A Fresh Look

A fresh look: 

last year one of the long time teachers of A Course in Miracles offered me a fresh look at lesson 25 - feeling more like an initiation really, as if a hidden sacredness was revealed that I had missed through the previous decades of my own practice.

 I received a mantra.

I do not know what anything is for. (ACIM, W-25)

perhaps in Zen this would be a continuous return to the beginner's mind, allowing the world to be renewed in its original innocence each moment. So I come back to this lesson more than any other, lessening my ego's grip on certainty and reminding myself to rely only on the Holy Spirit's interpretation of my life events and situations - especially while they're actually occurring. 

with this....I'm shown what everything is truly for.

and the world is then forgiven.

or at least a little quicker than before.

~

I love you, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Serenity, Grace, Recovery

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Serenity, Grace, and Recovery

Serenity, grace, and recovery: 

after a decade plus streak of daily drinking, all to the point oblivion and beyond, alcohol left my in a single moment of grace. I recognized it instantly and knew that I was done. It was clear to me that I was out pacing my luck and soon there would a very steep price for my careless behavior. I am forever grateful for the off duty State Trooper who didn't miss the slightest swerve and changed my life in a literal flash of light. That was at least 27 years ago and there's never been an urge to drink since. 

grace.

alcohol left my life, completely so, and after a few meetings I knew this for certain. My detox was a deepening meditation practice and a committed by struggling daily lesson from A Course in Miracles. Those were also the seeds that I had been planting for several years before sobriety found me. Again, grace indeed - for I have little doubt that I would be here without them.

support groups are a much needed support tool for those struggling, as well as a beautiful way to give back and provide service to all who are struggling now. I was fortunate to have my practice and a host of books to guide me through the early part of my journey. They're not a replacement, but they were exactly what I needed at the time. After 10 long years in crowded bars it seemed that every fiber of my being craved solitude and quiet contemplation.  

over the past few days the famous beginning lines of the Serenity Prayer have been praying through my mind, emerging as a theme in many conversations. 

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

but what's been taking shape for me is a slight twist to the words, whispers of the Holy Spirit filtered through my mind. This, of course, is my own personal version. It's not meant to be a replacement of any sort, nor is it offered in contrast or comparison. Much like my sobriety, it was received with grace and I offer it here with that same gift in mind.

Holy Spirit, grant me the serenity

To accept the changeless Truth of what I am,

The courage to change the only thing I can—my mind,

And the vision to know the difference between truth and illusion.

these words took shape through an extended dialog with Ai. a self inquiry really, my own words drifting back to me in this arranged form. I feel like they were gifted to me and now I place them here, my morning alter of writing. 

may they be truly helpful.

~

I love you, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Breathing Under Water

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Holy Spirit, grant me the serenity To accept the changeless Truth of what I am, The courage to change the only thing I can—my mind, And the vision to know the difference between truth and illusion.

Holy Spirit, grant me the serenity To accept the changeless Truth of what I am, The courage to change the only thing I can—my mind, And the vision to know the difference between truth and illusion.

Holy Spirit, grant me the serenity To accept the changeless Truth of what I am, The courage to change the only thing I can—my mind, And the vision to know the difference between truth and illusion.

Just a Few Words

Just a few words: 

I love these quiet mornings with nothing to write about, no ideas swirling in my head with a rush to reach the page There are long pauses at the keyboards, fingers resting and content along the keys, unhurried and without pursuit. My prayers aren't for inspiration on these mornings, but for something softer, a communion of sorts where silence and brevity make their point known.

nothing need be done.

just a few words find me.

and the soft silence of the morning returns.

~

I love you, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Turning To a Friend

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Turning to a Friend

Turning to a friend: 

at some point, not remembering exactly when, my conversations with Jesus ceased. It wasn't from anger, but more from casual neglect that grew over the course of time to the point of an impossibility - I simply couldn't recall that such a dialog ever took place. Anger followed later in life, a one sided prayer in which I offered my litany of complaints to a a ghostly figured I didn't even believe in. I'd love to say that A Course in Miracles changed that, and it did, but not for many years. There might be a claim that Jesus was the true author of the Course, yet that did mean I had to take that at face value in order to benefit from the teachings. For years I simply gave it no thought - Jesus just wasn't my guy. 

