Monday, November 30, 2015

Via JMG: JAPAN: 51% Back Same-Sex Marriage In New Poll

TokyoPride
 

Bloomberg reports:
A majority of Japanese support changing the country’s laws to allow same-sex unions, with the highest backing coming from younger respondents, according to a poll. Fifty-one percent of people polled by researchers from universities and the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research back such partnerships, the Asahi newspaper reported. Support exceeded 70 percent among respondents in their 20s and 30s, while 38 percent in their 60s and 24 percent in their 70s were in favor, the Asahi said. This year, Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward became the country’s first local authority to recognize same-sex partnerships and this month started issuing “equivalency to marriage” certificates to gay couples. While the move has helped build momentum for same-sex marriage, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and some senior members of his party are cautious on the issue.
Same-sex marriage has yet to be approved by any Asian nation.

Read the original and much more at JMG here

Via JMG: AUSTRIA: Same-Sex Marriage Lawsuit Filed On Behalf Of Five Children Of Gay Parent


ehe2
Austria’s The Local reports:
Five Austrian children of same-sex parents are taking the government to court over Austria’s marriage laws, which don’t allow gay couples to marry. The children and their parents have taken their cases arguing for same-sex marriage to the Administrative Court in Vienna, and hope to change the law so that the children can become ‘legitimate’. Austria grants equal parenting rights to same-sex couples – including second-parent adoption, joint adoption and medically assisted conception – but not equal marriage rights. Campaigners from the Ehe Gleich group have set up a petition to lift the ban on same-sex couples and so far more than 45,000 people have signed it.
See the group’s website here. (Tipped by JMG reader Luis)

RELATED: The European Union currently has 28 members. Same-sex marriage is legal in twelve of them: Belgium, Denmark, Finland (effective 2017), France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia (effective date pending), Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland.) Civil unions are legal in eight EU nations: Austria, Croatia, Cyprus (effective date pending), the Czech Republic, Estonia (effective 2016), Germany, Hungary, and Malta. No partnership recognitions exist in eight EU nations: Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Non-EU members Norway and Iceland legalized same-sex marriage in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Non-EU member Switzerland legalized registered partnerships in 2007.

Read the original and more at JMG here

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 30/11/2015

“Um dos portais para a ascensão da consciência humana para a consciência divina é a gratidão. Ela possibilita a liberação.E uma das chaves para o despertar da gratidão é o valor da autorresponsabilidade. Assumir-se totalmente responsável por tudo o que acontece na sua vida significa o fim da ingratidão - porque não pode haver vingança e acusação onde há autorresponsabilidade.”

“Uno de los portales para la ascensión de la consciencia humana hacia la consciencia divina es la gratitud. Posibilita la liberación. Y una de las llaves para el despertar de la gratitud es el valor de la autorresponsabilidad. Asumirse totalmente responsable por todo lo que pasa en tu vida significa el fin de la ingratitud –porque no puede haber venganza y acusación donde hay autorresponsabilidad.”

“Gratitude is one of the portals that helps us ascend from human consciousness to divine consciousness. It paves the path to freedom. One of the keys to awakening gratitude is the value of self-responsibility. By taking full responsibility for everything that happens in our lives, we put an end to ingratitude. Revenge and accusations cannot exist where there is self-responsibility.”

Link para o Satsang na íntegra:
http://www.sriprembaba.org/pt-br/satsang/120914

Today's Daily Dharma: Just Looking

Just Looking
There's a lovely freedom in momentarily stepping back into the privilege freely taken by children, finding the gap in the cyclone wire fence and sauntering along in that heightened state of casual alertness, just having a good look around.
—Susan Murphy, "The Secret Life of the Street"
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Sunday, November 29, 2015

Via JMG: JAPAN: 51% Back Same-Sex Marriage In New Poll

TokyoPride 
 
Bloomberg reports:
A majority of Japanese support changing the country’s laws to allow same-sex unions, with the highest backing coming from younger respondents, according to a poll. Fifty-one percent of people polled by researchers from universities and the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research back such partnerships, the Asahi newspaper reported. Support exceeded 70 percent among respondents in their 20s and 30s, while 38 percent in their 60s and 24 percent in their 70s were in favor, the Asahi said. This year, Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward became the country’s first local authority to recognize same-sex partnerships and this month started issuing “equivalency to marriage” certificates to gay couples. While the move has helped build momentum for same-sex marriage, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and some senior members of his party are cautious on the issue.
Same-sex marriage has yet to be approved by any Asian nation.

