stonecrop
by any other flower
being
(if only for an hour)
beyond many
a gift
beyond foolish narrow time
living
(and always forever fine)
beyond any
Stonecrop (Sedum causticola) (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Stonecrop (Sedum causticola) (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Existing in fallacy is to remain clinging to learned or absorbed false systems or mistaken beliefs. A truly dynamic, liberated mind is one that likely transcends beyond all (given) beliefs and manmade patterns… being a mind that perceives without contamination that has been absorbed from others. It is easy to exist in a slapdash way, merely allowing others (many of whom want power and control) to tell you how to do things. However, unless one looks with the purity of non-contamination, then what one perceives and believes in may merely be extensions of what others (with motivations involving power and suppression) have planted. When one supposedly has a belief, it is very likely that one is that belief… not merely something separate (from some kind of manufactured distance) “having” it.
The beauty of real innocence and pure perception (which is what is truly unsullied) is that they — together as one — are beyond secondhand values. Real innocence transcends self-importance, pompous display, and it goes beyond mere accumulation. In mere accumulation — including the gathering of images and beliefs — there is a “getting more and more,” which inflates the self (via increments of images, internal components, and others’ patterns). With uncontaminated, innocent perception, there is a seeing beyond the self and the accumulations that fill (and make) the self. It may be that profound relationship goes beyond any mental accumulations that constitute the self. Real relationship and true selflessness may not be two different things.
Dragonfly and Damselfly. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Though the body ages, creaks with pain, deteriorates,
slowly withers like a flower…
one can have a youthful, budding, blossoming smile
on one’s face
Energy, action, movement
which make up the body
is, as Einstein suggested, eternal;
but eternity runs deeper than that
It permeates much deeper than the superficial
will ever realize;
and as they (unfortunately) continue to deteriorate
both mentally and physically
something (warmly) eternally eludes dullness, indifference, and
deadcold callousness
At the fall of one’s life. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
It is great to go out and enjoy nature, being very appreciative of all that nature offers. There is tremendous beauty and order in nature. Even the more brutal, violent things that occur in (and “as”) nature are part of a larger, overall order that is truly immense. Those who are not at all interested in nature, who are not interested in the outdoors and in the many diverse plants and animals, are not to be envied; they are missing something in their lives; really, a life without “life” may not be much of a life at all.
When one experiences nature, how does one experience it? If one merely experiences it as an outside “observer,” then there is a very good chance that one is looking with distance and separation. However, if one looks passionately, deeply, without the contamination from the way that one was supposedly “educated,” then there may be real perception, real contact and relationship with (and “as”) what nature is. Then you and nature are not merely two separate things. Nature is alive; but if you look at it through a bunch of dead (learned and absorbed) images, are you really perceiving the immensity of nature? It is easy to look via distance and separation, and with learned, dead concepts and say, “Oh yes, indeed, I am one with nature, one with the whole!” However, that may be rather meaningless unless one profoundly goes beyond what was instilled in (and “as”) one throughout the past. With (and “as”) the past is how most of us view nature. We look with preconceived symbols, stiff images, learned distance and separation, labels, and lifeless concepts absorbed in the past… and so we are not really looking much at all; instead, our perceiving is contaminated. Our very concept of self — that thinks it is doing the looking — is (in itself) a learned, separate, rather defunct thought/set of thoughts.
Interestingly, through intense awareness and keen insight, if one gets to that point (which really isn’t a “point” at all, by the way), then one is beyond where boredom, depression, and indifference can take a hold. Without being dependent upon dead, internal images and symbols, one is where real life, fortunately enough, truly blossoms, just as it does in profound nature. Then one doesn’t need to take mind-altering drugs or cling to artificial, unnatural, man-made things, leaders, and systems. (Many, unfortunately, are like walking graveyards, and they don’t even realize it.) Then — unlike most, who were taught to cling to (and supposedly live as) dead symbols, musty conceptual images, and stagnant, repetitive patterns — one is where real living flowers. Then one doesn’t even need to constantly experience nature (or constantly experience anything, for that matter)… because there exists a flowing vitality, immensity, and intensity that is beyond (at times) the need for images, experiences, and “absorbing more and more, and still more.”
Silver-spotted Skipper (or something beyond a mere label). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
it was hiding in plain sight
the unconditionedwhole
but she never really saw it
like she did the littlegreen bowl
it was always to be seen
beyond cadaverous illusion or disjointed dream
but separative frag ments can not be it
like a drop ped b owl that was gre en
it’s popular to show off your wares
to all you know, to many friends of natty seg ments
but real joy is not to splinters shown
nor can be vis u ally ad mired by bro ken frag ments
Bowl Mushroom (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Bowl Mushroom (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
So many of us live in — and “as” — fear without ever fully realizing it. Most of us remain in the structures and patterns of what we were taught… and comfortably remain there; we are either afraid or indifferent about going beyond. The older we get, the more set in our ways we get. So many of us — as we age — lose our mental pliability and flexibility; we become rigid, rather robotic followers of old, worn-out traditions that supposedly exist to save us and protect us. (Unfortunately, many of these traditions keep us in our place and fill certain individuals with power, money, and prestige.)
