Lens of Association: The Headless Way
Lenses, in the context of the Beacons of Everyday Enlightenment represent more specific concepts and practices through which we can understand the rich meaning of each Beacon. There are Primary Lenses, which are the most commonly understood and most robust meditative concepts, and there are Other Lenses which are a collection of other closely related ideas for that Beacon.
| Lens: The Headless Way | |
| Lens: The Headless Way | |
|---|---|
| Beacons | Association |
| Landmarks | Try Headlessness While Walking |
The Headless Way is an established school of thought that aligns very closely with the goals of Everyday Enlightenment - it is recommended to fully explore this concept and incorporate it into your understanding of both Nonduality and Mindfulness.
In a nutshell, The Headless Way starts by experimenting with your perception of your own head and face and unlearning some illusions about the center of consciousness. Experiencing The Headless Way means experiencing and understanding important truths about who you truly are, the nature of your own consciousness, and your relationship to the universe as a whole, and the present moment in space and time. Please visit The Headless Way website and try all of these exercises. This partial list is merely intended to pique your interest so you will go to that website.
Who are you really? Not who are you in other people’s eyes, or in the mirror, or according to your beliefs and unexamined assumptions, but in your own direct experience.
How many eyes are you looking out of? Of course other people see two eyes when they look at you, and you see two in the mirror. But how many do you see from your own point of view? Take a fresh look at yourself. Perhaps you have been overlooking something both obvious and wonderful.
Sometimes, when people realize that from their own point of view they are faceless – and therefore capacity for the world - they then get worried about being able to see their noses. “I can see my nose – doesn’t this mean that I have a face here after all, that I’m not space for the world?”
You are the One that includes the Many.
Landmarks
The Realms of Everyday Enlightenment each have some noticeable Landmarks which show the likely alignment someone within that Realm has with each of the Beacons and their various Lenses. These Landmarks are things that need to be noticed and explored in the context of those Lenses and Beacons. And then through working on the Trails and Guides these Landmarks will serve as markers toward the next Realm where new Landmarks await.
Landmarks of Enrollment
Landmarks for this Realm (Enrollment) will be added here when those pages are created.
Landmarks of Engagement
Landmark: Try Headlessness While Walking
 | |
| Landmark: Try Headlessness While Walking | |
|---|---|
| Beacons | Association |
| Realms | Engagement |
| Lenses | The Headless Way |
| Guides | Walking |
The Landmark of Try Headlessness While Walking is a chance to practice Headlessness by simply opening up your perception to the entire world, and filling your entire consciousness with your visual field. The intended result is a mind clear of all thoughts, and an openness and vastness that comes from experiencing everything you see as it is in this moment. The Headless Way is mostly tied to the Beacon of Association, but these concepts are part of practices more related to the Beacon of Attention because as we allow our consciousness to fill with what we see around us, we become more fully present and have a new way to Experience the Now.
Review these questions to see if you have fully explored this Landmark and are ready to move on.
Landmark Lookouts:
- Experience The World: Can you experience the entire world that's within your visual and audio field? Can you feel how vast and full it is?
- Clear and Vast Consciousness: Can you allow your thoughts to drop away completely and be replaced by your experience of The Now? Can you feel the serenity and fullness that exists in that space?
Walking is a perfect time to try Headlessness because we are usually left alone with wandering thoughts - which we should learn to let go of. The Headless Way is not a beginner practice, and should be understood in the context of what you are trying to learn at any given time. For this Landmark, it is about trying it out and seeing our expansive perception and mental clarity.
- As you walk, look out ahead of you, and become headless (if you don't know about this, follow the links, and then come back to this page later)
- Become aware of your surroundings in an open, spacious way, noticing how that space includes the location where your head should be. Don't spend time on this part of it for now, but instead simply enjoy the spaciousness of the world around you and how good it feels to experience so many sights, sounds and other sensations.
- Allow all thoughts to drift away and be replaced by the experience. This should feel much like any Mindfulness moment you've had, but one difference is that in this case you are explicitly taking in everything at once rather than trying to concentrate on anything in particular.
- Continue on in this way, not attempting to digest anything or learn anything - just experience.
- If you feel like it, you may also expand your headless awareness to your whole body, letting go of the sense of having a body that is moving around, but rather that there is a huge world that is in a constant state of motion and openness.
Landmarks of Enrichment
Landmarks for this Realm (Enrichment) will be added here when those pages are created.