flowers | Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog

All Posts Tagged ‘flowers’

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Going beyond outside authority and inside authority…

July 2, 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

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The mindless… and the deep well of the mind…

June 11, 2017

26 comments

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

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Beyond Self Suffering…

June 4, 2017

19 comments

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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Poem of One

May 19, 2017

23 comments

Of course,everything that we ever warmly saw

was exactly what we were

With this,clocks might disagree

or limited walls of where

just as when the frost yawns

or the tide jumps

or the winds,in their caprice,

change their minds about moving

Suddenly they shouted

and their shout was what we were

and always will be

as when the sun and flowers

dance so close that each

the other is

or how birds fly in unison

as one organism

together but not

as many

Like when the poetic words

and the reader are

not two separate things

when why the she and he

of love is not

the cold separatist

apart from analysis

Dancing (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017

Dancing (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017

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Appearance matters…

May 14, 2017

14 comments

Appearance matters. However, what is much deeper matters much more. To look elegant and spectacular on the outside, yet to have an inside that is corrupt, uncaring, tainted, depressed, and disorderly… is a bit of a sorry waste. Many wear fancy suits and ties or fashionable dresses that look sensational; however, sensations are one thing, real order and profundity are another. To have a marvelous house, an impeccable lawn, a stunning car, and name-brand clothes is one thing; to be internally rich, orderly, caring, perceptive, and sagacious… is another. Most of us were groomed and tutored to chase after — and care about — the outward things. Most were not deeply encouraged to care about the inward things.

Though many have riches, possessions, and fancy clothes, a huge number of them are not beaming with ongoing joy and compassion. It may be that real richness, in life, has little to do with possessions and things; rather, it involves order beyond separation, accumulation, groping, and mere desire. A profound, inward order cannot occur when the mind merely falls for outward appearances and ordinary values. The real treasure is not out there “to get”; distance and time have nothing to do with it. Why have so many of us depended, so heavily, on distance and time? At the precise moment that the mind seeks pleasure… joy is gone. We are not suggesting that one should not do pleasurable things now and then; just don’t get mesmerized by a pursuit that may often not be necessary at all.

With the real ending of distance and separation — not the mere abstraction of an ending or intellectualization about ending — joy is blossoming, compassion is blossoming. Then there is no striving for superficial things. Depth does not cling to superficiality. To see this, one must perceive beyond the surface.

Just beeing (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017

Just beeing (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017

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Learned meditation is not meditation…

April 23, 2017

25 comments

Meditation — so-called meditation — is often compartmentalized by people to fit into a certain part of their day or week. During a specific time, they then practice what they’ve been taught in order to achieve something. However, the real thing may not be what the two aforementioned sentences shine a light on. The real thing may occur all day long, even as one is driving a car, walking on a wooded path, planting flowers, or washing windows. It may involve watching (without learned separative images or opinions) at the way you talk to others at work, or the way the mind reacts to a hurt creature or mentally sick person. Then the mind is aware… not according to someone else’s blueprint, not according to someone else’s concocted methodology… but just naturally, completely, effortlessly, without mere past conditioning. Meditation is extremely simple, but our complex minds are often too “knotted up” to perceive directly without looking through the contaminated screen of past knowledge. We were brainwashed to perpetually categorize everything, to look with a fabricated space from a learned image (of a supposed central “controller”) at things (via separation). That separation was traditionally inherited or learned. Even when there are no problems, we invent problems to solve. Another thing: we, as so many others, constantly strive to be perpetually entertained. What if we needn’t always be entertained? What are so many using entertainment to escape from? If our inner selves were not so imbued with limitation and stagnation… then maybe we wouldn’t be so disturbed about not being entertained and with facing what we (internally) really are.

