Four young people saw the elderly, willowy Lo Zu walking (as he often did with his trusty meandering cane). They asked him where he was going. Lo Zu replied, “I am going nowhere and I am coming from nowhere. A truly silent mind is of no place, so it is nowhere; being of nowhere it may, thus, be everywhere.” The sagacious Lo Zu — who had immense compassion for all living things — kept on walking, leaving the young students pondering. And though he left them, he was always with them.
Each wish came upon an intangible dream.
All dreams are intangible, being the virtual aspirations or speculations that they are. In a world past dreamers, he or she who sees things as they are (beyond distortion), ironically, does not merely see things… because things are of thought’s plurality that is largely illusory and superficial (though important to respond to accordingly at times).
Life, despite what most people think, isn’t a series of things. Life is beyond the plurality of appearances that are tricks upon the mind. Life is not wholeness either, for such wholeness, for most, is just another thing, just another abstraction to dream about.
While in the garden, the handsome blue Hostas and the attractive, purple Columbine flowers were not separate from the mind; then they were beyond mere labeling and definition; spontaneously, they transformed into what cannot be described or dreamed about. Then beauty was the “observing” and was beyond mere “observing.”
In that garden,
there was careful “observing”
and there was “beyond observing.”
The two danced
in harmony
beyond fabricated plurality and
wholeness.
Curious, the ants, as to what moved
past them in a vastness.
I’ve read statements by people, in blogs and elsewhere, where they say, for example, “I meditate for 20 minutes a day.”
Please!
Meditation cannot be practiced. It is a quietude of the mind that is not made by some projected image of a central controller. There is no central controller, or “I,” or “me” that can cause meditation. Meditation is not a mere sequential effect or event (in time) brought about by some predetermined cause (i.e., by some form of causality). True meditation is timeless and is not what can occur by any methodology in (and “as”) psychological time. If you think that you are causing so-called meditation to happen for a specified period of time (each day or whatever), it is — unfortunately — a form of glorified self-hypnosis.
Real meditation is not even what one can “know” is happening. It is beyond the field of the known. One can neither practice it nor know that it is happening… and that is its beauty. But most people are so addicted to their need to categorize and “know” things that they feel frightened or insecure with not existing (mentally) as the known. They perpetually cling to the apron-strings of the known. They have to know that they are meditating or know that they are practicing meditation… all of which are not real meditation whatsoever.
Or they say such things as, “Well I am working on perfecting my meditation,”… or “I am practicing my meditation more and more each day.” Who (or what) is this so-called “I” that is supposedly doing such things? Really, if we are at all honest, it is a protrusion of thought (i.e., an image created by thought) that takes credit for being a central controller or central (mental) orchestrator, of which it is (in actuality) neither. Most people — plain and simply — are afraid to transcend the false sense of security that the primitive notion of a central “I” projects as. However, a false (fabricated) central “I” that thinks it is meditating is neither meditating, nor an actuality, nor truly central. (Past blogs that one has written explain this more; read them if confusion exists at this point.)
Real meditation may occur when the mind, without effort, is aware beyond superficiality. That means that it is not merely attached to the field of the known. The known is always limited; it is grossly circumscribed. Wisdom is meditation, a non-concocted quietness, which may happen throughout the day without deliberate intent. Then, perhaps, what is eternal, sacred, unlimited, and beyond words may enter. But it does not enter if false notions, false practices, and false images are perpetually clung to.
Real meditation can be a blossoming of the mind. But if you (metaphorically) cling to fake, fabricated flowers all of your life, nothing profound will happen.
