how my own emptiness may serve as the capacity for such beauty, and drama, tragedy, and peace. I am filled with the world, nothing to seek - and yet so much to explore. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Uniquely in its Bloom

there is the will of life to simply be - and as this each individual thing is an expression of the whole. A flower blossoms entirely from earth and into air, at no point is there noted a separation of its being, only one existence expressed uniquely in its bloom. 

Save our own uniqueness - 

we are no different 

than a flower.

~

Peace,

Eric 

Even Our Denial

It all happens now - even our

denial of what appears as

present moment

and here too is our salvation, abiding just now in this awareness.

~

Peace,

Eric 

It's Exactly Like This

it's exactly like this - until the

moment offers 

something

new

and then it's not like 

this at all

~

Here's the mystery and simplicity of it all - we have this moment, full of wonder, and drama and peace as well. Life. And we open to it, we are lived through it, an experience complete in every way, and in a seamless flow, with no will or effort from us at all - everything changes. Life. This moment - offered once more in the guise of something new. 

Peace,

Eric 

Only Seeing

perhaps there is a practice - a means of seeing the obviousness of each moment as it unfolds in a mystery of its own. Yet this is no ritual, no path to follow with an end goal to reach. It's simply seeing, our attention turned back towards itself, a gaze briefly engaged in a curious quest to find the source of its beginning. And to this end - nothing, no realization of grand illusions, no awakening to an instant enlightenment. Only seeing. 

I called this a practice - yet better said it's just a repetition of a single moment, seen through our own innocence, again, for the very first time.

It's not even meditation. 

Only seeing 

what

is

right now.

And that's the mystery - each look will reveal exactly and only what the moment holds, and I have no idea what that will be. Not this time. Or the next. 

It always,

only

holds

the mystery unfolding in the 

moment. 

All we do is look - and even this is just an option. 

The mystery still unfolds

completely on its

own.

~

Peace,

Eric 

In This Belonging

and all things seem to be received - yet now I find no lines to separate what appears and the awareness of their arrival. Things simply are, appearing for their time, and then gone. Even my engagement and attachment to what comes is seamless - as well as the grief of their departure. Everything belongs. It's not that there is a receiving - but that all things are recognized in this belonging. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

From This Absolute

from the absolute - and nothing more. This is not the abstract notion of another plain within existence - it's simply the sum of our experience as of now, nothing more than this, and it's continuation in infinite mystery of space and form. It is absolute as nothing is apart from this very moment, no lines drawn to show a history or future residing on their own. From this absolute - it all belongs. Everything. 

There is no need to deny what seems a misplaced thought, or an experience that doesn't feel as if it belongs in our reality. If it is now - it is. 

And will be until no

longer.

From this absolute - and nothing more. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

There is No Practice to Receiving

to find myself inspired - and to know it's simply a welcoming of the moment, no less so then anytime ever given. Yet for reasons unknown - there is an openness to receive. There is no practice to receiving, no end goal of written words or final project. There is this moment, and writing, and the mystery of it all. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

It's Happening All The Time

and it only seems to be an evolution - progression to the point of letting go. Nothing is truly ever held to, there is no line of surrender that parts our understanding. Everything comes in time as a mystery - departing as the same. Letting go simply happens. 

Right now.

Each word here is read only in the immediacy of presence - and then let go not a moment past its time. There is no effort, no conscious choice of surrendering words to some great void. Everything belongs to its own length of stay, regardless of a wish or curse. Yet even this, even our desire for a lasting pleasure or a rush for pain to go away - even this belongs for how ever long it does. It seems we reach a point where we simply let it all go. Awakening, we see, it's happening all the time. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Even Though I know Better

coming to the page - uncertain, free, even of expectations for words to appear. I know only that I will be met by an allowing space for their appearance. Or perhaps even this is an assumption. Until, in fact writing happens, until words fall through fingers to reach the page - there is only possibility. It's enough to find myself here. 

 maybe later I will claim an ownership to what is found.

even though I know better. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

And So It All Goes On

unopposed - and even our resistance is met in the unconditional embrace of surrender. It all happens in the very moment of occurrence, nothing appears that at least for that instant doesn't belong. This too includes our wish for things to be other than what they are at present. It's in this awareness that we relax, our internal conflict given space to play out its length. Everything is - exactly as it is. Our action will be given within this same awareness. 

