All Posts Tagged ‘butterflies’

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Hoping your “New Year” is Happy and Healthy!

January 1, 2016

*** Hoping your “new year” (though there is really nothing all that new about it) is full of true joy and enchanting wonder! Don’t make any “New Year Resolutions.” Go beyond (dead and stagnant) ideals and just wisely watch what takes place from moment to moment (without learned separation and without mere self-imposed patterns that are likely rather stiff and cadaverous). ***

Sprouting mushrooms in the forest
symbiotic with the trees
conveying more than mind projections
sharing nutrients in simple ease

In the meadow spins the spider
painting webs with splendid grace
silver fish swim as pulsing power
lilacs shoot smiles to nature’s face

Insect wings beat through the garden
crickets chirp a cheery song
trickling rain drops from the thunder
gurgling swift stream moves along

In the whispering of the answer
wisdom shares her answer soon
beyond all of thought separations
is truth’s harmonizing of the tune

Insect wings (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Insect wings (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

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Thinking about oneself, one saw what one was taught…

August 30, 2015

9 comments

Things in the universe, though they may seem to be separate and very different, may all be reflections of a larger whole. However, most of us were educated to perceive via fragmentation. Even most of the top scientists of the world currently tend to dissect things and look more at the parts… not so much at the whole. The mind can intelligently perceive without merely seeing via standard patterns and images (that were instilled within it, formulating its constitution). For many of us, even self-images consist of fragmentary concepts and images that were accumulated from learned paradigms. Even when we look inwardly, we see fragmentarily… we see learned symbols/images. Undoubtedly, there would be less wars and less indifference towards nature if more of us would go beyond the norm and perceive more holistically. The right arm will not robotically wage war against (and try to vanquish) the left arm if it clearly sees the reality of the whole.

True independence is going beyond conditioning; it is going beyond the dependence upon old patterns and systems that were implanted by others (who absorbed and became them themselves). If one remains in circumscribed patterns, one can’t go far; and, interestingly, such a “farness” is beyond distance and separation.

Perpetuity (1). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Perpetuity (2). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

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The substantial… (Multi-Photo)

August 20, 2015

13 comments

If one cares to understand the entirety (i.e., the completeness) of the universe as a whole, then one must essentially be complete in oneself. One can’t be complete in oneself if one merely perceives fragmentarily, with conflict, separation, and with mere conceptual images that were learned. So many try to spread their conceptual images of what they themselves absorbed (in terms of what they believe wisdom and truth to be). However, truth is never secondhand, and it is never what one merely rearranged or calculated from what one absorbed from others. Too many (online and in books) try to point the way to truth, when — throughout their entire life — enlightenment never occurred. Many merely share what they were brainwashed with (or “as”), which isn’t (usually) real substantial sharing at all. When the blind lead the blind, both eventually end up in the ditch. Writing about facts and about certain basic things like “love for others” or about “love of life and all of life’s creatures” is good (from others) and admirable; however, when they go beyond that and spill into delicate philosophical areas, without having gone beyond secondhand concepts or realizations, that is something else.

Profound truth is never secondhand, nor a free ride; you have to do the work. Don’t adhere to what anyone says about what the truth is; discard all leaders, gurus, sages, religious cults, and all those popular lemming groups. Find out for yourself. If you don’t find out for yourself, then what is discovered will (more than likely) largely be conceptual or rehashed… which is no substantial discovery whatsoever.

In the pink. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Not In the pink. (Digital Charcoal). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

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We are… (Multi-Photo)

July 5, 2015

4 comments

We are the mountains

We are the golden sun

We are the butterflies

We are the stirring spoon

We are the bird’s song

We are the turning key

We are the churning thoughts

We are the thunderstorms

We are the wars of lies

We are the poetry lines

We are the rocking chairs

We are the light through the forest down the lane

We are the butterflies. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

We are the butterflies. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

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We must grow… (Multi-Photo)

April 8, 2015

6 comments

we think we’re modern

but we’re not

we’re rather primitive and unrefined

and all the pundits in our world

don’t understand space and time

we think we’re free

but we’re not

our causes are all effects

and all the reactions that we’ll retake

are what spacetime already expects

Pearl Crescent Butterfly. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Pearl Crescent Butterfly. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

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Oh, where is Tom?… (Multi-Photo)

March 28, 2015

10 comments

Toads and frogs, snakes and snails and insects…

When I was a child, they’d say:

Oh, where is Tom?…

And always the answer was…

Well, he’s with the toads and frogs, the snakes and snails and insects.

