Winter's Touch

just the bite of cold against my cheek - and the 

moment comes to winter, a full 

season told in a brief

sensation 

everything past this will only be another story told, a winter's tale of shortened days and dim light, details of storms and bitter winds. 

but right now, in winter's touch - I am present for the

season, and all that it may offer. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

My Continuing Practice

there's still a practice - yet without need for definite conclusions, nor effort for achievement. Simply now there is a continuous exploration of what each moment holds, from beauty to the grief of letting go and all that falls between the two, it's a method that has no meaning beyond the measure of my presence. My practice is simple - if it appears, than this too belongs. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

I Have No Idea

no idea - and this is where I often start, as empty as the page before me, free of any agenda but to share and be shared in singular fashion of this moment. I too am no less an expression of this same moment, an instrument uniquely suited to give voice to details noted in this aware/empty capacity from which I started. It's simply a matter of returning to the backdrop that allows these details to be - the quiet mind given to drifting thoughts, the same internal silence for sounds to pass, and the openness of being that holds all that's viewed. Through all this there is no need for me to wish for even one idea - everything waits for my attention. 

I only have to write. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

My Own Sadness, Simply Allowed

it's just a continuous allowing - nothing of 

my humanness is or can be 

excluded 

in the space of this receiving - I am

~

and in this I come to relax in freedom, liberated from the concerns of spiritual acceptance, there is no need to pursue, nor maintain, a state of being or train of thought for a particular outcome. For in truth, as I see it it now, there is no real outcome in a constant shift of living - it's all motion, not a single thing set in the permanence of a moments belief. 

Everything changes. 

So I find myself in grief for the loss of my dog, I mourn his company, and there is no need for there to be anything other than this - my own sadness, simply allowed. 

Peace,

Eric 

My Waving Hand And An Inquiry Into Now

I've often wondered why so many forms of inquiry are ones of negation alone, dismissing this and that which is clearly alive and present.I can't wave my hand before me and say "not this" and dismiss it as not my own, yes it can be lost, or transplanted, but right now, this moment, it's an alive form and function connected to a body that is alive, form, and function  and very much a cherished part of "me" In this sense my inquiry might be "why not this too?" My waving hand is part of this moment, this existence, and fits pretty neatly in awareness. So do my thoughts. At the same time none of this is exclusively me, but where is the line of separation drawn? Are there degrees of ownership within existence, especially as pertain to body and mind? My own inquiry always leads me directly to the experience of this moment, not removed from waving hand, nor from passing thoughts - just this moment and whatever seems to be appearing. The very next moment may prove to be an entirely different matter, and a truth held now simply let go to continue in it's passing. So perhaps the inquiry is this - what, right now, is separate from this moment? 

~

Peace,

Eric 

*I don't know if gaining freedom means losing anything other than an attachment to what we believe freedom might be. I'm just thinking aloud here and risking a whack from Robert Saltzman's Zen Whisk of Wisdom...

Common Ache

it's my loss, personal, and alone - yet it still belongs to you as well, to the world at large, for this sorrow is shared by our common ache of letting go. We have all been broken, and now bonded in a single space that holds the pieces of our former lives. In this sense, our truest belonging - no loss, no pain however slight or large, can be said to be one's own. 

Every tear we shed together. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

* my deepest love to my pup pup Toby who never let me down through the countless times I may have failed him. To all my friends who have shared my sorrow - thank you, thank you, thank. You each have my love. 

In The Beauty Of Art

we are the pallet for life to be

displayed against - 

and too we are life in constant 

giving to the pallet. 

in the beauty of art - it's all one thing. 

~

it's all art - life arranged in a display of grace that holds only creation itself  as meaning. We ourselves are not the original artist, although this lifespan is our medium of sorts. More, so it seems to me, is that we are a participant of the highest artistic integrity, an aspect of creative source, instrument, as well as full display of all things given to a masterworks. 

Peace,

Eric 

Things Just Don't Have To Be One Way

and so I find myself in the full/emptiness of my own heart sutra - complications of a practice and even understanding drop to the simplicity of seeing, and then the natural surrender to the awake presence that holds the view. Here, there are no lines to divide seer from scenery, everything belongs, and there is no need for this to be otherwise. Of course I come to find myself once more lost within what seems a solid world, and thoughts play through their subtle stories still - yet I never really, truly, believe them anymore. Things just don't have to be one way, form isn't always solid, emptiness not exclusive as a void, and presence fully able to be expressed in the infinite guises of the world. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

That I Am

that I am - and too that we

appear through one

existence,

grateful

~

as far as I can tell - there is no cause or reason for our appearance in the world. But we find ourselves here, together, sharing space and time. Of this I can only say - thank you. These words are just a simple prayer of recognition. To know of infinite possibilities, that the odds of this moment bring us directly to each other - leaves me in a space full of wonder. 