Fourteen steps climbed to the top
from the bottom
An hour and fifteen minutes moved a short hand
and a long hand
One fishing line ignorantly reeled in
what it thought it wasn’t
Three opinions typed what
was surely right
Seven sayings scanned the screen
in a zigzag fashion
Thirty-seven pieces of candy
looked forward to Halloween
Twenty-five Black-Eyed Susans were arrested
for trespassing
Wishy and Washy were fun-loving gals
and many folks knew that both were loyal (trueblue) pals
Washy (without Wishy) went to the laundromat (with a basket that she had her clothes in);
later, the clothes were all swishy and went into full-spin
Wishy, however, was sitting in her comfortable, convenient chair
pining for great nature photos at which she could stare
So, instead of viewing blog photos of nature (which you often appreciate)
get over to the clothes-washer and put your laundry in (because it’s getting late)
Purple Wildflowers … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
The ecstasy in the green luscious garden
flaps its wings in harmony
pert antennae sensing all the smells
in the rapture beyond the kitchen window
Lovely colors moving all around
flower to flower endlessly
cares not a bit about the past
or what the future might just be
Rubbing stamen amongst the stigma
in a style Oh so clean
purity in every blossom
here between the trees and golden honeybees
Collecting nectar sweet and no antiques
living fresh in every moment
time’s illusion not for me
beyond the world’s vast confusion
Ecstasy in the Green Luscious Garden … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
If one is merely a marionette, repeating what others poured into you, then what you say and do will usually be rather robotic, quite puppet-like… though it will seem quite pleasant and socially acceptable to you (while you feel quite unique). There are so many standardized lemmings out there. To question things fundamentally, deeply, with substantial passion, takes great intelligence. That great intelligence (naturally) is largely constituted of immense vastness, which inherently includes compassion. Compassion acts beyond many of the limits of ordinary perception. It perceives beyond all of the mundane, superficial, circumscribed borders. It is not tethered by stale, dinosaurian, antiquated beliefs. Such intelligence (i.e., such profound, penetrating insight) is extremely rare in the world as it now exists; miseducation has a lot to do with it. Acceptance of mediocrity has a lot to do with it.
Wild Spiderwort … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
The grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence.
The flower at a distance always looks better than the one you are standing on.
Separation is a definite illusion.
Young Katydid pining for a distant flower … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Part 1
The sunset stared at separate birds
as he pendulously walked into what he thought he wasn’t.
His disconnection with everything — like the day — was ironically complete:
A separate “me” scratching an arm that was “his” and
there to use from a “distance.”
Part 2
She was the blossoms that she helped grow.
Their colors were colors that were of purplish her.
She was that towering Oak Tree
but to her, it wasn’t an Oak Tree;
it simply was what it was (beyond labels)
and was not separate from any “me” within her,
for she was beyond all “me”s.
She was the beautiful blossoming of wholeness.
a little bit of her … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Many stuffy politicians can pull many
into their stupefaction
pull many into their (paid-for-by-
the-fossil-fuel-industries)
raisons d’etre
(which include bona fide lies)
but as for a rogue like me,
well, the cheese in their trap
is made of distorted
(though expensive and smelly)
cardboard
Apolitical photo … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Makes a living by searching for nectar
Sleeps where it eats
Doesn’t have to pay taxes
Doesn’t have to worship at stone temples that replaced nature
Doesn’t need to propound fancy opinions
Doesn’t ruin the environment by traveling in fossil fuel vehicles
Is a pacifist and has no crazy leaders
Common Blue / Spring Azure Butterfly and a scrawny caterpillar … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Most people are deeply afraid of intrinsically being nothing. They, deep within, have enormous fear about existing as emptiness. They’ll “try” various meditative techniques to “attain some kind of emptiness that they can control,” but these techniques all depend on time (which is merely a postponement and — really — a duplicitous psychological excuse to use a so-called psychological center to continue to be manipulating and “getting there”). They may conjure up a fabricated emptiness (under their control) and continue to pretend that it is something special (that “they” have); this further reinforces internal possession and, with it, the “I” of domination/possession. Profound emptiness is not merely brought about by any psychological cause, by any psychological effort. However, the exclusive cause-effect mentality has been deeply ingrained within us. That is how most of us operate and that is the only way most of us know how to operate. Psychological — not physical — ending to the known neither requires effort, technique, nor time; really, it is timeless living. Regarding psychological emptiness, it is foolish to run away from it (and it is foolish to fabricate it). (Accurate thinking has its place, but it is only a tool; one part of a conditioned “network of tools” identifying itself as “the controller” is a form of crudity and ignorance.)
The nothingness that most conjure up, unfortunately, is a fabrication. The beauty of true nothingness/emptiness is that… when it actually occurs, the magnificence of wholeness and profound eternity exists. To be deeply afraid of that, then, is delusive and fallacious.
There was a man
who was afraid of the emptiness of a flower
He ran from that emptiness
Ignorance fled from what was the door to immeasurably immense beauty
Flower Power (Emptiness) … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
My favorite walk
is when I am not there
but is when everything around
is what one is not separate from
Then there is no I
but only the wonderment of eternity
and everything about
is magical splendid mysterious
whole
Open and Alive … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
How important is it to perceive deeply in life? (Have you ever asked yourself that question?) Is the essence of all life and existence rather meaningless and superficial, such that no matter how deeply one perceives, it (i.e. such perception) may be essentially a waste of energy in the long run? Could it be that there is something in life that is immensely profound, such that looking deeply allows great, eternal treasures to manifest and blossom?