Now that I’m rather gray and elderly, they say:

Oh, where is Tom?…

Well, he’s with the toads and frogs, the snakes and snails and insects.

Toads and frogs, snakes and snails and insects…

😉

(Note: Many insects see, in addition to other colors, ultraviolet – which we humans can’t see – so the following photo may be like what they actually perceive.)

Nature enthusiasts. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Nature enthusiasts. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

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Going back… (Multi-Photo)

March 16, 2015

15 comments

Tonight, go back in time to when you were a young child.

(Revisit that immortal youth that was)

far beyond the jaded, stodgy, leaden views of the overly-busy adults.

Soar again in those floating dreams… then go beyond dreaming to how

you were so very amazed at life’s wonderful, majestic living creatures.

Remember, back then, how you were small

but your perceptions were magical, large, and vast.

Return and youthfully run and fly again through that enchanting world.

Then never grow up.

Able to fly. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Able to fly. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

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Staying local…

March 6, 2015

7 comments

Personally, I don’t care to travel far — and photograph only locally — largely due to the fact that mostly fossil fueled vehicles are involved with the traveling… which is extremely bad for an already terribly abused planet.

from Walt Whitman:

BEGINNING my studies, the first step pleas’d me so much,
The mere fact, consciousness–these forms–the power of motion,
The least insect or animal–the senses–eyesight–love;
The first step, I say, aw’d me and pleas’d me so much,
I have hardly gone, and hardly wish’d to go, any farther,
But stop and loiter all the time, to sing it in ecstatic songs.

Probing for gold nectar. Photo by Thomas Peace 2015

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Tweet others like you would like to be tweeted… (Multi-Photo)

March 4, 2015

3 comments

This is what I wrote on Twitter:

Merely recognizing things as you were taught is looking through the implanted programming of others and is not profound perception.

This is what someone replied as a response, after they retweeted what I wrote:

We have to unlearn the old systems that are detrimental to us. Once we become aware, we perceive things differently.

This is how I replied:

This going beyond the old systems is not merely a process of time. If it is, it is merely a subtle extension of the old systems.

(The reason I wrote this is that if we use patterns and strategies to, hopefully, eventually evolve out the the old systems, we are — in effect — merely a continuance of the old systems. Though this may sound rather fanciful, it isn’t. Either it is done instantly, without time being a factor… or it is intrinsically merely an extension of the same, old systems and processes… all of which take — and “are” — time.)

Mostly Fliers. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Mostly Fliers. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

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Of Butterflies and Bees… (Multi-Photo)

March 1, 2015

4 comments

something above the grass

stirs my very heart

butterflies and bees

are Life’s living art

some things in the woods

are my very soul

the animals,the trees,and i

are always very whole

Of Butterflies and Bees. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Of Butterflies and Bees. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

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Far better than them?…

February 28, 2015

4 comments

The animals have so little room left; and we — as a species spoiling this marvelous earth — think that we are far superior! We need to change the way we do things and perceive things!

Flight number 492. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Flight number 492. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

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Beyond learned images… (Multi-Photo)

February 27, 2015

4 comments

Look beyond the learned patterns; see beyond the limited, learned symbols!

Together. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Together. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

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What occurs in life… (Multi-Photo)

February 26, 2015

5 comments

Insensitivity ignores nature, ignores truth, ignores others. Compassion and wisdom loves nature, perceives the truth, and helps others.

Rarity. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Rarity. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

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(Multi-Photo)*** Majestic Creatures…

February 18, 2015

3 comments

in our lush and magical garden

creatures come and go

although they’re here forever

they endlessly busy themselves

with enjoying alive

without learned thoughts

of death

never

Endlessly Busy (1). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Endlessly busy (2). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

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(Multi-Photo)*** Prelude to a Dream…

February 16, 2015

3 comments

Prelude to

a dream

between the crushed

and convoluted sheets

with their

protruding

feet

Prelude to

a dream

a placid silence

attained by pillows

Things are

not

what they seem

Walking on Clouds (2). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Walking on Clouds (1). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

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(Multi-Photo)*** And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin, when I am pinned and wriggling on the wall, then how should I begin… (T.S. Eliot)