Mindfulness, too, has those so-called experts who tell you how to manufacture clever, little tricks in order to keep your mind “mindful.” However, a mind that merely uses procedures from others (and little tricks) to be aware… is aware as a result of something. Profound awareness is not a mere result, however, but hypnosis and being a mere automaton certainly is. The real thing is not what someone can teach you to be, or give you to absorb (or mechanically practice). Real meditation is measureless and beyond conditioning… and what is measureless and unconditioned cannot merely be learned from another. The one who truly meditates does not know that he or she is meditating; nor does he or she care to know. However, in real, whole self-understanding and profound awareness, there is a profundity that negates sorrow, depression, fear, and mechanical mental parroting. There is real bliss when the mind is aware without being in a mold poured by others. However, there is no map or set of procedures (called religious or otherwise) that was devised by others that will really get you there. You have to do the work. And that work isn’t sitting on one’s behind on a superficial mat for 30 minutes, thinking one has achieved something marvelous.

Pink Veronica. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017

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Are you involved with the Poem of Questions?

April 21, 2017

17 comments

?Are you evaluating this poem

as it is being read

?Are you wondering what the motive is

behind the writing of this poem

?Is a good poem a poem that helps

you to look at yourself without distortion,

without fragmentation,without preconceived judgments

?Is a question within a poem

a good thing to exist as

?Is the mind really separate

from the questions that are asked of it

?Is Saturday near,but the living organisms

(that one looks at)…distant

?Why would a question mark exist

at the beginning of a written question

?Can real empathy exist when there is

distance and separation

?Is intelligence without empathy and compassion

a superficial kind of intelligence

?Is “More all Day?” a cholesterol-laden,superficial question,

or is it a deep question from entities who really care about human beings

?Can one blossom beyond mediocrity

and staleness

Is one separate from the words

of this poem?

More All Day? Hooray! (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017

More All Day? Hooray! (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017

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Wise Blossoms Flower Beyond Preserve…

January 13, 2017

22 comments

Here are very many nevers

each inexorably not together

There are ever few always

flying higher than the tall trees

?Why are there so many (shall be)s

striving for littlesome (maybe)s

?Why can’t feathers ask us why

when does wishing stop to try

?When did slow turn to fast

where did time change at last

In the deep of round no wonder

lightning cracks and speaks as thunder

As the toadstools dance and bloom

eons pass across your room

Zygotes form when gametes curve

wise blossoms flower beyond preserve

The wisdom of flowers (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017

The wisdom of flowers (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017

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Beyond the ego…

January 8, 2017

9 comments

A mind without that false center — without that fictitious, dominating middle point — is (unlike most) highly aware and perceptive. There is, in such a person, no psychological radius from a center to a periphery. Most people cling to a fictitious center in one form or another. There is limited space — in such a mind — between the so-called controller (or center) and what it presumably controls. If the central controller is (in fact) just an image, which it is, then it is just another one of the thoughts and is not something that is purely genuine or real. (Do not make the mistake of becoming depressed regarding this; eternity and beauty can still exist for us, without the interference of fallacious centers.)

Oftentimes, when people think, they think in auditory terms which simulate their own (individual) voice (when talking). This internal (psychological/rather parasitic) voice mimics one’s actual speaking voice. It (one’s thinking) isn’t an actual voice; it is a copied template… a simulation. These simulations and their associated images presume (because of what they were taught) that they are being controlled by a legitimate center. This center, as was suggested, is another one of the manufactured images. The mind can function much better without the manufactured image of a center or central regulator.

Real (fundamental) compassion doesn’t often take place when a fictitious center sees others through (and from) a radius of distance and separation. A man or a woman without such a fictitious center exists beyond such a radius; then real compassion often manifests. Order of the mind does not exist as long as a fictitious center exists. Such a so-called center is associated with a false sense of control and dominance. A false psychological distance is involved with such a mind. False psychological distance often means that one’s relationship to fears, desires, plants, animals, people, and sensations is of conflict born out of fallacious separation. Fallacious separation is not of intelligent compassion… is not what will bring about real order and harmony in the world.

