All Posts Tagged ‘inspiration’

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Beyond the Ordinary, the Humdrum, and the Mundane…

March 19, 2021
20 comments

To truly be alive is a real art. It involves a lot of depth, understanding, and compassion. (By the way, psychological depth, great understanding, and compassion are not three separate things; they are all one.) Most of us have been indoctrinated with superficial second-hand patterns, thoughts, and traditions. Most of us live in (and “as”) an endlessly repetitious series or sequence of thoughts. That is what we call “living.” However, that may not be “living” whatsoever. Most people say that they are doing fine and are OK, but, in reality, they are not. They are full of fears, uncertainty, depression, dull mundaneness, and one series of stale thoughts after another.

Thoughts are stale. All thoughts stem from the past and are protrusions (i.e., projections) from (and of) that past. Patterns from the past can be rearranged to seem rather new but, fundamentally, they consist of the stale past. From that past, we look. Most people look through — and from — images of the past that they hold (and are). They recognize, they re-cognize things… such that they perceive according to the symbols and patterns of thoughts that they have absorbed and have clung to in (and “as”) the past. Thoughts are merely symbols and, therefore, are very limited and circumscribed. Symbols, being representations, are always residual, limited, and rather stale. However, most of us were indoctrinated to live in (and “as”) thoughts. Little wonder why so many say that they are enjoying life when, really, they are not. It’s like hugging or clinging to a Stop Sign and saying that the sign fills you with joy. You might fool some people, but you can’t fool me. That Stop Sign, like a thought, is a symbol, and a symbol is always of the past, limited, fragmentary, and nothing to get in rhapsody about. Most of us are of a consciousness that goes from one series of thoughts to another, never looking or perceiving wholly beyond thought/thinking. We go from one sequence of symbolic images to another. Even when we are out in nature, we perceive things through (and with) the screen of thought/thinking; we see things according to mere pre-learned patterns and labels; this may not truly be “seeing” at all. And yet we think that we are doing fine.

Remaining as stale, mundane, second-hand thoughts and patterns is never fine. It is the road to mediocrity, dejection, and robotic-repetition. One has to have the moxie, the fortitude, the guts, and the integrity to go beyond the indoctrination that was implanted in (and “as”) one. But most people are unwilling to do that. They are caught and find it easy to remain rather dead in the net or web of second-hand circumstance. Intelligently going beyond mere thought/thinking is frightening to them, because thought thinking is what they are; it is what they have accepted and is what they cling to.

Thinking in an orderly fashion is very useful at times. However, it is prudent to often go beyond thought/thinking. To merely remain in (and “as”) thought/thinking is sorrow. Period.

Fragmentary Raindrops caught in the Spiderweb of Mediocrity … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2021

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Psychological Motivation (and Beyond)…

February 26, 2021
16 comments

Motivation is oftentimes a very good thing. Your teachers wanted you to have plenty of it when you were a youth in elementary school. Most people look at a man or woman who has very little gumption as being rather mediocre and unproductive. Motivation helps one to accomplish things; oftentimes these things are necessary for good health, community prosperity, and the planet’s wellbeing.

It is prudent to have motivation for one’s so-called self and immediate family. It would be even more prudent to engage in motivation that helps the environment and the planet as a whole. Too many people were educated and conditioned to have motivation for the “self” while, all along, not seeing this self as including and being other life forms and the planet as a whole. Most of us were educated and conditioned to strive for a small, fragmentary self that is (for the most part) considered to be something apart from the whole. Most of us graduate from school, being so very proud of our graduation, and then go out (conditioned and programmed to have motivation for fragmentary concepts of rather separate selves and separate groups); then we ruthlessly compete, struggle, disagree over our separative images and beliefs… and continue to cling to motivational patterns that are isolating, divisive, and devoid of real, holistic compassion.

Although motivation has its place, it is wise to go beyond motivation at times. Thought/thinking is always tied to motivation. Thinking occurs for a reason (usually a very conditioned reason); thinking always involves moving in some direction, acquiring, avoiding, or getting… (all involving motivation). However, a very intelligent mind can see the limitation and the fragmentary nature of motivation; then, if it is lucky, it can sometimes be where motivation is not necessary, where motivation is no longer needed. This motivationless state is where thinking is transcended (without effort) and put aside (for the time being); it is of a causeless bliss and joy.

Can one, out of psychological strife and motivational effort, bring such a state into being? Of course not. The psychological ending of conditioning does not merely depend upon motivational patterns. Thinking (as internal, psychological motivation) has its place, but wisdom goes beyond what is of no use in terms of wholeness and profound awareness. One of intelligence does not set aside a special time to “go beyond motivational thinking” or to “indulge in meditation.” It is not what one can arrange to happen via set motivational undertakings. It happens naturally, spontaneously, without pre-programmed calculation… or it does not happen at all.

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Pearling is what occurs in aquarium plants that — when in enough light — emit bubbles of oxygen into the water (that naturally stream upward during photosynthesis). The photo is of some of my Corkscrew Vals pearling. All plants, terrestrial plants included, emit oxygen into the atmosphere during photosynthesis — thank goodness for us — as a natural by-product.

Pearling of Corkscrew Val Aquarium Plants … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2021

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Psychological Space

February 19, 2021
10 comments

We have space psychologically and, for most of us, it is very limited. Everyone seems to have a space between the so-called central “I” (or “me”) and the “other” thoughts that this “I” is purportedly thinking. People do not realize that this “I” (or “me”) is neither central nor truly “in control” of the so-called “other” thoughts. The image of a center is just a projection of the psychological process and (as such) it is not truly manipulating anything. However, unfortunately, minds conditioned and taught to perceive through this illusory mode of operation tend to be very uncomfortable about going beyond it. The “I” was not designed for one to have insight and holistic perception; the “I” formed as an extension for self-preservation. Preservation and care for the body are crucial and very necessary. “Thinking” was to tool to help in regard to that. But then thought began to make itself out to be the essence of the organism. Then it began projecting the “I,” the “me,” imagining the “I” or the “me” to be a central regulatory entity that dominates or produces the so-called subservient thoughts.

People have, psychologically, created a space between the “I” and other thoughts, (thoughts that the “I” allegedly manipulates). They have space between the perceiver and “that which is perceived.” Such (limited) space is often internal (i.e., between the “me” and the other thoughts). It also, all too often, deals with the external… “me” separate from the animal that is hunted by me.

Going beyond the “I” due to keen insight is what negates these false constructs within the mind. Going beyond the “I,” the “so-called center,” the “me,” is not dangerous. On the contrary, it is only a very intelligent, aware mind that does so. And in so doing, it transcends friction, separation, conflict, illusory fabrications, and internal falsities. Then the body and the mind are in perfect harmony beyond the need to control. This lack of control is not chaos; on the contrary, it is an orderly movement involving insight from a profound whole.

When most people observe, they are observing fragmentarily, with — and from — learned separation. They are observing through a conditioned screen of thought/thinking (involving labels, categorization, and separative distance). This separative structure is of a very crude nature and it is very limited. Such limitation allows very little room for true joy and insight.

Deep compassion occurs when the mind transcends the illusoriness of the supposedly separate “central I.” When other life forms are not merely seen from a separative distance, then a real (much more profound) kind of intelligence manifests; it may involve a space that is not limited. This manifestation is of order and right action. Such right action is not merely a series of dull, learned routines reoccurring as mundane, dead-from-the-heart-up reactions.

Turkey Tail Arms … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2021

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When one was young…

February 5, 2021
28 comments

When one was very young, one loved nature a lot. Nearing 70 years of age, one still loves nature a lot.

