Via BNR LGBT / FB:

Via Qwerty: Two Nice Jewish Boys Post Pic Of Their Unicorn Wedding Entrance, Internet Goes Wild

As far as wedding themes go, unicorns have to rank somewhere at the top of the list after drag and before Sir Ian McKellen officiating.

For one gay Jewish couple, the choice was obvious — ride in on a unicorn, blow everyone’s minds. So that’s what they did (which might be a Modern Family reference), and this photo surfaced shortly thereafter:

Just look at that woman’s face on the right. Pure joy. Like all her girlhood dreams all just came true.

But as is almost always the case, the internet took the photo and ran (galloped?), and we’d be remiss if we didn’t give some top-notch captions a proper shoutout.

Here are our favorites:

• Looks like they have a… stable relationship.
• In the least derogatory way possible, that is as gay as it gets.
• Now I want to see a gay Hindu wedding where they ride in on an elephant dressed like a wooly mammoth.
• “Tonight, we ride.”
• Did no one else get the Friends reference here? The old lady’s gone! She’s no longer haunting Phobe! She’s seen it all!
• … so unicorn is kosher?
• Jewnicorn… anyone? Ok I’ll go…
• Those are some good looking Jews.
• Hmm. Kinda thought they would ride bareback….
• How brokeback mountain should of ended.
• 50 shades of neigh
• FAKE! Everyone knows unicorns aren’t Jewish!
• Is that unicorn horn circumcised?

VIA FB: Did you know that Baha'u'llah uses a "subject of boys" metaphor to describe himself?

Did you know that Baha'u'llah uses a "subject of boys" metaphor to describe himself?

The “beloved” (q.v.) in Persian lyrics is, as a rule, not a female, but a young male, often a pubescent or adolescent youth, or a young boy. // (Encyclopaedia Iranica)

http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/homosexuality-iii

\\ For whereas in days past every lover besought and searched after his Beloved, it is the Beloved Himself Who now is calling His lovers and is inviting them to attain His presence. //
(Baha'u'llah)

http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/GWB/gwb-151.html#gr2

Some more background information here:
https://books.google.co.nz/books…

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 20/02/2015

“O nosso trabalho transita entre a esfera da ativação da consciência maior e a esfera da purificação dos porões do inconsciente. A ativação da consciência maior é quando você tem acesso à lembrança de quem é você; é quando você de alguma maneira entra em contato com expressões do Real, e experimenta fragrâncias da bem aventurança (amor, paz e liberdade). Mas essa experiência só é possível quando você já purificou em algum grau as marcas do passado do seu sistema, pois é justamente isso que te impede de sustentar o êxtase. Esse é o trabalho de cura e transformação do eu inferior, que tenho chamado de “ABC da Espiritualidade”. Essas duas esferas de trabalho precisam ser contempladas simultaneamente.”

“Nuestro trabajo se mueve entre la esfera de la activación de la conciencia mayor y la esfera de la purificación de los sótanos del inconsciente. La activación de la conciencia mayor es cuando tienes acceso a la memoria de quién eres; es cuando de alguna manera entras en contacto con expresiones de lo Real, y experimentas fragancias de la bienaventuranza (amor, paz y libertad). Pero esta experiencia sólo es posible cuando ya purificaste en algún grado las marcas del pasado de tu sistema, porque eso es precisamente lo que te impide sustentar el éxtasis. Este es el trabajo de cura y transformación del yo inferior, que vengo llamando "ABC de la Espiritualidad". Estas dos esferas de trabajo precisan ser contempladas simultáneamente.”

"Our work transitions between the spheres of activating our higher consciousness and purifying the dungeons of the unconscious. When you activate your higher consciousness, you can access the remembrance of who you are. When, in some way, you come into contact with the expressions of what is real, it allows you to experience the bliss of the fragrance of love, peace and freedom. But this experience is only possible when you have purified the marks of the past in your system to some degree, because that is precisely what prevents you from sustaining ecstasy. This is the work of healing and transforming the lower self, which I call the ‘ABC of Spirituality.’ These two spheres of work need to be addressed simultaneously."