When fear exists, are you something separate from what that fear is? Most of us were taught that we are separate from our fears, desires, and systems of thinking. A truly wise human being can realize that fear (and what he or she is)… are not two separate things. (Of course, one is not merely just “fear.”) We run from our fears without truly facing them, without really being in an orderly relationship with them. A man might say, “I am dealing with my fears.” Therein, a learned image, involving self, is a separative part of a conditioned system that includes conditioned fear. However, one part of a conditioned system cannot “get rid of” (or “adequately resolve”) another part of a conditioned system. There might be alteration, subjugation, and the appearance that it did (get rid of something), but two wrongs don’t make a right, not in the long run. Ultimately, there is still disorder in (and “as”) what uses disorderly (i.e., false) means as a way to resolve psychological issues.
Real, pristine awareness, without needless friction, can shed a light on things and renew the mind (helping it to exist as order). However, if one is burdened with needless friction, conditioning, and false separation (and overburdened with symbols) — such as a concept of “me” or “myself” being something separate from the fear — then conditioned, learned images interfere with that spontaneous, pure awareness that is not merely a part of some (man-made) or primitive process of reaction. So, the enlightened being perceives without all that accumulated rigamarole that takes time. Transcending false values and conditioned reactions need not take time; but using erroneous, internal, false procedures depends upon time. For instance, with a wise being, there is often an intense awareness wherein conditioned, manmade (internal) symbols instantly (without taking time) dissipate (without some separate, internal entity trying to end them). (Any images “trying to end them” are merely part of the whole of the conditioned structure. One part of this conditioned structure thinking it is separate from another part — trying to control it — furthers erroneous division and extends conditioning.) So, with an entity who is truly wise, there exists a timeless “dying” or “ending” of the conditioned. No separate image of self or absorbed method is doing this; (otherwise it is merely just a part of the conditioning). Most people (in their acceptance of tradition and as part of their conditioning) put “dying” far away from daily life. However, a truly perspicacious individual is daily dying (with a huger than huge smile)… psychologically dying to (and “as”) false, dead symbols, methodologies, and rudimentary reactions. Such timeless dying (beyond any archaic, dead methodology of the stagnant past) is what is truly living (in the deepest, true sense). Observation without a pattern, without a method, without learned separation and symbols… is effortless and does not involve a technique to robotically practice over time. The masses, with their conditioned, fossilized methodologies and antiquated systems: that may be where the nasty (most real) kind of death is. That (unfortunately) is the fossilized matrix where most of them are buried, while thinking they are alive. Unfortunately, for the most part, pointing out about leaving it, to them, is like explaining the value of gold to frogs.
So, in this, living and dying are one. (The previous statement has a double meaning.) However, for the masses, they are something separate… as are so many things (for them), including their limited concepts of self.
Tree Frog climbing around the porch (1). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Tree Frog climbing around the porch (2). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
There was this me
and every time this me looked
it saw what me was looking at
(This me was very orthodox…
being brought up by orthodoxy,
being cultivated by — and “as”– orthodoxy)
This me thought it was something separate
from the perceptions that it was taught it “had”
There was this movement without a center
and, when looking was taking place,
perceiving was what was…
without some separate center
doing the perceiving
(This nonme was not very orthodox…
having psychologically died t0 — and “as”– orthodoxy)
There was this primitive conditioning
and every time this cadaverous conditioning looked
it saw what it was programmed to primitively see
There was this freedom from the known
and often — beyond indoctrination —
it moved livingly/compassionately/sagaciously
without a static blueprint
without some canned and pickled doctrine
that — in rigidity — it would blindly cling to
Above and below. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
(This posting is dedicated to the late Professor David Bohm, Theoretical Physicist, who specialized in Quantum Mechanics. I used to have some very good one-on-one conversations with David.)
In quantum mechanics, when a separate observer looks at (or tries to measure) subatomic phenomena, the (endless) waveform collapses and there is an object that, for instance, exists in a distinct place, duration, or time. (The waveform can exist at many places at once and has qualities of infinity.) We are perpetually measuring things, even when we are not fully conscious of doing so. Labeling things, identifying things, naming things, existing from one word-oriented symbol to the next… are all (in their own way) forms of measuring, categorizing, and assessing. We were taught that the observer is doing the measuring, doing the categorizing, and doing the assessing. However, is the observer truly separate from what the measuring, categorization, and assessment are constituted of? Without measurement and assessment, without the usage of symbolism, the (separate) observer does not exist. (Selfishness, by the way, requires the measurement that forges and invents a separate observer; therein, limitation is involved.)
Measuring (and all that type of process) is necessary at times. Measuring, calculating, labeling, assessment (and all that) was drilled into us throughout our education. However, they never taught us, or seriously suggested, that there are times when we can go beyond these things. They had us live in thought, exist in thought, and worship thought. They never suggested that we need not put all of our eggs in that one basket… the basket of thought (as measurement, categorizing, and assessing). They never suggested that thought and thinking is a tool… (and need not be the essence of the organism). You know, when you make tools all important, and forget about the living thing, you become rather robotic and mechanized… rather unalive. Our “self concepts,” too, are all (basically) learned symbols. Symbols are not the actuality; a description of an insect isn’t the insect. But so many of us exist from one symbol to another; even when we look at things, we tend to see through (and “as”) a screen of learned symbols.
We can exist beyond symbolism, measurement, and tool utilization… though symbolism, measurement, and tool utilization is often very necessary and prudent. This is not some fanciful living the the here and now. (Psychologically clinging to the here and now is rather like the collapse of the waveform; often involved in it are learned measurement, categorization, and assessment.) Most minds will not be appreciative of this. Most minds were indoctrinated by measurement (“with” and “as” measurement). This is unfortunate, because the measureless has a quality of true infinity to it. Limited — rather virtual — symbols (involving “self” or “not self”) can never capture or grasp that nonsymbolic, real, illimitable quality.
