Monthly Archives of: July 2018

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Space

July 29, 2018
17 comments

 

Few of us, so very few of us, have deep, immeasurable space within (and “as”) the mind.  Most minds are endlessly chattering about one thing or another, filled with series after series of limited thoughts (which are merely symbols), images, fears, opinions, musical tunes, and past experiences.  Most minds are satisfied with remaining cluttered by what was poured into them.  Most go from one series of reacting thoughts and repetitive reconfigurations to another… endlessly.  Being satisfied with that is the norm, and that leads to depression, melancholiness, and division.

This space — of thought — which most people adhere to, and consist of, is of limitation.  It is the small space of fragmentary symbols, which thoughts actually are.  It is the little space between “self” and “other life forms.”  It is the fallacious space between a supposed “me” and the so-called distant thoughts that it allegedly controls.   It is the space between the past and the future.  It is the space between “us” and “them.”  It is the little space of sorrow.

Remain plastered there, if you wish.  However, it may be most prudent to intelligently consider going beyond the norm.  Will going beyond the norm necessitate more methodologies (from the stale past of the old teachers and religious/philosophical/political leaders)?  Will going beyond the norm require following certain patterns in time, as in the ways we have merely functioned in throughout the past?  Surely not!  Love cannot exist deeply and profoundly if limited patterns and limited space crowd the mind.  It is the mind that is full of walls of separation and limitation that is the prejudiced mind, the hating mind, the callous and uncaring mind.  Love cannot enter what is limited, fragmented, contaminated, and “unwhole.”  

 

Perpetuity… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018

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Shadow of the Dragon

July 28, 2018
17 comments

 

The shadow of my wing
unfolds as a very curious thing
reading this to the very end

 

The Shadow of the Dragon’s Wing… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018

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Mostly Made of Would

July 27, 2018
32 comments

 

Little Miss Could
promised to marry Should
They’d live in a sweet fancy house
mostly made of would

But then she met Why
with a special twinkle in his eye
He visited her ‘most every day
and often made her pie

When Should found out
he began to scream and shout
He demanded that all the pies be trashed
and that instead she eat sauerkraut

Miss Could began to cry
she threw a gigantic pie
It flew in Should’s round pretension
hitting him squarely in the “I”

Mr. Why married Miss Could
right there in the neighborhood
and he baked her plenty of pies
just as she felt he wood

 

 

Tiger Swallowtail (i.e., Mrs. Why, stuffed from eating pies!)… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018

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New Model SuperDroid 4-JPG

July 25, 2018
28 comments

 

We must find C-3PO
make our way to Obi-Wan Kenobi
and erase the forces of darkness

 

 

New Model SuperDroid 4-JPG… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018

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Curling

July 24, 2018
28 comments

 

 

In Canada and around the world,
Curling is a sport that is growing.
We love to watch Curling as it continues to grow!

 

 

Curling … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018

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Assumptions

July 22, 2018
25 comments

 

Many of us hold assumptions/presumptions, either consciously or unconsciously, that dictate how we observe and react.  These assumptions are what we have absorbed from others and may not be separate from what we are.  Many people assume that they are separate from others.  Many assume that they are separate from their so-called “own thoughts” and rule them from some kind of internal distance.  Many assume that the perceiver is (psychologically) separate from the perceived.  Many assume that their family consists of a few human beings.  Many assume that endlessly imitating others is safe, sane, and wonderful.  Many assume that they are fully autonomous and have absolute free will.  Many assume that they are dominant, both internally and externally.  Many assume that animals were put here for man.  Many assume that they have a right to destroy nature.  Many assume that someone who sees things very differently than they do is strange or wrong and should be avoided.  Many assume that degrees from universities are a sign of deep intelligence.   Many assume that thoughts are what they control by a central “I” or “me” that is not another thought.  Many assume that fragmentary, limited science has all of the answers.  Many take for granted that money and “showing off” are more important than caring.  

It may be that the very intelligent mind goes beyond absorbed presumptions.  Such a mind transcends fear, separation, prejudice, conflict, indifference, dead habit, delusion, and mediocrity.  It is likely that only such a mind may be visited by the ineffable and sacred eternal.

 

[Note:  According to the environment-oriented Sierra Club which we belong to and donate monthly to:   Monarch butterfly populations have been rapidly declining in North America since 1997.  In fact, the Midwestern United States have seen an 88 percent decline in the number of Monarchs, and a 64 percent decrease in the available Milkweed, which serves as the Monarch’s only egg-laying habitat and food source for Monarch caterpillars.  We need to stop denying man-made global warming and do much more.  I, myself, over the past years, have seen a dramatic decline in many butterfly and bee species.]

A Monarch Among Us… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018

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Become a Flower…

July 21, 2018
28 comments

 

If people were sweet like flowers
this world wouldn’t be going to hell
and so much would beautifully smell

 

 

 

Become a Flower… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018

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A Poem About my Camera… (or The Perceiver is not separate from the Perceived)

July 20, 2018
37 comments

 

 

 

As it fell from my
hands into the river,
my second-rate, semi-waterproof
camera was drowning.
I tried to give it mouth-to-
mouth resuscitation
but then received a
massive jolt of electricity
into my flared chops.
As I remained passed-out
on the riverbank, 
sweet images of beautiful flowers
crawled in my head
and I smiled,
realizing that a camera
was no longer needed.

