No Matter the Season

No matter the season: 

solstice is over - and now winter lies ahead in its bitter entirety, a difficult season for me to face. It's the season of my surrender, a refusal to fight my way through it, no matter temperature, wind, nor dark emotions. I've let go of this seasonal battle, content to be home within myself...

whatever winter brings.

for me, it's never been seasonal depression, but a deepening of a low level melancholy that's present through the year and only happens to worsen through the darker days of winter. I realize that I've been fortunate that this is so as many friends and family members have suffered with depression, some to the point of not wishing to move from bed, struggling to grasp even the slimmest hope of light. I've been fortunate indeed, more so, even blessed as my own struggle seems to have lighted through the years for no reason other than the grace of my acceptance.  

somewhere along the line...

I just let go.

allowing myself to struggle, no longer refusing to love my sorrow, not hiding in darkness, nor even searching for the slightest glimmer of light - but simply relaxing in the presence of whatever's offered, without any need to force an internal change of scenery. 

and somehow through it all,

spring arrived.

light.

completely on its own. 

so no matter the season...I will love myself, accepting everything that's offered, even the things my heart and mind struggle to accept. I will love my resistance, recognizing the gift of self preservation. And I will love myself through darkness as well as my reach for light, no longer seeing it as a battle between two forces. 

I will simply love myself.

no matter the season.

and this makes all the difference.

~

Love, Eric

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Luminosity

Luminosity; 

just a bit more light now, that's the promise of winter solstice - and today, I accept this fraction of grace that's given to me. Knowing that the entire spectrum of luminosity...a light that's synonymous with the furthest reach of love,

is found through smallest gleam.

~

Love, Eric 

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Radical Responsibility

Radical responsibility: 

we're asked for no less than radical responsibility, acknowledging our role in the play of life's projections, relinquishing judgement of all that occurs, and seeing straight through to the original innocence of others -it's with this acceptance that we begin to heal the world. 

everything is our responsibility. 

if only at the most subtle level of involvement.

consciousness is participatory.

this means the world, how we live and view it, is entirely our creation. One of the most meaningful lessons of A Course in Miracles asks us not to seek to change the world, but to choose to change our minds about it - and it's through this alone that the world will change. Again, it's radical responsibility, not blame, just acceptance of our own role in salvation. 

we're meant to heal the world.

because it's our creation.

a projection, really.

and seeing this, 

truly so...

our world then begins to heal.

~

Love, Eric 

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Phrases

Phrases: 

many years ago I read a book titled Zero Limits by author Joe Vitale and it's subject was on the Hawaiian art of forgiveness and reconciliation called Ho'oponopono. This was originally a traditional shamanic practiced performed by a spiritual leader, called a Kahuna, and members of a family or community that were at odds with each other. It involves four phrases that are repeated in an act of cleansing psychic and emotional wounds and can be a very profound act of forgiveness.

here are the four phrases:

I love you

I'm sorry

Please forgive me

Thank you

done faithfully, with clear intent, it's a powerful cleansing agent for anger and resentment, freeing the practitioner from the harmful effects of their projections. I'm often asked if it truly works, and do I actually believe that the use of these four phrases can actually bring about a change of heart, behavior, and even some outer circumstances of my life.

and my honest answer is...

I don't know.

it doesn't really matter though, as I have little interest in the esoteric principles of any healing method. My only concern is the value of its practice. For me, it's a tool, a means of practicing forgiveness in a concrete way that brings it instantly into my heart-center, being a theme that plays gently though my mind in very meaningful way. So the four phrases have become a useful tool in the practicality of forgiveness, similar to Lesson 46 from A Course in Miracles: 

God is the love in which I forgive.

it's another phrase, cleansing in it's heart-felt practice.

but it's the end result that matters.

and here's the thing, it's the heart that cleanses itself, words are simply a performance, rituals of remembrance. In the end, there's only forgiveness. It happens entirely on it's own. Words themselves are just reminders that this is so. 

we are already, 

and always,

forgiven. 

