THE EYES HAVE IT!- When you notice a face in a rock- whether ‘real’ or ‘imagined’- whether completely “naturally made” and/or with the help of humans hands over the course of many ages- the maker(s) of that face along with the stones themselves and of course, Dame Nature HERSELF* ——- notices YOU TOO!

NOTES and photo’s from the EFFIGY STONE Meet-Up PROJECT at the BOTTOM OF THE PAGE

A late comer to the Meet- up! Made of Flint and something else. The ‘eye’ goes all the way through. Here’s looking at you kid!

The fresher Prince of Palenville! Feb 2026

Introducing this “Nice Pair” of well rounded boulders that sit next to each other.

Thank- You Greg Anthon for bringing them to the Meet- Up!

And some GIGANTIC FACES CARVED IN THE ROCK—

And ‘Father’s Rock’ looking north. Yellow Bic Pen used for scale.

Finally went to inspect a ‘Sphinx Stone’ -(perched on a hill- carved saw that you can walk around) .that has caught my eye for a while. On Heart’s Content Road heading west just before you turn left onto Winter Clove rd. It was Father’s Day— So we call it Father’s Rock… Here’s the view looking south from down hill.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

And the view looking North East!

And next to Father’s Rock….

The “Graduation Cap”— Looks east-(Grrrr!) You can stick your head in the “shaft of Dreams” and see this very detailed profile below—-

This is what you see looking east through the “shaft of Dreams” See the FACE!

I call this 25 foot guy- “Advent MAN!”

Central Park May 2026 finds

These 2 boulders live in Central Park NYC

Creature!?!?

A curious root system—- located right near the ancient spring- in Central Park— named after the forty day fasting master- Dr. Henry Samuel Tanner.

MORE ABOUT: Springs of NY City and Tanner’s Spring

3rd Central Park Boulder

Little guy embedded in the drainage near Tanner’s Spring in Central Park.

Tanner’s Spring - Slightly cleaned up with some Donation stones un-earthed

Perched Boulder by the Water

Parched Boulder - just smilin’

Below is a collection of EFFIGY STONES found on line and taken from books

These images above found HERE

This image found here:

Roland Reed Photo with apparent Nice Gigantic Panther in the Rock.

Petrified Log-Rock to John Muir- ”Thank you for noticing me! I kiss your Knee!”

image from - Forman Hanna, pictorial photographer of the Southwest- Note the face in the Rock in the upper right of the picture

Ancient Japan

The caption reads “The hunters carved an animal on this camel bone” from the book :National Anthropological Museum- Grijalbo 2nd Ed. 1983

The Lucky 13 or so stones that got to come out and meet everyone!

Photo by Robert Walters

Photo by Robert Walters

ADDITIONAL INFO ABOUT THE PROJECT:

What is an Effigy Stone?

A stone effigy is a sculpted carving or representation of a person, animal, or deity made out of rock. They exist as small pocket-sized altered stones, worked boulders or as large as massive carved cliffs and rock outcroppings. Many times the sculptors are working with and embellishing  the object’s “natural” form.

 When should someone “pareidolicize”* and say ‘Ahh, I think I’m just “seeing faces” versus when  to  “Effigize”, noting the strong possibility of an image worked into a stone left by people of the past.

And is there anything really wrong when one Romanticizes? Meaning, of course, the mindful practice of transforming everyday, mundane moments and objects (as well as unique novel things that catch your attention) into beautiful, intentional experiences, thus allowing you to notice and zone in on actual legit artifacts hidden in plain sight. Emerson said it was Idealism (your thoughts are what’s driving your reality) VS Materialism (the belief that physical matter is the only fundamental reality–no magic allowed!). Don’t listen to TLC and DO GO CHASING WATERFALLS!

“Every Mother’s Child is a Romantic!” - Pre Fab Sprouts

 But for some reason we all don’t end up this way. In the South Pacific Musical they sing: “You’ve got to be Carefully Taught”  So, who’s doing the teaching? And what is being actually taught? 

How far will people’s minds go to see a stone that has been worked–when  it has not(?)–versus how far will people let their minds be swayed by others to not see a worked stone when it actually was? This was pretty well dealt with in Solomon Asch’s Conformity Experiments**

What’s Sophia got to do with it?

Sophia–the indwelling Wisdom of the Earth–goes by many names around the world and through time. Most always considered the Great Cosmic Mother, Gaia, Chochmah (חָכְמָה), Patchu Mama, PrajnaParaMita, Bhumi Devi, Terra Mater, etc. So I wanted to give credit where credit is due: Thank you, to the Mother of All Living! Thank you! Finding faces worked into stones always reminds me of the sweet interactive living dream that Spider Woman weaves for us.

SEE THE FACE!?!! Animism 101-  “Animism is the worldview that all things—including animals, plants, rivers, mountains, and even inanimate objects—possess a spiritual essence, consciousness, or personhood. Rather than an organized religion, it is a foundational perspective emphasizing interconnectedness, where the world is seen as a community of living beings.” And Never Forget: Going 11 generations back we ALL share a relative! And only 33 generations back, we ALL share a Mother! (See Scientific American Article: Humans Are More Closely Related Than We Commonly Think  2020) Here’s to the beautiful FACE of the ONE HUMAN RACE!

Non-sequitur? BTW: Robert Frost titled his poem: The ROAD LESS TRAVELED-     “I took the one less traveled by, And that has made ALL the difference.”   Not – the road not taken!?! He didn’t take that one–  nor did he title his poem that!! “Cha-Cha- Cha- Changes- TIme may change me- but only  Gaia CAN CHANGE Time-Btw- David Bowie –now says “TRACE TIME?” check it out– even your old vinyl cha-cha-changed!

 Let’s All Just FACE IT!  

"Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."- Roald Dahl

“Fairies Only Appear to those with SEEING EYES”  Laura Ingalls Wilder

(*)(my active  version of)  Pareidolia is the psychological phenomenon where your brain perceives a meaningful, distinct shape (most commonly a human face) in random, ambiguous, or abstract visual patterns.

 (**)The Asch Conformity Experiments were a series of Psychological tests conducted by social psychologist Solomon Asch in the 1950’s. The tests examined subjects’ willingness to conform to obviously incorrect beliefs due to social pressure.”

Thank you for embarking on this wild journey with ME!  It takes 3 to Tango! You- Me- and SHE!  If YOU See It- You CAN Be IT! Love is in the HEIR!!  There is something no one can Deny– Anything that divides is the Big LIE!  —-..     M.S.B 6-26-2026

 “The Mysteries of Life are not to be solved but to be Lived and Experienced”

-Hildegard of Bingen***, Søren Kierkegaard, Joseph Campbell, M. Scott Peck, Allen Watts, Frank Herbert, and many, many others...

***Central to Hildergard’s (1098-1179)philosophy was the concept of “Viriditas”, or the Greenness of God, which she understood as the life-giving force permeating all creation. She saw this divine vitality reflected in the lushness of nature, the healing properties of herbs, and the flourishing of the human soul.