Peace,

Eric 

Nothing Done To Make It So

we come to see now that it's all just a welcoming - life a continuous embrace of what is, what will next arrive, and grace to welcome the eventual letting go. This is not of our doing, effortless, it's simply presence in it's natural form.

everything belongs - but 

nothing stays 

forever. 

our struggle is not that this is so - for even our denial falls in this acceptance, our plight is in knowing that this is true, and yet fighting it's reality. 

calmly, breathe, look around - and know that everything is 

exactly as it is, but only for this 

single moment. 

already the world is changing...

with nothing done to

make it so. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

As My Reminder

to just let it all arrive - my own 

agenda is right 

now

and from this point it's all spontaneous, words appearing in their own order, the page giving emptiness in a trade of meaning, and my own clear reception to whatever might come through to reach my fingers. 

the message itself (for me) is always wonder - and 

words only serve as my 

reminder 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Attending

to this we attend - even briefly to note the spaciousness between thoughts, words, and every object. It's here we explore, inquiring, seeing how one thing simply gives way to formlessness and only then lends itself to the appearance of something other. Yet always there remains just one thing. There is no break from sky to ground, we breathe the same air that's touched upon clouds - nowhere will we find a line to offer division between objects and the space between. This is the openness of nature, one thing allowing itself to the form of earth, while still retaining it's formless air. It's all happening here, this moment, and we are not excluded from this play of nothing in it's sudden becoming of things - our truth is as much emptiness as object, capacity as what's held, and view as well as seer. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

It's Almost Like This

it's almost like this - yet however detailed in my 

description, and still I find that it's

not like this at 

all

words bring us just past the experience of each moment - almost, but never quite capturing our encounter with what's given. Only the experience itself, wind to the flesh, flowers reaching with their scent, or the view and the beauty that it offers - can be known in the instant that it happens. My words will always tell a story - no matter how true they once belonged. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Without The Weight Of Meaning

everything belongs without the weight of meaning - until the moment that it's given. Ours is a clear space of allowing, an openness that begs for one more thing to be added to it's nature, and always we're obliged to bring more by thought and view. Yet nothing comes to us with a meaning if it's own, nameless until assigned, and clear of all agenda - we add words to beauty, and ideas to the formless, giving qualities to a world already made complete. It's not that this is wrong, for even labels fit within this welcoming. But there is another way to see, the first way, natural, and it happening now even as we view the world. It's always just before - our seeing, and only in an instant later does it come to us to add a single thought or label. So we return, our original view, noted in clarity and then allowed to simply be before a thing is added. It's here we rest. For just a moment - and even as the weight of meaning begins to add itself to what we view, we abide in our restful nature. It all happens on it's own. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Weather Doesn't Lie

the weather doesn't lie - there is 

always the immediate 

truth of this

moment 

and rain to skin, or a breeze in it's final

reach against us

here, we find ourselves not removed from life in all of it's offered conditions, but fully a participant to what's given, and our preference not even brief in consideration. It's always and only life in constant happening - ourselves included too. 

in this regard we find ourselves as every storm, and each drop of rain continued to clouds and sky, we are starlight and further on the infinite source that starts it all. 

it's found here, this moment, right 

within whatever's 

happening.

~

Peace,

Eric 

First Snow

it's the fresh laid snow, first of the season, and always heavy with the promise of more  - there is a weight to this season for me that no other one offers, a despair that falls as silent as each snow. Yet the season, and every storm, brings too the beauty of change, an opportunity to not turn away from cold, nor wish for days of warmth, but to allow the grace of what is to open me to my own shifting seasons - for I have clung to some beliefs as surely as the last autumn leaf, and now the bareness of winter comes for what is due.

Letting go, there is this, and 

all is welcomed to my

world. 

It's fresh laid snow, first of the season, and always 

heavy with the promise of it's

moment. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

A Continuous Welcome

it's a continuous welcome - and 

nowhere is this not

so. 

~

as if the sky - no wing is denied it's flight, no tree refused in it's expansion. Our very nature is open in the same expanse as the sky itself. Nothing is refused. Even our argument that things should be other than presently found is accepted without note. 

Everything is welcomed.

Without fail.

Our only role is to know this - and even that is not really needed. It's automatic, a free flow of what comes, lingers, and leaves all by it's own accord. 

To see this is just a bonus.

~

Peace,

Eric 

Into This

it's seeing, just before a coming thought and added label, the 

simplicity of each given moment and 

nothing more - 

and into this is our

surrender.