And so it all goes on - unopposed. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Nothing More to Do

already surrendered - and each 

moment complete in its

acceptance

there is nothing more to do

~

Peace,

Eric 

It's Our Song As Well

even stillness is not static - always this great allowing, life being in motion, and ever expanding in its capacity to hold the things of the world. Nothing is apart from this, a song is not separate from the silence surrounding each note, music being one thing in expression and existence. As this, stillness/motion, capacity/object - it's our song as well.

~

Peace,

Eric 

Awakening Never Ends (Inspired Dialog)

For me, the peace found here is that I am awake now, with the understanding I have now. And that's enough.

Tomorrow, or in an instant, I may have a different understanding. And that too will be enough. Awakening never ends. So relax as it all unfolds.

What I understand, right now is enough to know that I really don't have or need a final understanding. Indeed, relaxing, I can enjoy the mystery of it all.

~

Inspired dialog with Robert Saltzman, author of The Ten Thousand Things. Robert has written an incredible book, accompanied by his beautiful photos. This is a book that works through the reader, unfolding in a shared understanding found moment by moment. Case in point are the words written above - there was no intent involved, just sharing my own understanding of the moment, as it unfolded on the page. 

Thank you Robert. 

Peace,

Eric

Yet Even If We Do

in terms of grace - and it's simply our acceptance, the moment given and all that it may contain, and the certainty of nothing lasting. There is no need to go beyond this, to complicate the sacred, raw exposure of life happening as we are, right now. Yet even if we do, if we find ourselves immersed in great detail of highs and lows of expectations - then there is grace in this too. It all happens on its own. Even this acceptance. 

~

Peace,

Eric

My One Step Program

I am sober, right now, this very moment - and I have been for a number of years, just how long, to be exact, I no longer recall. That's enough for me. My Twelve Step Program has been reduced through my affinity for simplicity, or some may even say, laziness. Both are probably true. Such being the case, and only for my own offering, I have found a single step (and in truth, no step is found at all) to be the most profound - relax. For me, the essence of all Twelve Steps are found here, relaxing my need to be sober, surrendering the illusion of power, a deep relaxation into whatever this very moment may contain - warts and all. 

And it may contain alcohol. 

Or drugs. 

But so far is hasn't. 

It doesn't always hold peace, or joy, or comfort. 

It doesn't have too. 

And that alone has set me free - I don't get (or have) to choose sobriety, or to suffer, or to be happy. I don't even choose to relax. This moment happens all on its own. The best that I can do is to relax, to see that the world is all happening on its own accord, without my help and certainly better without my interference. 

Relax. 

Even the breath has a rhythm of its own. 

Thoughts too.

It all passes through, or lingers, and yet no mark is left beyond their passage.

Even memories. 

So I don't count days. I make no effort to stay sober, to avoid alcohol, or people who drink. It does seem as if my circle of people is different now. But that came by no effort or intent of elimination. People - like the breath, and thoughts, move through our lives with a rhythm too of their own. Relaxing, we welcome them all and just as easily we watch them go. 

Even if they leave a trace of loneliness.

Or bitterness. 

Sweetness too. 

If is appears within the moment it is also our acceptance. 

This is day one - the only day I've ever had, the only moment ever known or given. 

Step One:

Relax.

There are no other steps.

~

Peace,

Eric 

And In This Way Too

not chosen, 

yet each word somehow 

given on its 

own

and in this way too - we are not separate from the page

~

Peace,

Eric 

Of Sensations

of sensations - and all played within or against the

field of my allowance. 

nothing is apart from me

a flowers scent belongs no less to me than the petals of its release or the air in which it lingers - and too I am home to the winds caress and its every sigh and whisper. 

there is nothing that is not meant for

my reception 

and each sensation tells me this is so

~

Peace,

Eric 

If Not The Traveler

and what endures - if not the traveler, then the

distance pressed against them

in further truth

they're found as 

one 

~

Peace,

Eric 

I'm Sorry

 I'm sorry - and not in any sense of wrong, nor to find forgiveness from another. This is my atonement, redirecting my view from an outward glance that seeks to keep the world apart from source, to seeing now from a single eye that holds it all as one. My words are for myself alone - I am sorry and in this there is inclusion, a self correction that knows you again as the deepest part of me. I say these words simply in recognition that for much time I saw only the partial truth and believed the world divided. I'm sorry - brings this all together. 

