He Waited

He waited:

I left Jesus behind at the end of 9th grade, my last year at Catholic school, believing there was littler need to think of him from then on. My spiritual life shaped up from teenage years reading Carlos Castaneda, Allan Watts, Chogyam Trunpa, and exploring various mystical traditions. There was little room for the traditional figure of Jesus. In my mid 20s I began hearing references to a transformation book called A Course in Miracles and thought I should consider it with a browse. Within the book, Jesus found me again, not right away, but through the course of continuous returns to the pages. This was a different Jesus than experienced before, infinitely compassionate, patient, and with the single greatest promise that was ever made to me...

³If you want to be like me I will help you, knowing that we are alike. ⁴If you want to be different, I will wait until you change your mind. (ACIM, T-8.IV.6:3-4)

so Jesus had waited for me. 

and now he offered to help me be like him. Which was something beyond my understanding at the time, intriguing, and so sweetly offered that my heart immediately accepted. Yes, I wanted to be like this Jesus, filled with a loving-kindness that only a forgiving mind could afford to extend. What I quickly discovered was that this was a means of awakening, every bit as demanding as any Zen discipline, a mindfulness practice of continuous forgiveness, a yogic path of pure devotion. 

What could you want forgiveness cannot give? ²Do you want peace? ³Forgiveness offers it. ⁴Do you want happiness, a quiet mind, a certainty of purpose, and a sense of worth and beauty that transcends the world? ⁵Do you want care and safety, and the warmth of sure protection always? ⁶Do you want a quietness that cannot be disturbed, a gentleness that never can be hurt, a deep abiding comfort, and a rest so perfect it can never be upset?

 All this forgiveness offers you, and more.

(ACIM, W-122.1:1–2:1)

this was my path, Jesus had waited for me and I was now ready. My commitment has never waivered, although my practice has often been unsteady. Through the years, and no matter what's happened, Jesus has extended his love to me, never once causing my faith to falter. He believes in me. He is infinitely patient. He loves me. 

he tells me that we are alike.

and finally,

I believe him 

~

I love you, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: To Trust This Silence

Also, please visit: The Wisdom Jesus

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To Trust This Silence

To trust this silence: 

a stormy November morning, 4:00 am, and the usual writing themes play through my mind. As lightning flashes outside, I wait for my own sudden strike of inspiration to reach the page. Some mornings are just quiet in their giving though, subtle insights are more forthcoming than a great flash of words. What I love is the holiness experienced here, a whisper, and then a length of silence before I hear anything more. I've learned to trust this silence, coming to know the importance of not rushing through the sacred space between each word.

this where the Holy Spirit speaks to me.

the space between thoughts.

and listening now,

I write these few words.

~

I love you, Eric

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

Also, please visit: The Power of Eight

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Sincerely So

Sincerely so, 

and without compromise, no longer content with a better version of the same dreamed up world - I truly only want the peace of God. In A Course in Miracles, Lesson 185, I'm reminded that to say these words means absolutely nothing. Without a pure conviction they're just another hollow prayer asking for an upgrade within the dream. But to mean them, sincerely so, and even for an instant....that's my salvation.

yes, I truly want the peace of God.

with my memory of God completely restored.

 and that's my only prayer.

~

I love you, Eric

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

Also, please visit: The Tears of Things

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An Opportunity

An opportunity:

post election morning, coffee at hand, and a brand new page before me. I love that life offers me it's pure potentiality each morning, an opportunity to write something from a fresh point of view. This is as true with elections as it is with writing, there's a possibility present that's never been offered before - at least not in this particular form. What we have no is the opportunity for cooperation, balanced restored and a real chance to forgive our way into something truly stunning in it's depth of understanding each other. It's not wishful thinking, it's here within our grasp, erasing sides and seeing the wholeness of reality. But what we need is vision, we need compassion, and again we need forgiveness. 

it's the only way forward.