February 9, 2015

2 comments

Flowing movements(callingthemselvespeople)

see these actionsmovements(here)unfoldinglymove

and label it as me a nounstuckrocklikewithinagroove

Evolving observings streaming

and there’s a thinking that

themselves are firmandfixed

There’s metamorphosis movingbursting

here within and all around call

but learned chrylalis concentrated separations

continue to divide pigeonhole label and

stiffen cement and densify all

Unpinned (2). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Unpinned (1). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

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(Multi-Photo)*** Going beyond that boorish concept…

February 8, 2015

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When thinking is absent… the “thinker” is not. Going beyond the thinker and thought — which are both one and the same — is a psychological dying. However, this dying makes way for a new field of living and awareness (that is vast, profound, alive, compassionate, and insightful). When thinking does occur — and it is often very necessary — there is no need to conceive of a “thinker” separate from thought; doing so creates more fragmentation and is a waste of energy. Not wasting energy is intelligent and very prudent. To understand the whole, there cannot be mere fragmentation and a waste of energy. When energy is not wasted there is that possibility that the whole of intelligence and universal order will manifest. Only in complete order is there a possibility for the sacred to visit. It cannot — and never will — merge with what is fragmentary and of conflict (which is what all thought and thinking intrinsically is).

Beyond cities (2). Photo by Thomas Peace 2015

Beyond cities (1). Photo by Thomas Peace 2015

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“Tear down this wall.”

January 29, 2015

2 comments

Instead of seeing your actions (i.e., reactions, fears, biases, and treatment concerning others) from a distance, observe them without separation (and not from some learned, devised, isolated “central point”)… such that you are them.

Close to the Edge… Yes. Photo by Thomas Peace 2015

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(Multi-Photo)*** There’s no real separation…

January 26, 2015

5 comments

If you are into narcissism, please realize that you are not separate from the world or from all life.

Metamorphosis 3. Photo by Thomas Peace 2015

Metamorphosis 4. Photo by Thomas Peace 2015

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(Multi-photo)*** Pull the Plug…

January 19, 2015

4 comments

The following, including the poem, is an excerpt from my book, “The Eternal Fountain of Youth.” (The book is extremely strong medicine; no one should read it unless they are very stable. eternalfountainofyouth.com):

When we think that the big can exist without the little, we are wrong. When we think that left can exist without right, we are wrong. When we think that the sailor is not the sails, we are wrong. When we think that the mountain-climber is not the mountain that he conquers, we are wrong. When we think that the figure skater is not very slick, we are wrong. When we think that the magician is not an illusion, we are wrong. When we think that the “perceiver” is truly separate from “the perceived,” we are wrong.

from Walt Whitman:

When the script preaches instead of the preacher,

When the pulpit descends and goes instead of the carver that

carved the supporting desk,

When I can touch the body of books by night or by day, and

when they touch my body back again,

When a university course convinces like a slumbering woman and

child convince,

When the minted gold in the vault smiles like the night-watchman’s

daughter,

When warrantee deeds loafe in chairs opposite and are my friendly

companions,

I intend to reach them my hand, and make as much of them as

I do of men and women like you.

Metamorphosis (2). Photo by Thomas Peace 2015

Metamorphosis (1). Photo by Thomas Peace 2015

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The dissolution of slavery…

January 18, 2015

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In profound wisdom, there’s only perceiving and observing… no separate observer. Then, nature and the earth are not so separate from what you are. When vast silence — beyond the observed that one learned to recognize — is not separate from what one is, then conflict and mental chattering come to an end. Then, real compassion may be. Then, false borders and artificial boundaries dissipate.

[Preserve Milkweed Plants… they are what rare Monarchs depend upon.]

One of the Milkweed’s best customers. Photo by Thomas Peace 2015

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The action of true perception…

January 17, 2015

3 comments

Truly helping others — as well as nature — is an action that may not be separate from the order and movement of the divine and spiritual. (One can’t know that one is spiritual… just like one can’t know that one is humble. However — and this probably sounds a bit “out there,” but it’s not — there is a sacred immensity that can visit for a time; should that occur, one would be far beyond the ordinary field of “belief” or “not believing.”) Many people — especially atheists — maintain the conceptual belief that there is no God… and point out that no real evidence exists that God manifests or is beneficent and helps those on this planet. Then there are many who worship God; unfortunately, for many of them, God is a series of mental images and absorbed beliefs… which usually are limited symbols and concepts separate from the whole of life. Beyond all this, real perception is action (beyond conclusions)… wherein the perceiving and the action are one.

