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?
We are here, in part, to find out what we are good for, to discover what we can do– to explore ourselves, our original nature, our innate virtues/abilities/traits/qualities/ specialties/strengths, who we are, what we are about, where we fit in, where we belong, what is ours to do, and do it. The “stages of development”Continue reading “July 24, 2023 – C”
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Our life is lived between “How much can we get by with?” and “How much can we take/bear/stand/tolerate?” Somewhere between those two poles, optimal lies. If we had some way of knowing, “This is it. It isn’t going to get any better. Enjoy it while you can.” That would take the pressure off of tryingContinue reading “July 24, 2023 – B”
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Knowing who we are and aligning ourselves with who we are, living out of who we are in each situation as it arises means noticing/knowing what we like and don’t like, what brings us to life and what robs us of life, what is “us” and what is “not us,” and so on, like that.Continue reading “July 24, 2023 – A”
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The truth is infinite, eternal, ever-lasing, now and forever. Truth is the bed you slept in last night, and the world you woke up to this morning– and what needs to be done with it, about it, here/now. –0–
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Joseph Campbell was of the opinion that “reflection leads to new realizations.” Reflection requires emptiness, stillness, silence. Our life is grounded in, surrounded by, seems to require noise, complexity, drama/trauma. Regular retreats into solitude are vision quests into the inner world that is vibrantly alive and replete with everything we need to find what weContinue reading “July 23, 2023 – B”
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Our place is to do what is ours to do, what is at hand and needs to be done. “Anne, eat your breakfast, Dan, take your medicine, Life goes on, I forget just why” (Edna St. Vincent Millay). It is incumbent upon us to live out our roles, to play our parts, within the circumstancesContinue reading “July 23, 2023 – A”
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“When you meet an elephant on the trail, GET OFF THE TRAIL!!!” is an old Taoist/Zen directive that sets aside all of the “Rules to Live By,” with the one, overriding, foundational, always pertinent guideline: “Size things up and decide for yourself what is best/ what is called for in each situation as it arisesContinue reading “July 22, 2023 – A”
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There is nothing beyond contentment and peace, being at one with circumstances just as they are, to want, or seek or strive for. What those who want, and seek and strive for is to be content and at peace, at one with circumstances just as they are. What is preventing that, interfering with that, keepingContinue reading “July 21, 2023 – A”
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Having plans doesn’t factor very much into my life. Some day I will have the filter changed in the HVAC system. That is as close to a plan as I get. I’ll have something for the evening meal. I plan not to have ice cream and blueberry pie. I’m off added sugar, and in sevenContinue reading “July 20, 2023 – A”
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Jesus’ declaration, “The spirit is like the wind that blows where it will,” is the saving grace of Christianity. Everything else about Christianity is washed clean by the realization that “Sometimes it is like that, and sometimes it is like this!” “Sometimes we do it this way, and sometimes we do it that way.” “SometimesContinue reading “July 19, 2023 – B”
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When we merge with the flow of what has life for us, with where our joy is to be found, and make that the path we follow through the circumstances of existence, things shift for us in substantial ways. The way we structure our days changes. The things we talk about and read changes. TheContinue reading “July 19, 2023 – A”
Life without theology and doctrine is as spiritual as it gets. Theology and doctrine are sidetracks, wilderness bound. Emptiness, stillness, silence and solitude flow straight from the heart of transcendence and life. The essence of spirituality is flow and life. We all have–and have had–experiences with the flow of interest and enthusiasm carrying us toContinue reading “July 18, 2023 – A”
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Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy