There exists the intrinsic goodness of a very healthy mind. It is not what came about (secondhand) from the teachings and preaching of others. It is its own radiant and special light (which was not made from what others offered). To act from the blueprint of others is not unsullied, pure action; rather, it is secondhand reaction. Secondhand reaction rarely truly radiates what is holistically good. Behaving from a blueprint is robotic, mechanical, regimented, imitative, and not genuine. Organized governments, religions, schools, and cults tell you how to behave. Dynamic intelligence and true innocence surpass all of the superficiality that mankind’s so-called structured organizations offer. A crippled mind needs a crutch. But over-dependence on crutches keeps you dependent and limited. No need to cling to things, floating frog.
We saw Santa at the mall yesterday (and he put lasting smiles on our faces)! One is never too old to get some real joy with quality Santa Claus time. A bit later, we sent some kids and their parents in his direction (to see him); i hope that they got a chance to visit with him.
The Christmas Holiday Season is very special and magical to me. It is a time of giving and caring with heartfelt joy. Such a holiday season should occur all year long. If possible, this holiday season, donate to some favorite charities. This season should not just be about materialistic things but should involve heartfelt caring and action. It’s a time for kindness, goodness, peace, camaraderie, and joy. Happy Holidays!… Merry Christmas! 🎅🤶
Evolution, involving the myriad of all plants and animals, is magical and miraculous in so many ways. Countless amazing species have appeared (and disappeared) through the journey of life on Earth. To me, it is like the blossoming of a majestic, beautiful flower… and each of its many petals is opening and expanding in miraculous ways. It is imperative that one be in tune with this blossoming, to be extremely appreciative of it and to deeply respect its holistic, spiritual nature. We are all connected. We are, each of us, a petal of this tremendous, immeasurable unfolding.
Understanding the whole cannot occur merely by the sequential movement of fragments. Parts can never perceive the whole or deeply be in communion with it. And, unfortunately, it is all too easy for the mind to play tricks on itself; for instance, it can stick to the notion of a controlling center (called “me” or “I”) that it thinks is the essence of itself. From this supposed “center,” it seems to operate. However, this so-called center is another fragment, a learned obtrusion of thought/thinking, and dependence upon it creates limitation and circumscription. However, almost all of us reinforce it… usually unaware that that is what we are actually doing. We feel safe and smart by doing so, but (in reality) it is neither safe nor intelligent. A false center creates separative distance and boundaries; a false center contributes to conflict (internally and externally), which creates havoc in the world.
Only a subtle, sensitive, keenly perceptive mind can go beyond the notion of a central ego, a central controller (that seems separate from the thoughts it supposedly thinks… that seems separate from others). Such a perceptive mind is then of compassion and wholeness. It no longer is wasting its energy on illusory separations, divisions, isolating beliefs, and absorbed false concepts. Freedom is not circumscribed… (and a psychological center has a limited radius). What is limited is not in true communion with eternity and boundlessness.
[Note: I hope that many of you had a happy Thanksgiving. Beyond being “thankful,” we also need to help others in need (by donating or by doing something)… so that they too may be thankful. ]
To intentionally meditate, at certain times of the day (using certain methods), is likely very limited, false, and likely makes the mind more mechanical, more calculating, and dull. To meditate to get something out of it… is to try to do something from a motive. A so-called meditator who tries to meditate to get nirvana (or to get some kind of “special” non-ordinary experience)… is (let’s face it) out to get something. Time and greed do not (and cannot) lead one to a timeless, non-greedy dimension. Time is sequential and greed (being in time) is, likewise, sequential. The timeless is not an achievement that comes about by calculation, motives, practices, methods, or learned procedures in (and “as”) time. However, there are oodles of people (i.e., charlatans) who (all too willingly) try to instill their methods upon you. And they have plenty of secondhand beliefs that they learned from others.
The beauty of spontaneous, simple, uncalculated awareness (without motives to get something) may come about naturally — without effort — in a mind that is unsullied, uncontaminated, and innocent. And it may be that, on the other hand, the supposed central (controlling) self that tries to meditate through methodology is essentially an obtrusion of conditioned thought/thinking (that is neither central, truly controlling, nor a true initiator of anything). Trying to meditate via the effort of a so-called central controller… is neither viable nor intelligent. Even while engaging in our so-called meditation (which we learned from others), most of us are reinforcing the perpetual conditioned illusion of a center (i.e., a central ego).
To perceive without effort can occur in a mind of deep order, intelligence, and health. Such effortlessness may be beyond the limitations of sequential motives and time. Such effortlessness does not reinforce an illusory center. Bliss, eternity, and a profoundly innocent mind are not separate things.
The Trees’ Symbiotic Friends … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2023
Thinking, being of abstraction, is sequential in nature; therefore, it is of time; it is time. It is psychological time that creates and manifests as fear. In time, one may be despised by others; in time (i.e., in the future), one may be laughed at; in time, one may become senile; in time, one may get psychologically hurt by another. So, often, thought and its shadow (i.e., concomitant fear) manifest in (and “as”) time. And remaining in (and “as”) conditioned, sequential abstraction… is a form of suffering. Such suffering is not blissful living.
Thought is often a very necessary tool. However, all too often, we go on thinking (when thought is not necessary). This remaining in (and “as”) thought/thinking, is remaining in what is merely conditioned, merely sequential, merely symbolic, and what is merely time-bound. To psychologically die, at times, to the repetition of abstract thinking, is to go beyond fear, secondhandedness, fragmentation, symbolism, and separation. It may be that the separation between the thinker and the thought is, in itself, another conditioned, sequential misstep… another learned fabrication that isn’t true. It may be that thought creates (and is) the thinker, not the other way around. And we are afraid to have thinking stop (because we are afraid of being nothing). But this “nothing,” that we are afraid of, is a projection of thought/thinking that is erroneous and illusory. To often go beyond the limitation of abstract, fragmentary, and sequential thinking — and all thought is fragmentary, sequential, and time-bound — may be (if it is actually done) rather blissful and beyond distortion, fear, and suffering.