Of course, when action is done to truly help others (and all life) — which may be a spiritual thing — that doesn’t mean that one becomes the actual sacred immensity. As was suggested, God, or the conceptual belief that there is no God, for many, is largely merely a concept or series of concepts. Go beyond concepts and actually inquire without pre-molded patterns from others. Passionately inquiring, and (additionally) helping others, and life, may not be a mere concept; it may be an alive, majestic order beyond the cold ordinary. Perception that is limited and incomplete does not act fully/flowingly… it reacts; reactions from (and “as”) what is limited often divide people via rigid beliefs or anti-beliefs. Indifference is a lack of perception. Real perception acts. Care, compassion, and responsibility are at its very heart.

Beyond fragmentation. Photo by Thomas Peace 2015

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Few ever go there… (and a hole in Swiss cheese… isn’t the cheese…)

January 11, 2015

2 comments

No matter how free they may think they are, all thoughts — as Albert Einstein also sagaciously pointed out — are conditioned reactions… and to go beyond conditioning is to intelligently go beyond thoughts/symbols/reactions. However, the thoughts of the brain — including the conditioned thoughts of “I” or “me” — cannot merely decide to do this whenever and however they like. Whatever is conditioned cannot (in any way, shape, method, or form) fabricate or bring about the true state of the unconditioned. Fully understanding this is deep intelligence; and in that intelligence (if one is lucky) there may be, at times, an ending — though not, of course, a permanent ending — of thought/thinking. If that ending comes about naturally, without any compulsion or methodology (which thought fabricates), then a profound silence may occur. (A fabricated silence is something which is completely different and is just another limited concoction of the brain.) In a truly profound silence is immense order and intelligence (beyond mere symbols, ideas, mental fabrications, and representations); in that silence is freedom, integrity, and wholeness; in that silence (if one is very fortunate) a profound, immeasurable, majestic, unnameable immensity may arrive. (However, much more than even unconditioned silence is involved for that immensity to present itself.) Profound silence is not conditioned, nor is it capable of being permanently held, manipulated, or retained by what is conditioned. Such silence is beyond the realm of conditioning and mundane reaction.

[A Silver-spotted Skipper Butterfly visiting a Red Clover.]

What a dining spot! Photo by Thomas Peace 2015

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Not clinging to the apron-strings of experience…

January 10, 2015

4 comments

A truly aware and mindful human being often exists beyond petty details and, concomitantly, doesn’t need to depend on stimulus after stimulus to be attentive and content. Though experience is often necessary, a deeply aware mind can sagaciously exist in (or, rather, “as”) a timeless domain beyond mundane experience (beyond the continuum of mere cause/effect relationships); or, though this may seem rather odd, it sometimes functions where experience is a minimal phenomenon that is sometimes secondary or “in the background.” If one is merely immersed in (and responding “as”) experience, one is merely part of cause and effect events (that are always partial, always conditioned). A fluid mind that is not merely dependent on causal phenomena may be whole (and not merely dependent on what is fragmentary, conditioned, and partial). Then, when such a mind is experiencing (which is often very necessary)… it does so with great sensitivity and care. Its experiencing then involves a wholeness; experiencing involved with that wholeness has sensitivity which loves nature, the rivers, the people, and the land. Then there isn’t a fragmentary, separate set of experiences that are only out for themselves.

[Walking on clouds.]

Angelic stroll. Photo by Thomas Peace 2015

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Not divorced from that…

January 7, 2015

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We’re not something isolated from our actions/reactions; we are those actions/reactions.

In flight and landed. Photo by Thomas Peace 2015

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Understanding rather than inner struggle…

December 28, 2014

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Go beyond merely having ideals of what you want to be or “should be.” Such ideals often create inner conflict and friction within (and “as”) the mind and are usually a waste of energy. Look at your actions — without separation — from moment to moment without images of desire or idealism. This doesn’t mean that one just goes on to live in a crazy, disorderly way; it does mean that perhaps attention is looking without “learned patterns,”… and, instead, with a natural, field of order that is beyond conflict, beyond the mind’s (or others’) imposed fabrications. Profound understanding and keen (uncontaminated) “observing” changes things… not stale, concocted ideals.

