Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Flower of the Day: 08/13/14
“It
takes steadiness to accomplish what your heart determines. This can be
extremely challenging because, when you truly surrender yourself, the
heart begins to purify you. Love works towards having love and only love
be expressed through you. Love is enough unto itself. It purifies you
until you become a pure channel of love.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Faith in Buddhism | August 13, 2014
It is a great turning point in our
spiritual lives when we go from an intellectual appreciation of a path
to the heartfelt confidence that says, ‘Yes, it is possible to awaken. I
can, too.’ A tremendous joy accompanies this confidence. When we place
our hearts upon the practice, the teachings come alive. That turning
point, which transforms an abstract concept of a spiritual path into our
own personal path, is faith.
Sharon Salzberg, “How Important is Faith?”
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Via JMG: Gallup: Gays Are Less Religious
A just released Gallup poll reveals the unshocking fact that LGBT Americans tend to be less religious than the rest of the nation.
Reposted from Joe Jervis
Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender are significantly less likely than non-LGBT Americans to be highly religious, and significantly more likely to be classified as not religious. The same percentage of each group is moderately religious. These results are based on more than 104,000 Gallup Daily tracking interviews conducted between Jan. 2 and July 31, 2014, including 3,242 adults who identified themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Gallup classifies Americans as "very religious" if they say religion is an important part of their daily lives and that they attend religious services every week or almost every week. That group constituted 41% of all U.S. adults between January and July 2014. "Nonreligious" Americans (30% of U.S. adults) are those who say religion is not an important part of their daily lives and that they seldom or never attend religious services. The remaining group, 29% of Americans, are classified as "moderately religious." These people say religion is important in their lives but that they do not attend services regularly, or that religion is not important but that they still attend services. LGBT and non-LGBT individuals differ on both dimensions that make up the religiosity classification. About a quarter of LGBT individuals attend religious services regularly, contrasted with 42% of non-LGBT individuals.More graphs and analysis are at the link.
Via JMG: ISRAEL: "Law Of Return" Citizenship Granted To Non-Jewish Gay Spouses
Via the Times Of Israel:
In a ground-breaking interpretation of the Law of Return, the Interior Ministry decided to permit non-Jewish same-sex marriage partners of Jews living abroad to immigrate to Israel and be granted Israeli citizenship, the ministry announced on Tuesday. According to the Law of Return, any Jew has the right to apply for, and be granted, Israeli citizenship. The right is extended under the law to the applicant’s partner by marriage as well. The right, however, was previously reserved only for heterosexual couples. “The gates of Israel will from now on be open to any Jew and his family, without discrimination based on his way of life,” Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in a statement. In Israel itself, marriage services for Jews are controlled by the state rabbinate, which does not perform same-sex marriages; nor is there any option of civil marriage for Jews.More from Shalom Life:
[Minister] Sa'ar said that his decision came as a result of the issue being raised in many recent immigration applications to the Interior Ministry. In the statement marking his decision, he wrote that "the point of the Law of Return is an ingathering of the Jewish people from exile, and the purpose of the 1970 amendment was to enable the family of a Jewish person to come to Israel as an equal to him, in order to encourage immigration." He continued. "I do not see any reason to distinguish between Jews who had a heterosexual marriage and Jews who had a same-sex marriage abroad, according to the law. Both meet the requirements of the Law of Return, from the perspective of 'and the sons have returned.'"
Via JMG: CALIFORNIA: Gay Man Sues After Doctor Lists Him As "Chronically" Homosexual
A Los Angeles gay man has filed a lawsuit after discovering that his medical records list him as having the "chronic problem" of homosexuality.
Reposted from Joe Jervis
Matthew Moore, 46, who is openly gay, said he was shocked to see his sexual orientation still described as a chronic condition more than a year after he complained about the use of the archaic medical classification. "It was infuriating. It was painful," he said of his decision to sue. "It was another attempt by this doctor and this medical group to impose their agenda of discrimination and hate onto a gay patient." As reported in September by NBC4, Moore discovered the description in his medical records after undergoing a routine physical in April 2013 by Dr. Elaine Jones of the Torrance Health Association. Moore wrote a letter complaining about the designation to the Torrance Memorial Health Association and received a prompt apology:Moore is suing both his former physician and Torrence Memorial. Referring to the incidence of suicide among LGBT youth, Moore told the local NBC affiliate, "I don’t want any gay, lesbian, transgender or bisexual ever to hear from a doctor that their normal and healthy sexuality is anything other than that." (Tipped by JMG reader Jerald)
"We would like to unequivocally state that the Torrance Memorial Physician Network does not view homosexuality as a disease or a chronic condition, and we do not endorse or approve of the use of Code 302.0 as a diagnosis for homosexuality," Torrance Health Association Senior Director Heidi Assigal wrote to Moore. The association also issued a media statement saying the designation had been used as a result of "human error" and claiming that "upon notification by the patient the record was corrected." Moore said he let the issue go, thinking the problem had been solved. But when he obtained a copy of his medical records in May, he said he was stunned to see that while the 302.0 code had been removed, "homosexual behavior" was still listed under "chronic problems."
Flower of the Day: 08/12/14
“The main sadhana,
spiritual practice, is anchoring one’s awareness into the present
moment. This is the principal teaching. But if you carry pain in your
system, then it’s not as easy to practice this sadhana, because this pain means that you are bound to your past.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
The Antidote is Right Here | August 12, 2014
Liberation does not come when you
conquer your ego, silence it, or through repression and denial get it to
behave 'properly.' Liberation comes when we release our attachment to
the habitual conditioned nature and structure of our temporary egos.
- Jun Po Denis Kelly Roshi, “Liberation”
Monday, August 11, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
No One Special to Be | August 11, 2014
When we bring awareness to our
cherished self-images, such as our need to be special, they begin to
lose their power over us. No longer puffing ourselves up or trying to
stand out means we’re coming closer to living like a white bird in the
snow. That is, we no longer feel the inner compulsion to see ourselves
or be seen in a particular way—there is no ulterior agenda.
- Ezra Bayda, “No One Special to Be”
Flower of the Day: 08/11/14
“Just
like sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, self-observation is a
sense that we have, but it is stunted. It is necessary to work towards
developing this sense by observing everything that passes through the
mind without judging, classifying or labeling. You must renew yourself
at every instance: make yourself completely present every moment. In
this way, your consciousness will slowly expand.”
Sri Prem Baba
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
Sitting with Anger | August 10, 2014
Like a forest fire, anger tends to burn
up its own support. If we jump down into the middle of such a fire, we
will have little chance of putting it out, but if we create a clearing
around the edges, the fire can burn itself out. This is the role of
meditation: creating a clearing around the margins of anger.
- Mark Epstein, “I’ve Been Meditating for Ten Years, and I’m Still Angry. What’s the Matter with Me?”
Flower of the Day: 08/10/14
“I
have encouraged you to face life's challenges as opportunities for
growth. Regardless of the challenge, there is always something to learn.
The more a negative situation repeats itself, the greater is the lesson
that it has to offer, and the greater is your inability to deal with
what must be learned.”
Sri Prem Baba
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
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Return to Nirvana | August 9, 2014
Nirvana is a reaching-point, a goal. But nirvana is also the home to which we are returning. We use the words 'original state of mind' to denote both our home and our destination.
- Sokei-an, “Return to Your Original State”
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Flower of the Day: 08/09/14
“Love can be more deadly than death itself. Pure love is a great threat because it is born from the truth, and the truth represents the end of deceit.”
Sri Prem Baba
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