Love and Practice

Love and practice: 

the agenda for me was always words on a page, my first and only goal of writing was - to write, every day, and nothing beyond that held any great importance. It's been well over 25 years since that vow was made it's been easily kept, writing daily as a practice without concern of meaning, just happy that words arrive to me so freely and almost always feel inspired. 

I'd like this practice to extend another 25 years.

or even longer.

but I'm happy going day by day.

lately I've added something extra to this list of daily practice, filming, making sure that I open myself to whatever sight that nature offers and sharing it with others. There's no prerequisite except that it captures my imagination, that's it's unique to my perspective alone, as if the entire universe conspired to deliver me to the exact moment of my inspiration. 

and who knows? 

perhaps it did. 

that's how easy art is, and everyone's an artist. It's simply a matter of showing up daily, committed, and then falling in love with the actual practice of our craft. Love and practice are two key words here, as it's all a practice and that allows us the freedom of imperfection - and love is the force that keep us committed every day. 

it's a simply formula, 

love and practice...

it works so well for me. 

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: June

Also, please visit to buy: The War of Art

June

June:  

it's the beginning of June, considered the meteorological start of summer, and my favorite time of year. I love that the solstice is still weeks away, as if the season is gaining momentum for the longest day of light for it to offer, yet with summer itself already softly in effect. I celebrate the first of June to welcome in the season and then the solstice for its length of light, with the entire month being worshiped as the most fulfilling time of year for me.

 this also marks the halfway point of the year, that from hear on, even without our notice, there is the pull towards another winter. June reminds me to stay mindful of the present, and yet not lose sight of the transience of every season, to enjoy the touch of sunlight now, bask in its warmth, a brief and fragile gift that even now is changing. 

a briefness that only causes me to love more deeply.

June is the peak and slow decline of green foliage, the newborn of spring begin to mature, a season of passage, bittersweet in its way. 

my favorite time of year.

~

Peace, Eric 

To Read more from Headless Now, please visit: Giving Up

Also, please visit to buy: A Walk in the Woods

Thank you. 

Giving Up

Giving up: 

there's some wisdom in giving up, more so, there's a deep joy discovered through the act of letting go of our personal involvement with certain aspects of life. Of course this is contrary to all we're ever told, from school age on we're urged to never give up and to keep striving forward in order to get ahead and create a life worth living. But I'm talking about a different surrender here, of giving up the thoughts that keep us bound within a paradigm of false identity...

of letting go of every belief that only serves the ego.

or at least to hold them lightly.

the truth is, or so it seems to me, it that it's all made up anyway, concepts that any life is better than another keep us trapped in the illusion of gain and loss. It certainly feels better to get ahead and to have a comfortable life. Yet striving for this alone is only a hollow feeling, devoid of any true meaning, filled with counting achievements and possessions. To give this up doesn't mean to lose anything, there's no need to get rid of anything or even to necessarily change the outer appearance of our daily lives. What we do...

is simply give up the idea that we're the doer of it all.

any of it.

and that we're not really in charge of how life unfolds. 

this is what the Tao urges - to give up our exclusive hold on the qualities we believe we are, and to live a life if inner simplicity, free of the concerns of the outer world. What we're asked to do is to give up concepts in order to life the actuality of life. 

and in that letting go...

we discover what we truly are.

free.

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Everything is Yoga Now

Also, please visit to buy: Tao of Letting Go

Everything is Yoga Now

Everything is yoga now: 

my early morning yoga routine is immediately followed by writing, and seamlessly now, they have become much the same in practice and outcome, with a feeling of stillness achieved without any undue effort from myself - and most importantly a sense of grace and beauty, if only briefly in a certain pose or perhaps a single written line. This all seems to stem from meditation, a continuous flow from cushion to the yoga mat and then reaching my desk as I sit and write.

everything has become yoga.

meditation.

a stillness known just beneath activities of body and mind.

this is Patanjali's yoga, cessation of the motion of the mind, for me, lasting only for a moment or so, a brief immersion into a sure and greater silence. But it's enough, with aftereffects that linger through my day and carries me through with equanimity and grace, inspired, and grateful for the day. There's really no sense of achievement here, it's not a place that I've arrived to, it's been here all along. My mind was simply too busy to ever noticed.

until most recently, with everything slowed down,

for whatever reason, 

and however it has happened...

everything is yoga now.

if only for a moment.

~

Peace, Eric

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Curiosity

Also, please visit to buy: The Tree of Yoga

Thank you. 

Curiosity

Curiosity: 

above all it's been curiosity, consistently appearing as an important theme throughout my life, giving cause for me to continue every path I've walked along. I believe motivation is important, being the right tool to get certain jobs done. More so for me is inspiration, that I seek to live an inspired life of high ideals and creativity, believing that the things I do have a depth of beauty and meaning to them even if only for myself alone. Yet it's curiosity that carries me along, knowing that life is a mystery with just a bit revealed each moment - and that further on, no matter what path I walk upon, 

mystery shows a little more. 

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: To Live From This Point

Also, please visit to buy: Seek

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To Live From This Point

To live from this point: 

to simply live my life from the point of inspiration, that's what I aspire to, and right now, it seems to largely be reality - perhaps not always perceived to be so, but that my life itself is arranged in such a way for this to be true. It's only a matter of realization. What I mean with this is that the entirety of my life is inspired through some greater force than my own limited understanding, it's spontaneous, and honestly it feels gifted to me, that somehow, through no effort of my own, I find myself alive, aware, and able to live a life of deep joy and appreciation. 

I'm inspired...

by simply being here,

as if a larger force, mysterious, has breathed me into existence.

and again, it's through no effort of my own.

with this I see that I've always been inspired, we all have, it's like we're an idea in the mind of God that has awaken to this reality, a realization that we belong within a greater system than we could ever possibly imagine. We, ourselves, are an inspired thought, and that's the key to freedom. 

our very source is inspiration. 

inescapable. 

and there's no real choice here,

 but to live from this point. 

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: That's Always Been the Lesson

Also, please visit to buy: Inspiration: Your Ultimate Calling

That's Always Been the Lesson

That's always been the lesson

for much of spring I have been hopeful of capturing a short video clip of a blue jay, they're quiet common and I see them daily on my walks all throughout the year. Yet for some reason I've been unable to get more than a glimpse of one on video, flirting off just as my camera aligns, frustrating my every effort. I had this same problem with cardinals earlier in the year and then suddenly they become quite cooperative. And now it's much the same with blue jays, almost as if they're demanding my attention and literally posing for the camera. 

as if their energy has now shifted in my direction.  

and all I had to do was be patient.

I love when this happens, that it's only when I'm ready to perceive the true beauty and message of nature is it surely revealed to me - every effort in between is simply the preparation to receive. That's the lesson for me, always, readying myself for that which I wish for, being energetically aligned with nature. So for the entirety of spring I just wasn't ready, not yet matched to the spirit of blue jays.

Until now...

this when they reveal themselves to me, for whatever reason I'm deemed worthy. Yet still I have to be careful, never over eager, being patient and slow moving. My role isn't to film, or not merely so, but to match my spirit with the blue jays and only then does the camera play into the moment, it's secondary to the holiness of the occasion - that right now, I am graced by the presence of a blue jay. 

my only true role is to appreciate beauty.

everything else is secondary.

and perhaps that's always been the lesson. 

~

Peace, Eric 

To read more from Headless Now, please visit: Opening to a New Healing

Also, please visit to buy: The Shaman's Body

Thank you.