The whole truth of one existence. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Played Against Skin

we are the fabric of the world, a template for 

sensations played against 

skin

yet even this is not a solid truth at all - but the illusion of borders between spaciousness and that which occurs in passing. We offer ourselves as an imaginary meeting point -and as this we experience the world. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Into the Next

everything ripples into the next, unique now in its

appearance - yet always still, one 

thing in its existence 

~

Peace,

Eric 

And of Simply Letting Go

it's a non-practice - the Tao of being and of simply letting go, even as we find there are no such things as to surrender. This moment alone is enough to realize the clarity of existence. Things occur, they pass, and again it's all repeated, there are no lines of distinction that last beyond these appearances. So what is there to really practice? Everything happens on its own accord. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Things of the World

it's the things of the world - and the

presence shared in their 

occurrence

we are aware

and no lines drawn through

our existence. 

~

So even the thought of being aware of thought, or object is a subtle line drawn of division. It's enough to simply be. Of course even lines belong. Seeing - is all very relaxing. 

Peace,

Eric 

Suddenly, Seamless in its Looking

and then at once I am touched upon by sky, and stars, and things that belong wholly to the night - I am again opened to myself as continuation of the world and further still the space it touches. And all this seen from a glance that found itself, suddenly, seamless in its looking. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Capacity Fulfilled

of service - and so we find ourselves as a promise, emptiness displaying the world at large, and all things invited to appear. We are capacity - fulfilled. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Always For you

always for you - and through this too, 

I serve the world

it's a simple exchange, presence, open to fulfillment, and we each come to form in order to comply. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

It's All Seamless in Existence

and seamless still on

our arrival - 

it's the illusion of travel, as if we depart from any given moment, lending ourselves to scenery to announce a change in our location. Yet even in the widest cast of imagination, or countless steps taken through miles and time - there are no lines drawn between us, not a single break within departure and arrival. It's all seamless in existence. 

Peace,

Eric 

And Too, My Gift as Well

to look at you - and see my own

beauty held in pure

awareness

and too, my gift as well

for we offer this to one another, our spaciousness in fair trade, serving as the capacity for form to come to rest and simply be - and always, only, for the sake of love. 

Peace,

Eric 

Unending Fashion

of the one who sees - and all but the

seer revealed in 

form

our mystery goes on in unending fashion

~

The great revelation isn't an answer but the exposure of ourselves as fiction, a continuous mystery told in the story of form. It's not answers that matter - only questions that lead us past the story. 

Peace,

Eric 

Not Shown Without You

and thank you truly - my own grace not

shown without you. 

~

What we are is a giving space that allows the world to reach fulfillment - our true self as capacity given to another's form. We are of service, gladly, and always to all our view may hold. Through this we are holy in our exchange - each allowing the grace and beauty of the other to be known. And so I say, thank you, thank you, thank you. 

Peace,

Eric 

Sometimes Subtle and Always Immediate

sometimes subtle, and always immediate - we find ourselves continuous in the view of our surroundings. There is no edge from here, center, the origin of earth, air, and stars - only lines drawn and imagined in distinction. Sometimes, in rare and subtle moments - we see clear our own self unfolding as the whole. Yet always, there is the immediacy of our belonging. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Found Equal

by virtue of presence - what occurs now is holy to the moment. And why holy? Simply by appearance alone, arriving within a framework of pure allowance. It's holy only because it belongs exactly where and when received. Through this - a rose's bloom is found equal to its dormant bud and neither more holy than the thorny vine from which they're offered. All belong within existence. 

Peace,

Eric 

In This Great Belonging

even our suffering is welcomed, and more cherished in its stay - in this

great belonging, nothing is apart from our 

existence 

and all is held as love

~

Peace,

Eric 

Beyond Opinion (but it's just my opinion of course)

it's absolutely nothing at all - and in this the

world is held beyond opinion. 