[Note: This little green plant was discovered growing — in the cold, snowy winter weather — within a small, lawn (crystal ball) solar light in our yard! All of the other outdoor green plants had already died from the bitter cold, but this one was still going strong in its little makeshift greenhouse! Nature always finds a way! 🙂 ]

Green plant growing in lawn solar light! Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017

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Once upon an if

January 6, 2017

11 comments

Once upon an if

possibilities happened

among all probabilities

entwined in dull securities

Twice upon a flower

within vase and water

away from fellow meadow bloomers

close to drunken baby boomers

Thrice upon a never

love’s blanket enfolds all

unknownst to feigning pretenders

beyond the cruel offenders

Countless upon an always

far from cold pugnacity

joyful in sublimity

splendid in divinity

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eternalfountainofyouth.com

Countless Upon an Always (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017

Countless Upon an Always (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2017

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That Immeasurable Energy…

December 11, 2016

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.

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

eternalfountainofyouth.com

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

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Poem That May Not Be About a Rose…

November 18, 2016

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… (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Go Beyond most people

November 6, 2016

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 (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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In the Spectrum of the Whole…

November 4, 2016

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 (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Beyond the Sedentary Way

September 30, 2016

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. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Upon this earth a here transpired…

August 19, 2016

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. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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We can blossom psychologically…

August 14, 2016

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 (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Beyond time’s deception…

July 29, 2016

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 (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Iris…

July 15, 2016

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 (2). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Sharing us…

July 1, 2016

21 comments

cryingplayinggigglinglearning

swimmingskippingjumpingfinding

kickingwhistlingdancingscreaming

laughingspittingdrinkingcaring

dreaminghelpinghatingdriving

huggingsleepingrockingsharing

walkingsmilinglisteningswearing

steeringrunningwonderingcomparing

readinglovinghidingglaring

writingseeingsufferingwearing

exploringwishingeatingbathing

blossomingkissingunderstandingdying

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

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

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Understanding is not a possession…

June 24, 2016

16 comments

When laziness happens, laziness is not what you have…

laziness is what you are.

When indifference happens, indifference is not what you have…

indifference is what you are.

When anger happens, anger is not what you have…

anger is what you are.

When distortion looks…

distortion is what is seen.

When fear happens, fear is not what you have…

fear is what you are.

When compassion happens, compassion is not what you have…

compassion is what you are.

When understanding happens, understanding is not what you have…

understanding is what you are.

When recognition happens, recognition is not what you have…

recognition is what you are.

When wisdom happens, wisdom is not what you have…

wisdom is what you are.

Bellis Perennial. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Bellis Perennial… Through the Looking Glass Version. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Fears (and how we deal with them)…

June 19, 2016

25 comments

The moment that a psychological fear — not necessarily threatening physical harm — occurs, simply be the fear, without merely looking at it with (and “from”) separation. Do not (as you learned from the past) merely try to avoid it, or rationalize it, analyze it, judge it, condemn it, or wish it was not happening. Simply be what it is without some (supposed) center looking at it from a (supposed) distance. If a legitimate relationship occurs with a fear, then the mind has much more clarity and energy to perceive with (and “as”) order and integrity. Most people have tension with their fears, involving conflict, friction, and avoidance; they look at “their” fears with images of distance and separation; many feel the more distance and separation… the better. Fear is only really diminished and solved when it is understood in a precise, legitimate relationship… not when there is needless friction, separation, strife, struggling, tug-of-war tension, and piecemeal analysis of fear. Analysis of fear involves — and is — time. A precise relationship with fear is not something that requires time or uncovering. If there is a precise, legitimate relationship (i.e., intelligent relationship) with fear there may be no need for time and duration (which is what analysis is) to better understand it (i.e., fear) in the future. If the future’s perspective (even with loads and loads of analysis having occurred) on fear still involves separation and conflict (as it does when the analyzer is supposedly different from the analyzed), it will not have understood fear to any profound degree; there is no more ideal moment to delve into it and understand the depth of it than when it actually takes place. Analyzing it later involves distance; most people look at fears through (and “as”) distance; such separation is of conflict/friction, and does not deeply flower into profound understanding and immense insight. Fear requires time for its existence. Without time, fear is not. Employing analysis and time to deal with fear may not be the most prudent thing to do.

Roses in the making. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

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Shorties (2)…

May 20, 2016

29 comments

Saying you live in the here and now still involves measurement and, as such, is still of time and limitation.

