I Don't Know For Sure

the absolute too is our surroundings - nothingness made

form for the sake of its own

becoming,

and of even this - I don't 

know for sure. 

~

Insights and understandings often seem to leap in sudden inspiration to the page, I write without intent of teaching, or even offering anything other than, I hope, nicely written words. My goal is art for its own sake, and secondly for my joy and maybe something deeper gained. Of these insights, maybe something is true, perhaps a hint of mystery revealed for just the moment of writing and reading. Of course every truth told is only temporary in meaning, lasting no more then the moment its been given. For me, it's all pointers, a constant referral back to mystery, a return to not knowing, and more - beyond the need to know. 

Peace,

Eric 

To Simply Find An Edge

the inquiry is to simply find an edge - from skin to air, reaching branch to sky, from season to coming season, it's an edge-less world of one existence. My hand is distinct from its surroundings, an object seemingly on its own - yet I seen no true dividing line of fingers and the air between, no point of departure where my hand is momentarily separate from the world it touches. One thing literally, seamlessly, without edge, opens to a new appearance. We will not find a separate existence. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Letting Go Of Letting Go

so it seems - letting go of even our letting go, and the world exist without preference or demand, a simple order of being beyond the reach of concepts. It's all so simple than, effortless, just allowing things to be exactly as they - and in this our desires fit inclusive to it all as well. Awakening is taken care of by awakening. The very act of letting go is a willful demand of this natural surrender, unneeded, and an imagined act of our importance. 

Nothing happens that is not also instantly surrendered.

Even as it seems we're constantly letting go....

Just remember it all happens on

its own. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Our Letting Go

and here's our letting go - seamless, as a tree gives up its own reach for the empty promise offered through the sky. There is no effort for the tree to give, nor sky to receive, one thing simply reveals itself as the appearance of something other, a traded guise of emptiness to form and back again in constant fashion. This to is our reality, emptiness touched against itself as our own solid understanding - ready to receive. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Hopeless

without hope - for this is always a leap to something other, a projection to a time not met within this moment. To hope is to offer a futile prayer, asking always for something just outside our present reach. Yet hope continues - and there is no cause blame for its occurrence, no need to erase it from our minds. Just see that right now, this moment, is hopeless because it stands alone in full provision, our breath arrives, heart beat continues, and we bask in light provided by the sun. Nothing was asked for - yet the world was granted. Through letting go of hope - we appreciate the moment, and all that's been freely given.

~

Peace,

Eric 

*it's simply about being free

Because It Is

because it is - and this the only possible conclusion drawn for what's found within each moment. Our search for cause is a quest beyond the present, it's helpful for knowledge but also keeps peace a length away from our experience. Things are, and right now, will not be other until conditions are met for things to change. Peace is found here, in this acceptance, and at once, in this recognition, we've come to see ourselves as an allowing agent for change to occur, and for peace to be. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Other

things don't have to be any other way but this - and our preference for change, for conditions different than what's found now, are included in this acceptance. This is where our peace is found, not in seeking for anything outside this very moment, just the gentle observation of how things are, knowing that change is bound to happen, and relaxing in the flow that consist of events and the stillness that allows it all to happen. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Remaining Right Now

it's mostly speculation, anything beyond this moment is our best guess and given to faith - we know of our own existence, we know life, and to know this is to remain in mystery. Right now is a miraculous event, to simply be alive requires the cooperation of the universe from grand scale to the finite. I take none of this for granted, so to speculate of past lives, cosmic order, or what continues after, removes me from appreciation for the mystery that has me remaining right now. It's enough to just be. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Initial Seeing

first - there is the initial seeing, a return to spacious understanding by the sudden realization that we never left at all. This is our awakening and everything else - simply details. Yet even this is never ending, awakening continues through a mystery of its own. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

As This Allowing

that there is - and we too 

belong as this 

allowing 

~

what's present, belongs, if only briefly for the moment of its appearance. Presence could rightly be called an allowing space, open, a willing acceptance for every object, each passing thought and emotion - what ever is, has been received with welcome. Sometimes this is hard to believe, difficult for us to come to terms with, and often discarded in a personal fight against reality. Yet evidence remains as simply what appears, each moment holding a world of its own, things we love and others we wish to not exist. That's reality. Our way to peace is also found within each moment, in fact, it's the moment itself, ever present and always ready for one more thing to belong, or something more to drift aside. It's in this noting that we find no clear line between what is present and our awareness of it, its simply one great allowing, object and acceptance being one thing only. In this light - how could anything possibly be denied? 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Whatever Then Arises

and thank you - simply 

for the space you

offer,

allowing me to be

whatever then 

arises

~

It's really all we can offer another, our own spaciousness provided as their template to be, our emptiness gifted for the spontaneous appearance of life. Our only promise is one of allowing, that no matter the thought, or grievance, we are always open for each other, a clear space to simply be - whatever then arises. 

Peace,

Eric 

What's Added

and then what's added - but first our view is simply laid out in natural wonder, one thing in unique lines to give distinction, emptiness found between objects equal in its meaning. The story is always after, naming items for convenience, assigning status to one above another - and in this way our world becomes divided. Yet what remains is the clear template of allowing, the page just before the story's told. Our view always, only, allows for one thing to be seen, existence in all aspects of form and giving space. 

What's added is simply what arises.

In this story - everything 

belongs. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Embraced By This Conclusion

our own answer is silence - and every 

question already embrace by

this conclusion,

yet we ask anyway

perhaps simply for the

pleasure of the

listening 

~

Peace,

Eric 

No Point, No Reason, No Purpose

with no point, nor purpose necessary to believe in - existence 

alone is our salvation. 

it's in this light, this insight, that I simply allow myself to simply be, that I am -is enough, and provides all the reason for my continuation. I am not absent of desire but fulfilled by by my own completion, and in this there is freedom, curiosity, to allow the grace of new directions to find me. No one is given a single point of reason, a purpose they alone can fulfill - existence is the universe in surprised, playful, awareness of itself in our own unique position. Awakening to this, and all directions point to home. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Words

here are words - and 

yet too,

simply the mystery of 

their appearance 

~

Peace,

Eric 

One Thing in Both

embracing all - yet even this is

held by something 

greater,

beyond concepts

one thing in both embrace and 

object of its comfort.

~

Peace,

Eric

Self-Harm

my friend - what if there was no self to harm? Perhaps we seek to inflict pain on a self imagined for this purpose alone. that through our own spaciousness we doubt the form of our becoming and sensations offer proof in the belief of what we are. I don't know. But I care, I care for you, and I'm sorry that you suffer. My own journey of self inquiry has given me reason to doubt that I am merely form, just a body alone, one thing standing among other things in a world filled of things. It doesn't mean that I'm not the body, or part of this world (of things) but that body I once believed so strongly was mind, was simply occurring through the aware space of what I (we) really am. It's like the famous heart sutra of Zen - form is emptiness/emptiness form. It's not just once thing, it's not really both either - it's all things, at once, and always. 

So what if this is really, truly what we are - form, body, thought/emptiness, awareness? All at once. And if we are - then the self that you seek to harm, isn't really there at all. Just a brief appearance of gathered thought lending itself to the belief that it could be harmed. Even the impulse to hurt is only a sensation happening through the real, original you of spacious awareness. It's there, it has a reality for a moment, and then it's gone. Perhaps if it's seen, noted, and allowed its moment - it would simply pass along its way. Much like most of our thoughts do. 

Once again, I don't know. 

I'm just allowing these thoughts to come to me, writing them down, not knowing of they will ever find you, or help you if they do. 

They are much the same as our other thoughts, here, and then gone, only now written down and sent to you. 

What I do know is that these words are offered in love. 

And I hope that's enough for even a little comfort. 

_

Peace,

Eric 

This Natural Surrender

we see this natural surrender - one thing in constant shift of guise and shade, letting go of form for spaciousness and back again in new appearance. To this, there is no struggle, no sunset in refusal of the night, no darkness afraid of dawn. We find ourselves no different in surrender, our own lives passing in a series of rising and setting suns. Our struggle is not in letting go but in clinging to appearance, as if day or night could be removed from one another. It always remains one thing in full shifting wonder, and our own lives are fulfilled through this belonging as well. We surrender - but never find ourselves separate from the whole.

~

Peace,

Eric 

Our Most Apt Description

and here belongs - this is our most apt description, a spacious allowing of objects and events without discrimination. Even our best wishes of otherwise fall seamless into this great belonging. It's when we argue with this reality that we most suffer.

Relaxing.

Knowing that things can't be otherwise - but one day, another moment, will be different.

We find peace. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Amen

amen - and so we affirm in 

faith that this is so,

just this one and only moment - and 

all that it may hold. 

~

I love the world Amen, an affirmation of faith that what was stated, prayed upon, or offered as insight is to be taken as so. For me it's not an exclamation of belief but a gentle claim of surrender to the moment. Amen is a sigh beyond the need for belief, a letting go of all but what the moment holds, nothing more but the soft sigh of yes to this, this, and this. Amen is my acceptance of what is, without need of change, but with a promise of nothing ever truly lasting either. It's reality - spoken symbolically.

Amen. 

Peace,

Eric 

Life On The Other Side

there is life on the other side of this - yet I don't mean to offer a promise of a soul's after life, nor a journey traveled to a higher plane of existence. But this, right now, and whatever it is the moment holds is life in process and will continue even after. Our pain, suffering, is not an interruption of life's expression but simply our own call to attend to wounds, to find the light and spaciousness that holds our seemingly broken pieces, and to deeply know that in wholeness - all things belong. And that is what continues, our wholeness, life itself, constantly meeting us exactly where we are, and always, fully, an embrace of presence. On the other side of this - is this, yet somehow, we are transformed by its embrace. 