A broken mind, a mind crippled by such things as bad dietary habits, poor sleep, and by propaganda media designed to mold minds (for ulterior reasons), of course, would not be able to look deeply (if true depth really exists in the first place). It would likely be content with living a superficial, second-hand life that would accept within the limits of that superficiality (though, to it, such superficiality would seem plenty deep enough). Through miseducation, stagnation is often learned, absorbed, clung to, and cherished.
To go through life merely believing in something without ever having actually perceived it (without delusion) is a tragic thing. A belief that something does not exist, (without ever having perceived wholly), is an equally tragic thing. Both are — despite people arguing otherwise — empty acceptances. Stagnant minds cannot perceive because they have been shaped and molded by other minds that (also) are limited. Minds can change, however; the mind is a dynamic and wonderful thing (if real care is taken). Stagnation can end. Contamination can end.
There are plenty of gullible people deluding themselves (and others) about having had experienced something profound or “otherworldly.” However, i would suggest waking up and discovering and passionately finding out for yourself. Look with every fiber of energy that you have. No one else is going to do it for you; that is for sure! How critical, how important is this “discovering and passionately finding out (for ourselves)” in our lives? Personally, i feel that it has profoundly immense and eternal consequences. Of course, there might be a chance that i am very wrong, but find out; there may be real magic out there!
[Note: Marla is out of the hospital — after her fourth reconstructive shoulder surgery — and is doing well. I am acting as her nurse and am helping her with enteral feedings and other medical-oriented things. She is calling me “Nurse Matilda”! 🙂 ]
Miniature Wildflower – Purple Deadnettle (3/4ths of an inch long total for full arrangement)… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Spring involves renewal, growth, and new life. The mind can be like spring… growing, blossoming, becoming more alive and vibrant. That cannot happen if the mind remains like the frozen, hard crystals of winter, clinging with coldness and frozen in rigid beliefs, dogmas, and ideologies. The truly blossoming mind must be alive, unassuming, dynamic, perceptive, flexible, and truly vibrant. Those set in their ways may be like dead concrete, full of stale blindness toward life as it really is.
Deep perception and compassion are not two separate things. Profound (alive) insight and psychologically dying to stale beliefs are not two separate things.
Hyacinth with Early Spring Insect … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
When you reach out to others
you are reaching out to yourself
When you help beautiful nature
you are healthfully curing yourself
When you reach out to the lost
you are finding you’re found
When truly one with nature
you are color and sound
________________________________________________________________________________________
[Note: My wonderful wife, Marla, will soon again be having major shoulder surgery — for the fourth time on her problematic shoulder — and i may not be able to reply to my blog (or visit other people’s blogs for a while when that happens); my postings are all prescheduled, so they will continue to appear, only i will not be available to comment on them;please keep this in mind. Thank you!!!]
Reaching Out to Yourself … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
The emergence of Sweet Spring
one purplish thing
beyond all of the sorrow and sting
that sullen contrived fear must bring
The Emergence of Spring … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
Spring Beauty
you are always
(timelessly there)
and so amazingly new
in your selfless sharing
You help make the woodlands
simply magical
Your fragility
transcends transience
with joyous eternity
___________________________________________________________________________________________
[Note: The common name for this Illinois woodland wildflower is Spring Beauty. The entire width of the flower is less than 1/2 inch (around one centimeter wide). This wildflower is still rather common throughout Illinois. It, fortunately, can survive more environmental disruption than most wildflowers. Its eternal essence has nothing to do with its persistence in Illinois or elsewhere.]
Spring Beauty … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
A this and that must wear its hat
while hoping for balmy weather
The meaning of life is to give life meaning
us on this ship together
This hole of fate in a piece of cake
in a jumble of rhyme and reason
A warm cup of Joe for Larry and Moe
while Curley’s out of doors just freezin’
A sitting duck amongst the muck
as the hunter takes keenly careful aim
It’s like shooting fish in a barrel for him
he’s happy as a clam but it’s himself he’ll maim
We all run the tough gauntlet in this crazy rat race world
many down in the dumps without a clue
The smoke and mirrors gunshots and tears
must do an about turn and fathom out what is true
Upcloseandpersonal … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
One might say that the Iris flower in the accompanying photo is very beautiful. However, real (profound) beauty surpasses what is superficially evident. Profound beauty goes far beyond mere recognition and superficiality. Hitler, for instance, loved flowers; he often gave them to others as gifts. Most of us see, but don’t see. Most of us are neither dead nor alive. It is very ironic, actually. We take for granted that we can see… perceive. We look with separation — between a so-called “center” and “what is seen.” Is seeing partially, seeing fragmentarily, seeing with tainted (i.e., corrupt) eyes… really seeing at all? Most of us accept the authority of others and we look at things in the ways that authority has dictated. We have wholeheartedly accepted a life of imitation, slavishness, being tied to systems, jobs, and routines that are making us more and more robotic, more and more mundane; and we automatons don’t see anything wrong with it. We perceive what we were programmed to perceive; we accept what we were programmed to accept; we fear what we were programmed to fear; we loathe what we were programmed to loathe. We dupe ourselves into thinking that we are somehow out of the box when, all along, we are firmly inside the box. We are the box. We fit into the pattern — that they fabricated — quite nicely, and then we die. That is how most of us (supposedly) live.