Empty Exoskeleton of a Grasshopper (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Empty Exoskeleton of a Grasshopper (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Deity did not create this universe
and is not responsible for
what takes place within
(and “as”) it.
Simple organisms
and rather more complex organisms
are in the same boat together.
Deity may not be of a prejudice
that favors one over the other.
One, not sophisticated enough
to pray, is not favored over
one with propensities to pray.
One that is beautiful
is not favored over one
that is ordinary or rather ugly.
But complex organisms
(themselves)
can
(with real action and affection)
directly help simple organisms
and complex organisms too…
and both the beautiful
and the not so beautiful.
Don’t duck the question. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
It’s easy to “fit in”… to merely accept what the crowd (i.e., what the masses) say is the truth. It’s easy to comfortably “fit in” and lazily go along with what special groups say. That is where many find security and that is where they are all too willing to absorb what others maintain. Nazi Germany — and the way its people would blindly follow — was an example of this. But to intelligently question everything, to stand alone, to deviate (psychologically and profoundly) from the norm is not easy; it is very arduous and it is where one puts security aside. Many will not at all care for this; they will maintain that their special group has the answers; however, this (true independence and standing alone) may be the only way to come upon actual truth; otherwise one is stuck with old, secondhand, stagnant, and primitive values and traditions (which hamper real, legitimate discovery). Most are too conditioned, too rigidly formulated from the mold that society utilized to fabricate their structure; they will — one way or another — dismiss any real invitation to independently probe deeply.
Most will not ever realize that the very way we observe things is heavily conditioned. It is ironic that some, in the past — like the historic Christ (as can be seen in The Gospel of Thomas, Q, and the pre-narrative Mark) — transcended beyond normality and invited others to look within and find out for themselves… and that, after they died, others (over time) intentionally distorted and twisted their message in order to maintain power, authority, position, money, security, and control.
No one but you can discover the uncontaminated truth. However, if that “you” is a product of what was learned… then it will likely only find by way of limitation, contamination, and “secondhandedness.” (One’s very concept of self, for most, is a learned image/symbol, or a set of learned symbols.) When distortion looks… what it perceives is of distortion. The masses and the patterns of their world are full of distortion. Very few independently and sagaciously go beyond that, but (to be truly wise and not deceived) going beyond is absolutely necessary.
Clustered and apart. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
.
One must
put up barriers
to
keep
oneself
in time
.
On the lighted stage… (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
On the lighted stage… (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
.
As she brushed
her long, flowing, blond hair,
she continued to admire her radiant beauty
in the large mirror.
However, she didn’t
reflect enough
around that superficial mirror.
She never realized that
the beauty that she was
a part of extended as
the trees, the butterflies,
the bees, the rocks,
and the fish.
Her mind was apart from the whole
which, when it’s all said and (never) done,
may be apart from
the real beauty.
.
Green Tree Frog in Flower. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Green Tree Frog in Flower. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
.
Being truly mindful or of a deeply meditative mind, is not something that one can know that one is experiencing or part of. The beauty of the unknown is that it cannot merely be held or captured by the known. It is a state of true humility where the one who may be involved with it is not certain that it is being done. There’s no certitude in full mindfulness and profound meditation, because the unknown cannot be captivated (and owned) by the known. So many of us are indoctrinated by mere symbolic knowledge… by the known; it is what was poured into us — formulating us — throughout our youth. Even our individual concepts of self are essentially learned symbols and images. Concentration is all well and good, at times, but it has little to do with this; this goes far beyond mere concentration. Concentration involves focusing on various images and mental patterns (symbolic patterns). Concentration is often necessary, but a mind that merely concentrates is stuck in a very limited segment of what the mind is capable of. We’ve been concentrating for eons, and look where it has gotten us. We may have better machines and more comfortable lives, but we are lost in symbols, competition, separative ideologies, with power-hungry leaders and mechanical systems manipulating our lives.
It takes great courage and intelligence to step out of that field (that so many of us are immersed in). To leave the field of the known (i.e., the field of absorbed symbols and learned mental formulations) is, indeed, a kind of psychological dying. However, it is where the true innocence and true beauty of a different kind of intelligence exists. Not doing it is truly a morbid kind of decay. Most of us want to be certain. We remain (perpetually) in the field of learned images and symbols; we are frightened to go beyond that. Interestingly, remaining (perpetually) in that field continues with what remains secondhand, stale, and unoriginal.
.
Softshelled Turtle. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
.
Things in the universe, though they may seem to be separate and very different, may all be reflections of a larger whole. However, most of us were educated to perceive via fragmentation. Even most of the top scientists of the world currently tend to dissect things and look more at the parts… not so much at the whole. The mind can intelligently perceive without merely seeing via standard patterns and images (that were instilled within it, formulating its constitution). For many of us, even self-images consist of fragmentary concepts and images that were accumulated from learned paradigms. Even when we look inwardly, we see fragmentarily… we see learned symbols/images. Undoubtedly, there would be less wars and less indifference towards nature if more of us would go beyond the norm and perceive more holistically. The right arm will not robotically wage war against (and try to vanquish) the left arm if it clearly sees the reality of the whole.
True independence is going beyond conditioning; it is going beyond the dependence upon old patterns and systems that were implanted by others (who absorbed and became them themselves). If one remains in circumscribed patterns, one can’t go far; and, interestingly, such a “farness” is beyond distance and separation.
.
Perpetuity (1). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Perpetuity (2). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
.