If a truth is found, it's here, perhaps if only for the moment of belief. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

And Not Apart

as rain - dropped through the 

stillness of a 

moment,

and not apart from our 

experience of the

storm

it's all one thing.

~

Peace,

Eric 

The Blessing of The Seen

the blessing of the seen - to receive us

fully as its own,

and hold it all in seamless

wonder

~

Truly the blessing is both ways of the view - an exchange of space for fulfillment equal in its giving. In all this we behold our own wonder, what is seems we have become in trade from formless to the formed. It's all a returned favor - and indeed, seamless in giving and reception. 

Peace,

Eric 

To Touch The World

tracing existence from behind our eyes to

touch the world, 

and so it will continue

seamless all the

way

~

Peace,

Eric 

An Illusion of Becoming

as one thing simply is another - the infinite in the guise of form and embraced again in its own spacious wonder. It's our continuous nature. What we hold in view is only an illusion of becoming - we are no less than the template of what appears as world and stars, our emptiness serving as backdrop for all things to be. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Fulfilled By The Desires of The World

all things given to our spaciousness - and we are

fulfilled by the desires of the 

world

~

It's not about meeting our desires with a void of hope and expectations - for even they belong within our realization. What we do is serve as the capacity for these things to appear, to play their role through their moment in awareness, and too to pass when their time is due. Yes, we serve as emptiness, but not from the world, we serve so that the world, and all things of its belonging, may be. Emptiness is our fulfillment. 

Peace,

Eric 

No Ordinary Absence

no ordinary absence - for the world is

found in the place I

thought I'd be

~

And every concept and thought and belief of what we are is contained in the bare reality of a moment. They all appear and last for the length of stay they're given, before again the clarity of the backdrop that allows for their appearance is shown in the light of its capacity to hold all things that make the world. 

Peace,

Eric 

Before and After Asking

so it often begins with the simplicity of a question, asking of ourselves direct revelation as to who we are and to where we might be in relation to the source of all creation. And so we come to layers, each one discarded in the faith of one more question. Yet at some point - we find a stillness between the asking, an emptiness that holds each layer loosely as a truth. Here, is our arrival, existing always, and exactly, in the moment before and after asking. 

Peace,

Eric 

Unfolding, Always, Only Now

infinite presence - 

unfolding, 

always, only now

~

It's like this - what we are is the capacity to serve the fulfillment of the world. As this, we are endless, open, and of course empty of a self that limits what we hold. Summed up - we are infinite presence, always and only, and this moment is all that's ever known. 

Peace,

Eric 

Parting To The Mystery of Another

the role of space is not to deny what's found within its reach - all things are equal in the intimacy of it's embrace. And this is the template of existence, an allowance of form contoured against against our own spacious hold, one thing parting to the mystery of another, continuous. Our role is not to deny what's found within our reach...

~

Peace,

Eric 

Through Which the Breath Whispers

there is nothing we need to do - no effort given to breath, nor thought to mantra. Our meditation is the simplicity of it all. Breath occurs through the medium of life. It's enough to know ourselves alive, aware, existing as the plains through which the breath whispers. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Storms and Stars Alike

I meet myself as the sky - open, willing to 

hold storms, and stars 

alike 

~

Peace,

Eric 

This Gathering

and just an idea - no more than thoughts in a constant gather of a momentary self. We are the space that allows this gathering, aware, and never swayed by thoughts in passing. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Nameless

before, and always after - we are nameless, existing of our own nature, not labeled as apart from others or the world. Names assign us to a moment, time bound, serving solely to navigate the seas of personal existence. Our truth is more - nameless, we are beyond conceptual boundaries. We are a truth that can't be named. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

But of Ourselves

free - yet not from, but of ourselves we

are spacious in acceptance,

and all things are unopposed in

their appearance. 

passing on their own

~

To search for freedom is to miss the obviousness of what we are - our essential nature is free, open, and allowing. Everything happens through - not to us. There is no facade of peace to maintain, no mind set to uphold. It all happens on its own. Our only role is to see - and even this is optional. 