~

Love, Eric

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Instructions

Instructions: 

I like instructions, explicit and directly to the point, most especially in matters that concern my own well-being. This is why I've been drawn to those paths that provide the most clear way ahead, such as yoga, Buddhism, and A Course in Miracles, they provide a blueprint for lasting peace and happiness. Even enlightenment, if you will. I love too the fact that Jesus was so precise with his instructions - love God with heart, soul, and mind, as well as too love others as we love ourselves. 

clear.

there's no room for negotiations here.

Jesus also pointed in the exact direction for us to find heaven, stating several times that the kingdom was only found within, and yet we still continuously look elsewhere. As a Christian, the path is definitely clear, and if more were needed than the Sermon of the Mount gives even more detailed instructions. Nothing more is needed for a meaningful, loving life than to follow the way of Christ. 

if that is your path, of course. 

with Krishna, the path of yoga is laid clear in the Bhagavad Gita. This is the way of surrender, laying aside attachments to the fruit of our endeavors, and living in the simplicity of an inner-directed life. Buddha too gives an eight-fold path that leads towards awakening. There's really little guess work involved here, it's just a matter of following these instructions. 

for me, the directive is forgiveness.

A Course in Miracles continuously points towards healing a fractured world, placing the responsibility solely upon my own practice. The instructions are quite simple: forgiving others as would wish to be forgiven. That's it. But it's a profound practice, not easy, as it shifts my beliefs away from blame and judgement towards a reality of absolute grace and a love without conditions. 

yet the instructions are clear.

forgive,

and further still...forgive some more.

until I heal a fractured world. 

~

Love, Eric 

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Return

Return: 

for the past few days I've allowed myself to sleep in just a bit, only an hour or so as I recover from a virus that's been particularly stubborn in it's stay. With this I've made a few adjustments, dropping a few asanas from my earliest yoga routine, shortening my pre-dawn walks - little things that might not seem important but have a noticeable affect through the rest of the day. 

I feel like I'm behind, in need of catching up. 

yet there's nothing that I'm chasing.

my most recent days, over the course of the last few years, have become monk-like in their structure. With little room for negotiating those extra few minutes in bed. It's not so much a matter of discipline, no, being more so a spontaneous plan that guides me through the day. 

I just go where I'm told.

and live my life this way.

these past few days though, it feels like I've compromised that plan, listening to demands that aren't really for my best interest right now. And the reason is that I don't feel better from that extra time in bed, I'm playing catch up with the thing I've most enjoyed. An hour doesn't seem like a lot of time, bit it's enough to cause me to consider how my day is served. My most cherished moments are the morning hours, quiet, contemplative, and completely my own. 

it's my time with God.

Brahma Muhurta.

holy hours.

and they now ask for my return.

~

Love, Eric 

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Happily Sipping Coffee

Happily sipping Coffee: 

without need of writing anything at all, no effort given to reach a sense of inspiration, my coffee at hand, content  - and even these few words bring me great joy in their arrival.

 I am a happy writer now. 

a great change from days when I was fearful of an empty page, wondering if inspiration would show, or if I would be left without a single satisfying word after a morning's worth of writing. None of that seems to matter any longer, writing happens on it's own. 

I simply write what's given.

or abide in silence.

happily sipping coffee. 

~

Peace, Eric 

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To Clarify

To Clarify; 

to be healed and to heal, that's it for me, the entirety of path and the objective of my life. What I realize is that I am never truly whole while other's still suffer, their anguish is mine as long as I'm witness to it, and my only real purpose here is to continuously offer forgiveness. 

to clarify,

forgiveness is simply the correction of a mind that still sees a fractured world. It's a return to wholeness, a recognition that we are always and only one display of love in the seamlessness of reality. To forgive is just a reminder and helps restore me to a sense of grace and balance. 

so every event, each person, serves this purpose too.

as never one ever heals alone.

we forgive ourselves...

together. 

