A Moments Note

then the breeze, for a moment without name, or 

given label - was just a kiss against

me

and even I was just a moments note in the

grace of this surrender. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Metaphors Being Told

and perhaps, with respect to Joseph Campbell, we too are a metaphor in a greater mind than ours - mystery granting us the poetry of living, our lives expressed in fiction only we believe, and once told we again return to infinite mystery. Campbell said that God is a metaphor for something so large that it defies description - yet who is it that seeks to know this mystery? Life is a story telling itself through the myth of living, distinct characters given license to be, demand, and seek answers. We are characters come alive through belief in the importance of our part in this story. Myths as real as every God created. By no means is this all we are, not mere fiction, but essential as the page in every book, and more we are not separate from the creative source that tells this myth. We are metaphors because we can't be told through anything other than fiction. 

Perhaps that's how great we truly are. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

The World is Changed

not to make it otherwise - but to acknowledge this 

moment in the grace of its 

acceptance

and through this prayer the world is changed

completely on it's own

accord

~

Peace,

Eric 

Would You Cross A River?

Let me ask you –

Would you cross a river for a

loved one?

Would you swim towards the promise of a

hopeful shore?

Would you brave uncertain currents and risk the loss of

all – just so your children will never have to

cross a frightful river of their own

one day?

Let me ask you what you would do for your family.

What risk you would face?

How many miles would you walk to

find a better home?

A peaceful place to rest.

What would you leave behind?

How much would you carry on your back, how heavy the load for a

family to start a life in an unfamiliar land?

Let me ask you –

If you crossed this river, hopeful, a bit of faith in what another nation offers – to only find the barren shore of unwelcome, hate, and cages,

What then?

Our we the country worth drowning for?

Let’s ask ourselves this question.

Peace,

Eric 

Practice of No Practice

it's the practice of no practice - simply 

greet the world in all that it

offers,

grateful for our existence.

~

It doesn't have to be complicated or involve any obvious method of inquiry and contemplation - the world gives us exactly what we need. Everything belongs, although not everything is what we want and often it falls past the limits of our toleration. Yet the nature of existence is change, motion, and nothing will stay the same through every moment. The true art of patience isn't found in waiting for things to be otherwise, but in the appreciation that right now, things cannot be other than they are. So, the practice of no practice comes to acknowledgement, a nod to reality, and gratefulness that through our existence - we are able to greet the world in all it offers. 

Peace,

Eric 

Already a Surrendered Life

to live - and already it's a surrendered life. Our one and only practice is to remember, and even this is just an option. There's no effort in being, no method to lead us to the present moment. We have arrived by virtue of existence. The role of inquiry is to help us remember, to ask ourselves "when am I" leaves us with nowhere else to possibly be but right now. There was no deliverance to a special place or magical time - the question was just a prompt to relax a further search. In this same way we drop any attempt to surrender, relaxing in the knowledge that we are always in the moment of complete surrendering. 

Any effort to be this - simply isn't needed.

And is already being surrendered. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

No Answer is Final

not answers - it's the questions themselves that lead us to a spacious understanding, clarity found through the dismissal of our common way of seeing. Our inquiry isn't to prove anyone thing, but to show the seamlessness of one thing only. To ask "where am I" and find no single location, to trace our gaze back to the source that holds the view and realize the empty nature of the seer - it's the gentle exploration of our relation to the whole. 

No answer is final. 

It's the questions that reveal what's true. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Simple Grace

it's a simple grace - one thing in full acceptance of

itself through the appearance of 

another

and in this way we view the world.

~

Peace,

Eric 

Exploring This

exploring this - what the moment holds, the fluidity of each experience even through the certain faith that we feel is solid and lasting. Our inquiry leads to an allowing space, beyond the need to alter thought or feeling, but open still to the healing this place provides. It's completely natural, no need to force Ourselves beyond this, right now, just being with what is, and the gentle nod of our awareness of it all. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Is Simply Emptiness

what we give - is simply emptiness, a spacious welcome for the appearance of another, for the world to belong within us, and to note our own presence as the source for this belonging. There's nothing more that we can offer. 

To this...and for this...I am grateful. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

We Are The Surrendering

now, and always, surrendered - it's not a willful act, but simply life in its function of continuation, unfolding as the present moment in all of its happenings, allowing, and still allowing more in the endless capacity of simply being. 

It's not our action. 