Starting at the 5th Grade level, they put me in parochial school; we had to attend mass every morning. As a child, one thought, “They don’t have God locked up in a golden box on the alter; God (i.e., what is sacred) is outdoors in nature, with life… with all of the trees and creatures.” One still feels the same way.

In the playground, as a kid, they had us pledging allegiance to a flag. As a child, way back then, one saw it as a rag on a stick; one saw how so-called separate countries were in battle with each other (each with their own so-called “special flag”). As a kid, the whole thing seemed so mindless and totally absurd. One kept silent as the other kids endlessly repeated the pledge. At around 70, one still feels the same way.

As a child, one was the only kid in our grade school class who would help a fellow student (in class) who happened to be mentally retarded. At the end of the grade school years, his mother saw me in a department store and passionately thanked me. I also helped foreign students who were struggling to learn English. Much later on in life, my adult profession was being a teacher for the multiply handicapped.

While in grade school years, while one was sitting in one’s room alone, one suddenly went beyond the thought/thinking process; one realized how “special,” “magical,” “intelligent,” and “whole” it was. It was instantaneous (i.e., timeless) whereas thinking was a process that took time. One continued to engage with (or “as”) whatever it was; one continues to be appreciative of it to this day. One can call it “meditation,” but what it involves transcends all words and labels.

One was always amazed at how cruel and indifferent other fellow grade-school students could be. For instance, they would often tease and mock the boy who happened to be mentally retarded. Now, at around 70, one is amazed at how cruel and indifferent adults can be. For instance, former President Trump openly mocking a handicapped man (and mindless masses still voting for him — even with all of his cruelty and racism — and ardently supporting him).

When one was young, one didn’t just regurgitate what was poured into one; one questioned things and pondered things for oneself. After all of these years, one still (thank goodness) questions things and ponders beyond the stagnant, normative traditions.

Does my blogging help much if that person hasn’t previously already figured a lot of it out as a kid? One wonders, one really wonders…

One was here in the past… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2021

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Freewill and Deception

August 11, 2020
11 comments

Ambrose Bierce defined “decide” as ‘to succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another.’ But let’s inquire further. What is it that is doing the “succumbing”? It may actually be — which many people will not care to face — that conditioned reactions help to constitute what one set of influences does over another… and that the knee-jerk concept of “I” or “me” is basically a conditioned protrusion of thought that occurs later (as it falsely appears to take the credit for “deciding”). Additionally, it may be that the conception of “I” or “me,” before any apparent “deciding” takes place, is also merely a learned social projection (of thinking) that is (essentially) unnecessary. Transcending this illusory “center” — that never truly was a center in the first place — takes the intelligence of wisdom. (Such wisdom is of an eternity beyond the falsity of a learned center.)

Are we merely at the mercy of inevitable conditioned responses that render us to be merely rather robotic and computer-like in nature? We say, “Not necessarily.” The (healthy and wise) mind can look holistically, in a manner that is more in-tune with the whole and not merely immersed in (and “as”) fragmentary parts and conditioned robotic reactions. However, there is no “green flag” that pops up in the mind, revealing that one is looking holistically. One cannot “know” that holistic mindfulness is happening. In truth, this may tie into the fact that holistic insight (as profound understanding) is beyond the field of the known.

Real compassion — not the phony kind set up for everyone to see — relies very little on the “I” or the “me.” The poor bloke who is in love with himself (i.e., in love with his “I” and “me”) cares little, for the most part, for others. The real jewel in life may not be what you were taught; it may not be what is construed as being your special center. There is, psychologically, no special center. Thank goodness!

Long-Legged Fly … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2020
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Living and Enlightenment

August 4, 2020
32 comments

Note: (I’ve dropped out of blogging for a while because i’ve been very busy with other projects. I may — or may not — be doing much blogging in the future; it depends upon my time and some other factors. For those who are truly “inquiring” in all of this, what i have written is always there — and elsewhere — if you know how to look. Regarding the blogging, posting close-up nature pictures has always been a small part of my offerings, although the main focus has always been the philosophy. Followers who have primarily focused on the pictures have really missed the whole point; it’s like focusing on the tie that a good philosopher is wearing, rather than actually listening to what he has to say… which is sad in regard to the picture — or mere tie — lover. That being said, the number of insect species and other small species disappearing in the environment is alarming, to say the least. It breaks my heart to go picture-taking and seeing fewer wildlife species each year, and it is not just in our area; it is all over. Additionally, so many millions of people, such as in America, succumbing to heartless political propaganda — that includes indifference to the health of the environment — is equally cataclysmic… and, of course, the two situations are closely related.)

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So many of us have assumed that we are fully living. However, a person who has been through true satori (i.e., true visitation from that eternal, sacred energy) realizes that people are only “alive” and “living” to a very limited, fragmentary extent. Such so-called “living” is only a rather seed-like state that has never really blossomed whatsoever. To truly change fundamentally, the instrument that is looking is perceiving beyond distortion. That instrument is the mind (and perception of the mind is not separate from what the mind is). Before one starts “cleaning” the mind into what one thinks it “should be” one must realize that there is no separate “cleaner” or “changer” and that time is not a necessary factor. And the “should be” is a projection of the mind that may help create illusions of separation, such as (psychologically) the so-called separation between the “changer” and the “changed.” Thought takes time; thought is psychological time and is separative and fragmentary. A vast, whole, timeless intelligence does exist.

Covered in pollen… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2020
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Fundamentally Erroneous

June 16, 2020
31 comments

To be fundamentally wrong is one thing. But to be fundamentally erroneous with regard to the basic framework or essence of one’s whole psyche is extraordinarily significant. From the day that you were born, they coddled you with warm words that supported the imagery of a center… a central dominating “controller” that is at the core of consciousness dominating and running everything. However, as we’ve mentioned in past blogs, scientists have split the brain (via splitting the corpus callosum) and have created two separate fields of consciousness. The center is fictitious (yet everyone believes in it).

The repetitive operation of a fictitious center — that is not really central at all — creates much mischief; it is separative, illusory, fragmentary, and power-oriented; it depends upon separative borders; it creates a circumference around itself. It, additionally, is a waste of time and energy. Little wonder why there is so much human havoc in the world. We operate with distorted (mental) equipment. Most humans are “off the beam.” Look at the world around you. Look at the narcissistic, sociopathic leaders in America and the world.

How can stability and harmony deeply exist if the essence of consciousness is based on a false premise? We say things like, “I’m working at improving my memory.” You are your memory… and there is no you separate from memory (using it from a distance). Then we surmise that without a center, we will not be secure in eternity. On the contrary, it is the very clinging to a dominating, illusory center that negates the full and comprehensive understanding of beautiful eternity. Distortion cannot perceive the fundamental nature of eternity clearly.

Mr. Lightning Bug waiving Hello on the Fern Plant… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2020
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Turtles and Freedom

May 26, 2020
47 comments

My wonderful, nature-loving wife, Marla, discovered this young, freshly-hatched Snapping Turtle wandering around in our yard and called me to take pictures. Snapping Turtles lay from 20 to 30 eggs on land — in sand or soil — and when the little “snaplets” hatch, they (hopefully) head for water. I took photos of this little fellow and then tossed him in the river that we live on. I saved him a lot of walking/wandering time and prevented him from being eaten by crows, raccoons, and such.

When i was very young — at grade-school-age — i went fishing one day with my grandfather and father. They caught a big turtle — it wasn’t a snapping turtle — and wanted to take it home to make Turtle Soup out of. Yuk! They kept the turtle in a huge fishing net (high up on the bank); the turtle was trapped in the net as it faced the water… wishing to run in. I felt very sorry for the turtle… and gave the big net a swift kick. The turtle managed to get out of the net; i never saw a turtle run so fast; it ran, like lightning, straight into the lake and quickly swam off. Of course, i got a good “yelling-at,” but felt that it was well worth it! That lovely creature got away!