~

Peace, Eric

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Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas: 

I wish to cultivate a true sense of Christmas, an essence of compassion, love in it's most unconditional form born within me and then offered to the world. This is the promise of salvation, that it's our's right now and must only be claimed through these holy-days. So, yes, I think of a Merry Christmas, one in which with this spark of infinite love comes to the heart of all...

Christ is born.

and let us nurture this consciousness through the days that follow.

Merry Christmas my friends.

it is indeed, a holy-day.

~

Love, Eric 

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A Light is Born

A light is born: 

one week away from winter solstice, from that point on it's a slow increase of light, and even though it's still early in the season - darkness loses just a slight hold on my emotions, something deep within me senses light's arrival and opens to its grace.

winter is a tough season for many, depression may deepen even if it's not seasonal, and the weather can keep us isolated, feeling alone, withdrawn from the world. I think that this is why the solstice has become so meaningful for me, it's hopeful, that even a sliver of light may find it's way through inner darkness. It's an occasion just before Christmas, auspicious, and makes the true meaning of the season. 

within us all...

a light is born.

this ties so neatly to Easter for me, a spring rite of renewal, my slightest light, a spark really, has endured, nurtured through the coldest season...and is now offered to the world. But it starts with that first hint of light through the darkest hours of the entire year. 

hope is born.

light. 

and my spirit will endure.

~

Love, Eric 

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Turning Point

Turning points: 

turning points, everyone has a dawning moment, a realization that they've now reached enough sorrow in life and that it's time for another way, a better way than previously lived before. A Course in Miracles reminds us that tolerance for pain is high but it's not without limit. 

we all reach a turning point.

eventually.

so this is really about love, empathy, it's about a turning point where the heart breaks within its own spaciousness, revealing an all embracing reach of light that only seeks to heal. Every authentic turning point is about love, and they always bring us full circle back to heart-self, a formless presence that recognizes itself as who we truly are. A turning point breaks from the narrow path of self-involvement, breaking us wide open -

our limit is found here, 

our tolerance for pain is reached.

and turning within...

we see we're now without true borders, 

always have been,

it's who we are.

a limitless reach of light...that's only meant to heal. 

~

Love, Eric 

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Self-Actualizing

Self-actualizing: 

long ago I read an essay that quoted American psychologist Abraham Maslow on his assertion that a "self actualized" person would be independent of the good opinions of others - and this statement has ever since served as a bench mark for my own independence, marking how truly free I am from the concerns of others. It's important to mention here that this doesn't disregard kindness, in fact, more truly so, it allows a greater degree of compassion to be expressed as it now stems completely from the heart. What Maslow's statement means, to me at least, is that a self actualizing person is listening to their inner guidance system, intuitive, creative, and stays true to who the really are.

in the language of A Course in Miracles...

they're attuned to the Holy spirit.

and turning nowhere else for reference. 

this is becoming increasingly easier for me now, more frequent, and with greater clarity. Finally. But it's taken long practice and after years of refusing to acknowledge that there's a greater wisdom than my own. It's ironic though, as years of struggle haven't served me well, and one would believe that this alone would have led me to an earlier surrender.  

yet, here I am now, 

eager to listen, 

and ready to let go of my own best opinion.

what I hear is a persistent urge to offer only love, no distinctions made, and that nothing but this truly ever matters. A self-actualizing person is simply an expression of love, as is everyone of course, yet at this point the voice of love quietly overwhelms the noise of every other concern. 

a self-actualizing person is one who listens...

and now hears only love.

even if it's still just a quiet whisper.

