Exactly Here

it's finding existence - our initial encounter with emptiness seems to be annihilation of self, or at least a personal self we've come to know as who we are. Yet speaking for myself, there was a brief seeing of my empty nature, followed by a seamless extension of world, and then again my reappearance of a personal self. At no point was one separate from another, and each equal in insight and treasure. This meant that nothing could be discarded, the problems and the joys of life, everything, were as cherished in their belonging as the very spaciousness that allowed them to be at all. It was one existence. There was no loss of anything, but certainly there came an ease of being, knowing that this empty capacity to hold no less than the world itself, was constant in the space it offered, and there was nowhere else for me to find it - but exactly here. 

And all I had to do was see. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Mystery's Whim

and then the Heart Sutra - finally it's 

seen as formlessness in the

guise of every

form

there is not a choice of one to another, emptiness giving way so an

object can now be. 

it's one thing in constant shift,

mystery's 

whim 

and we just play along.

~

Peace,

Eric 

Not Free Of

we are not free of - but

simply free

everything belongs

and freedom is known in

this acceptance

~

there's no escape, it's not a spiritual path that leads to a destination of freedom, there is no liberation from life. There is only living. However there is a clear seeing that we are not removed from all that happens in life, indeed, there is a calm acceptance that we are the capacity for it all to be. In this - I find myself free. 

Peace,

Eric 

Not Really

it's not a path, not really - there is no way to spiritual existence. There is simply life and the varied form of it's appearance. It's here that we surrender, done seeking, there is just the moment and our awake acceptance of all that comes. The practice now is to not practice but only be, to get lost again in the details of the world and smile at suddenness of remembering, to live in accordance with life's unfolding. 

It's nothing special. 

Yet always full of wonder. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Purpose Of Life

I don't know the purpose of life - other than simply being, alive to the joy and sorrows of each unfolding moment. My guess is that this is enough, and that even awakening to a sense of deeper intimacy, a true belonging, only serves the moment itself. In years of study, meditation, seeking, and longing to know the way - I have been brought right here, now, and fully at peace with what the moment holds for me. 

~

Peace,

Eric 

Moment's Notice

our gift is mystery - that each moment unfolds in it's own unique fashion and there is no grand design save for life in full and various expressions of itself. We are given possibilities. This is the wonder of the coming day, how we too will be expressed in ways totally unknown right now. In this light we see that there is only mystery and that every revelation is held only for a moments notice. 

~

Peace,

Eric

Review - The Ten Thousand Things By Robert Saltzman

Discernment - that, for me, is the true gift of The Ten Thousand Things. All beliefs now become a question, yet not in an aggressive, answer seeking way but more so an open ended inquiry without need of final answers. It's simply see the openness that surrounds any perceived truth. The Ten Thousand Things systematically (for me through repeated readings) installs a "spiritual BS detector" that rings a silent alarm whenever one is confronted with the certainty of a guru, master or teacher. That's discernment. Robert is not a guru and he won't lead one to awakening - but he might, verbally and visually, shove one (usually gently and always kindly) in the right direction through his words and stunning photographs. Yet only if we're lucky. The Ten Thousand Things has been a significant book for me, more so than many "spiritual classics" due the language that meets the reader right where they now find themselves. There is nothing to decipher, nothing to take for granted, and nothing argued as a final truth. It's an invitation for the reader to find their own truth - with every given moment. There is freedom from (and even within) seeking and The Ten Thousand Things points the way.

 Peace,

Eric 

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