Most humans are trapped and don’t even know it. The net is their traditions, their societal norms, their iron-clad religions, their immoral habits, their separative ways of looking at the world and its so-called separate parts. They think that their net, their beliefs, religions, prayers, mental projections, meditative techniques, and customs are ensuring that they remain very safe. But the net is a net… a limiting, fragmentary, man-made trap that is not helping in a holistic and truly healthy way. One cannot easily kick or leave the trap because one’s very foundation and mental constitution consists of the trap. It is very arduous to go beyond the trap but it is not so difficult if wise/keen and very pure perception occurs without all of the nettings that were crammed into (and around) one over the many years. To look without the known involves no learned technique, no remembered procedure.

That turtle, many years ago, cared more about freedom than most people do in this very nutty age… (with callous, narcissistic, dictatorial leaders popping up worldwide like mushrooms). Their well-designed traps were carefully fabricated to entrap you.

Baby Snapping Turtle (1) … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2020

Baby Snapping Turtle (2) … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2020
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Wisdom, Viruses, and existing beyond Chaos

April 17, 2020
27 comments

These are very tough times for the world’s people right now. There is the virus going around, many governments (worldwide) are becoming more and more dictatorial, suppressing such things as human rights, the right to vote, and fair and balanced systems. I’ve included another video, down below, by Dr. Campbell, for you to look at if you have not seen it already. He sagaciously suggests something similar to what i have been blogging about for a very long time… that we should stay local — not pollute the air by (needlessly) flying in jet planes (that most all of us ludicrously assume we have a “right” to fly around in) — and produce and consume more goods locally, rather than (cheaply) getting them from overseas. Our population, too, needs to be kept in check. The over-populated (crowded-in-large-groups-cities) Native American Hopewell culture likely descended from the earlier low population hunter/gatherer Adena culture. With much larger populations concentrated together (in large “towns”), the Hopewell culture went through devastating periods of human to human disease transmissions (i.e., devastating viruses); this may have been the primary reason for the Hopewell culture’s demise. Sound familiar? But people tend not to learn; they tend to follow and merely imitate; hence, dictators and lack of freedom are popping up again as phenomena. Few people, in the many nations, are really talking about lowering population levels. So my premonitions (from childhood) about deadly viruses and a deadly-polluted globe seem to be, indeed, transpiring.

To compromise a lot and to look the other way and make excuses is not great order. Only great order as (and of) the mind can allow the possibility of a true (not fabricated) visitation by that sacred, eternal energy to take place. Then there is a real communion, not all of that phony stuff. If it (i.e., such a visitation) never takes place in one’s life, then one’s life may have, unfortunately, turned out to be like a seed that never germinates, an egg that never hatches. With such visitation may come real wisdom about the whole, and not all of that phony stuff; with it, eternity is revealed deeply, and superficiality continues to significantly dissipate.

Dr. Campbell is right, we need to be close to nature and the outdoors. We need to be responsible for our little, delicate planet. We need to care.

Please, if you are able, donate to your local food bank (as we have been repeatedly doing).

Cutleaf Toothwort Wildflower and Insect in the Woods… Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2020
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Halloween Time

October 22, 2019
20 comments

Houses running to adjacent houses
bags opening smiles rustling
spooky sounds from darkness growling

Halloween Time
comes laughinglyscreaming down the giggling sidewalks
of candydropping thankyous

Don’t look behind you
Something’s there twistinglyclutching
Shadowysoon under your midnight bed

Something’s staring from that web. … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019


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Wordless Wednesday … Not! … (pre-Halloween hors d’oeuvres)

October 16, 2019
28 comments

 

We see you clearly
and we have a wonderful treat coming for you
on Halloween

coming for you!

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And here is an excerpt from the Monster in the Mirror song sung by Grover… (not that i ever watch Sesame Street with my big bird friends).

 

If your mirror has a monster in it, do not shout
This kind of situation does not call for freaking out
And do nothing that you would not like to see him do
‘Cause that monster in the mirror he just might be you
 
Singing “Wubba wubba wubba wubba woo woo woo”
Wubba wubba wubba and a doodly do
Wubba wubba wubba you can join in too

 

Halloween Delight … Note the series of long, fine hairs on this spider’s hind legs; they are likely used for web construction. … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
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Meditation

October 11, 2019
20 comments

 

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.

 

The Beauty of Real (not fake) Flowers. … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
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Fourteen Steps Climbed to the Top

October 8, 2019
26 comments

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

A breach on humanity. … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2019
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Life does not always give you exactly what you ask of it. Life is not a gumball machine, hungry for quarters.

October 1, 2014
2 comments

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Life does not always give you exactly what you ask of it.  Life is not a gumball machine, hungry for quarters.

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[Mydas Flies are large, heavy-bodied wasp mimics.  They are a velvety black, with the 2nd abdominal segment being a bright orange-yellow, orange, or reddish orange.  Blackish wings have a bluish or purplish sheen.  Mydas Flies are frequently seen on flowers and they presumably feed on nectar (they were once thought to feed on other insects).]

Wasp-like but harmless! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

Wasp-like but harmless! Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

 

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The fire of felicity, intense happiness, radiates from within.

September 18, 2014
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The fire of felicity, intense happiness, radiates from within.

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[This Jumping Spider is, specifically, a Daring Jumping Spider. The chelicerae (the part containing the fangs) are a flamboyant metallic green and this is an excellent way to identify this particular jumping spider.  These spiders like sunshine and do their hunting during the day. They jump from leaf to leaf with great dexterity and accurately (because of all those splendid stereoscopic eyes) leap on their prey and often eat other spiders as well as insects.  They are totally harmless to human beings… and are beneficial, as they eat harmful insect pests.  To me, they seem intelligent (considering their size) and rather cute!]

A handsome jumper. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

A handsome jumper. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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Though everything has marginal boundaries and borders…

September 18, 2014
2 comments

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Though everything has marginal boundaries and borders… see everything as “all one” unbroken whole!

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[A Dingy Cutworm Moth and a Ladybug (and other small insects) on a Wild Sunflower plant.  Dingy Cutworm Moths are considered pests to crops, such as soybeans, while Ladybugs eat smaller insect pests, such as aphids, and are very beneficial.]

The Lady and the Tramp. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

The Lady and the Tramp. Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

 

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Feel and care beyond yourself.

September 1, 2014
5 comments

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Feel and care beyond yourself.

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[This conglomeration of insects consists of Buckeye Butterflies, two or three Drone (Hover) flies, and other insects.  Buckeye butterflies cannot survive freezing temperatures in any stage, so they must migrate south; otherwise, they will perish. Therefore, many  Buckeyes that spend their summers in northern states, fly south to overwinter in Gulf Coast states such as Florida. The buckeyes enjoy being together often, and prefer to fly in open areas, where they sun themselves. Their wingspan is 1.5-2.7 inches.]

The Important Conference (1). Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

The Important Conference (1). Photo by Thomas Peace 2014

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The human brain can be split and two fields of consciousness then occur…

March 13, 2013
2 comments

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.   This post probably will not be very popular.  However, that is OK by me; such is the nature of human conditioning.  Popular posts might tell you how wonderful everything is, how splendid and noble your efforts are, and how love is everywhere.  I say that there is not nearly enough love in the world.  There is plenty of beauty in the world, I feel… but there is not nearly enough love.  Honestly, so many of us are indifferent; so many put up with wars, nuclear armaments, pollution, overpopulation, suffering of people and animals, etc., without doing much of anything at all about it.  We have to do a lot more to make things better here on this planet.  If enough of us make a difference and change things for the better, then maybe love will be everywhere; but right now (honestly) it isn’t.  I sure hope that one day it (i.e., love) will be everywhere!