~

love, Eric 

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The Yoga of A Course in Miracles

The yoga of A Course in Miracles: 

one doesn't have to confirm the other, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are an entirely different school of thought than presented by A Course in Miracles -and yet they both promise an awakening, and show me the direct means of this possibility. More so, they simply my life through the joy of their practice, that I live the virtues of yoga's ethics, with breathwork, asanas, and meditation being fundamental to my day, while my forgiveness as offered by the Course keeps me centered in both my heart and peace of mind. I find no conflict between the two. 

what I truly love though, is when I catch a glimpse of an eternal truth shared between them. Both are systems that retrain the mind to remember who we really are. To practice both is to look beyond illusions to a reality that resides just beneath perceptions. Patanjali says that "a person and his mind generate the world ' and this could be an exact quite from the Course. The goal of yoga is to still the mind so that I can, at the very least, get a sense of this underlying reality. A Course in Miracles simply says - 

forgive the world of its illusions...

and be at home.

that's it, the yoga of A Course in Miracles, forgiveness offered to the the entity of the world. It's with this that I see through illusion, maya, and realize the deep heart connect that exists as my reality. Both yoga and the Course continuously point me towards the very moment of awakening. 

it's right now.

and everything's forgiven/ 

~

Peace, Eric

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I Forgive

I forgive:

I'm often asked if I believe in the metaphysics behind A Course in Miracles, that the world is an illusion of our mind and not one that God has actually created. Or, sometimes, there's the question of if I even believe in God at all -and honestly,

 I have no easy answers. 

but that's not a problem for me.

yes, I believe that we've created a world based up our individual and collective projections, it's illusory, perceptual, and has gone terribly wrong in it's function. I also have a firm belief in a God of reality, an all pervading intelligence that is wholly made of love. This is a love of creation itself, unconditional in it's clear acceptance. 

also, 

I could be wrong.

maybe some, or even most of this, isn't really true.

and I'm alright with this.

it doesn't change anything for me.

here's the thing, I don't practice metaphysics, nor any principles of an esoteric system. My practice, tried and true for me - is simply love. It's based on forgiveness as taught through the Course. And the reason for this is because, for me, it works. I forgive, and return to peace, a loving sense that's undisturbed by circumstance and events, being always available should I be in need. 

no metaphysics are involved.

nothing esoteric,

I forgive.

and return to love.

~

Peace, Eric 

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It Starts With Me

It starts with me: 

I've largely ignored the news lately, catching just enough in background noise to further my purposeful retreat. The world's a mess, and not likely to get better. Some will celebrate certain developments, for others they will be cause for despair. 

and everything continues pretty much the same as ever.

for me, I've taken lesson 153 from A Course in Miracles to heart - that the world gives rise to defensiveness, it's rooted in attack and anger, there's no safety here, and that peaceful of mind is all but impossible. Hardly a great message for a spiritual text. 

but it does hold promise. 

in my defenselessness...my safety lies.

with this one lesson I am asked to lay down my weapons of defense. 

and so I do.

it's difficult, of course, as I have my own strong opinions and concerns. I have long wished for a more fair and equitable world, homeless offered shelter, every starving child fed, and the environment cared for. Those dreams seem so far off now, more so than any other time before. And I'm tired of asking for the world to change. It's not going to happen. In fact, it's not supposed to - but we are. 

and it starts with me.

it always starts with me. 

that's my one true holy purpose.

your's as well.

so even as a glimpse of news still affects me, disturbing my peace of mind - there's an opportunity here as well. I simply offer love, my defensiveness laid aside, no political side taken. I offer only love. No, it's not always easy, but it is a joyful practice, forgiving my way back to center, returning again and again to that place where only love is found. It's with this that the world transforms. 

starting with me.

and it always starts with me. 

~

Love, Eric

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Original Innocence

Original innocence: 

forgiveness is my practice, blended seamlessly through meditation, asanas, and breathwork. It's yoga at it's most basic level -as true forgiveness simply brings me back to the original innocent of each present moment, a fresh start for the next breath to begin, posture realigned, and the mantra remembered. From this point on I just extend it to the world...

original innocence,

returned.

as often as it's needed.