Chameleonic Sweetie … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2023
One often points out here that it may be prudent to go beyond the limited and fragmentary domain of thought/thinking. One is not asking you to dive deep into a lot of philosophical abstraction. On the contrary, i am suggesting that you do something that is immensely pure, pristine, and beautifully simple… which is to not always be of (and “in”) the domain of thought/thinking. You see, thought/thinking — if we are at all honest with ourselves — is where all of the abstraction is. Most of us habitually live in (and “as”) abstraction. Our thoughts (i.e., our abstractions) are actually what we are. These abstractions are dreadfully habitual, and we do not want to let them go. Most of us even accept words as being rather equivalent to reality… even though words are merely virtual abstractions. (Sometimes words are necessary, but they are only tools.)
Too many of us are satisfied with virtual, illusory, fragmentary ways. Little wonder why the world is full of a lot of insanity and chaos. We need to wake up and change.
We, in the restaurant,staring We at them and they at us They,thinking that we are not them (and we,perceiving that they are a part of us)
And,inevitably(as was always the case)the waitress sprang up like a new(damp)fall mushroom,smiling as she approached us with the typical,vacant separation while(as far as we’re concerned)her features became what we were
Menus were gently handed to us in the appropriate fashion and we graciously accepted them in the befitting,civilized manner “Yes,”soon was uttered about “some cream with decaf coffee” and then,Eliot-style,we measured out our lives with coffee spoons
Rubbing against the eatery’s window panes, the yellow fog licked its web into the corners of the evening, and,seeing that it was a soft October night, peered in at unsuspecting,engulfing diners who seemed alive(although very much asleep)
And those bourgeois diners’ eyes that stare with superficial,learned separation, that pigeonhole you as being quite far from what they are (i.e.,it’s all about distance,you see) while they consume the “having-suffered” ragged claws decomposing upon their plates, do you feel sorry for them,for whom it all(unfortunately)is very much too late?
These people walk(although they’re dead) These people talk(although they’re dead) These people cadaverously go through the appearances of being alive(although they’re dead) These patterns fight(although they’re dead) These machines bury their dead(even as they themselves are dead)
These machines function(with cause-and-effect robotic mechanicalness) These machines move(with cause-and-effect robotic mechanicalness) These machines calculate and measure(with cause-and-effect mechanicalness) These marionettes agree(with cause-and-effect mechanicalness) These machines salute,march,bow,dance,and kill(with cause-and-effect mechanicalness)
These numerous fears function(through and “as” time) These habitual mental labels function(through and “as” time) These endless desires function(through and “as” time) These absorbed ideas function(through and “as” time) These cognitive symbols function(through and “as” time)
These few people of heartfelt caring(make an infinite difference over,in,and above time) These short moments beyond fragmentation(may hint at something beyond the limitations of time) These suggestive movements beyond the norm(might break through the prison bars of time) These movements outside of instilled beliefs(might break out of the cocoon of time) These final fortunate endings of words(point to something superior to time) These Halloween Days are full of manmade global horrors
Please don’t look at Pumpkin Plumber’s Hind End. (Shame on you. You looked!) … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2023A Deep Look into Bathing Time … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2023
In this very insane and violent world, in order to find out what is true, and what is beyond and deeper than what everyone else is thinking, believing, or hoping, one must have (and “be”) a tremendous and great passion (involving holistic discovery). This immense passion must be beyond motives involving hopes, desires, and secondhand patterns. One must — to truly explore — function with (and “as”) a mind that is untainted, unprogrammed, unafraid, unconditioned, and uninfluenced by others. Such a profound inquiry must not try to influence what may be discovered (via any internal, psychological influences such as hopes, beliefs, desires, and expectations). And, such a pristine, inquiring mind must be extremely healthy, via being part of a body that eats wholesome, very natural, nourishing foods, exercises often, and does not indulge in recreational mind-altering drugs, alcohol, and tobacco products (that can distort the observations).
Then, having laid the right foundation, one can inquire. This inquiry may best be done (psychologically) without methods, systems, and learned techniques… just by timelessly, effortlessly looking without conflict, and conditioning… beyond any previously learned psychological molding, casting, techniques, or shaping. Most thinking, per se, involves methodology, remembrance, and effort; being beyond thinking is neither of methodology nor time. Freedom, spirituality, and truth may not be what people think or what minds fabricate.
Shine On You Crazy Diamond … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2023
Conflict and friction are rooted in separation. We were miseducated to accept and embrace separation in (and “as”) consciousness. We were taught that we have a separate “ego” that controls things. We were not told about the possibility that this “ego” is merely a protrusion of thought/thinking. We were not told that, psychologically, the perceiver is not something separate from the perceived. So-called “normal” people look at internal anger, fear, and jealousy as if each is something separate from what they actually are. This inward separation also extends “outwardly.” Most look at life with separation and conflict and accept it as being normal.
Genuine, holistic love is not based on separation and conflict. Love is not what involves psychological distance and ironclad, circumscribed boundaries. The left hand that sees the right hand as something apart from itself is ignorant and is confined in (and “as”) blinding deception. Such ignorance and confinement manifest as sorrow. Wisdom transcends this.
While lingering in the very curious dark a quaint two-horse somber carriage happened by and, as it almost paused adjacent to me, Miss Dickinson peering out, smiling, said, “Won’t you hop in to savor some pie?”
We (much later passed) the School, where Children strove Happily at Recess—in the Ring And Staring, (we passed) the Fields of Gazing Grain We (without fail) passed the Setting Sun We passed those Dusky Creatures that were on the Wing
Well, the atmosphere tasted scrumptious, but the Coachman suddenly brought the whole sweet thing to a blinding halt However, Timelessness has that radiant aroma of infinity oozing out from all around it where ending simply began again with just a pinch of salt
In last week’s post, some folks, in the Comment section, mentioned something about the unknown embodying nothingness while mentioning that that is what is so terrifying; they feel safe in the “known.” Those comments got me pondering. Is nothingness (as the unknown) truly terrifying and does it take real courage to live with it psychologically?
As i’ve mentioned numerous times before… we were all very miseducated by society. This miseducation has molded us to be fearful of nothingness… to be anxious about existing in (and “as”) the unknown. It was hammered into us that the known — knowledge, knowing, and memory — is the key to security, safety, and happiness. In some limited ways, it helps with such things, but it may (fundamentally) not consist of (and fully support) lasting security, safety, and happiness. The known is fragmentary, symbolic, virtual, and limited. It is actually the known and its protrusions of “what might be” that produce fears; the unknown does not fuel this. The known and its concoction of “what could happen” is the real root of fear. In groping for security in the known, we absorb (and hold) beliefs. These beliefs were poured into us as products of knowledge that offer security. Do limited, secondhand words, suppositions, and mental images provide vast and unlimited security? Not really! In fact beliefs and absorbed religious suppositions very often divide people in the world, causing much conflict, fighting, war, and suffering. That is not profound security.
