As a Sunbeam

As a sunbeam: 

of my two cats, sisters adopted from a shelter almost a year ago, it's the smaller one that always seems to find the sunbeam, having a special talent of finding warmth and light, tracking the sun's reach as it travels through the living room, stretched out and basking in its rays. I will generally find her wherever there is a spot of sun that lights the floor, gradually shifting towards wherever the sunbeam next appears. What I especially love to observe is when she accidentally discovers a new sunlit spot, walking through the room for whatever purpose she has in mind and suddenly finding herself in a place of warmth and light, collapsing immediately in a delighted stretch and offering her belly to the entire length of sun. I know I'm witnessing an act of sheer joy and pleasure, spontaneous, and it extends towards me, reaching me in the same manner as a sunbeam and a delighted cat. 

I am touched by this same light...

even from a room away. 

thinking of this now, and it's still an hour more before sunrise, but I know that there's a reach of light that heads in this direction, hitting the glass plane just right, perfect in its timing, and my little cat will be the first of us to greet it. She's patient, light always finds its way to her, and she shows her  appreciation in a deep stretch of joy that covers every inch of a sunbeam's offer. She will contort herself to fit exactly in its lighted spot, it's truly a bask of pleasure, not changing her location until the eventually sun moves on. 

and what I think of right now is of her appreciation, that one joyful moment of light and warmth, lasting only as long as the length of the sun's travel through the room. She doesn't lament the sun's motion, each sunlit position is a new discovery of joy, another place that offers her a moment to stretch within its light, every sunbeam is unique and holy, meant for her alone, and she'll adopt her posture to fit fully in its length, content with what is given. 

all of this extends towards me, the same joy and light...

reaching me as a sunbeam.

and I find myself content,

exactly where I am. 

~

Peace, Eric 

It's the Body That's the Soul

It's the body that's the soul: 

really, it's the body that's the soul, or as much part of it as any ethereal spirit might be, being that it's a true home made of the elements created by dying stars and the expansion of the universe itself. The body is what we are in a very real way, earth dust breathed to life, a creation of exquisite beauty and precise function - we are bodies infused with soul, not separate in anyway, but belonging fully to our home here, to life itself...to creation.

it's the body that's the soul. 

and if we think of rebirth than it's the body that's reformed, elements near immortal in their use, already here for an eternity, particles that once gave form to ancestors, ancient structures, and further still, even before space and time existed, just a singularity compressed of infinite energy - there was the potentiality of our bodies, the raw material of our creation, and the very soul of our existence. In some form...we've been here all along. 

so how could we not honor the body, see it as soul and immortal in it's own way? We are embodied in the truest sense, nothing but life, elements of light that once burned as stars, and now burn brightly as our bodies - we are universe, earth, creative dust and clay. We're everything, our bodies have been been every speck of creation at some point in time, molecules existing now, lending themselves as our present form, have been around since a single cell crawled from an ocean;'s floor and sparked a creative evolution. Our bodies are more than possibly imagined, they're timeless in their way, temporary in form, but ongoing as the soul of our existence. 

yes, it's the body that's the soul. 

~

Peace, Eric 

We're Generous

We're generous: 

by our very nature we're generous, each cell devoted completely to its particular function, our organs working for the benefit of the whole system, how the heart pumps blood throughout the entire body  without concern of ever running empty. Even our breath returns itself to air, with every exhale providing carbon dioxide for trees and plants to use in respiration. We are designed to be giving, composed of elements created by dying stars and particles that came to existence just moments after the Big Bang's initial expansion, we're universal, made of recycled parts, and will again be used by nature. 

and none of this is a conscious decision.

it's simply what we are. 

 we're generous. 

yet also, we're forgetful of our nature, not always remembering our true generosity of spirit, or how we really function for the benefit of the world. We've come to believe that we're separate from each other, from our environment, and that it's somehow best to look after our concerns alone. It's a false notion, a selfish fiction, denying that by our very nature - we're generous, built entirely for giving. The whole purpose of any spiritual practice is to remember what we are, returning ourselves to service just be relaxing as our original nature, no conscious effort needed.

it's what we are.

generous by our very nature. 

~

Peace, Eric 

Already Enlightened

Already enlightened: 

it's the body that's enlightened, already, and without need for seeking anything beyond the present moment of breath and heartbeat, the easy function of every organ, and coherence of its system. Every cell knows of its divine nature, that it has a purpose, holy and pure in its order, it's practice, sadhana, being to provide structure to a particular point within the entirety of the body, and in this each cell is in service to the whole. Even the mind is enlightened in its way, more than just a brain located in a lofty command center within the head, the mind is found throughout the body, it's the intelligence of blood flow and the wisdom of digestion, our body is the mind, seamless in its connection. It's the body that's already enlightened, through parts and whole structure, completely so - and this is realized by just relaxing, allowing ourselves to simply be the body, nothing to transcend, being at ease with who we are. 

that's the enlightenment we're searching for...

already present as the body. 

and yet there's a larger body too, we're more than the appearance of a single form, our true body continues on as earth and further still to the reach of every distant star. Our enlightenment is this realization, our completeness, knowing that we don't end with the touch of earth and air against our skin, that it's only the point of our continuation, opening as sky and extending deep within the ground, rooted and at once expanding past the boundaries of our hold. 

it's the larger body that's enlightened. 

we are this single body, from cells to stars, seamless in our order. It's this body that's already enlightened, and it's who are, right now, at this exact moment, and no amount of searching ever brings us any closer. So our only role is to join this sadhana, a simple practice of being at ease as body, honoring ourselves too as the body of the world...and further still...