Some of the important things that we must be leery about, in our passage through life, are organizations and old-fashioned traditions that steer us into the complacency of being mere followers.   Many of us might maintain that we do not merely “follow the crowd”; but so many of us do so, unawares, not really seeing or realizing how we blindly follow the manner, habits, and cold indifference of others.  We chronically copy others, yet think that we are independent… not mere followers.  Some of us are warmly caring… but not nearly enough of us are.

What I’m about to tell you isn’t going to be what you’ll like to hear (i.e., read).  It goes against people’s grain, so to speak.  Bear with me on this; but don’t continue to read if you are easily disturbed.   It goes, if one examines deeply and objectively,  against much of what a lot of us have been told — and what was ingrained into us — about the afterlife (i.e., heaven or reincarnation or some such stuff)…  and about free will, conditioning, and awareness.   However, don’t — upon reading about it — merely allow yourself to get depressed, melancholy, and disheveled.   One’s life can be eternally significant, despite what occurs concerning the human brain.   Despite what the following may imply… one can still become imbued by the eternal.  

I learned about it many years ago, while in college.  I had read  extensive articles about it; and it caused me to really delve into different aspects and avenues of spirituality involving understanding the whole of existence.  It — what the articles were about — certainly was shocking to me.  The articles dealt with how surgeons severed the corpus callosum.   The human brain is, in a big way, a lot like the two halves of the inside of a walnut.  Connecting the halves is what is known as the corpus callosum.  Surgeons have had to sever the corpus callosum in certain individuals — such as those suffering from certain forms of epilepsy — in order to try to keep the severity of the seizures down.  In patients who have had their corpus callosum severed, the right half of the brain does not know what the left half of the brain is thinking (and vice versa).  In other words, two fields of separate consciousness are created (following the surgery)… when initially there was one.  This type of surgery has occurred many times; it is not some kind of theoretical proposition or fluke (one-time) occurrence.

People, following such surgery, exist as two separate minds within one body.  Instances have occurred wherein a man (following having his corpus callosum severed) was trying to pull his pants up with his right hand… while his left hand was trying to pull his pants down.  (Each field of consciousness had something different in mind!)  Another (similar) man was observed trying to strike his wife with one hand, while the other hand tried to stop the opposite hand from hitting her.

Does this have deep implications about life for us?  You bet it does!   The implications extend far beyond what most care to look into; however, it would be prudent if they did look deeper.   Many are afraid to look deeper.  I, for one, looked deeper.   I am glad that I did (look deeper).  The implications are extensive.   Does it negate the possibility of eternity for us?   No, it does not!   However, merely looking at life in our standard, old-fashioned ways — as we have always done in the past — may not be prudent (considering this).  We have to change the way we look at things.  Otherwise we will become more and more fragmented inwardly and outwardly (not entirely unlike the unfortunate patients of the brain surgery).  Many people don’t wish to change; but change we must!

 

Walnuts black by José Luis Hernández Zurdo

Walnuts black by José Luis Hernández Zurdo

Post

There is no plurality…

January 24, 2013
4 comments

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.     There is no plurality… we are all one.

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(Left click on images to enlarge; hit left “return arrow” to return.)

Shih Tzu (1) by Thomas Peace 2013

Shih Tzu (1) by Thomas Peace 2013

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Shih Tzu (2) by Thomas Peace 2013

Shih Tzu (2) by Thomas Peace 2013

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Shih Tzu (3) by Thomas Peace 2013

Shih Tzu (3) by Thomas Peace 2013

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eternalfountainofyouth.com

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Post

Actual Photos of the Immortal Web of Time…

January 22, 2013
1 comment

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One wonders… what can be wiser than a wise spider?

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Certainly not a lot of ordinary humans.  Most humans, strangely enough, are stuck in time… and don’t even have a clue…

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phys·i·og·no·my

[fiz-ee-og-nuh-mee, -on-uh-mee]  Show IPA

noun, plural phys·i·og·no·mies.

1.

The face or countenance, especially when considered as an index to the character:
a fierce physiognomy.
2.

Also called anthroposcopy.  The art of determining character or personal characteristics
 from the form or features of the body, especially of the face.
3.

The outward appearance of anything, taken as offering some “insight” into its
 character: the physiognomy of a nation.
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..    from Emily Dickinson:
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..   A SPIDER sewed at night
..   Without a Light
..   Upon an Arc of White.
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..   If Ruff it was of Dame
..   Or Shroud of Gnome
..   Himself himself inform.
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..   Of Immortality
..   His Strategy
..   Was Physiognomy.
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(Left click on a photo to enlarge it; hit the left “return arrow” to return back.)

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The Immortal Web of Time (1) by Thomas Peace 2013

The Immortal Web of Time (1) by Thomas Peace 2013

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The Immortal Web of Time (2) by Thomas Peace 2013

The Immortal Web of Time (2) by Thomas Peace 2013

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The Immortal Web of Time (3) by Thomas Peace 2013

The Immortal Web of Time (3) by Thomas Peace 2013

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eternalfountainofyouth.com

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Post

Photos: Three Creatures in an Eternal Flower…

January 22, 2013
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Curiously, it may be that “mostpeople” function in the details, but never seem to care about seeing the big picture.

Curiously, time and eternity may be parts of that bigger picture that “mostpeople” don’t care enough about seeing.

It’s always  important to see the little details; it’s also always  important to curiously see (and understand) the big picture.

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from Emily Dickinson:

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ESTRANGED from Beauty — none can be —

For Beauty is Infinity —

And power to be finite ceased

Before Identity was leased.

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(Left click on the photos to enlarge them; hit the left “return arrow” to return.)

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Three Bugs in an Eternal Flower (1) by Thomas Peace 2013

Three Bugs in an Eternal Flower (1) by Thomas Peace 2013

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Three Bugs in an Eternal Flower (2) by Thomas Peace 2013

Three Bugs in an Eternal Flower (2) by Thomas Peace 2013

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Three Bugs in an Eternal Flower (3) by Thomas Peace 2013

Three Bugs in an Eternal Flower (3) by Thomas Peace 2013

eternalfountainofyouth.com

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Post

In order to magically not be like “mostpeople,” one has to stand alone…

January 16, 2013
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In order to magically not be like “mostpeople,” one has to stand alone… like a single leaf upon a branching tree… (which is not isolation; it is really joyously and steadfastly being connected to the whole).

“Mostpeople” will not deeply understand this.  “Mostpeople” are not able to function via a profundity of  much understanding.  Do what you want… but I’m not interested in going with the masses of “mostpeople”; they all fall away from “being one with the whole.”

Like most of the leaves of a tree in late fall or in winter… “mostpeople” find it very easy to exist separately, apart from the whole.   That is how “mostpeople” cadaverously go about their separate ways.

The “me” is what “mostpeople” are.   “Mostpeople” are what they were taught.   “Mostpeople” readily absorb and become what  they were fabricated to become.     “Mostpeople” are the fear of going beyond what they were merely taught; hence, they fear going  into the truly unknown… into the truly mysterious.  It is easy to become merely what you were (safely) structured to become.  (However, such safety isn’t really safe by any means; it is a “being blown apart from the tree of wholeness and wisdom.”  Such separation is a form of death.)  “Mostpeople” are afraid of standing alone; they are afraid of not fitting in with “the rest of the crowd.”

