Barest Notice

Barest notice: 

of first note is the mantra's effect on my body, with heart rates settling to a calm and easy rhythm, breath growing ever more subtle, almost imperceptible in its passage, every natural function happening on its own without my interference. There's only the barest notice now, a faint impression of heart rate and breath until even this is given to the mantra in a final act of letting go. 

it's my body that's meditating first. 

assured in its awareness.

it seems that the mind sometimes follows a longer course to reach this point, thoughts streaming without restraint, again without any interference on my end, everything allowed to settle in it's own time. I'm in no hurry here, as there's the soft return of my mantra playing through me, gently, not causing an interruption, but gaining just my barest notice, enough to lead me to an underlying silence found beneath this thought-filled world. 

it's the body that's meditating first...

yet my mind soon follows.

and everything happening completely on its own.

~

Peace, Eric 

An Extra Day

An extra day: 

today is usually the last day of February, but this is a leap year with an extra day added, and tomorrow being the 29th day of the still shortest month of the year. Meteorologist generally place spring's arrival on the first of their proper month and the equinox itself being more of a formality of the stars, a recognition of their astronomical location. So it seems, at least in meteorological terms, that spring is delayed by a single day due to a technicality of the sun's travel. 

of course the season doesn't know this. 

and it feels like spring outside. 

it takes the earth approximately 365.25 days to travel its course around the sun, a solar year, and this doesn't quite fit within the perimeters of our calendars. A leap year makes up the difference, every 4 years we accumulate an extra day to lend to February and we're repaid with an extra day of winter. It seems to me that we could have invested this time in June, increasing the length of summer by a day and staving off the touch of autumn. But time and seasons don't work this way, truly being independent of our clocks and calendars, and we mark their passage only for our own convenience. 

life itself doesn't have an extra day. 

it's expressed only in a given moment.

always now. 

and this is where we live it. 

regardless of our clocks and calendars.

~

Peace, Eric 

Ever Subtle Shift

Ever subtle shift: 

only two days left in February, being a leap year we have an extra, but there is definitely an ever subtle shift towards Spring, early buds on certain trees, animals a bit more active in the predawn hours of my earliest walk. I've recently spotted both owls and hawks in pairs, mates, and beginning to nest in preparation for laying eggs. Life is waking from a long winter slumber and I'm eager to explore this new and warmer world. 

I suspect that winter hasn't given up it's grasp, it seldom does so easily or early. Occasionally we get some biggest snow in mid-March, storms that sweep through leaving several inches or even over a foot in their wake. There's often cold snaps all the way to early April, so I take no warmth for granted. But I do celebrate the ever subtle shift towards Spring. 

it's the equinoxes that seems the most dramatic in effect, moving so slowly at first, barely noticed in the midst of the present seasons focus. Yet then, a rush, Spring or Autumn hurries in with a vast display of color, vibrant leaves that will soon begin to fall or the thick green of early plant life that literally explodes in its deep shade of verdant wonder. Winter and Summer are less dramatic, coasting in on the theater of their preceding equinox - but no less thrilling in the beauty that they offer. 

every season has its beauty. 

ours to explore.

if we're open to these changes.

and that's why I love these earliest signs of a new seasons arrival, that in between sense of worlds within worlds, an ever subtle shift towards....

something. 

and for now,

 it's a mystery to explore. 

~

Peace, Eric 

Petty Tyrants

Petty Tyrants: 

I remember reading the urging of Don Juan to Carlos Castaneda on having a petty tyrant in his life, the important role they play in allowing one to recognize and reduce their own self-importance, freeing them of the concerns of others. It's similar to the view that Abraham Maslow had for self-actualized people, that they are free of the good opinion of others. In the age of social media, none of us have to search far to find a petty tyrant, or indeed, perhaps some of us play that role well for others. It's important to consider, do we unknowingly slide into the petty tyrant role, not realizing that we might harass someone for their content just because it's so easy to leave a negative reply - 

as I share my own work now, especially through public views on more visual social media, I guard myself from slipping into negativity, even in reply to the petty tyrants that so often seem to appear. It strikes me how easily it is to become defensive, matching the energy of a critic with an argumentative stance and offering insults in replace of calm abiding. It's a telling mark of my own peacefulness, if I'm riled and offended by the words of someone I don't even know, or do I allow my humor and easy nature to show through and simply smile at the situation. 

mostly I smile. 

a petty tyrant plays an important role. 

and I've earned the right to have one. 

by this I mean that anyone who truly wishes to be an artist, of any kind, but especially through an appearance on social media, has to be fearless to some extent, unafraid to share themselves in an open and honest way. Through the light of their authenticity, they will certainly attract some darkness, shadows appearing on the outskirts of their efforts,  critics eager to mock and offer negative comments only for the sake of their own self-importance. 

petty tyrants. 

and what a great opportunity to free myself of their concerns. 

not through effort.

by simply a smile of recognition and awareness. 

unattached to any opinion. 

even my own. 

