Of Mantra and The Holy Spirit

Of mantra and the Holy Spirit: 

when I first began meditating I was struck by the abundance of intrusive thoughts, instantly noting the complete lack of control and inability to tame a raging mind. I thought that I was unique to this, my brain damaged by an overflow of pettiness and useless rumination. Of course that's not the case, most everyone is caught in a similar trap of repetitive thinking. My mistaken belief with meditation was that my mind was supposed to (somehow) empty itself of thoughts, obtaining silence, and to be able to sit tranquility for an ever greater length of time. Several wonderful teachers taught me otherwise. Mantra meditation was a wonderful gift, it's soft focus and self transcending grace allowed me to settle down within the streaming thoughts, be a witness to the stream itself, and return a wandering mind to mantra's gentle sound. There's a science here that I won't get into - but suffice to say, meditation changed how I related to my mind. I befriended my thoughts for the very first time and the effects have been profound and lasting. But this essay isn't really about meditation...

it's about the Holy Spirit.

meditation has shown me the true spacious nature of awareness, completely changing how I relate to the thoughts that still occupy my mind.. This brings me a great deal of peace. I am forever grateful for my continued daily practice. However, it's only been through recognizing the presence of my internal teacher that I've learned what every thought is actually for - and now my peace has deepened even further, a trust unfolding in a continuous lesson that only my most loving thoughts are real. Anything else is simply the nervous flow of a still chattering mind. My job isn't to judge, evaluate, or try to stop a single thought that comes to mind....it's relax. And trust. My real thoughts are only what I think with God.

Every loving thought is true. (ACIM, T-12.I.3:3)

~

I love you, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Purpose

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Purpose

Purpose: 

okay, so now I'm beginning to get it, and I mean really understand it to the point that it overflows as an actual practice - according to A Course In Miracles and the Holy Spirit everything, with no exactions, is here for the purpose forgiveness. This is clarity. It's also the end of seeking for any experience outside the peace of God. Of course we can still enjoy the fleeting highpoints of meditative absorption, those moments of ecstatic realization. They're all important guidepoint in someway, meaningful in what they point to - but the only real purpose of anything is forgiveness.

there's a tendency to use any spiritual experience to validate our specialness, becoming a branded seeker of truth and ultimate answers. It keeps us in perpetual motion. Seek and do not find, as the Course says. Or worse, find, but do not ask what the real purpose of the experience is for. This isn't exclusive to our spiritual journey alone. Our only task is to continuously ask what everything is for, discerning purpose through a higher evaluation. And here's the reason for this: 

the purpose of everything...

 is to remove the blocks to the awareness of love's presence. 

that's it.

and that's the only purpose of forgiveness.

it's that simple.

~

I love you, Eric

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Science

Science: 

so I was a bit interested in science this morning, curious on how forgiveness might actually change the brain. Contemplative practices have been studied quite extensively over the last several decades. We know the benefits of meditation, yoga, chanting, and numerous other inner traditions. But has science touched upon forgiveness? Well, right at first glance I decided not to get too deep in the weeds with this - the science is there, extensive and outlined, and I was quickly reminded that I'm not a science guy. What I am is someone who has seen the incredible shift of focus that has occured in my mind through the practice of forgiveness. And science backs up this mind training.

lesson 122 of A Course in Miracles is my example:

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? (ACIM, W-122.1:1-6)

All this forgiveness offers you, and more. (ACIM, W-122.2:1)

this lesson has always been my return point, delivering me from actively seeking a lofty goal of enlightenment to a quiet place of gentel practice. Forgiveness truly offers me everything I want, and incredibly, offers it continuous through my everyday affairs. Each moment of forgiveness causes a neurochemical response, reducing stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. Structurally we are deactivating the amygdala, increasing prefrontal cortex activity, quelling the anterior insula, and quieting the default mode network by a significant degree. All of this results in a biochemical release of our own "feel good" hormones of oxytocin and dopamine. And we get to repeat this as often as we please, literally shifting from a dangerous mode of thinking towards an experience of the divine. I'll be honest, I don't understand any of the science at all, none of it. But I'm happy it's been documented and shared. It's important to know why our practice is valuable on the level of our everyday affairs. Here's the truth though - science doesn't really matter. Not ultimately at least. My own practice of forgiveness is the gateway from hell to paradise. My body and mind are in a quiet rage with every grievance, each resentment that I harbor traps me in self absorbed addiction, and my judgements against both myself and others isolates me from any truly meaningful relationships. An unforgiving mind keeps me alone, seemingly separated from the very source of happiness.

forgiveness takes me home.

instantly.

repeatedly.

and I'm happy that science supports this with hard evidence.

my own research does as well

every moment.

