No Matter How Often

No matter how often: 

so it comes down to how do we practice, letting go of what feels like an unforgivable act against us - and I wish I had an easy answer here, that I could offer a simple method that wipes all of our suffering away with a mantra or an effortless gesture of forgiveness. 

but I don't.

there are methods of course, with some being very effective to helping us change perspective and arriving at a true sense of forgiveness. The workbook in A Course in Miracles has several exercises on how to do this deep inner work that heals our wounds. Yet for me, it's more about working in through each moment, with whatever grievance appears no matter when it might have happened, or how much suffering that it holds. It's all just part of a continuous practice, seeing past the illusion of timelines and returning to the innocence of the present moment.

everything is already forgiven here.

right now.

and there's just memories to let go of...

no matter how often they appear.

I return my heart to love.

~

Peace, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: A Very Simple Practice

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A Very Simply Practice

A very simple Practice: 

my practice is forgiveness, simplified now, that through long years of meditation and yoga, study of many traditions, it just comes down to the present moment and all that I'm willing to surrender. I consider this as practice in the literal meaning of the word, working at forgiving as needed, mindful of past grievances and being careful of my own projections.

there's no need for self-improvement.

I forgive every false belief,

 finding peace with who I really am.

a very simply practice.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Yes, This Too

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Yes, This Too

Yes, this too: 

to live a more forgiving life, one not based upon principles but lived solely from the heart. This isn't meant in any sentimental way, it's more practical, that my life is a display of love and untouched by past events or projection on the future. 

everything is forgiven and returned to love. 

at least,

to the best that I am able.

and that's the wonderful thing about a practice, there's no demands that I be an expert right now, or ever really. I have an entire lifetime to put this into action, events that present themselves in order for me forgive, and my only role here is to say...

"yes, this too is forgiven" 

and so,

my life continues. 

forgiving all the way.

~

Peace, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: As Less Now

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As Less Now

As Less Now:

it's getting easier to be one less thing, dropping self-made images and concepts, beliefs and long cherished opinions, as well as concerns for however others might view me. Maybe it's age, that I'm soon to leave middle age behind and face whatever years are left ahead. But it feels deeper than that, almost a natural meditation of letting go, things appear in temporary order and just as soon and easily seem to slip away with no thought nor effort applied from me.

I see myself as less now.

verging towards emptiness.

and with this I hold everything so lightly.

lovingly.

as capacity for the world.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Where Life Takes Me

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Where Life Takes Me

Where life takes me: 

it seems now - I'm much less involved in the world, and yet at once somehow more intimate with life itself, perhaps a paradox, but it feels perfectly right to me. This doesn't mean that my usual interests and the things I care for no longer meaning, they do, there's just less concerned for my personal involvement, that I don't need to add my opinion to every matter, there's no wish to make other wrong through my own demands of how I wish the world to be.

there's just no longer a need to believe I'm always right.

so I hold my views lighter now,

more gently,

 surrendering, forgiving, wishing love to others.

and seeing where life takes me.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: To Let Go Of

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To Let Go Of

To let go of: 

and as always, it's just one more thing to let go of, with even the ritual of forgiveness being just another concept that is eventually surrendered, having realized that all we ever have is the present moment and that no trace of our past actually remains. 

forgiveness is instantaneous.

so the truth is, 

we don't do anything.

healing happens on it's own.

yet our rituals are important too, for as long as needed, serving to remind us that we are forever bound to the present  moment, always right now, and that no past event can ever truly harm us. Forgiveness is a liberating ritual, a wonderful healing tool. 

but in the end,

it's just one one more thing that's let go of...

as surrender too, 

happens completely on its own.