If you are not a reflection of what society has poured into you (and if you actually perceive how thoughts create fear and mental problems), then existing (psychologically) as nothingness or as the unknown may not take much courage. For me, nothingness is real bliss and is a great joy. This is because it exists beyond the limitations of symbolic, virtual, cadaverous, and stale thinking. Nothingness (beyond thinking) nullifies fragmentation and secondhanded observation. It, and it alone, allows for pristine and unadulterated observation (that is not contaminated by labels, beliefs, habits, fears, and stale, fragmentary protrusions of thought/thinking). This inner nothingness, which is holistic and uncontaminated, is real bliss, clarity, and timeless joy. (It takes no courage whatsoever to dwell in — and “as” — timeless joy… as the unknown.) The actuality is that stale thoughts and beliefs are limited, old, fragmentary, time-oriented, fear-generating, secondhand, and dark. (Granted, oftentimes rational thoughts are needed to function in life… but they are only limited tools.) The distortion of thought/thinking largely masks the joy and clarity of timeless living. Dying (psychologically) to the known is real freedom; then living and dying are not two separate things… and Death is what endless, robotic, virtual, symbolic, secondhand thinking is.
from E.E. Cummings:
dying is fine)but Death
?o baby i
wouldn’t like
Death if Death were good:for
when(instead of stopping to think)you
begin to feel of it,dying ‘s miraculous why?be
cause dying is
perfectly natural;perfectly putting it mildly lively(but
Death
is strictly scientific & artificial &
evil & legal)
we thank thee god almighty for dying (forgive us,o life!the sin of Death
Most people are magnetized to gravitate to (and to dwell in, and “as”) the known. They, unfortunately, cling to an existence exclusively in that superficial dimension. That dimension is a very limited dimension because one can only know (and accumulate) a very limited amount of things. To often exist as the unknown is foreign to them (and, for many, they never even considered it). The known is always of the past because it was accumulated in (and “as”) the past. Being of the past, the known always has a stale, secondhand element to it; it is never new, never totally fresh and living. Virtual, symbolic patterns, which constitute the known, are tokens and representations… not the actuality. It is good to use symbolic patterns often… but they are only temporary tools.
In so-called modern times, we were miseducated to dwell (and exist “as”) the known exclusively. Unfortunately, a mind that exclusively exists as the known is unbalanced and not whole. Society is a direct reflection of this unbalanced element, and insanity is rampant across the world. Interestingly, there is no procedure or method to step out of the known. All procedures and methods involve the known and are extensions of it. Procedures and methods involve time and the known is sequential (in its mechanical nature) and involves (and is) time. The unknown has the essence of nothingness to it (psychologically), and most people (unfortunately) are extremely afraid to be nothing psychologically. All want to be something, to attain something, to become something, to believe something, to get something, and to just continue to accumulate (sequentially). This exclusive sequential accumulation may be the very denial of true and timeless living.
Many years ago, when i was in college, so-called gurus from the East came to our campus, providing students with meditation techniques that involved sitting cross-legged and concentrating on allegedly “special” mantras that were supposed to take us to a higher spiritual level. I went to a couple of these sessions and ended up telling the bearded gurus — who were taking money, by the way, for their efforts — that i felt that what they were promoting was just a glorified form of self-hypnosis. I read about hypnosis while in high school and was familiar with what it entailed. Needless to say, they were not very elated regarding my comments.
Many people are greedy and gullible. They think that they can pay money that will enable them to soar to some kind of higher spiritual plane. Real meditation is not what one can greedily arrange to happen. It is not something that one can practice. Real meditation is not doing something to attain some otherworldly result (to escape from reality). Real meditation is an effortless thing that may take place if one is very perceptive, caring, and greed-free. Real meditation is not doing something to get something out of it. One cannot “know” that one is meditating. Real meditation takes place, in one, unawares, without a person concluding that he or she is doing it.
A dull, greedy little mind can sit cross-legged (repeating so-called “special” words for decades but it will only be mesmerizing itself hypnotically… rendering itself to be even more dull and robotic). There is no path to the truly spiritual because the truly spiritual (i.e., the timeless) is not in a place. It is not locked up in a box upon an altar. Place and time are bound together.
Beyond the Caterpillars … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2023
Sorrow is a reaction. Sorrow is a mental response to something manifesting as a cause which results in an effect from what is accepted to be an observer. Conditioning concerning the manifestation of an “observer” results in a response allegedly from (and supposedly “by”) that observer. Intelligence, however, perceives that the observer is not separate from the observed. Such perception is not merely a standard reaction; it is, rather, holistic action beyond conditioned reaction (if it is indeed genuine, pristine perception, and not just an idea). This pristine perception negates the suffering of sorrow (in that it is clarity beyond robotic reaction). Does the clarity of wisdom habitually carry the burden of sorrow? Not likely. Wisdom is deeply living; sorrow and depression are not deeply living. Reactions are rooted in thought/thinking and can (and do) manifest as sorrow. Habitual thinking has the element of sorrow within it (intrinsically). Profound perception is living and is not exclusively rooted in thought/thinking. Such perception often exists beyond cadaverous, conditioned sorrow.
The ego of most people exists as a learned, limited set of reactions that involve separation, distance (from what are considered “others”), conflict, and a circumscribed (though false) center. Thought/thinking is the source of the ego, not the other way around. Egos, being restricted in nature, often cause havoc in the world; just check out the news. The ego, being limited, is often a cause of suffering (both with what are considered “inward” and “outside” events). The ego manifests suffering (because of its confinement and falsity). Deep, holistic compassion is dynamic and involves unadulterated perception. Such perception is direct and is not a mere reaction… it is action and is not robotic (like superficial reaction is). When the ego is transcended, a real, holistic compassion may occur that exists as immense and profound intelligence.
Well, this one is not going to win me any popularity contests! Nevertheless, one hopes that you have the seriousness, energy, and integrity to openly attend to this.
Although i may have had a profound spiritual nirvana-oriented “experience,” which (if it indeed happened) would definitely cause me to realize the reality of that vast, sacred intelligence… i generally do not pray. With regard to human beings praying, it is indeed amazing how many people think that they have to point out (to that vast, supreme intelligence) what needs to be done in life. If it is indeed vast and intelligent, it wouldn’t need a middle-man (i.e., a basically primitive, fragmentary, limited, little hominid species) to tell it what needs to be done. A human being may think that he or she must point out what he or she or what others need… but that, in a big way, may be arrogant, limited, and insulting. Furthermore, some people may maintain that praying makes them feel better. Well, alcohol and other drugs make a whole lot of people feel better but that does not mean they should be frequently used.
Additionally, many people in life have problems and need help. There would be no end to any divine, miraculous activity of helping people (and animals) once that ball gets rolling. Nature is basically allowed to (naturally) run its course. My suggestion — and i’ve said this before — is, instead of using symbolic words, mental supplication, and summoning wishes toward a supposed God-oriented image in your head… actually roll up your sleeves and do something. For many years, i was a teacher for the multiply handicapped. Instead of merely praying and wishing that their lives improved, i actually did something. Perhaps — at times — one can be somewhat of an extension of that vast, unimaginable, compassionate intelligence, (without merely relying on internal wishes and invocations), without requesting some invisible power to magically get things done.
And please don’t continue to anthropomorphize things; and, of course, that sacred immensity doesn’t want to be worshipped (by fragmentary minds) via idolization, because it certainly doesn’t have a primitive, narcissistic human ego (thank goodness) that craves adoration. One is suggesting here that large numbers of humans have misconstrued what true spirituality entails… but then, one has realized that fact ever since one was in grade school.
When the mind — as thought/thinking — worships what it considers to be “God,” it — in actuality — is worshipping thought-formulated images that it absorbed from others or that it manufactured on its own. So, in essence, it is worshipping itself (or part of itself). Alternatively, it may be far more prudent to diligently inquire as to whether the sacred really exists (or not). And such an explorative inquiry, if it is to be pristine and uninfluenced by outside (or inside) agencies, may best be often done beyond the limitations and trickery of thought/thinking. A lens that is not contaminated by outside debris perceives clearly beyond all of the rot. Keeping the mind healthy, clear, inquisitive, compassionate, orderly, and of dynamic depth, may be far more important than clinging to secondhand images, beliefs, so-called experts, and traditional routines.
There can be a holistic awareness without significant thought/thinking taking place, (in which the intelligent mind often sees without thinking and cognition interfering). There can be, for example, simple awareness of creatures upon flowers and of leaves lightly dancing in the breeze. However, thought/thinking is then not merely labeling, analyzing, comparing, or projecting what science has taught concerning these things. Then the mind may be of a sweet emptiness that is beyond the second-hand constructs of man. That emptiness (of mind) may be a blissful, effortless negation of inherited mental fabrications. Such mental nullification may be the highest positive, for neither is it handed down, replayed as monotonous imitation, conjured up via effort, nor dully rehashed. And it can deeply exist (too) beyond the ordinary, habitual recognition of things. It is always refreshingly new and beyond dead blueprint-like (mental) structuring. (Too many of us take words to be the equivalent of reality; they are not.) And, coincidentally, real love is always explosive, pristine, and not copied or imitated. The ordinary “once-lers” of the world are, unfortunately, not of it.
The elderly, gray-haired Lo Zu was sitting — as he often tended to do — on a large boulder in nature… his wooden meandering cane leaning against him. Some youth saw him from a distance and they curiously journeyed over to where he was sitting. Then they asked him what he was doing. Lo Zu replied… “Doing nothing… being nowhere and existing as nothingness.” One of the youth queried, “What do you mean by ‘existing as nothingness?'”
After a long, meditative pause, Lo Zu replied, “When the ego is transcended, the mind is often mysteriously beyond its contents; then there is a beautiful nothingness that is blissfully beyond ordinary experience, sensation, space, and time; that emptiness is beyond the ‘known.’ But most people are afraid of being beyond the known. They are afraid of having their cup empty. Each one desperately wants their cup to be filled (with something). Their cups are full of stale theories, secondhand ideas, flat beliefs, antiquated traditions, divisive religions, corrosive fears, greedy desires, banal suppositions, learned superstitions, limited so-called organized systems, dead images, and shallow words from so-called leaders. But it may be that their fullness is the real poverty; it may be that real richness is in transcending the psychological self (that is an illusory troublemaker). Profound love is beyond the dilation of self.”
Experiencing things, for most people, involves recognition and thought/thinking. Experiencing things, for most people most of the time, deals with experiences that seem to be separate from the “experiencer.” But the “experiencer” is really not something apart from the experience (though he or she seems to be separate). Without the experience, there is no “experiencer.” Most tend to look with full-blown separation and distance.
When people look at the stars, they are observing something that happened millions of years ago (which, of course, is due to the fact that it took the stars’ light millions of years to get to the Earth). So, essentially, they are looking at the past. And even when one sees things that are physically very close, one is still observing the past. Experiencing is, for survival purposes, often very useful; it often is a necessity for survival. However, merely depending on experiencing — and existing as experiencing — may not be very prudent. Merely remaining in that limited realm may be remaining in (and “as”) the past. Many cling to the apron strings of experience… and they are afraid to venture beyond that limited and separative realm. It is wise to often be experiencing things and it is wise to be beyond experiencing things. Immense wholeness is beyond experiencing (and all of the traditional separation, discrimination, psychological distance, isolation, and circumscription that goes with it).
Before we congratulate ourselves for being an intelligent, wonderful species, we need to get our act together and stop ruining the entire planet for ourselves and all other species. (I, like my mother, was very good at having very accurate premonitions. I am currently 71; when i was a child, i had a premonition that human beings would ruin the planet by causing too much pollution.) Currently, the pollution and smoke in the Midwest are so bad that i have to wear a mask when outdoors. And temperatures are soaring. Unfortunately — and tragically — the poor birds, insects, and other creatures of nature do not have masks to wear. They must remain outdoors and they are truly suffering. (I have been in tears about it.) And i do not care to write this but it’s true… lately, scientists are saying that the Doomsday Glacier (i.e., the Thwaites Glacier) is melting much faster than previous predictions have suggested. They say that it’s hanging on by its fingernails. Its melting, in turn, will disrupt the oceanic currents that have been necessary for regulating and balancing Earth’s global climate. And, there are plenty of people — like my next-door neighbors — who think that manmade climate change is a myth. We all need to curtail global environmental mindlessness and do much better for the sake of the earth and its creatures.
Before All of the Smoke Arrived … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2023
When you were a very young child, before society gave you all kinds of baggage to carry (mentally), you were euphorically joyful, deeply inquisitive, and full of bliss. Then you felt eternal, timeless, and profound, and you were not concerned about death, religion, politics, or how to climb a ladder of success. But they loaded you up with the baggage that they had accumulated (and concomitantly, a lot of the real beauty of life dissipated in consciousness over time). Perhaps you can do yourself a real favor and perceive again (without depending on any accumulated baggage). Perceive without all of their concepts weighing down upon you. Without all of the psychological baggage, perhaps you can be young and full of joy and living magic again.
Clinging to Easy Substance … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2023
Yes, one doesn’t normally post videos and one normally doesn’t like to watch them but the following short video — which was sent to me by friends in Canada that i used to live with and do volunteer work with, for six months, making non-competitive games — is an exception. The video is very sweet, in my honest opinion! Please watch it!
Pristine perception is not observing through a screen of conditioning. Very many of us look at things just as we were programmed to look… which really isn’t looking at all. To perceive without conditioning interfering requires a very dynamic mind that is not easily influenced by others. Such unconditioned observing is innocent, unsullied, profound, without a center, and has little to do with robotic reactions with their concomitant opinions and labels. Pristine perception does not involve the limited circumference that a psychological center brings about. Such perception is untethered, insightful, and — not being secondhand — is beyond methodology and imitation. Profound perception goes beyond mere recognition and remembrance. It is an effortless explosion of intelligent freedom.
Suffering is part of life. We all suffer. We suffer physically and we suffer psychologically. Physical suffering is unfortunate oftentimes, and often some of us get more than our fair share. When one suffers, one is not just suffering alone; the whole of humanity and life shares in that suffering; it is the suffering of life. Sometimes, we automatically run from suffering in a robotic, conditioned, thoughtless way. If one is intelligent, one can allow physical suffering to flower naturally somewhat (without just being totally negative about it). Physical suffering is often a signal… and we need not be too overwhelmed with some of these signals (as long as we are doing everything we can to live a healthy and responsible life).
Additionally, there is psychological suffering. The mind can suffer with grief, with fear, with sorrow, with depression, loneliness, and boredom. Habitually manifesting as grief and sorrow can, for instance, take its toll on the body; it can cause high blood pressure, strokes, and all kinds of things. One’s sorrow, one’s fears, one’s grief… are all not separate from what one actually is. One can, without effort, psychologically die to grief, fear, to sorrow (and such things). And merely dwelling in (and “as”) thoughts is a form of sorrow. Thoughts are merely virtual, symbolic images, and existing merely as virtual, symbolic images is intrinsically a form of suffering. And thoughts (and psychological images in time) are usually the sources of fear and anxiety. One can psychologically die to the endless chattering of thoughts; such a dying is inherently a blessing. Look at things directly and not just through a psychological screen of learned images and labels. It is the images and labels that take effort to manifest, which is not the case with direct perception and pure seeing. But we make effort into an endless habit and then claim that we can’t exist without it. Effort takes time; wise (pristine) perception is timeless. Compassion is instantaneous (and has an element of timelessness), by the way.
Coprolite — Fossilized Dinosaur Dung … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2023
I’ve included the following quote by Einstein in previous posts, and i’m including it here again.
“The true value of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self.” — Albert Einstein
The human brain goes through a huge amount of associative mental connections. Most people associate the “I,” the “me,” the “self” with power to control, with domination over “other” thoughts, and with freedom to act independently. However, the “I” — just like the other concepts of central authority — is just a protrusion of thought/thinking. In all actuality, there is no true central “controller” situated in the brain. Unfortunately, far too many people treat this thing as if it has a separate, substantive existence (apart from others). It may be that many millions deceive themselves each and every day. Transcending this limited, primitive, crude form of thinking opens the way toward deep compassion and holistic understanding. Our age-old associative ties to a central, independent “controller” (apart from the world) may be very erroneous.
being to timelessness as it’s to time… E.E.Cummings
Time is distance. We perceive with (and “as”) distance, and we remain stuck in time. Of course, you have to keep your doctor’s appointment, which involves a certain physical time and place. (A supposed isolated center looking out, perceives via distance.) Should time be the only domain we function in (and “as”)? This writer says, “No!”
A lot of people in the so-called United States of America like to kill a lot of people in the so-called United States of America. It’s a deplorable form of ignorance really. It’s like the thumb of a hand attacking the fingers of the very same hand. A lot of people have been miseducated, and they do not perceive the unity of all things and creatures. Most look with (and “as”) separation, division, fragmentation, indifference, and isolating distance from a supposed center. We need to wake up and grow beyond the shortsighted limitation.
The Bird Ear and the Siblings … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2023
Most of us are almost constantly churning — mentally — with various images, words, and patterns within our minds. (The words are often verbal in essence and usually occur as simulations of what one’s own physical voice sounds like.) Even when we listen to others, or observe others, what we perceive largely consists of patterns recognized (i.e., re-cognized) by mental patterns which already exist in (and “as”) the mind. We often take these patterns — these protrusions of thought/thinking — to be equivalent to pure reality. However, they are primarily just virtual representations that are fragmentary, symbolic, and of the past, since they are constituted of repetitive mental protrusions that reflect what was poured — piecemeal — into us by others. Even the “I” that each one seems to zealously harbor and worship consists of a protrusion of thought/thinking (that deceives the mind and often invites fragmentary, separative behavior).
A silent mind transcends this limitation by going beyond what is secondhand, virtual, and symbolic. Such a mind is not merely trapped in (and “as”) the representational. Such a mind is dynamic, alive, pristine, and beyond sequential, robotic imitation. Then, true care and compassion may manifest. Compassion does not emanate from what is fundamentally not alive.
Lichen what you see … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2023
Integrity is wholeness, goodness, purity, accuracy, uprightness, and incorruptness. A disjointed mind that is constantly internally chattering to itself — with fragmentary words and labels that society indoctrinated it with — likely has a hard time with existing as true integrity. Friction, conflict, fragmentation, and indifference are not what contribute to integrity. The lack of integrity is illusory, and so many people (for comfort) accept what is spoon-fed to them but which is essentially false.
There exists a profound level of integrity that is intrinsically a manifestation of incorruptibility; such incorruptibility is beyond the decay that most people fear. It effortlessly transcends mortality.
We’ve looked with separation for eons in order to survive in a competitive world. However, merely looking with (and “as”) separation may not be what is conducive to a truly spiritual life. How does one look without separation? It isn’t the result of some method or system that one can apply or copy. Effort itself, through time, is separative and is not the answer. Practicing meditation is not the answer. Belonging to a so-called organized religion or to an abstracted territorial domain (conveniently called “my country”) contributes to division and conflict in the world. Any procedure performed by a supposed central ego is based on separation.
The answer neither involves time nor a central observer.
The Art of Proper Parenting … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2023
There exists a certain kind of wisdom, a certain kind of compassion, and a certain kind of great intelligence. Each of the three is not something separate from the others.
Orange Fairy Cup Fungus … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2023
Time involves distance. Without distance, there is no time. Many people try to convince others — and themselves — that they have perceptions involving great depth and great wisdom. What does it mean to see deeply? Many people see deeply. They perceive with (and “as”) depth that involves distance… such as between a perceiver and that which is perceived. However, even animals perceive in such a way. Such depth involves (and is constituted of) conflict and separation. However, there is, in a few, a holistic depth of mind that does not involve conflict and separative distance. It is not of the mundane, so-called “normal” depth. A different holistic perception involves unity… and not mere separation between a perceiver and that which is perceived. In such perception, compassion exists, unity exists, and care and empathic action exist.
Getting to the timeless (i.e., the unlimited) through time — through effort and distance — is foolish.
A Little Innocence … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2023
Time, evolution, light, sound, and thought/thinking all consist of a series of sequences. We live in a domain consisting of sequences. That is our life. I am suggesting here that great spirituality exists timelessly beyond what is merely sequential. Can you get to it by doing a series of things in time? No. However, is living a life that is orderly, perceptive, and caring (within time) essential? Yes. That sacredness may not be separate from an orderly, perceptive, caring life. However, if your mind exclusively consists of sequences and sequential patterns, you likely will never be visited by the timeless sacred. Sequences, per se, only consist of the partial (i.e., fragmentary patterns) and what is partial is not what partakes of the whole. This is why an orderly, meditative mind is crucial… but it is not something that one can practice or perform as a technique.
My previous blog posting included a photo of T-rex, my pet parrot; i used to breed parrots. Some readers expressed interest, so the following is an audio of T-rex. Needless to say, he is quite a character. (In the audio, at first, he rings a bell — which, often i think, is to summon me, as if i’m some kind of butler —and, when i don’t come running, at 4 seconds into the audio tape, he says “Oh, what the heck?!” Then he whistles a summoning whistle … and subsequently, he diverges, and his wolf whistles follow. He whistles better than i can. At 22 seconds he, quietly, says something — as if to himself — like “specific.” At second 25, he quietly says “stupid,” which is probably about me and not coming as he wants me to. At around second 34, he says “come on” a couple of times. At second 37, he says, “hello.” Then, among summoning whistles, he quietly — as if to himself — says “specific” again and says “come on” repeatedly. Personally, i think that he thinks that i’m his private butler whom he can summon whenever he wants; he rings that god-forsaken bell and expects me to come running. Sesame Street is what can be heard in the background. I put Sesame Street on tv for them daily, which they enjoy and learn things from.) Let’s face it, we are our pets’ menial servants. 😉
T-rex Talking and Whistling … Thomas Peace c.2023T-rex (back) … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2023
First of all, if you ever happen to be blessed with a true understanding of how eternity works, don’t go shouting about it from your rooftop. It is a thing for an individual to discover and is not something meant to be shared, one feels.
One will say this, however… Eternity does not depend upon the existence of a central “I.” Anyway, there never was a true central “I” in the first place. Each manifestation of an “I” (or “me”) is an obtrusion and product of thought/thinking and there is nothing truly central about it. This writer sometimes uses the term “I” when responding or writing in this blog because it is a common form of communication. However, in actuality, it is not truly necessary. Eternity exists quite nicely, thank you, without the need for the existence of an “I” or “me.” This seems counterintuitive. However, truly understanding how the cosmos functions (in its entirety) occurs best when the “I” and “me” (with all the falsities involved) are absent or psychologically negated.
One happens to have, and care for, a couple of wonderful pet parrots — I used to breed parrots — and they often speak with comprehension… and they sometimes correctly use the word “I.” For instance, recently my girlfriend bought colorful wooden toys for them and one of them, named “T-rex,” was tearing his huge wooden toy up so much, and making extensive messes, that i removed it (i.e., the toy) from his enclosure… intending to give him one section at a time. He said, “I want it back.” So even animals can use the word “I”; it’s no big deal.
One posits that, for us humans, it takes great intelligence to transcend the notion of a central “I” or “me.” Then, possibly, such a one may partake in great insights that transcend our rudimentary notions of time, space, control, death, life, and self. Many, however, would say, “Well, I’m not interested.”
T-rex (Catalina Macaw) … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2023
It’s not what we were taught to consider. The following contains a portion of what my response was to someone who gave comments in my previous blog posting.
Regarding what may happen when thought/thinking is not merely what occurs in (and “as”) consciousness… Well, what may remain is not a gut feeling or instinct. What we are talking about may occur when thought/thinking is in abeyance… and it is not what thought/thinking can easily grasp, label, pigeonhole, or categorize. But most people, in modern society, would be uncomfortable about often being where ordinary thinking is not… and they would likely say that what i am suggesting is malarkey. We are so indoctrinated with the process of thought/thinking, that anything else is unfathomable. Most of us were programmed to be what thought/thinking is… and anything else is unwelcome (and likely not what we are interested in).
Miseducation is often one-sided. Such so-called education is what can program us to wholeheartedly accept what is limited, confined, and false. The human world is a result of this miseducation… and currently, there is much conflict, violence, confusion, division, and separation. There may be an aspect of great compassion, bliss, and caring when transcending thought/thinking. Beyond the fragmentation that thought/thinking consists of, the burden of sorrow is not. Thought/thinking, by itself, on the other hand, often involves robotic, banal, sequential fragmentation; thought/thinking is primarily of a symbolic nature. Mere symbols are not true realities; they are mere tokens. It may be prudent to go beyond what your consciousness was educated to exist as.
There is, it seems to us, At best, only a limited value In the knowledge derived from experience. — T.S.Eliot
It is good to experience things in life often. For instance, one needs experience in order to function properly and in ways that do not end up being detrimental to one. Additionally, it is very wise to experience nature often. Nature contains a lot of profound beauty, order, and magical dynamics… consisting of occurrences that are real treasures to take in. However, it is also prudent to often go beyond experience… to dwell where experience has no place. Exclusively clinging to experience is what most people do (and such an existence may be very limited, very confined, and partial). Such a partial life is of sorrow. Most people exclusively crave more and more experiences, greater and greater experiences. Someone, to them, suggesting going beyond experience, must seem odd. Many would laugh at such a person.
When we experience, we usually do so in terms of what we have already mentally accumulated. We recognize things and classify things according to what we’ve already been taught (in and “as” the past) and according to what we already have stored in our brains. It can be a rather robotic (re-cognition), mundane process. And exclusively partaking in it may, in fact, be rather childish and mechanical. We recognize with (and “as”) the past and, in a sense, we keep living in the past.
A mind that sometimes perceives or exists without accumulating, labeling, or comparing patterns, however, may be atypical… and may be beyond normative experiencing. Such a mind may see (or be) holistically at times, in a way (or unway) that does not merely classify, label, recognize, pigeonhole, compare, or evaluate. Such a mind does not merely always cling to the apron strings of experience. (Do remember this… Going beyond limitation, the status quo, and confinement is not a terrible thing.)
The Experience of Nature … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2023
Do you look at things in standard, habitual, common ways (involving space and separation)? How we perceive occurrences matters. It matters regarding the outside environment and it matters internally (i.e., in consciousness, so to speak). Of course, as we have pointed out in the past, we perceive the outside environment via our internal consciousness… so our “outside perceptions” tend to be largely internal and altered by internal screening.
People tend to look at things — both externally and internally — through space that is limited. People, even with thoughts, for example, seem to see thoughts through a limited space (between a perceiver and the perceived). This space may be largely fictitious because there may just be the perceived and any (separate) perceiver may be solely the result of thought/thinking. We see our fears through a limited space (with a distance)… whereas, in reality, we actually are our fears… not merely what “has them.” When one is in sorrow, one is — partially as a part of what one is — the sorrow. Dealing with things directly, without having superfluous entities at a distance, enables more energy and acute intelligence to flower. Additionally, one can point out that limited space (such as habitually concocted by the mind) does not nourish vast, unlimited perception, deep compassion, and pristine understanding. It may be prudent to often be the phenomena of observing without habitual limited space. Limited space is the essence of indifference (i.e., a lack of compassion).
Human beings, for the most part, perceive things by looking through (and from) a screen that they’ve been taught to look through, that they’ve been instructed to exist as. This screen consists of accumulated knowledge, accumulated symbols, bundled memories, and learned images. We recognize what we were taught to recognize; most of us believe what we were taught to believe. It’s all rather regimented, robotic, structured, and prearranged. And we think that we are free, even as the way in which we perceive is very mechanized, predetermined, limited, and shaped by society.
We see what we were programmed to see, and this “seeing” is usually fragmentary, limited, symbolic, and secondhand. It may be, in a big way, like clinging to shadows. Stepping out of this quagmire may not be easy. It (i.e., this hand-me-down perception) often occurs unconsciously and it is deeply ingrained in (and “as”) us. Additionally, society does not want you to step out of this… for doing so might be a danger to all that is false.
Self-critical awareness may be necessary. And often looking without one’s accumulation may be prudent, whole, and what is beyond fear. Looking without accumulation may make one vulnerable (and we are so terribly afraid to be vulnerable); we cling to the known out of deep fear and cowardice. Too many of us became used to being told what to do, what to see, what to believe, and how to act. It’s so childish! But secondhand isn’t living. Merely looking at everything through learned, fragmentary symbols, and separative labels, may not be bona fide living.
Don’t just pigeonhole it … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2023
I would like to mention — especially to those who have followed my blog for quite some time and who are appreciative of some of the things that i have written about — a bit about what may be (in a limited way) called nirvana. Nirvana being — as i describe it — a visitation to one by that sacred and indefinable timelessness. I am writing about it here as it pertained to me (in the past). I am not trying to impress anyone by writing about it, and i don’t really care if you are impressed or if you think that i am a nutty nut who is totally off of my rocker. It doesn’t matter. I am writing about it to possibly help show that some truly amazing and sacred things are possible if we are very serious and if we keep our minds in great order.
It can occur at different intensities. Words are very inadequate in terms of explaining what occurs when it happens. The most intense form of it occurred many years ago (around 1972 or so). When it occurred, one’s mind was in an empty, meditative state (though in no way was i practicing meditation). Besides the meditative (empty) state of mind, one was also (at times) feeling very compassionate about others. Suddenly, it occurred, and — i kid you not — its energy made me feel thousands of times more alive than i have ever felt before. Words cannot explain the immensity and beauty of what it was. My hands, as it occurred, were contracting and it was a bit difficult to move around fluidly. Additionally, my visual field changed and depth (visually) was replaced by a “nearness of everything.” One continued to smile from ear to ear… as the joy of it was so intoxicating. As it occurred, thought was in abeyance (with what seemed to be some sort of assisted suspension). It seemed so sacred and timeless; it was direct, beautiful, holistic energy (and not mere thinking about energy). After a good while, it left as quickly as it came. A day or so later, deep insights occurred; for instance, one figured out some profound things about how the cosmos functions.
Craving for this nirvana (or whatever you wish to call it) — it really is a nameless, immeasurable thing — never helps to bring it into being. It comes uninvited. What may be prudent is having an orderly mind that often exists beyond fragmentary symbolism (of thought/thinking) and existing as a mind that exists beyond the norm. Maintaining a healthy body, free of drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, and adulterated foods is essential. But being an orderly mind that often exists beyond the fragmentary symbolism of thinking… is a blessing of its own; it is (then) real intelligence, integrity, and holistic, keen perception.