Make the jump here to read the original and much more at JMG

Via Qwerty: These Guys Defy Gay Stereotypes And Wish Everyone Else Would Catch On

Stereotypes aren’t created out of nothing. Yes, there are tons of gay guys who lead fabulous, stylish lifestyles. They listen to Beyonce and Lady Gaga as they sip cocktails and travel the world from event to event. And good for them.

But when stereotypes are applied to a group as a whole, things get sticky.

Hit the link here to read how guys sound off on Whisper about the frustration they feel when people try to put them in a gay box

Via Elephant Meditation / FB:


Via Budistas e Simpatizantes / FB:



Via WGB: ARTICLE SPOTLIGHT :: "Mean Queens: The Sad, Sad Case Of The Internet Troll"



I saw the link to this great article posted over at BoyCulture and it is a Queerty article on internet trolls, specifically those trolls aimed at gay websites. I have had more than my fair share of them over the past 8 plus years on Wicked Gay Blog but what I love about you guys is that you fight back at the trolls. It always makes me smile when you give the internet troll the ultimate smack down. I had to give up responding to them many years ago because it took way too much time and energy.
The article goes on to say... "Everyone knows the age-old saying “opinions are like assholes; everybody has one.” Well, never has that asshole smelled more putrid than when offered up by the type of person referred to as an “Internet Troll,” — the Bitter Bettys who negatively comment on anything and everything posted on the Internet.Why just read many of the comments on this site alone. It’s always the same negative people posting the same depressing dribble. An article on marriage equality? They hated it! An article on pop culture? “Boo! Hiss!” An article on music, movies, politics, humor, fitness, you name it? They hate it.
Internet Trolls tend to have dark personality traits and show signs of sadism, antisocial behavior, and psychopathy — but on the bright side, they excel at hoarding and are a hoot to have at funerals! You’ve seen the movie Mean Girls, right? Well, Internet Trolls are the “Mean Queens,” “The Ladies Who ‘Sent Back’ Lunch,” and “The Queen(s) of the Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t!”

Because of an overall sense of failure in their own lives, they resent anyone who they perceive to have achieved any kind of success. The troll feels slighted by life and can’t fathom how ANYONE couldn’t possibly be good-looking and smart, funny and eloquent, talented or successful. It’s because of this sad mindset they offer up nothing and contribute even less to society besides spreading hate, like a cancer, on the World Wide Web.

A bottom feeder. A bench warmer. A wall flower. Rather than doing something productive themselves, the Internet Troll sits sedentary and safely behind their computer screen where they vomit up their useless thoughts, bullying anyone who is brave enough to step out of the wings and into the spotlight." Full article at Queerty here!


WGB :: I will be doing a post soon on tips and advice for those who may want to start their own blog in the future. This "internet troll" will be something I discuss in that post as it is something I wish I had known about and had prepared myself for beforehand.

Internet Troll - In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion,[3]often for their own amusement. 

Read the original and much, much more  at WGB here

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 29/11/2015

“Estamos aqui para lembrar da nossa verdadeira identidade. Lembrar de quem somos e do que viemos fazer aqui. Ao chegarmos neste plano nós esquecemos disso. O esquecimento faz parte do jogo neste planeta; ele é um veneno para a consciência, que deve ser erradicado do nosso sistema. Quem sou eu? O que eu vim fazer aqui? Essas são as perguntas fundamentais para o buscador da Verdade.”

“Estamos aquí para recordar nuestra verdadera identidad. Recordar quiénes somos y lo que vinimos a hacer aquí. Al llegar a este plano nos olvidamos de eso. El olvido es parte del juego en este planeta, es un veneno para la consciencia, que debe ser erradicado de nuestro sistema. ¿Quién soy yo? ¿Qué vine a hacer aquí? Estas son las preguntas fundamentales para el buscador de la Verdad.”

