It’s only been two weeks since I have had no head, but I’ve sure noticed the change. It all began after reading the book by D.E. Harding called On Having No Head.
Having no head is so obvious that most of us miss it. Just look out from where you are and see if you can see your head. Not likely. Even if you were in front of a mirror, that so-called head is just a visual effect of the mirrors.
It is hard for you to think of having no head because you believe you have had one for so long. All you have to do is just peer out and see that your head is not there; you must really pay attention. Be careful of the part of you saying, “This is ridiculous; this is impossible, I know I have a head.” That’s really your pseudo-head talking because it has brainwashed you for so long and is fighting for its survival. Harding has reminded us of a view of the world that gives you a larger experience of your being and of your mind. For me, he has taken the principle of “Be Here Now” to another level. To be here now is to be fully present. Sometimes we get so caught up in our lives we don’t see what is there. A client of mine has anxiety when driving her car. Her fear comes from worrying that her children will get hurt in an accident. She has a history of several abortions which she felt forced into. She has also had several auto accidents which she felt were beyond her control. What she forgets, because she is not “being here now”, is that she has two wonderful kids right now. She is so concerned about what might happen that she is not being present to enjoy them.
Having no head takes you beyond just being present. It catapults you into the experience that whatever is outside of you, in your view, becomes who you are. You give up your head to become what is out there. How could this benefit you? One advantage is that you are more with other people. You don’t let your wants and desires get in the way of seeing people as they are. You are actually loving them more because this special attention to them is love. You give more of it to them instead of to yourself.
Other advantages abound for being headless. When you have a problem, it disappears because when you become what is in your view, there is rarely an occasion that is a true emergency. When was the last time you were in a fire or an auto accident? Even if you are actually injured, it becomes harder to deal with, but then you’d need my advanced training “On Not Having a Body.”
Having no head opens up more of your being because you are whatever the situation asks for. You are not that endless chatter of how you can’t do this, or you are not up to that, or you are afraid of failure, or whatever the prevailing litany may be to prevent you from fulfilling your dreams in that moment. Taichi practice has taught that to me also. This martial art prepares you to deal with an adversary in the same way that you need to be ready to deal with whatever life offers. Having no head aids this because you become at one with what is presented and the response to the situation occurs almost without any thought.
Having no head is relaxing, especially because so much tension can develop in your face and neck. I have experienced a release in my face and neck and also noticed, as Harding describes, a lowering of focus in my body, probably by one head’s length! I have felt energies in my butt and legs that usually come when I am in bed and just about ready to doze off. Without my head, I walk around and feel the relaxation.
Having no head means giving up your ego. Giving up the ego is the thrust of eastern spiritual disciplines. The ego is the part of you that thinks you are something. Well, you are something, but you are also more than just that something. William James describes, in his Variety of Religious Experiences, the universal transcendental experience of being at one with God, or the world. You can still function normally, go to work, have emotion, take care of the kids, but don’t forget where you came from and you give thanks to the powers above. What better way to get a-head?