All Posts Filed in ‘Inspiration

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Six-Legged Santa! (The Santa of the insect domain lands on our roof!)

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Merry Christmas to all of you two-legged, four-legged, and six-legged friends!  🙂

Santa is real…  real love and giving!   Anyone can be the Santa of others.

[Interesting how Santa, when we were very young, was something to get excited about and cherish.  Then, as we get older, many see Santa as being something rather spurious and unreal.  This has connotations that spill over into spirituality and religion.  Many people do not (really) feel that anything truly mysterious and magical (as a sacred phenomenon) can exist.  Deep inquiry, in this regard, is often considered to be a waste of time by many.   Disbelief can be as blinding as mindless belief; insight goes beyond these.]

Happy Holidays!

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To function only as mere secondary after-effects… what is that?  Most of us always function as responses to stimuli… one response (or set of responses) after another.  Thinking about things involves responses to stimuli.  Recognizing things constitutes responses to stimuli.  These responses are reactions.  They are much like the reaction when the leg jerks after the knee is tapped with a soft mallet.  Most of us are conditioned responses in a cause/effect continuum.  Conditioned responses (as effects), occurring in (and “as”) a sequence, is time.  Thinking is time; thinking and time are not two separate things.

Can consciousness function without merely always being one series of reactions (in sequence) after another?  Can the mind be aware without merely reacting, recognizing, labeling, and without merely seeing from an image of self?  Can a wise mind exist without constantly being a myriad of effects due to a myriad of causes?  To answer these questions adequately, what will one do?  Will one answer them by way of reaction?

Can thought, when it is not needed — and, oftentimes, it is not necessary — not habitually function in (and “as”) the mind?  If it is thought that merely answers the aforementioned question, is the question being intelligently answered?  Does love go beyond mere thought and time?  

 If one’s love is a mere reaction — formulated to get something in return, contrived to get some kind of result for one’s personal self — is it partial and, therefore, not profound and not very substantial at all?  Love exists when the image of self is not.  It takes time and thought to concoct an image of self (with all the associated desires and fears).  Profound love is timeless.

Six-legged Santa! (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Six-legged Santa! (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Six-legged Santa! (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Six-legged Santa! (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

 

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Pristine Order

4 comments

 

When pristine order

            spreads out to apparently be disorder

well,we’ll be in the disorder then

            even though the spreading out

really is not separation

 

When the winged bird 

            spreads her wing feathers

well,we’ll be the flying then

            even though the wing feathers

do not dwell as separation

 

When the present time

            spreads out to apparently become the future

well,we’ll be the movement then

            even though the past and future

do not dwell as separation

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[Note:  We need to look at existence in totally new ways, ways that are intelligent (and no longer primitive) and that reflect real discoveries about reality and time.  Time is not what we have preassumed it to be.  One, personally, has realized this stuff decades ago.  This, spiritually and philosophically, has very deep implications.  It may very well be that the past is not just gone or that the future does not yet exist.  Take the time to watch the video that is at the bottom section of this posting (following my photos), please.  Additionally, there is a fuller version of this documentary; go to YouTube, and look up “The Illusion of Time, Full Documentary.”]

Well, we'll be the flying then (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Well, we’ll be the flying then (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Well,we'll be the flying then (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Well,we’ll be the flying then (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Limitation of Experience

20 comments

 

Many of us go through existence presupposing things and assuming so many things because of the way we were taught (i.e., because of the way we absorbed patterns from others).  We need to question more.  We need to question things deeply, wisely, and passionately.  There is a real art to questioning.  One can easily fabricate superficial questions that are not of great meaning and depth.  However, asking essential (fundamental) questions concerning the very essence of life and existence…. is not what a lot of people engage in.  Many are caught in a rut, and their lack of significant questions keeps them in that rut.  Often, when such people ask questions, the questions are a mere reflection of the limitation that they exist in (and “as”).  To be trapped in a morass and just remain there — without ever realizing that one is trapped — is a sad thing; such may be the lot of many.

We take for granted that experience and knowledge — which is the accumulation of patterns over sequential time — is the one and only modus operandi that all of us must function in (and “as”) in order to succeed and prosper.  Few of us ever really question as to whether there is an additional alternative.  Many who evolved to realize that there is value in quietness and silence have (for the most part, unfortunatly) made this so-called silence into another form of “experience.”  Along these lines, people (for the most part) practice methodologies — given to them by others — to attain so-called quietness or silence.  However, it may be that any methodology or practice devised to achieve silence — via following procedures — is erroneous, if sequential patterns (no matter what they are) cannot, when practiced, produce what is truly beyond time and sequential paradigms.  It may be that calculated causes and effects cannot produce what is beyond mere “cause and effect.”

Experiencing things often is a good, prudent thing.  The truly wise mind, however, also goes beyond mere experience, doing so without any effort or methodology.  (Engaging in experiencing is largely habitual, and one does not always have to depend upon habits.  Deep intelligence doesn’t always merely remain as habits.)  Experiencing things (in the ordinary way) involves recognition, reaction, labeling, interpretation, categorization, and (often) opinion-making.  Experiencing, for so many, involves the repetitive recognition of patterns via stored (old) memory.  If this takes place (ceaselessly), as it does in so many, then the “old,” the “past,” dictates current consciousness; there can be no renewal nor alive freshness in a mind merely bound to the old past in such a way.  Often, on the other hand, the wise mind newly (i.e., without dependence on the “old”) perceives (without psychological space between an observer and what is seen).  Oftentimes, one can sagaciously look without mere separation, recognition, labeling, and reaction.  Oftentimes, for example, one can joyfully walk where there are beautiful flowers, being fully aware of them just by simply (effortlessly) looking (and deeply seeing their shape and color), but one need not necessarily label them as being beautiful, need not codify them as being flowers, need not see them from a “center” that is separate, nor classify them as being of a certain species.  

The intelligent mind that questions fundamentally and prudently often functions as “experiencing” and “labeling” precisely, accurately, and compassionately; such a mind also often effortlessly goes beyond mere experiencing.  Sequential, fragmentary patterns, for such a mind, fade into the background and there is a wholeness beyond the fabrications of man, beyond mere acquisition, and beyond mere causality.  (This may sound esoteric or exotic, but it is really very simple, involving real integrity.)  There is real bliss when psychological fragmentation and piecemeal acquisition ends; ironically, those stuck only in the sequential patterns of experience remain there to often contend with inevitable monotony and boredom.  One can try to escape the superficial in so many ways, by so many different experiences.  However, one cannot escape the superficial via endlessly more of the superficial.  

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[Note:  The photo is of a Softshell Turtle.  Their shells are soft and rubbery; they are very aquatic; they have pointed heads, are quite flat, and they are very elusive.]

Softshell Turtle. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Softshell Turtle. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Story Time… Koan Time… (2)

7 comments

 

I took Eternity out (on a leash) for a walk today.

Upon reaching a fire hydrant she, of course,

took forever to do her business.

I said, “Why on earth do you take so long to do your business?”

Eternity just looked at me (with her little head tilted at a cute angle),

without replying, with an inordinate stare that seemed to

permanently transcend time and the separateness of space.

Then, for what I thought was a brief moment,

the boundless leash started pulling me, ever so slightly,

and we went on and on.

We, as we went on, passed by a beautiful, enduring damsel

sitting, persistently, upon a non-evanescent ever-green tree.

Please remember that whenever you and Eternity go (or may have gone)

out for a magical walk, perhaps with a leash — wherever or whatever

you move (or had moved) through, no matter how far or short it is,

no matter how many places you visited — your consciousness  hasn’t

really moved anywhere (other than where it always was).

 

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eternalfountainofyouth.com

In the Ever-green Tree (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

In the Ever-green Tree (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

In the Ever-green Tree (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

In the Ever-green Tree (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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That Immeasurable Energy…

13 comments

 

There is an indelible energy that is safely beyond the conflict and turmoil of our world and universe.  It is beyond the grasp of corruption.  It exists beyond the time and space that involves competition, strife, friction, separation, and domination.  For it to visit one, one must be of an innocence and emptiness that is not a result of what others have fabricated.  Mere reactions, mere imitation, will never help it to manifest in oneself.  Reactions and any form of imitation are part of the conditioned responses that are components of the cause and effect continuum of sequential time (in limited space).  Its timelessness, its spacelessness is not what can be harnessed and captured by the limited concoctions of man.  Any methodology to “get it,” including any organized religion or plan of philosophy… is likely highly erroneous, as it is beyond sequential methods, systems, and practices.  It is too alive and immense for any dead system or calculated procedure to bring one to it.  

It is not at all likely to come to one who is immersed in corrupt and antiquated psychological frameworks involving separation and conflict.  A supposedly separate ego that (through a screen of concepts) sees itself apart from the whole of nature or mankind is not likely to be visited by it.  A (non-global) mind that clings to man-made, separative countries and religions that (directly and indirectly) divide man against man will not likely be visited by it.  A mind that thoughtlessly pollutes life or that indifferently harms life’s creatures will not likely ever be visited by it.  Although many distorted minds have no real relationship with it, they pray to (images of) what they think — and were taught — it is.  Not having an ego, it (of course) would not ever want to be praised or recognized in terms of devotion.  Additionally, it may be that it does not readily bestow favors to those who pray or ask for benefits… since it may not (at all) be biased to favor intelligent-oriented species (who can ask for favors) as opposed to equally precious species (or individuals) who do not have the intelligence to ask for favors.  Additionally, it would not likely interfere with a cause/effect universe that it is not a part of (nor the cause of).  Too many, always remaining in (and “as”) their conditioning, have no actual relationship with it, yet they anthropomorphize it and project their corrupt attributes onto what they fabricated it as being.

Few are ever visited by it.  Few are open and pure (beyond the desires and methodologies implanted within them by others).  There is no “how” for getting it to visit one.  Indeed, when one is truly wise, stable, joyful, and mindful (without constant measure and mere calculation)… then one does not spend “time” desiring its presence.   Without effort, real awareness goes beyond falsities and delusive boundaries.  Without those boundaries, reactions are not as prevalent (i.e, they lose their shadowy hold on one), superfluous (habitual) thinking ends, experiences are not merely depended upon for consciousness, space between things loses much of its significance, and the infinite is (beautifully) easier to perceive.  

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eternalfountainofyouth.com

Bumble Bee on Purple Cone Flower (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Bumble Bee on Purple Cone Flower (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Bumble Bee on Purple Cone Flower (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Bumble Bee on Purple Cone Flower (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Together Poem… or: Is One Really Separate from the Experience?

11 comments

 

The steps to the train they know their name

The sign by the bus creates a big fuss

The gate by the tree bent its left knee

The red light in town gave a huge frown

The bite off the peach spoke each to each

The cat on the floor petted more and more

The letter to the friend had plenty to spend

The tree by the brook gave a sweet kindly look

The snail by the well some flowers did sell

The fossil on the stone held its own cellphone

The fear by the door drowned by the shore

The bouncing ball was a joyful dog at a wall

The fog around the house chased a wild mouse

The slicing of bread would soon go to bed

The white toilet seat had just enough to eat

The smiles on the train did not ever complain

The look at the crow had photographs to show

The creak in the floor opened the front door

The corn in the field depressed brakes to yield

The flowers in the yard toiled very hard

The pen in the hand helped to make the man

The wisdom and the tree had to go and pee

Trilobite Fossil Cheirurus sp., middle Ordovician age (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Trilobite Fossil Cheirurus sp., middle Ordovician age (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Trilobite Fossil Cheirurus sp., middle Ordovician age (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Trilobite Fossil Cheirurus sp., middle Ordovician age (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

 

 

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Our Holographic Universe

24 comments

 

For many years, i collected and made 3D glass holograms.  They are, i feel, superior to regular 2D photographs… since they also convey depth (without the need for wearing special glasses), not just the implication of depth.  Holograms, though most people (when they see them) really love them, never became very popular.  Depth in photography, like real depth in philosophy (i.e., the real “love of truth” pure philosophy), is rarely deeply appreciated by people.  (By the way, the 2D surface of a properly made holographic film, when illuminated by a decent light source, projects images that appear as 3 dimensions.)  As time went by, i personally made true (full) color holograms; true color holograms are very difficult to make.  I would get my blank plates, to make images on, from Yves Gentet, whom Discover Magazine proclaimed to be the best photographer in the world.  When making full-color holograms, i had to use multiple lasers and special dichroic glass filters… and everything had to be extremely precise, without any distortion whatsoever.  It’s the same thing with true philosophy and the concomitant real understanding of one’s mind (i.e., real self-realization)… there must not be any distortion whatsoever.  

When i was quite young, years before ever getting interested in holograms, i partook in one-on-one conversations concerning philosophy with Professor David Bohm, a world-renowned quantum physicist whom Albert Einstein wanted as an assistant.  We had many very deep discussions (but never once were holograms mentioned).  Then, years later, i was walking through a large mall with my wife, Marla, and saw some holograms displayed.  I was hooked!  I often visited the Museum of Holography in Chicago and was well known by Loren Billings who ran the museum.  Loren and i had many great discussions about the holographic nature of the universe (including space and time).  My book on philosophy deals a lot with time; it mentions holography in terms of its significance with regard to time and our human position.  Now, remarkably enough, scientists — most all of the very best, top scientists (worldwide) — are saying that our manifested universe is quite “holographic” in its very essence.  They are saying that the periphery of (not only black holes) but also of the entire universe behaves much like a holographic film… and that we are projections of what is contained on the surface of that film.  They are saying that there is an exact copy of what we are, were, and will be, at that peripheral region.  So, is that “surface” film more real than we are, or are we what is more real?  They say: take your pick; both are legitimate.  It may be that the past, present, and future are intrinsically enfolded into one another and are not at all separate.   Years after collecting and making holograms, i found out who the scientist was who was instrumental in the initial development of this holographic universe discovery; it was (coincidentally) Professor David Bohm.

Interestingly enough, when one breaks a hologram (of a rose, for example) in half and illuminates it with another laser, each half will have an image (though not quite as clear) of the entire rose.  Subsequently, break each of those halves in half… and each will have an image of the entire rose.  The wise man, who transcends the fragmentary, superficial, illusory symbols of man, may deeply connect with (and perceive) much of the whole, whereas those who exist superficially see little of reality; they are looking at the broken borders and boundaries; the wise mind is perceiving the whole (beyond the breakage).  (It’s a shame that so many write and blog about truth while, all along, they have not really seen much of anything… though they “think” they have.)  Regarding holograms, the parallax nature that they inherently have is very incredible; in other words, for example, you can look at a hologram of an open umbrella being held, and if you bend your head down you can actually see the inside of the umbrella’s top (that you couldn’t see until you bent down as if it were an actual umbrella being held)!  When you again stand erect, you see the very top of the outside section of the umbrella as you normally would.  With a hologram of a box, for example, you can stand in front and see the side that is facing you; if you move to the left, you can see another side of the box; if you move to the right, you can see yet another side of the box.  Of course, the universe is not some kind of giant hologram; it is living, dynamic, and much more than that.  However, the holographic model can be useful to explain certain dimensions of it to others.   Professor Leonard Susskind and other top scientists helped Stephen Hawking and others see that the holographic model had amazing potential, reality, and legitimacy.  The implications of all this are profound, and they affect what man can penetrate into spiritually, philosophically, and actually; but not many people are perceiving this significantly.  A few of us were seeing this long before the top physicists came up with their calculations; we were seeing much more than what the calculations could reveal.

[Note:

The following is a short 2D animation of one of my 3D holograms; it is of a floating “pear” with parallel lines behind it.  Of course, the crude 2D animation does not come close to doing justice to the actual beauty and quality of the hologram.  This particular hologram is a monotone green on black… but it (the “pear” image part) projects out into the viewing room at a very great and very impressive distance; you can move your hand through and around the pear… and it has very phantom-like attributes.  (The pear seems to float out in the space of the viewing room, and the parallel lines go very deep into the wall.)  Other holograms are of flowers, animals, and people… and they are very beautiful, some in full, natural color.   (Additionally, please watch the YouTube video below.)]

Pearallel-lines Glass Hologram. Video by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Pearallel-lines Glass Hologram. Video by Thomas Peace c. 2016                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           See  the YouTube video:                                                                                                                                                                                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In the Pursuit of Color

15 comments

 

In the pursuit of color

               levelheaded snapshots happened twice

at the heartflower of everything

               feathered sirens sang their song

 

Simply sweet as nature’s grace

               they nurture beauty and joy

far from apathy and indifference

               implicit order moves along

 

Not overwrought with stilted lies

               but beyond the obtuse pool

lone in the plush prairie preludes

               pristine charm transcends war

 

Here as there is nowhere

               beyond cold space’s creed

just as now always was

               the flower’s passage widens perceive   

The Flower's Passage (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

The Flower’s Passage (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

The Flower's Passage (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

The Flower’s Passage (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

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Timelessness Revisited

13 comments

 

I’ve written about timelessness in the past.  Some people, one has noticed, have mistakenly abstracted that “timelessness” to be a static thing… an inert thing.  On the contrary, the beauty of timelessness is not of the lifeless, the dormant, nor the comatose.  Stagnant minds — as so many, unfortunately, are — cannot be in a relationship with it.  It is too dynamic, too alive and energetic to be in direct relationship with the listless, cold, and lackadaisical.

Most of us never question things deeply and intelligently.  Most of us never wonder about whether or not existing in (and “as”) patterns (and experiences, which depend on mere patterns) is the only way in which to go through life.  Our religions, our politics, our everyday mundane routines in life are all based upon patterns and sequential cause and effect paradigms.  Need one just be that?  (If so, is one then merely a series of reactions?  Merely existing as a series of reactions may be what stagnation is… may be what a kind of death is.)  Most never ask about this.  Most never go beyond the limited domain that was handed over to them.  It’s like a fish bowl in the vast ocean… and the fish (within) never (ever) going beyond the confines of the bowl.  That bowl, that we have accepted and remain in so diligently, is limited, is confinement.  That limited bowl, for humans (who evolved from fish, by the way), consists of thought, fragmentary reactions, and conditioning. If you wish, stay there.  