Via Daily Dharma

Make the Mind Light | February 20, 2015 Our goal is to make the mind light, to make our life light. After all, we are seeking to attain en-light-enment, aren’t we? - Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, "The Seal of Sila" Read More →

Coming Home - Celebrating Chinese New Year

JMG FLORIDA: Gay Man Refuses Jury Duty While Courthouse Refuses Gay Weddings

Jacksonville resident Chuck Chapman, 63, appeared  for jury duty this week but told the judge that he will refuse to serve as long as Duval County officials refuse to conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies at the courthouse.

After a federal court ruled Florida’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional, Duval County Clerk of Court Ronnie Fussell said his office would comply with the law and issue marriage licenses. But he said his staff felt uncomfortable performing weddings for same-sex couples, so the clerk’s office wouldn’t host ceremonies for either straight or gay couples. “If they feel uncomfortable performing the weddings in the courthouse, then as an openly gay man I feel uncomfortable being here [at the courthouse],” Chapman said Tuesday. Chapman is 63, and he’s lived in the city since he was 2. He graduated from Andrew Jackson High School, then the University of North Florida. He’s owned a hair salon for 22 years on the Southside. “It’s my town, and I happen to be a gay man,” he said. “Don’t make it any more difficult than it has been. It’s my town, too."

Chapman said that he was willing to be held in contempt, but the judge dismissed him from the jury pool without giving a reason.

Labels: civil disobedience, Florida, Jacksonville

Reposted from Joe Jervis
 

JMG VIRGINIA: Gay Man Fires Back At Ex-Gay Crackpots With Billboard Of His Own

 

Remember the PFOX billboard in Virginia? Remember their humiliation when it turned out that the model on their billboard, Kyle Roux, not only isn't a twin but is proudly gay? It gets even better:

Roux thinks that PFOX, which has since taken down the billboard, purchased the photos of him from a stock photography site. Legally, he said, there’s not much he can do. But this week, he’s striking back in his own way. On Wednesday, Planting Peace, a nonprofit organization based in Topeka, Kansas, erected a new billboard down the road from where the PFOX billboard once stood. The new sign, designed in the same color and style as the PFOX billboard and featuring new photographs of Roux, reads: “Dear PFOX: Identical twins? I’m not. I’m gay. Regardless of what you believe I was born gay. And I’m proud of who I am.” Aaron Jackson, the president of Planting Peace, reached out to Roux after media reports surfaced that he was openly gay. Jackson was concerned about young gays and lesbians who might see the billboard.

(Tipped by JMG reader David)

Labels: advertising, brainwashing, crackpots, ex-gay, LGBT youth, Ooh SNAP, PFOX, religion, torture, Virginia

Reposted from Joe Jervis

The People's Brief with Robbie Kaplan and Edie Windsor

Via JMG: BREAKING: First Texas Same-Sex Marriage License Issued By Travis County Clerk, Couple Marries Immediately UPDATE: Judge's Order Only Applies To Them

Via the Austin Statesman:

Two Austin women were legally married Thursday morning after a Travis County judge ordered the county clerk to issue a marriage license. Sarah Goodfriend and Suzanne Bryant, together almost 31 years, said their vows before Rabbi Kerry Baker while standing in front of the Travis County Clerk’s Office sign on Airport Boulevard. The couple was denied a license in the same office building eight years ago. On Wednesday morning, state District Judge David Wahlberg, petitioned by a lawyer for Goodfriend and Bryant, ordered Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir to grant the couple a marriage license. The ceremony was a mix of personal – with friends and their teenage daughters, Dawn and Ting, standing nearby – and public statement, with photos of their vows in front of the county sign.