That can change if one is serious enough. The integrity and health of the world depend on such seriousness and profundity. Oneself and the world are not two separate things.
Flowering out of the box… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
It is so easy to psychologically get into a muddle with things and (still) think that one is doing well. We get situated in a psychological morass without suspecting that that is the situation. We continue to feel that we are performing sufficiently. Self-deception is so very easy, so very possible (with dire consequences), yet few of us look deeply into it and investigate whether it is affecting us. In my blog, for instance, sometimes existing beyond the “self” or existing beyond the supposedly central “I” is sometimes discussed. Many people tend to shun such talk; it makes them feel less comfortable, less psychologically secure, less self-asserting. Ironically, however, it may be metaphorically like remaining in bed all day (under the sheets) to keep oneself “safe” and “unharmed.” However, all the while in such a situation, one is not getting the exercise and joy in life that is there (and the body ends up perishing sooner with many problematic issues).
It is so easy to be duped in life… so easy to be misled. Miseducation has a lot to do with it, and miseducation is rampant in most societies. Learning to be a nurse or a carpenter is one thing (which is good), but many — if not most — of us are brought up and miseducated in ways to bind us to psychological mayhem. One thinks that one is separate from the fears that occur, for example; then one tries to control the fears from an (internal) distance. That very distance reinforces the concept of “I” that thinks that it is separate from the fears. Many fears are protrusions of thought/thinking about what the future might be; the concept of “I” (or “me”) is also a protrusion of thought/thinking. One protrusion thinks that it must control another protrusion; one conditioned reaction projects that it must control another reaction. However, there is a fundamental absurdity with this.
Fear dissipates (fundamentally) not by pseudo-manipulation by a false process but by deep understanding and penetrating insight. The utter chaos, friction, indifference, and violence of our current society is a projection and reflection of the inner disorder within each one of us. Hate is not something that one merely has; it is what one actually is. When hate is a reaction (in one)… one is the hate… one is not merely something that has hate. Hate involves separation, friction, and distance… much like the separation, friction, and distance between the “I” (or swollen ego) that thinks that it is different (or apart) from the fears that take place.
Many of us can transcend the muddle that we are in — that we exist as — and that takes understanding and insight… not mere internally deceptive effort. Don’t be bamboozled by false processes that were absorbed in (and “as”) the past.
Blossoming beyond friction… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
The cadence of song
saw its pinkish-purple notes
and yellow hues
while sweet nectar
was just icing on the cake
The Cadence of Song … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
from Kobayashi Issa (c. 1818):
“Never forget:
We walk on hell,
gazing at flowers.”
from Thomas Peace:
One of the problems about hell
is that most who are in it
do not realize that they are in it.
One of the problems of hell
is that a few in it
(realizing they are in it)
are not listened to or
understood by those
in it (not realizing they are in it).
Who in the hell has
all of the right answers?
Nobody!
Ant on Stella Daylily … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
We so habitually separate. We, psychologically, separate the perceiver from “that which is perceived” so readily, so habitually, just as we were taught… and just as primitive conflicting, opposing factors (over eons) have dictated. Time, additionally, is separated. Of course, chronologically, actual physical time (in many, limited respects) has sections, but we, psychologically, almost constantly live in (and “as”) the past, as learned (stored) symbols, words, and concepts (of the past) that we constantly use (and are protrusions of what was poured into us). What is projected internally (psychologically) is what we are (i.e., what we actually are) fundamentally. If we remain in the old and limited, we remain old (internally) and limited. Even our concepts about the future are extensions of past accumulated (old) symbols/patterns. (Even when we think that we often live in the present, we — in actuality — do not.)
One can’t choose to perceive correctly… any more than one can choose to be wise or choose to be a genius. Choice and will are not keys to vast understanding. Understanding takes place when limited perception and fragmentation are not dominating factors. Will and choice are crude extensions of limited fragmentation; the chooser separating himself (or herself) from the choice is a mere continuity of primitive, illusory, fragmentary opposites. When fragmentation and limited perception no longer dominate, then there is a wholeness that is not the result of a mold or a mere blueprint.