All of the isolated governments, all of the standard, separate religions and traditions of the world keep you there, in what is limited.  Going beyond the limited doesn’t take time.  However, they’ll be more than happy to give you oodles of methodologies (that take time).   

Antennae on the lookout! (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Antennae on the lookout! (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Antennae on the lookout! (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Antennae on the lookout! (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Is one really separate from what experiences are?

21 comments

 

Passionate lipstick          Dreary clouds

          Angry vehicles          Bored jail bars

Smiling birthday cakes          Careful tightropes

          Dancing shoes          Hungry enchiladas 

Swearing beer bottles          Patriotic flags

          Sleepy beds          Frightened darkness        

Apprehensive boxing gloves           Giggling lollipops

          Complimentary babies          Relaxed swimming pools

Melancholy psychiatrists           Laughing balloons 

          Lost neighborhoods          Generous donation containers

Indifferent guns          Conversing ketchup bottles

          Impatient intersections          Whistling dogs

Proud properties          Disappointed traffic tickets

          Thirsty deserts          Indoctrinated religions

Upset bronze medals          Disenchanted politicians

          Peeing fire hydrants          Crying coffins

Thankful presents           Listening walls

           Reaching sandals          Talented pianos

Lying used cars          Flying flower blooms

          Inquisitive computer screens           Excited carnival rides

Nearsighted soup directions          Farsighted oak trees

          Insightful questions          Stagnant presumptions

Bee & Bloom (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Bee & Bloom (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Bee & Bloom (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Bee & Bloom (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

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“Stop poisoning the air, water and topsoil” – Kurt Vonnegut’s letter to the future

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professorwu's avatarnothing in the rulebook

vonnegut

Fourteen novels, three short story collections, five plays and five works of non-fiction stand as a towering testament of Kurt Vonnegut’s ability to show us the fantastic in literature, and the extent to which books and writing can make us feel sublime. The man who brought us the terrific Slaughterhouse 5, which experiments in form, structure, as well as time and inter-dimensional travel, is rightly regarded as one of the greatest literary titans of the last 200 years.

And the man who has given us some of the finest, timeless advice on writing and reading has also provided some prescient advice on the way we should live our lives. Indeed, in 1988, he collaborated with TIMEMagazine to write a letter to the future population of Humanity, in the year AD 2088.

The purpose of the project was simple: to provide “some words of advice” to those living in…

View original post 974 more words

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Comparison and Imitation dull the Mind…

25 comments

 

Comparing yourself to others is a two-fold process that usually involves measurement and techniques (involving duality) that are superfluous (and that may very well dull the mind).  If many are immersed in dull habits, superficial behaviors, and limited perspectives, comparing yourself with them and then emulating them may, indeed, tend to make the mind act (i.e., react) similarly.  Indifference, seen as normal and ordinary, easily breeds more indifference.  A unique person, beyond all the lemmings, perceives beyond mere comparison and imitation; such a person is more inherently free (than those who merely absorb, internalize, swallow, and imitate the behaviors of others).  Those who lazily internalize all of society’s values and traditions are not free (though they may, as a reaction, insist that they are); they are secondhand shadows of antiquated authority, old habits, and primitive patterns of the past.  It’s easy to be secondhand.  Then you don’t have to think or feel.

Very many compare, imitate, copy, fit in, get comfortable, stagnate, presuppose things that were poured into them, and do not ask deep questions.  Why?  The man or woman who truly goes beyond all of this may not merely be some dishonest, mischievous rogue, but (rather) may be a profoundly insightful, majestic, free, independent, and truly compassionate person.  True compassion, true order, has little to do with following old authority, following stale customs, or following dead rules.  Real order isn’t what merely occurs from comparing oneself to others and imitating others; real order comes from that timeless (i.e., eternal) action that is not mere reaction.  

Away from the crowd. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Away from the crowd. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Away from the crowd. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Away from the crowd. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Poem That May Not Be About a Rose…

13 comments

 

Within life’s is(this immortal love

                    shouldn’t have been)but joyfully was

beyond barbarism’s wretched hoopla

                    between time’s gobbledygook of because

 

Not shoddy(jaded)mentally faded

                    ifs chattering through imaginable maybes

Not ordinarily common in obdurate rigidity

                    witless whens and wishwashy crazies

 

Not apathetically apart from pristine forever’s nows

                    Not merely immersed in cool November’s leafy falling

though blind gravity pulls the weeping rain down

                    pompous and proud in its feigned bawling

 

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head... (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Raindrops keep fallin’ on my head… (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head... (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Raindrops keep fallin’ on my head… (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

 

 

 

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It’s not something that can merely be attained…

25 comments

 

If you are truly innocent and perceptive (without motive), the mystery of the universe will come to you (and pursue you)… you won’t have to seek it.  Many others, out of boredom, out of groping for more, come up with methodologies for coming to the sacred.  Unfortunately, their mechanical blueprints, their dead systems, their fallacious fantasies, make an impression on others… and more and more mischief and nonsense ends up getting hammered into others.  

Having a humble, quiet mind is beneficial, as it enables perception to occur without being jaded and tainted by the fabrications of others.  However, unlike what many believe, a quiet mind does not bring about that which is sacred and illimitable.  That illimitability is far too dynamic to merely be brought about by way of silence (or by way of anything else).  A quiet mind is important, but no petty actions, inactions, reactions, methodologies, systems, absurd prayers or incantations, practices, or fabricated schemes can conjure it up.  Yet, it may visit a mind that is orderly, sane, innocent, living, and whole. 

Beware of those who tell you exactly how to find it or who write or talk about their struggle to come upon it.  It may not be a product of any methodology; it may not involve struggle or effort whatsoever.   Order of the mind is not a mere calculated product; it is a living, profound thing.  An orderly, living mind is not the result of some concoction or blueprint.  The result of some dead blueprint or mold is not living.  Any purposeful meditation generated or fashioned intentionally by the mind… is not meditation whatsoever.

Jumping Jack Flash (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Jumping Jack Flash (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Jumping Jack Flash (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Jumping Jack Flash (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Story Time… Koan Time…

16 comments

 

An enlightened man — one of only a few in this

particular solar system —

walked across the street.

He didn’t particularly care much for the pavement;

it was hardened, callous (like many, uncaring people),

and it covered a place where there used to be

lush, living things of great (soft) beauty.

There was awareness of the distant, oncoming traffic, but

unnecessary thoughts were (intelligently) not there;

there was no center, no authority to

merely see with (and “as”) separation.

As the street was being crossed, a wren came flying by.

Awareness was that little wren… not something separate from it,

(not something seeing it as being separate).

After the crossing of the street, a few steps were climbed.

As the steps were climbed, a curious squirrel was seen in a tree.

Curiously, that beautiful squirrel climbed the steps,

though it never left the tree.

What U R 2.  (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

What U R 2. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

What U R 2.  (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

What U R 2. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Go Beyond most people

27 comments

 

Thought and thinking, though very useful at times, is a form of resistance.  Thought originated, in mobile creatures, such as invertebrate and vertebrate animals, in order to acquire and manipulate… and in order to struggle against and contend with (or dominate) other organisms.  Most people, having evolved from (and “as”) the aforementioned developments, would tend to think that it is errant and reprehensible to suggest that one move beyond thoughts and thinking.  When immersed in the framework and network of thought, it — for most, unfortunately — seems ludicrous to deeply consider going beyond that realm (that actually is what they exist as).  In Socrates’ Parable of the Cave, those who believed in shadows and who took shadows to be reality — thereby existing as shadows — scoffed at those few who suggested perceiving beyond the shadows.

Most people are rigidly set in their ways; they will cling to these ways, in comfort, without question.  They exist in (and “as”) fractional, symbolic thoughts and mental constructs.   However, when you fervently accept limited ways, without question, you are what limitation actually is; you are of blockage and restriction… not something separate.  The wise man (or woman) conversely, has perceptual range.  In perceptual range is liberation, real freedom (not the phony, orchestrated appearance of freedom that so many cling to and think that they enjoy).  The wise mind transcends boundaries; in doing so, mental constraints vanish, separation and hate end, confines of thought’s images disappear, and even the limitless may magically happen.  When boundaries are truly transcended, one goes beyond mere robotic reactions (and all reactions are intrinsically robotic).  Our reactions and inherited beliefs — which occur as conditioned responses — are what separates us, what divides us.  In going beyond them, one is no longer of the fractional, conditioned ways that divide people; then one is global; then one is truly universal.  Such a universal individual doesn’t merely belong to little, separative races, regions, or any one country; such a universal person doesn’t belong to one of the many fragmentary religions that separate people.   Most people do not want to go beyond their inherited and accumulated beliefs; they would much rather cling to and fight over the reactions that they have absorbed from others.  We can live in peace and harmony if we (worldwide) go beyond inherited beliefs and fabricated boundaries; however, many do not care about doing that.   Beliefs (and primitive, separative identifications), for many, are more important than actual peace.  In the light of perception, one stops fighting over mere shadows; for that to happen, one must see the shadows as shadows and transcend beyond them; or you can see what was promised in (and by) the shadows by others… and live in (and “as”) the shadows forever… forever clinging to them and forever fighting over them.  However, is that really seeing?

Emergence beyond patterns (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Emergence beyond patterns (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

Emergence beyond patterns (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Emergence beyond patterns (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

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In the Spectrum of the Whole…

26 comments

 

 

We’re all a part of the spectrum of holistic light

                              and just like the color yellow will never

permanently fade and disappear from that spectrum

each of us (including all life forms)

                              will never permanently disappear

 

With all the colors of life’s palette (life’s rainbow)

                              with all the dimensions of living light

we are there

There will always be yellow

                              and though yellow (and green) may fade now and then

they will always be there

Of Yellow and Green (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Of Yellow and Green (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Of Yellow and Green (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Of Yellow and Green (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Happy Halloween!

16 comments

 

Happy Halloween… and here’s a huge, new threat to horses!   Remember, however, nothing is quite as scary as the presidential campaign in the U.S. around now!   Ahhhhhhhhhh!  

A Huge New Threat To Horses!  Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

A Huge New Threat To Horses! Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Mental Residence…

25 comments

 

Do you take up residence in the antiquated, fabricated, and absorbed patterns of man?  Or are you sagaciously swifter and more dynamically prudent than that, where they can’t (no matter how hard they look, with their old-fangled ways) ever find you?  Though it’s really not a mere place, are you where they can’t ever know you?  Concrete images of self are much of what they cadaverously exist as.  Concrete images of self are what they taught you to absorb, and such images and devised schemes of inner dominancy are petrified and calcified.  The solidified, isolated center of inner self-ish-ness (which really isn’t a center at all) is endorsed and condoned by ruthless others (who, themselves, absorbed from conditioned others).  To go beyond conditioned ways, significantly, requires that the mind shed its primitive caterpillar/chrysalis ways and, instead,  soar (as a fresh butterfly) free from all the inertness.

The beautiful butterflies and the colorful flowers of this marvelous earth are not separate things.  Please don’t merely yank the flowers out of the soil and shove them in cold vases; please look at them where they grow (and connect with them).  Please don’t net radiant butterflies and coldly stick them in framed wall-display-mounts; please enjoy them as they vibrantly fly (and please soar higher too).  Please don’t try to isolate yourself in a dark, dead little corner (of self, of “me”) and think that you are somehow separate from (and different from) the living whole.  Please blossom and open up your wings beyond mere stagnant (enclosed) ways.

We are each other (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

We are each other (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

We are each other (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

We are each other (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Chilling Halloween Creepiness…

19 comments

 

               I’ve got eight legs

you’ve got two

                      I’ve got eight eyes

you’ve only two

 

                    You run from us

and scream

                    but we’re much 

more afraid of you

 

                     You with your overpopulation

and polluting ways

                    are ruining this planet

We aren’t

 

                    With your hitting hatred

and your many armaments 

                    you mindlessly march in armies

We don’t march in any

 

                     So on Halloween

or on any other dark night

                    don’t run from us in hysterics 

It’s all so blatantly  ludicrous

Jumping Spider (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Jumping Spider (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Jumping Spider (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Jumping Spider (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Transcending Clinging to Old Traditions… (and Transcending Prejudice against some of Nature’s Fine Creatures…)

39 comments

 

Tradition has seemed to keep us safe up to a certain point.  Many of us cling to tradition in one form or another; most cling to many forms of tradition.  Many of us have our own special religions, nations, customs, leaders, priests, gurus, and methodologies… and to these, we ardently cling.  It has seemed to give us comfort and security by doing so.  With traditions, you don’t have to think much; tradition will have done that for you.  Most people really like that; it is far easier to let others do the thinking for you.  These others, however, have done the very same thing… (absorbing old habits from those whom they’ve similarly copied).  What we’ve inherited may be — unless we prefer to stick our heads in the sand as so many do — a lot of primitive nonsense that tends to separate and divide people globally.  (Where is the real security in that?!)  Each one thinks that his (or her) traditions, systems, ways, and areas are so very special and so much better (than that of the “others”).  We do this and end up with conflict, divisiveness, and wars.  Again, where is the real security in that? We become so comfortable that we allow the bureaucrats to continue polluting the world with fossil fuels, pollute our bodies with junk foods, and our minds with hate, fear, and antiquated ideas… while we don’t peacefully request change and don’t partake in significant alternative action that is beyond conflict and mere reaction.   Profound enlightenment never occurs to the mediocre mind that remains in the rut that indoctrinated others have dug. 

Besides these outer traditions, we cling to (and “are”) inner traditions.  When inner, crude, primitive traditions are warped, distorted, unbalanced, awry, common, and fractional… they reflect this disarray into the world.  Then we overpopulate it, abuse it, and mindlessly contribute to conflict while this fragile world and the beautiful animals upon it suffer the consequences.  We can do better.  However, the old ways are deeply ingrained in us (and “as us”), and the time for change is long overdue.  On a brighter note: We — some of us, at least — can change, blossom, and transcend all of the mediocrity.  

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

[Note:  The nights have been getting cold, and this young Bullsnake came through the front door into our house.  I took it near the river bank on the property and released it in an area with a lot of fallen leaves (where it could dig into to find needed warmth).  However, before releasing it, a few pictures (of course) had to be taken.  (The second photo is with me holding the snake in one hand and taking a photo of it with the other hand.)  Steven Irwin, whom i miss dearly (since he passed away), was a superb naturalist who often (on his excellent television nature series) would reveal his deep love of nature.  He often shared the same sentiments that i have concerning snakes: They are beautiful and spectacular creatures if one looks at them without prejudice and old-fashioned beliefs.  Steve’s premature passing was a loss to nature; he was a true champion of nature.  Bullsnakes may look a little bit like Rattlesnakes, but they are non-poisonous and they do not have a rattle at their tail end.  Many people thoughtlessly kill them when they see them, which is a real shame.  All you have to do is grab one a little way up from the tip of the tail and take it to where you would like it to be released.  They are beautiful creatures that eat mice, rats, voles, and other pests, and they are totally harmless to man.  We’re so glad that our little friend stopped by!]

Bullsnake. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Bullsnake. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Holding a Bullsnake. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Holding a Bullsnake. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

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Childhood Time and Beyond…

29 comments

 

Childhood time is a magical time)

      and it’s all about magic (really)

               life is

It’s so beautifully full of magic

               life is 

And youthful joy is that wonderment

      and that feelingcloseto

               sweet immortality

So many adults lose those wonderous moments

      drink to their bitter depression

      and go through the motions without

               ever being alive

?Why do they stop asking questions

?Why do they with starched faces

      cadaverously walk right past joy and beauty

I don’t ever want to grow up

I don’t ever want to grow up

I don’t ever want to grow up

Childhood time is a magical time

      and it’s all about magic

               (really

Silver-Spotted-Skipper (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Silver-Spotted-Skipper (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Silver-Spotted-Skipper (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Silver-Spotted-Skipper (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Mindfulness… True Perception…

18 comments

 

True perception involves seeing the whole in a sensitive way without the contamination of isolated (taught, habitual) images.  Distortion occurs when the supposed (but false) whole is seen fragmentarily through a mental screen of conditioning.  For instance, it is in vogue to say that “I am one with the beauty of nature”… or to identify oneself in a special connection with magnificent, towering trees or a breathtaking mountain range.  One fragmentary image, however, identifying itself with other images… is what it is: a sequence of fractional image making.  (Few, by the way, identify themselves with people who are mentally or physically handicapped or with disappearing coral reefs; maybe if they observed them without a mere fractional center… more good things would get done).  Real wholeness exists beyond the boundaries of thought.  These boundaries include the fallacious center that feels in control of  what are considered “subservient thoughts.” Thought/thinking projects this center as being separate from other thoughts and as being separate from what is perceived (through the screen of thought); this center has (and is) an essence of separation.  Real wholeness does not put a separative, isolated image of a (fallacious) center on a psychological pedestal; real wholeness does not have a supposedly central image that merely identifies itself (at times) with other chosen, select images — like breathtaking mountains — while (at other times) it purports to be domineering over “other” images (whether they be internal or external) from a distance.

Most people don’t care deeply about true or deep perception; they have accepted crude, mundane ways, (and they continue to perceive through — and “as” — these mundane, superficial ways, without going deeply beyond them).  In these banal, mundane ways, most inevitably get bored and feel unfulfilled, which is (obviously) due to clinging to the old and stale.  They continue to cling to the old and stale ways, and they are afraid to let them go.  Untold many, over centuries, have each relied on and believed in a domineering and manipulative center that is (supposedly) in charge of the rest of thinking… and the world remains in crisis; deep harmony rarely emerges out of distortion.  The irony in this, unfortunately, is that most will not care to delve into this and transcend the fractional center; yet it is this very so-called center (because of its unnecessary friction and conflict) that keeps them in psychological isolation that is dull, lonely, distorted, second-hand, deceitful (and that is not dynamic while it creates a space of limitation that directly leads to boredom and inner sorrow).  The serious mind that sees the falsity of such a center is, on the other hand, joyous, harmonious, original, whole, and beyond deep deception.  Falsities are not just in some of the age-old, infantile beliefs of man; they go to the very essence of what consciousness entails.  Transcending them is true liberation and bliss… not all that phony stuff.

Sharing (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Sharing (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Sharing (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Sharing (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Haunted Halloween (spiders aren’t anything compared to this)…

13 comments

 

Let’s give a prize…

to those who were too crass and uncaring 

               to ever open their eyes.

Let’s provide a splendid, gold citation…

to those who radiated endless cruelty,

               increased suffering, and needlessly caused frustration.

Let’s mindlessly vote for an unhinged, sick sociopath with an unstable mind that divides us…

               who snarls that the polluted, unhealthy environment is balanced,

and that all of the dying coral reefs are quite healthy and marvelous.

Let’s cheapen the whole…

be ordinary, separative, comfortable, selfish,

               and take a long, indifferent stroll.

Let’s thoughtlessly add more and more pollutants and superficial experiences to the fire…

               and when this tiny world burns to the ground,

Let’s wait until the very last day to deeply inquire.

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

Note:

[I love spiders.  The real (deadly) thing on this planet (except for a few) walks on two legs, not eight.]

Halloween Surprise. Video by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Halloween Surprise. Video by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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That Nameless, Eternal Immensity…

17 comments

 

That nameless, eternal immensity that is beyond mere labels and symbolic words, rarely presents itself to humans.  Too many of us are of violence, separation, distortion, and fallacies to be open to visitation from that enormity.  Our psychological demarcations, which promote false, separative, supposedly dominant centers (i.e., the many obtrusions of “me” and “I”), tend to nullify any possibility for that boundlessness to be revealed.  Mental superficiality and illusion negate clear perception.  A false center builds a wall around itself and there is nothing much seen beyond the limited confines of that wall.  Too many of us have accepted limited viewpoints, patterns, boundaries, and methodologies… and to those we cling.  Fortunately, it is beautifully possible to emerge through the rigidities of miseducation and stiff falsities.

Fruiting Bodies (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Fruiting Bodies (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Fruiting Bodies (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Fruiting Bodies (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

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The Honest Poem

7 comments

 

The honest poem,beyond all the mumbo jumbo,

          in a purgative way,tersely flushes out the detritus of words

exposing them for what they really are…

          fractional representations that are inherently second-hand

 

The genuine poem,beyond all the gibberish and hogwash,

          in a laxative way,wisely purges out the putrid,stale simulations

suggesting to,instead of dwelling in mere crappy accounts,

          go and holistically perceive as if for the first time

Butterfly Flight (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Butterfly Flight (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Butterfly Flight (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c.2016

Butterfly Flight (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c.2016

 

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If I Had Only a Few Desperate, Precious Moments…

28 comments

 

 My wife and i never had kids (because the world is way overcrowded with humans as it is), but we are concerned about them deeply.  If i had only a few short moments — or a bit longer — to tell a child what to care about, in life, here is what i would likely say:

 

Mistrust everything anyone has ever told you about truth… and find out for yourself.

Go beyond the dead symbols that they provided; be intelligently empty, stay young, and don’t lose your innocence (as so many adults do).

Don’t just look through the screen of what was taught; use thoughts often, but go beyond them.

Love the whole and not merely a few isolated parts.

Let effortless silence be your oasis from internal patterns that were planted in you by others.

Help others (so-called other life forms) to go beyond suffering.

Help (and care for) Mother Earth; she is all we have, and many are making her sick.

Ask serious questions beyond merely comfortable answers.

Don’t be ordinary (even if it is more comfortable and easy to be ordinary).  

Never lose that youthful feeling of eternity (that most adults have lost long ago).

Perceive with (and “as”) dynamic emptiness without a mere center.

Look without mere separation between you and what is perceived.

Perceive with a warm heart, not merely (as so many do) with a cold mind.

 

Note:

[These are fish in a large pond in our area.  There is a small creek that flows into the pond, and the fish love to hang out by the mouth of the creek to get oncoming food and to enjoy the current.  I like how one of the fish — unique, with the purity of white on its head — in the top section of the video is (especially) enjoying a burst of water current, creating surface swirl!  There were many more fish than what is seen in the frame.]

Fish of Gold. Video by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Fish of Gold. Video by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

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Beyond the Sedentary Way

20 comments

 

Wonderfully then

                    came upon now

beyond images of “I”

                    beyond everything anyhow

 

Magically beyond wish

                    floated limitless dying

finishing dead symbols

                    in an alive not just trying

 

Sweetly far from measure

                    burst a timeless moving

not of stale thoughts

                    not of physic’s proving

 

Beyond the Sedentary Way. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Beyond the Sedentary Way. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Beyond the Sedentary Way. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Beyond the Sedentary Way. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

 

Post

Violence…

16 comments

 

When we are violent and mentally formulate an ideal of nonviolence, we set up an “idealistic image” for the center of self (which is itself an absorbed, learned image) to strive towards.  That “idealistic image,” being a fabricated construct of the brain, is a symbolic pattern that is not — much the same as the image of an isolated (controlling) center — real (other than being a fabrication of the mind).  It may be far more prudent to give attention to the actual violence as it is occurring (without merely looking at the violence with separation and imagery).  Then violence is not merely something that you have; it is what you actually are.  Then you are not separate from the violence.  Giving all of your energy to understand it may require that it be seen without a fallacious center trying to do something about it from a distance.  In this, there would be no distance of space, nor any distance of time; (there, in other words, would be no spatial distance between a fabricated “center or ego” and the violence… and there would be no psychological time for the fallacious “center” to “have” to try to get rid of the violence.)   Superfluous ideals of nonviolence need not (necessarily) be manufactured; if they were, they likely would create space, time, and conflict in the mind, sway attention from the actuality of violence, and would likely tend to support a false (isolated) center that focuses away from the learning, understanding, and true relationship regarding violence; a false center is (in itself) a form of violence; it is a man-made (isolated) image (that projects indifference, separation, and conflict).  

Instead of being aware of violence and deeply learning about it (and therefore fundamentally going beyond its many ways), merely mentally saying (with that old, procrastination trick) that one will be “better” in the future involves (the space of time).  The false center additionally forms (space) between itself and so-called others.  This space and the space of time (psychologically) are intrinsically the same in many respects.   Intentionally hurting so-called “other” life-forms is a form of violence.  Jealousy is a form of violence.  Envy is a form of violence.  Racial prejudice is a form of violence.  Indifference is a form of violence.  Violence exists in many formats.  If one fragment merely tries to get rid of another fragment (that is seen with separation)… then conflict continues (in one form or another) and the mind remains immersed in violence.  Most have no true relationship with others and no true relationship with violence; so the violence continues (in society) as it does.  

 

Eastern Amberwing. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Eastern Amberwing. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Eastern Amberwing. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Eastern Amberwing. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

 

Post

Core of the Butterfly

19 comments

                                  once upon a twice

wings folding unfolding

here within the universe’s

folding unfolding

twice upon a once

universes folding unfolding

here within the wings

folding unfolding

 Pearl Crescent (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Pearl Crescent (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 Pearl Crescent (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Pearl Crescent (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

 

 

Post

Holistic Mindfulness and Meditation

42 comments

***********  This writer would just like to say, “thank you!” to those of you who have been liking and/or commenting on my posts, while being open-minded about it.  Of course, to go beyond the superficial, one goes beyond my photos; we are well aware that many are merely satisfied with the photos; it’s not (fortunately) just about the photos.  A lot of what is written here, we know, is way beyond the norm; thank goodness for that!  Many of the best scientists have said that reality is likely way different than what we have been lead to believe up to this point… way different than what we can imagine.  (That is for sure!)  I am very appreciative of those of you who stick with this and continue to read, even though, at times, it must be very difficult to swallow or stomach.  I’ve always deeply cared about the truth, no matter how uncomfortable the answers may be, no matter what was revealed.  Those who do the same, this movement deeply admires.  (Truth is beautiful, and there are real treasures if one is open, independent, passionate, honest, and not afraid to go beyond the primitive, antiquated ways.)  Too many of us are like clay that (over time) hardens after it has been molded by (equally desiccated) others.  *************

Thinking — as a process — is fractional and sequential.  Thinking involves a sequential series of patterns; these patterns are always symbolic, limited, and (unless rare insight occurs, influencing them) merely dependent on banal, past memories and ordinary experiences.  Patterns, in a sequence, constitute time; thinking and time are not two separate things.  Experiencing, in most minds, is dictated — as to how it takes place and manifests — by implanted, past memories.  When, as it does with most people, a learned and supposed static self-image seems to be claiming (from a supposed psychological distance) to have control and be dominant over moving, rearranging, sequential, symbolic thought-patterns that thought/thinking considers such a self-center to have power over via managing and authoritatively manipulating… deception takes place.  If the supposed central image is not — in reality — central at all, and if it is merely another one of the images (which it is), then things are not as they appear and there must be a significant paradigm shift; otherwise, all kinds of misbehavior and distortion occurs.