The “me,” to “mostpeople,” is separate from everyone else.  Each thinks that their “me” is what is essentially separate from “other” people, animals, and plants.”  They think that there is distance from this “me” to “other” life forms and other beings.  The “me,” to “mostpeople,” is separate from the desires and fears that it has.  This “me” (according to “mostpeople”) can run from, try to alter, or subjugate its fears.  The “me,” to “mostpeople,” is separate from the desires that it has.  This “me” (according to “mostpeople”) can chase after, try to alter, or subjugate its desires.  The “me,” to “mostpeople,” is separate from the ideas and thoughts that it has.  This “me” (according to “mostpeople”) can recall, try to alter, or subjugate it ideas and thoughts.

To “mostpeople,” the “me” is a central, regulatory, decision-making presence that is apart from other beings… and is, additionally, apart from its very own thoughts (that “it” has power over).

To the ignorant and unaware, the following may seem a bit intimidating or disquieting… but (in reality) it is not anything to be alarmed about whatsoever.

To one who may, indeed, be of wisdom, there is not much of a “me”.  The wise man goes far beyond what he (or she) was merely taught.  The wise man does not merely become what he was molded, shaped, and programmed to become.

The wise man, to a great extent,  is not separate from everyone else.  He does not feel separate from other people, animals, and plants.  The wise man feels responsibility for all… because there are no “learned,” illusory lines of demarcation separating him from the rest of life.  The wise man understands that he is not merely something separate from his fears.  He lucidly perceives that he and the fears are “one and the same.”  He is not separate from what the fears are.  The wise man understands that he is not merely something separate from his desires.  He lucidly perceives that he and the desires are “one and the same.”  He is not separate from what the desires are.

The wise man does not childishly try to run from, alter, or subjugate his fears…  for he prudently sees that doing so involves primitive, superficial conflict along with a significant waste of time and energy.  The wise man does not childishly try to run after, alter, or subjugate his desires… for he prudently sees that doing so involves primitive, superficial conflict along with a significant waste of time and energy. (This does not mean that he does whatever is desired; that would be foolish!)  The wise man is not — unlike “mostpeople” — afraid of standing alone.

The wise man does not childishly (from something internal, with a distance) try to recall his thoughts… because he discerningly perceives that his thoughts are not separate from what he actually is.  So, in a wise mind, when thoughts are being recalled,  they are recalling themselves; they are doing the recalling… not something somehow magically separate from them that is “getting them to recall.”  Any alteration of thought, by a wise mind, involves thought altering and rearranging itself… not something doing it that is, somehow, separate and distant from thought/thinking.  (Interestingly, despite its close, non-divisive connection to thinking, the sagacious mind, by the way, in its all-pervading wisdom, is not merely confined to the realm of mere thoughts and thinking.)

The wise mind is not what functions with a lot of separation and needless conflict (between what it is and what it is not)… as does “mostpeople.”  This does not mean, of course, that the wise mind will brush your teeth for you (if you can brush them).  It does mean that the wise, holistic mind is not likely to be involved in fragmentary wars, ruthless competitiveness, indifferent unconcern, and uncaring debauchery.  It may be that the wise mind is an awareness that pervades and permeates beyond all small, limited, selfish, immature lines of separation and restriction.  One, major form or type of restriction… involves erroneously thinking that there is distance between you and your thoughts, fears, and perceptions… which, in reality, there is not.  You actually are your thoughts, fears, and perceptions.  Going beyond such restriction is the only true and real freedom and (wholeness)… and it is not, unfortunately, for “mostpeople.”

In order to magically not be like “mostpeople,” one has to stand alone… like a single leaf upon a branching tree… (which is not isolation; it is really joyously and steadfastly being connected to the whole).

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from E. E. Cummings:

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One winter afternoon

(at the magical hour
when is becomes if)

a bespangled clown
standing on eighth street
handed me a flower.

Nobody,it’s safe
to say,observed him but

myself;and why?because

without any doubt he was
whatever(first and last)

mostpeople fear most:
a mystery for which i’ve
no word except alive

—that is,completely alert
and miraculously whole;

with not merely a mind and a heart

but unquestionably a soul-
by no means funereally hilarious

(or otherwise democratic)
but essentially poetic
or ethereally serious:

a fine not a coarse clown
(no mob, but a person)

and while never saying a word

who was anything but dumb;
since the silence of him

self sang like a bird.
Mostpeople have been heard
screaming for international

measures that render hell rational
—i thank heaven somebody’s crazy

enough to give me a daisy

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eternalfountainofyouth.com

(To enlarge the following photo, please left click on it; hit the left return arrow to return back.)

Connected to the Whole... photo by Thomas Peace c.2013

Connected to the Whole… photo by Thomas Peace c.2013

Post

3D Nature Photographs…

January 14, 2013
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These are 3D nature photos that I’ve taken; they’re (like my writings) not superficial!  They are best viewed online via the use of a Pokescope 3D Viewer.  One can order these easily online.  Or one can do it by utilizing the “Eye-cross” method.”   I can do it instantly… I’m so accustomed to it.  However, it may be a bit difficult for a “newbie.”  The Pokescope 3D Viewer is better (and it would work best by looking at the pictures while not enlarged).  Viewing the photos on the 3D camera LCD or on a printed 3D lenticular is best.

Here’s how to view (via the Eye-cross method):

First, left click on one of the photos (to enlarge it); you can later return simply by clicking on the left return arrow.

1.Sit around three feet from your computer screen.  Put your fists together about one foot in front of you.

2. Lift your index fingers up and keep them about 2 inches apart (and pointing slightly toward the bottom of the middle of the two pictures).  Still keeping your index fingers mostly pointing up (and two inches apart), cross your eyes and try to produce a steady floating image of a “virtual” finger that is between the two real fingers.

3. Once you get good at making that steady “virtual” finger… take a look at the middle “virtual” image behind it; it will be 3D… and will stay locked in place (and focused) once you get “good at it.”  Enjoy!   (It takes practice!)

Alternate Method:   (You still have to cross your eyes correctly…but it’s more cool, by far…)  Another good way to do it…(that I invented)…  is to make “Fake 3d Glasses” with your own hands; first put your open hands against your face (just outside of each eye, with fingers pointing up… like visors); then cup your index fingers and thumbs together to make “glasses”;  look at the middle 3D image as before.  The palm of your left hand should block your left eye from seeing the left picture (but enable your left eye to see the right picture); the palm of your right hand should block your right eye from seeing the right picture (but enable your right eye to see the left picture).  As you look through your fake human glasses… your palms should be cupping to block the necessary side pictures, while allowing the middle virtual picture to exist exclusively on its own!   Sweet!   😉

Let me know if you were able to do it.  Otherwise, just look at the enlarged (though not as clear) pictures in 2D.   Some people are better at it than others; it takes practice!

My 3d camera shows 3d images on its LCD screen (without needing 3d glasses), which is really cool.  It’s a Fujifilm  FinePix Real 3D  W3.    One can order 5×7 inch permanent 3D pictures, of photos that one has taken, that one can view (without the need for 3D glasses or needing to do the 3D method described above); the 5x7s are made with special lenticular coatings (to make them easily seen in 3D).

eternalfountainofyouth.com 

3D Dandelion and Bee photo by Thomas Peace c. 2013

3D Dandelion and Bee photo by Thomas Peace c. 2013

Ladybug photo by Thomas Peace c. 2013

Ladybug photo by Thomas Peace c. 2013

Bee's Friend, Man's Enemy by Thomas Peace c.2013

Bee’s Friend, Man’s Enemy by Thomas Peace c.2013

Fledglings by Thomas Peace c.2013

Fledglings by Thomas Peace c.2013

Jiminy Cricket by Thomas Peace c.2013

Jiminy Cricket by Thomas Peace c.2013

Lacewing by Thomas Peace c.2013

Lacewing by Thomas Peace c.2013

Post

What I think about Gay people…

January 12, 2013
1 comment

Not to stereotype… but the following is what I think about Gay people.