When I was very young, (before I became a vegetarian) I was an avid fisherman. I loved fishing tremendously; being out there, with nature, was a large part of it (and was very special). There was a manmade lake that I would often fish at that was fairly new; adjacent to it, and connected to it by a narrow channel, was a huge, shallow swamp area (that was nearly as big as the lake itself). Most people who fished at the lake didn’t know about the swamp area; it was a superb area that contained many fish, many of which would go there to spawn and lay eggs. All kinds of other wildlife were there. There was a large factory not far from the swamp, however, and each year the swamp would get more and more slime and oily residue floating at the surface, much of which was undoubtedly due to pollution from the factory and from the industrial environment. Each year would be exponentially worse than the next. There would be less and less fish each year and more and more noxious algae and scummy debris. Back then, as a kid, I felt that what was going on in the swamp was a precursor to what would be going on for our entire planet; I deeply felt that often.
Now scientists are saying that we don’t have much time left (before it’s too late) to “get it right” with changing things for the better with regard to the environment. The permafrost of the globe is melting rapidly, and they say it will get exponentially worse each year, which will affect our environment in drastic ways. Our weather is getting more and more erratic and violent and the coral reefs are rapidly dwindling. Please try to do something more green; please try to use fossil fuel planes and automobiles less frequently and please recycle and look into using alternative energy forms that don’t leave as big of a carbon footprint. Our human population, additionally, needs to be regulated more and intelligently diminished; an aquarium with too many fish within it cannot adequately recycle the waste and remain balanced. Each one of us is highly responsible and must do our part.
(This won’t fit under a rug; it’s our planet.)
.
Fly-catching. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Fly-catching. (2) (Digital Crayon). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
.
Most of us, in existence — because of the way we were educated (or miseducated) — are immersed almost exclusively in the conceptual, rather than in what is of real energy and substance. Our concepts (and our perceptions that are based on concepts) are almost always about virtual patterns and images; they are seldom (or never) of the essence of actual energy. Our modes of consciousness are almost always based around “patterns” within energy; we are seldom (or never) pure and unadulterated energy. Certain people and groups maintain that you should strive to exist in the “here and now” to better come into contact with that pristine energy (or the essence or source behind all things). (They’ll give you all kinds of techniques or methods for getting to the “here and now,” which is so ludicrous, as if a technique from the past can fabricate the present.) Really, for many, the “here and now” is often the result of more concepts, more propositions and proposals put forward by others to absorb and react to. Then such a “here” or such a “now” becomes a learned frame of mind or mindset (that seems to be divorced from the past), but that really is an extension from (and of) the past. Perhaps the conditioned recognition of the “now” (as being separate from the past and the future) requires reactions (from the past) that negate the actuality of really being in (a now that is not merely part of the past). So there is a strong possibility that the moment you recognize that you are in “the here and now”… you really aren’t in (or of) it.
Most of us are endlessly talkative (to ourselves), endlessly chattering (or visualizing mental images) throughout the day (and night, as we sleep). We thrive on these endlessly chattering patterns… we are these endlessly chattering patterns. We are used to being the past, endlessly restructuring itself from (and “as”) patterns that were learned and absorbed. If the mind (naturally, without method or effort) is quiet (at times) throughout the day, (extremely aware and alert, but without endlessly chattering to itself internally), then at night it can really rest and sleep (without any continuing and habitual, conditioned chattering). Then, when it sleeps, dreams (and the many absurd patterns that they entail) need not take place; then the mind can really rest and gather energy, without friction, without fears, inner struggles, needless conflict, and all that clutter. Then, when such a mind wakes, it is naturally (without any effort whatsoever) quiet. In that quietness, there is no conflict, struggle, friction, control, or domination. Then there’s no recognition of a “now” separate from the past or the future; but there is an intensity (an intelligent awareness) without dependence upon anything — not even dependence upon recognition and knowledge (which so many are frightened to leave) — (and this includes being beyond the patterns that were poured into it when it was younger). Then, when it looks, it doesn’t merely robotically perceive what was taught. Such a mind is truly alive and doesn’t exclusively perceive through (and “as”) the screen of the learned/programmed past.
.
Downsideup. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
.
It’s taking off time
4 the bee.
4 U 2 soar, beyond being and unbeing,
there must be taking off time
4 U.
U can’t be there
if U are not taking off time.
A mere sequence of accumulating
patterns and experiences in time
isn’t soaring;
it’s unsoaring-merelybeing.
Every now and then
(beyond the mere groping after sequential patterns or the mere running away from patterns)
take off some time
(beyond conflict) and soar.
.
Taking off time. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Taking off time. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
.
Fishing for insects
in the lake so blue
did you realize
that what your eye can catch is you?
Are you searching for truth
as you sit in your chair?
Do eye realize that what is here
is an extension of what’s out there?
.
Fishing for insects. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
.
Having money
in the bank
is important
2 many;
but this mom
has something
much more precious
in the bank.
Money isn’t
everything.
.
Precious little one. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
.
Many minds depend upon experiences in order to exist… without fully realizing that they are those experiences. Reacting to (and “as”) experiences involves conditioned responses following each other, in sequence. Without such experiences most minds would be lost, for their very composition desperately depends upon such experiences. Even ancient organisms, such as the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex, had brains that exclusively depended upon experiences. However, a few very intelligent minds — very few — though being highly appreciative of many experiences, have realized that they need not just exclusively depend upon experience. Such minds, though they often use and appreciate experience, go beyond it at times. Such minds are a light to themselves, and they do not exclusively depend upon things… not even upon experience. To be beyond dependence is to be truly free; the other way is primitive, limited, partial, and without majestic vastness.
