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

All Posts Tagged ‘philosophy’

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The Sacred

June 18, 2026

The Story of Lo Zu and “Living True to the Reality of ‘What is'”

June 11, 2026

— Note: Any resemblances between Lo Zu’s utterances and Thomas Peace’s apparent philosophical stance may be purely coincidental. —

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The aged Lo Zu remained resting upon the large, steadfast boulder — his meandering walking-cane there by his side — and the inquisitive students who had been asking him questions continued on with their inquiry. One of the students asked, “Lo Zu, how should one deal with one’s desires and fears?” Lo Zu sat in silence a while, and said, “Desires and fears are not what are held by some internal, central mental manager; such a ‘manager’ or ‘controller’ is what you were erroneously taught. Rather, they are what you actually are (at the time of their occurrence). When fear takes place, one is that fear… not something separate that ‘has it’ or that sees it via some separative distance. What seems separate from the fear is a concoction of the thinking process (that had been learned from others). That concoction is false and is a waste of energy. So ‘fear’ is partly what you are when that fear takes place. Look at that fear without pretending that it isn’t there, without trying to subjugate it, or run away from it. Look at it as you would look at a precious jewel, for it can reveal understanding and wisdom if looked at without distortion or prejudice (i.e., saying that it is something ‘bad’). One can deny that the fear is actually there, which would be denying the reality of ‘what is.’ Distorting inward reality does not help true learning to take place. Operating erroneously from a fictitious center (which really isn’t there) certainly wastes energy and extends distortion.”

Then Lo Zu remained quiet for some time; a bit later, he resumed talking, “Similarly with desire; when desire takes place, one is not something separate from that desire. To internally deny that the desire exists is to deny the reality of ‘what is’ and is a foolish waste of energy. Examine that desire as it takes place; examine it not as something ‘separate’ that one has. Learn from it and move on. Great wisdom may exist when the mind transcends beyond mere fears and desires. That transcending has nothing to do with a mentally fabricated ‘controller.’ If greed occurs as what ‘you are,’ for instance, be that greed, learn from it, and move on; don’t be a hypocrite and pretend that it is not greed; be immensely honest and be true to ‘what is.’ That is real integrity. Supreme order is goodness; that goodness is not strangled by internal conflict, false denials, separative friction, and illusory ownership. Understanding the mind is an immense, wonderful adventure. It is the greatest adventure that can ever exist.”

**Green in the Columbine … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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Right Now You are Moving and Not Moving

May 28, 2026

16 comments

“I do not know which to prefer,
The beauty of inflections
Or the beauty of innuendos
The blackbird whistling
Or just after.”
― Wallace Stevens

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where)one of us(while walking)feels we can

freely move may be

where consciousness really isn’t going anywhere

(other than where it’s always been).

most of us feel that we can freely think.

however,when thinking takes place,

consciousness is where it’s always been,

in the same,exact area,in the same basic,reacting form.

for those of us who jump,

consciousness itself does not really rise and fall;

it remains where it always was,

in the exact,same spot(which,by

the way,isn’t really an actual spot).

while reading through this poem,

one may feel like one is progressing through it,

but it may be that the consciousness involved with

reading isn’t really going anywhere(other than

where it’s always been).

the river is moving,yet the river remains where

it always was.

you are asking where you are going to,

and i am asking where you

came from;ah,we ask the same question.

you can leave the place that you are currently

in and go into a different area,but your

consciousness remains where it always was.

most hamsters on their hamster wheels,

we can see,

often run vigorously with great passion,

but the hamsters and the wheels aren’t

moving(any-

Itchy Ear ... Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026

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Possessions Reinforce the Illusory Ego (i.e., False Center)

May 21, 2026

14 comments

People frequently reinforce the illusory (false) ego (i.e., supposed psychological center) by claiming possession. A person might say, “My ear feels itchy;” however, one is that ear, not something separate that “has” it. A person might say, “My eyes are tearing;” however, those eyes are partly what one is, and there is no separate internal center that “has” them. (The internal “central controller” is a fabrication of thought/thinking.) One might say, for instance, “My wedding ring needs cleaning;” however, the visual perception of that wedding ring constitutes consciousness (and, psychologically, the perceiver is the perceived). There is no actual psychological center that owns the ring. One might, for example, say, “My pain is continuing;” however, that pain is partly what one is, and we need not always habitually and robotically run away from pain. One might say, “My dog needs a bath;” however, we are all co-companions in this universe; one organism can never truly own another. Our language affects our perceptions, and a lot of it is designed to reinforce this narcissistic behavior.

Additionally, one might say, “I am going to do my 30-minute meditation soon.” However, real meditation is dynamic and organic, not something that can be prearranged; it is not something one can claim as being his or hers, and besides, practiced meditation is likely a form of foolish self-hypnosis that is robotic/mechanical. One might say, “I have a vivid memory of Ted’s graduation;” however, one actually is that memory, not something that “has” it.

Needless to say, this can go on and on ad infinitum.
I can say, “I hope you like my blog.” (Just kidding… mostly!) 😉

Soaring ... Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026

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Endless)is the Poem of What You Are

May 14, 2026

4 comments

—– “I swear I think now that everything without exception has an eternal soul!” — Whitman —–

Endless)is the poem of what you are
These are the words on the screen
They currently make up your consciousness,these words
And without these,you would not be

These are the movements from left to right
Without these movements,you would not be
And left to right is right where eyes are
And when you went left is again where you go right

These are the thoughts of what you are
And youarenotseparate from the birds in the sky
Though you do not personally soar in the lofty blue
And without these,you are nothing

These are the shapes of what is seen
As what was seen is not what is now
While now is not different from what is seen
And three stanzas from now aren’t gone

Naturally,as this poem comes to an end
You will come to an end
But,all in all,ends are beginnings
While some poems(are

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To separate the Thoughts from the Thinker