We, ourselves - are the surrendering. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Fearlessly Human

it's here, right now, this moment of whatever's found - we meet the 

world in all of its hurt, it's sorrow, yet

endless beauty,

fearlessly human

~

Peace,

Eric 

The Moment Grace Was Given

there are infinite ways of looking at any one thing - our perspective doesn't have to be a fixed ideal, settled in the time of a singular occurrence. I think of this as its dawned on me that I am somewhere near the twenty year anniversary since I quit drinking. The actual date no longer stands out to me, and in truth isn't of great importance. I don't celebrate the beginning of my sobriety, nor mark it as any type of occasion, although it was certainly a catalyst into a very different life. So in this light, and at this moment my thoughts turn towards the gift of troubled times, everything leading up to that exact instant when I knew my path was changed. It was a meaningful event, tragic, and completely ordinary in its happening. I could have continued on afterwards in the same behavior, maybe slightly altered with some insight gained. Instead, I was offered grace - and it wasn't presented as a choice, or demand, or even as a new path for me to follow. To say that I chose sobriety wouldn't really be true - what was given was a clear awareness of a life lived without drinking began right now and never proceeded beyond this moment.
I am sober right now.
And have always been.
That's it.
Any struggle that tool place belonged in the same moment of my sobriety. I never had to think beyond right now. What happened yesterday really was/is non-existent. Tomorrow will never actually occur in the sense of my projection.
It always stays right now.
There was no long term struggle, and no regrets for past behavior. Of course I am sorry for those who I have hurt through my drinking. But making amends takes place now, heals now, and provides clarity to now.
There's no where else to be.
It's the same with sobriety.
This isn't a magical formula, a recipe for mystical healing, or an invitation for a greater power - although I don't dismiss of this at all.
It's simply awareness.
Right now I'm sober, alive, aware.
I don't have to do a single thing for any of this to be - no mindful meditation on the power of now, no mantra to remind me of being in the moment.
I am.
Always.
Again, there is nowhere else I could possible be.

~
That was the grace that I was given - just the clear awareness that right now I was/am sober and to relax into this, whatever this might be.
And so I did.
No matter what was happening - struggle, guilt, shame.
Craving.
That same grace was always present.

May it be for you as well.

Peace,
Eric 

From Nowhere

literally from nowhere - and 

every word a written

grace

~

It's receiving, our best effort has little to do with us and belongs fully to the mystery. Our role is patience, reminding ourselves that we are granted the favor to receive and in return to share again in circulation. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

When Am I?

here, and always it's a direct revelation - if my inquiry is to ask myself "when am I?" then the answer is only given in the moment of my asking. So I find myself here, present, with nowhere else to possibly be, ever - it's that simple. 

I am here, now - and all that's

left is the unfolding....

~

Peace,

Eric 

No True Meeting

there's no true meeting point, nowhere that isn't inclusive to the whole - and so our view is but a demonstration of reality, a vision of ourselves in the guise of world. It's all one thing, seamless, and infinite in the mystery of becoming. 

~

Peace,

eric 

Offered In Convenience

and now, and always - the view is seamless, an inquiry of seeing if one thing truly ends for the becoming of another, or simply parts in the grace of formless possibilities. It's a true seeing of the world that includes the mystery of that which can't be seen. I find myself included in this seamless view - first as object, solid and body-wise, and then continued as space offered in convenience for this unfolding in and as awareness. 

~

Peace,

Eric  

Simply Now Reside

my aim isn't to transcend the physical, it's not to

reach a higher world - 

it's to settle fully into being, recognizing myself as

home, and simply now

reside 

`~

If it's not found here, now, it won't be found at all - we could call it peace, Nirvana, Enlightenment, or the Kingdom of God. Regardless of name it's realized in the present moment and includes the fullness of who we are. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Simply in The Asking

it's a moment of inquiry, an easy unfolding into our own natural expression - we're not seeking answers but to further questions into all that we are. Here, in the asking, we find a seamless existence at the end of each question - an inquiry leading always to silence, stillness at the end. Each moment it presents itself - what we are, who we are, it's all unveiled simply in the asking. 

~

Peace,

Eric

None Of It's True

none of it's true - not our most cherished beliefs, nor passing thoughts judged against another. They're all masks imposed upon reality, sometimes helpful in navigating life's terrain, but never true in an ultimate sense of understanding. The closest we come to truth is in our own uncertainty, an on-going inquiry through layers of beliefs, opinions, and assumptions. Not knowing, and allowing ourselves the privilege of being free of certainty, is an ongoing gift of peace. It also opens our world to unlimited possibilities. Perhaps this is the only real thing we can offer ourselves and one another - my not knowing, free of assumptions on you should live life, allows room for your perspective, and gives me at least another view of our shared world. It provides room for us all to maneuver through. Of course we all cling to certain beliefs and ideals, and nothing really needs to be discarded if it brings us peace of mind. Yet with just a little inquiry, asking if we can truly know this thought is certain, again we find space for another to live their own examined life. 

It's just a little taste of freedom.