.
Duck with a T-rex face. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
.
All of the mumbo jumbo
from all of the politicians
and bureaucrats
doesn’t hold a candle
to the radiant mojo
that a white candle heron
in nature has
as it silently
wades
beyond
the
superficial
.
Heron gulping down its prey. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
.
The wellspring of truth isn’t to be found by secondhand thoughts and formulations… (and all thoughts are directly or indirectly secondhand). One can’t discover the new with an instrument ingrained in the old.
.
Together. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
.
What Katy did
and what you
did…
Are they related?
Of course they are.
But what you did
affects Katy
much more
than what
Katy did
to you.
Recycle and promote
green energy.
(Humans, need to go more green.)
Katy did.
.
Katydid. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
.
E
Turn
8
Tea
is
4
Ev
R
&
sew
R
Yew!
.
Always keeping busy. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
.
Experience is good oftentimes, especially when it is occurs with sensitivity and learning. However, too many fall into experiences, exclusively, just like moths into the flame. A mind that does not habitually, robotically blast into experience… goes beyond it at times. It might seem odd or strange that one suggests that going beyond the realm of experience is beneficial and healthy… (but it is). Many of us seek new and “more exciting” experiences. In doing this, one thinks that one will achieve happiness. However, once something is experienced, its supposed “newness” tends to quickly evaporate and when we experience similar things, they tend to lose their quality of being beyond the same old patterns; so we seek new and different patterns, different experiences. However, different patterns are still mere patterns. A mind that clings to various series and strings of patterns (to be stimulated) becomes dependent upon such patterns. A brain dependent upon mere patterns, for its happiness, is a mind that is not at all independent and free; it is enslaved with dependency upon the patterns (as so many people, unfortunately, are). Then boredom, frustration, and depression often easily slip in; for a mind that is based merely upon patterns (an their recognition) easily gets fixated in robotic cause and effect reactions (based largely on what the patterns may or may not provide). Inevitably, they never provide enough. The experience and the experiencer are not two separate things.
A mind beyond mere experience — and there are few such minds — is really independent and free. It goes beyond mere patterns and the recognizing of patterns. It doesn’t do so out of volition and will; it just happens; intelligence is a factor. When it happens, the mind is still (though highly active and aware); however, it is not merely absorbing or rearranging patterns. Being beyond sequential reactions and patterns of recognition, it is an explosion of the new and immeasurable. Joy and insight, beyond dependency upon experiences, exists then.
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Moth Head Study. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
.
If you duck the issues and don’t pay full attention in life… then when thoughts and feelings occur in (and “as”) you, you will not attend to them completely and fully. To attend to thoughts and feelings completely (as they occur) there is intense observation without separation, without the indifference of distance. In looking fully and attentively, which is deep learning, there need not be mere judgment, condemnation, or control according a learned authority at some (supposed) distance (be it external or internal).
.
[Note: Paleontologists have been saying that birds are a branch of dinosaurs that survived the great extinction event. A close-up of this duck shows what eerily looks like dinosaur raptor teeth. The tooth-like structures are really lamellae… sieve-like projections that help to extract edible items, such as seeds or insects, away from mud or sand. They also may be beneficial for defense. Duckasaurus rex!]
Duck Teeth. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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In an oscillating universe, if an entity does not get it together and transcend mediocrity psychologically, then the consequences remain infinitesimally dull, like a seed that never germinates. If one flowers and grows, the winds of enlightenment may be truly endless.
.
Wild Beebalm. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
.
Interesting, isn’t it, about how perfectly the universe works with orderly sequences creating the higher elements via nuclear fusion, with supernovas (creating rare elements) and the like, all with immense order and precision? Yet isn’t it curious how we humans — many of us — live in tremendous disorder, with wars, violence, deceit, damage to the environment, manipulation via power, and all kinds of disorder that is willing to let others be harmed? So amongst all of the order, there is the continuing disorder of man; and that needs to change.
.
Facing it. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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One of the fundamental problems — which was observed even when one was rather young (in college days) — was that people who were trying to transcend beyond the self (in order to meditate or merge with the whole) were still clinging (in various ways) to the notion of a central “I” or central “ego.” Innumerable people would each say things like: “This is my form of meditation which I practice daily.” Or: “I am observing my behavior throughout the entire day.” Or: “I watch thoughts as they take place and vanish from consciousness.”
Separating the “I”, psychologically, from the rest of thought/thinking and maintaining that it has control is a waste of time and energy, and it contributes to friction and separation within (and “as”) the mind. A dog perpetually trying to catch its own tail wastes energy (though in such a case it may at least be getting some needed exercise). As was stated before (in previous posts)… one can function quite easily without the ego (which is, in itself, inherently false anyway). Thoughts are tools used by organisms in order to achieve certain ends. Maintaining that there is a central agency that is “separate from and controls these thoughts” may not be at all accurate. (See my previous posts about the corpus callosum.) Thoughts are conditioned responses; the manifestation of the “I” or “me” is another conditioned response, another thought or projected symbol. Ego projections overly utilizing the “I” or the “me” are manifestations of brains that have some transformation or evolving to do. The ego, being a falsity, tends to create an erroneous psychological radius and circumference around itself… (which tends to involve separation, learned space, and indifference). Nullification of the “I” or the ego does not destroy boundless intelligence nor the eternity and timelessness of dynamic wisdom.