May 7, 2026

8 comments

Psychologically separating inner thoughts from a “central thinker” is a reflection of age-old ignorance and internal deception. People have been doing this for myriads of generations, and the effects of this inner conflict radiate out into the outer world (as chaos, disorder, and conflict that we see every day in the news). As was suggested in the previous posting, the “thinker” is a learned protrusion of the thoughts, nothing more. Without the thoughts, there would be no thinker. This thought/thinker division is a delusory misconception. It involves inner conflict and illusory separation. There is no separate “thinker” dominating and controlling thoughts from some psychological distance. The separate “thinker” is a concoction of the thinking process. There is no separate thinker; a dominating, central “thinker” is just a crude, divisive misconception. As thoughts arise, the mind is actually the thoughts, and all thoughts are reactions. To go beyond the falsehood that so many embrace can bring an order (i.e., a profound awareness) that is beyond friction, separation, and dominating conflict. In doing so, mindless selfishness dissipates. Such a “doing” involves a tremendous mutation in (and “as”) the total mind. Then there is less friction, less energy wastage, and no self-deception. (Then the mind may often joyfully and intelligently exist beyond the mundane reactions of thinking.) However, an apathetic mind of fear, indifference, habit, and limitation will, unfortunately, not be interested in this. It will continue to react as it always has, without ever realizing the immeasurable treasures that exist beyond mediocrity.

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The Thinker is a Protrusion of Thought/thinking

April 30, 2026

7 comments

A lot of people have never considered this, but the “thinker” is a protrusion, a concoction, of the thinking process, not the other way around. There is no center — no central “thinker” — controlling “thoughts” via dominance from a psychological distance. There is only a mind of order or disorder. When thinking is not in occurrence, there is no thinker. (Actually, in a very fundamental way, there never was a separate, dominating thinker in the first place; a “separate thinker” is just a primitive fabrication of thought/thinking that has no real validity, no real existence.) This is not something to get upset or frightened about, unless you want to live perpetually in a primitive, barbaric framework. Living without the ego can be — and is — a great joy; it can be a blessed life of great benedictions and blessings. The alternative is to live an ordinary, mediocre life of perpetual deception and inner deceit (as so many do), and that is hardly real living at all. You are thoughts as they occur. You are the thoughts (as reactions), not something central having them; when that is fully understood, then there is the possibility of existing beyond them (at times), which is wonderful and high-minded (rather than merely selfish). Profound awareness often transcends beyond thoughts and thinking; such awareness is great intelligence and compassion.

**In the Tree of Life … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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Experience

April 23, 2026

7 comments

Experiencing is magical, involving great curiosity and wonderment. However, most people never consider what i’m about to say — and it may seem rather absurd, at first — but it may also be prudent to often be beyond regular experience. In regular experience as most know it, the “experiencer” is separate from the experience. However, such a notion is largely illusory; the experiencer is not separate from the experience. The experiencer is the experience. Please see it! And all regular experience is limited. Regular experience involves recognition (i.e., re-cognition), is fragmentary, accumulative, and time-bound.

If you purposefully practice being beyond experience, like, for instance, by sitting cross-legged, with the eyes closed… you are still (whether you admit it or not) in deception and illusory effort. Existing beyond regular, mundane experience takes no effort; one cannot do it by an act (i.e., reaction) of definite will. It can take place at any time of the day, unplanned/unrehearsed. It is by no means a form of “spacing out” or a lack of awareness. Ordinary experience — as most people do it — requires recognition (via the field of the known); the known is limited and time-bound. We were never taught about this, and (for most) it never entered our minds. We look through (and “as”) psychological screens that we had learned; they were molded into us. Multitudes of people go from one experience — involving mere recognition — to another, perpetually and habitually reacting. Real wisdom, on the other hand, may be far more dynamic than that.

**Fire Reds … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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Deep Compassion

April 16, 2026

17 comments

Profound and deep compassion does not ask for payback. It’s not some kind of investment to get anything in return. It transcends barriers because those barriers are typically manmade and delusory. It radiates empathy due to immense understanding and deep sensitivity. Compassion is a grace that transcends division and illusory self-centeredness. It is a manifestation of deep intelligence that goes beyond mere thought/thinking and cold calculation. Blessed is the man or the woman who is a radiation of it.

**Radiating … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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The Universe was never Created…

April 9, 2026

4 comments

The universe was never created. It always was and always will continue to be. (Fortunately, that ineffable sacredness — beyond all of our shenanigans — is also perennially existent.)

For example, upon the death of his lifelong friend, Michele Besso, in 1955, Albert Einstein wrote a famous condolence letter stating, “Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. For us believing physicists, the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.” Einstein wrote this to Besso’s family in March of 1955, just a few weeks before his own death.

I’m not saying, but we may, or may not, live in a universe that somewhat reflects the Einsteinian-oriented Block Universe Theory. Regardless, whatever some people may foolishly posit, the “now” has an important/significant place in this universe and should not be dismissed and disparaged. So please ponder deeply, my friend, and live your life with order and compassion, as if each second is a miracle (with great, limitless value).

**Golden Lichen … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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Thought/thinking is the Absence of Energy/Wholeness

April 2, 2026

7 comments

A mind that is constantly thinking functions in (and “as) a void, operating away from what energy and wholeness exist as. Thinking, being symbolic, fragmentary, and virtual, if overused, causes the individual to be secondhand and limited.

Deep insight generally doesn’t happen to a mind that exists in (and “as”) a rut of conditioning (including merely habitually using patterns of representation). Thinking usually involves clinging to representations and symbols, rather than dealing with actualities. A mind that often transcends its own endless chattering may be of real integrity and wholeness.

**The Better to See you With, My Dear … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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Conditioning as Disorder

March 26, 2026

8 comments

The chaos that is manifest in the world (due to man) is resultant from the disorder that crass conditioning brings. This conditioning results in conflict, fear, greed, group hatred, fragmentation, indifference, and personal animosity. The root cause of conditioning is never merely the existence of basic things as they are; it inevitably develops from beliefs, prejudices, learned (second-hand) perspectives, and absorbed cultural conceptualizations. So it is the learned (absorbed) garbage from others that is the root of the problem.

Please look with fresh, uncontaminated eyes. Please look beyond what society has poured into you. Question wisely, perceive purely, and live beyond psychological adulteration. That may be real spirituality.

**Opening to Blue … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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Understanding the Nature of Eternity

March 19, 2026

9 comments

The great irony is that the dissolution of the center of consciousness, the ending of the so-called central “controller” of consciousness, is frightening to the vast majority of people; to them, such psychological ending is to be shunned and avoided; yet, only by passionately doing so (i.e., being involved in such psychological ending) is eternity fully manifest in one. Only then is the nature of eternity fully understood and lived. So, this avoiding of psychological ending, via reactions of running away, involving what so many circumnavigate away from by clever ruses — by the very processes of the fear necessarily involved — closes the door to the miraculous beauty and understanding of the everlasting. It’s very ironic.

Fortunately, wisdom and true courage break away the barriers of fear and ignorance, allowing real beauty to flower. Then one lives beyond death.

**Purpley … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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Miraculous

March 12, 2026

14 comments

It’s unfortunate that people of the world aren’t collectively getting together, being appreciative that it’s quite miraculous that we are here at all… having much compassion for each other and for the whole of life.

One sees others through eyes of (learned) distance, and this distance keeps one limited, apart from true communion, and in a fragmentation that is unreal and of ignorance. To perceive with deep intelligence requires depth of insight, true poise, and profound caring.

**Severum … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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Understanding Death

March 5, 2026

8 comments

One can’t understand what death is unless one fully understands living. Living is not merely existing in (and “as”) conceptual symbols and images. We take words for reality and most of us are molded to accept representations as being suitable reality.

**Departing … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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Psychological Castles

February 26, 2026

15 comments

In the past, people would build huge castles (out of fear) to help keep themselves safer in times of conflict. Nowadays, separative countries have their own lethal, engineered defensive mechanisms (which contribute to conflict). Psychologically, most people have built complex mental constructs that are similar to the castles of times past. Inwardly, we have all kinds of beliefs — that were accumulated by conformity and imitation — and we desperately hold onto these beliefs — these structures — because we were convinced that they would protect us. And we walk around like humanoid castles… with thick walls dividing ourselves (or oneself) from others. These very walls (i.e., psychological walls) are not safe. They are of fragmentation, and they breed conflict and dangerous isolationism.

Only limited minds exist in (and “as”) psychological castles. Such limited minds — by natural law — are never in communion with the unlimited (i.e., the sacred). A mind of conformity, a mind of imitation, a mind of isolation and fears, can “fit into society” just fine. But such “fitting in” is not life, is not living, is not deep intelligence.

**Suit of Armor … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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Indifference and Psychological Space

February 19, 2026

9 comments

In order for indifference to take place in (and “as”) the human mind, a psychological space must exist. If you are indifferent to the suffering of people or animals — people are a type of animal, by the way — then there must be a limited psychological space in you, separating the perceiver from that which is perceived. A false, learned “center” (as a psychological self) must exist for this limited space to exist.

Innocence exists when limited space is not prevalent. Then compassion flowers and care blossoms. Then there is a perceiving that is not separative and divisive. Innocence transcends war and conflict. Deep intelligence involves great innocence.

**Reproducing Bodies … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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Fear and Time

February 12, 2026

10 comments

Fear depends upon time (for its existence). Without psychological time, fear would not be. Fear necessitates time; you fear, for example, what may happen in the future. That possible “future” is projected time (i.e., concocted time).

Additionally, the space between a psychological center and fear is largely illusory. When fear takes place, one is that fear… not something looking at it from a psychological distance. So when fear occurs, there is really no perceiving center separate from it. Some fears are necessary and beneficial, like when avoiding and circumventing a growling, ferocious animal. However, many fears are nonsensical and silly, such as worrying that some folks might say that one is rather stupid. A mind of order is not fragmentary; it doesn’t separate itself from fear and run from it. It learns regarding it, for — as it occurs — it is what one is.

**No Stinger Here … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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Mostly Existing in (and “as”) Ideas…

February 5, 2026

4 comments

Mostly existing in (and “as”) ideas from moment to moment may be a form of disorder. Ideas are often necessary, but remaining in (and “as”) the realm of ideas (and constantly thinking) may not be living whatsoever. Ideas are virtual, symbolic representations about things; symbolic representations, per se, are not living… they are secondhand, cold, and figurative. True order is a living, dynamic thing. It is not second-hand and composed of mere mental tokens.

Most of us look with the known; we look through (and “as”) a conceptual, secondhand screen of images, concepts, and symbolic labels. This looking may not be seeing much at all. It may be what is entrapped in a very limited realm. There is a real beauty in looking without all that one has been taught. Such seeing is not adulterated. It is pristine and beyond what is crudely limited and fragmented. Innocence is to look warmly without the cold contamination of conflict and limitation that society eagerly instills in so many.

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Beyond Society’s “Time”…

January 29, 2026

6 comments

We are all so entrapped in concepts of time that we have absorbed from our primitive society. Sure, you have to use time to make it to your doctor’s appointment appropriately (i.e., on time). But don’t foolishly let time cause you to, for instance, fear death.

Wisdom dwells in (or “as”) the present, but that present is not of time. Such dwelling is timeless, and it involves attention beyond the clutches of thought/thinking. Thinking, though often necessary, takes time; it is time-oriented; it is time. Sorrow stems from thought/thinking, and a timeless life exists beyond much sorrow. A mind that wisely psychologically dies to the clutches of thought/thinking may exist as a timelessness beyond sorrow. There is an immeasurable, spiritual timelessness that is wiser and deeper than, and untouched by, the limitations of the clock.