~

Peace, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit to buy: No Bypassing

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No Bypassing

No bypassing: 

there's no bypassing here, forgiveness isn't a path of shying away from what's present, but it's a deeper look as to what truly is right now, realizing the original innocence of the moment - and asks us only to rest in what is found. That's how we forgive, continuously so, a healing that takes place instantaneously and is repeated as often as it's needed. 

eventually, 

our world is completely healed.

forgiven.

and only peace is found.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: A Beautiful Practice

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A Beautiful practice:

it just feels like a beautiful practice, all of it now, from the more overt yoga, breathwork, and sitting meditation to the inner urge that keeps prompting me to surrendering to whatever it is that each moment offers - a beautiful practice of simply allowing, allowing, allowing...

and everything is exactly as it is,

without any effort for me to make it so

other than my letting go. 

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: To Cherish

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A beautiful 

To Cherish

To cherish: 

it's now fully summer, solstice passed, and even now light is diminishing by a fraction each morning, not yet noticed by eyes, but I know that everything is continuously changing and another season is approaching. No season stands apart from another. There is a sense of sadness to this seasonal motion that causes me to appreciate these summer all the more, cherishing them in recognition of their briefness. I have no idea how many of them I have left to enjoy, none of us do, and this alone is reason for me to love each moment's warmth as it passes. 

and I do.

if asked of my summer plans, this will be my answer - 

to cherish. 

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Kinship

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Kinship

Kinship: 

yesterday morning was the gift of foxes, three sightings during my early one, with one extended for over a minute before she broke into a graceful glide across a short field before disappearing into the brush. Truly magical to witness, always, and to capture this moment on video becomes an added highlight to my day, because with this gift - I know I get to share it.

others are joined within the magic.

a sense of kinship found. 

even if it's unexplained.

that's the sense of magic gained through sharing anything beautiful, maybe especially with nature, as now we have a common bound, a recognition of beauty that breaks past the barriers of form and joins us in an unfathomable depth of soul. That's the magic given to me by foxes, that I dropped myself as an outside observer and simply became the moment itself, pure, aware of every aspect yet not separate from the whole affair. Yes, when others watch this later it will be removed from the moment it was filmed, some slight magic maybe gone - but the sense of magic still linger however small.

we'll have this moment with foxes.

a kinship with the moment.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Perception

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Perception

Perception: 

what forgiveness truly does, at least when put in practice, is simply correct our perception, that we see how our minds have projected a vision of the world that is filled with grievances and what feels like justified resentments. We forgive our own projections and in this way - 

we perceive the world another way.

now through the eyes of love.

and this is our original vision of the world.

innocent,

whole,

without need for our forgiveness.

as only love is real.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Grievance

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Grievance

Grievance: 

from an early age on the world invites us to share its grievances. We're born into tribes that bear a history of being against other tribes for reasons that are seldom even remembered any longer and are never justified to be carried over so many generations. From the very beginning we're told that we are separate from others, and yet special too, but only so long as we belong within the tribal belief system. 

we're taught to hold our grievances closely.

perhaps our earliest lesson.

from here, it's a continuous grievance against others, and even ourselves, as we've learned to keep score as a means of earning our place within the world, that we succeed only by making others wrong, or placing ourselves ahead by means that keep us feeling special. It's a cruel way of navigating through life, meaning as it always makes us feel we're in a battle, one tribe against another, each person struggling to get ahead before someone else claims a vague sense of success before we do.

 if we fail our grievances grow.

and even if we succeed we continue to keep score.

yet there's a kinder way to live, gentle, one that doesn't ask us to keep score or view ourselves as separate from others. It's as simple as forgiving our every grievance, not as an act of bestowing favors and deeming others as now worthy of forgiveness - it's simpler than that, easier too.

we just acknowledge the innocence of each present moment.

that as of right now,

this very instant,

we're completely free of any grievance, that this moment, fresh, new, and every moment that will follow, is entirely clean of any past wound other than as a memory of whatever came before. What we're really doing here is letting go every yesterday and living directly in what this, and this, moment now offers - and that's the very nature of forgiveness.

it's how we heal.

and it's always now.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Broken

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Broken

Broken: 

it feels like the last several years have broken me open, that I'm no longer solid as I once felt before, porous now, and that life moves completely through me. This is probably true for so many of us at this point in time, a collective trauma of pandemic and personal loss, national division to the point that feels like tribal warfare and no sure ending of this in sight. 