~

Peace,

Eric

An Obvious Yes

an obvious yes - and for me this shows as proof in all I view, in the things found present through each moment, and even in my desire for situations and things to somehow be other. If it's here, in thought, feeling, or object - it belongs for its duration. This too includes a wish for change, and action taken to bring a new outcome. Reality says yes to it all. 

If my goal (such as it may be) is peace - then the obvious path is to simply not argue with reality. Or taken further, even know my argument belongs and to just be aware, relaxed, and allow it all to be, exactly as it would regardless. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Between Us

and this between us - a shared space of being, creative, receptive and aware. Our relationship begins here, a dialog of space to form and back again. This is our allowing place, an area of becoming and display for each other in our most creative manner. Life offering itself as template in self-aware pleasure of creating itself anew. And we come before each other in this sense - each an artist of high regard, template too, and still more, we are life in continuous flow of creation, 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Requirements of Being

of spiritual practice - it's this distinction that distracts us for the obvious, immediate, presence of reality. Nothing has to be done for realization of wholeness, or life simply happening on its own, and of our own belonging. Yet, too, is our forgetting. So, our practice, if desired, is not to reach an exalted state equated as something other than right now - but to remind ourselves that right now is all we need, indeed, all there is and can be. Inquiry and meditations are just moments to relax, an extended session to not forget exactly what we are. Perhaps they're not needed, for some not at all and for others in temporary order. Regardless, we are always, and only, present, awakened, and aware. To be requires no practice, no remembering, no effort.

It all happens entirely on its own. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Continuous Yes

a continuous yes - and all the world offers

becomes welcomed as the

whole

even as our thoughts wish no

~

It's not a practice of saying yes to what the world offers, it's simply the allowing nature of reality, what is present, is, and won't be otherwise until conditions make it so. In this light, we see our own demands fit neatly within reality, for even as we argue for things to be different, reality keeps saying yes to even our counter wish of no. So perhaps our only practice is bring attention to reality, a smile for what's present, inviting grace to this acceptance with the faith that everything changes. 

Peace,

Eric 

For You My Friend

and for you my friend - I offer my absence, a replacement of self for space that allows us both to be, to heal, and find ourselves together. This then is our true and only home, always present, inviting us not to visit, but to remember that this is where we always are. Our brokenness is the reminder of our spacious nature, that we are the whole only imagined small, and every seeming piece of jagged, wounded edge is surrounded, indeed, embraced by the infinite love of our existence. We heal ourselves together for the sake of remembering our place as one. 

And for you my friend - we disappear in all but the 

holy space of which we offer. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

It's All An Inquiry

it's all an inquiry, a restful revelation of 

self in and as the 

world -

to ask myself - when am I? 

and always

answered now, now, and 

always now.

asking where am I? 

and find myself here. present as the

very details offered by the view. 

it's not an inquiry of seeking, there are no answers provided that are not already known - it's mystery in direct revelation of my asking, a conversation of self to silent self with the world given as reply. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Gone

letting go - and even 

this is gone, 

completely on its own

~

It's not about effort, these are things that are natural, taking place through presence without intent from our own conscious understanding. We are not the ones who (willfully) call for surrender, or choose to forgive or let go - we are the field of its occurrence, and by the time we come to the wish of letting go, only memories are left to give to this surrender. 

Peace,

Eric 

But To Be

our forgiveness - offered through the

grace of existence,

and nothing needed to 

achieve this

but to be

~

Peace,

Eric 

Through This Absence

and through this absence also comes a capacity provided for the self to be - it does not have to be the ego viewed as hindrance, or emptiness as replacement for life fulfilled. It's really one thing giving space for itself in form, personality as unique appearance of the whole - yet always, only one thing alone. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Within Itself

a touch within itself - and so 

this the intimacy of

our existence.

it's seeing this, our true intimacy that leads to the realization of alone, one thing in constant wonder of itself, losing track of its oneness through our wandering thoughts of other, and then a sudden remembrance of its nature. This alone can never be lonely, this intimacy can never be less than whole in its fulfillment, this wonder never anything other than our own awakening. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

All Belongs

all belongs - and so the view simply

shows the world to me,

while thoughts alone provide

distinctions. 

~

Everything that is, now, belongs in the moment of its appearance - evidence for this is provided by reality. What is - is. Yes, we can make the case for items of the world to be illusions, nothing solid, nor lasting, in original state. But our purpose is served by seeing - to know that what appears is here, and belongs for whatever stretch that it may stay, and that nothing will last beyond the limit of its given time. 

If its here - it belongs. 

Even thoughts that argue otherwise.

Through this acceptance we find the natural peace of presence. 

Peace,

Eric