“We are here to remember our true identity. We are remembering who we are and what we came here to do. Upon arriving in this realm, we forget about this. This forgetfulness is part of the play on this planet, and yet it's poisonous for our consciousness and needs to be eliminated from our systems. Who am I? What did I come here to do? These are the fundamental questions for a seeker of the truth.”

Today's Daily Dharma: What Value There?

What Value There?
Perhaps you will ask, what value is there in [a] quiet and aloof way of life? The monks would ask the same question of you. What value is there in passing your nights in a nightclub?
—Sokei-An Shigetsu Sasaki, "The Quiet Life"
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Saturday, November 28, 2015

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 28/11/2015

“Se o programa da sua alma for se recolher dentro de uma comunidade espiritual, que assim seja. Eu percebo que esse é o destino de algumas almas, até porque a vida na cidade está se tornando cada vez mais difícil. Mesmo assim, alguns têm a missão de estar nos grandes centros urbanos. Se o programa da alma determina que você esteja lá ou aqui, isso não é importante. O que importa é estar inteiro, onde quer que você esteja. Você tem certeza que está onde tem que estar, para fazer o que precisa ser feito.”

“Si el programa de tu alma fuera retraerse dentro de una comunidad espiritual, que así sea. Percibo que ese es el destino de algunas almas, incluso porque la vida en la ciudad se está volviendo cada vez más difícil. Incluso así, algunos tienen la misión de estar en los grandes centros urbanos. Si el programa del alma determina que estés ahí o aquí, eso no es importante. Lo que importa es estar entero, donde quiera que estés. Ten certeza de que estás donde tienes que estar, para hacer lo que necesita ser hecho.”

“If the program of your soul is to withdraw into a spiritual community, then may it be so. I see that this is the program of some souls, especially since city life is becoming more and more difficult. At the same time, some people’s mission it to be living in large cities. It doesn’t matter if your soul’s program determines that you should be here or there, what’s important is that you are whole wherever you may be. This is when you have the certainty that you are where you need to be in order to do what you need to.”

Today's Daily Dharma: The Urge for Something More

The Urge for Something More
Although we humans have devised countless means for
eliciting self-transcendence, the impulse toward that experience
is a constant. We are, it seems, possessed of a transcendent imperative.
—Andrew Cooper, "The Transcendent Imperative"
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Friday, November 27, 2015

Family dinner, a time to reconnect


Via WGB: Gay Pilgrims


In 1637, two male colonists at Plymouth faced conviction for a serious moral crime, a crime that could have led to their execution. Thomas Roberts and John Alexander were in love; caught expressing their love in a sexual relationship was their only crime.

Plymouth was still a small English colony; they all knew each other and so the judge was hesitant to impose the maximum sentence of death. However, the judge did not go lightly on either of them. Neither man was sentenced to death for being gay, but Alexander, labeled the “seducer”, was branded with a hot iron and banished from the colony. Roberts, the slightly less “guilty” of the two, was forbidden to own land or vote. Roberts was eventually considered “reformed” and his rights were re-instated, probably to encourage him to stay. The small colony needed very strong pair of hands it could get to survive.


Author Paul Monett once wrote that most of gay history “lies in shallow bachelors’ graves.”
Be grateful on this Thanksgiving day, we've come along way from 1637. (Source)
 

William S. Burroughs - A Thanksgiving Prayer


One More GLBTq Baha'i leaves the Faith...

Dear National Spiritual Assembly of the United States,

There are three matters I would like to discuss in my letter. First, it is long overdue that I officially write a letter to resign from the Faith. I have embraced the investigation of truth since I was 12. 

When I was 18, the Baha’i Faith found me, and it resonated with my heart. After being embraced by the amazing community in Baltimore, MD, and immersed myself in the love of the Faith, I became a Baha’i within a year. I made a fatal assumption at the age of 18, however. Considering the acceptance of all people in the Faith, and the amount of love I experienced when I met the Baltimore Baha’i’s, I assumed that the LGBT community was fully accepted, embraced, and allowed to be themselves. Soon after becoming a Baha’i, I learned that was not true. I was devastated, and contended with the issue for many years. I tried to find reconciliation, and made justifications and excuses despite how much it hurt my heart and soul--but I still stayed a Baha’i.