The bucket of the transitory has a hole in it… that is eternally pouring out.

When you are truly deep in the woods, you are not in the woods… the woods are in you.

If we are mostly conditioned, then free will has very little place. However, we are still responsible for bringing orderly behavior and getting things right.

Deep intelligence, compassion, wisdom, and real love are not four separate things.

We are all like the fingers of a hand… different, yet not really separate. (This, as was mentioned before in one of my postings, was told to one of the parrots who lives with us… and she said, “You are right!” At least some may understand me, different species or not.)

Veronica. Photo by Thomas Peace c.2016

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The red and yellow of it…

May 6, 2016

23 comments

beyond the gobbledygook of politicians
and a mad society’s derelictions
beyond the divisive multiplicity
exists a yellow, whole, and naturally red simplicity

not bamboozled by their hateful despair
we won’t feed our youth to constant warfare
we’ll cherish love despite the bureaucrats
as we disappear from their gray caveats

Explosion in Spring. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Explosion in Spring. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Post

The Story of the Recurrent Fingerprints…

March 25, 2016

14 comments

T.P.: Why are you always putting your fingerprints all over the outside sections of the windows of the house? Every day I clean them up and every day more fingerprint markings recur. It is a bit unsettling! Why do you do that?

Thus spoke Zarathustra: It occurs to help us to see more clearly, of course, Tom.

T.P.: How can smudges as fingerprints all over the windows help regarding seeing more clearly?

Thus spoke Zarathustra: You, of all people, should realize that. When you were dragged out of the cave, you were not peering through any superficial windows. It was the clarity of the mind and compassion (without separation) that was important.

T.P.: Yes. I suspect that you used the word “was,” and not “were” in your last spoken sentence because you realize that clarity of mind and compassion are not two separate things.

Thus spoke Zarathustra: Indeed. God is dead, in one way or another, as far as most are concerned. (And most are concerned in a far, or “distant,” symbolic, aloof kind of way.) Who (or what) dragged you out of the cave?

T.P.: Whoever, or whatever, it was, (whatever that indefinable energy was), it was a trillion times more alive than I ever was; its universal living and dynamic energy imbued one with immeasurable life while it visited. It definitely had a most sacred element to it, far beyond what most people merely believe or claim is sacred.

Zarathustra spoke thus: Did you think you were alive before being dragged out of the cave?

T.P.: Yes, very much so.

Thus spoke Zarathustra: What do you think and feel now about people who live in the cave as you did and (still somewhat) do? Are they really alive?

T.P.: They, of course, think that they are… but they (really) are not. One is not, of course, speaking in terms of their outlook or perspectives regarding anything; they are literally not in tune or in contact with the pure, living, unadulterated, majestic energy that exists universally. They, though they are sometimes quite caring and somewhat perceptive, are like cavernous shadows divorced from any real light. (And seeing, through shadowlike symbols, with separation and distance, requires time.)

Thus spoke Zarathustra: When you were visited by that immeasurable energy, you later soon realized the same thing or something similar to what I have been talking about time-wise, on your own, without ever having read anything about me; your reading of (partially evolved) F. Nietzsche and myself (i.e.,Zarathustra) — and those true (overmen) others (who confirmed your insights) — came later. By the way, the cave dwellers are not really living, but their rather dead images and symbols (that they exist as) are what their God (additionally) consists of, unfortunately; they cling to what is rather unalive (as symbols), and their God is a further obtrusion of these dead (unalive) symbols; so their God is (for them, anyway), unfortunately, essentially dead too. Ironically, what is really alive… eludes them. Will you continue to point out significant things to others while in the cave?

T.P.: Of course!

Thus spoke Zarathustra: That immeasurable energy is truly alive, but you and I (and many others) are only partially alive (and barely that). It is ironic that many of these others say that God is dead! Anyway, getting back to typical things, these fingerprints will recur whether they are welcomed or not. Looking out and looking in (as most people seem to think, and mechanically do) all require distance and time. There is, as has been said, however, a looking that is timeless. Be perceptive beyond just trying to attain something all the time!