it's an age of insecurity. 

yet feels as if we're all ignoring it.

as if we're attempting to piece ourselves together instead of allowing our brokenness to reveal our spacious nature. The thing is, we break for a reason, life as we know it is simply too much for us to hold together, it's frantic, filled with the busyness of trivial things as we ignore an all consuming fire. We break open so there's room for this fire, it heals, and leaves the ash of our hurried lives behind.

it's a sacred fire.

and we're the allowing space through which it burns.

but only if we see it.

recognizing the holiness of our brokenness,

 as well as the cleansing reach of fire.

so for this...

I remain broken open.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Upset 

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Upset

Upset: 

lesson 4 of A Course in Miracles is the first true challenge to the ego, it reminds us that we're never truly upset for the reason we thing we are, and that though the lens of our peace of mind every outrage is equal in its disturbance. What we're asked to see is that being upset is the ego's reaction to every situation that even slightly makes us mad. We're moved away from a peaceful response within an instant, our equanimity thrown, and then the energy of these encounters lingers in the mind for hours or days.

sometimes for years.

what the Course is insisting is that there's no hierarchy of disturbance within the context of our peace of mind, as the smallest upset is as equally able to sway us towards resent as the largest, and that a true creative solution to any situation is found through equanimity. It's a very yogic response that's offered here, worthy of Patanjali himself who stated in his sutras that yoga is the cessation of the fluctuation of the mind. Lesson 4 of the Course is simply asking us to be aware of the motion caused by every upset. 

large or small. 

the Course and yoga are aligned in this regard, that we're not manipulating the mind to gain any special state of equanimity, but that we're just bring an easy awareness to the motion of the mind, witnessing how it's disturbed by the thoughts that judge this present moment.

and through awareness along our mind begins to change.

settles.

and we more easily respond.

it's just a kinder way for us to move through the world.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: For whatever Reason

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For Whatever Reason

For whatever reason:

for whatever reason, and without question from my part, I'm drawn back to the teachings of A Course in Miracles, something I once favored but left largely behind well over a decade ago. The Course is a dense text and a yearlong work book that was a near continuous practice for me for almost 20 years, something that seemed to hold a promise for me but was too demanding for me to finish in as little as a year. And of course it isn't supposed to be, it's a lifetime study, a practice, and even having set it aside for so long is part of how the course unfolds.

at least for me.

in 2009, divorce approaching, my mother in final decline from Alzheimer's, helping my father as he recovered from a stroke care for her - I committed to the Course fully, and then simply left it behind, not in any overt fashion or a particular reason. I just felt done, carrying along with my yoga and meditation practice and feeling that the Course would work through me however seemed right.

and it did, largely so, returning to me through the stressful times ahead, always, eventually, leading me to a more peaceful place of mind. It wasn't something that I felt compelled to continuously study, my life was now my practice and the teachings worked through me.

imperfectly so, of course. 

now, for whatever reason, I am drawn again to the text and workbook, and more so, committing myself completely to the practice. Maybe it's the dark political season ahead, or a sense that life might soon take a turn towards some troubling events.

or maybe it's just the right time.

no reason at all.

and I'm called to open more fully to a more loving, forgiving practice.

it doesn't really mater. 

I'm listening to its call. 

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Continuously Forgiving

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Continuously Forgiving

Continuously forgiving; 

it's the underlying theme of nature, forgiveness, a continuous motion of letting go of past events and always moving towards a greater healing of the whole. When I'm aligned with this, truly so, then I easily flow with life, holding no grudges, forgiving by my very nature, each moment gently released unto the next through no effort of my own - 

of course this is nothing that I actually do.

as this forgiveness happens completely on its own.

my only role is to be aware that this is so.

just carrying on with my life.

continuously forgiving.