` 

Peace, Eric 

 

The Truth Is

The truth is: 

the truth is, I have no idea where or how consciousness emerges from, if it's all pervading or just an aspect of my brain produced through a neurochemical reaction. The truth is, it doesn't matter much to me, both being miracles of equal proportions and importance. Indeed, I find that if matter can be arranged in such a particular way as to produce the wave of astonishment and awe that sweeps through me with every sunrise - then perhaps it's the greatest miracle of all, an alchemical transformation of dry material into the fluid expression of a beautiful world. 

I have no problem with that theory.

yet mostly, I align with a more panpsychism view, based upon a seamlessness on which my life is lived much of the time, everything flowing ever towards everything in a sense of deep connection. But I couldn't swear that this is ultimate reality, only my own, at least often, as there are also moments in which I find myself fully immersed in trivial details that seem separate in experience from all others, a life divided into portions of affairs that call to my attention. 

the truth is, both seem very real. 

the difference though, is that this seamlessness of my life never feels as if its an experience, there's a deep rightness to it that defies description other than simply saying - I am home, or even more so, that there's only presence and the entire cosmos is home to this existence. It's to this that experiences seem to enter and leave on a whim of their own, but the timeless presence always remains. 

of course it could be an illusion induced through decades of meditation. 

an alternate reality beyond the senses. 

the truth is, 

it doesn't mater either way. 

I make no claims on this distinction. 

and just live my life. 

joyfully so. 

~

Peace, Eric 

What Type of Yogi

What type of yogi;

not long ago I was asked by a friend what type of yoga I practiced, an interesting question that I really had to pause and consider, not wanting to give a flippant reply but to give a truly thoughtful answer that would best describe my approach to yoga. After some thought I explained that I practice Patanjali's yoga, following the guidelines of his sutras to the best that I'm able. This answer always provides me an opportunity to describe the actuality of yoga, it's true depth beyond the most familiar aspects of poses and pranayama, that 's based upon ethical restraints and personal observances that eventual help us achieve a steady, peaceful state of mind. It was the thoughtful answer that I had hoped to give, meaningful, and outlining the essence of my practice. 

yet it didn't really touch on an important issue -

what type of yogi am I? 

it's not that labels are important, but there was a moment of self reflection, asking myself that question and giving due consideration to the answers that arrived. The Bhagavad Gita outlines four paths of yoga, and at one time or another, I've drawn to everyone. My practice is Patanjali's yoga because I'm drawn to structure and discipline in my life, I love a routine to follow that's based upon an achievable outcome, even if the goal itself  has long ago been laid aside for the simple joy of my practice. That answers my simply question -

what type of yogi am I? 

one without a certain path to follow, 

free flowing to the extent that I embrace the passion of each moment, curious as to how my life will unfold as I wander through the joy of my existence. In one instant I am a Bhakti yogi, devoted to the sheer pleasure of being alive, sensual, experiencing the touch of God through scent of flowers and reach of every breeze. At other times I give myself to service, a Karma yogi that's content to aide and comfort others, or work within a larger sense of duty for the world. Still, there are also moments of deep reflection, self-inquiry, a repeated asking of my truest self to be shown and understood, a Jnana yogi who yearns to know myself through every possible connection. 

the final path, Raja yoga, is my practice,

but doesn't fully tell the entire story. 

that's impossible to describe.

and there's no real need to.

I'm just a yogi. 

~

Peace, Eric 

Original Stillness

Original stillness:

my mantra is beautiful, a vibrational quality of the moment I came into physical existence, and my only role is to gently think it as I'm easily, gently, carried to my original stillness. That sums up my meditation practice each sitting, no effort nor concentration involved, and with no concern for mindfulness either as the simple return to the mantra should my attention wanders is a mindful act. Indeed, the act of thinking the mantra itself is the essence of mindfulness, being absorbed within its vibration, nothing falling outside its perimeters within the instant that I think it - 

each silent utterance a meditation of its own. 

completely so. 

I could say that this is a beautiful, meaningful experience, but only after I emerge from original stillness, the silent gap between every thought that passes. The true is, returning to the mantra leads me to a point beyond the nature of experience, as any identity of an experiencer drops away and all there is the vibration of the mantra until a subtle shift to silence...

with nothing to be experienced.

just the pure joy of existence, 

unclaimed 

by anyone at all. 

it's the original stillness of simply being. 

~

Peace, Eric