T.P.: Of course! You never hinted about going beyond time, like this, before. It seems that you are realizing that there is a perceiving that is not merely dependent upon time.

Zarathustra spoke thus: Well, I (though N. is dead and has only progressed so far) have been reading your postings; they are a lot like annoying fingerprints that keep coming back again and again (if one is at all observant).

Window reflection flower with insect (1). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Window reflection flower with insect (2). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2016

Post

Feeling the depth

December 20, 2015

23 comments

Many of us go through life regurgitating what was spoon fed to us throughout our youth. Many of us function and perceive in the ways that we were taught… and, therefore, what we perceive and think is tainted with (and “as”) the dusty past. Many of us, even when we are encouraged to go beyond all that — in order to, perhaps, see things freshly and anew — tend to just momentarily see the importance of it… but then go on with our lives in the same old ways. (Which means we never really observed the deep importance of it whatsoever.)

So many of us were so painstakingly drilled (and filled) with the separative systems and symbols of the past… that we tend to habitually cling to them and repeatedly depend on them. Many of us rarely, if ever, are truly silent and beyond being the absorbed symbols by which we perceive and think. Many of us are constantly relying on and calculating with (and “as”) these symbols; the very way we perceive things in the world is dictated by what these symbols are constituted of. We perceive through — and “as” — these symbols. These symbols have an inherent distance and line of demarcation to them. They inevitably tend to be fractional, piecemeal icons. However, thoughts and mentally absorbed symbols/images, no matter how substantial they may seem to be, are almost always mere partial tokens that are mere representational patterns. Many of us are slaves to these mere representational symbols. Look at how so many so-called young people constantly are texting to each other. Instead of enjoying the integrity and wholeness of a moment… they are constantly electronically writing about it to others (all the while conveying with dead words about what could have been a living, joyful occurrence).

There is a good chance that the only true depth and the only real living (in this life) is what takes place beyond mere symbols, beyond the second-handedness (and virtual reality) that symbols reinforce and foster. What is superficial will not, however, seriously see the need for transcending all of the symbols and images that people cling to. What is immersed in superficiality, unfortunately, will not likely truly see the need for going beyond it.

Projections (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Projections (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

There was…

November 6, 2015

21 comments

There was a man

so wise

that every time he

walked

he always limped

and the whole universe limped too

There was a woman

so whole

that every time she

blinked

the skies always settled

and the churning seas would settle too

There was a past perfect

so present

that every time it

moved

it always returned

and the bygone future returned too

There was a flower

so beautiful

that every time it

unfurled

it always opened

and the blossoming of understanding would open too

Explosion in Pink. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Explosion in Pink. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

Stonecrop

October 15, 2015

13 comments

stonecrop

by any other flower

being

(if only for an hour)

beyond many

a gift

beyond foolish narrow time

living

(and always forever fine)

beyond any

Stonecrop (Sedum causticola) (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Stonecrop (Sedum causticola) (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

Beyond hand-me-down perspectives…

August 1, 2015

3 comments

The wellspring of truth isn’t to be found by secondhand thoughts and formulations… (and all thoughts are directly or indirectly secondhand). One can’t discover the new with an instrument ingrained in the old.

Together. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

Be Balm

July 24, 2015

11 comments

In an oscillating universe, if an entity does not get it together and transcend mediocrity psychologically, then the consequences remain infinitesimally dull, like a seed that never germinates. If one flowers and grows, the winds of enlightenment may be truly endless.

Wild Beebalm. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

Drops…

July 10, 2015

3 comments

Each and every drop has its place

and is accounted for

The tears of the world are

all accounted for

What lies beyond all the tears

is accounted for

is blossoming

Returning. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

Beyond fragmentary ways… (Multi-Photo)

June 24, 2015

Looking with the antiquated past… (Multi-Photo)

June 7, 2015

8 comments

Don’t fall into merely accepting hand-me-down thoughts, beliefs, and systems. If you do (absorb and become them), you’ll see what you are programmed to see… which (though seeming comfortable and safe) may not really be seeing whatsoever.