~

surrendering is not an actual act, we don't give a thing over, nor relinquish our claim to self - it's simply the acceptance of everything just as is, without need for things is be other than they are just now. It all belongs. Even before this seeing or acceptance everything belongs by virtue of appearance. We have no role in any of this, no effort or action required, and no prayers to arrange a better world. Perhaps the best we can do is offer our attention, each occurrence and object once more recognized as a momentary belonging, folding gently back into the whole. It's not a strained mindfulness but a mere observation of emptiness in full capacity to hold the world. 

It's seeing our own nature. 

Peace,

Eric 

The Nature Of (My) Suffering

outside of thought - there is no suffering. Yes, certainly there belongs pain, grief, and even anguish expressed for some circumstances. Yet, aside from our thought that things should be otherwise, there is no cause that leads us to a continuation of suffering. This doesn't imply that suffering is imaginary, a made up conditioned of gathered thoughts around a subject or event - indeed, I'm writing this based upon my own moments I've suffered as well as a relief found in the spacious surrounding my thoughts on the matter. Suffering exist as we think about the issue at hand, as our thoughts dwell and add weight to painful conditions we suffer in their presence. This doesn't mean that suffering is optional, there is no choice to be free of sorrow, at least not one to my knowledge. What there is - is exploration into the nature of our thoughts, to inquire into the very heart of sorrow and find what's within and through to the other side. Perhaps we'll find freedom, or a lightness of being that helps us cope with the weight of suffering. To even look will invite a spaciousness around the subject, enough room to simply breathe and assure our own space of healing. Here's the thing - I don't know what you'll find. What I've written above is only my discovery. I wish you all peace and love in what you'll  find with yours. 

Please feel free to share what you do discover. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

In A Real But Subtle Sense

it's subtle - from a personal world to a my own absence, a glance traced back to source and nothing vanished but my own belief of solidness and point of separation. This is seeing, for me, not dropping from a sense of self, yet finding clarity in how it all belongs. As this I am both capacity, as well as all that's held - I am seer and the world that's seen. There are no lines to divide me from the emptiness of source and no thoughts that lead me to believe I am only form. 

In a real, but subtle sense - it's all 

one thing. 

~

Peace,

Eric

So Here I Meet Myself

meeting myself - first within the page, emptiness in full promise, and then words to come through a motion of their own. My only role is openness, the patience to simply be, and the grace that allows me to receive. I find myself through the whole process, not removed from the start without words, and still engaged as each word appears, dropping to the page on it's own accord. Truly, I am not the author but merely the reception. So here I meet myself, first as the empty capacity holding promise, and then whatever meaning may appear. 

I am grateful for it all. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Just One More Thing

capacity is the expansion of true self  to include just one more thing - and then another, until we find the world held in this unseen embrace. In this sense the term self refers not to the limited beliefs and thoughts that have gathered to give the impression of a lasting personality - but to the self that is all inclusive by nature and design, empty, yet full in it's embrace. It's really all one thing, capacity meeting itself in the guise of form, and every object empty of an inherent boundary that isolates it from anything else. 

This is the secret of the view - tracing any one object directly back to source and finding nothing more than openness to greet us. Once seen, even the concept of a viewer gives way to the empty/full capacity of being. It's simply seeing, unimpeded by the concept of a seer. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Meeting Grace

it's the times I've been most vulnerable, near broken, and most in need - and there it's been grace given, through no hope of my own, nor by a personal demand. Grace has it's own designs. There is no practice to receive it. It seems that we are made ready for it's appearance, life played hard and brought to it's edge - yet just the same grace is unknown in it's agenda. We have but one role to play in all this and that's to simply be ready, open, and grateful to the moment at hand - grace meets us exactly where we are. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Given To The Wind

every breeze blows as much

within as against the

senses 

it's the grace of emptiness to 

hold a world so full of

wonder

and so right now - I find myself 

given to the wind....

~
Peace,
Eric 

Because (so yeah, you're non-dual - go out and vote anyway)

because I find myself not removed - but of and

as the whole, and the lease aspect is

still my own 

becoming

there is only life

and at no point do I give way for the 

rest of the world to be. 

it's all one thing.

~

Peace,

Eric 

Given Words

this moment - given

words,

and then left against the page

~

it's all I do, no deeper wisdom offered, nothing special-  just listening, writing, one moment open to receive. At best I am removed from the equation, it becomes a meditation of allowing and then a creative process of arranging what appears. On some occasions I find myself to involved within the process, striving for words that belong only to another moment - not the one that I've been given. Mostly I can tell the difference and am quick to take a step away. Yet even this becomes a gift of letting go and soon another moment comes while giving words. 

