Our Aspirations

Our aspirations: 

to be mindful of our aspirations, greater than our goals and not measured by any sense of achievement, this is our overlying motivation now, giving reason for everything we do. An aspiration is beyond the physical capacity of work, it's here that we enter a purely spiritual realm, only really reached by letting go of the striving nature of the mind and allowing life to unfold with the grace of it's own agenda. It's with this that we surrender our role of always pretending to be in charge of every moment and situation, no longer attempting to force life to obey certain arbitrary rules of order. 

 and now we relearn the art of navigation, working with the world again, one nature, guiding by this sure and true connection. Our aspirations are an ocean of fulfillment, our dharma, and we are steered by the information we receive, bestowed by inspiration, and the inner smile of our alignment keeps us to this course. There is no room for mistakes here, but simply because everything serves us in someway now, providing feedback as to our current of navigation, reminding us to allow life to easily happen without undue interference of the mind. 

our aspirations are without goals, and yet allow for their achievement - again this is dharma, speaking of our purpose and being aligned with our true nature. Nothing is forced, no hard and set rules for us to follow. That's why I love the sense of navigation, guided by my own set of inner stars, a galaxy of inspiration for me to steer by and always find my true point of home. 

so I'll offer no real definition of aspiration, purposely staying vague in my description, and this is because we all know our own true and proper course, our dharma, and yours will surely feel different than my own. What I believe is that we may choose our goals and the path for their achievement, but our aspirations are larger than this, pure, remaining untouched by any metric of fulfillment. An aspiration is its own fulfillment, needing no purpose other than it own unfolding nature. We aren't meant to reach our dharma, it's already present, here now, the very essence of who we are. It's simply a realization of our overlying measure, infinite, pure in its potential and fulfillment. 

our aspirations are who we truly are...

now, and always. 

~

Peace, Eric 

To Invoke

To invoke: 

it's been said that some ancient languages, such as Sanskrit and Hebrew, vibrate as the very essence of that which they describe, to use such language is to invoke the energy of the object and bring us to the same frequency of awareness. Sanskrit has been described by some linguist as the purest language, spiritual in context as it has a lightness to its sound, soft, vibrating almost beyond the realm of words. I've had some powerful experiences chanting Sanskrit, getting lost in the sound until their only seemed the vibration of the world, a pulse, and that I matched this quality with every particle of my being. My personal mantra is Sanskrit as well, devoid of specific meaning, and meant to lead me to the frequency of the universe that brought me from spirit to the manifest world, the vibration of the moment of my birth. 

this is about magic, true and believable by virtue of experience.

 certain language is magic, having the power to invoke emotion and spirit, to call forth the essence of an ethereal quality that defies ordinary description. That's poetry, and I'll use that word broadly here, not as an actual written form of art, but with a deeper meaning, vibrational, and that the world itself is poetry, everything, and only waits for the right words to match the energy of soul, to invoke the essence of the world through language. 

as I write, I seek to invoke, there's a quality I wish to capture, ineffable, and yet perhaps I'll manage to match it closely by vibration, a similar frequency by design, This is what that no matter what I may write, I always consider myself a poet, one who wishes to invoke the lyrical sense of the world through words and their arrangement. In this way, everything becomes art, creative by expression, and even a simple note contains the deepest essence of the world. 

what I seek is resonance, my soul directly matched to yours.

a vibrational quality shared between us. 

that's the magic of poetry, to invoke something hidden in words, dormant, seemingly lost by our casual descriptions. This is our true conversation about poetry, vibrational, not only to be read or spoken and then easily dismissed, but felt by soul, resonating in a quiet stir of recognition. We are of one soul, essence, and the right words vibrate with this union. It's all poetry, everything, a universe of lyrical form occurring through an infinite field of silence. 

what's offered here is resonance, poetry of a sort.

an opportunity to invoke the magic of the world. 

