A Wink And A Nod

it only seems that there's a becoming - once emptiness is found, my own absence seen in sudden clarity, what appears is at first believed to be another detail of myself. Yet as things unfold, a more settled sense of openness shows just one thing simply appearing in various guise - including that which I believe to be myself. As such there's no real becoming, only recognition, a wink and a nod at this great appearance and the mystery that it shows. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Thank You `

that I exist 

at all,

thank you. 

~

With this awareness comes gratitude - of infinite possibilities I find myself right here, awake, an expression of life in given form. 

It's enough. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

My Note On Enlightenment

maybe this will prove helpful - it's the ego that has a wish for enlightenment, to reach a state of greater importance so it may lay claim to an ownership of a self above all else. This isn't necessarily wrong, it may even lead to key insights that help in healing and reaching a point of a deeper understanding. The wish for joy, happiness, and diminished suffering is indeed a noble quest - however enlightenment is not a state of contentment, it's not the absence of any thought or experience. It's not for the ego to achieve, nor for it to lose. The ego is not even an obstacle to enlightenment. Only our belief that there is anything other than the singularity of this moment and all that appears within it keeps us from the revelation of our wholeness (holiness) Enlightenment is just a word, a false concept of what we are not (now) and what we may one day become. Without this belief - where do we find ourselves? Who, or what are we? There is no answer given in words - ask, inquire, allow the moment itself to answer. 

And then continue as you truly are. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Beliefs Held Lightly

to neither believe nor disbelieve - but to 

allow the wholeness of the

moment 

to reveal a truth

beyond thoughts measured by 

their value. 

~

my beliefs are such a measured thought, value assigned by personal assessment and by this standard alone they must be subject to change by what each moment holds. My beliefs are not the truth - however they remain a reflection of what was gathered in brief engagement before again the moment shifted to another revelation. 

In this light - I hold beliefs lightly. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Holy In It's Way

as for my own practice - it's spiritual only by the meaning and label that it's given, and really there's no method or practice to it at all. Everything happens at once, seeing reality, the open nature of existence, and my own line-less cause of acceptance - this from one look towards the source that holds the view. It's not philosophy, nothing is added, no thoughts excluded, just a look, and the seeing that follows. Here, there is a subtle rush of welcoming, spaciousness to include the world in all it's grace and beauty, allowing too the judged thoughts of terror and ugliness and the wish for things to change. Nothing is hidden. And it all belongs. 

To this there comes gratefulness. 

I am not apart from the horrors that may occur, and in this I may prove to be an object of change. As well there is no break from the beauty found, nor the grace, this too is my own belonging. It's all one thing - and to know, to actually find myself fully within this great happening, to be aware of it at all - is for me, completely holy in it's way. 

Peace,

Eric

Welcome

always welcoming - it's an inclusive reality, unconditional in it's acceptance and even as we argue otherwise our reason is embraced in the calm love offered by this moment. In this way we are truly open, capacity for things to be, linger and pass - our nature, essence, is one of allowance, an emptiness that begs for the worlds fulfillment. 

This is love. 

It's what we are. 

Welcome. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Held

seeing myself, in fragile belief of identity, small, fearful even in projection of something more, something powerful - and I know that this too, this false sense of what I am, is cherished within the inclusive nature of existence. All beliefs are entertained in reality, however briefly they are held. Yet always there is the press of truth against them, reality not so much parting for their way, but gently allowing things to be until their moment comes to pass. 

It's unconditional love. 

It's what we are. 

Even as we believe otherwise. 

and so I see myself - at once separate, small, and fragile - and too the allowing space for this this thought, this illusion of self, to be. 

I am held in love. 

By love. 

Both false and true self divine. 

life plays itself in every character - and I believe myself a person, living apart from others, from the greater aspect of the whole. I'm convinced of a separate existence for us all. 

But not entirely. 

Even my forgetting belongs. 

Life still plays through everything, existence remains unbroken, one, and I find a tenderness offered for the small, forgotten things of the world. 

It's all held in love. 

Everything. 

Me.

You. 

We are held in the very truth of what we are. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Happening On It's Own

it's always here, this underlying allowance for things to appear, to be in expressed in the manner of the moment, and then to pass on a timeline of their own. There is no part of this that calls for our interference, or even needs our concern at all. Yet we try and move this plan along, our belief in purpose and power lent to grand design. Even this - our effort, intent, and willful urging - are simply appearance as well, falling too into the rhythm of the world. 

I am not wise enough to give meaning or purpose to any of this, it's beyond the scope of understanding. 

It's about letting go, trusting in the allowance that proves itself whole, complete, without a single point of effort given. 

And even my own letting go simply happens. 

True power - is only

right now. 

Happening on it's own.