First off, let me inform you that I am completely “straight.”  I am male and I have a female wife.  I have always been straight… and I’m sure I’ll happily remain that way.

I’ve had tropical fish and parrots, as pets, for many years.  Years ago, I met someone who shared his home with many parrots.  He had a lot of breeding pairs — really cared for his many bird-friends — and was really fond of animals of all types.  He was a real lover of nature.  He went by the name of Buddy.  Buddy became one of my very best of friends.  As time went by, I learned that Buddy was gay.  He, in all the long time that I knew him, never tried to touch me inappropriately or in any sexual kind of way.  We hung out a lot together… and often talked about different kinds of animals and creatures; nature and wildlife was our real passion.

Buddy once confided, to me, about how difficult it was for his family (i.e., his parents and siblings) about accepting his “gayness.”  He, additionally, once said to me, “Who would ever choose to be gay?”  He said that nobody would choose to be different like that; that it was something that just “happens” (like biologically/physiologically).  I agreed with him; felt empathy for him; and continued to accept him as a true and splendid friend.

Unfortunately, Buddy did not see himself as positively as I did.  He was raised Roman Catholic and attended church on a weekly basis.  Buddy told me that what he was doing was a “sin”… and that, in a way, he was “wrong” and “evil.”  Following being told things like that from Buddy, I occasionally would tell him that what he was… was not in any way sinful, or wrong, or evil.  However, just like oodles of others, Buddy was ingrained by a traditional, doctrine-oriented, obsolete system run by antiquated, old-fogeyish men.  My words fell on deaf ears.  To his mind, I was no longer a “believer.”   So my words carried little weight.

Once, we went together (to a distant large town) to a huge convention —  with many people attending — on parrots.  Buddy invited me to stay overnight at his friend’s house (while we were there).  He assured me that there would be no interference with my privacy.  I agreed, and — though I  had a room all to myself, with the door closed — I just could not sleep that night.  Something, deep down and rather unconscious, would not let me sleep.  Nothing happened that night, of course, and I could have slept just fine.  I’m sure that Buddy had a great time with his friend.  (My lack of sleep was something to laugh about the next day.)  At the large (all day) convention, which was about parrots, they served “grouse” for lunch; each plate had a whole bird sitting there in front of each in attendance…(except, fortunately, for me… I’m a vegetarian)!  That meal was ludicrous!  Who planned that, one wonders!  We laughed about it all the way home!  🙂

Ever since I was a young child, I’ve had tropical fish.  Angel fish, which I’ve occasionally gotten eggs and babies from, mate for life.  Once in a while, I noticed, two males or two females would become mates.  These fish were not “swayed” by deviant other fish who “taught them deviant ways”!  It was just some biological/physiological phenomenon that naturally happened now and then.  (Like it or not, we, all land-dwelling vertebrates, evolved from fish… fish like Osteolepis.)

One day, they found Buddy dead in his back yard. This, by the way, happened years ago.  It was a heart related cause of death.  One wonders if stress played a role in his untimely demise.  If he had more acceptance, from others, about his “condition that wasn’t a condition”… maybe he would have lived a lot longer and a lot happier.

I am so glad that I still am not a follower of those old-fogeyish men with their pointed, fancy caps and their fancy robes and buildings.  I am glad that I was supportive of Buddy… and that I often said positive things about his lifestyle (that he didn’t choose).

One of my sister-in-laws is gay.  She is married to another woman.  My wife’s family, at first, had a bit of a difficult time with it.  But now they are very accepting and understanding about it.  I, from the get-go, did not have any problem with it; to me, at the time, the difficulty that others were having about it seemed to be rather nonsensical and silly.  That sister-in-law — I have six others — happens to be one of my very favorite within the family.  She and her awesome spouse now have two wonderful children (by way of a sperm bank for the deposit).  They are the most splendid of parents… always fussing over their kids and taking them all over for learning and educational purposes.  You couldn’t find better parents!  Not only are they great parents, but they are kind, happy, considerate, warm human beings.  They are both teachers… and people in their community love them!

At the family Christmas party, a few days ago, (we had one of those later parties), I overheard one of the other sister-in-law’s kids say to the girl of the twins, “Why don’t you have a father like the rest of us do?  Isn’t that very odd?”  She said it in a kind of half mocking, half despising way.  I plan on asking my gay sister-in-law for permission to briefly talk to her two children about their parents.  I want to tell them that my so-called normal parents were often very cruel and uncaring.  My mother often asked me (as a child) to talk her out of suicide and my father was psychologically and physically abusive.  I used to fear for my life (while living at home as a young child).  I would like to tell my “favorite sister-in-law’s” children just how amazingly lucky they are… and how they need not ever be embarrassed or ashamed.  Many (far too many) so-called “normal” parents leave a lot to be desired!

Some final comments:  There is one thing that I do disapprove of.  It is those authoritative, dictatorial, hierarchical, orthodox, old men with the pointy hats having their way with little children, while the system tidily covers things up.  They are the ones that are truly the danger.

Walt Whitman, one of the most sagacious of poets — and I have some of his insightful, witty poems within my book — was probably gay (as indicated by many biographers).  He was no follower of any rigid, antiquated system; he walked robustly and solidly… content and more than pleased with himself!

[from Walt Whitman:

Do you suppose you have a right to a good sight, and he or she has no right to a sight?   Do you think matter has cohered together from its diffuse float, and the soil is on the surface, and water runs and vegetation sprouts, for you only, and not for him and her?]

The following bird is beautiful… but its beauty can never approach the deep beauty of someone who, without harming others, has profound and wise acceptance for the way he or she really (intrinsically) is.

eternalfountainofyouth.com

Photo below… by Thomas Peace (Left click on the photo to see it enlarged; left click on the “middle” of it again if you wish to enlarge it more; hit left return-arrows, once or twice, to return.)

Photo of Scarlet by Thomas Peace c.2013

Photo of Scarlet by Thomas Peace c.2013

Post

Beyond the superficiality of apathy…

January 9, 2013
10 comments

Beyond superficiality of the mind… may exist the profound depth of insightful, direct, compassionate perception.  Perception that is not (often) compassionate is the kind that is not (often) the result of keen and profound awareness or insight.  Such perception — without compassion — is often rather callous, machine-like, indifferent, limited, and therefore, superficial.  In order to be indifferent, apathetic, and unconcerned about the feelings and well-being of others, one must be psychologically bound in a limited, constrained, and fixed  frame of mind.  Such a frame of mind is little and small… because its concern involves only one little square within the entire chess-board… not the entire field.  One does not care much about what happens to others… because, for one thing, one is likely to be concentrating almost entirely on oneself (as what is important).

All limited fields, including the limited field of merely concentrating on oneself, must be curbed by narrow, fixed demarcations.  Such demarcations and boundaries often are not fluid; they are not dynamic, nor are they all-encompassing.  What is heavily bounded often does not have a lot of depth.  Not to be judgmental, but there are all too many people who are quite content to remain fixed in limited fields of concern, having little regard for the well-being of the whole (i.e., well-being of the earth’s many life forms).  Being separated from others involves fragmentation… a fissure and a disjunction  from them.  This separation can be learned (such as via barbaric educational or primitive parenting practices) or it can be the result of certain biological qualities of the brain (as a result of biological/genetic inheritance or by cerebral chemical malfunctioning).