A dominating center that — in reality — is not truly dominating and not, in any way, central… creates a tremendous amount of havoc for the (unfortunate) mind miseducated to contain (and “be”) such an array.  The havoc involved manifests as needless inner friction, inner conflict, fabricated space, needless dominancy, false glorification, and needless separation.  When one segment claims to be dominant and “in control” of other sections (from a fallacious distance)… inner tyranny, friction, struggle, and pseudo-power-control materialize; these often manifest (outwardly) as conflict, outward dominance, and violence in the external world.   Additionally, such a false center inevitably leads to the cultivation selfishness, jealousy,  and competition; it fosters inner self-aggrandizement, indifference, and isolation.  The supposed center is considered permanent, most important, and lasting, while the other thoughts and feelings are considered subservient, more or less temporary, and as something to be used.  Surgeries on the corpus callosum within the brain, resulting in two fields of consciousness, are indicative of the falsity of a permanent center.  Yet, psychiatrists and psychologists still promote antiquated methodologies which continue to constrain the mind into practices promoting a fallacious center.  

A true and intelligent paradigm shift would transcend these false bonds and conceitful ways.  A genuine, beautiful psychological transformation would occur when the mind acts — not merely reacts — as a whole without false separation and delusive, fallacious space.  Then, when reflection takes place, one is not something separate from the reflection; then, when compassion occurs, one is not something separate from compassion.  Since so many thoughts are fractional, limited symbols… the holistic mind would often intelligently go beyond them; the whole is more than the sum of the parts.  In this, no crude, dominating part would exist to stupefy, tyrannize, manipulate, or intervene.  In this lack of friction and loss of falsity are bliss and integrity.  In such wholeness, wisdom manifests, eternity manifests.   

Looking Downward (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Looking Downward (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Looking Downward (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Looking Downward (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

 

 

 

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When this What If…

15 comments

 

When this WHAT IF

                                                               rumin

8ed on what MIGHT BE,

a

                                            f

ear

interrupted and re

                        main

ed

as some

                                                        thing unpleasant

2 be elimin

                                                                    8ed

by what considered 

                      itself

2 besomewhat sepa

                                                         r8ed from the

f

                       ear

that thought thoughtithad

                                     & also con

sidered it

                                                 self

separatefrom(&controlling)

images projecting the

                                                                 possible future

&                                                                   also

separate from the

                                                                              whole of

                                                   time

toc

tic

Mommy Shortlegs. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Mommy Shortlegs. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Mommy Shortlegs. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Mommy Shortlegs. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

Post

Resting in the Holographic Universe…

16 comments

 

It is good to be proficient in life; it is good to be adept at getting things done (and then resting afterward).  Merely getting things done for oneself alone (or merely for some small, immediate family) may be rather small-minded and narrow in outlook.  Similarly, getting things done while concomitantly harming the environment may also be rather petty and narrow-minded.  A wise, highly aware, dynamic mind is compassionate, considerate, and does not put itself first.  It gets things done while loving the whole… not loving some silly little self-image or merely those who care for (and reward) that self-image.

Inner proficiency — in (and “as”) the mind — is to exist without needless conflict, without needless friction.  A mind full of limited, separative notions and perspectives (internally) is a jumble of friction, clutter, disorderliness, and disarray.  Such a disorderly mind will consist of many fractional images and ideals, all of which are limited, symbolic, partial, and which reinforce isolation and separation of a so-called “center” as being (supposedly) in charge of the “other” thoughts, (conflicting ideals and desires), and images.  When the mind is jealousy manifesting… jealousy is what you are; it is not something that some fictional center “is having.”  How can a learned — though fictional — and concocted center efficiently and proficiently get rid of the jealousy, when (all along) the center is an accumulated delusion whose very isolated manifestation supports feelings such as jealousy?  Inner separation and segregation extend from an internally disorderly mind into the outer world; indifference, conflict, hatred, jealousy, war, ruthless competition, and exploiting others are often results.

A beautiful mind of the humility of emptiness and of intelligent wholeness, with real inner order and with inner images in a harmonious relationship with each other, beyond delusion, will express itself in the external environment in ways that are cooperative, compassionate, considerate, wise, environmentally sound, empathic, and non-fragmentary.

Resting in the holographic universe. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Resting in the holographic universe. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Resting in the holographic universe. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Resting in the holographic universe. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Meditation and Un

8 comments

 

Upon which this once became a twice

and twice became trillions

because why not and many so between

floating eternally silently divine

 

Happily nothing within when’s nowhere

devoid of stale musts rotten shoulds

placid endlessly wondering alive always

beyond savage ugly and hurtful war

 one little how. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

one little how. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 one little how. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

one little how. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

Post

Nothingness… mindfulness…

14 comments

 

Far too many of us are afraid of being nothing.  We do not like to dwell on the subject of death; we are terrified about death.  Of course, this posting does not appertain to trying to end oneself physically; doing so would be extremely foolish, irrational, and very non-harmonious.  Being nothing psychologically, however, is another thing completely.  Being nothing psychologically, at times, throughout the day and night, is prudent and sane.  Most of us, unfortunately, are in fear about being nothing psychologically (because of miseducation, lack of awareness, and dependency on superficial things and deceptive concepts).  

To be empty internally, devoid of effort and devoid of images and patterns of thought and thinking, frightens many people.  The main function of thoughts/thinking is to solve problems.  However, even when there are no problematic occurrences manifesting, most of us go on perpetually thinking anyway.  We are caught in the habit of thinking; we are the habit of thinking.  All thoughts, however, are mere fractional tokens or symbols for things.  As such, they are inherently rather metaphorical and emblematical and thus are rather stiff and bereft of real life… much like mere numbers or road signs.  Yet, because of the way we were miseducated, we cling to them and worship them.  Ironically, most of us cling to these stale (rather unalive) images, and we are afraid of letting them go.  Of course, thoughts are very necessary.  It is great to often use them sensibly and reasonably.  However, as we’ve said many times, they are merely tools.  Everlastingly clinging to stiff and lifeless symbols is not really “alive,” nor is it awake and dynamic in the profound sense.  Even when there are no problems, we fabricate problems.  Some of us will do anything to avoid emptiness and nothingness.  However, clinging to the limited is deceased in itself and is not real living.  (By the way, in physics, the emptiness or nothingness that exists — as empty space — is never merely just stagnant; it is full of fluctuating quantum fields, dark energy, and all kinds of dynamic activity.  The silent, empty mind, too, is tremendously dynamic in its own way.)

Psychological nothingness is not pettiness, is not smallness.  The truly empty mind is beyond the stale patterns concocted by man; that involves great intelligence.  Far too many are caught in (and “as”) those stale patterns (and forever remain there).  Psychological nothingness often goes beyond ordinary experience, because ordinary experience is merely recognition by the known.  The truly empty mind is not, even during the day, merely caught in perceiving through (and “as”) the old screen of accumulated patterns.  That old screen is largely of separation and conflict.  

Mayfly next to its empty exoskeleton. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Mayfly next to its empty exoskeleton. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Mayfly next to its empty exoskeleton.(2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Mayfly next to its empty exoskeleton.(2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Post

Piggy

38 comments

 

When i first laid eyes on you

          it was love at first sight

Then i got to know you better and realized

          that we have so very much in common

You relish eating delectable meals

          (So do i)

You love to smell the nearby,splendid wildflowers

          (So do i)

You love the songs of the joyful,little birds early in the mornings

          (So do i)

You like to watch beautiful horses sprightly prancing around

          (So do i)

You love to roll around in the sweet,textured mud

          (So do i)      (Well,at least i did when i was your age)

You dislike being bossed,bullied,and pushed around by heartless people

          (Same for me)

As time went by,i became even more enamored with you

          Rumor had it,though,that you might be liquidated by carnivorous others

(That played heavy on my heart)        I was looking forward to seeing you again

          but not (being myself a long-term vegetarian) between

          someone else’s two slices of bread

It is a shame when others dismiss you as

          merely being a swine

We are all hoggish in our lives in

          one form or another

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

This poem is dedicated — with much respect and fondness —  to Jinx.  Jinx was a bus driver at the school for the multiply handicapped where i worked as a teacher.  In warm weather, i would often take my sack lunch to the beautiful river that was right on the school property… and eat my lunch on the banks, watching the river go by.  Jinx would often be there fishing during his lunch break; he would release any fish that he caught.  Jinx, when he found out that i was a vegetarian, told me that he had been the owner of a pig farm for many years.  Then, one day, he decided to give it all up, because it seemed wrong to be raising them for slaughter.  Jinx became a vegetarian.  Quite some time later, after i had switched over to another school, i found out that Jinx died.  Jinx was driving through Chicago.  He had seen a house on fire and heard screams from children inside the house.  Without hesitation, Jinx ran into the house in an attempt to rescue the children.  Jinx died in that fire.  He is a true hero (and he had real love).  