~

Peace, Eric 

Energy of Being

Energy of being: 

it's not really so esoteric, a mystery yes, but not something outside our intuitive understanding - prana is simply the energy of transformation, it's what sparks the single cell within a mother's womb to develop as a baby, it creates the toddler's sudden urge to walk, and hormones of its teenage years. Prana is the energy of cells, communication throughout the body, change, and the animation of matter into life. The easiest definition is to say that prana is the cause of motion, the drive behind every transformation, and the vibrancy of our existence. It's the energy of being. 

prana is the science of attraction, drawing particles together to form atoms, and then atoms combining in a bond of molecules, further we have the interaction of these molecules forming cells and onward to the tissues of our bodies. We are the creation of prana, an energetic structure, a bond of attraction. It could be said that prana was the whisper of motion that caused the Big Bang, the urge for the universe to evolve and continue to expand.

and more intimately so, it's the energy of being, our life-force, animating our existence. It's the breath and the gift of life that it carries, a subtle charge that brings us to awareness, causes our conscious understanding of who we are within the world. We are, everything is...because of prana. 

it's that simple. 

pranayama is the art of recognizing this gift, devoting ourselves to a moment of deep appreciation and drawing this energy fully into our bodies through awareness of the breath. It's the practice of giving notice to this subtle energy of being, opening ourselves to its potential, giving us cause to further expand through the possibilities of life. Breathing is a gift and pranayama is its unwrapping. We breathe ourselves into existence, with every breath being our connection to the divine. 

prana is the force that ties this all together.

it's the energy of being. 

~

Peace, Eric 

It's Not Ours

It's not ours: 

it's helpful to not think of creativity as being ours, or at least not in the way that we normally do, as if it's a quality that should always be present at our command, responsive to our certain needs, and blaming ourselves for times it might falter. Yes, we are creative, it's innate to the very fabric of our existence, it's what we are in essence and through expression. Yet it's not a quality that we own, with some possessing it in finite amounts and others in clear abundance - it's not ours, not exclusively so, it's a gift of simply being alive, a mystery, and always in display in some unique and curious way. But it's also taken for granted through virtue of its constant presence, seldom given notice for the world that it produces, small wonders that we're given such as trees and grass, grand views of mountains, oceans, and the company of others, even our bodies are a gift of true creation, a cooperation of events inspired to show us as alive. Creativity isn't ours as a quality to reach for...

it's what we are. 

many ancient societies believed that creativity wasn't a human virtue, but something given from the gods, prayed for, rituals performed in order to be received. It often seems fickle when reached for, present at times and then vanishing before a particular need. This is shown in Kipling's quote on the creative notion of Daemons, a separate source of inspiration that must be invoked, courted and coaxed for its appearance in our lives - " When your Daemon is in charge, do not try and think consciously. Drift, wait, and obey" It's a lovely quote and one I'm in complete agreement with. But what's best realized is that the Daemon is always in charge, present now, and is actually who we are, not a separate quality, just an aspect of our life, deeply hidden, yet always working through our presence. 

and this is also what we surrender to, our Daemon, creativity itself, giving it free expression without any of our personal demands. We drift within this creative source, waiting only for inspiration to revealed through the pleasure of it's timeline, obeying the sudden whim of its whispered urge for action. This is creativity, it's not ours, not in the sense that we possess it...

it's what are by divine essence. 

and it's always in display. 

~

Peace, Eric 

A Magical World

A magical world: 

I find it interesting to consider the differing philosophical thoughts on consciousness, from scientific materialism to the what's considered the more mystical views of monism or panpsychism, all philosophies on how consciousness emerges and the primary role it plays in the world. It seems odd to me that any one of these views could be seen as any less spiritual than any other, that materialism itself doesn't rely upon the magical belief that randomly arranged matter somehow gave cause for consciousness to emerge completely on its own. This magic doesn't make it any less scientific, it doesn't deny the plausibility of its occurrence, but only enhances the mystery of it all, how randomness and chance play such significant roles in the creation of consciousness. However viewed....it truly is a magical world. 

as for myself, I'm prone to mystical thinking, drawn to the ineffable, and feel completely at home in mystery - again, science only enhances how I feel, not detracting at all from my sense of being in a magical world. It's amazing to consider that an entire universe happened by chance, everything perfect in its order for our world to occur, and that somehow, miraculously even, it was all arranged in such a way that life emerged, more so, a particular life that holds it all with such reverence, joy, and deep appreciation. Materialism proves that life is precious, showing the presence of mystery within every moment of existence, perhaps even God, not by name nor actions of a divine creator, but simply by description, how life emerged through such a magical way. 

of course this is a stretch, it's just my own take through the use of lyrical prose to spin a scientific theory to suit my mystical direction. Science seldom deals with God, nor does it need to in order to make such incredible advancements of its theories. My only point here, if indeed I even have one, is that every explanation of consciousness remains in the realm of magic and mystery. To think of how it has possibly occurred only deepens my appreciation that I'm able to consider anything at all, bringing me deep joy that I'm able to explore such a magical world, and reverence for this life that I've been blessed with. 

no matter how conscious emerged...

it's no less a magical world. 

~

Peace, Eric