Peace,

Eric 

It's My Only Prayer

it's my only prayer - this

moment,

fully attended

and then allowed to

simply be.

~

it's not that I am without desire, or needs, or wish my life to sometimes be other than what the present moment holds. Yet I have seen my own wisdom at play in the world and now know that there is indeed a better way. This isn't a mindful approach, attention drawn to breath or sensation - although it certainly may apply. 

It's being aware. 

Attentive to just this - everything

belonging

exactly 

now

and then a letting go....

I will forget a thousand times - and grateful for the

single moment that's remembered. 

Peace,

Eric 

Sermon on the Mount, Non Duality, Politics, And Another Way

These are the words of Jesus, my own commentary no more than a gentle nudge to return to the original teaching. This is not a complete text of the Sermon, and the politics that are spoken are inherent to the principle of the words. For those who read this who are truly Christian, there is little to argue. Most of us (if not all) have failed to live up to the potential these words would have asked of us. In full disclosure, I myself am not a Christian - however I feel that these truly powerful words speak across all religious divide to the one spirit we all share. My goal here is simple: I ask we do the right thing, to the best we're able, and live according to these wise words that Jesus offered. 

Let's begin:

Coming to the mountain, wild land once more providing silence for insight to stir, Jesus spoke to those that gathered.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 

"Blessed are the they that mourn:for they shall be comforted"

"Blessed are the meek" for they shall inherit the earth" 

"Blessed are the merciful" for they shall obtain mercy"

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for thy shall see God" 

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God" 

~

"Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not though away"

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"

"For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

~

And so here we find ourselves - given wise, loving instructions. These very same words could have been spoken by Buddha, Mohammed, and prophets of every time and land. Indeed they were said in similar fashion - compassion, ethics, simplicity, and love for another as we love ourselves is common language of spirit. 

But now I'm going to enter into the realm of non-duality, where words belong equally to the silence they emerge from, where , as Christian mystic Meister Eckhart said: 

“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.”

Our inquiry is this - having read the words of Jesus, are they not now the words we share through one heart, one mind, one common spirit? Are we untouched by the reach of Christ? Even a non-Christian is called to order for the well being of another. So then could a Christian be called to anything less? Do our politics reflect these humble words?

Do our leaders? 

Are borders mentioned as a breaking point of love? 

These are not surface questions - but the depth of our heart searching for the means to live and thrive in today's world. 

Jesus has the answer.

Buddha has the answer.

Mohammed has the answer.

Most important, and with most meaning: we ourselves have the answer and it has echoed through the ages to find our own heart, our very own lips, and it's time to speak these truths again. Our politics won't save us. But our shared love will save politics. 

The modern spiritual text, A Course In Miracles began by a simple statement one professor offered to another during a particular contentious time: "There has to be another way" to which her colleague replied "You're right - I'll help you find it" From this a complete manual on love and forgiveness has touched the world. 

The Sermon on the Mount offers us another way. 

Let's help each other find it. 

Peace,

Eric 

For It's Own Wonder

it's the exploration of what is, a natural curiosity of not just what the moment holds but of the very nature of what's presented. We are gifted with keen awareness for the details of the world, nothing escapes it's notice - even as our own attention may be drawn to personal concerns. This awareness is our own innate belonging, our capacity to attend in intimate allowance the things that pass through our lives. It's who we are. Aware. So everything presents itself for our own understanding, held in awareness, one essence, it's simply one thing in constant giving. Aware of being aware - life unfolds for it's own wonder. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

It's All A Bonus

here's our purpose - to 

draw breath, 

and then let go

until another breath

arrives 

~

life is it's own purpose and there is no point where this excludes us - we too are seasonal, motion, and an exchange of primary functions. Our breath is a gift in both receiving and it's return, we are vital in our play of nature. 

Nothing needs to be added to this. 

Yet in consideration - there is always more we think we need to do. 

Relax

Breathe

Beyond this it's all a bonus. 

Peace,

Eric 

Certainty of Uncertainty

without certainty - we have been made no promises beyond this moment, that we are alive, and that the present breath is all that's given. This is our own fragile beauty, the reason we cling, and the key to our eventual surrender. Indeed, it's this same uncertainty to which we do surrender. It's natural to wish for something stable, firm ground upon which we make our stand. Yet it's this need, along with the false certainty on which we stake our claim, that leads to a quiet anxiety that undercuts through life. We're afraid to be afraid, and worse we fear the only thing we may ever truly know - it's all a mystery. Everything. Once this is certain - that we simply can't know a thing beyond right now, we gain the freedom to relax and allow the world to unfold in it's own fashion (as it would anyway) If more is to be understood - it will arrive exactly in it's moment. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

*obviously I am not certain of any of this