~

Peace, Eric 

Being Receptive

Being receptive: 

it's my time for words, that's just how it works, somehow words appear and writing happens, inspired so it seems. Really it's a mystery, not one of talent or discipline, although they do play a  vital role for the continuation of this gift. But mostly it's about being receptive, a willingness to abide for a certain length of time in silence, listening, not being in a rush for words and trusting they will come. Always in their own time. That's key, this isn't my agenda here, my demands mean little to the sway of inspiration, and often seem to cause an even longer point of absence to any words appearing.

my role is to wait, trust, listen...

being receptive.

and it's through this that writing happens, a natural process that took years for me to realize and even longer still to put into practice and begin to understand. As a younger writer I knew little of being receptive, more prone to petition inspiration with an argument of time and necessity of words being given to me now, always at my demand, and with little concern for the role that silence plays here. Often this appeared to work, at least in a creative burst of sudden inspiration, and then always followed by a longer space devoid of any words. This would always cause me to doubt my gift for writing, never quite realizing that this isn't really my gift at all, but simply grace, freely and expansively given, yet never mine to order its appearance. Through time, and by silence, I learned to wait for words, learning the art of being receptive, open, and allowing words to be gifted on their own. 

an inspired lesson learned.

a lesson that I'm still learning, practicing its application, as so often I find myself in a rush for words, reaching, not fully trusting in the grace of inspiration. My beliefs still cause me some doubt in the role of patience, of being receptive, and I lose this subtle connection between soul and words, how they're linked by faith alone, and only realized through an inspired length of silence. That's the true gift really, not words and not what appears to be any talent for writing, but the gift of silence itself, to gain an appreciation for the potentiality of its spacious hold, infinite in its capacity for providing inspiration. Being receptive isn't about waiting for words to arrive, it's simply faith displayed through patience and understanding, thankful for the vital role that silence plays. The true gift is of being receptive,  of being open, realizing that we are capacity itself - and through this allowing space all of life appears...

inspired. 

~

Peace, Eric 

Forgetting Self

Forgetting self: 

forgetting self, or as it's often called transcending, yet this word seems to hint at a subtle change that doesn't quite belong here, as if it were a process and not simply a letting go, relaxing, and being who we really, always are. I guess it's thought of as a process because it so occurs through repetition, a mantra's soft tone silently repeated, an artist with the sureness of their brushstroke committing to the canvas, a poet with their imagery of words. It seems like action leads us here, to forgetting self, a realization of only being motion and not a solid entity at all. 

that's the true role of art, not an end result given to show, but each concentrated moment alone, fully committed for a single act and not a thought towards its completion. Quite the same with meditation, although we hold our concentration softly, easily, yet equally committed to breath or mantra. This is the art of forgetting self, of existing as the motion of the world, of simply being.

in this light, we're all artist, and our medium is what it is we truly love to do, giving ourselves away until we're empty of all but our devotion. It's not complicated, occurring quite naturally, easily through our commitment. We're already selfless, always so, with our identity only being an accumulation of beliefs. stories repeatedly told and now taken to be true and lasting. Art, in whatever form of our commitment, is our enlightenment, literally bringing light to who we really are. 

and everything is art, it's all our medium of creation, and only takes a moment to be recognized. For me, one way of forgetting self is through writing, where even my wait for words is an act of pure devotion, trusting the sureness of my inspiration, arranging each word as its delivered, forgetting myself in the emptiness of page and the holiness found between every given word. It's just another form of meditation, every word a mantra vibrating with specific meaning, and I lose myself through their arrangement. Again this only seems a process, actions expressed through the lens of time, but our actuality is always selfless, empty of all but the potentially of what's shown through every moment. 

art is reality.

it's all emptiness in continuous creation...

and we're just a momentary expression given form. 

~

Peace, Eric 

A Version of An Experience

A version of an experience: 

what I write here isn't really an accurate description of an experience, most especially concerning meditation and making use of the mantra, reality is always much different, although in subtle ways, and words will always fail to capture the essence of the moment. But what I wish to do is to offer a version of an experience that's already gone, inspired, and perhaps have you turn within to a present moment of your own, listening now to a silence shared between us. 

and then, together, we'll both know the reality of this moment.

in a way that words can never show.

the mantra is key, at least for this meditation, it's a vibration of silence, personal, and offers us a return to the bare essence of who we are. It could easily be the breath as well, a soft focus of its passage, feeling its motion against a portion of skin, or the slow rhythm of the belly's rise and fall. It doesn't really matter, but for me, it's the mantra, a faint idea whispered through my mind until there's only silence. My preference is to give myself to this vibration, completely, and yet without effort or undue concentration, unattached to how it passes through my mind. It's the mantra that does the work, carrying me to a field of present silence, and my role is to simply recall it, allowing myself to be led to more subtle layers of my own deep vibrational expression. 

