Mankind has, for eons, pursued and craved power… power in the form of governing, power involving influence, power in the form of authority, and power in the form of money or possessions. What is this power that man has spent so much effort in acquiring? Control is a significant feature regarding this pursuit of power. Many of us admire the man who we think controls (even if that man has multiple felonies or is a rapist). We are gullible, delusional people. We have always assumed that the controller and the controlled are two separate things. However, are they really separate things psychologically? Are thoughts really controlled by a separate central “controller” that has power? May it be, psychologically, that the controller is the controlled… that the observer is the observed? Could it be that, psychologically, the thinker is not really something separate, whatsoever, from thought/thinking? Could it be that the “thinker” is a projection from the thought/thinking process?
Man has evolved to the point that we can split the atom and do many complicated, amazing things. We have done a lot of fantastic things with energy and its power. However, we always use and manipulate things regarding this power; we are never actually in a direct relationship with the real essence of that power. We live in mental symbols and psychological abstractions, which do not really consist of substantial power whatsoever.
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 
Photo is amazing.
Thanks, Kritika.
My pleasure 🙂
Tom, I have to say it your writing is getting more and more profound – the more questions you ask – well – cracks might open – there are so many points I could respond to in this one post but I’ll use just one”We have always assumed that the controller and the controlled are two separate things. However, are they really separate things”…. the observer and the observed are indeed one – controller/controlle (probably not a word)… hopefully thinking kicks in here somewhere – a PERFECT picture to accompany this post
Thanks, Sara. 😊 Yes, the controller and the controlled are not two separate things. They are both part of the same conditioning. In reality, the controller is a projection of the thinking process (anyway). Additionally, here’s another interesting bit: If the controller is quite illusory, being a protrusion of the thinking process, then the controlled (which is part of the same conditioning) isn’t really what is all that freely regulated either. The regulation is conditioned; which means we have to be very cautious in what we do. Profound freedom may come in legitimate silence but it cannot be made (by a controller) to happen.
what you say here is very important – because the two are not separate WE DO HAVE TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT HOW WE BEHAVE….EXCELLENT CAVEAT …IT’S SO TEMPTING TO STRIKE OUT WHEN WE HAVE BEEN VICTIMIZED BUT THE SECOND WE DO… WELL THE BOND IS STRENGTHENED – IT’S REALLY QUITE SCARY – ALL OF IT
I agree with what Sara Wright says! Thanks for sharing your deep thoughts, Tom. 🙂
Yes, Sara, we need to act prudently and responsively (with heartfelt passion). There is nothing scary about it if we act without nurishing a central ego (that is not really central at all).
Tom, that’s a great photo – I like how you have captured the contrast between the withering Coneflower and the perfect Swallowtail.
Thanks, Linda! 😊 I can’t believe the lack of creatures out there to photograph these days. So many are gone. Even the seagulls and crows are nowhere to be seen. Our polluted environment is the likely culprit.
It was such a contrast Tom – a remarkable photo. I saw my first Swallowtails a few weeks ago, one Monarch this Summer and a first for me, a Cloudless Sulphur last week. That is it – a terrible showing of butterflies. And, funny you mention seagulls – I have not seen very many seagulls all year, let alone Summer. Today, I went to a large marsh and I found them … in the parking lot had to be 50+ Ring-billed Seagulls and about 25 Caspian Terns. My first time seeing the Caspian Terns up close – they are unique looking. Yes, a polluted environment. I follow a nature sanctuary online and she does rescues of wild animals. She posted a photo of a fawn the other day and it had chemical burns from pesticide spraying in the rural area and she said it was not the first fawn brought in to her with the same burns. It breaks your heart to see that.
Wow, Linda, that is so cool that there are plenty of crows in your Michigan area. 😊 Maybe they are so absent here because this is rural Illinois specializing mostly in corn and soybean crops. The farmers here hate crows and shoot them as crop-stealers. So the crows are likely intelligent enough to stay out of our “crazy farmers” areas. And the farmers have sprayed so much Roundup in our area that the butterfly population is way lower than it used to be. My rural farmer neighbor was bragging about how well his Roundup can kill so many multiple insect species. It’s unnatural and toxic to the area.
Gorillas have that intrinsic, innate intelligence… such that you (most likely) don’t have to train them. But being in captivity can sometimes destroy their innate intelligence… so maybe some baby-care-training may be helpful. There are billions of us humans and far less of the other primates. We have taken too much of the real estate… way more than our fair share.
We, Linda, are so unkind and cruel to our brothers and sisters in nature. I’m glad that you have seen some gulls. I have not seen any. All the crows are also extinct in our area. When will we do things better as a species? We are just another one of the species… one that is causing chaos and disorder in the world. Some of us care, but not enough of us. That has to change!
Tom, I meant to comment on the lack of crows where you live, then began telling you about the seagulls. We have your crows evidently because I do not live in a rural area, but the sky is filled with them. I hear them and see them flying. I will be walking to or from Council Point Park (where I don’t see them) and a shadow will pass overhead. I’ll glance up – a crow. And they are very loud as well. Humans have always thought they were better than anyone else. Did they think they are the smartest – they are not. You have mentioned Corvids and their superior intelligence. The non-domestic cat family are very intelligent too, especially as regards predator and prey. I heard a story on the news about our local zoo. Thursday, the first baby Gorilla was born at our zoo in over 96 years. But before Mom gave birth, specially trained zookeepers brought in stuffed gorilla “babies” to teach Mom how to cradle it and pick it up and set it down. Other members of the gorilla “troop”, as the rest of the gorillas residing at the zoo are called, were also given lessons in how to handle the baby using stuffed gorillas. I found that fascinating yet, I am sure the female would have known instinctively how to nurse, or pick up her baby – I used to watch the “National Geographic” specials on primates and how intelligent they are, kissing and hugging their offspring.
Awesome!
Thanks, MT! 😊
You’re welcome brother Tom! #GoodWorks
“We live in mental symbols and psychological abstractions, which do not really consist of substantial power whatsoever.”
Damn Tom! Drop the mic! 🎤🎤🎤 It comes down to control vs. intelligence (or the lack thereof)!