Some very social animals, such as monkeys and higher apes, tend to (at times) be rather compassionate (to a limited extent) to members of their own group or pack.  This sharing within the group tends to benefit members within the group, and it extends order and mutual survival for all.  Even some insects (such as ants) engage in instinctual sharing and group consciousness; they even create ladders (constructed out of many of themselves, as bodies clinging to bodies) so that other members can transversely move across difficult crevasses/chasms.  Bonobo  chimpanzees, a subspecies of chimps, have a brain anatomy that is significantly more developed, with larger regions assumed to be associated with the process of feeling empathy; they easily sense distress in others, and “feel their anxiety,” which makes them less aggressive and more empathic than their close relatives (i.e., the regular chimps and some of us humans). Bonobos have a thick connection between the amygdala, an neural area that can spark aggression, and the ventral anterior cingulate cortex, which helps control impulses. This thicker connection enables them to better regulate their emotional impulses, and to get a better grip on their behavior. I love how Bonobos are so full of empathy for other animals.  One, for example, lovingly held an injured bird and kept it warm, until it was able to fly over the enclosure fence.

For us humans, to be shaped (mentally) by the edicts of society allows only for a very limited depth of insight and true compassion.  Although there is sharing… society, currently, incorporates a lot of separative, competitive, and rigid views.  Dynamically transcending these views may be necessary for a profound depth of insight, and for real compassion, to manifest.  Society, currently, often deeply admires the man who is very financially successful, competitive, and dominant over others; such success often involves a rather ruthless, cutthroat, and machine-like mode of affairs.  Real compassion crashes through the superficial perspectives (of normalcy) and intelligently goes where recognition and awards are of little value and meaning.  The immature need to be “recognized”; the need to be given “awards”… involves ostensibly concentrating on a little, limited, fixed self.

eternalfountainofyouth.com

Photo below… by Thomas Peace (Left click on the photo and scroll down to see it enlarged; left click on the “middle” of it again to enlarge it more; hit left return-arrows, twice, to return.)

Lily with Ant photo by Thomas Peace c.2013

Lily with Ant photo by Thomas Peace c.2013

Post

On looking at life anew…

January 5, 2013
8 comments

Life involves much more than having many symbols (i.e., thoughts) about it.  Many of us go through life looking at everything through a screen of symbols and images.  We recognize things merely via these symbols and images (that we were taught).  To look freshly — without all of these blasé, worn-out images — is to really live.  Otherwise, one is merely looking through (and with) the old, dead known.  Direct, youthful observation only takes place without the contaminated past interfering.  Such observation is, in itself, alive and free.

Structured and “learned” observation is never really of freedom; it is never implicitly free.  Many merely look via the ways and modes that they were “taught” to look.  Little wonder, then, why so many become bored, weary, melancholy, and depressed.  They are not looking with what is joyous, fresh, alive, and spontaneous; they are looking with what is old, stored, categorized, and of the past.  The beauty of existence and life is in its spontaneity and “nowness”… not in a remembrance of what “was before.”  Go beyond what all the pundits have taught you.  Go beyond what you stored and accumulated.  Leave the dead past and perceive freshly in the “now.”

The next time you see the beauty of an animal, or a face, (or a tree)… please do not merely look at it via labels, classified-learned patterns, formulated systems, and antiquated memories.  Please do not merely look with a lot of that “learned space” that exists between the perceiver and what is being perceived.  Without all that baggage, maybe (if you’re lucky) you’ll actually be in relationship with what is observed.

eternalfountainofyouth.com 

“Beyond Labels”…   pic by Thomas Peace (Left click on the photo and scroll down to see it enlarged; left click on the “middle” of it again to enlarge it more; hit left return-arrows, twice, to return.)

"Beyond Labels" photo by Thomas Peace

“Beyond Labels” photo by Thomas Peace

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Traveling on the Razor’s Edge…

December 29, 2012
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One can take the easy way that others have formulated “for you,” regarding living your life.  Most of us travel the safe and easy path that was laid out for us by others.  However, it may be that the “prefabricated path,” put there by others for us to travel upon… almost inevitably leads to a life that is not truly full of dynamic immensity and true passion.  Any system, any set of rigid methodologies, merely tend to heavily condition the mind.  Such a conditioned  mind, being second-hand, rarely has the capacity to go beyond what is mediocre and contrived by plotting.

True spontaneity, true insight… is never the result of any second-hand, calculated series of events.  Real spontaneity and actual insight is always what manifests from something direct and “non-distorted.”   What is merely “learned” is always second-hand and, therefore, not truly direct and straight.  Shadows are what is rather second-hand… and a lot of minds are “in the dark” due to having allowed themselves to exist via the formulations and blueprints of others.  We need to go beyond what was fabricated for us to function “as.”  We need to perceive without all of the contamination that was poured into so many (by calculating profiteers).  We are not invited (enough) to do things without motive.  We are not invited (enough) to question things freely, sanely.  We are not invited to intelligently go beyond what was spoon-fed into us.  Most of us may be falling “off course,” because we may be traveling as delimited by (fallen) others.  Traveling on the razor’s edge is very difficult; it is easy to fall off and remain very “safe.”

eternalfountainofyouth.com 

Black Swallowtail on Flower’s Edge…pic by Thomas Peace (Left click on the photo and scroll down to see it enlarged; left click on the “middle” of it again to enlarge it more; hit left return-arrows, twice, to return.)

Black Swallowtail pic by Thomas Peace c. 2012

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Memory is Always Old…

December 23, 2012
1 comment

Memory is always old and of “the past.”  It involves symbolic images and words in a recollection of past occurrences, past things, past events, and past experiences.  Memory is usually heavily conditioned by the learned patterns that society has shaped within us.  The memory bank is an accumulation of these past (learned) things and past experiences. Things are categorized within us, according to how we’ve been taught.  We often merely see things through a process that is dictated through the learned screen of memory. Recognition is often largely memory reinforcing itself.  Being more than something that is second-hand… involves going beyond all this in a fundamental way.

This arrangement (of memories) can become rearranged (and reshuffled) and, in having done so, relatively new things and ideas can become established.  Such a rearrangement can either be very beneficial (to life on earth) or not very beneficial, or somewhere in between.  People come up with all kinds of ways to “sell” or “profit from” their ideas.  This profitability either is motivated to benefit the self or to benefit humanity and life (or both); oftentimes it lies somewhere in between.  A truly wise man, however, deeply perceives that the self is not, in truth, separate from the rest of humanity (and life).  Such a person’s motivation may not lie within what was merely learned via past experiences and via various types of stored memory.  This is because real insight can spring into existence (in a serious person) regardless of what past memories and experiences existed previously.

Deep and profound insight cannot be purposefully brought about by any method, system, or procedure.  Otherwise such insight would merely be the formulations of (or partially formulated by) a plan.  Planning takes time, and deep insight exists beyond the realm of what can be concocted in time.  True insight is timeless.  It is a profound, spontaneous explosion beyond what one had learned or experienced via memory. The profundity of insight can (out of compassion) shape someone’s memory; but one’s memory can never shape, fabricate, or bring about true insight.  The mechanism of memory (as the thinking process) must end (for deep insight to take place).  This ending, of course, cannot come about via any contrived process, procedure, or devised strategy.  An ending resultant from some kind of blueprint is a mechanically formulated effect… which is not, truly, an ending.  If the cause involves “plotting” and “calculation”… the end will be also be rather ordinary, near-predictable, and mundane.  Most people were taught that “ending,” for them, is something that is “not good.”  However, ending “psychologically” may not, at all, be deleterious.  Most people endlessly cling to (their) memory.  (That is what they were taught… and that is what they have absorbed; that is what they continually function as.)

eternalfountainofyouth.com

Insects and flowers have always had a symbiotic relationship with each other.  The flower feeds the insects and the insects help pollinate, clean, and protect the flower.

Photo of ant on a lily flower by Thomas Peace c. 2012:

[Left click on the photo to see a larger version… then left click on the “center” of it again (up to 2 times) to expand it further; hit left “arrows” to return.]

Ant on Lily by Thomas Peace c. 2012

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In Memory of Those Budding Children who faded today…

December 15, 2012
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In Memory of those Budding Children who faded today…

They were beautifully blossoming… and such precious flower buds should never be overshadowed or clipped.

(An insane madman, of darkness, did some ignorant overshadowing.)

from Emily Dickinson:

On such a night, or such a night,
Would anybody care
If such a little figure
Slipped quiet from its chair —

So quiet — Oh how quiet,
That nobody might know
But that the little figure
Rocked softer — to and fro —

On such a dawn, or such a dawn —
Would anybody sigh
That such a little figure
Too sound asleep did lie

For Chanticleer to wake it —
Or stirring house below —
Or giddy bird in orchard —
Or early task to do?

There was a little figure plump
For every little knoll —
Busy needles, and spools of thread —
And trudging feet from school —

Playmates, and holidays, and nuts —
And visions vast and small —
Strange that the feet so precious charged
Should reach so small a goal!

Katy and her blossoming flowers...Thomas Peace c. 2012

Katy and her blossoming flowers…
Thomas Peace c. 2012

eternalfountainofyouth.com

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To Look From A Limited Perspective…

December 12, 2012
4 comments

Looking from a limited perspective… what does that mean to you?  Have you ever thought about it?  Many of us probably perceive through a conditioned background… a background that many of us have “operated from,”  but which many of us have never intelligently examined objectively.  To perceive things in a fragmentary manner may be to look with a great deal of separation and division.

Many of us go through life “recognizing” things.  We recognize one thing after another, as we were taught.  Then we write essays, or books, or blogs, or letters, or emails about these multitudinous “things” that we have “recognized.”  We often recognize things in the manner or way in which we were taught to recognize them.  One’s consciousness is constituted of these “recognized things.”  These things that we were taught about have very delineated demarcations and boundaries.  We were taught that each thing has a finite domain and a limited space… and we were taught that there is a limited space between us and each of these “things.”  (We were taught that fear is there, in us to deal with… not that we and our fears are not separate, not something different.)  We continue to write about these things and share these things with others.  So, indirectly (or directly) we are continuing to teach and to reinforce the learning/teaching process  of others (in the manner that we were taught).  Some of us are very good at writing and at conveying images to others via printed words.  We get congratulated about what we are writing… and, indeed, some of us develop very lucrative professions due to our ability to hone and craft words in an “artful/intelligent” manner.  We give each other prizes (for those who we think did the best job at entertaining us with words and symbols… in a crafty manner).

In the Algonquian Native American family of languages, for instance, there is more of a verb-based structure existent.  In other words (no pun intended) more verbs exist, rather than separate things “as nouns.”  There’s more of a “doing” and “blending,” rather than an “it-ness” and a “separativeness.”   The Ojibwa, the Cheyenne, and the Blackfoot sometimes saw things more together, in a kind of blended movement or flow… rather than as mere separate, isolated “things” very apart from each other.

Animals recognize things, often without having been taught to do so.  Dogs recognize what to eat and what not to eat (though what some dogs recognize as being “edible” is not often very beneficial to eat).  Cats recognize what is a threat and what is not likely to be harmful.  Saber tooth cats (no doubt) could often do so without having been taught by their mother. A lot of this recognition is innate and instinctual.  It is at a very crude level. Even insects and spiders can recognize what is an enemy and what is beneficial to eat; oftentimes they are one and the same (in the case of what insects/spiders see as an enemy that is concomitantly likely delicious)!

The consequences of continuing to write with a separative mode (quite similar to what crude bugs and diminutive animals can grasp and attain)… might be extremely profitable for the so-called gifted writer or author who is capable regarding relating in such a manner.  However, if we merely continue in that crude, crass, and primal mode (as we have been doing for millennia), then we will have merely continued the process of looking from a limited perspective.  We need to evolve from this separative perspective (which merely involves separate things).  If we don’t change, then people (with their separative little countries, sects, things, and establishments) will never change fundamentally.  Will a fragment, a separate, little self that is divorced from everything else be able to do this?  One doubts it.  What is limited cannot transcend limitation unless it fundamentally changes into something else. A little insect, sitting on a plant, can’t fundamentally change from the crude limitation that it is immersed (and absorbed) in. Can we?

eternalfountainofyouth.com

Katy in Flower by Thomas Peace c. 2012

Katy in Flower
by Thomas Peace c. 2012

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We are what we think.

December 9, 2012
3 comments

We are what we think.  And by and large, we are the thoughts of others.  We have absorbed the thoughts, patterns, habits, and manners of others; we are an accumulation of these processes, tokens, and methodologies that others provide.  Yet we (each of us) think that we are something truly independent and unique.  The reality may be that most of us are not unique or independent at all.   To be a second-hand copy (of what everyone else basically is) may not at all be what “true living” involves.  Being another domino in a sequential series of reactions may not involve real action whatsoever.  Real action goes beyond limited boundaries.  Limited boundaries constitute the very essence of symbolic representations and mental recognition frameworks via learned (i.e., merely absorbed) paradigms. Real learning lies beyond mere absorption.

We look through the screen of what we were taught… and what we see is what was implanted into us.  Very few of us go beyond that very limited domain.  We are used to (i.e., accustomed to) limitation, we live in limitation, we accept limitation, and we fight… in childish political parties, divisive religions, separative countries, and isolated, small self-concepts… all involving gross and crass limitation.  Limitation occurs when the mind is spewing with boundaries of demarcations, when barren, symbolic representations endlessly clutter the mind.  Merely absorbing and assimilating limitation is easy.  Any languorous or inattentive mind can do that.

Fortunately, there are a few who look beyond the muddle and go beyond it.  They are not the ones who write the innumerable mystery books that have no real mystery to them, and within… (and there are plenty of so-called mystery books like that).  They are not the ones carelessly driving into dead-end streets while childishly trying to entertain us. They are not the ones in high office, dressed in fancy clothes (or wearing hierarchical robes) jabbering away, but with real apathy behind it.  They are not the ones with their images plastered on the cover of popular magazines.

We think that we control what we think… but we are what we think.  We have accepted separation as an essence of our fundamental perspective.  (We think that we are separate from what we think… and that we control it.)  We (most of us) have merely absorbed what we were “taught.”  However, that kind of teaching, from which we were “taught,” may not be real teaching at all.  Real teaching involves penetrating the superficial.  Real teaching involves tearing down false limitations and puny demarcations to reveal and allow deep, profound insight.  Wholeness, real wholeness, is not a concept.  It is not something concocted from an accumulation (or bundling) of the many things that one sees or was “taught” to see.

Many of us are second-hand shadows, congratulating each other on what remains superficial and fragmentary. The ramifications of this involve a world being harmed more and more by very limited minds.  To question what we were taught, and to go beyond it, may be the beginning of true wisdom.  True wisdom stands alone… and it does not depend.  True wisdom may not exist for one who wishes to wallow in the comfortable shadows of what it was conditioned to become by society.

www.eternalfountainofyouth.com   

from Walt Whitman:

I believe that a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars…

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Photograph “Leaves of Grass” by Thomas Peace (copyright 2012)

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