~

I love you, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Otherwise 

Also, please visit to buy: Forgiveness: The Greatest Healer of All

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. 

Otherwise

Otherwise: 

and so it seems that I've carried the weight of a million disappointments through life, an accumulation of views that I've made completely my own. This is my healing work, not addressing each disappointment individually, and even collectively there's no need to let them go - this is really a matter of simply recognizing a truth about myself that solves every judgement ever made. 

here's the key to letting go of every disappointing thought I've ever held about myself, no matter how it might have arrived to me. These words remind me to drop the weight of my own judgements and walk through life with greater ease...

And God thinks otherwise. (ACIM, T-23.I.2:7)

amen.

~

I love you, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Light

Also, please visit to browse: Forgiveness and Jesus: The Meeting Place of A Course in Miracles and Christianity

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Light

Light:

and so my only purpose is now laid clear, that I am the light of Christ extending myself through the recognition of my completion. And you - you are the very same light which receives me, and then continues on in an ever greater expansion.

we're divine sparks.

each of us.

I love the simplicity of my role, what I'm tasked to do in such a vital fashion. Look for Christ within all things. No exceptions. Nothing excluded. This can be such a lovely way to move through life, recognizing my truest self in the guise of another. Yes, of course, I'm often confronted with a more challenging disguise, a light that seems so far hidden that it might be impossible to find. I'm only asked to look, to have a little willingness, and to maybe let the light  find me through my own shadows of judgement and fear. 

I think my light can be difficult to see sometimes too.

and I'm so happy when you see it.

thank you, thank you,

thank you.

~

I love you, Eric

To read more form Headless Now, please visit; On My Behalf

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On My Behalf

On my behalf: 

to judge on my behalf - and this is my only true request of Holy Spirit, although I certainly do get caught up in prayers of action and more visible results. What A Course in Miracles teaches is that my own best judgement if literally impossible. It's not just that I'm wrong on occasion, but that I'm continuously wrong every time I judge the illusion of the world as well. That's the bottom line, and it's been a tough one to arrive to. I'm always wrong, always, and this is solely because I am limited in my perception, judging the tiniest slice of a dream as the entirety of reality. So the truth is that I am really incapable of seeing anything accurately let alone offering a judgement. My only daily prayer should be -

Today I will judge nothing that occurs.

1. I will be honest with myself today. ²I will not think that I already know what must remain beyond my present grasp. ³I will not think I understand the whole from bits of my perception, which are all that I can see. ⁴Today I recognize that this is so. ⁵And so I am relieved of judgments that I cannot make. ⁶Thus do I free myself and what I look upon, to be in peace as God created us.

(ACIM, W-243)

and each time that I'm mistaken...a miracle awaits in correction.

I only have to ask, 

 and then with the silence of the answer,

 look upon a forgiven world

~

I love you, Eric

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

Also, please visit to browse: Purpose is the Only Choice

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Ladder

Ladder: 

there's been times, more often than I care to state, that I slip to the bottom rung of the ladder, praying from a place of need and sense of lack. This is the beginning point offered by The Song of Prayer, a supplemental pamphlet adjustment to A Course in Miracles - our life of prayer starts with worldly requests that our needs be met, and we should definitely celebrate that we are on the ladder. The second rung begins when our prayers turun towards forgiveness, seeing through the illusion of lack and asking for the more subtle things such as peace of mind and a love-filled heart. Finally, that last rung, and no request is needed - this is an open-hearted communion, with only love received and given in a beautiful, seamless exchange. Of course this can be a sliding ladder, or it's been so with me. I've felt my toes on that top rung, however briefly, completely broke opened and filled with light. I've never stayed there though, not for very long, but it honestly feels enough right now to know that in the briefness of those moments... I touched upon eternity. 

and sometimes, again, I'm firmly planted on that bottom rung. 

yet what I realize is that I'm not even in charge of my position on this ladder, it's not a climb of achievement nor hierarchy of prayer. It's a gentle climb, and every so often I'm given a lift to a higher rung, a gift of grace and light filled view. What I find is that those lifty views are gifted so that my worldly prayers become more inspired, having a greater sense of their potential. So now, with my feet once again on ground floor, reaching for that very first rung...

I ask for grace to replace my fear.

I pray for faith,

courage.

and begin to gently climb this ladder once more.

~

I love you, Eric

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