O Divine Master

O divine Master: 

the second half of the Prayer of Saint Francis begins with invoking the divine Master, it's a plea for something deep within us, intimate, yet somehow forgotten. This isn't a prayer to some far off entity begging for our life to change, it's really a call to our own true essence, our God-connection, asking for our divine nature to be shown. 

o, divine Master, grant...

and what follows is a request for selflessness, for qualities of our innate nature be revealed and then offered to the world. This is the answer to every seeker, those seeking enlightenment, or answers to their deepest longings - what's been searched for is already present within and in using this prayer, calling upon the divine Master, we are answered through by an interior silence, a selfless presence that fills us with an urge to serve others. 

o, divine Master, grant that I...

and this I, our self-identity crying out in prayer, 

all but disappears. 

while only love remains.

~

Love, Eric 

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

Also, please visit to buy: Practice of Karma Yoga

Thank you.

Wherever There is Sadness

Wherever there is sadness: 

the last line of the first half of Saint Francis's Prayer seems to be asking for a complete transformation, maybe even bypassing the current emotion of sadness and putting on a false from of joy. Where there is sadness, joy, is a lot to ask for, and most especially when we find ourselves immersed in the heaviness of our sadness. Yet what's prayed for here isn't bypassing at all, nor even a request to transform the presence of sadness into something other than it is right now -

what we prayer for is recognition.

where there is sadness...

joy.

it's more truly known that both my coexist at the same moment, not one replacing the other, but that there's an ever present joy in simply being alive and able to experience the fullness of all that life offers, and that this sense of joy only awaits our recognition to be known. 

wherever there is sadness...

joy

even in the very moment of our deepest sorrow.  

and this is what we prayer for,

~

Love, Eric 

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

Also, please visit to buy: Invisible Acts of Power

Thank you.

As Light

As light: 

we are beckoned to the light, perhaps at first just briefly, being barely flickering and dim in its initial illumination - yet still a soft glow that's offered to the darkness of the world. Our reality is light, synonymous to a greater love, and as Saint Francis pleas in his heart-felt prayer... where there is darkness, may we be as a light that's extended to the care of others. 

always,

where there is darkness...

may we be as light.

personally, I'm curious about this illumination, about how much love can I truly offer to another. What I've discovered is that, so far, is that it's infinite in its source, indefatigable in extension, and every shadow vanishes quickly in its gleam. This is my favorite line in Saint Francis' prayer as it shows me my reality as a beam connected to the very source of light, and that my only role here is to shine brightly, my reach unlimited in the love it offers. 

where there is darkness...

may all that blocks the reality of light be removed.

and may we all shine brightly.

it's what we're meant to do.

~

Love, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: A Greater Light Prevails

Also, please visit to buy: Where There is Light

Thank you.

A Greater Hope Prevails

A greater hope prevails: 

admittedly, addressing hope is a tough one for me, it can seem a faint promise, a hollow wish for something better than whatever's occurring right now. The Buddha taught the hope can often lead to suffering, that we can become attached to a specif outcome or desire and refuse to accept what the present moment offers. This has often been my experience as well, hoping for many things, yet always left disappointed in their failure to appear. 

but Saint offers us a different course of hope.

praying, from despair...

and asking for a transformation. 

hope, from this perspective, is more a belief in our ability to transcend, it's not a faint promise at all, but more of a powerful tool to accept this moment of despair, while knowing that even now it's in the process of shifting to something other. To hope is a prayer of strength, it's asking for the courage to remain true to my spiritual heart in the face of all that shows me despair. 

so I see things differently now.

from despair, 

I ask for hope. 

not for things to be other than they are, but only that I accept this moment, 

whatever might be present, 

knowing that a greater hope prevails.

~

Love, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Where There is Doubt

Also, please visit to buy: The Prayer of Saint Francis

Thank you

Where There is Doubt

Where there is doubt: 

here, where there is doubt, faith, we're not asked the impossible but to only recognize the changing nature of our lives. Our faith is placed on acceptance of the present moment, things being as the are, yet with a conviction that a greater presence guides us, lovingly, along the way. This present might be different for many, for Saint Francis it was Jesus, for others it might be their commitment to a particular practice that brings them a sense of peace and understanding. 

our faith is in the transformation of the moment.

by whatever means this happens. 

but always there's a surrender, as faith ultimately calls for a letting go, and through this the transformation happens. If we cling to anything as it changes we add suffering to the challenge, causing a difficult situation to worsen to despair. The prayer of Saint Francis asks only for the courage to have faith in our innate capacity to love, that we have a quality deeply hidden in our heart that arises to the suffering of ourselves and others and carries us through these times.

I have faith in a loving heart.

it belongs to me, a gift...

I give to you.

shared.

~

I love you, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Where There is Doubt

Also, please visit to buy: Living Buddha, Living Christ

Thank you. 

Where There is Injury

Where there is injury: 

the third line of the Prayer of Saint Francis will be difficult, not just for some, but for all of us at some point in our lives. It's here that we are asked to pardon others in the light of injury to ourselves, to offer forgiveness without a sense of justice to prevail. Of course this seems impossible, that it should be left to realm of saints who are better suited to such tasks. 

yet this prayer is for all of us.

where there is injury, 

pardon.

this is spiritual technology, it's transformative prayer, and will it seem to demand the most difficult assignments for us to perform. Forgiveness doesn't belong to the ego, it's simply impossible for it to comprehend the deeper sight involved here. So yes, to pardon in the light of injury, even the slightest insult, will cause the ego to rebel. What's needed then is a forgiveness beyond the ego, something far greater, 

a more loving presence than the thoughts of who we are. 

and to reach this,

we simply ask for a miracle.

it's here where the transformation begins, relinquishing our smaller role of bargaining and negotiating terms of forgiveness, letting go of our endless demands of always being right and certain...and surrendering our every perceived injury and injustice to the heart of God. 

forgiveness belongs to the realm of love.

it's not our task to perform.

and so the Prayer of Saint Francis doesn't ask us to perform the impossible, but to only recognize our limited role here, to open our heart and allow the presence of love to shine ever brighter now. Our practice to to prayer, asking for a greater wisdom than our own to light our world. Forgiveness is the beginning of our transformation...or more truly, our revaluation.

it shows us who we are.

we're love.

~

Love, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Monumental

Also, please visit to buy: Practicing Forgiveness

Thank you.

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

Also, please visit to buy; Make Me An Instrument of Thy Peace

Thank you.