~

Peace, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: A Message From the Tao

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A Message From the Tao

A message from the Tao: 

it's funny how the certain books have always seemed to find my at just the right time, synchronistic, as if guided to my hands. I recall everyone of these magical events, where I was when their message became clear, the immediacy of their impact, and how my life so completely changed after reading. Born to Run by Christopher McDougall was such a book, an impulse buy while in line to make a completely different purchase and simply opening it to pass the time. It was the opening epigraph quoted from the Tao Te Ching that caught my eye and caused to read further, how the best runners leave no trace behind, and being in the midst of studying and writing of the Tao it captured my imagination. So I bought the book and after a few pages in I became an ultra runner. 

just like that.

I had always loved to run, but for fitness, condition for other sports that I competed in, but I was never what I would have considered an actual runner, at least not to that extreme. Until a message from the Tao and an extremely talented, passionate author showed me otherwise. So for a decade I ran almost every race available, over 100 ultra events, a love affair that consumed my life and training.

all from a reading a chance few words while waiting in line at a bookstore.

a message from the Tao.

in the early 2000's I bought Wayne Dyer's book Change Your Thought, Change Your Life, a reflex purchases as I've always enjoyed his books. Yet for whatever reason I couldn't bring myself to ready, it was the authors interpretation of the Tao and at the time I felt more called to immerse myself in the actual words of Lao Tzu, experiencing it through what felt like someone else's mind didn't appeal to me. So the book set on a shelf for almost two decades, occasionally a halfhearted attempt was made to read it, but it never seemed to capture my imagination for very long.  

until it did.

just like that.

a message from the Tao. 

and now I find that I love reading this expression of the Tao, an interpretation with suggestions on how to open myself to this magical way of living. I have no idea why, it's a mystery this way, and I absolutely love when it happens. 

for whatever reason...

I'm ready.

another subtle message from the Tao.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: With Gentleness and Ease

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Gentleness and Ease

Gentleness and ease:

with gentleness and ease, this seems to be ever more my approach through life now, that I'm growing in the grace of my surrender, letting go of all that has caused me to cling to previous convictions, and holding every belief and opinion so lightly.

with gentleness and ease.

my life unfolds.

and every day a new wonder.

of course the paradox is that life is very much the same, certainly with no small amount of conflict present, still disturbing information given daily from the news. The world itself hasn't changed, and perhaps it never will, warfare and political discord, unnecessary hunger and those without shelter, all very much prevalent. Yet I also feel more hopeful now, optimistic that as my own heart breaks open for the world that this spaciousness will provide a bit more room for others to take some comfort here. Maybe not, more likely this probably won't occur. 

but even this is part of my surrender.

and so life continues on with gentleness and ease...

and every day a new wonder.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Defenselessness

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Defenselessness

Defenselessness: 

lately, my thoughts keep turning towards defenselessness, not as an answer to a world in turmoil, but as my own personal solution to dealing with a chaotic landscape that I increasingly find myself walking through. The obvious answer might be to remove myself, to walk another path, or make better choices - all of which make sense on a certain level. But deeper, that's not really peace at all, it's simply a means of avoidance to that which can never be ignored for very long. 

my own peace of mind.

I love how A Course in Miracles deals with defenselessness, that it's the very means of our strength and safety, as well as being the foundation for true peace of mind. Both the Tao Te Ching and Patanjali's Yoga Sutras offer their wisdom on this too, urging the reader to let go of their default stance that immediately seeks to make others wrong and highlight our own view as always being certain and true. And of course this makes us defense, always having to guard our rightness against a world that so often shows us that we might indeed be wrong. 

or at the very least be uncertain. 

another idea from A Course in Miracles...

safety is the complete relinquishment of attack.

so there it is, an answer to walking through my chaotic world, defenselessness, just letting go of the concept of attack, giving up the need or being right or even certain.

just letting go,

and letting go,

and letting go.

until there's nothing more to hold unto, a free fall, 

without any sense of fear or worry,

as I learn that I can fly.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: An Artist

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An Artist

An artist: 

we all have some unique beauty to share, something deep within us that yearns to surface to the world through some inspired way. We're artist, all of us, although many have stifled this creative urge, or its voice has lost it's urgency over the course of some many years. Perhaps the issue has become one of self -judgement, that our own inner critic has been so harsh that we can't bear to express ourselves in a way that leaves us vulnerable, we're afraid of ourselves and the opinion that we'll offer, and sadly, we never allow a true moment of of inspiration to take hold. 

unless we gather the courage to let go...

and simply be expressive.

exactly as we are. 

to be an artist takes courage, openness, and makes us vulnerable indeed. It's those tentative moments of first expressing ourselves that matter so deeply. This is our innate beauty seeping through, hard surface cracked open and now we're showing inspiration to the world. If even, only, just a little. It's our start and a tremendous act of courage. We should never take it lightly. 

so it only takes a little here,  leaving a small sketch across a legal pad, dancing in the privacy of a closed room, learning to fold a piece of paper as to resemble an animal - it doesn't mater. It's ours. It's art. And doesn't need to be explained to anyone at all. 

listen to that inspired voice that urges you to be creative.

have courage.

and be exactly what you are...

an artist.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Least Disturbance

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Least Disturbance

Least Disturbance: 

more so than ever now it seems my thoughts turn towards leaving least disturbance in the world, allowing my footsteps to be light and easily placed, my breath soft and subtle in its passing -  and perhaps most importantly that beliefs and opinions not be forced upon myself.

 or my own onto others. 

allowing the world to simply be...

exactly as it is right now. 

of course the paradox is in my present thoughts of change, my wishes and desires for a better world. But that too belongs within the moment, a perfect expression of compassion and if the moment itself calls for action - then I will fully commit myself to every worthy cause. 

with least disturbance kept in mind. 

by this I really mean my ego investment, to not build a monument to myself through everything I do or conversation held. My best moments are when ego is less involved and everything flows so easily and naturally and when the moment ends a sense of peace lingers for just a bit after. What I'm talking about here is force, that at this point in my life I'm tired of false battles offered by my opinions, defending what I once held to be so sacred, and now seeing how every word rings hollow if they're forced upon another. I find myself in a more allowing place. 

and wishing least disturbance. 

again this doesn't mean the absence of change, nor denial of action.

but simply, only, 

my own ego least invested in the world. 

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: A little Extra Magic

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A Little Extra Magic

A little extra magic: 

about a year ago I wrote a little on foxes and owls, of how they were the sacred sights I always wished to see on my early morning walks. It's not that I don't truly love my every encounter with all of nature, but that these two seemed most elusive to me , sensing their presence yet seldom gifted with a sighting. It's been through patience and the consistency of walking, plus no small amount of the grace of good fortune, that I've occasionally been able to sight these magical creatures, even discovering where an owl been nesting and getting some clear filming in through the day. Mostly though it's just a rare glimpse of one or the other, a quick flash of red darting into the bushes, or owls hooting from a dark tree above me. And that's always enough for me, to know they're nearby, watching me as I search the edges of landscape and sky for them. 

it's enough to know they're here.

and sometimes...

a little extra magic happens.

like yesterday, a June morning with that hint of extra sunlight, my steps guided by some intuitive sense of locating something truly special - and a family of three foxes appear on a nearby hillside, close enough to amaze me even without my camera zooming in, playful, and lingering to watch me as I studied them. A true gift indeed, and they literally seemed to grant my wish of a moments filming. Definitely a little extra magic here. 

it's hard to walk away from such a rare encounter, but as the Tao Te Ching offers - retire when the work is done, knowing that this is the way to heaven. So not even reluctantly, yet fully content with the gift received, I turn my steps towards my home, my heart completely happy. Then, maybe half a mile from this magical encounter, an owl swoops by, only inches from my head, pursued by a much smaller bird who was obviously protecting her nesting young, and it landed on a nearby branch, clearly perplexed by these events yet willing to sit with me awhile, giving me the same advantage as the foxes. 

a little extra magic.

once again I filmed to just the point where it felt enough, no more, patient, and trusting in this magic. I don't need to press for extra time, having been given plenty already and knowing that mystery loves contentment, that it's the true value of its gift having been received. With this, and nothing more to do, my walk continued towards home, mostly uneventful - except for a flash of red amidst the bushes not from my front door. A cardinal, brilliantly framed by deep summer green and willing to sit for a moment, posing for my camera. 

a little extra magic. 

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: As If a Mountain

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As If a Mountain

As if a mountain: 

most often now, it seems the asanas that call to me are the more basics ones, solid, leaving me grounded and feeling strongly connected to the world. Through the years of my yoga practice I have come to listen to the inner urge that guides me to a certain pose at just the right time, never failing to help me reach a sense of deep healing and connection. These past few sessions it has been tadasana, mountain pose, one of the least challenging  posture, at least in appearance, but it's definitely a beautiful alignment of the body, satisfying in it's complete display of poise and balance. 

as well as being healing. 

tadasana puts my spine in order, straightening vertebrae, lengthening, and leading me to feel connected to the earth as my arms reach upwards to the air. The name itself evokes the sense of enduring through time, that I'm eternal in my stance of pure awareness, indeed, essential to the very landscape of existence. I think this is why it now appeals so strongly to me, that I needed to heal from recent loss, to feel as if I belonged to something lasting beyond my personal world. 

tadasana lead me to my connection. 

a stance of awareness.

as if a mountain. 

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Gone

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Gone

Gone:

two days ago, for the first time ever, a tornado touched down in my backyard, sweeping through just a small portion of the neighborhood before it disappeared. Fortunately no lives were lost and the property damage seems to me a minimum, a few smashed car and signs down, but nothing that won't soon be replaced. Sadly though, there's fallen trees, some uprooted and others just snapped in half, splintered by the force of wind. It's my childhood home that I'm living in right now, and these trees have been present throughout my life, experiences of bird-songs and shade, watching squirrels scammer at play, and simply basking in the presence that every tree offers. 

on truth, I took these trees for granted.

and now gone,

my appreciation shows deeply.

to be fair to myself, I've always loved these trees, and when I say that I took them for granted it's really only in the general sense that I believed they'd last beyond my lifetime. I love the beauty of trees, their individuality as well as their unity of design. If a branch is down due to any storm I mourn the damage to the tree, offering a prayer for it's healing every time I walk by. But I never really considered them no longer being here, even as I pass fallen trees through the deeper woods along the many paths of my neighborhood, it never occurred to be that my own nearby trees might no longer share their presence. Yet now I see the wounded earth of their absence, a part of my own history gone, and deeply realize my own brief and transitory lifetime.

in an instant too, 

I'll be gone. 

without even a wound against the earth left behind. 

it's an important consideration, that my lifespan is so much less than almost every tree, but my presence just as vital in it's own unique way. I've fed these neighborhood tress with my breath and the gaze of my attention, felt their shade and enjoyed their fragrance, they were loved for all they offered, and more, for the simplicity and ease of their presence. 

in this consideration...

my own brief lifespan, has a legacy of love and deep appreciation. 

nothing really needs to be left behind.

it's enough to have existed. 

and truly been alive. 

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: This is How It Happens

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This is How it Happens

This is how it happens: 

most of the time I just leave it to the flow of words, no topic in mind, writing for the sake of whatever now unfolds. At one point this was a cause for deep frustration, not having a theme would leave me feeling fearful and adrift within an empty page, having little faith that inspiration would guide me through my writing. I'm much more trustful in the process these days, relaxed, and unconcerned with how the words will flow - 

thoughts always seem to find the page.