As a caterpillar, I didn’t desire this. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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Einstein revealed how space and time are one, but most can’t see past their fragmentation…

December 24, 2014

2 comments

It’s “there” waiting for you… that “there” that isn’t separate from what you are.

[Clouded Sulphur Butterflies getting some much needed minerals from the river bank.]

Two into one. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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It’s the old extending into preset patterns…

December 9, 2014

2 comments

Few of us actually live between the past and the future because we are obtrusions of the past reacting to (and “as”) past learned images and desires.

[Eastern Comma Butterflies are found from spring through fall in woodland and forest openings and along the edges of thickets, streams, and rivers. This one is resting along the bank of a river.]

Moist environments rock. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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Beyond distorted observation…

October 29, 2014

2 comments

Do not merely look through the screen of fragmentation that was instilled within (and “as”) your mind.

[This is not, as many might think, a Monarch Butterfly. It is a Viceroy Butterfly, resting at the base of an Oak Tree along some moss. Unlike Monarchs, Viceroy Butterflies do not migrate south for the winter. Viceroy Butterflies overwinter as caterpillars, resting inside rolled leaves. Once the weather gets a bit colder, this Viceroy will likely perish; but its caterpillar offspring will survive the winter to emerge as new, splendid butterflies.]

At the end of an excellent life! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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If you go through life in a slapdash, careless manner…

October 27, 2014

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If you go through life in a slapdash, careless manner, you’ll not only overlook the beauty of nature, but you’ll also overlook the beauty of helping others kindly.

[This Common Wood Nymph Butterfly is resting on a leaf. The coloration and size of the Common Wood Nymph Butterfly changes throughout its range in America. It is not so common any more, unfortunately.]

Not so common any longer. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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Inner and integral happiness does not cost a dime!

September 29, 2014

2 comments

Inner and integral happiness does not cost a dime!

[This is a Black Swallowtail Butterfly resting on a Thistle Flower. Black Swallowtail Butterfly eggs are yellowish and ovoid shaped, and are laid on wild and cultivated plants of the carrot family, such as parsley, parsnips, celery, and carrots. There are two broods of Black Swallowtails annually in the North, and at least three in the South.]

Black is beautiful! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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The epiphany of profound insight may occur when…

September 25, 2014

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The epiphany of profound insight may occur when the mind is naturally quiet without effort.

[A Bronze Copper Butterfly. Bronze Copper Butterflies like to frequent wet meadows. They hibernate in the egg stage.]

The Dalmatian of butterflies. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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The storyteller is the story. The butterfly is the soaring.

September 22, 2014

3 comments

The storyteller is the story. The butterfly is the soaring.

[This butterfly is an Eastern Tailed Blue. Eastern Tailed Blue Butterflies are usually blue above and a spotted pale on the underside. The larvae of a number of species of Blues secrete a type of “honeydew” cherished by ants; the ants attend the larvae, protecting them, in a symbiotic relationship.]

Resting on a windy day. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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Don’t merely think and react as you were programmed to. Be a light to yourself!

September 16, 2014

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Don’t merely think and react as you were programmed to. Be a light to yourself!

[This is a Viceroy Butterfly. Birds avoid Viceroy Butterflies if they have previously tried to eat a Monarch or a Queen Butterfly, which are poisonous. However, those birds that have not had this experience readily eat the non-poisonous Viceroy Butterflies.]

A bird’s folly. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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The dichotomy — between the “perceiver” and “that which is perceived”…

September 14, 2014

3 comments

The dichotomy — between the “perceiver” and “that which is perceived” — is essentially (psychologically) illusory and nonexistent.

[Group of Monarch Butterflies on wild flowers, gathering nectar and preparing for migration.]

Preparing for migration. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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If you have a really big nose — like I do — don’t be ashamed of it; it’s far better than…

September 7, 2014

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If you have a really big nose — like I do — don’t be ashamed of it; it’s far better than having a big, fat ego.

[This is a female Snout Butterfly. They have extensive projecting mouth parts (palpi) that resemble long snouts or noses. Similar to the metalmark butterflies, Snout Butterfly males have four walking legs and the females have six. Only one species occurs north of Mexico. The larva, which grows very rapidly, feeds on Hackberry.]

What a snoz! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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Dorothy (from the Wizard of Oz): If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any…

September 6, 2014

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Dorothy (from the Wizard of Oz): If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn’t there, I never really lost it to begin with!