Peace,

Eric 

Of Our Love

it's not a choice to love - nothing falls 

beyond the realm of our

acceptance, 

even the voice that argues otherwise.

it all belongs

and such is the nature of

our love.

~

Peace,

Eric 

Unoccupied Space

it's the same space, one, undivided - that which is found between thought and touched against objects of the world as well. There is no line through formlessness, distinctions simply given room for their brief appearance as the illusion of form. It's a magic show, real and yet a mystery of it's own accord. Our reality is this space, and a moment seemed solid, we are an essential part of the show - the mystery playing as form, even forgetting ourselves in this role if only briefly. But always we remain, open, spacious, and undivided in our nature. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

A Rush of Time and Scene

and always a still-point -  motion belonging to the world at large, a sweep against us in an imagined rush of time and scene. 

Yet here - exactly here as the center of 

it all, 

nothing moves. 

And this is where we are. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

About That Headless Thing

in a very real sense, not a metaphor, but an actual inquiry into if indeed we own a head. Of course one may be shaking their own sense of solid headfulness at this very notion. Understandable. Yet let's take a look, a deep turnabout to face what may prove faceless. Our traditional view is one sided - the world extending from the place we call ourselves. This is how we navigate the exterior sense of order, a guide through form, and very reliable for this point of purpose. Right now though, we'll trace this path to its interior source, our journey back to headless wonder. It's simple: look from object directly back to what holds it in awareness. We can even point. Is there anything we see that resembles the head we see on others? Do we find a face to call our own? To find a mirror and report back will only tell the story of what a reflection holds. Still, no face is found where we believed our head to be. Even a photo belongs to its referenced time and not our present spacious wonder. It's a story. The truth is right here, in our view, and nothing like that story will be found. Every sensation, sight, sound and scent is occurring within an aware space. Our fingers to this void brings us to a spontaneous creation of touch. Our sight is the immediacy of the view, arsing in this only moment. Everything occurs right here. Including our sense of self. From this headless space comes form and so too a sense that it is ours alone. We come to identify with an object and forsake the source of its arrival. It's easy to do. Just as easy is our exploration back again into the formless - not excluding the solid world but relearning the art of spacious navigation. 

It all begins with a single look. 

In the right direction. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Nowhere Else A True Home Found

and if not my world, here, found against skin and held within a single view - than nowhere else a true home. I belong by virtue of connection, the source being continuous from where my form is now. To look - a view seen as both scenery and capacity for the world leaves no doubt of this belonging. There is no other place to call home. My salvation rest in this existence. 

~

"Every step of the way to heaven is heaven." 

 - St Catherine of Siena 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Not By Faith

not by faith alone - but reality touched against both flesh and vision. The world is my extension and found in every detail, from the curve of each blade of grass, to the wind that whispers in between - nothing is small or lost in this existence. 

~

There is nothing to believe in outside the proof of our existence - and even God fits in this equation. If not here, in a spaciousness that holds the world in equal wonder, than where else might God be? It's not faith - it's simply looking, seeing with a single eye of innocence, and allowing the world to be without note or commentary. As Christian mystic Meister Ekhart said over 800 years ago - “The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God's eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love.” 

Look - and see all this for yourself. 

Peace,

Eric 

Sort Of Like A Concert Hall

as the listening - each sound caressed 

though our existence 

~

Yeah, sort of like a concert hall, but without walls or ceiling - a space of pure allowance, open, and somehow aware of all that passes. And here, sound come and fade again to silence - but still, there is the listening....

~

Peace,

Eric 

Prior To

prior to - we exist always 

just before. 

And this becomes our meditation, a soft return to original self, noting commentary as mere effect and not confused with what's observed, nor as the source that holds the observation. We are the surrounding quiet, unfolding without agenda around each thought, a spacious understanding existing in allowance. As this - there is no effort in our meditation. Everything belongs. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

In The Mystery Caressed Against Each One

infinite beauty in the details of the world - yet more, 

more in the mystery caressed against

each one

~

It's easy to get lost in details of the world, and we should, it's the way of form to appreciate itself in differing reflections. But too, there is the opportunity to explore the infinite space that ties all things together, providing a template for the world, more, for the universe to be. What we are is endlessly fascinating. Look, and see exactly what that is. 