~

Peace, Eric 

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Care-Given

Care-given: 

sick for the first time in several years, and grateful that's now and not when I was care-giving for my father. Even the slightest cold then could turn into something serious and land him in the hospital. There were several times when he was hospitalized with pneumonia and I feared he would make it home - but he always did, with the last time being in hospice and he passed away the very night of his return. 

so thinking about care-giving, my father and his love for me, and my own ragged cough right now - this is what he would want from me, my own loving-kindness turned around and offered to myself, tenderness offered to a sick and tired body. 

my father would say....

care for yourself as you cared for me.

and so I do.

somehow...

already feeling better.

~

Peace, Eric 

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Wounded Mind

Wounded mind:  

this morning I woke, hours earlier than usual, and with a wave anxiety building to the verge of panic. It's been awhile since this has occurred, well over a year now, but still familiar in its grip. This time it was triggered by a chest cold that made it difficult to breathe through the night, waking me with a choking gasp for breath. It doesn't really matter though, as every bout of anxiety stems from a tiny thought of fear that's run wild, raging larger and stronger over a short course of time. 

so that was my early morning. 

fortunately, I have some tools at my disposal, even if they're hard to access at the moment anxiety happens. First there is a reservoir of emotional health that I've been building, a daily cultivation of breathwork, mindful motion, and settling into the stillness of meditation. This is my bedrock, long established, and available as a strength for me to draw from. What this has done is cultivate a field of awareness that allows me to recognize a fearful mind. Just this background sense of calm alone is often all that's needed to lay some fear aside. It also provides a small opportunity to initiate a break in rampant thoughts, one mindful breath is often enough, a brief hum to provide a sense of calm, or some gentle motion that settles the body down. 

slightly, however slightly...

a peaceful seed has now been planted.

for me, I work with these seeds until I'm able to do some proper breathwork, calming the nervous system and reducing fear to a manageable degree. Yoga asanas follow, then meditation, and a walk through nature. Writing helps, as does any creative endeavor. More seeds planted. This is what I work with, and they've been enough to provide me the means to heal a wounded mind.

one moment at a time.

and that's all that's needed. 

~

Peace, Eric

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Like Yoga

Like Yoga: 

for the first time in several years I slept in this morning, granting myself almost an hour past my regular waking time. Still, this got me out of bed by 3:00 a.m, with plenty of time to work through my routine, my pace a bit more hurried, but everything accomplished. This little extra rest felt much needed, my nights have been extended some lately, so a little less sleep than I'm used to. As well I'm under the weather, a bug of some kind, and my body is urging me to recover, to be gentle, and tend to its needs. 

so I'm listening.

finally.

honestly it's taken me some time to arrive here, my body has always felt like an instrument that performed well when given a task to perform. I've pushed myself through some extremes in the past, physical goals, events, and, I think, just wishing to be in control of something. In a world in which I felt I had so little influence, I could, at the very least, push my body to it's limits.

the last few years have shown me otherwise though. 

my life is much more gentle now.

happier too.

oddly, it also seems I'm more disciplined, waking up just after 2:00 a.m for breathwork, meditation, and yoga. I follow this with writing and my first walk of the morning, and the day still holds a workout, more yoga, and some running. Yet it still feels gentle, even spontaneous in its routine. Nothing is forced and I'm listening to an inner call that prompts me to this motion. It's as if I don't move until I'm guided to, a slight momentum that urges a fuller, longer expression. 

right now -

my life feels like yoga.

deeply so.

through everything I do...even sleeping in.

~

Peace, Eric

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Continuous Forgiveness

Continuous forgiveness: 

what does it mean to live a life of continuous forgiveness? For me, with the principles of A Course in Miracles long studied and practiced, it's simply being less concerned with the actions and opinions of others, that I am now more focused on my own heart center and what I can offer to the world instead of what the world will do for me. 

it's just an easier way to be.

forgiveness here, in this sense, is not something that's bestowed upon another, it doesn't justify someones behavior or actions, nor does it condemn anyone either. What's called for is to see beyond the surface of hurt and sorrow, deeper still to the very heart of all that matters - 

we are divinely one in our true origin.

innocent,

I'm asked only to recognize this through every present moment.

seeing that only love is real.

it's a practice.

and I have a lifetime to get better.