Wildflower Flower Pods … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018 .JPG
When we two
met
it was the most
enchanting, beautiful thing
and it still is
We were destined to be
togetheryou
see
Torenia Summer Wave Violet … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
This isn’t one of those fake
flowers
all artificial
It is a growing (yard-flower)
of life
It doesn’t have artificial
bottle-sprayed
drops
They are genuine drops
from the
crying skies
What is important
is not in
the pictures you take
or the money you make
What is important
is to be
someone who is
not artificial
and not someone
stuck there to be yanked
from strings by
mediocrity
Bellis Pompomette … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
If people were sweet like flowers
this world wouldn’t be going to hell
and so much would beautifully smell
Become a Flower… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
As it fell from my
hands into the river,
my second-rate, semi-waterproof
camera was drowning.
I tried to give it mouth-to-
mouth resuscitation
but then received a
massive jolt of electricity
into my flared chops.
As I remained passed-out
on the riverbank,
sweet images of beautiful flowers
crawled in my head
and I smiled,
realizing that a camera
was no longer needed.
Wildflowers and Soldier Beetle… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
Why should Haiku involve
the counting of syllables?
This isn’t Sesame Street!
Face to face with a Red Admiral… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
Not decapitated
Not put in a coffin-like vase
to beautify hell
Midges with Tulip growing Outdoors… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
When this photo took itself,
blossoms danced with joy,
pasts, presents, and futures
soundly did not employ
With this movement’s perceiving,
nature was at home,
politicians, priests didn’t matter,
Beauty was alone
Forest Floor Flowers… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
Intelligently go beyond what everyone has ever taught you about anything. Reality is totally different from what society has thought it to be.
Much secondhand thought — and all thought is residual and secondhand — is an impediment to receiving direct insight, direct perception.
The caring, intelligent mind recycles and helps to keep our oceans more free of polluting plastics and unnatural debris. The other kind of mind just doesn’t care.
True joy is walking through the woods, silently listening and effortlessly watching — without separation — the creatures of nature.
Forget beliefs! Find out!
A closed mind, like a closed flower bud, isn’t there yet.
In compassion, there is no separate “you” and “I.”
Little birds who don’t joyfully tweet at the morning return of the rising sun… we call atheists.
Action and understanding are sometimes beautifully, wholly, one and the same thing; mere reaction, darkly, is not usually what involves deep understanding.
[Note: Photograph is of tiny Spring Beauty Wildflowers (Claytonia virginica) in a wooded area. Each flower is about 8 mm. (1/3″) across when it is fully open, consisting of 5 petals, 2 green sepals, 5 stamens with pink anthers, and a pistil. The petals are white with fine pink stripes; these stripes vary from pale pink to bright pink.]
Spring Beauty Wildflower (Claytonia virginica)… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
It came when we weren’t expecting it to come
beyond the moonlit glow
It came when we weren’t expecting it to come
beyond the realm of know
It came when we weren’t expecting it to come
such bliss energy and love
It came when we were not existing separately
that eternal immeasurability from above
Budding Beginnings… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
Gardening is easy.
It’s pollinating that’s hard.
It’s not just the bees!
[Note: After photographing this Ladybug, one noticed that, while covered in pollen, she was frantically intent on getting on to the next, adjacent flower. There aren’t many of their aphid insect prey targets around in early spring; eating pollen and helping pollen producers is a wise alternative.]
Beetle Pollination… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
Once we looked at the tiniest little thing
it looked up with caring innocent eyes
its heart was bigger than what all words mean
Once perception was more than me
looking was deeper than distance and time
living was beyond becoming or be
Wildflowers with Beetles, deep in the woods … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
“We need rain today!”
“It’s what the Mayapples say,”
cries the 1st of May.
Mayapple Plant on Forest Floor… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
One little raindrop
on wildflower youandme
alltogetherwe
[Early Spring Wildflower deep in the woods… with one sole, little raindrop.]