~

Peace,

Eric 

We Remain Exact

we've never gone astray - even as our thoughts wander, or find 

ourselves lost within an emotional storm,

we remain exact

our forgiveness is through remembering that 

we exist prior to any condition

found

and as this we are the allowing space for it all to be

~

Peace,

Eric 

Without Agenda

my world - without

agenda,

everything happens on its own.

Yet still there's time of great insistence, demands for things to be a certain way or meet my constant needs. The paradox is in my surrender of personal whims - and everything happens exactly as it does, but without my interference. 

And that alone makes all the difference. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Of Letting Go

here's the great secret about letting go - in the very moment of our surrender, we are already empty of everything we could possibly hold to. Letting go takes place entirely on its own without our direct participation - in truth it occurs through every moment, each thought given due and then released, our bodies surrendered to the sweep of time, even our most cherished beliefs are simply recycled from previous times they've served. Our world is motion, nothing static nor lasting - our suffering is only the failure to acknowledge the temporary nature of which we belong. So we could see this as a practice, adopting a sense of surrender in recognition of all that passes on its own - yet, perhaps better still, is to know ourselves as the space that serves for the brief appearance of the world, a giving capacity for things to be, linger, and then move on. 

From us - nothing more is really needed.

~

Peace,

Eric 

An Allowing Art

just allowing - and it occurs to me more often now that there's nothing I need to do, everything takes place immediately and even my actions are arranged through choices not my own. It's not fate, or a destiny guided by greater hands than mine. On a certain level choice appears and I'm left to find a path through this arrangement. I do what I'm able - when I am able to. This isn't about free will. It's about no will at all. Life happens. I find very little of it in my control. When I fight what appears that's to my displeasure - I suffer. When I cling to that which pleases me highly - I grieve in it's departure. Yet I find that there's another way. Or perhaps better said, there is the way things are exactly all the time. Everything is allowed. By virtue of appearance alone this is beyond my need to argue. I no longer fight reality. I don't always like it and sometimes find it near intolerable - yet somehow, always, I manage to go one, life continues, often changed and altered in it's way - but on it goes. There's peace in that. Recognizing this allowing could be seen as a practice, mindfulness as it were, but I prefer to see it as an art, smiling at what appears and being grateful for the creative response that surely, always follows. And that's the great secret of allowing - in this mystery there's infinite responses to everything that appears and my own individual choice in what I offer would be small in any comparison. So I urge myself patience, any guidance is provided from the same source that allows this life to be. In truth, it's all a continuation, a flow of one thing in full response to itself. The true art is in removal of a self that seeks control. 

But again - even that's allowed. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Life Goes On

it's all a letting go - and with 

just this truth to 

hold to,

life goes on

~

Peace,

Eric 

Not Surrendered

not surrendered - but simply

allowed in full 

expression, 

of exactly what we are

~

Letting go is not really an action, surrender is not a verb - it's just one moment being expressed in the varied function and exchange of form to formlessness. 

There's nothing really to do -

but simply be.

~

Peace,

Eric 

Lightly

to hold it all lightly, lightly...and 

through this 

touch,

the world passes

~

we are not disengaged, removed at all from the world - we are active participants of the whole, yet not attached to the things that pass and change on their own accord. 

And everything passes.

Everything changes. 

So we hold it all lightly.

~

Peace,

Eric 

Parts Imagined

it's a seamless 

existence -

with only parts imagined

~

So we're aware, and nowhere do we find a break within this - objects are just given space for their distinctions with no clear point of separation from the whole. Looking, with clarity, we find ourselves included. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Any Talent I Assume

there's still a subtle faith in my own inspiration - as if I alone command words to make it to the page on the timeline they've been given. It's quite diminished, not fully believed any longer, but still in the background as I face a day of writing. There was a time when I relied solely on my own creative powers, and so often I found myself left waiting for inspiration to appear. Writers block was certain. I've learned no great secret to overcome this, no technique or method to invoke creativity to my whims. Inspiration is not on demand. But there is a truth I've come to know - words come from nowhere, direct from mystery, and my only role to to simply be present on arrival. I write what appears and the more I am reminded of my own small role the less need for faith in any talent I assume. 

The truth is - it all happens on its own. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

A Religion of My Own

a religion of my own - and here, presence, there's 

found a worship of all that's seen,

as well the seamless capacity that

holds it in display.

my only prayer is seeing

~

Peace,

Eric 

Out of The Mix

the shift isn't into some greater world, with chaos left, and only peaceful response from this point on - our lives continue in full messiness, and often we will fail in how we wish to respond to it all. It's just how life is. Only now we find ourselves absent from blame and wholly giving ourselves as the space for the world to be. It's a subtle shift from being in the mix to providing ourselves as capacity for this beautiful mix to unfold. 

~

Peace,

Eric