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

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

Post

Beyond learning from the old past… (Multi-Photo)

June 4, 2015

2 comments

Instead of going

out

and seeing a tulip

go out

look at everythingtogether-

withoutseparateformslabelsnames-

andwithouttherebeinganyseparation-

fromwhatyouactuallyare

you can

and

with a very

sep

rate

ego

see

what

you

were

taught

sep

tion

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

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

Post

Heart Blossom

May 31, 2015

14 comments

May one’s heart blossom

to a true compassion

and a love

for nature

May one’s compassion blossom

to a true heart

and a nature

for love

[Side Note: My wife, Marla, though there have been complications, continues to do much better, improving following her shoulder replacement therapy.]

Heart of the Sunrise. (From my sister-in-law Mary’s yard) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

My absence…

May 23, 2015

25 comments

I have not been blogging lately. The reason why is that my wife, Marla, had to have surgery recently. She had a total shoulder replacement done. I have not had time to do any blogging due to helping her with things. Perhaps I will be able to blog once in a while soon; we will see. The surgery went well… and she is recovering better than expected. Marla has a very delicate constitution and is extremely fragile. A lot of this has to do with the Wilson’s Disease that she has. Wilson’s Disease is a rare disorder; it is genetic and involves the inability of the body to metabolize copper. The copper can then act as a poison within individuals who are not properly treated for the disease. Related to the Wilson’s Disease, Marla has very severe neck dystonia… wherein her neck muscles become extremely tense and rigid; she gets botox injections to help treat the dystonia. For a long time, Marla was on penicillamine to treat the Wilson’s. However, that medication had so many side-effects that it was almost as bad as having the disease itself. Marla, likely due to the penicillamine, developed ARDS and almost died. Then she had to have neck surgery for collapsed neck vertebrae, a surgery that took 11 hours and caused her to have very limited swallowing ability. Now she mostly receives nutrition via a gastrostomy tube that goes to her stomach area. I help her with the enteral feedings and various things, and it is time consuming. These days, Wilson’s Disease is easily treated with zinc; the zinc has, fortunately, little or no side effects. Marla bravely contends with her physical problems; she often helps others (who have Wilson’s Disease or dystonia) to better understand things about those ailments; she, as a person, is as sweet as can be and is an extremely wonderful and very understanding person. I am honored to be married to her and want to make sure that she does well throughout the recovery process.

Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

The light with no opposite… (Multi-Photo)

May 15, 2015

9 comments

The world is

becoming more

and more

insane and

insensitive;

but one

must remain

very sane

and

very sensitive.

Deep light

transcends

the darkness

and is…

and is

unaffected

by it.

Grape Hyacinths (1). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Grape Hyacinths (2) (Color Pencil, Digital) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

1/4 Inch Long Wild Violet Flower

May 13, 2015

14 comments

Violet was a girl

with very few faults

she could sing and dance

and do somersaults

Violet was quite pretty

just as a flower

she loved to be in her garden

even during a shower

Violet blossomed in time

and loved to sun-bathe outdoors

she liked nature wild,

was never found in stores

All girls are Violets

in their own special way

they need never fear death,

while inevitably withering away

Wild Violet; one of many in the backyard. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

To look, without all that slop, on a fine Spring Day… (Multi-photo)

May 10, 2015

3 comments

To look, on a fine Spring Day,

at what you are not

from what you are…

takes an assimilated separation

of “me” and “not me.”

But that looking isn’t “looking”…

it’s merely repeatedly hurling what was absorbed.

To really look, on a fine Spring Day,

at what’s real,

is to look without separation,

without the gobbled “known.”

And that means looking

without the ingested “me” or “I”…

for otherwise, it’s habitually regurgitating

what was consumed.