Forgiveness recognizes what you thought your brother did to you has not occurred. ²It does not pardon sins and make them real. ³It sees there was no sin. ⁴And in that view are all your sins forgiven. ⁵What is sin, except a false idea about God’s Son? ⁶Forgiveness merely sees its falsity, and therefore lets it go. ⁷What then is free to take its place is now the Will of God. (ACIM, W-pII.1.1:1-7)

we have trapped ourselves in a story repeated told about ourselves. There's no possibility of moving forward when we hold these views so tightly. Forgiveness, true forgiveness, is the vision of reality that doesn't cling to stories formerly told about ourselves or others - it's the fresh potentiality of each moment, an allowing of the resurrection through the refusal to continue to crucify each other. There's no exceptions to this opportunity of vision, we see everyone as equally whole, and more so, we continuously bare witness to our original innocence before a single story was ever told. Again, with no exceptions made. I love that we can do this, that our worst thought about another can be forgiven and in that very same moment they offer us our salvation. 

of course we can do this.

it's the only reason we're here.

yes, it's easy for me to say this right now, my "side" won and I see a brighter future. But it's always been a possibility and I've held this same hope through every election. It's not about sides. It's about forgiveness and an opportunity to be truly helpful.

and it starts right now.

this morning...a brand new page.

let's write something beautiful, something true. 

~

I love you, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: It's Who We Are

Also, please visit: Politics of Love

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It's Who We Are

It's who we are:

kindness is the way, and also, it's the natural outflow of my practice. Early in life I was told to be kind, in Catholic grade school it was stressed as a means of reaching heaven, and my parents were kind by example. So it was easy path to follow along. 

later, life growing harsh, kindness seemed to matter less. Or at least it seemed too. The truth is that life just grew busy, hurried, and kindness often fell to the wayside of my rush. Fortunately I was saved from the curse of an overly busy life, meditation and A Course in Miracles slowed me down and brought me the gift of patience. Not that I was, or am, always faithful to this gift. But I am, however, sincere in my commitment and practice. 

more so,

kindness is my natural state of mind. 

yours too.

 

we only have to choose the right internal teacher. 

love, 

or fear.

the first is our natural state of mind, our God-source, kind by it's very nature. The second choice is the ego and it's always wrong, loud, and in a hurry. So we retrain ourselves to notice the results of our choice, and then begin to keep our focus on the one that truly brings us joy. A simple practice, but not always so easy at first. Yet kindness is our practice, being true to ourselves is our only concern - so patiently, infinitely kind, we choose again, and then again. 

until we remember:

³Holiness created me holy.
⁴Kindness created me kind.
⁵Helpfulness created me helpful.
⁶Perfection created me perfect. (ACIM, W-67.2:3-6)

it's already what we are.

always.

~

I love you, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Initiated

Also, please visit: The Wisdom Teacher

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Initiated

Initiated: 

I love when a guest appears on my YouTube channel and shares a lesson from A Course in Miracles that is particularly meaningful to them - it feels like an initiation into their deepest practice, a heart-felt act of extending their most sacred gift. Yesterday's guest, John Crotty, brought me lesson 78, a focus on letting miracles replace all grievances. It's been a vital lesson in my practice and now brought back to me in a quiet initiation from a new friend. 

so today, this is my practice, my entire curriculum: 

³Let me behold my savior in this one You have appointed as the one for me to ask to lead me to the holy light in which he stands, that I may join with him. (ACIM, W-78.7:3)

and with this may you, whoever might read these words, be initiated into this chain of forgiveness. Today we work miracles together, seeing the light of Christ wherever we go. 

and so it is,

amen. 

~ 

I love you, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Beautiful Consistency

Also, please visit to buy: Theo of Golden

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Beautiful Consistency

Beautiful consistency: 

being a teacher has been on my mind lately, specifically, teaching A Course in Miracles. I'm very fortunate to have so many great Course teachers come to my YouTube channel and sit down and have a conversation with me. Each guest leaves me changed for the better, opening me up to a new presentation and fresh look at how the Course is offered. There's also a beautiful consistency here, with metaphysical concepts being clearly explained, and most importantly, they've all been living example of the Course's teaching. I absolutely love these conversations. 

 I'm learning how to be a teacher.

but what I'm really learning from my guests, as well as my internal teacher, is how to more fully open up to my own divine expression - to truly teach love by accepting it as my only reality. Each guest has given me a glimpse of their individual curriculum and then gently guided me to see mine more clearly. The Course, even after years of continuous study, is still making itself itself known to me. Yet I've been given a clear objective: 

⁹Teach only love, and learn that love is yours and you are love. (ACIM, T-6.III.4:9)

so now my wish is to step into my own beautiful consistency, fully accepting my role as a teacher of God, wherever that leads me, and however it might unfold. My only agenda is to teach love, fully from my heart to yours, and I have no idea what this might look like. But I have so many beautiful examples to follow. Thank you guests. Thank you teachers. I love you. 

~

I love you, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit:Teacher

Also, please visit: The Wisdom Teacher

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