When I was 26, something strange and unexpected happened. I began to be able to see, hear, and communicate with other-dimensional beings (spirits, angels, ghosts--whatever you feel comfortable calling them). I was scared, and I sought comfort and understanding in the Baha’i writings, but I was left without such things. In fact, Abdu’l Baha said there were no such things as ghosts. How could that be when I see them everywhere? I was distraught, and considering I have always continued my investigation of truth since I became a Baha’i, I ventured elsewhere for answers. This journey took me to some incredible places, but my research was quickly drawing me away from the Faith. I resonated most with near death experience stories (first of which was Renee Pasarow’s NDE!) that confirmed all of the information I was gathering as my medium abilities opened up. Paired with this, I have been a Reiki practitioner since I was 16, and a Master by 27, and my healing abilities began transforming and transcending along with my expansion of consciousness. Near death stories continued to confirm and expand my understanding of healing. 

The existence of many kinds of multidimensional beings and the phenomena of past lives have all been confirmed. These are now facts in my life that I must accept to be who I am, and do what I do.

The Faith does not support these beliefs. This investigation has also led me to the knowledge that my heart knew all along, and science, of course, has been confirming: being gay is okay, natural, and accepted by God. In fact, many of the rules established in most religions serve no Divine purpose--only that of the ego. And since then, I choose to live free of the egoic constrictions of any religion, as I see that they do not serve me, only hurt me. 

I believe that Baha’u’llah and the Manifestations before and after Him are great Masters--and in their unbound Spirit, they are better at being these great Master-- however, I believe that any Spirit residing in the flesh can still only profess spiritual truths through the filter of the human ego. As conscious as Baha’u’llah was, He still saw the world through the lens of His relationship between his Spirit and His ego while residing in the body, thus increasing the fallibility of any Manifestation’s word--and this includes the perceptions of experiences during a near death event, and undoubtedly my own spiritual experiences. I approach everything from a scientific perspective, and I am a natural skeptic. When I read near death stories, I don’t take each singular story verbatim.

The truth lies within the innate essence of all the stories. The similarities. The ultimate truths that pervade outside of the realm of ego, human error, and perception. I see these same similarities and truths among the many faiths and religious institutions, which are the heart and meat of all that truly matters. 

Based on the accounts of stories like Howard Storm’s near death event, a Baha’i belief was confirmed: that all religions are right and serve a purpose in their own way. Therefore, I still hold great respect for the Faith, and I believe that those who feel they must be Baha’i, Christian, Muslim, etc. in their hearts, must indeed be to serve their purpose, and experience life as they were meant to. 

We all come here with a desire to experience this earthly realm through particular filters, and the choice of religion and spiritual beliefs is one of those filters. There are only some faiths that delay the soul from uniting with Oneness, but the Baha’i Faith, I assure you, is not one of them. 

I am grateful for the role the Faith has played in my life, these last 11 years. It has served my growth. My journey now has taken me away from the Faith as I continue to learn, investigate, grow, and be true to my purpose. I do not wish to be contacted by any Baha’i members, especially by those part of this area’s Local Spiritual Assembly--to which I will explain why with my third matter. 

* * *

While I respect the growth and journey of the Baha’i Faith, I cannot complete my letter without addressing the harm the Faith does by adhering to its outdated beliefs and treatments toward the LGBT community. All the science one could ever need is available, and I am sure many hurt and disgruntled people have sent all the scientific research showing the natural existence, and necessity of people who identify within the LGBT spectrum. When I researched data, I found that it is natural in many mammals to have a small percentage of gay spectrum animals, and they often provide surrogate families for abandoned young (Bagemihl, 1999). When I applied this to humans, I took the number of estimated gay couples in the US, and paired it with the number of children currently in foster care. If just a quarter of estimated gay couples adopted 2 kids each, there would be NO CHILD in the US foster care system.

Children of gay couples have been shown to be more intelligent, compassionate, and driven. And gay parents will not have an accidental child, and often go through great lengths to become parents, making them less likely to take their gift for granted, and be more educated in parenting (Pawelski, 2006). Gay people not only make suitable parents, but exceptional parents--which also translates to minimal to 0% of cases of child abuse in same-sex parent homes (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…/lesbians-child-abuse-0-perc…). Kids in foster care deserve loving homes, same-sex or otherwise. 