Early Spring Wildflower Deep in the Woods… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
the mightiest miracle that ever was
poured forth as love in endless spring
way beyond unfeeling indifference and hateful ways
far from the fallacies when the coldhearted cling
as ziggy went zaggy while up followed down
as dizzy was dazzy while on-hold with a phone
flowering be beautiful without perfect face
kitelike insects kept ringing wisdom to alone
unknowable joy peace truth radiant bloom
mediocre fight hates minds with delight
you are the light at the apex of noon
holding onto sorrow being blindness loving night
Springtime Tinge (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
Springtime Tinge (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
Spring rides the steep entrance
beyond cold death’s down
She is everywhere growing joyfully
Green groping marvels reaching
not muchtheworseforwear
Innumerable gladnesses bursting gleefully
Fearless emerging singingly feels
far from icecold nothing’s heels
Flames of jubilant splendor
Spring (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
Spring (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
When wily mediocrity mingled
impressing dozens of cadaverous friends
When superficiality stagnated
content with parts and very dead ends
Where innocence’s insight fully flowered
near caring doubt’s entwining now
With timelessness everlastingly
not separate from the whole of life somehow
Soldier Beetle in Chives (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
Soldier Beetle in Chives (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
As we were suggesting in recent previous posts, when things — such as fears or desires — are seen with a psychological distance, then that very (separative) perception reinforces the (supposed) gap between the perceiver and that which is perceived. When, for instance, fear is seen as something that one “has,” it is usually seen as what is manipulated (from a distance) by an internal, psychological “I” or “me.” In actuality, the mind (the entity) is not something separate from what the fear is. The fear is what you “are”; it is not merely what you “have.” Perceiving fear from a psychological distance — such as what most minds do — tends to firmly reinforce the notion of a manipulating “I” or center who (supposedly) can, over time, deal with the fear. The fraudulent thing regarding that, though, is that — in reality — the fear is not (whatsoever) separate from what the mind is. Looking at the fear with internal distance, from a supposed internal “I” or “me,” reinforces the assumption of an “I” or “me” that is separate from what is perceived (internally); such an assumption, used habitually, as it is, is imagination reinforcing itself. Perceiving, for instance, fear, sadness, or desire, from a psychological distance — as most people do — reinforces and actually helps fabricate a separate “I” or “me,” (who allegedly “has” those things).
Internally developed fear, per se, depends upon psychological time; without psychological time, internally developed fear would not exist. And we think we can (from an internal distance) understand, over time, psychological fear! We create a separate “analyzer” who is going to analyze internally. However, the analyzer actually is the analyzed. Analysis takes time; additionally, time is required to manufacture a separate “I” who is different from the fear. Does one just want to “get rid” of fear? It may be one part of the mind trying to get rid of another part… being in conflict with it. It may be far more prudent to understand it (i.e. the fear which is yourself), and it may be that one cannot fully understand it if one thinks that it is separate from what one is.
Someone might say, “What is the benefit of seeing all this?” If, for instance, fear takes place and there is an acute perception and accurate relationship regarding (and “as”) that fear… then it can be fully perceived as it is, and not with some extraneous images or imaginings of a separate “I” who is somehow separate from it and in conflict with it. (Conflict is friction and may not solve anything fundamentally.) The extraneous images — of a separate controller or of a separate “I” or “me” — disallow the full perception of the fear as it really is… and tend to waste time by projecting a separate image (or images) that supposedly will do something about the fear. Fear is what one actually is; then a separate image is created by the mind to get rid of, suppress, overcome, analyze, or somehow adjust to the fear. This creates duality and conflict in the mind that essentially leads to friction, limitation, and time wastage. False, inner fragmentation, no matter how sophisticated it may be, is fundamentally (in most cases) what contributes to friction, and it is essentially a waste of time and energy.
People erroneously associate going beyond a central “I” or “me” with a lack of security, with a lack of inner integrity. On the contrary, real integrity exists in perceiving things as they actually are, without introducing fallacious images and a lot of primitive rigmarole into the picture. Bliss and understanding the essence of real eternity can exist only when one psychologically dies to the ungrounded and phony images that one, unfortunately, has been taught (over time) to carry. Such psychological dying is what is truly living, and such living involves direct, untainted, pristine, beautiful perception. It may be that real baptism occurs when one’s consciousness is washed clean of cold deception, false accumulation, and dead tradition.
Wasp in Chives (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
Wasp in Chives (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
At rainbow’s edge
deeper than dawn’s iron light
sweeter than sideswiping dominoes falling
Silence is
and distance and measure are nothing
Kiss unfolding bloom from the night
Dark lies forever shattered and tattered
The smiling fragrance of your while
purer than sorrow that worries as
thoughts of tomorrow
Unfolding Roses (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
Unfolding Roses (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018 .JPG
[Addendum: We saw the movie “Wonder” the other day; it was excellent; highly recommended!]
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But here
amongst
the light of shine
why couldn’t
when arcing was
as shading stared
even when
something moved
ever so
graciously
amid
perceptions reactions
and you’re
blinking
Amongst the Light of Shine (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017
Amongst the Light of Shine (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017
Here I am riding on the Solar Sunflower Express
in first class.
Down below,in third class,a lowly soldier beetle rests;
he has connections on the web
but he is way below my esteemed riches.