through the mantra I'm revealed. 

yes, that's just my version of an experience, a portrayal, true by word and its description, yet not entirely so of the of the actual moment itself. Which, truly can't be told, only experienced. My version of an experience is never yours, not completely, but it's not separate either, being of the very same essence, one reality expressed through infinitely unique and different ways. 

what I write here isn't meant to be accurate, it's not a retelling of an experience, but more so a continued inspiration being offered through the shifting tones of other moments. Only silence itself remains unchanged, inviting us to listen, urging our attention to breath or mantra, asking to be revealed right now, the only possible moment of its revelation. My hope is that my version of an experience will give cause for you to turn within, listening, and that we will share something between us, something essential,a secret we both know, one that everyone truly knows, but has somehow been forgotten. 

and now we're asked to remember.

~

Peace, Eric 

My Bias

My bias: 

my bias is towards a conscious universe, responsive, and evolving, every aspect somehow involved as well within a singular sense of being. My own meditation seems to confirm this, a deep stillness that matches the world in a seamless understanding. This isn't really a view of panpsychism, which views that the mind, or mind-like qualities is a fundamental feature of the universe, my sense is deeper still, that consciousness is all that is and is constantly in the process of being aware of itself, infinite expressions of a singular idea - indeed, there is only the universe being conscious of itself and we are points of this awareness, a state of mind within an ever greater mind. 

of course I could be wrong. 

at as far as science is involved, although panpsychism has gained some acceptance and in the earlier days of quantum understanding physicists sounded mystical in their description of the universe, even invoking God within the conversation. It seems now that most physicist and neuroscientist too are materialist, believing that consciousness is the play of individual material arranged in a certain way to bring about the mind. To me this is even more miraculous, a universe able to arrange itself aware, or at least aspects finding themselves aware by mere chance and luck of the conscious draw. Incredible, and no less invoking a mysterious sense of God and wonder as far as I'm concerned.    

one view doesn't necessarily cancel out the other. 

or so it seems to me. 

but again, my bias is confirmed by my own exploration of the mind, a laboratory of silence and deep stillness, insights gained beyond even the most subtle thought, more like a wave grace imparting a certain sense of knowing to my mind. But I don't claim this as factual, and neither is it really a belief. I'm find being proven wrong through a scientific point of view. Yet science doesn't really touch the fundamental qualities of  the soul, it's an entirely different understanding, and as yet there's no common language for a conversation to occur. My own experience would be dismissed without a care, for now at least, as it does seem that science is gaining an appreciation for meditation and the language that we use for our description of the mind. 

perhaps they'll be a deeper conversation soon. 

regardless, my own bias is a flexible point of view, not an opinion, nor belief, but a quality of soul revealed through a quiet state of mind, inspired, and received by grace alone. It's not true in any sense of being proven so, there's nothing there to grasp and call my own, ineffable, simply the reality of a single given moment expressed through the silence of my mind. There's nothing to prove here, my own bias left behind and only the silence itself seems certain and lasting, an ocean's depth that's ever present to the caress of waves across the surface of my mind. 

without bias...

this seems enough for me. 

~

Peace, Eric 

Soul Is Home

Soul is home: 

inevitably the mantra leads to silence, not really the absence of sound and not always without an occasional thought passing through the mind - but a stillness that reaches all the way to the depth of what I can only describe as soul, and not mine alone, this is the soul of the entire world, no, larger still it's the universe itself, primordial, home. 

soul is home. 

and the mantra leads me there. 

or so it seems, for what I really find is an ever present silence, unwavering in presence and allowing by its very nature, every sound able to appear within its infinite hold, passing unobstructed. Silence offers no interference, it simply gives itself endlessly for the soul to hear the sounds of its creation, providing room for the conversation of the world. 

and so in truth the mantra only reveals what's always ever present.

soul is home.

it's a beautiful space to find myself, open, not an actual location, but reality itself, bare, and somehow I am given an awareness to note myself within it's presence. Yet it's not my everyday self that's noted, again I revert to soul, a word that captures the essence of all I wish to speak of - soul is indeed home, and what I find is that there is nowhere and nothing outside of this existence, just home, everywhere, and absolutely without a true location. 

here, right now.

soul is home.

and the mantra leads me...

~

Peace, Eric