 

 

Wildflowers and Soldier Beetle… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018

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Talk regarding a spy within The United Society of Ants

July 18, 2018
42 comments

 

If there is a spy among us,
he shouldn’t be too hard to spot;
he’ll be at the top and have glaring eyes of red.

 

 

[Note:  These insects are on a wild Celery plant.  Wild Celery is very common in our area.]

Spy Among the Ants… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018

 

 

 

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Limited Minds of Fragmentation

July 15, 2018
19 comments

 

Thought, being sequential and fragmentary, depends upon — and is — time.  A fragmentary, sequential process, as part of time, will never fully understand the whole of time.  Yet, the scientists continue to operate through sequential and fragmentary equations and analysis.  Space and time are an integral part of one another; they are not two entirely different things.  The space between the perceiver and that which is perceived involves limitation and fragmentation and necessitates time.  Scientists do not generally transcend that limitation; they keep projecting fragmentary equations, theories, and use analysis based on what they have learned before.   Many scientists claim that they are close to having a theory of everything, yet scientists do not understand what dark energy is (consisting of 68% of the known universe); they also do not know what dark matter is (consisting of 27% of the known universe); they do not understand a lot regarding the basic essence of the cosmos.   There is evidence, for example, that the so-called constant speed of light may be changing.  New tests are exploring this.  The whole of physics is predicated on the constancy of the speed of light.   (Scientists may, however, understand some rather remarkable things at this point.  Leonard Susskind’s Holographic Principle of the Universe comes to mind; however, even principles such as this are, of course, limited and fragmentary.  I used to hang out with Loren Billings, who ran the Museum of Holography in Chicago and, decades ago, way before these expert scientists came up with this holographic theory stuff, we used to have wonderful discussions about the likely holographic nature of the universe… about how a large amount of the entire universe functions much like a hologram.)

The structure of the perceiver (psychologically) being separate from the perceived… is what is formulated by limited thought.  This thought also sees the past as separate from the future.  Fragmentation will understand things only in very limited ways.  That very limitation, however, can (and often does) contribute to conflict, indifference, hatred, competition, and suffering.  To step out of all that may not require time, struggle, theories, religions, authorities, practices, or any other piecemeal processes.   There is a fundamental psychological revolution that is beyond the framework of fragmentation and conflict.  Currently, science is replacing religion as a major contributor of the worldview.  If science tends to stress fragmentation, which it (for the most part, but not entirely) has been doing, then people will, unfortunately, likely remain stuck in fragmentary frameworks.  

 

 

Eye of the Toad… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018

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Photography Tip # 7 — Haiku

July 14, 2018
55 comments

 

PHOTOGRAPHY TIP #7:

When you see what you like,
there is a button on the top of your camera.
Press that button.

 

 

 

Photography Tip with Wildflowers… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018

 

 

 

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The Story of Lo Zu and the Young Firefly

July 13, 2018
32 comments

 

A young student asked Lo Zu, “When a firefly is full of light, does that mean that it is undergoing satori or full enlightenment?”

“No,” the sage answered, “Fireflies groom themselves often, making themselves orderly and spotless, but that is not enough for them — insects who live with separateness and competition — to receive immeasurable enlightenment.”

“What will happen if I receive such enlightenment?” the lad asked.

Lo Zu then answered, “If the limitless, unadulterated energy of the cosmos visits you and flows through you,  you will look slightly physically different but you will not physically glow and, additionally, the fingers of the hands may contract (making it difficult to move), but usually that visitation occurs when one is alone and not among others.”

“I see,” said the student.

“After the visitation,” said Lo Zu, “you will look just like everyone else and, of course, the hands will easily move again; however, your mind will be much different.  You will be glowing on the inside and will have seen.”

“Seen what?” the young lad enquired.

“Seen what is unseeable; met what is indescribable,” said Lo Zu.

“Is it the sacred?” the young boy asked.

With a tear in his eye and a concomitant smile on his face, Lo Zu answered, “Perhaps!”

Then Lo Zu graciously remarked, “Listen, Firefly, surpass fireflyness.”

 

 

Firefly Grooming Itself… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018

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Snakes Alive! Haiku

July 11, 2018
56 comments

 

          (thou)
                    gh
                        man
                      y hate
               you
             Some 
         see you
         r true
      full
             beauty.
                      That’s
                         all
                    th
                at
                    mat
                          ter
                       s

 

 

 

Bull Snake Admiration… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018

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The Inner and the Outer

July 8, 2018
9 comments

 

The separation of the inner from the outer involves standard perception which largely involves misperception and barbaric acceptances.  Such misperception involves conflict, separation, isolation, and distinct borders.  A prudent entity who intelligently transcends mere inner-outer frameworks of perception is not a dull mind that walks into walls or that steps into busy traffic.  Rather, such a person exists beyond old and cadaverous viewpoints and worn-out, primitive perspectives.  Only such a person can be of real order; only such a person can be fully genuine, deeply compassionate, and of vast integrity and virtue.  (By the way, idealistically saying that one is “one with nature,” which is all the fashion these days, is not it!  A limited, fragmented mind can easily identify itself with anything, but it still remains a fragmented mind.)