Though one can still use the term “I” in conversations with people, one may not — if one is fully aware — use it as a reference to a central point. When not talking or communicating with others, this movement — while thinking internally — often uses “we” instead of “I.” Or one can use the term: “this movement” (instead of “I”). Of course, the “I” can represent all of one’s thoughts; but one is actually far more than conditioned mental reactions… and far more than some temporary, biological mass. This isn’t some kind of mental game. If we were educated wrongly and cling to primitive falsities, we will remain in what is a circumscribed circumference that perpetuates limitation and disorder.
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Ant on Lichen. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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Top scientists have stated that it is likely that our universe functions in ways that are totally different than what we expect or think. One couldn’t agree more. So, one has to discard what one has been taught, and look and perceive freshly, without all that was poured into one to mold and shape the way that one perceives. If one merely sees with the patterns that were implanted into one, then there is likely mostly jaded perception (that is looking through a fabricated psychological screen). Only a dynamic mind can go beyond what was rigidly poured into it. If we don’t see beyond the limitation that has been provided, then we will remain circumscribed by those who were also defined and shaped by others who, in the old past, delineated and fabricated them. If we remain in the limited, we will never discover the new, the timeless, and the truth.
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At the County Fair… Rooster, Hen & Youngster. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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One must purge what all the pundits, leaders, and experts have taught. Most of them are full of themselves. We (despite thinking otherwise) live in very primitive times psychologically… and if one doesn’t figure things out for oneself, one will remain within (and “as”) the quagmire of the false and crass. If one’s very mode and manner of thinking (and, hence, perceiving) was constructed by them, then there must be a fundamental transformation of the mind if one is to see without past corruption and without merely looking with old patterns and standard modes. To observe without distortion, one must look without a blueprint, methodology, system, or absorbed structure; that can only take place via pristine observation that is unsullied by past dictates or precepts. Most are unwilling or unable to do this. They are too mesmerized by what was poured into them, unfortunately. When they try to guide others, psychologically and spiritually, they are often (even unknowingly) merely projecting what they were taught, (which is essentially second-hand). Direct observation, without all the garbage and distortion, is possible; deep insight and profound understanding depend upon it.
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[Note: If you are using the “Reader”/ “Blogs I Follow” method, note that they have recently revised it. Personally, I am not too fond of the revision (photograph-wise). If you wish to see my photos much better than what happens after “one” or “no” clicks… please click on the “three dots” at the upper righthand corner of the initial presentation, then click on “Visit Site.” Then you will see the photos the way that they were meant to be seen. (WordPress needs to explain the revision better to everyone.) Of course, my site is primarily about philosophy, mindfulness, and true self-awareness… not merely about pictures/images. The photos are an accompanying addition (about splendid nature), but are not the primary thing that I really want to share.]
Three’s company. (There’s a fourth, but it’s hiding.) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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One can be stoic in life — and be rather indifferent to pain — and brightly live and smile beyond the ludicrous, limited, opaque behaviors of others… and beyond the inauspicious, vile, dark circumstances that befall upon one.
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Ladybug and the aphids it eats. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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Effortlessness is essential in regard to being a mind that is open to real wisdom and harmony in (and “as”) the universe. Effortlessness occurs when the mind is not merely regulating and performing things from what seems to be a center (i.e., central point) and as mere fragmentary reactions. Effortlessness exists beyond measuring and copying (i.e., imitating what was learned). The moment one knows or thinks that one is in a state of effortlessness, effortlessness is likely negated. In effortlessness there is no imagery of an observer separate from the observed; and in deep effortlessness, the observed undergoes a transformation into what exists beyond mere categorization and rote recognition. A wise individual in effortlessness is not merely lazy; on the contrary, true effortlessness is tremendous, majestic/intelligent action; one can do many things while effortlessness is taking place, wherein the acting and the actor are not two separate things. One can be diligently watering and caring for some garden plants, for example, and be in a state of effortlessness. There can also be effortlessness while sitting or sleeping.
Involved in all this is an effortless psychological dying from moment to moment. Deep psychological creativity manifests as a measureless, unbridled dying from moment to moment. Only a mind engaging in such psychological dying can be renewed from moment to moment, without merely carrying the burden of the past. A mind that is not of such dying is likely stuck in the past, (which is stale, rehashed, and what is truly fundamentally dead). A mind that clings to being a separate observer, that clings to merely being “known and accumulated patterns that react” (and project themselves from a supposed center that was learned), is not likely to be the joy of the measureless and the freedom of profound depth. A mind of effortlessness, unlike innumerable other minds, does not often waste energy (with internal friction involving conflict, fields of separation, and mere fragmentary struggles).
Only a mind of effortlessness is what is immersed in profound grace. Minds not of such grace are involved with friction, conflict, rigid images, separation, and psychological energy wastage. A mind full of feelings of domination from a (supposed) central point is composed of patterns of subjugation and tyrannizing influences that eclipse pristine perception and waste time and energy.
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Insect in Lily. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Insect in Lily – crayon version. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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Each and every drop has its place
and is accounted for
The tears of the world are
all accounted for
What lies beyond all the tears
is accounted for
is blossoming
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Returning. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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You needn’t be concerned about me;
I’m a vegetarian, not a hunter.
And this movement realizes
that your hearty fervor to flee
reflects your deep passion for living.
These effusive camera shots
aren’t meant to kill.