I have my feelers out for the lush,green cash to be had,
and I feel secure in my dominance and expertise.
As for the servile soldier beetle,well,
he better hope that he is fit enough to fight in the
battles that I decree.
Now please excuse me while I give some
top-rate tobacco a little chew.
Riding the Solar Sunflower Express (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017
Riding the Solar Sunflower Express (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017
A nonmediocre novelty lasted for relaxed nonseparative miles
as we drove past steady sunflowers who sweetly worshipped the sun
In a divided disorganized planet of perplexed savage wars
omniscient order majestically does nevertheless easily run
Multitudinous millipedes mingled in the downbelow grasses
as businesslike bumblebees hurriedly bustled in blossoms far up above
And the saintly sun’s devotees seemed to move like precision clockwork
with a passionate proclivity for life and for love
Sunflower Time (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017
Sunflower Time (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017
The turning of the key looked south
and the room peered deeper into itself
When the circumscribed room left itself
it was outdoors where it was no longer a room
Gentle breezes again looked south
and the radiant depths of the garden penetrated the mind
Oh,dear Emily,that blue fly that interposed upon your death,
was she very alive in your confined,secluded space?
Ms.Dickinson,was that stillness what can never die,
even when the windows,with all their keepsakes,
fail?
Eternal Blooms (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017
Eternal Blooms (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017
It is very easy to come to conclusions about things. Some things that many come to conclusions about seem like cut-and-dried facts that can be taken for granted. Often we come to conclusions about the behavior of others… when, however — over time — they have changed far from what we have “concluded.” In past postings, one has often written about transcending or dissolving the central “me” or “I.” Some people, no doubt, have concluded that doing so is foolish or even very dangerous. Many cling to that fabricated image of self and are terrified and very frightened about letting it go. It is very likely that their love of the absolute truth is likely not nearly as strong as the love and attachment to that image. Really perceiving — not merely intellectually — the falsity and delusion that a supposed central psychological controller inherently consists of, we maintain, is neither foolish nor dangerous. On the contrary, it helps eradicate the very root of conflict that causes so much indifference, neglect, and hatred in the world of man. Perception beyond such a fallacious center does not, as many might presume, tend to negate eternity for us. On the contrary, it may be that the eternal can more readily be perceived and appreciated once the supposed central “me” or “I” is truly transcended.
One read a post by someone, recently, that matter-of-factly pointed out that everything is temporary and that we all must die and come to a complete end. Coming to a complete end is, so they say, coming to a conclusion. Many people, while they are alive, come to conclusions — about many things — without ever having deeply and independently inquired. They absorb what was poured into them by others… and from there they — as self-appointed experts — spew out more and more myopic conclusions. However, we may presently live in a very primitive and crass world culture and a lot of what the so-called educators say may be utter rubbish. If, as most do, you fall into the standard or common lines of thinking (about things)… then it may be that you are making a grave mistake and are fundamentally making very deleterious decisions with (and “as”) the essence of your life. As one has stated before in some of my previous postings, some of the world’s top-notch scientists have said that reality is likely far different, in its fundamental nature, from what many of us have thought or suspected. Indeed!
Question everything that people tell you and everything that i say. Go beyond all the standard ways of looking at things and looking at the world. Perceive without looking through the screen of perception that others have built for you to look through (and “with”). Then, if you are very lucky, you will go beyond most of the fundamental conclusions; and then eternity will not merely be a representational symbol as part of your brain; then your essence will never come to any final conclusion.
Beyond Conclusions (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017
Beyond Conclusions (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017
Most of us see things in fragments (just as we were taught to). The intrinsic nature of thinking is, in itself, fragmentary. Thought, being symbolic, being limited, being merely representational, can never perceive the whole. Since most of us cling to thought, worship thought, and are tied to thought… we seldom, or never, perceive the whole. The whole cannot be seen through — or by — the fragments. People enmeshed in (and “as”) this fragmentation often then choose a priest, a guru, a zen monk, a leader, or an authority (and some techniques) to lead them to truth. Out of their fragmentation, out of their confusion… they choose someone to lead or guide them; or they choose some technique or method. (Out of their confusion, they choose.) It may be, however, that there is no path or map to the pathless… no authority, no procedure — in time and that takes time — to get to the timeless.
