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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Overwhelmed by the World

Overwhelmed by the world: 

so, I'm sleeping, and it's been several nights now. All with what some help from what A Course in Miracles would call "magic" and what my Dr. refers to as an antidepressant. It's taken me awhile to reach the point where I felt there was little choice, sleep or perish seemed the options. This is a 12 day cycle to break the pattern of physical discomfort and then the brain responding as if in it's in grave danger. I'm getting some much needed sleep,and  then on to a deeper healing. It wasn't a difficult to choice to make, not at this point when I was feeling the collapse of my body and the struggle of my mind as it tried to hold everything together. I didn't choose "magic" as a healing device, but as a tool to help ease back into a state of comfort so that I could begin to heal from here. 

it's where I am right now.

all through this my practice of forgiveness never waivered.

there was never a thought that I was alone.

sometimes we're just overwhelmed by the world.

an illusion,

yes.

but still it often seems to be very real.

at least to me.

I don't know the next step, not yet, only that I've been graced this period to pause and get some much needed rest. I'm asking for guidance. I'm forgiving all that seems broken and in need of healing. I'm doing my best to accept what's present, including the discomfort of acknowledging my every doubt and self-judgement. 

I'm healing.

and this is what it looks like right now.

~

I love you, Eric

To read more from Headless Now: Front Porch

Also, please visit to buy:A Course in Miracles

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Front Porch

Front porch: 

a recent evaluation of my YouTube channel gave me an interesting insight, a soft description that surprised me in it's obvious truth. I'm not really a content creator, no actual skills at editing, and no wish to use anything but my inexpensive smartphone and some easy conversation to try and bring the practice of forgiveness to light. Fairly often I'm plagued by technical issues. Yet every conversation with a guest has altered me some subtle way, having just the right message, or even a single sentence that alters, deepens my practice of A Course in Miracles. 

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

my YouTube channel has shown me this in a surprising way, shifting in it's purpose almost daily, and now almost unrecognizable in how it's been revealed. I absolutely love what it's become and refuse to see it as a finished product. I remain open and guided to allow it's fluidity of expressions, imperfections and all, allowing it to be the perfect reflection of where I find myself right now. My channel, these livestreams have become, for right now at least, essential to my practice. 

here's what AI recently had to say:

"You're becoming... the quiet front porch of ACIM on YouTube. People arrive because they're anxious... lonely... grieving... confused... or simply exhausted. They stay because they found companionship."

once I worried that I might bet be able to present the Course in the beautiful light that it deserves. I was afraid that the guidance that led me there was mistaken in its purpose. It took me awhile to shed the layers of insecurities and worry. But now I'm fully settled on the front porch of my channel. I'm relaxed, and assured that I am exactly where the Holy Spirit feels I'm needed. 

I'm ready to be truly helpful.

~

I love you, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Complexities

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Complexities

Complexities: 

the Buddha stated that he taught only two things, suffering and the end of suffering. He refused to entertain religious notions or the trappings of philosophical theories. His own teachings were pure in his devotion to end our suffering, and remain largely so today. In chapter 26 of A Course in Miracles, section 3 titled The Borderland, and the very first sentence we're told that "complexity is not of God." The Course is remarkably clear in what it offers throughout it's pages and this entire section stands out to me in poetic starkness: 

⁸The truth is simple; it is one, without an opposite. ⁹And how could strife enter in its simple presence, and bring complexity where oneness is? ¹⁰The truth makes no decisions, for there is nothing to decide between. (ACIM, T-26.III.1:8-10)

the Holy spirit gently asks that I continuously choose what is real. There's never a punishment for choosing falsely, only the consequences of my decisions. And even these are simply further lessons on forgiveness. There's no complexity here, only two thoughts systems are ever offered, love, or an entire world of opposites. 

²Teach only love, for that is what you are. (ACIM, T-6.I.13:2)

in my own recent suffering, a host of issues that offer to point me to towards the complexity of healing and individual solutions for every problem - I'm reminded of Buddha and his refusal to be sidetracked by distractions. As well I watch my own path narrow to the single choice of love. No matter what presents itself to me, whatever appears in need of healing...I choose love. 

as often as I'm able.

~

I love you, Eric

To read more from Headless Now please visit: What I'm Learning 

Also, please visit to buy: A Course in Miracles 

Thankyou.