Peace,

Eric 

Through This Intimacy

it's not an experience - we are a deeper intimacy of surrounding, a giving space that doesn't part for the world, but simply offers itself in a promise to behold. We remain as presence for every slight of touch that comes to know itself in our awareness. Our intimacy is without line drawn between object and the space of its appearance - and further still is our capacity that allows it all to be without interference of a self imagined. We hold it all within a larger reality. What is experienced - happens through this intimacy. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Yet Somehow

found nowhere - and yet somehow each 

detail of the world comes to 

be within our hold

so great is the capacity of
our presence. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

What We are

what we are - in essence, is pure bliss of neutrality, an allowing space without bias to all that passes, and recognized only as a love without demand. Even thoughts opposed to the order of our acceptance belong in the realm of this love without condition. What we are - is presence for this, everything, and nothing denied. It's the nature of love. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

A Direct Line of Inquiry

it's direct inquiry - nothing asked, and not even a search beyond a single glance. Directions are simple: Look towards the source that is the origin of our view, keep the innocence and playfulness of a child in wonder of the world. Note each object along the route, from form in individual play to the end result of what is found. And what is found? Directly, what is seen as the view turns back towards itself? This is where we rest, not in comfort of an answer but in assurance of a mystery that will always unfold. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Breath of Eden

this breath of Eden - first drawn, immediate, and

released at once to a stillness found as the

original garden. 

each breath - and always

now 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Become Again The World

at any time - I can trace myself back to

point of origin, 

and become again the

world

~

It only seems the world begins at the ending of skin, fingertips or even mind - we are as much the world, each stone and flower, the sky and every star, as we are a private thought or separate self. Inquiring further, we find it's a simple trade of views - emptiness at the end of self and full in our capacity to hold it all. 

Peace,

Eric 

The Grace For Rain

the sky itself is the grace for rain - and 

every drop falls through its

allowance 

~
And said again another way - the mind itself is the grace for thoughts, and every thought passes through its acceptance. The world constantly points to our open nature. Nothing is denied, indeed by virtue of it's appearance nothing can be denied if it's within the realm of our awareness. Knowing the reality of our inclusive presence - gives us the Buddha smile of abidance. All things must pass - but what is true remains. 

Peace,

Eric 

Is To Be

having surrendered design to a life well lived by my intentions - there is found a grander play to which my part is simply Being. Life is happening on its own. I am both witness and participant and even more I am nothing but the space for it all to occur. There is no place for small demands. Miracles happen on their own. 

Again - my only role is to Be.

~

Peace,

Eric 

Delight In Being Known

it only seems we come and go - appearing to each other, and then moments found in which one is absent. Yet our truth is constant. There is no place that does not hold us as together, and more there is no time we have ever been apart. Our gift is our appearance for another, allowing infinite space to lend itself to form and delight in being known. To look at each other, our only words - thank you, thank you, thank you. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

To Form

come to form - yet always, belonging to the

space of our existence. 

~

This body, believed solid, and set apart from world and others, but no more too than a particle among the large and small dancing as creation. We are not (merely) form appearing in a backdrop of space - but spaciousness itself coming to form in an endless display of appearances. This body, is held within a larger truth, existence, the reality of what we really are. 

Peace,

Eric 

Inspiration From The Far End Of A Leash

when I asked her what to write about - she 

leaned into the wind and smiled. 

and so inspired, my words reflect nothing 

more than the joy of unseen

things. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

These Lines

these lines dividing self from

world vanish in my 

gaze - 

and now the world is all the

view contains 

~

Peace,

Eric 

The Sight Of Our Embrace

at once - we are a great receiving void, as well as so full of world, and sky, and stars, that we astound ourselves by what is held within the sight of our embrace. 

it's our own beauty - and yet still we are

surprised by the mystery of 

it all. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Both Ends Of Our View

we trace the view to our own absence - from world to emptiness found, yet too an eagerness to be filled, to allow ourselves as this capacity to hold a varied life within us. Both ends our our view reveal a mystery. 

