Because (so yeah, you're non-dual - go out and vote anyway)

because I find myself not removed - but of and

as the whole, and the lease aspect is

still my own 

becoming

there is only life

and at no point do I give way for the 

rest of the world to be. 

it's all one thing.

~

Peace,

Eric 

Given Words

this moment - given

words,

and then left against the page

~

it's all I do, no deeper wisdom offered, nothing special-  just listening, writing, one moment open to receive. At best I am removed from the equation, it becomes a meditation of allowing and then a creative process of arranging what appears. On some occasions I find myself to involved within the process, striving for words that belong only to another moment - not the one that I've been given. Mostly I can tell the difference and am quick to take a step away. Yet even this becomes a gift of letting go and soon another moment comes while giving words. 

Peace,

Eric 

It's My Only Prayer

it's my only prayer - this

moment,

fully attended

and then allowed to

simply be.

~

it's not that I am without desire, or needs, or wish my life to sometimes be other than what the present moment holds. Yet I have seen my own wisdom at play in the world and now know that there is indeed a better way. This isn't a mindful approach, attention drawn to breath or sensation - although it certainly may apply. 

It's being aware. 

Attentive to just this - everything

belonging

exactly 

now

and then a letting go....

I will forget a thousand times - and grateful for the

single moment that's remembered. 

Peace,

Eric 

Sermon on the Mount, Non Duality, Politics, And Another Way

These are the words of Jesus, my own commentary no more than a gentle nudge to return to the original teaching. This is not a complete text of the Sermon, and the politics that are spoken are inherent to the principle of the words. For those who read this who are truly Christian, there is little to argue. Most of us (if not all) have failed to live up to the potential these words would have asked of us. In full disclosure, I myself am not a Christian - however I feel that these truly powerful words speak across all religious divide to the one spirit we all share. My goal here is simple: I ask we do the right thing, to the best we're able, and live according to these wise words that Jesus offered. 

Let's begin:

Coming to the mountain, wild land once more providing silence for insight to stir, Jesus spoke to those that gathered.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 

"Blessed are the they that mourn:for they shall be comforted"

"Blessed are the meek" for they shall inherit the earth" 

"Blessed are the merciful" for they shall obtain mercy"

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for thy shall see God" 

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God" 

~

"Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not though away"

"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"

"For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

~

And so here we find ourselves - given wise, loving instructions. These very same words could have been spoken by Buddha, Mohammed, and prophets of every time and land. Indeed they were said in similar fashion - compassion, ethics, simplicity, and love for another as we love ourselves is common language of spirit. 

But now I'm going to enter into the realm of non-duality, where words belong equally to the silence they emerge from, where , as Christian mystic Meister Eckhart said: 

“The eye through which I see God is the same eye through which God sees me; my eye and God's eye are one eye, one seeing, one knowing, one love.”

Our inquiry is this - having read the words of Jesus, are they not now the words we share through one heart, one mind, one common spirit? Are we untouched by the reach of Christ? Even a non-Christian is called to order for the well being of another. So then could a Christian be called to anything less? Do our politics reflect these humble words?

Do our leaders? 

Are borders mentioned as a breaking point of love? 

These are not surface questions - but the depth of our heart searching for the means to live and thrive in today's world. 

Jesus has the answer.

Buddha has the answer.

Mohammed has the answer.

Most important, and with most meaning: we ourselves have the answer and it has echoed through the ages to find our own heart, our very own lips, and it's time to speak these truths again. Our politics won't save us. But our shared love will save politics. 

The modern spiritual text, A Course In Miracles began by a simple statement one professor offered to another during a particular contentious time: "There has to be another way" to which her colleague replied "You're right - I'll help you find it" From this a complete manual on love and forgiveness has touched the world. 

The Sermon on the Mount offers us another way. 

Let's help each other find it. 

Peace,

Eric 

For It's Own Wonder

it's the exploration of what is, a natural curiosity of not just what the moment holds but of the very nature of what's presented. We are gifted with keen awareness for the details of the world, nothing escapes it's notice - even as our own attention may be drawn to personal concerns. This awareness is our own innate belonging, our capacity to attend in intimate allowance the things that pass through our lives. It's who we are. Aware. So everything presents itself for our own understanding, held in awareness, one essence, it's simply one thing in constant giving. Aware of being aware - life unfolds for it's own wonder. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

It's All A Bonus

here's our purpose - to 

draw breath, 

and then let go

until another breath

arrives 

~

life is it's own purpose and there is no point where this excludes us - we too are seasonal, motion, and an exchange of primary functions. Our breath is a gift in both receiving and it's return, we are vital in our play of nature. 

Nothing needs to be added to this. 

Yet in consideration - there is always more we think we need to do. 

Relax

Breathe

Beyond this it's all a bonus. 

Peace,

Eric 

Certainty of Uncertainty

without certainty - we have been made no promises beyond this moment, that we are alive, and that the present breath is all that's given. This is our own fragile beauty, the reason we cling, and the key to our eventual surrender. Indeed, it's this same uncertainty to which we do surrender. It's natural to wish for something stable, firm ground upon which we make our stand. Yet it's this need, along with the false certainty on which we stake our claim, that leads to a quiet anxiety that undercuts through life. We're afraid to be afraid, and worse we fear the only thing we may ever truly know - it's all a mystery. Everything. Once this is certain - that we simply can't know a thing beyond right now, we gain the freedom to relax and allow the world to unfold in it's own fashion (as it would anyway) If more is to be understood - it will arrive exactly in it's moment. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

*obviously I am not certain of any of this