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Seeing each other. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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We are the mountains
We are the golden sun
We are the butterflies
We are the stirring spoon
We are the bird’s song
We are the turning key
We are the churning thoughts
We are the thunderstorms
We are the wars of lies
We are the poetry lines
We are the rocking chairs
We are the light through the forest down the lane
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We are the butterflies. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
We are the butterflies. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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Protecting mysocalledself
from all that’s ever bad
perhaps with wisdom’s razor-sharp points
that innumerable many never had
In a world full of violence, destruction,
dull ignorance and some joy
a coating of fine needles
is unblunted intelligence to employ
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A point here and there. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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Two_________female
antswish
____ing
to
share________________ the same
flower for
ever
Whoever says that they should not
is out of the blossoming
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[Added note: My sister-in-law is married to another woman; both she and her spouse are very sweet, caring, and kind; they are far better parents than mine ever were.]
Someone’s aunts on Stella D’oro. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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My heart goes out to those in Charleston, South Carolina who lost their lives or loved ones. The Confederate flag needs to go. To many, it (justifiably) represents repression and hatred. Personally, one doesn’t care to wave flags of any type. If you are a global citizen (i.e., a true citizen of the world), then separative flags have very little meaning. Flags tend to reinforce the feeling of separation and indifference regarding “those at a distance.” Many think that their country or area is superior to “that” country or “other” place… or is superior to “those other people.” During war, so many feel that “God” is on their side… as if God takes sides in violent, separative confrontations! A truly perceptive mind realizes a profound truth that places it in a common bond (united) with all living creatures. Separative flags (of any kind), which promote boundaries and divisiveness (and they pretty much all do), have little significance to a mind that is truly in such a bond beyond demarcations.
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/the_confederate_flag_needs_to_go_loc/?bqntMib&v=60732
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[This baby snapping turtle was in the backyard, running about. The adults lay their eggs in the ground; when the babies finally hatch, they need to quickly get to water (or else they get eaten by raccoons, coyotes, foxes, or crows and such). After taking a few photos, I carefully tossed this little guy into the river that we live on.]
Baby Snapping Turtle (1). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Baby Snapping Turtle (2). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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Moving the key
to unlock the door
is something the mind has been
many times before
Before the key
to unlock the mind
is something the door will be
moving many times
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Mayfly Study (1). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Mayfly Study (2). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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When we are young, we are like fledglings, depending on the those who are more mature to help us to do well and survive. However, at some point, we (if we are to really soar in life) have to leave the nest. As human beings, many of us never actually leave the nest; we continue to depend. We cling to the ideologies, patterns, religions, politics, traditions, and habits imprinted upon us by others; and so we never really independently soar. Most of us “feel safe,” nested in their ways and traditions. For human beings, however, true enlightenment is never merely within the circumscribed confines of a limited, little nest (or prepared space). Most of us are afraid to take the plunge, to let go of all the habits and traditions that we have been nesting in. Most merely cling to symbols, words, representations, ideologies, and learned concepts of (and including) a central “I”… and never ascend from being supposedly “safely nested” in those limited conceptions. That is why most never soar, and it is as simple as that.
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Hatched and Hatching. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Unhatched. Photo by Thomas Peace c.2015
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The understanding of how the universe functions doesn’t, interestingly enough, merely come about by way of a process.
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Tulip Study. (1) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Tulip Study. (2) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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Before I retired, I used to (as a hobby) keep and breed macaws. Now that I’m older and retired, I have 3 pet parrots… two that are macaws, and one that’s a Yellow Naped Amazon.
Parrots make great pets but, because of their intelligence, you have to give them a lot of time and stimulation. In many ways, they are a lot like dogs… except they can talk. I exercise all of my birds daily… taking them out of their large cages and moving up and down with them many times (as I simultaneously exercise). They have their own high definition TV in their room, where they like to watch things like The Muppets, Sesame Street, and Rock’n Learn (learning/phonics) videos.
Their intelligence is phenomenal! Makes me glad I’m a vegetarian… though I realize that certain birds, like chickens, don’t even come close to the intelligence of parrots. There are many other intelligent animals, including pigs and dogs. Tweety Pie, the bird pictured here, talks in complete sentences. She creates and makes up her own sentences and has great comprehension. Some birds just mimic; others have comprehension. For example, when we put on our coats or jackets to go outside, Tweety would ask: “Are you going to go bye-bye now?” … or “Can I go too?” We never taught her those questions; she came up with them herself; she says them with the right intonation for a question. She sings complete songs, like the “Oh what a beautiful morning” song and other songs including one by the Backstreet Boys. (I don’t even know the lyrics to that Backstreet Boys song, thank goodness.) Once, when I was in the living room and couldn’t get the Playstation to work, she said, “What seems to be the problem?” I said, “I can’t seem to get the TV to work right.” She then said, “Can I help?” Something else! Last night I kept the birds up a bit late because I was cleaning aquariums in their room. On two separate occasions I told the birds that they could “sleep in late”… (by me not turning on lights or opening window shades until later in the morning); after each of the two times that I told them that they could “sleep in late in the morning,” Tweety Pie” said “Thank You”! The night before, I asked the birds about which video they’d like to watch; I said, “What do you want to watch… Children Singing, Sesame Street, or The Muppets?” Tweety said, “Muppets.” So The Muppets were put on.