~

Love, Eric 

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Pleasure Writing

Pleasure writing: 

I love these quiet mornings when I don't have to write anything at all, there's nothing urgent for me to say, and the words come softly to me at their slowest pace. This is just pleasure writing, a joyful ease of thoughts that meander to the page. It seems to happen most often on these colder mornings, there's a feeling of contentment here in the warmth of my office - with my coffee mug steaming next to me, a cat who joins me with a purr, and a mind that feels satisfyingly still. 

so I let words find me.

one,

or a few at a time.

enjoying what this moment offers.

~

Love, Eric 

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Tilting Earth

Tilting earth: 

it's winter now, maybe not officially by date, but the bite of cold tells me so. This isn't my favorite time of year, and each season seems to remind me why earlier still. Cold is just more difficult for me now, sinking deeper into my bones, and the chill doesn't seem to leave me until summer is fully on. Winter just feels longer for me than ever before - and my interior landscape reflects this mood as well.

it's a hard season for me.

as it is for so many.

and yet with each passing year I'm able to settle into this discomfort, not happily so, but with a sense that what's present is the only possible scenario and won't change until the earth tilts closer to the sun. I'm okay with that not, there's no battle against the cold nor demand for the earth to hurry in its tilting. The season is here for its duration - and just this acceptance brings an ease of mind. 

it's that simple.

nothing has to change to suit me.

life remains beautiful through harsh cold as well as blazing sun. 

and as my mind accepts this,

easing in its judgement,

I settle into a great forgiveness, one that eases my body's grievance against the cold, no bitter complaints against the icy sweep of wind. I forgive the world for being the world...

tilting earth and all. 

~

Peace, Eric 

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Imaginary

Imaginary:

forgiveness too is an illusion, being just a tool imagined for a very specific purpose. What this means, what it actually does - is simply and only returns us to the present moment of our invulnerability. It demonstrates that right now and always, we are immune to the idea of attack. 

forgiveness is an imaginary tool that sets us free.

and liberated...

we then offer only love.

~

Peace, Eric 

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Stories

Stories: 

we're all hero's in our own stories, or mostly so I believe, thinking of ourselves as underdogs who struggle against great odds and occasional enemies in order to achieve a sense of belonging in the world. Seldom, if ever, do we consider that we might be the villain in someone else's story - that we are the very obstacle that stands between them and their fulfillment. Of course it's a shifting cast, how we see others now might change throughout our story, someone viewed unworthy might now prove helpful, or a trusted ally falls from favor and shows, in our review at least, their true colors. 

and so it goes.

forever it seems.

yet here, arrives forgiveness,

transcending the story all together.

everyone of them.

forgiveness removes us from the shifting story, it promises us nothing but hero's, as every character is out to save us in their own particular way. What we see is that the world is based entirely on our perceptions and that we are the cause for every shifting pattern. No one is removed from this, everyone belongs on the stage of their creation. We have projected our cast and the role they'll play. But forgiveness sees straight through this, it doesn't limit anyone to a single scene, or typecast anyone within a role. It simply sees everything as a vast expansion of an ever present love that is meant to light the world. 

forgiveness is without judgement.

it's without stories.

and with this...

we're free.

no more stories told. 

~

Peace, Eric

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A Hard-line Drawn

A hard-lined drawn: 

there's a hard-line drawn, and forever I seemed afraid to cross it - it's always been my option to choose peace in any moment, my responsibility even, and yet I most often failed to take this on, and so suffered for my choices. 

peace is always mine.

but it's up to me to claim it.

always.

my ego, a false identity indeed, simply does what's needed to keep its special status. To choose peace is counter to its every goal. It's so much easier, for the ego at least, to see attack thoughts everywhere and then counter them all with its own. 

and so my world remains in chaos.

no true peace is found.

until I come up to that hard-line and finally step across, finally choosing peace instead of an unremitting war against myself. The hard-line is this: 

it's my own attack thoughts that give cause to a war-filled world, it never arises without me, and totally up to me if I choose to heal. I'm constantly on the edge of that hard-line, recreating a world that's filled with conflict through almost every thought I hold. 

until I don't. 

now, and it's never not right now...