More from Burnt Orange Report:

With careful consultation by County Attorney David Escamilla the legal grounds for DeBeauvoir to issue the first of its kind marriage license was set. The ceremony was conducted just outside Travis County’s main office on Airport Blvd. just after 9 a.m. It was crucial that a plan be worked out in such a way that the marriage could be validated before anyone in opposition could react or be tipped off. There is no legal way for the state to invalidate a marriage other than with the consent of individuals or by death, so this will further put the burden on the state to find a compelling interest for denying marriage, not to mention the horrible optics that come with trying to void a consensual marriage.

It appears that the judge's order may only apply to this one couple.

UPDATE: Yup, just this one couple.

UPDATE II: Freedom To Marry reacts.

This is a historic day for fairness and equality in Texas. The family that Suzanne and Sarah have built together over more than three decades of commitment to each other mirrors the love between so many same-sex couples in Texas, all of whom deserve the freedom to marry. The 5th Circuit should quickly affirm Texas’ lower court ruling and ensure the freedom to marry across the Lone Star State.

Labels: LGBT rights, marriage equality, Texas, Travis County

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: CNN POLL: 63% Say Same-Sex Couples Have The Constitutional Right To Marry

 

From the poll: "63% of Americans say that gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry and have their marriages recognized by the law as valid. That's up from 49% in August 2010. Over that time, the share who see marriage as a constitutional right has climbed 15 points among Republicans to 42% and 19 points among Democrats to 75%."

Labels: CNN, marriage equality, polls

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Huffington Post: Unearthed Letter From Freud Reveals His Thoughts On Gay People

In 1935, Sigmund Freud penned a response to a mother who had asked him for help with her gay son. Despite the broader perceptions of homosexuality at the time, Freud took a different approach, telling the woman it's "nothing to be ashamed of." 

"I gather from your letter that your son is a homosexual. I am most impressed by the fact that you do not mention this term for yourself in your information about him. May I question you why you avoid it?" he wrote. "Homosexuality is assuredly no advantage, but it is nothing to be ashamed of, no vice, no degradation; it cannot be classified as an illness; we consider it to be a variation of the sexual function, produced by a certain arrest of sexual development. Many highly respectable individuals of ancient and modern times have been homosexuals, several of the greatest men among them." 

While the this correspondence sheds light on his personal communications, it has long been known that Freud did not view homosexuality as a pathology. He believed everyone was born bisexual and later became either straight or gay because of the relationships with those around them. In the letter, Freud does suggest "treatment" for homosexuality may be possible, but says the result "cannot be predicted." 

The letter currently appears on display in London as part of an exhibition at Wellcome Collection called "The Institute of Sexology."

(Make the jump for full article and transcription.)

Via Movimento Endireita Brasil / FB:

Via Daily Dharma

Completely Grounded | February 19, 2015 We need to realize the ultimate truth [of nonduality], but as Nagarjuna, one of the great Indian ancestors, says, 'in order to realize the ultimate truth you must be completely grounded in the conventional truth,' which means the precepts of ethical conduct, and so on. If we neglect how we are taking care of ourselves and other people, then it is actually impossible to realize the ultimate truth. - Kokyo Henkel, "Tripping with the Buddha" Read More →

Via Viva! Mais

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 18/02/2015

“A desconstrução do falso eu não é fácil devido ao apego que desenvolvemos por aquilo que foi construído. Quanto maior o apego, maior o sofrimento. Quando você está consciente do processo da desconstrução, e do quanto ela é positiva e necessária, a travessia se torna um pouco mais fácil. Mas, não estando consciente, você acha que está simplesmente perdendo tudo o que construiu, e sente isso como algo muito negativo. Assim o processo pode ser bastante desafiador, pois a desconstrução é permeada pelo medo: da escassez, de ficar sozinho, de não conseguir completar a travessia, de morrer, de não ver nada no lugar daquilo que está indo embora... Medo de tudo. E o medo abre portas para todos os tipos de ‘demônios’. Por isso, a compreensão a respeito desse processo é de grande valia.”