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

Together as one. (Color Pencil rendition). (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

That neverending tree… (Multi-Photo)

May 9, 2015

5 comments

We’re all flowers of that neverending tree

and if we don’t ever blossom

we won’t be open, wise, and free

None of us are separate within that immense, majestic being

but if perception doesn’t see it

it really isn’t seeing

Eastern Redbud Study. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Eastern Redbud Study. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

Poor Dandelion… (Poorer Man)…

May 8, 2015

17 comments

many people want to wage war on them

many hate them

(really hate them)

see them as ugly

and want them eradicated

many insects want to enjoy them, live in them, and feed from them

many love them

(really love them)

see them as beautiful

and want them to flourish

Dandelion Study. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

The Heart of the Truth flower

May 7, 2015

6 comments

the Heart of the Truth) flower

Rhythmically beats Blossoms

for

who(ever) is caring

enough

too

(Deeply Perceive

Heart of the Flower. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

Pistil, Stamen, Petals (different but not separate) (Multi-Photo)

May 4, 2015

9 comments

Look deep within

for if you don’t

Blossoming will occur not

Unfold beyond conflict

for if you don’t

Timeless Passion will occur not

Pistil, Stamen, Petals. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Pistil, Stamen, Petals. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

Practicing something to get to the truth. (Multi-Photo)

May 2, 2015

8 comments

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Just as true humility or love cannot be mechanically practiced, neither is there any real practice to discover truth. Discovering and living the truth is too profound and dynamic for it to merely come about by way of calculated practices. Real mindfulness and true meditation is being truly and profoundly alive (beyond mere methodology)… and no one on earth can, nor will they ever, practice being alive.

At the Edges. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

At the Edges. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

Nature and Man…

April 29, 2015

12 comments

Mankind needs to be far more gentle to this small, fragile planet!

Wild Chicory. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

Some minds blossoming… (Multi-Photo)

April 28, 2015

16 comments

some minds are open

some minds closed

some are separated from the earth

some have deep roots within

some minds blossoming

some withering away

some sharing bright beauty

others darkly cruel

African Daisy, opening. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

African Daisy, opening. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

Spring Plum Blossom Haiku… (Multi-Photo and Multi-Poem)

April 26, 2015

11 comments

Two Haiku Poems… one from the Japanese poet, Issa (year 1822) and one from my (elderly) self (who likes to preserve plum tree scraps)…

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

1822

.梅見るや梅干爺と呼れつつ
ume miru ya umeboshi jijii to yobaretsutsu

viewing plum blossoms–
they call old men
pickled plums

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

In the blossomed Spring

plum trees recognized themselves

taking photographs

Plum Tree Blossoms. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Plum Tree Blossoms. (2) (Digital Color Pencil Rendition) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

Beyond prefabrication…

April 25, 2015

7 comments

Do not lifelessly become merely what they want you to become; flower into something magically more true, unlimited, beautiful, and dynamic!

Amazingly Different. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

Real silence and a rather dead kind of silence… (Multi-Photo)

April 24, 2015

8 comments

Do not merely make a meditative silence into something that is isolated and separate from noise in life. Be very careful in what you accept and do. In all probability, a separate silence that is cultivated, that is practiced at a special time or place, is a rather second-hand, merely learned, rather dead, kind of silence. Actual, profound silence is an effortless phenomenon that occurs without premeditation, beyond calculation, and beyond techniques involving time. As such it is a timeless phenomenon that may occur often, spontaneously throughout the day (without some separate controller “making it happen”), such as while one is walking, looking at nature, petting a dog or cat, or exercising. If it occurs at all, it occurs naturally, without any false effort expended by a supposed “center” or “controller” that is essentially a learned image (involving separation). It (i.e., such deep silence) is not something that is isolated from the rest of life. It is of life, in life; it permeates life, it flows with life. Real life is not something that is practiced; it is something that is lived. To manipulate the mind into some isolated silence may be like trying to catch the wind in a sealed bottle. Attempting to confine the wind in a separate, little, “special” space — called a bottle — may be rather ludicrous.

On its way. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

On its way. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Post

Nothing is hidden from that otherness… (Multi-Photo)

April 15, 2015

12 comments

For the sacred to visit you and be palpable, your innocence must be discernible and unmistakable. That innocence must penetrate far beyond crude conventionality. That innocence stands alone and is different… not for the sake of being different, but because it perceives deeply beyond the ordinary.

Open for business. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

Open for business. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015

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