Explore. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Nowhere In This - Loneliness, Hell, and Alone

our hell is not of our making, nor is it harm caused by others - no, hell is but a single thought held in its extreme. We believe in a self separate in existence. And so we suffer in the belief of our loneliness -one thing held apart from another. Yet there is salvation offered, a grace given in sudden clarity and sight - it's beyond the notion of belief. In truth, we are alone, we are one thing, but in no way separate or apart from the spread of all existence. We are alone by the very means that there is no other save ourselves in different form, and even that is but an illusion of the senses. We are all that is and this aloneness is Divine in its unity and uniqueness. So we see there is no hell, and our revelation is found in no place other than looking directly at the source where the world we know begins - here, our own line from world to formless self and back again. Look, trace it all to the point that holds it origin - trust only what is seen and the emptiness that allows for it to be. Nowhere in this, is there a hell to be found. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

In Our Acceptance

let's start as awareness - and everything 

added beyond this,

simply falls in our

acceptance. 

~

Peace,

Eric

Swept Against

and the wind - swept against my skin. Yet only in 

my thoughts. In truth, within that 

moment, 

there was just the sweeping breeze. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Here, Our Liberation Found

Moksha - and here, our liberation lies not in freedom from emotion, but so, in the allowance of things expressed free of out attachment and investment. Indeed, our nature, spacious and accepting, has only one demand - to be fulfilled by the experience of each moment, yet never marred in the wake of its passing. Moksha, Nirvana - no more than our attention turned to pure awareness, and here, our liberation found. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

As We Are

truly, as we are - a most

allowing nature

~

Why argue with reality? (but of course I often do) Yet when I realize, even this, fits into my acceptance - thoughts of discord drift harmless on their way. 

Peace,

Eric 

Fully, Only, This Function

as gratitude  - and being fully, only, this

function to the world, 

we give ourselves 

away

empty of all save love

~

Peace,

Eric 

Generosity of a Moment

the generosity of a moment - extends 

itself to infinity, 

let's give ourselves 

away 

~

our nature, as every given moment - is capable, meant for, infinite expansion, inclusion, and the agreement with reality that this too - belongs.

Peace,

Eric 

Like This - We Embrace The World

here, an endless depth to our greeting - my emptiness given solely for the pleasure of your form, intimate beyond compare. As yours to mine. 

Like this - we embrace the

world. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

No Self To Harm

there is no self to harm - certainly there's 

pain experienced,

and suffering to be

released,

yet these are things not existing on their own, real, but only to a phantom thought to be an independent self. There is no denying the hurt caused through life and virtue of a caring heart, and thoughtful mind. We don't forsake the silent cry of an inner child. What we do is seek truth, we inquire into the nature of reality itself, searching not for answers, but for that which is aware of suffering and if there is one who truly suffers at all. Indeed, we search for our existence. Yes, there is pain, and hurt, and a world that often seems to cut deeper past the bone - and the question remains of what is it that stays open, clear, and allowing for these things to be and to pass, what is untouched yet in paradox holds it all dear, intimate, aware and present to it all? Perhaps our pain serves to know these questions, a deliverance of their own. Perhaps all we have to do is ask and allow an understanding to unfold. Maybe. For me, it's enough to ask, to explore the space that follows every question, a space empty of any answers, but full of countless revelations. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

No Self

no self to surrender - but still a letting go. And so we come to an understanding, a deeper truth, beyond a self to know, or even sense. We have vanished. And now - only presence found, existing fully on its own. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

This Is All There Really Is - And Yet...

this is really all there is -  and yet, in its entirety, it continues as the whole, infinite, extreme, and distinctive in the smallest details of existence. Life is here, expressed in fullness through the very emptiness that we offer, participating as well as silent witness. We must not be fooled by our apparent smallness - there is nowhere else to be, and truly this all there is, yet in its entirety, infinite, it is all our very own presence. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Of Service

of service - and no less a role to play than the vital capacity that allows all things to be expressed in full terms of their appearance. Our first assumption is that we serve chiefly as an individual self that affects the world. In this we are misguided. We are a flicker of self given to a moment. a light not lasting past its due, fragile in our personage. That too is our beauty. Our true service is much larger than appearance - we are the template of existence, the means of beauty expressed and known. To believe only in form and a limited self is to deny the very identity of spirit large. Our role is less than of person and more of service to life - and all it's expressions. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Everything Else Has A Moment

nothing contradicts reality - even opposing thoughts belong simply for the sake of their inclusion to the whole. What is present - is - if only for the brief moment of appearance. Yet more, it's this very acceptance, open, clear, our very own spaciousness, that is the ground of all reality. Everything else has a moment - but only in their passing. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