“La deconstrucción del falso yo no es fácil debido al apego que desarrollamos por aquello que fue construido. Cuanto mayor es el apego, mayor es el sufrimiento. Cuando estás consciente del proceso de deconstrucción, y de cuán positivo y necesario es, la travesía se vuelve un poco más fácil. Pero no estando consciente, crees que estás simplemente perdiendo todo lo que construiste, y sientes esto como algo muy negativo. Así el proceso puede ser bastante desafiante, porque la deconstrucción es permeada por el miedo: a la escasez, a quedarse solo, a no conseguir completar la travesía, a morir, a no ver nada en el lugar de aquello que se está yendo... Miedo de todo. Y el miedo abre las puertas a todo tipo de "demonios". Por eso, la comprensión acerca de este proceso es de gran valor.”

"Deconstructing the false self is difficult due to the attachment we develop to what this false self has created. The greater the attachment, the greater we suffer. When we are aware of the deconstruction process and that it is both positive and necessary, this passage becomes a little easier. However, when we are not aware of this process, and we think we’re simply losing everything we have built, this feels like something very negative. Consequently, the process can be quite challenging because the deconstruction is permeated by fear: the fear of scarcity, of being alone, of not completing the journey, of death, of nothing coming to replace what is going away... There is the fear of everything. This fear opens the door to all types of ‘demons.’ Therefore, comprehending this process is of great value."

Via Daily Dharma

A Feast of Dharma | February 18, 2015 All the teachings, all the words, all the sutras, are skillful means for liberating the mind, rather than statements of absolute truth. When we take words to be statements of ultimate truth, then differences of opinion will inevitably result in conflict. This is where ideological wars come from, and we see in the history of the world an endless amount of suffering because of it. But if we see the words and the teachings as different skillful means for liberating the mind, then they all become part of a great dharma feast. - Joseph Goldstein, "One Dharma" Read More →

Via Baha'i Inspired Clinical Counselling Services: Short Prayer for Decision

The prayer is to be recited 19 times, followed by (1) meditation on the problem, (2) the formulation of a solution, and (3) the implementation of the conceived solution:

"O my God! Thou seest me detached from everything save Thee and clinging to Thee.

Guide me then, in my doings, in a manner which profiteth me for the glory of Thy Cause and the loftiness of the state of Thy servants."

~ Baha'u'llah

"The Research Department of the Universal House of Justice has advised that the prayer... was revealed by Bahá’u’lláh to Jináb-i-Samandar [Shaykh Kázim Samandar], the father of the Hand of the Cause of God, Tarázu’lláh Samandarí, to assist him in making a difficult decision." ~ From a letter dated August 21, 2001 from the Department of the Secretariat

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 17/02/2015

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

“Estamos aqui chamando pelo senhor Shiva. Quando chamamos com o coração, ele se manifesta; e quando ele se manifesta, precisamos dar conta. Porque Shiva é a consciência cósmica, mas também é o poder de transformação. Antes que a consciência cósmica possa se manifestar, é preciso transformar o que precisa ser transformado. Isso implica em um processo de desconstrução do sistema de condicionamentos e crenças, e de todas as estruturas criadas pelo falso eu - inclusive ele próprio.” 

20.01.15

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
“Estamos aquí llamando al señor Shiva. Cuando llamamos con el corazón, él se manifiesta; y cuando él se manifiesta, precisamos percibirlo. Porque Shiva es la conciencia cósmica, pero también es el poder de transformación. Antes de que la conciencia cósmica pueda manifestarse, es necesario transformar lo que precisa ser transformado. Esto implica un proceso de deconstrucción del sistema de condicionamientos y creencias, y de todas las estructuras creadas por el falso yo - incluido él mismo.”
20.01.15

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
“We are here calling for Lord Shiva. When we call him with our hearts, he manifests himself, and we must take account when he does so. Not only is Shiva the symbol of cosmic consciousness, but he is also the power of transformation. Before cosmic consciousness can manifest, it’s necessary to transform that which needs to be transformed. This implies a process of deconstructing our conditionings and belief systems, and all the structures created by the false ‘I’ – including the false ‘I’ itself.”