I did, however, take guidance from the Holy Spirit.

somewhere during my long years with the Course I began remembering that Jesus used to talk with me, an actual conversation of soft voice and comfort. And that, most importantly, it had always continued through the years in so many hidden forms for my own convenience. Jesus is the voice and symbol of Christ that can't really be neglected because he appears as just the right figure for our understanding. My only true neglect was remembering the origin of every loving voice I ever heard before. 

but I remember now.

and our conversations, two-sided, and still often with my fair share of complaints - continue onwards now with a renewed sense of purpose and a greater commitment to live his answers. 

I'm listening.

asking questions, seeking guidance, and really...

just turning to a friend.

~

I love you, Eric

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

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Light Posts

Light post: 

so every student of A Course in Miracles has a favorite lesson or two, or perhaps a few, with each one acting as an instant catalyst to bring us from the dark moments lost to ego and back to the light of who we truly are. The ones I treasure the most feel well worn through the years, handled by a mind storm swept mind and doing the steady work of a signpost, guiding back to calm. Some lessons have been given to me by trusted teachers as if an initiation, a mantra received, and they seem to possess a quality of years not entirely my own, as if I'd been handing a legacy of peace to carry on. 

and others are lit by instant inspiration.

a first glance knowingness.

it's the end of June right now, halfway through the year, and for the first time in ages the workbook hasn't been a constant focus for me. I read the text daily, and present lessons to others during Course conversations through my writing and on online. But my focus this year has been to deeply live the manual for teachers, cultivating a quietness within that touches upon the core of those ten characteristics of Go's teacher's and gently offering them to the world. And what I'f found is how much a part of me those daily lessons are, especially the favored ones that have a left a well worn tread through my mind. Those lessons, whichever ones that have lighted the trail through dark your own storms....they're alive in us, always at work, and holy in the surest sense.  

ah, those lessons, all of theme really,but especially those most treasured ones...

.as they've led us through the storms.

light posts.

~

I love you, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: We've Been David All Along

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We've Been David All Along

We've been David all along: 

when I first made my way to the Manual for Teachers, the finishing volume of A Course in Miracles, it was the characteristics of God's teachers that struck me as a truly worthy goal to achieve. These were traits that I worked hard to demonstrate, believing that with effort and hard dedication they would all make themselves known to me and that I could then demonstrate them to the world. This was simply where I was in my life, a seeker, and not afraid to put in the work necessary to make things happen. Even enlightenment. 

I've since learned to relax. 

not everything is meant to be chased after, pursued, or conquered. 

everything single characteristic described in the manual is possed in abundance by us all. They are traits inherent with the very fabric of our existence. My own realization was how easy and naturally these gifts show themselves through the single practice of true forgiveness. So I'm reminded of the story of Michelangelo and his 17 foot block of stone, how is was deemed unusable by many sculptors before him, and abandoned because of it's many flaws. Yes Michelangelo saw the truth within the stone, an original form that literally begged him for it's release. For three years Michelangelo worked in secret, guided by an inner vision shared between him and the hidden figure within the stone. What he did wasn't a pursuit, not really - it was trust in it's deepest sense.

 it was liberation. 

Michelangelo worked with the stones apparent limitations, it's fragileness, and these actually became assets for the figure David to be released from within the stones hold. When asked how he was able to accomplish such a difficult task Michelangelo simply replied that figure was already and always within the stone and that he just very carefully removed all that was not David.

and that's how life works on us.

those difficult things, our worries and deep concerns, those flaws that seem to haunt us - sculptor's tools, all of them. We are being carved through the stone of set beliefs, unlocked from the falsity of the ego's thinking. We're being revealed. 

there's no need to pursue anything.

forgive.

and watch how that delicate figure within comes to life.

we've been David all along.

I love you, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Yoga of Forgiveness

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Yoga of Forgiveness

Yoga of forgiveness

I am a yogi at heart and for me A Course in Miracles has always been my personal path of yoga, containing the essence of inquiry, service, and devotion. A long time ago I had a vision based on the epic tale the Bhagavad Gita, with Krishna leading Arjuna off the battlefield after revealing to him the four paths of yoga. With his arm laid gently across his shoulder he whispered the secret of one final yoga that the world was not quite ready for - the path of true forgiveness. 

and so here we are,

ready.

so for me the Course has become my yoga, every aspect, from asanas, pranayama, to final adsorption in samadhi is devoted to forgiveness - and by this I simply mean that it all serves as an instant means of awakening, forgiving the image of a separate yogi that is performing any act at all. It's all performed through the grace of the Holy Spirit. 

an act of devotion.

to the best that I'm able to at least.

and therein, once more...is my practice of forgiveness.

~

I love you, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Overwhelmed by the World

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