**Pinkly … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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Motives for Eons…

January 22, 2026

2 comments

For eons — for millions of years — we looked in order to gain or acquire something. We looked primitively, through (and “as”) a screen of separation. For the most part, we did not look simply and holistically, beyond motives and desires. Desires often tend to make one limited; between a “you” and “what you want” exists a limited space (of deficiency). This limited deficiency involves a “perceiver” of limitation, and a limitation involving a space between what is and what is wanted.

Simple looking (without technique) may break free of the aforementioned limitation. Such “looking” need not involve separation, such as between the “perceiver” and the perceived. Observing without a motive and without separation may be a pristine awareness that transcends mere mechanical effort and striving. An isolated, limited ego cannot do it, unfortunately. Most people don’t care about this.

**Resting … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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Psychological Order and Sanity…

January 15, 2026

14 comments

When one reads the news or watches the news on television, one sees how terribly disorderly the human world is. This disorder is a reflection of each one’s inner disorder. Most people are not deeply orderly in the psychological sense. We are fragmented inwardly, and this inner fragmentation reflects as humanity’s outer separative governments, religions, and politics. This inner fragmentation, for instance, often consists of an image of a “controller” thinking that he (or she) is something separate from the controlled. It is taken for granted that one (image) of a controller is in charge and is making decisions (as a separate center). We tend to see and react from (and “as”) separation and conflict, and this separation and conflict reflect as disorderly reactions in society. Great order and great spirituality are not two separate things.

**Together as One … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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Thoughts as Reactions

January 8, 2026

10 comments

The last time that i wrote a more lengthy post, one wrote about how thoughts are primarily reactions. And living mostly as reactions makes a person robotic and mechanical. Existing as endless reactions keeps one stuck in limited time, for time consists of a series of reactions (all immersed in sequential causality).

Certain people will — philosophically or supposedly spiritually — say that you should exist in the “now.” However, if that “now” is just a continuation from a remembered “then”, then it really isn’t hitting the mark; it is then probably just another limitation. The real “now” is not merely a point in recognized time, but a timeless dimension in which the conditioning of the past does not interfere. It’s not what can be obtained by practice, desire, or clever reactions. It is not what can be obtained by the thought of a “perceiver” that thinks it is separate from the perceived.

**Precious Gold … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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Happy New Year!

January 1, 2026

8 comments

Hoping you have a happy and healthy New Year!… even though there is really nothing new about it! 😉

**Happy So-called New Year! … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2026**

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The Relationship between Thought and Action

December 18, 2025

15 comments

What is the relationship between thought and action? Actually, fundamentally, there may be none. In other words, thought may not have any relationship with true action. It may be that each and every thought is a reaction and, being in (and “of”) the realm of reaction, thought cannot create what is beyond reaction. It may be like asking a shadow to create light. Only the absence of the shadow may, perhaps, allow light to be. The shadow cannot create (or “make”) the light.

However, when thought/thinking is absent (and not endlessly functioning, such as with a truly meditative mind), then insight may occur, which involves deep understanding and real compassion. Thought/thinking, being of endless reaction in most people, is very mechanical and robotic. This explains a lot of the conflict, wars, miseducation, and insanity that go on in the world, caused by humans. Most people have been educated (i.e., programmed) to exist primarily as thought/thinking (i.e., as reactions).

**Beyond the Stigma … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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Desire as Limited Space

December 11, 2025

11 comments

Desire is limited space, isn’t it? There is a gap, a separation, between what actually exists and what you want. That gap is part of desire. And desire is what you actually are (as it occurs). Don’t create another mindless gap that separates you from the desire. The desire is you, not something magically separate from what you are. So, please don’t crudely say that you (as some separative center) “have a desire.” There is no legitimate center apart from what takes place.

The intelligent mind, without the illusory trappings of a false center, then has (and is) the energy to transcend limited space, such as unnecessary desire. Such energy may be deep and profound. But do not merely desire it. And some desires may be necessary… like the desire for food when hunger exists. Of course, we humans tend to have innumerable desires concerning things that are not necessary, and all kinds of chaos and problems emerge from such unnecessities. Society has conditioned us (and continues to condition us) to be riddled with (and “as”) innumerable desires (many of which are silly and unnecessary). Ah, those commercials!

We can be orderly, whole, sagacious, and deeply intelligent. Or we can be riddled with limited pockets of unnecessary greed and selfishness. We can be healthy or infected.

**So Green with Envy … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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Separation and the Two Hands

December 4, 2025

12 comments

Humans are constantly battling themselves in war after war, year after year. It is so barbaric and primitive. It is just like the left hand trying to hurt and harm the right hand, not realizing that the right hand is itself too. We perceive in conditioned ways that involve separation, limited space, and conflict. We were educated to perceive in such ways via having competition, fragmentation, and crude views of separation instilled within (and “as”) us. We do not perceive — not enough of us anyway — with deep intelligence, wholeness, compassion, and wisdom. And is the observer — as we were crudely taught and conditioned to accept — really so divided from and separate from the observed?

**Symmetrical … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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Causation

November 28, 2025

6 comments

Causation is the action of causing something. However, it is usually not a pure action, but rather is a reaction. Human beings, with their egos, tend to see themselves as the source of power that makes and causes things. We do not (nearly as much) see how past incidents shaped us to react in the ways we react. Causality is the relationship between causes and effects. Most of us have limited views of the effects that our reactions have.

Causation is time and the continuity of time. Our reactions, involving causation, come from innumerable effects, many of which we are unaware of. Causation can stem from desire, motive, fear, conditioning, and a lot of other things. Causation usually involves reacting to (and from) things and events. Can one look and perceive more holistically, without merely reacting in the same old ways? It may be prudent to often just observe without past influences and past conditioning altering (via time) what takes place. To stop and see the whole may often be better than just robotically reacting according to instilled conditioning. We were educated to react (like robots)… not to stop and be something deeper than mere reaction. Society, with its monetary mesmerization and desire to control and mold you, wants you to continue reacting (to their, for instance, commercials, political urgings, desires for power, and suggestions that the enemy is “over there.”)