I tried to do videos of Tweety, but she won’t talk in front of a camera (at all). Once, when I worked (before retiring), I recorded her conversations on an audio recorder, took it to work for people to listen to, and people were totally amazed. (I included a couple of YouTube videos here — of other people’s parrot friends — for people to see, so that they can observe just how intelligent these birds can be; the ones in the videos are not against being video recorded.) Many of these birds don’t just mimic. Some, especially, have great comprehension. One of our macaws, Scarlet, talks and has great comprehension. When I was younger, I took her to work with me (to my classroom for the multiply handicapped); she would sit on my lap in the car, as I was driving, and was perfect in behavior in the car and in the classroom. Sometimes Scarlet calls for me by name, saying “Tom, come here,” and Marla, my wife, says that it sounds like I have another wife! Just last night, I had been playing a learning-video for them about colors, shapes, and counting, and as they (on the video) demonstrated counting to ten; Scarlet then, after they got up to ten, said “eleven.”
(See the videos below. The one of the African Grey Parrot, named Einstein, is one of many; to see other of her – she’s a female – videos, do a YouTube search on “Einstein Texan Talking Parrot”; there are other videos of another bird, that’s a show bird, named Einstein… but I like Einstein from Texas best.)
Tweety Pie. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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In my birdhouse
we take shelter from the rain
In my birdhouse
we sleep well,without pain
In my birdhouse
we are safe from violent wind
In my birdhouse
we are born,we come in
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[Note: Birdhouses at my sister-in-law’s (Mary’s) and brother-in-law’s (Gary’s) place. They were constructed, homemade, by Gary…. painted by Mary.]
Birdhouse (4… At my sister-in-law Mary’s place.) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Birdhouse (3… At sister-in-law Mary’s place). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Birdhouse (2… At sister-in-law Mary’s place.) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Birdhouse (1… at sister-in-law Mary’s place). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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The space that apparently separates you from others is similar to what seems to separate the past from the future.
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Sunbathing (1). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Sunbathing (2). Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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Birds are a type of feathered dinosaur. Now many paleontologists are contending that all dinosaurs were feathered to some extent or another, just as all mammals have fur. Meat-eating theropod dinosaurs were very feathered, had stereoscopic vision and had chicken-like feet. They didn’t all go extinct after that massive asteroid impact. That asteroid was six miles across, and its impact was equal to the energy of 300 million nuclear weapons; it created temperatures hotter than on the sun’s surface for several minutes. If we don’t stop having wars and ruining the environment, we may well follow in the footsteps of those that didn’t survive. We need to do much better.
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Stereoscopic Vision. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
Theropod-Dinosaur-like Feet. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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Just because you are good does not mean that only good things will happen for (or to) you. True goodness is not for some later prize, but exists as its own effortless beauty. True goodness is far beyond the norm; it is beyond what “mostpeople” subscribe to and unexist as. True goodness involves an immense awareness that exists independent of group ideas, traditions, and values. The ideas, traditions, and values of others are often binding and limiting. True goodness, like real creativity, is causeless and effortless… and merely following the patterns of a system or group nullifies profound creativity and independence. Interestingly, true goodness does not merely cling to being in patterns of experience. Habitually clinging to “needing experience” is another form of dependence. A mind twisted up in psychological dependence and in habits is not capable, for the most part, of being intrinsically good. Goodness exists beyond descriptions and learned concepts. Most are unwilling to cut themselves off from dependence… dependence on governments, nations, religions, philosophies, ideals, hypnotic effects, learned concepts, experience, and false habits; therefore, real enlightenment and profound goodness eludes them. Only what is free, independently wise, and whole can be visited by what is immensely sacred and profound. It cannot, and will not, enter into what is distorted and corrupt.
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Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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When decent music is listened to, be not separate from the song; be the harmony… and though the song ends, let true harmony remain.
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A male Celebes Rainbowfish in a large, freshwater aquarium; this fish has continued to live for a very long time. Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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May one’s heart blossom
to a true compassion
and a love
for nature
May one’s compassion blossom
to a true heart
and a nature
for love
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[Side Note: My wife, Marla, though there have been complications, continues to do much better, improving following her shoulder replacement therapy.]
Heart of the Sunrise. (From my sister-in-law Mary’s yard) Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
I have not been blogging lately. The reason why is that my wife, Marla, had to have surgery recently. She had a total shoulder replacement done. I have not had time to do any blogging due to helping her with things. Perhaps I will be able to blog once in a while soon; we will see. The surgery went well… and she is recovering better than expected. Marla has a very delicate constitution and is extremely fragile. A lot of this has to do with the Wilson’s Disease that she has. Wilson’s Disease is a rare disorder; it is genetic and involves the inability of the body to metabolize copper. The copper can then act as a poison within individuals who are not properly treated for the disease. Related to the Wilson’s Disease, Marla has very severe neck dystonia… wherein her neck muscles become extremely tense and rigid; she gets botox injections to help treat the dystonia. For a long time, Marla was on penicillamine to treat the Wilson’s. However, that medication had so many side-effects that it was almost as bad as having the disease itself. Marla, likely due to the penicillamine, developed ARDS and almost died. Then she had to have neck surgery for collapsed neck vertebrae, a surgery that took 11 hours and caused her to have very limited swallowing ability. Now she mostly receives nutrition via a gastrostomy tube that goes to her stomach area. I help her with the enteral feedings and various things, and it is time consuming. These days, Wilson’s Disease is easily treated with zinc; the zinc has, fortunately, little or no side effects. Marla bravely contends with her physical problems; she often helps others (who have Wilson’s Disease or dystonia) to better understand things about those ailments; she, as a person, is as sweet as can be and is an extremely wonderful and very understanding person. I am honored to be married to her and want to make sure that she does well throughout the recovery process.
Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2015
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