Many people, of course, think that their consciousness is their own individual consciousness. However, it may be truer that one’s consciousness is a branch of all of the consciousnesses of the entire cosmos. One’s consciousness is a branch of that multitude and it is not separate from it, though, to (far too) many, it appears to be entirely separate and individualistic.
Our human consciousness is often conditioned by what society has poured into us. Many of us are exactly what we have been shaped and molded to be. To step out of that mold requires a lot of questioning and creative, holistic insight. Internal quietness, beyond wanting a mechanistic result, may exist beyond all of the fallacious chatter, symbolic fragmentation, and delusory separation.
The Statue Inspector … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2023
There is a vast seriousness that radiates its discipline holistically, healthfully, and with tremendous joy and insight. This seriousness is not what merely childishly depends upon the blueprints of others. Being whole, it need not grope for more, for improvement, nor does it mechanistically function according to any prearranged laid out patterns. The flame of this seriousness burns away illusion, separation, death, and time.
Many people believe that they have free will. Others do not think that that is the case. I say that free will is — for the most part — patently false. Reacting according to “thought/thinking,” as all of us do, depends upon the physiological processes of the brain. These physiological processes are complicated and are not what we can easily regulate. And the controller is not necessarily separate from the controlled. Of course, many things can be done to better help the organ of the brain function healthfully and properly… such as eating whole, healthy foods, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, and avoiding recreational drugs, alcohol, and smoking. However, there exist genetic, environmental, and unseen forces that are beyond what we can easily regulate.
Then too, the majority of us are heavily conditioned by society. Such conditioning runs very deep within our psyches. Much of such conditioning is so ingrained in (and “as”) us that we are very unaware that it is taking place; we are unaware that it exists at all. Thought/thinking, by its very nature, is essentially very robotic, residual, mechanical, fragmentary, symbolic, second-hand, and sequential. (By the way, perceiving that we do not — for the most part — have free will does not mean that one can do whatever one likes, haphazardly; that would be ludicrous.)
Things like insight, true premonitions, deep compassion, and holistic perception can — and do — transcend conditioned, run-of-the-mill, second-hand thinking and conditioning. Still, most of us are primarily trapped in thought and (for the most part) function in (and “as”) thought. In rare moments — for humanity — during actual nirvana, for instance, a mind does go deeply beyond conditioning wherein (during such visitations/episodes) thought/thinking (temporarily) becomes very difficult… but that (so far) has been a rare occurrence and most of us primarily function in the very limited domain of thought/thinking. It may be prudent not to put all our eggs in one basket.
Excerpt from the poet E.E. Cummings:
A lot of people think or believe or know they feel — but that’s thinking or believing or knowing; not feeling. And poetry is feeling — not knowing or believing or thinking.
Almost anybody can learn to think or believe or know, but not a single human being can be taught to feel. Why? Because whenever you think or you believe or you know, you’re a lot of other people: but the moment you feel, you’re nobody-but-yourself.
In my previous two posts (prior to this one), if you understood that, psychologically, the perceiver actually is the perceived (and not merely something separate from the perceived)… then you may understand the following insightful poem by Stephen Crane. If you did not understand (even intellectually) what was previously written, then you will not understand Crane’s poem.
From the poetry of Stephen Crane:
The sage lectured brilliantly. Before him, two images: “Now this one is a devil, And this one is me.” He turned away. Then a cunning pupil Changed the positions.
Turned the sage again: “Now this one is a devil, And this one is me.” The pupils sat, all grinning, And rejoiced in the game. But the sage was a sage.
Image in Consciousness … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2022
In my prior post, i delved into the likeliness that — psychologically — the perceiver is not truly separate from the perceived. Most people do not realize that their perceptions are not truly separate from what constitutes their consciousness and existence. Many people might argue and say, “Oh, no, I am so much more than my perceptions.” But take away your perceptions, your experiences, your observations, the robotic labeling of things, the conditioned judgments about the things seen… and then what are you? In actuality, you basically are these things and without them you are nothing. Most people are very afraid to be nothing; they “think” that their sense of self is necessary for security and for eternal prosperity. They do not realize that a mind of sweet, psychological nothingness is what security and eternity actually are. And people who are afraid to be nothing do not really understand meditation (though they may often talk about it and “think” that they practice it). (It might be prudent to read my post that is prior to this one.) In the following clever poem, Whitman insightfully talks about people as if they are the things in their lives that they deal with.
Excerpt from A Song for Occupations by Walt Whitman:
When the psalm sings instead of the singer,
When the script preaches instead of the preacher,
When the pulpit descends and goes instead of the carver that carved the supporting desk,
When I can touch the body of books by night or by day, and when they touch my body back again,
When a university course convinces like a slumbering woman and child convince,
When the minted gold in the vault smiles like the night-watchman’s daughter,
When warrantee deeds loafe in chairs opposite and are my friendly companions,
I intend to reach them my hand, and make as much of them as I do of men and women like you.
When one looks at a tree, one isn’t composed of chlorophyll and bark but the image of the tree is not separate from what one is. Of course, if one is compassionate, one may see the tree not merely as a thing but as a wonderful, precious living presence that one is not separate from. So, in sweet wisdom, the negation of separation goes even deeper.
Excerpt from a poem by Walt Whitman:
There was a child went forth every day. And the first object he look’d upon, that object he became, And that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day, Or for many years or stretching cycles of years. The early lilacs became part of this child, And grass and white and red morning-glories, and white and red clover, and the song of the phoebe-bird, And the Third-month lambs and the sow’s pink-faint litter, and the mare’s foal and the cow’s calf, And the noisy brood of the barnyard or by the mire of the pondside, And the fish suspending themselves so curiously below there, and the beautiful curious liquid, And the water-plants with their graceful flat heads, all became part of him. The field-sprouts of Fourth-month and Fifth-month became part of him, Winter-grain sprouts and those of the light-yellow, and the esculent roots of the garden, And the apple-trees cover’d with blossoms and the fruit afterward, and wood-berries, and the commonest weeds by the road, And the oldest drunkard staggering home from the out-house of the tavern whence he had lately risen, And the schoolmistress that pass’d on her way to the school, And the friendly boys that pass’d and the quarrelsome boys…
Too many people hate Dandelions. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2022
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