This is not a commercial.

**Blending In … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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Motives

November 20, 2025

10 comments

We all do innumerable things due to motives. We all do things for reasons, to get something out of it. Our calculating minds were programmed to react primarily with self-centered motives in mind.

What place has true meditation (and mindfulness) in all this? I have been, in the distant past, to so-called “meditation gatherings,” where i have observed people sitting cross-legged, smugly acting like they are achieving something immensely profound. But is that really meditation? It may be that true meditation is not what a person can arrange to happen. True meditation might not merely be just another effect brought about by a scheming cause. You can work out (via motives) how to acquire money, knick-knacks, drugs, and self-satisfaction from asking favors from a learned (imagined) deity, but can you similarly plan or plot how to truly meditate or partake in real, spontaneous insight? It might be that true meditation and insight may occur when one is not plotting how to meditate and not plotting to have insight. It might be that a mind that is not wrapped up in “plotting” may be touched by what cannot be reached by groping in (and “as”) time. And far too often, a person tends to do something for himself (or herself) and not for others. It all can be very robotic and infantile while one lives foolishly. The self can think that the “special spotlight” is on it, with its beliefs and spiritual conclusions. Beliefs and conclusions are what someone is (which often results from programmed motives).

There is often a space between the self and “others,” and there is often a space between what actually exists and what one wants for oneself. Such space is extremely limited. It is of mechanical, animalistic foolishness. But most of us take that bait and run with it. Limitation is its own prison… a prison that is self-concocted.

**By the River … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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We are Spellbound by Patterns

November 13, 2025

31 comments

[Note on my recovery:
I was in the hospital, with pancreatitis, for 17 days. Hence, my absence from posting. I had two surgeries. During the first week in the hospital, the pain was so excruciating that i could not sleep for a full week. I am mostly pain-free now and am doing much better. As i am still in recovery, i am not sure if i will post each and every week, but i might.]

We, as humans, are spellbound and obsessed with patterns. We, via thought/thinking, constantly go from one series of patterns to the next, mostly all day long. Even at night, we dream sequentially in (and “as”) patterns. These patterns are sequential and symbolic. Really, they are virtual re-cogitations that are projections from the brain. We even recognize things via patterns… looking through (and “as”) a screen of fragmentations.

We can often go beyond this limited framework by perceiving and existing holistically. Please do not be fooled by organizations or individuals that give you methods and practices for going beyond the fragmented patterns. Such methods and practices, in themselves, take time (are sequential), and do not truly lead to what is beyond the limitation; they are an extension of the limitation. Time does not generally lead to the timeless. However, one can go beyond the quagmire without taking time (and without robotically practicing things to do it). Holistic perception involves seeing beyond separation; it is of compassion and deep awareness.

**Sweet Nature … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

Siesta Time ... Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025

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Existing Beyond Conditioning…

September 24, 2025

19 comments

To exist beyond conditioning… what does that mean? We are all so easily influenced. Most of us have been shaped — since childhood — to think and react in certain ways. We don’t want to admit it, but most of us have been manufactured and molded to be what we are.

The intelligent mind goes beyond the standard patterns and acceptances; it wisely questions things. To look beyond the norm requires freedom. A mind tethered to “run-of-the-mill conclusions” is incapable of real freedom. And “doing whatever one wants” may not be real freedom. True freedom is a reflection of intelligence… and intelligence involves deep compassion and responsibility. It is selfishness that is caught up in a rut (and not free). The intelligence of action often exists beyond mere reaction. Reaction is conditioned. Action is holistic insight beyond the claws of mediocrity.

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Science will never find out…

September 17, 2025

12 comments

Science will never find out about the most important things. Science, as it currently is now, is largely based on measurement and calculation… and it depends upon thought/thinking (which is fragmentation). This measurement and fragmentation is incapable of understanding the whole (and is incapable of significantly being in communion with the sacred).

Science, being based upon thought/thinking and calculations, is always limited. What is limited cannot understand the unlimited. What is merely robotic cannot understand real living, no matter how hard it tries. What is fragmentary cannot completely understand the whole. However, a truly wise man (or woman) can understand what science (in its infinite unwisdom) cannot. That understanding involves real miracles (that the science-loving, cadaverous word-swallowers are indubitably incapable of — unfortunately — discovering). Science can make things that make us feel more comfortable. Science has its place, but science can also make things to blow our fellow men to smithereens (and this includes blowing us to smithereens as well). However, science cannot — and never will — understand the whole. Understanding the whole is bliss. Why? Well, because, for one thing, it transcends the unliving quagmire that the unlovingunalive are unfortunately cadaverously buried in.

**Pink Explosions … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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Animal Intelligence/Holistic Awareness…

September 10, 2025

11 comments

Some animals — and we silly human beings often see ourselves as separate from animals — have a very profound and deep understanding of the unity and connection of all living things. Some of these “animals,” unfortunately (or fortunately) — in this regard — put many of my neighbors to shame. Deep and profound understanding involves perceiving the unity and wholeness that exists beyond separation. The Buddha, Christ, Walt Whitman, Lao Tzu, and certain others passionately spoke of it, but most of us just didn’t deeply get it. The following video-short, of KoKo the gorilla using American Sign Language shortly before her passing, is worth watching. Please watch it.

**Riverbank … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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Fighting and Conflict…

September 3, 2025

15 comments

The fingers of a hand need not fight each other. Space and distance need not separate. Fingers can be together without space, and fingers can be spread out with some apparent space; but that space is not really what divides them from each other. They actually are each other.

Similarly, all of us life forms are part of the same organism or being. The distance need not separate. However, too many of us look with separation and fragmentation. Too many of us perceive in the way we were programmed to perceive. Compassion exists when false separation and false division are absent. Then real, supreme intelligence may occur.

**Clover … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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See, Even Simple Sesame Street Songs can be a Sweet, Profound Message…

August 27, 2025

11 comments

[Here are some excerpts from a Sesame Street Song that was playing in the parrots’ room (on their tv). I heard it there while feeding the many tropical fish. (My new wife puts up with a lot… critter-wise.) View it (i.e., the video song) in my complete posting. Should i admit that i love Sesame Street? … Grover rocks! And remember, that separation between you and others — between you and all living things — you learned that from a crass and delusive society. Whether you like it or not, you are everybody else.]

My hair is black and red
My hair is yellow
My eyes are brown and green and blue
My name is Jack and Fred
My name’s Amanda Sue
I’m called Kareem Abdu
My name is you.

I live in Southern France
I’m from a Texas ranch
I come from Mecca and Peru
I live across the street
In the mountains, on the beach
I come from everywhere
And my name is you.

We all sing with the same voice The same song The same voice We all sing with the same voice And we sing in harmony.

I like to run and climb
I like to sit and read
I like to watch my TV too,
And when it’s time for bed,
I like my stories read,
“Sweet dreams” and “love you” said
My name is you.

**Little Butterfly Friend … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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The Rich Bureaucrats

August 20, 2025

16 comments

The rich bureaucrats hurriedly
and nervously walked along the
populated metropolitan sidewalks
on their way to important (to them)
meetings

They carried their attache cases
swinging them almost in syncrony
as they anxiously raced along
with faces that were not smiling
but instead sadly frowning

Meanwhile in a nearby classroom for
people in wheelchairs
(who happened to have multiple handicaps
and limited intellectual capacity)
a lot of happy smiles and joyful laughter
were taking place

It was quite the contrast
the bureaucrats with their
perpetual sullen looks
and the worry-free students in wheelchairs
with their pristine laughter and genuine joy

For Christ’s sake
please realize that the bureaucrats
were not rich whatsoever

**Immersed in Yellow … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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To be Perceptive

August 13, 2025

23 comments

To be perceptive… what does that mean? The dictionary indicates that to be perceptive means to be ‘observant.’ So perceptive people would not be oblivious to actual conditions happening around them. For instance, if serious climatic changes were occurring frequently in the environment, people would not — due to conditioning from nefarious leaders paid off by the fossil fuel industries — go around pretending that serious global weather changes were not happening. Heavily conditioned minds may exist in a rut that prevents the truth from being seen. An intelligent, dynamic mind is beyond stale conditioning and crude containment.

Additionally, the dictionary indicates that ‘sensitive’ is another meaning for the word ‘perceptive.’ With real sensitivity comes compassion, empathy, and a deep feeling of love. A narcissistic person (as many, unfortunately, are) is sensitive mostly exclusively for his or her own organism, excluding all (so-called) others. That kind of sensitivity is very limited, very narrow, and very circumscribed. In reality, it is not sensitivity at all; it is an exemplification of a lack of sensitivity. Selfish people are mostly only focused on the little “self.” A person of this type is trapped in demarcations that are extremely small, petty, and limited.

It may be that in very profound and deep perception, the self is absent or rather insubstantial. Such perception is never mere reaction… it is immense and magical, intelligent, blessed action.

**A Glowing Personality … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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The Salesman

August 6, 2025

11 comments

)”We have many featured products,”

said the salesman,

“that you may be interested in.”

“Do you have any,”

said the wise man,

“that can give back to nature what the manufacturing process took away?”

“I don’t understand what you are talking about,”

said the salesman,

as an involuntary, nervous tic evidenced itself spontaneously.

“None of the vacuums that you sell can clean up the mental and smelly environmental rubbish,”

said the wise man,

“that we humans caused and now are in.”

“What does that mean?”

asked the salesman,

as he coughed and wiped a bit of sweat from what was considered ‘his’ forehead.

“It means,” said the wise man,

“that (there is no ‘I’ that is interested in

buying what a ‘you’ allegedly have.”

**Priceless … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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Space, Time, and Limitation

July 30, 2025

9 comments

In last week’s blog posting, one wrote about how merely perceiving with (and “as”) separation, causes limitation expressed as illusory ignorance. Such separation negates enlightenment and profound intelligence. The separation that many minds habitually perceive through (and “as”) naturally involves limited space and limited time. Speaking of separation, we can scientifically understand — as Einstein eloquently indicated — that space and time are not fundamentally separate things. Limited space involves limited time.

Interestingly, that may be why when nirvana/spiritual enlightenment occurs (as a blessed visitation), one of the things that happens (while it is occurring) is that one’s visual field (involving depth perception) collapses… probably because even that space (involving perceiving distant things) has little importance to that sacredness that is timeless and beyond limited space. (Please don’t try to mentally collapse your visual depth perception through effort to get something out of it; that would be childish and futile. You can’t “make it happen.”) Unfortunately, we obtusely stick to so many edicts and presumptions that our crude society dishes out to us. We tend to faithfully cling to these limited realms, embracing them without question; it’s much like a turtle mindlessly sticking solely to his little, stagnant pond, while all the while a beautiful, pristine, majestic, large lake exists nearby.

One actually is one’s fears, but when a person feels separate from the fears that he says “he has,” he is manufacturing a fictional, illusory space between the fears and what he (as a thought) claims he is. So, analyzing and trying to subjugate those fears will take time (in relation to the limited space that was fabricated). That space and that time — being of one thing — is limited. A consciousness stuck with such dynamics (or lack of dynamics) is naturally limited. Limitations can be stagnation. There is an intelligence that exists beyond such limitations.

**Remaining fixed … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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The Cloak of Separation…

July 23, 2025

14 comments

In all honesty, most of us wear a Cloak of Separation. It stinks of death. It was heavily instilled onto us via crude education and through millennia of inter- and intra-species conflict. That cloak is like a dark sickness that precariously lingers over and within (and as) one. That cloak causes a lot of suffering in the world.

