Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy
Finding our way to The Way one situation at a time. I don't know how great it will be, but I expect it will be interesting, and I look forward to it going on past all reason because wonder is just that way. Are you coming or not?
Focusing’s foundational question,”Except for what is everything just fine?”is trumped by the realization,”It’s all useless, hopeless, pointless, futile,stupid, ludicrous and absurd–and coming to a very bad end(We are all going to die).But other than that, it’s all great.”Which itself is negated by the counter-realization,”How do we know the end is actually the endor all thatContinue reading “May 14, 2024 – B”
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Walter Brueggermann wrote The Prophetic Imagination,in 1978 about the wonder of Old Testament prophetsbeing able to imagine a world different from the one they lived in,and the courage they displayedto call the people of Israel to live in that world.”The prophetic imagination” is always calling usbeyond this here/now into the next here/now–the one we areContinue reading “May 14, 2024 – A”
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There is a psychic energy “feel”to bars,restaurants,air ports,school reunions,etc.Everywhere people gatherhas its own “sense of being.”A DMV waiting roomhas a special kind of “Get Me Out Of Here Now!”feel to it’because no one wants to be there,especially the people who work there.What is being emitted to create the “feel” of place?How is it being received/known?WeContinue reading “May 13, 2024 – B”
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Opinions, plans and adgendasinterfere with our ability to read the signs of the times,know what’s whatand what’s called for in responseout of our original natureand intrinsic virtues/virtuosites (The things we do best and love doing most),when/where/how it needs to be donein each situation as it arisesno matter whatall our life long.Which is to say thatContinue reading “May 13, 2024 – A”
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My intuition seems to havemore than me in mind.I find myself doing things without knowing why,and never find out.I take it to mean that I am filling someone else’s need,playing a supporting rolein someone else’s life.It isn’t just about me,or us.We are part of the matrixof life generally,and our place has a larger impactthan ourContinue reading “May 12, 2024 – B”
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Allowing our intrinsic intuition to guide usis to step outside the authoritative frameworkof our thinking brainand its ideas of what is in our best interest,and to remain inside the body/soul networkand its deep sense of our calling and orientation.The thinking brain is late on the sceneof evolutionary development.The Old Brain is used to gathering informationofContinue reading “May 12, 2024 – A”
Emptiness is emptying ourselvesof everything,even the desire to be empty.Emptiness is nothingness.Mindlessness.Emptiness is No Mind.Buddha Mind is No Mind.Not knowing it is No Mind.Not knowing.Dropping into the deepest sleep.Beyond dreaming.Past knowing.Past seeing/hearing/thinking.Just being here/now.Cleansing the doorway of perception.Being open,being closed.Not here, not there.Been there?Done that?Why?Why not?What would we rememberif we have been there,done that?That isContinue reading “May 11, 2024 – C”
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Tranquil scenes allow us to sink into the moment,absorbing the rightnessof here/now,and participating in the universal recognition of the importance of being present with whatis present with usfor the experience of onenesswith all of the cosmos–like seeing the wonder of the oceanin one drop of water,or one grain of sand.Presence is the wonder itself.”The abilityContinue reading “May 11, 2024 – B”
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Hitler captivated his audiancesand talked them into seeing the way he saw things.He had a “hypnotic personality.””Strong, forceful personalities”can be that way.Politicians and evangelical preachersand “snake oil” salesmen thrive onhaving “the gift.”The rest of us would do wellto spend our time away from their influence,and happy to be at homein emptiness, stillness and silence.We areContinue reading “May 11, 2024 – A”
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Listening to ourselves,hearing what is going on within,knowing how we are being impactedby the circumstances of our life,and responding to that with a level of empathy and compassionappropriate for the situation as a whole,would be an important steptoward balance and harmony,and a partnership with ourselvesbased on mutual respect and encouragementfor the effort of meeting lifeContinue reading “May 10, 2024 – A”
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The missing piece was D.T. Suzuki’s statement that Zen considered “enlightenment” to be equivalent to “habitual intuition.”Listening to ourselvesand being right about what we are saying/hearing!Enlightenment is INTUITION!!!So is living faithfully–faithfully aligned with what we know to be true!And, it is the same thing as living in sync with the Tao–living in accord with whatContinue reading “May 09, 2024 – B”
We are each “built” differently.The truer we are to who we are “built” to be,the truer we exhibit/serve our “original nature”and the intrinsic virtues/virtuosities(The things we do best and enjoy doing most),and are at the service of our “habitual intuition,”the better our quality of lifeand the more centered/grounded/focused we are.Getting us together with who weContinue reading “May 09, 2024 – A”
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Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy