Monumental

 

Monumental:  

we're asked to love, specifically, Saint Francis says that where there is hatred let us sow love - and the question is if this is even possible, are we capable of being love in the worst of all possible time? I don't know, honestly, it does seem a monumental task. However, what's asked for is to simply sow the seeds of love, gently planted, tended, and then allow God to do the rest.

easier,

but still monumental in occurrence. 

and this is because it's we, ourselves, that's transformed. We are that tended field of love that blossoms with compassion, flowering with the joy of what we offer to the world. Where there is hatred doesn't mean the absence of love, only a failure to recognize it's presence beneath the surface of turmoil. What's really asked for is faith, not a faith of distance, but an active belief in who we truly are. I have faith that I will always return to love, eventually, and maybe after countless wring decisions. 

but eventually. 

so with every opportunity now, while it's easy, or at lease easier.

I plant the seeds of  love.

having faith they will be sown. 

~

Love, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: An Instrument of Thy Peace

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An Instrument of Thy Peace

An instrument of thy peace: 

it's spiritual technology, transformative, a prayer that shifts the heart towards an ever present light. This is the prayer of Saint Francis, each line offered as a possibility to live a more loved filled life. Early on in my meditation journey I encountered the power of this prayer in the form of Passage Meditation as presented by Eknath Easwaran, a very important teacher to me. Passage meditation is a profound, yet simple, practice of centering the mind upon words that have stood the test of time for their power to invoke a change of heart and mind, it calls for concentration and faith the our minds will absorb these words and then act on them through the challenging times of life. The prayer of Saint Francis is where Easwaran asks us to start -

it begins, 

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.

and if we went no further then this, sincere in our request...

perhaps these words alone would be enough.  

but the prayer unfolds beautifully from here, giving us a vision of our truest potential as spiritual beings living happily in the world. The prayer doesn't ask for anything we're not capable of, there's no demands, nothing called for that isn't already present within our hearts. 

we're only asked to be who we truly are.

really, it's only a reminder.

and to use this prayer in meditation is just the practice of remembering, an intent, planting the seeds of our potential blossom to the reality of love.

it begins,

an instrument of thy peace.

and so it shall be.

~

Love, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: A Bhakti Yogi 

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A Bhakti Yogi

A Bhakti yogi: 

the call is to be a Bhakti yogi of my own faith, continuously forgiving the errors of my perception, and steeped so fully in love that it's all I offer others. I'm not there yes, not even close really, but the call is strong and persistent, drawing me closer to a complete surrender. 

at the very least, I am now devoted to my practice. 

a Bhakti yogi is one who is drawn to the Divine, traditionally expressed through chanting and devotional acts, selfless service to others, and quiet contemplation. This is one of the four paths of yoga outlined by Krishna in the pages of the Bhagavad Gita. It's a beautiful display of love and compassion, a life worthy of consideration to those drawn to the heart of unconditional love. 

as for me, I'm less traditional, a yogi of a more subtle practice. My call seems to emerge from the heart center, a softer voice than my own, and only asks that I surrender to a life of continuous forgiveness, bypassing the ego, offering love to all. It's Bhakti yoga for those who listen to the voice  the Holy Spirit, an internal guidance system that connects us to God, a personal path of pure devotion that doesn't really ask for any outward display of its practice. 

I'm only called to listen,

and more then ever now...love is all I hear. 

~

Love, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: The Path of Kindness

Also, please visit to buy: How to Love Better

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The Path of Kindness

The path of kindness: 

somewhere along my long and happy spiritual journey, without any conscious thought, I decided to just be kind, to make kindness my only true practice, and that awakening to my heart center and extending love from here was more than enough for me. I don't have to go any further, there's no greater depth of consciousness - this is it, the end point, as enlightenment itself, for me at least, is found right here - 

a simple wish to be kind to others. 

I love Ramana Maharishi's answer to the question on how we are to treat others, his replay was a gentle smile and a reminder that there really are no others. It's a beautiful testament of our united consciousness, one being in the guise of many. This is an awakened heart center, hridaya in yogic terms, and it is the realm of love that extends itself outward to the world. 

it's our connection.

or more truly so....simply who we are.

but even this apt description isn't really needed - I am kind because my heart calls for me to be so, it's my easiest and surest path through life, and it fills me with great joy to just be alive and allowed to continuously express it. 

it's who I am.

and as there are no others...

it's who we are.

~

Love, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Halasana 

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Halasana

Halasana: 

more than a year has past since injuring my back, better now, but still a careful issue, and my feet have touched the floor in halasana pose. This is a bit of a celebration for me, a healing on many levels as it was a fearful asana for me, stretching my legs behind me in reach of faith that the floor would meet me in support, holding the posture for the length of several breaths, and then slowly return to savasana. Even before injuring my back it was never an easy pose for me. 

so it's a benchmark now.

a release of fear.

and for me, it's a sign of forgiveness.

releasing fear, working through issues that tightly bind us in its grip, is never an easy process. Yoga offers me this healing opportunity, breath and body being a proving ground for my release. It's from here, this point of finally letting go, that I step off the mat and most truly begin to forgive and heal the world. What I've discovered is that fear is projected through the body, knots formed, making itself known through pain and often injury. To truly heal requires trust, patience, and infinite care. Fear isn't really overcome, it's simply seen through and then released without effort.

it's an illusion. 

and forgiveness sees right through it.

so as my body frees itself from those fearsome knots, my trust begins to extend outwards, that sense of patience and infinite care is now given to others in a completely loving way. When my feet touched the floor in halasana there was a great release that reverberated through my world.

 I'm not healed - but healing.  

and forgiving all along the way. 