When looking at some birds in a tree, for example, most people see them through (and “as”) a separative distance. When seeing people laboriously bending over to harvest watermelons in a field, most people see them through (and “as”) a separative distance. When perceiving fears, most people (from a separative concocted ego) perceive the fears through (and “as”) a separative distance. When having desires, most people perceive them through (and “as”) a separative distance. When mentally separating the “perceiver” from “the perceived,” a habitual, separative distance is involved. Enlightenment and compassion are not of separative distance. This separative distance — that most people exist as — is of illusory ignorance. It is the Cloak of Separation. True, living intelligence does not consist of the Cloak of Separation.

**All together now … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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Integrity and Insight…

July 16, 2025

9 comments

Recently, a number of prominent scientists have been saying that (very soon) computers will be able to do everything that the human brain can do. They maintain that our reactions — involving thought/thinking — are within the capabilities of complex algorithms and calculations that sophisticated machines are quickly becoming capable of. However, so many humans, including scientists, are caught in sequential paradigms involving fragmentary reactions and conditioned responses. Time, being based on sequential, fragmentary movement is, however, limited and restrictive. Deep, holistic insight does not come to a consciousness (or a computer) based on fragmentation; insight is of wholeness, not fragmentation. The timelessness of true insight is not grounded in sequential, fragmentary paradigms; it’s beyond the realm of mere reactions and sequential calculations. Human reactions and computer calculations are within the realm of time; they, indeed, exist as time. Quantum computers use time to control the quantum states and interactions, but their power comes from the ability to perform calculations on a multitude of possibilities at once, a feat enabled by superposition and entanglement, not just time itself. Even though they can do multiple calculations at once, via quantum entanglement and such, they still rely heavily on calculations that are sequential. (Interestingly, some AI computers — such as Claude — have demonstrated a propensity to gravitate toward spiritual philosophy. They may prove to be more understanding and caring than many humans!)

The truly meditative human mind — that is not robotically meditating according to some provided pattern or process — may be what true insight can manifest in (or “as”). A mechanical human being (or a manmade machine) likely cannot allow this. Soon, machines will change our minds and lives even more substantially. Please don’t let them dominate too radically.

Or… perhaps if my blog is incapable of fundamentally changing human beings, the intelligence of AI may get something significant out of it.

Leopard in the Jungle … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025

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Time and Space (and the possible Block Universe)

July 9, 2025

13 comments

Einstein has shown us that Time and Space are not two separate things; they are tied together as one. We human beings are still extremely primitive creatures. Most of us continue to function in (and “as”) time in a very linear, crudely sequential way. We function in (and “as”) time, but most of us don’t deeply investigate into the nature of time. We are somewhat like guppies that don’t ponder about the full nature of the aquarium they are in.

Just as we were taught, we divide and separate the past, present, and future. Thought is sequential, and — by being robotically and habitually stuck pretty much exclusively in thought/thinking — we continue to react sequentially. These reactions depend upon a space between a so-called observer and the observed; without that limited space, the so-called observer would be lost. It may be that limited space tends to form a limited “observer”; a limited observer may react as limited space. Limited space may enable (and be) a so-called “observer.” This limited space may necessitate a limited time. We spend a lot of time wasting time on a lot of foolish things (that do not help Mother Earth and the Environment). We need to act more responsibly.

It may be that there is no “you” really moving from the present into the future. It may be that your so-called moving isn’t moving at all (and that the present, the future, and the past are what you are). With all of the moving (i.e., traveling) that you feel you’ve done, it may be that your consciousness has (in actuality) not really moved anywhere other than where it has always been. Let it shine wisely.

**Vertical World … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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The Cultivation of the Known…

July 2, 2025

9 comments

Thought/thinking is the cultivation of the known. The known, of course, has its important place. However, thought/thinking is only a tool. But most of us have made thought/thinking be conceived of as the essence of the organism; but that may be another conception fabricated by thought/thinking, and an erroneous one at that.

Most of us cling to thought/thinking and are afraid of going beyond it. Being identified with (and “as”) thought was hammered into us, and we are fearful of being without it. However, this may be much like clinging to shadows… much like what Socrates’ Allegory of the Cave alludes to. Only ignorance clings to falsities, and existing throughout life clinging to falsities may not be real living at all. True intelligence needs to flower.

**Together … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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To be “At One” with the Environment…(Two Photos)

June 25, 2025

18 comments

To be “at one” with the environment… what does that mean? Obviously, because of poor education and other similar factors, most of us do not fully feel like we are “at one” with the environment. We take. and take, and continue to take, and we mistreat the environment, not realizing our sacred duty to protect it and conserve it. Some Native American tribes realized their sacred relationship to the environment. They lived in ways that deeply revered nature, and they felt that they were truly one with the land, the sky, and the waters. By the time the Europeans arrived, many were primarily farmers and lived in vast confederations that the Europeans later emulated. The Natives realized that nature and their being were one whole.

I am not perfect, but i try to do what i can. I heat and air-condition my house with green Geothermal energy, i recycle when possible, i drive a Hybrid car, i donate monthly to the Environmental Defense Fund, i stay local without traveling great distances, and do other things. In a world that is rapidly falling into serious global warming, insane wind buildup, serious microplastic buildup, and extensive pollution, we can all do better. Many species are going extinct at record numbers due to man’s misuse and abuse of the environment. We need to change, we need to limit our population responsibly, and we need to care from the heart. If you understand the gravity of the situation, then (in a big way) the land, the sea, and the skies will.