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/24628983/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/smartest-animals/#.V6rBr5grKUk

Miss Piggy (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Miss Piggy (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Miss Piggy (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Miss Piggy (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

 

 

Post

Order of the mind…

18 comments

 

Order of the mind is a sane, truly intelligent person’s responsibility.  Real order involves integrity and purity.  How can the mind remain pure if it is merely sullied by the old-fangled values and archaic systems of the past?  One must have a clear, untarnished mind.  For that to occur, it may be that one’s mind must be open, young, and beyond mere influence.  Only profound silence beyond old systems and methods can do that.  That means not merely depending on others.  That means not merely depending on inner thoughts… that were likely implanted in one by (and “as”) others.  That means not merely depending upon time.  (Psychological and so-called spiritual methodologies — dreamed up by man — stem from the past and require time.)  Timelessness involves existing beyond one’s inner conditioning (a conditioning that is the accumulation and extension of the old patterns of others).  Most of us habitually depend upon others; most of us are afraid to stand empty, alone, and open.  “Standing alone” goes beyond psychological security and imitation.  Many go through life imitating and copying; fear has a lot to do with it.   For many, it is far easier to copy others and “go through the motions,” rather than to independently perceive and think for themselves.  (And their so-called leaders are often mentally unsound.)  Too many of us are second-hand human beings.

Real perception, empathy, and compassion, emanates from a superb, selfless mind that is beyond mere imitation and dependence.  Real compassion comes from the heart; it does not emerge from a robotic mind that merely imitates and follows orders.  In real compassion comes real action (not just reaction).  Reaction belongs to imitating, conditioning, and second-hand minds (many of whom are indifferent and puppet-like).

Red-Spotted Purple (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Red-Spotted Purple (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Red-Spotted Purple (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Red-Spotted Purple (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Post

8 x 8 = 64

23 comments

 

When i was a child, i was the scissors, the paste, the glue, and the papers.  

We were instructed to (each one of us) cut out a small paper kite and attach it to a big pegboard on the schoolroom wall.                                                                                                                                The teacher stated that whoever learned their multiplication tables to a certain                                                                                                                                                                 level would be allowed to raise their kite higher to a corresponding level.                                                                                                                                                                              I cut my kite into a grotesque shape.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Our teacher asked me why (while i was good at art) i made my kite so distorted                                                                                                                                                           and “out of shape.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         I told her that i did not want to have a nice kite that would appear to soar higher                                                                                                                                             than the kites of all of my friends.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        I refused to learn the multiplication tables.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        I remember, at that young age, thinking that my teacher was very crude and                                                                                                                                                         unrefined for asking us to compete in such a way against each other.                                                                                                                                                                                   After a couple of weeks, the teacher allowed me to learn the multiplication tables                                                                                                                                                       without having to place my kite on the bulletin board.                                                                                                                                                                                                           Years later, as a young adult, i visited (and worked for 6 wonderful months) in Perth,                                                                                                                                                   Ontario, at a magical place called “Family Pastimes.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                 They, at Family Pastimes, are caring vegetarians who make and sell cooperative (non-competitive) games.                                                                                                         Play together, not against each other.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     When i was a child, i was the ringing of the school bell, the giggling of boys and                                                                                                                                                                 girls, and the accordion-like, crushed paper coverings for plastic straws.

[Familypastimes.com]

64 flower stigmas, more or less. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c.2016

64 flower stigmas, more or less. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c.2016

64 flower stigmas, more or less. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c.2016

64 flower stigmas, more or less. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c.2016

 

 

Post

Many of us value rather cadaverous things…

21 comments

 

Many of us value rather cadaverous things.  So many value fancy possessions and excessively large houses that they are fond of showing off to others.   It is likely, however, that the intrinsic intelligence of the vast universe doesn’t give a rat’s behind about fancy possessions and elaborate, ostentatious houses.  Real value is in what is free… like integrity, compassion, and pristine, uncorrupt perception.  However, so many of us were miseducated to neglect those “deep and profound” things and, instead, were taught to chase after rather superficial things that must be “earned and acquired over time.”  (They are valuable-garbage-things; in other words, they are “valuable,” but they are — if you are of deep perception — essentially worthless garbage.)  Aspects of the real beauty of integrity, compassion, and uncorrupt perception are that they are beyond the greedy clutches of grasping and “earning” and so are (in a big way) beyond time.  Most people chase after the contrived, superficial shadows while failing to see the true value in what is timeless and alive.  They are caught — while the real jewels of life elude them — in showing off their dead, shadowy treasures to each other… trying to impress.   

Before i retired, i had, as one of my students, who — though having mental retardation and though being severely multiply handicapped, including being blind and having paraplegia — had a great sense of humor and a very caring disposition.  He never displayed any hatred or malice toward anyone.  He often stated, “I love everyone.”  He never displayed any pretentious behavior; he never — though handicapped, he was more gifted than most of the other students — flaunted his abilities, and he never wanted much, but he was always happy, always joyful and caring.  He would always joke around a lot — he was a great member of our Royal Order of the Moose Club (similar to the Royal Order of Racoons on the Honeymooners show) — and he would often laugh and be zestfully living. He recently passed away.  I spoke at his funeral service to those who attended.  Many attended… because he was so genuine and pure.  He was my teacher (in a big way too); i learned a lot (about goodness and about value) from him.

Miseducation magnifies false values, portraying them to be precious.  It also often overemphasizes competition rather than joyful cooperation.  Real education goes beyond false values and transcends separation, vanity, conflict, pride, imitation, racism, hatred, competition, environmental indifference, and fractional perception.  

 

[Note:  Many years ago, when i was young, i visited, worked at, and spent a lot of time (6 months) at Family Pastimes in Ontario, Canada.  The people there live in a marvelous, very beautiful rural area (with wild bear and beavers), are vegetarians, and they make and sell cooperative (non-competitive) games.  They have been making and selling exclusively cooperative games for over 40 years.  Check out their website sometime; you will be glad you did!  www.familypastimes.com]

Spicebush Swallowtail (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Spicebush Swallowtail (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Spicebush Swallowtail (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Spicebush Swallowtail (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Upon this earth a here transpired…

23 comments

 

Upon this earth a here transpired

between all rabbits and everything inspired

 

Miraculous rambling after the tidings of dawn

beyond bourgeois commercials that boringly yawn

 

You’re not the world around you,you’ve learned assuredly

but seeing yourself apart perverts so luridly

 

To blossom past superficial darkness quite superb and transcendent

not the separative space of a shadowy pretendant

Part of the blossoming. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Part of the blossoming. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Part of the blossoming. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Part of the blossoming. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Post

We can blossom psychologically…

35 comments

 

Please don’t go through life merely sullied with the ideas, beliefs, and opinions of others (including what you may think mine might be).  Wash yourself clean of all the ideological debris and perspectives of others.  Otherwise, you may go through life contaminated, and the contaminated and mentally tarnished cannot see clearly (without distortion).  Most see with (and “as”) distortion, which may not really be seeing at all.

Some will agree with the aforementioned statements; then they will inevitably go on adhering to the patterns and edicts of others.  To perceive without contamination is an arduous thing; it may go way deeper than most of us (incorrectly) assume.  For instance, many of us assume that there is a central regulator or “I” (i.e., “me”) that is in “control” over our “internally possessed thoughts” and “internally acquired feelings.”  Few deeply and effortlessly realize that the “I” itself (along with concomitant feelings of “having” control) are (in themselves) no different than the other accumulated thoughts and feelings.   This “I” is often seen as separate from the so-called “other” psychological images observed; it is habitually viewed as being “in charge”; few (including many psychiatrists/psychologists) consider that the “I” is itself another one of the thoughts in a conditioned series.   Can one conditioned thought (psychologically separated… and projected as being different) truly be in control of the other conditioned thoughts?   Many of us consciously, or unconsciously, accept separation and conflict (as the internal norm)… and we inevitably exude this out into society (which ends up in conflict and disorder).  We can be better than the norm.  We can blossom with (and “as”) real understanding, real intelligence.

Cone Flower in the process of blossoming (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Cone Flower in the process of blossoming (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Cone Flower in the process of blossoming (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Cone Flower in the process of blossoming (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

Post

Butterfly Poesy…

24 comments

 

What is oneself?

          Is one a vibrant, compassionate movement involving wholeness and integrity?

Or is one a fractional collage of mundane symbols,

          stale ideas, and bourgeois reactions?

 

Is one a radiant, superb dynamic that exists as freshness and real change?…

          Or is one a secondhand repeater of stagnant thoughts

and antiquated ideas?

 

Is one free like a splendid, magnificent butterfly?…

          Or is one a jaded prisoner of static miseducation

and barbaric, indoctrinated values?

 

The listless chrysalis always bursts into gliding

           if it leaves the secure confinement

of its own limited space.

Female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (1). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (1). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (2). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (2). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Beyond being bourgeois…

28 comments

 

Love is not of limitation.  It is endless; as such it goes beyond the rather false boundaries concocted by man.  Too many of us exist — not wholly, not globally —  in fractional modes that inevitably contribute to friction, conflict, war and separation in the world.  Too many of us cling to separative religions, governmental groups, isolated (fictional, man-made) regions, and old, polluting routines and addictions (which we merely accept).  These things are an extension of our inner fractional and disjointed psychology.  Too many of us think that there is a separate center that is internally apart from what is perceived.  (A so-called separate center inevitably projects selfishness; it is folly and it is deception.)  Too many of us were miseducated and we apperceive and function through (and “as”) this separative miseducation.  This can change.  The world can become whole, safe, and clean.  For that to happen, each of us is responsible for getting the mind whole, safe, and clean.  Clean means unpolluted.

 

Damsel in distress (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Damsel in distress (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Damsel in distress (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Damsel in distress (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

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Turtles Airborne someday soon!

23 comments

 

Being in the water

                              is our domain

Being out of the water

                              is our domain

We can’t (as a species) fly yet

                              but we are certainly considering the possibilities!

 

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

[Please… don’t laugh about the possibility of “flying, airborne turtles.”  In reality, from what one has seen so far, many people are a lot less likely to fundamentally change away from the self-deceptive, standard, run-of-the-mill, crass, bourgeois mentality… than the occurence of turtles evolving to fly.]

 Who knows: Those huge webbed feet could be turned into wings over time! Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Who knows: Those huge webbed feet could be turned into wings over time! Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

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So many… dwelling in the past…

21 comments

 

A brain that is constantly and habitually churning along as symbolic thoughts and recalled patterns — as most brains, unfortunately, are — is a brain that may be (within its own superficial and limited framework) satisfied and content.  However, such a brain is always (in one form or another) an extension from (and “as”) the absorbed and learned past; being from the past, it always has (and is constituted of) elements of what is inherently old.  Be that constantly — if you wish — but be aware of the possibility that the past is usually rather stale, second-hand, and musty; it is not the fresh, new, spontaneous, living now.

The patterns of the past can help us, at times, to avoid danger and to get food, clothing, shelter (and health) in ways that are easier and proven to be fruitful.  However, to carry patterns of the past — reacting over and over again — in (and “as”) our minds, unceasingly, may not be prudent or “alive” in the least.  If you are a good (and sane) gardener, you don’t take the hoe into your living room at night and continue hoeing.  Similarly, a mind that uses thoughts (which are symbolic tools) endlessly — as so many foolishly do — is rather absurd.  It is ludicrous to be like a broken record, repeating things over and over (even if it is somewhat rearranged).  Who can profit from merely existing in the past?  No one can, and no one should.  Little wonder why so many get bored and need to go on finding exciting things “out there,” as if true happiness lies outside of oneself.

We can, not merely to get or attain anything, just be quiet — at times throughout the day or night — not needing to robotically (constantly) function as thoughts (all of which are merely symbols).  Then real, joyful, insightful life might actually happen, and not merely some old, stale representations and dead tokens from (and “as”) the past.   There is no legitimate technique or methodology to go beyond these thoughts; any technique or method is an extension of the absorbed patterns and — as such — is essentially fallacious.  

It's OK to be eating our day-lilies! (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

It’s OK to be eating our day-lilies! (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

It's OK to be eating our day-lilies! (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

It’s OK to be eating our day-lilies! (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

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Beyond time’s deception…

23 comments

 

When

                                                          magically

the

                          crisp breeze

of pink summer

eclipses all thoughts

                                                                                blossom

                                            beyond the deception of time

to where energy bursts

                                            without measure

and compassion gives

                                                                               a damn

Bursting (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Bursting (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Bursting (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Bursting (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Silence beyond mere thinking…

24 comments

 

When i was very young, in grade school, i — one day, without motive — went into a profound silence beyond thinking and had the insight that doing so was a wholly different, wonderful form of consciousness.  “Form,” in the aforementioned sentence, is rather misleading because going beyond thinking is of no real form or pattern, otherwise it is just standard “thinking.”  Back then i didn’t name this “meditation” or “mindfulness” or anything whatsoever because such words were — at such a young age — foreign to me.  I did have the insight that this is a “very special” way of being; it continued to take place on occasion now and then for a long time.  It was only later, in college, when one began seriously enquiring into the mind and into spirituality, that words for this (as inadequate as they are) began to take place.

Fortunately, when one was in high school, one became interested in hypnosis and self-hypnosis.  I was wise enough to realize the dangers and limitations of self-hypnosis and saw that it tended to constrain and curb the mind, keeping it in a narrow and circumscribed area.  While away at college, when attending yoga meditation events given by people from Asia — who claimed to be gurus offering special mantras — i quickly realized that this (i.e., what they were offering) involved (and was) a subtle form of self-hypnosis, which i did not wish to have anything to do with.   Anything you repeat over and over again to “get spirituality” is not legitimate as far as i am concerned.  Repeating a series of words, no matter how “special” they are claimed to be, is just rather mechanical and is a mesmerizing waste of time.  Even repeating silence, within (and “as”) the mind, to “get spirituality,” is also likely a big waste of time.  Grasping and effort never lead to true spirituality.  It is like trying to catch the wind.

Thoughts are always symbolic, always fractional and piecemeal.  The intelligent mind uses thoughts often, efficiently, and prudently.  Thoughts, all thoughts, however, are merely tools.  They are limited patterns and symbols to solve problems and to help one to function well in life.   Merely remaining as the tools, accepting them as the essence of what one is (as so many do), however, would be foolish.  Going beyond these tools, not merely to “get spiritual,” not to “get or attain anything,” may be a sagacious, brilliant way of functioning.  Then silence is silence (not “for” something); it is beautifully what it is without ulterior motives or aspirations.  Then one does not fabricate mere outer or inner symbols into what one calls “spiritual”; deception is unlikely for a mind of true insight, true silence.  Thoughts, for so many of us, are like habitual repetitions… not, in actuality, so very different from what self-hypnosis entails.   The wise mind goes beyond this circumscribed (hemmed in) state of unbeing.   

Ready to launch (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Ready to launch (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Ready to launch (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Ready to launch (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Beyond the intelligence of ignorance…

19 comments

 

Fragmentation

                        is the scientists’ piecemeal 

way of ripping everything

a

     p

          a

               r

                    t

        to perhaps \mathbf{j} = \frac{-i\hbar}{2m}\left(\Psi^* \nabla \Psi - \Psi \nabla \Psi^*\right) = \frac\hbar m \mathrm{Im}(\Psi^*\nabla\Psi)=\mathrm{Re}(\Psi^* \frac{\hbar}{im} \nabla \Psi)one day understand everything.

The true wise man,however,abandons

                   chopping things up,abandons dissecting things

little by little.

The wise man clearly sees beyond the bits and segments

         because his consciousness is devoid of mere bits and segments.

That is why he timelessly understands the whole better

         than any sequential calculation wearing thick glasses.

In flight (1). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

In flight (1). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

In flight (2). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

In flight (2). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

 

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On atheism and beyond…

21 comments

 

If you play the lotto, here in one of the U.S. areas, for around (approximately) 500 times — on 500 separate occasions, or so — and do not win… you need not automatically assume that the prize money doesn’t exist (and never existed for anyone, ever).  It is easy to come to conclusions about things without ever having had deeply explored, without ever having seriously enquired.  One might ask, “Well, why doesn’t God, if he exists, help us more… reveal himself to us more?”  Of course, the aforementioned question is full of loaded, anthropomorphic assumptions.  The natural world is natural because it is not interfered with much; if it was frequently interfered with, it would cease to be natural.  Period.  The sacred, however, may be what blossoms naturally if one is serious and if perception beyond the distorted occurs.   Perhaps the sacred does indirectly reveal itself (somewhat), naturally, through (and “as”) the movements the wise.  Perhaps the sacred directly reveals itself to those few who are truly wise.   It does not reveal itself by way of  mere reactions of the conditioned and indoctrinated.  (Many — filled with self-delusion — may think that they are wise and may try propagandizing or selling their version of the sacred to others, but what they are distributing or selling is almost inevitably some form of conditioning, symbols, and methodology that they have absorbed from others.)  What is truly sacred cannot merely be directly told or shared in words or writing; it may visit one, and (as was suggested) one may be directly aware of it as it is visiting, but that awareness cannot merely be shared (adequately) in writing or through mere symbolic words.  The sacred is too vast and immeasurable to merely be fully shared via limited words and symbols.  The sacred, in actuality, may be of tremendous order and integrity; merely projecting images or conclusions about it from a field that consists of conditioning and disorder may have very little value.  It is never what can merely be possessed or held.  Real love is like that.  It is a passion that is like a beautiful spring rain and it dries up if one merely tries to pigeonhole it, propagandize it, or use if for the self alone.  

Conjecture has no place here; you either discover something or intelligently investigate (without forming an opinion)… or (as so many do) you “believe that God exists” or “do not believe that God exists.”  Belief and disbelief are — despite the protests of many — fundamentally the same thing; with both, opinions, conclusions, and symbolic thinking are involved.  Formation of an opinion on incomplete evidence is naive and constrained.  Direct, untainted, intelligent observation is another matter, and there are (fortunately) ways to test whether it was indeed legitimate or merely fallacious.   Most of us are symbols, measurements, and images about energy; very few of us were ever in communion with the actual, unadulterated, limitless, timeless, immeasurable energy… pure, orderly, and pristine, pouring through one’s empty vessel.   That energy has its own intrinsic intelligence beyond the superficial limitations and boundaries of time.  

Exploring. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Exploring. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Iris…

17 comments

 

Once

                                         simply minerals and water

Now

                                                 minerals and water cooperating with

a different twist,different tingly,energetic

                                                          sensation

that miraculously ebbs and flows like the

                                                                       purple sea

beautiful sea

Purple Iris (1).  Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Purple Iris (1). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Purple Iris (2).  Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Purple Iris (2). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016