I choose peace.

a hard-line drawn, 

and a brand new world created.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Happily So

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Happily So

Happily so: 

I'm settling into a life of forgiveness, it just makes sense to me now, a moment by moment letting go of all thoughts that appear as any form of resentment or grievance. It's still a challenge of course, maybe more so than ever, and I think that's why I was called to this deep commitment. Forgiveness, as seen through the teachings of A Course in Miracles, is simply a continuous return to the present, more of a remembering really, as this moment never truly strays.

so all I'm ever asked to do...

is view the world in it's original innocence.

forgiving my perceptions.

as often as I'm able. 

and it's easier than ever, perhaps because I'm older, or after decades of practice - but I'm more apt to choose peace now, less willing to indulge my own demands that life presents itself a certain way. Mostly, I just find myself happier, a true joy that lasts no matter what seems to be happening. I forgive easily, quicker than before, and smile readily at how often I still mistake myself for ego.It's the benefits of a continuous practice without need of being perfect, nor even being particularly good at it. 

my life is my practice.

happily so.

no matter what seems to happen. 

~

peace, truly so, 

Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: The Only Perfect Moment

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The Only Perfect Moment

The only perfect moment: 

don't put it off, that's the imperative here, right now is the only perfect moment for my forgiveness. For me, it seems that I've spent much of my life not being ready to forgive, there's always been an excuse for me to delay this practice - and of course it was valid only in my mind. 

now is the only perfect moment ever offered,

this is where my peace is found.

and this is what I choose.

it helps to redefine forgiveness, to think of it as a continuous practice of returning to the innocence of each present moment, a newness that presents itself at my every opportunity. I don't forgive the past, nor even behaviors that are hurtful, those are superficial in a sense, real in the pain they've caused, but my objective to go straight to the source and heal the mind. 

I forgive the illusion of my suffering.

meaning that right now, this only perfect moment offered...

I let go of every thought of separation,

my sorrow,

grievances,

and judgement,

meeting others right here, again, and as if for the very first time...seeing only their most cherished innocence, seeing them free from all of my projections, and returning to the garden of this one and only moment - perfect for my forgiveness.

this is where peace is found. 

~

Love, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Atah Kim 

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Atah Kim

Atah Kim; 

here's a mantra for consideration, atah kim in Sanskrit, with the English translation being nothing more than "so what" an almost flippant reply we've sometimes offered to others, only now it's turned back towards ourselves in a task to not take everything quite so seriously. While this isn't an actual mantra given by yogic master or great seer for us to meditate upon, it is a useful reminder that, indeed, life from the ego's vantage point looks upon almost everything as a serious affront to its lofty position, and will always take umbrage with even the slightest provocation.

but so what?

I'm reminded of a great line from Herman Melville in Moby Dick, that "so in the soul of man there lies one insular Tahiti, full of peace and joy, but encompassed by all the horrors of a half-known life." There is is, the ego in all of it's serious and specialness, reality barely witnessed and never truly realized due to failure to laugh and smile at our own mis-identification. The ego is the "half-known life" and keeps us trapped within a world of its perceptions.

there's something more though,

joyous,

and it's who we really are. 

our own insular Tahiti.

the mantra atah kim, so what, leads us there, helps us navigate what Melville calls the "appalling ocean" of the ego's perceived world. We simply don't take everything we think so seriously, allowing ourselves just a slight smile at the ego's expense. This the mantra of our surrender, maybe for just a moment...

but so what? 

a moment is all that's sometimes needed. 

~

Peace, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Wilderness Still

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