[Monarch Butterfly eating from Rosy Strife Flowers.]

Close to home! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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Peace among friends…

August 29, 2014

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Nonviolence, like love and true meditation, is not a mere practice. One can’t practice what is alive, heartfelt, and beyond gross methodology.

[Male Eastern Tailed-Blue Butterfly with a flying visitor. These butterflies have approximately a one inch wingspan. These butterflies often feed on seeds and flowers of a wide variety of plants in the pea family, including clovers, beans, and wild peas.]

Peaceful friends. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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Clothes and costumes (and external pretense) don’t make the man. Compassion and integrity make the man!

August 19, 2014

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Clothes and costumes (and external pretense) don’t make the man. Compassion and integrity make the man!

[Pearl Crescent Butterfly (light variety). The Crescent Butterflies are named for the pale crescent on the outer margin of the hindwing, beneath.]

Well dressed by any standard. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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(Multi-photo)*** Photographing out in nature is so exhilarating and joyful for me that…

August 17, 2014

4 comments

Photographing out in nature is so exhilarating and joyful for me… that I oftentimes feel the equivalent of being at Disney World (minus the mosquitoes and poison ivy, of course)! There, it truly seems to me, actually are so many splendid miracles of nature that – even if Tinker Bell miraculously showed up – there couldn’t be much more of an explosion of real miracles! When I was in kindergarten and grade school, they’d say: “Tom’s not here… he’s outdoors looking for bugs and small creatures.” Retired and in my sixties, they say: “Tom’s not here… he’s outdoors looking for bugs and small creatures.”

[This is a Swallowtail mimic… a magnificent butterfly in its own right, a brushfooted butterfly known as the Red-spotted Purple, resting on some Queen Anne’s Lace. They like to hang around rivers. This one was in a wooded area along a river. Around it are flying little Midge flies (some of which have a rather Tinker Bell appearance). Unlike at Disney World, one did not have to pay any entrance fees or stand in long lines.]

Happiness is a nice day with nature. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

Don’t neglect the real beauty in life! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

That’s part of an abandoned old farm tractor to the right. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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(Multi-photo)**** with a poem by E.E. Cummings

July 27, 2014

2 comments

Spring emerged from the primitive, frozen cocoon and transformed into the majestic, yellow and fluttering summer!

from E.E. Cummings:

*********Metamorphosis*********

We’ve plodded through a weird and weary time,
Called Winter by the calendar alone;
We have beheld an earth pool-deep in slime,
Image a heaven of stone.

We’ve found life hid between the folds of mire,
Sensed life in every place, heard life in tune.
The earth-shell cracks with underneath desire;
Spring crawls from the cocoon.

Her puny wings vibrant with will to grow,
She clings, expanding like an opening eye;
More large, more able, more developed, lo,
The perfect butterfly.

Yellow Swallowtail (photo 1) (The day I took these shots, I had a feeling that I should go to Perry Farm’s prairie, because I would find spectacular Yellow Swallowtail there; as soon as I arrived, there she was!) Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

Yellow Swallowtail (photo 2) Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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Each flutter of the butterfly’s wings is a true tribute to caterpillarism! Metamorphize too!

July 5, 2014

7 comments

. Each flutter of the butterfly’s wings is a true tribute to caterpillarism! Metamorphize too!

Beyond mediocre! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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Cleanliness is not next to godliness… but genuine, heartfelt compassion is!

April 4, 2014

5 comments

. Cleanliness is not next to godliness… but genuine, heartfelt compassion is!

Clouded Sulphur Butterfly (male) on pink clover… photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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Please do not merely look through the contaminated screen of what you were taught!

March 20, 2014

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. Please do not merely look through the contaminated screen of what you were taught!

Even a butterfly can look beyond what it’s programmed to see! … photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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You can travel the whole world in pursuit of happiness, but…

February 22, 2014

2 comments

. You can travel the whole world in pursuit of happiness, but happiness is where you are (in the first place) or not at all.

A non-traveling Monarch… photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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Ours!

February 12, 2014

4 comments

. White butterfly

. darting among pinks —

. whose spirit?

. — Shiki (1867-1902)

Just another me… photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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A true, effortless silence between two thoughts can be the immense awareness that…

January 8, 2014

4 comments

. A true, effortless silence between two thoughts… can be the immense awareness that perceives without symbolism, illusory control, conflict, and separation.