And nowhere are we apart 

from it. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

No Method

it's simple, and not even a method or means of inquiry - to look in the direction where the view begins, back to source, and relax in what is found. There's no need for description, nothing more to note than what is seen and the absence of a seer. We could explore this with details, add the breath, bringing attention to thoughts and sensations - and it all becomes a complication of the mind. Seeing is all that's needed. 

Everything else comes and goes. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

My Story As A Flower

it's my story - and yet prior to telling, there's no claim of an author, and even now it's clear that life is happening on it's own and this story is simply narration as it unfolds. This individual life is a narrow focus of the whole, as if a flower believed itself separate from the entire field of it's existence and it's petals did not touch the sky - my own roots are deep in life, and too I am an open reach to the sky. But sometimes I believe myself alone, small, separate, forgetting for a moment I touch both earth and stars. I get caught up in my story, a belief in this individual flower - yet even in this narration, I am never not the field of all existence. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Fiction Of Form

it's not that we're apart - even viewed through distance we touch the same air, mingling in the one presence that holds all the world, and sun, and stars. Our bodies are not so much boundaries that contain our particular essence - but more a fiction of form, gathered thoughts and molecules that seem to pause for just a moment. 

There is no claim of independent space that's untouched by the rest of the world. We share the fiction of form together, one presence. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

As Things Are

as things are - this moment itself is all it could possibly be, and yet even in this acceptance there comes infinite changes, motion, and possibilities to be fulfilled. Ours is a mystery of right now, it's enough to simply allow what is, and know the mystery continues in it's unfolding. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Single Heaven

not a galaxy of our own - although in appearance there seems to be a line of separation that keeps us apart, boundaries of molecules gathered to bring us each to form. Yet really we mingle within an infinite framework, always in motion, touching in the same aware reality that is clearly our belonging. 

We are a single heaven. 

~

Peace,

Eric

It's The Buddha Of The Moment

it often seems our lives are lived as a forward projection or backward glance - desires unfulfilled to fuel a wish we hold for tomorrow. The nature of the mind is to think, strive, and plan, it's the organizing function to navigate the day. Recognizing this, we are asked to be mindful, to embrace the present moment as our own and find peace hear and now. Yet even in the furthest reaches of the mind - from tender age of memories to a future far away - we have never strayed beyond this moment. We can let the mind alone, to naturally wander it's course of will, and in all this our presence remains firm and untraveled. We are here. Always. That's our reminder, to simply allow a safe return for the minds passage - mindfulness is not an antidote for the minds natural expression, but only a gentle smile offered for the illusion of it's travels. Our smile is the light that illuminates the present, it's the Buddha of the moment. 

There is nowhere we could ever go that is not right now. 

And so no desire could really exist

unfulfilled. 

It all happens now or not at all. 

Smile - and know this moment is 

what we have. 

And nothing more is needed.

~

Peace,

Eric 

And So There Comes Another Season

only the appearance is fragile - life itself is a continuous breakdown of one thing coming from a particular form to find itself again formless, perhaps in the midst of emerging once more in the guise of something new. A spring leaf is seasonal in it's fresh offering of green, but is no less vibrant in it's dance within an autumns wind. Seen as a separate object from the tree, the leaf is nothing more than death released from the branch of life - and yet to earth and tree it is a vital ingredient needed to continue their own play of form. 

And so there comes another season. 

I have no idea when an autumn wind will call for me - and what form will be next in my own coming seasons. But in essence, I am no different than a leaf, tree, or earth. My appearance is fragile, already in process of becoming something less than what it was, and too one day this form will feed the ground. 

Life will continue.

...emerging in the guise of something new

~

Peace,

Eric 

Simply Life

it's not being a participant - for even this implies a degree apart from the world. Nor do I find myself in the role of witness, aware, and yet detached in observation. There's just life, happening, a sense of body, motion, and a seamless play between form, and the spacious capacity that allows it all to be. No effort is given to find myself as either form or capacity - it's an easy flow of being, unattached to a perceived location of self, or an emptiness that holds the world. In this light I could just say that I am simply life, and awake to possibilities of what this means. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Seeing Rain

raining, and it's seen that each drop belongs entirely to the storm, to the space in between that allows an appearance of their fall, and to the ground that will receive them. There is nothing separate in this seeing, no lines drawn from sky to storm. 

It's all one thing. 

Raining, and it's seen that I belong entirely to every drop that falls, to the storm, to the space that allows for this appearance, and to the ground that receives it all. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

In Essence

and really, no different than a leaf, or blade of grass - in essence, at least, our function is displayed in the simplicity of being. Life continuously plays through us in breath, senses, and motion of the body. There is nothing we need to do for this to be - life includes us in it's rhythm, seasonal, and a grace of timelessness as well. We will return to earth, reborn in some part as a leaf, or blade of grass. It's just another season. 