~

Love, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Listen 

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Listen

Listen: 

the metaphysics of A Course in Miracles explains our apparent fracture from God, that we only perceive are separation from the source and that in reality it's hasn't happened at all. There's never been a fall from grace, yet we deeply believe it's so. Our only true role here is to correct this belief, to heal a rift that isn't real, and we can only do this by choosing love. 

over and over.

until we remember where we actually are.

we're reminded in the Course text that we're actually the Kingdom of Heaven, that it's not just within us, but what we are right now an extension of the Kingdom. It's impossible for God to perceive us otherwise and this is why we have a world that appears to be at odds with a loving source - God cannot heal a mind that is already whole, there's no need to mend a heart that is perfect in its love. All we need to do is awaken from this dream of separation, gently so, finding ourselves as an extension of the source and reminding others that they are as well. 

how do we awaken?

simply listen to the gentle voice within that urges us to forgive. Perhaps it's dim and long ignored, even forgotten. But it's present still, patiently waiting to be heard. Be willing to listen, cultivate an attentiveness to an inner guidance that steers us towards love. It only feels like a practice until our memories stir and we begin to awaken from our dream of separation. 

it's happening now.

already.

listen...

~

Love, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Of The Two

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Of the Two

Of the two: 

there's two thought systems at play here, and all that's asked is that one is listened to with full sincerity, surrendering to its voice of love as often as I'm able. This is the Holy Spirit, ever present, a source of guidance and comfort. More often now, but not always, I'm able to turn towards this quiet voice and simply listen -

and I'm always asked to love.

that's it...

the entirety of it's message. 

the other thought system is the ego, an entity of control that always seeks to strengthen it's position. This is a demanding voice, loud, and instantaneous in its defensiveness. It's also an illusion, not an actual thing but a collection of long held beliefs, affronts, and thoughts of separation. The Holy Spirit only asks, always gently, that I choose love, guiding me to this decision. Ego only demands - and it doesn't really care if its needs are met as it will just continue onward, demanding even more, never satisfied. It's an illusion shouting to be heard and thus made real.

there's no real battle here. 

only love is real.

a gentle voice...finally heard above the loudness of the world.

I choose love.

more often now then ever before.

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Turn

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Turn

Turn: 

I love the attributes of God's teachers, qualities that emerge as our natural expression of love once we have fully committed to listening to what A Course in Miracles calls the Holy Spirit. There's a difference here between what the course offers and the traditional thought of Christianity, the Holy Spirit is the internal voice of our connection with God's presence, not a separate entity, but an inner guide that's always available to steer us in the right direction. 

and that direction is love. 

there's nowhere else to ever turn to.

so for me, with just an inkling now of these qualities showing - I find myself turning to this guidance much more often, developing trust in the gentleness of this voice. What I love most is the complete absence of a goal, there's no seeking or seeker involved, just an easy turn inwards for an entirely new direction to unfold. That's all I'm asked to do, not a practice at all really, 

it's more of a surrender than anything else...

only a little willingness is asked for.

and an entirely new world is given in return. 

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Smallest Act of Kindness

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Smallest Act of Kindness

Smallest act of Kindness: 

I like the thought of being truly harmless, it resonates with me in a deeply meaningful way, and it's why I'm drawn to practice yoga and A Course in Miracles - both bring to the point of absolute trust in my own protection, and from here I seek to only offer kindness to the world. 

yoga literally begins with harmlessness, the foundation of it's practice are the ethical guidelines called Yamas and the very first is Ahimsa, non-harming, and if taken as a life path this alone can lead one to the deepest revelations. For me, even with decades of application, I feel that I've only skimmed the surface and there's so much more to be revealed. Each insight gained has only asked me to be kinder still and to keep exploring the unfolding gifts that kindness offers. 

and then, 

there's A Course in Miracles, it's here that my truest nature has been shown to me, that my very essence is harmlessness itself and is invulnerable to the illusion of attack. Only the ego can be harmed in any way and safety lies in the reality of who I truly am and the role I am here to perform - my mission, my dharma if you will...is the praise of God through my smallest act of kindness, it's to be helpful, and to extend this joy to others. 

trusting in this...I am directed to wherever it is I need to be,

to whoever needs the smallest act of kindness.

and here,

there's only love given and returned.

~

Love, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: To Be Happy

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To Be Happy

To be happy: 

it's for my own selfish reasons really, and honestly, forgiveness just makes me happy, at ease within my mind. There's nothing I can't eventually let go of, and I am immensely grateful for the joy this brings. So my practice isn't mostly for the sake of others, or least not at first, but stems originally from a wish to simply feel better, to release myself from the self-inflicted pain of judgement and resentments. 

I forgive to be happy.

and through this...

I then find a more peaceful world.

it doesn't matter where we start from, as even a selfish point eventually leads to its own surrender. But some paths will have us wander farther from our main objective, taking us deeply through a wilderness of sorrow and false beliefs. So let's start with the sincerity of simply wishing to feel better, happier, and a little more at ease.

sooner or lately...

we realize that forgiveness leads us home.

and it's exactly where we are.

right now. 

~

Peace,Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: There's Just Love

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There's Just Love

There's just love:

sometimes...I am filled with the grace 

of seeing how beautiful 

you truly are.

~

lately, it seems I've been falling in love, deeply so, and without any discrimination as to who it might be, or the circumstances I find myself in. In these moments I am struck by beauty, filled by a grace that comes to me through the eyes of another - and quite often too I find myself alone and overwhelmed by the presence of love itself, unattached to person or event.

 these's just love.

and it's this I now wish to give the world.

~

I love you, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: No Others

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