I wish I could offer guidance on how this has happens, provide some sort of blueprint that others might follow. But honestly, I don't really know, it's a mystery to me, and perhaps that's the secret right there - it's okay to not know whatever might come next, if anything at all, that if the very worst fearful thing that follows the last written word is absolute silence....

then reside in the stillness of the moment.

for however long.

unafraid.

relaxed.

don't try and make anything happen, there's no room for force here, effort won't make words arrive any faster. In fact, effort, concentration, actually slow the process to a near standstill. Just enjoy the silence, surrender to it, trust that words will appear completely on their own and their pace can't be measured by the standards of our time. 

there it is, the best that I can offer.

not so much a plan.

but this is how it happens.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: But It Took Awhile

Also, please visit to buy: the Artist's Way 

Thank you. 

But It Took Awhile

 

But it took awhile: 

this morning, according to my weather app, sunrise is at 5:41 a.m, and at least for another week or so, it will continue trending earlier, as it has for several months now. Soon though, the trend reverses and we'll lose just a few minutes each day to a darker morning. I've looked forward to these light-filled mornings all through winter, keeping track of dawn's arrival, eager for my first glimpse of a favored sunrise. I'm enjoying these last few weeks of early light, soaking up the healthy benefits of those early morning rays, and at the same time remembering that so very soon I'll be letting go...

darker mornings are once more just ahead.

and I'm perfectly fine with the slight sadness this surrender, feeling in stride with the cycle of dawn's gain and loss of light, and more so, eager to again embrace the mystery of those darker mornings. That's the paradox here, holding those opposing emotional views without any apparent contradictions within, simply accepting, accepting, and accepting. 

always. 

but it took awhile to arrive here, really, a lifetime to reach this point. 

and now, 

I just smile at all, how I once struggled to hold on to every inch of light, afraid of the soft approach of darkness and how it sneak it's way towards me. I'm unafraid of my own contradictions, that I can be the very source of light as well as a shadow event playing through my life. 

I've reach the point where everything's allowed...and amazingly, smiling now...

seeing that it always was,

all along the way. 

~

Peace, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit:  Others

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Others

Others: 

at a certain point our lives are called to service. Maybe not overtly so, with no grand gesture of turning our backs to the life we know and working solely for a charity, or perhaps not even noticed by anyone at all. Just a small, quiet life of serving others through infinite acts of care and love. That's the beauty of where my path has now brought me, surrendering my once great concerns for life to the more immediate care for others. 

again, small things.

but it feels enough for me.

I'm reminded of how Ramana Maharshi was once asked by a follower as to how we should treat others, and his reply was brought forth with a smile and the reminder that "there are no others" - and finally now, I seem to deeply understand this, more so, to intimately know that this is true. 

and so,

just a small, quiet life of service,

through infinite acts of love and care.

it seems perfectly natural now.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: A Lifetime of Practice

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A Lifetime of Practice

A lifetime of practice: 

still, after all this time, decades of practicing yoga, and I still fall out of the easiest, most basic poses. It's exactly why I love my practice, that it's never a settled matter, always a balancing point between focus and relaxation and I simply can't commit to one aspect without the possibility of compromising the other. It's a constant flow of energy, mindfulness, built into the fabric of all my favorite postures. 

especially, right now, vrksasana,

tree pose.

it seems I'm almost always tempted to approach this posture casually, being long familiar with it, fairly proficient since my earliest days of yoga. Yet I take it lightly at my own risk of sacrificing the grace that it offers, missing out of the opportunity to remain rooted in the earth of my connection while my spine lengthens tall and my arms branch upwards to the sky. Any breach of focus, errant breath, or not allowing myself the right moment of relaxation -

and the pose remains incomplete.

a half attempt at best. 

vrksasana demands the most of my practice.

every pose does, really.

and of course, all of life does too. 

that's the true value of yoga, learning to momentarily fall from grace, to catch ourselves, and simply, easily, recommit to practice. Nothing more can ever be expected from us, our life is our practice and it's never really mastered, it's just a series of moments that call for the best of our attention. A lifetime of practice. 

it's all yoga.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Love and Practice

Also, please visit to buy: Yoga For A World Our of Balance

Thank you.