And in essence we continue. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Here's My Understanding Of God

with every insight subject to change, here's my understanding of God - the whole, undivided, and to this nothing can be added or removed. What appears, is of God, an aspect of source that is not independent of the whole. We are an appearance as form, and in belief, at no point do we break from formlessness to become something other. There is no word for this - and yet God is what I sometimes use in my description for what truly can't be told. 

Life is another. 

No matter the term and regardless of belief - it all unfolds in mystery, perfectly, and without my interference. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

And The Emptiness That Holds The View

always the listening - no

matter what is 

heard

only seeing - in the 

absence of a 

seer

it's prior to, just before anything occurs - a thought, sound or object appearing in our view - that's the essential nature of allowance. That's the aspect of reality that holds everything else in it's aware embrace. We identify with what comes after, believing ourselves as a thought, or the one who sees or listens. Yet in fact we are the listening, the conscious field that knows the thought, and the emptiness that holds the view. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Just Life

at this point no more explanations are needed, no instructions to the seer - the experience of each moment is given not as a lesson, but in the simplicity of being, relaxing, it's all again just life. Of course complications arise, thoughts counter our natural surrender to what occurs - yet even this belongs in our acceptance. 

Again - it's just life.

Happening. 

And nowhere are we apart from this. 

Nothing

trusting in the void of all appearances - and knowing

something new will soon emerge. 

In this way I match the page, approaching emptiness with my own absence of expectations. I know there will be words. I will write. Beyond this is not my guess and only deepens my faith in mystery. Nothing more is needed - and from this it's

all provided. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

The Illusion of A Raindrop

without our own agenda - we live as mystery, no design as to how the world unfolds. This is life, intelligence itself without the thought of interference, and we are fully equal as this grand expression, belonging always to the whole. How we are expressed, our unique part to play, is beyond the care of choice - it's not a factor of control. Our only agenda is to be. Personal choice is simply mystery playing through the unique aspects of our lives - it's the illusion of a raindrop in belief it caused the storm. Rain is always one expression, and it's agenda is to fall, nourish, and again realize itself as ground, ocean, and back to sky. 

Never separate from the whole. 

No effort given. 

There's a mystery to it all. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

That We Are The Pure, Open Field of Reception

it's not us - we are not so powerful as to allow or deny the whims of everyday life. There is no central character that directs awareness. Things are allowed by virtue of appearance alone, and even our demands for circumstances to be other are held within this embrace. Life happens in its varied course of giving - and our true power is not one of choosing what we would wish to receive but the recognition that we are the pure, open field of reception. 

We are participants in all that happens. 

We are life in full 

allowance to

itself. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Perfect, Beautiful, Paradox, Living

it's the way things are - holy, and completely ordinary, and 

life happening through and as 

awareness. 

nowhere are we apart from this, an awake participant as well as the

open capacity for it all to be. 

it's perfect

even in the tragedy of everyday affairs - it's life in the 

broken whole of our completion. 

beautiful

paradox

of living

~

Peace,

Eric 

We Are

it's right here, a full circle to our understanding, and again the search brings us to this very moment. Awakening seems a journey, and indeed at times we may believe we are far from where we wish to be - yet our great surprise is that we travel not to become enlightened but to discover that every step itself is an awakening onto itself. There is nowhere else to be, no place of discovery not immediately unfolding, and no journey to enlightenment that is not already complete. We have been told to Be Here Now - and in truth, and always, we are. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

It Is

it is - and that's the sum of existence, everything seen, heard and touched is at once within this great belonging. This is the simplicity of being, nothing is done or needed to cause the world to exist, to give rise to the awareness that everything is, and that we too are part of this arising. I find myself in awe that I am included, an appearance in the world, as well the undivided awareness that holds it all. Everything is - and in this I find myself at last. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

An Inquiry of Grace and Wonder

it's a continuous inquiry - our own mystery won't be resolved, there's no bottom line of existence, no end point of declaration that we may reach to know a search for self is over. It's not about answers. An inquiry is a quest to find ourselves as presence, and as such it's a revelation of identity and location - here too we reside, this moment, the next occurrence to unfold our very own reflection. We are explorers of our own nature, and the mystery is always of how we will appear next. It's a never ending surprise - full of grace and wonder. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Departure

to the point of my departure - and so now the world begins anew, without demands and constant narration. It's a simple story. And still I play a part - yet I am not central in origin or its continuation. It's not my story alone. 

The world is, 

I belong. 

And everything carries on. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Filled

and this becomes the meditation - first, capacity recognized, and then the 

seamless grace in which we're filled. 

in this seeing we

abide. 

~

Peace,

Eric