Few truly stand alone without depending on outside authority. Few, further still, go beyond inside authority. One can easily say that one is free and is not influenced by outside authority… while, all along, one is heavily embellished with structures (internally) that were — long ago — poured into one by outside authoritarian influences. One can maintain that one is untethered by outside authority, yet (internally) be riddled with conditioning stemming from outside structures and patterns that came from others early in one’s life and over the years. A mind that truly goes beyond the outside and accumulated inside molds and patterns is quite extraordinary and blessed. Eternity and the sacred then manifest. No one can take you there… not even your accumulated structures and sense of self. It takes real humility to go beyond your own accumulated patterns and judgments… real innocence and freedom. That true freedom, that true humility and innocence is a psychological dying; there is no method to “do” it. That unshaped (non-concocted) psychological dying is nothing cadaverous or to be afraid of; it is majestic life beyond canned, dead molds. The profound magic and the bliss are not in the limited patterns — including your own — that anyone can give.
Up close and personal (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017
Up close and personal (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017
In the deep well of the mind, people often get bucketfuls of conclusions. It is through these conclusions that they perceive and contemplate the world. For many years, each of us has been groomed and molded to be the responsive use of these buckets. Our buckets have been carefully tailored and manufactured; their contents were shaped and influenced by the limited, fashioned nature of the buckets. So, our contents were molded and adapted to suit particular needs, objectives, and purposes. Our buckets were produced and fabricated by society to help society continue to exist in the way that it deems necessary.
Bringing up well water one bucket at a time may be fine for some time (and in certain respects). However, it involves very limited amounts. Our bucketfuls of thoughts, too, are very limited and fragmentary. There is a whole lot more down there… and a fragmentary, limited process may never afford one with the opportunity to deeply examine, deeply explore. Our buckets are full of symbols and representations, not actualities; yet, so many of us are indoctrinated with them and accept them as actual realities. Most of us were so imbued with limited bucketfuls that we rarely, if ever, consider going beyond the limited nature of what they consist of. We are so permeated by the bucket-mentality of limited, sequential symbols and images, we never even consider going deeper.
Mentally, we are perpetually bringing tidbits and symbols to the surface (and taking that to be reality). There is a superficiality that is merely at the surface. There may be an untapped, vast, deep stream of activity much deeper; however, most remain oblivious to it, unaware and unmindful of what is taking place in a much deeper and unlimited way. The notion of a separate self (apart from others and all life) is one of the limited buckets that society has developed and filled for each one of us; our current society, however, may be very primitive and crude, both psychologically and in regard to life’s deeper meanings. One can cling to the sequential bucketfuls, one at a time if one wants to; that so-called “one” that wants to, however, is not different from the buckets or their symbolic contents. Symbols are fragmentary representations and are not actualities.
Depths of nectar (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017
Depths of nectar (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017
We all suffer. We suffer physically and psychologically. None of us escape it. Here is a little secret about the true nature of suffering: It is neither just yours nor mine; it is universal. It is our suffering. We all share in it… some more than others. When one of us suffers… we all suffer.
So many of us habitually run from suffering. We use all kinds of legal and illegal drugs to escape from suffering. There are plenty of drug-addicted and alcohol addicted people in the world, many of whom insist that they don’t have a problem and can stop whenever they wish to. Instead of habitually fleeing from suffering, few of us have embraced it without separation, without deep-seated bias and friction. Of course, if suffering is overwhelmingly intense (physically), then one would naturally not care to embrace it or have much of a relationship with it. A wise mind, however, may act — and not merely react — to milder forms of suffering in ways unlike what most people do.
Unlike most minds, the wise mind rarely suffers psychologically. A mind that is wise — due to understanding itself and its contents — is of a vast, immense order. Such order is a flame that incinerates the chaotic disorder that psychological suffering feeds upon; hence, psychological suffering, for such a mind, dissipates. Order doesn’t easily manifest as disorder. A mind that is truly orderly rarely suffers.
Thinking, in human beings, stems from (and involves) problem-solving. Thinking is a tool. Many of us continue to think (and entertain thought) even when thinking is no longer necessary. This strict adherence to thought/thinking is a distorted habit that nourishes all kinds of psychological disorder. Thinking is largely symbolic and representative; merely existing as one symbol after another (in sequence) is much like substituting symbols and signs for the real thing. Such substitution rarely leads to lasting joy and pristine revelry; accepting shadows as reality rarely leads to sunlit bliss. Too many of us were educated wrongly; thinking is only a tool; it need not be the essence of consciousness. If you have made tools as the essence of your consciousness, you are bound to suffer.
A wise mind can exist beyond the tools, beyond the shadows, beyond mere symbols and abstractions. Such a mind is beyond suffering (though it has immense empathy); it never needs to take recreational drugs, alcohol, or take antidepressants. Wisdom begins when psychological suffering ends.
Diminutive wildflowers (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017
Diminutive wildflowers (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017
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