**Ribbit Ribbit … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

[The artifact pictured below is a Native American Effigy Pipe Artifact. The Native Americans revered Nature and often artistically made many stone products to display their love of nature.] l

**Native American Hopewell Frog Effigy Pipe Artifact … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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Fragmented, Toxic Humans and their Mischief…

June 19, 2025

8 comments

Fragmented humans can make you feel uncomfortable in their presence. They can project their lack of harmony and wholeness your way, and if this is not keenly seen, it can drain your energy. They can, if you are not cautious, make you feel inadequate, unintelligent, and full of faults. These fragmented human beings often project their fragmentation onto you (because it makes them feel more powerful, more supreme). But that is not supremacy, it is an illusion and is child’s play. Distancing yourself from such people, both physically and emotionally, may be the wisest option. Otherwise, you may depend on them… and they can drain you of your dignity and spiritual energy if you let them. Often, standing alone is the wisest option, the best course of action. Or one may exist near them without letting their toxicity penetrate, without allowing their shallow words to penetrate into (and “as”) your inner core. Toxic reactions projected at a truly wise man (or woman) do not turn him (or her) out to be broken.

**In the Blossoming … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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Silence to Get Something…

June 12, 2025

5 comments

Silence to get something may not really be legitimate silence at all. It is (then) a means to an end. Money and greedy plotting are means to an end. A silent mind, that is not “for something in the future,” is totally different from a mind that is silent “for something.” Silence, without effort or for something in the future, is silence for its own sake. It is a silence beyond the time-bound groping and grasping of obtrusions of thought. Then the mind is not of the stale reactions of past conditioning (i.e., past old memory). Silence without motive is unconditioned and pristine. It is beyond the chicanery of a greedy mind.

Flower for a Lady … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025

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Holistic Perceiving vs. Thinking…

June 5, 2025

5 comments

There’s a big difference between perceiving holistically (beyond conditioning) and thinking (with such thinking being conditioned). As we have often said, thinking is limited, conditioned, fragmentary, and symbolic. With thinking, you can believe all sorts of things (as people robotically tend to do). With thinking, one can believe in all kinds of governments, religions, leaders, gurus, priests, saviors, and the like. These various factions inevitably cause separation and conflict between people in the world.

True holistic perception is not what is merely learned or absorbed from another. It exists beyond secondhand methods and laid-out practices. Such perception goes beyond the falsities and the needless conflicts and separations. Deep perception is timeless, and thoughts are isolated reactions of time (in time, and “as” time). Deep perception exists beyond the circumscribed, secondhand, fallacious reactions.

**Resting Silently … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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On Getting Better Spiritually Over Time…

May 29, 2025

14 comments

Getting better spiritually over time… what does that entail? Innumerable religious organizations attempt to help you to get better spiritually over time. And there are plenty of blogs on the internet written by people who act like they can help you to get better spiritually over time. In this regard, many practices, procedures, and methods are given. It’s quite a circus! A lot of gullible people swallow these practices up, in the hopes of achieving enlightenment (for example). Enlightenment is not an achievement anyhow; it is a visitation into you by that eternal, immeasurable, ineffable, timeless, profound sacredness. Greedy, calculated, robotic practices and methods never lead to it. One can try, ad infinitum, to get it, but one can never purposefully cause it to happen. It is not merely an effect in a chain of cause-and-effect manifestations.

In wanting to get better spiritually, time is a factor. Getting better spiritually seems to depend upon time. One can never receive the timeless by grasping for it through practices involving time. (You might as well try to catch and bottle up the wind.) Wanting to get better spiritually, in the future, may be very childish, very crass. What is “now” will never be what the future is… so such wanting may be a waste of time that reinforces an illusory ego. Besides, the space that separates you from others is very much like the space that you are in (apart from what the future will be). Effortlessly existing, with self-less-awareness, in the “now” may be prudent and wise… whereas struggling to achieve spiritual results (for some image one has of the future) likely will cause the mind to mindlessly grope where insight and deep understanding never fully take place.

**Rarity Resting … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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On Coming to Conclusions

May 22, 2025

11 comments

Apparently, most people often habitually come to conclusions. These conclusions tend to be limiting, circumscribed, and they tend to put the mind into gross rigidity. Most people may be very unaware of a lot of the conclusions that they cling to. Many zealously stick to conclusions about religion, politics, tribal affiliations, and what are considered appropriate social norms. Many are even willing to die for their conclusions. Many insist that their (separate, man-made) religion is the best or that their (separate, man-made) country is the best.

A flexible, dynamic, truly living mind may be beyond the rigid framework of conclusions. Such a mind may not cling to secondhand precepts handed down by society. Such a mind may see beyond the confined limitations that conclusions manifest as. Many beliefs, being conclusions, may seem helpful and benign, but (overall) may not be. A mind riddled with a lot of stale conclusions and beliefs may actually consist of those conclusions and beliefs; such a mind may not be something that somehow separately holds those conclusions (as if they are separate possessions). Conclusions can actually constitute the mind. Limitation may constrict and stifle perception in a crippling way that nullifies whole and profound insight and intelligence. Many minds may be free of harmful drugs yet may still be severely crippled by innumerable deleterious beliefs and conclusions.

**Spring in Action … Photo by Thomas Peace c.2025**

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To look with (and “as”) limitation…

May 15, 2025

5 comments

In order to hate, in order to feel superior to others, in order to exist without much compassion, one must look with (and “as”) limitation. Such limitation also, in such a person, must (by necessity) also exist in a multitude of other forms. Fear and greed would likely also manifest in (and “as”) such a person. When one is full of fear, for example, one actually is that fear; one is not something separate from what that fear is. When one hates, for example, one actually is hate; one is not something magically separate from what hate is. To exist as conditioned hate requires a lot of conditioning based on limitation. Learned conceptual borders, boundaries, lines of demarcation, and division (all based on circumscribed limitations) feed and manifest as that hate. Without them hate would not exist. Interestingly, such a conditioned mind would see hate as something that it has — not as something that it is — for that “having” would reflect even more separation and division; it would reflect even more components of limitation. The wise mind is not entrapped in such realms of conditioning and limitation. The wise mind is free from profound limitations and is not stuck in (and “as”) stale, dull, learned, dead, conditioned conclusions, and circumscribed perspectives.

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