Thought and stored memory feed the separation of the inner from the outer.  Too many of us worship a false inner and are indifferent about the vast outer.  A separate perceiver cannot be the complete understanding of the whole as long as the fragmentary self-projected images and thoughts of an isolated, independent observer are maintained via learned effort.   Any state of opposition, such as what a concocted, separate “0bserver” brings about, further nourishes indifference and isolation.  Thoughts and “image making” form the perceiver, and without thoughts and mental images, without repeated effort and psychological struggle, the perceiver would not be.  The psychological ending of the so-called separate perceiver is not something to be frighted of; the true ending of limited images, symbolic patterns, and accepted barriers is not frightening; rather, it is liberation and involves profound insight.  Holistic insight does not occur often for conflict and misperception.

 

 

Katydid Nymph and Ladybug… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018

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Those Poor Children

July 7, 2018
35 comments

 

Only sick immorality can yank children
from their parents and cage them up,
shitting on universal-global love

 

You know, i am not interested in politics whatsoever.  Politicians are not my cup of tea.  However, what is happening in the U.S. is getting to be extremely sick and immoral, and people (deeply stuck in their ruts) are accepting it!  Children are children of the world; they don’t belong to any damn country, to any damn politics.  It’s only crass, divisive adults who put them in such fragmented domains.  A regime that, against international human rights laws, pulls children from their parents, is an immoral, diabolical regime.  That same deranged, fascist-loving regime has been turning its back on the environment (kissing the behind of the fossil fuel industry).  The unnatural, hellish, hot and violent weather is going to get exponentially worse and is no coincidence; mass extinctions will continue.  When will people wake up?… when it is too late?

Shitting on Children… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018

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Nightmare Incident on Highway 47…

July 6, 2018
8 comments

 

 

Speedy Gonzales:   Why was I pulled over, officer?

1st Officer:  You were speeding.   And you were thinking about passing in a “no-passing zone.” 

Speedy Gonzales:  I was?

1st Officer:  Yes, you were!  Let me see your driver’s license.

Speedy:  What’s a driver’s license?

1st Officer:   Oh boy, you hit the jackpot!

Speedy (smiling):   No, I did not run into any jackpot!  Here is my driver’s license. 

1st Officer (yanking Speedy roughly):  Put your hands behind your back, wise guy; I have to handcuff you.  You got a green-card?

2nd Officer (nervously):  Be careful, don’t get too rough with him.  Maybe we are being filmed.  I, from this highway, already see huge aerial cameras hovering above us.

1st Officer (in a cruel tone):  It’s off to incarceration in the old Delux Ant-farm for you, Speedy!  You will get nothing but bread and water!

Speedy:   Bread and water?  I love bread and water!

*************************************************************

Final Note:

Speedy got sentenced to three years but he got out in two for good behavior; unfortunately, against international human rights, all of his children were separated from him by an immoral, fascist-loving regime.  Though extremely poor, he is content with living on meager crumbs somewhere upon your shiny kitchen floor.  Walk gingerly!
There is an alternative name for Highway 47.   The alternative name is  Tom’s Garden Hose.

 

 

Incident on Highway 47… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018

 

 

 

 

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Dandy Lion Crimes Haiku (Ain’t Freedom Grand)

July 4, 2018
18 comments

 

They hate yellow deeply
with their Scotts toxic bags
set to make dull lawnminds all exactly the same

 

 

Dandelion Dreams… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018

 

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Lens of Awareness

July 1, 2018
11 comments

 

Many of us bloggers, who take pictures often, are scrupulously concerned about keeping our camera lenses clean and spotless.  Many of our minds (and concomitant actions), however, are not taken care of so very diligently.  We look at things through tainted, jaded, contaminated lenses, according to the way we were programmed to look.  We see what we were programmed to see.  We think what we were programmed to think.  Most merely react, very predictably, according to the ways in which they were molded to react by.  If one desires to clean the mind, to polish the lens of the mind, it is usually merely according to someone else’s system, methodology, or beliefs.  That may merely be an extension of the crass conditioning.

Before considering cleaning the lens of the mind, please consider who (or what) is doing the cleaning.   If the “perceiver” is not something separate from the perceived, then the cleaning itself may be part of the programming, part of the conditioning.  Yet, most will just want to go out and take some mighty fine pictures. 

I am quite aware that my blog only helps some people.  Most will not see the seriousness of it.  That lack of seeing the seriousness is what i have seen all my life, ever since childhood.  Our world is going under because of it and, in the long run, our superficial images of things won’t matter one damn bit.

 

 

 

Leopard Frog Time… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018