My Capacity Is To Serve Your Beauty

so - thank you for this beauty, my own clear, and present emptiness embraced against your form. We have become the better face of each other, a traded space now holy in its function to hold the world, to give itself away for the appearance of another. My capacity is to serve your beauty, as your own is truly given to hold mine. 

We are emptiness - and only for this reason. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Empty and Full

it's always a promise held - that outward there is the world, and in return, and any time, our origin is always direct, and open, and easily found at the source that holds the view. Two directions - and yet the promise, the hidden promise in plain sight, directionless, is always here, present, indeed presence itself, empty and full. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Gathered To Branches

and every leaf - knows the 

grace of letting 

go

giving themselves to winds gathered to

branches, trusting in a will 

greater than their

own 

drifting

yet never without destination 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Cared For

trusting - and it's a matter of faith not of things appearing, but in the void that provides all things the space for their arrival. My role is only one of patience, and even this becomes misleading, my only real function is to Be. 

Everything else is cared for. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Only Tracks

and just arriving to the page - it 

comes to me,

words only tracks of a 

moment left 

behind 

every experience happens now

~

Peace,

Eric 

The Subtraction of Seeing

and then subtraction - it's not a lessening of self, but more a dismissal of all which holds us bound to a single, false identity. We see in terms of objects, and yet seeing itself takes place in spaciousness of pure awareness. With this turned around, gazing back from object to boundlessness - there is the subtraction of all but scenery. 

Only Seeing. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Astonished (at once)

astonished - at once I find myself absent from the scenery, and too the flesh of every detail, the continuation of object to space and then again to different form. I am in awe of what I am, the view of new becoming, and just as much the emptiness I find myself as, that allows this all to be. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Abiding All Along

in a quiet space found, between thoughts of 

you, and me, and objects named,

there is only pure

existence

abiding as such all along

~

Peace,

Eric 

No Experience

at every point - a 

letting go,

no experience is forever

~

Peace,

Eric 

Complete

complete in our surrender - and seeing with the 

clarity of a single view.

seamless

and nothing left to do but 

simply be.

~

Peace,

Eric 

Commentary

the rest is commentary - reality exist in exact perception, we see with instant clarity our self as selfless all. It's only in the wish to hold such intimacy for just a moment closer, longer, as if at all this could be anything other than its own perfection - it's only then in our description, we divide ourselves in what seems as two. Seeing, happens now, or not at all. And even the duality of thought and words measured against direct experience fit within our seeing. Nothing is ever really divided - and this is the truth of what we see. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Familiar Quiet

again - a familiar 

quiet, 

always this

as every thought passes

~

And here - it's presence known. Our return is not from afar, or even from a wandering thought, but in simply remembering that at no time is our presence swayed. We are always right here, now. 

Peace,

Eric 

Abiding In The Calm Of Our Acceptance

by appearance alone - it all 

fits in our belonging,

there is no denying what is now, and to 

what may come we do not 

know

it's enough to simply be - abiding in the calm of

our acceptance. 

~ 

Peace,

Eric 

It's Not Just A Headless (Empty) Path

we think of this as a headless path, spaciousness found in replacement of common borders that reign us within a divided life - and yet too, there is the heart. With the absence of a known self contained within a head, we find a direct line to the fullness of the heart. We are spacious, yes, but not empty. Our world is now a great welcome to all appearance, a yes given to the mystery of existence, not needing to know the length of what may arrive, or vanish in its time. It's the heart that is awakened, our headless view revealing the simplicity of acceptance - by virtue of arrival it all belongs. This path is really about the fullness of this moment - and our capacity to hold all it may offer. 

~

Peace,

Eric