If that isn’t enough proof of the need for same-sex acceptance and rights, the only other proof I can offer is that of near death experiences, which provide a spiritual window into how God treats homosexuality. In all near death experiences, who the people had sex with, when they had sex with them, and whether or not they were married mattered not during the life review process post death. 

God, nor any Divine Being witnessing the life review had no care, judgment, or concern over these matters (http://www.near-death.com/experiences/gay-and-lesbian.html). What was understood by more detailed stories, was that those we encountered and interacted with were often part of a Divine purpose. Same-sex relationships were just as destined as opposite-sex relationships (http://www.near-death.com/…/exp…/mellen-thomas-benedict.html).

Currently, The Faith is harming a portion of its own population by excluding the LGBT community. While the Faith preaches oneness and love, many communities do not know how to contend with their beliefs, and facing LGBT Baha’i’s. Because of this, they are often quietly shunned and excluded from activities. Some may be approached with hostility. Some others are approached by members who think they can say it’s okay to be who you are, you just can’t act on your feelings; they are a temptation you must resist; etc., but this leaves these people feeling trapped, unheard, invalidated, and physically ill with being in their own bodies. These words are just as harmful as the hostility, and can lead one to feeling hopeless and suicidal. Attempting to justify the existence of LGBT individuals through the limited scope of the Faith is not just hurting these individuals, but the Baha’i community as a whole. The Faith cannot progress if a part of its family is suffering, and I foresee a decay in the Faith until this illness is repaired. 

* * *

I am confident, comfortable, and happy with my decision to leave the Faith, though remorseful for the reasons. It feels right with every fiber of my being. I must follow my heart. I do not wish to be contacted to be persuaded otherwise, and considering my feelings towards the community here, I definitely do not seek council with any of these particular individuals. I must continue to follow my truth wherever it leads me, or I will not feel whole. I pray for the Faith that it grows, heals, and becomes what this world needs, otherwise it will only become part of the decay. Abdu'l-Bahá says: 'If religion be the cause of disunity, then irreligion is surely to be preferred.' (Compilations, Bahiyyih Khanum, p. 202) Such a commonly used quote among Baha’i’s, and yet, I have seen so much disunity without proper concern and rectification. I pray for change. I think the Baha’i Faith has the most potential of the religions, but what good is that potential if it already appears to be decaying within its first 300 years of birth. I am not the only person waking up to spiritual abilities and insight. 


There is a shift happening that no religion can control. The Baha’i Faith has the potential to keep up only if it is willing to let go of its own traditions and ego, or it shall be among the archaic faiths that could not accommodate the Spirit, and will fade into the past. I think the Baha’i Faith can be way more than that. 

With love, regards, and best wishes
  

NE

References
Bagemihl, B., Ph D. (1999). Biological exuberance: Animal homosexuality and natural diversity. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Retrieved on April 10, 2010, from Google Books http://books.google.com/books… &dq=biological+exuberance+by+bruce+bagemihl&source=bl&ots=xZoMVv9N N9&sig=zuovP2ctTB4xAsoWEYl2Dm76fGE&hl=en&ei=9_nAS4agHsWhngf0y 5z3CQ&sa=X&oi=book_resul t&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false
Pawelski, J. G. MS, Perrin, E. C. MD, Foy, M. J. MD, Allen, C. E. MD, Crawford J. E. MD, Del Monte, M. JD, Kaufman, M. MD et. al. (July 3, 2006). The effects of marriage civil union, and domestic partnership laws on the health and well-being of children. Retrieved April 10, 2010, from American Academy of Pediatrics from: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/…/cont…/full/118/1/349

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor de día - Flower of the day 27/11/2015

“Ninguém tem o poder de mudar o outro, apenas a si mesmo. E a partir de si mesmo é possível inspirar o outro a mudar.Porém o ego quer ter poder.Ele acha que já sabe de tudo e que pode mudar o outro. Achar que sabe mais do que o outro e querer modificá-lo a partir das suas crenças é uma das maiores distrações do caminho espiritual.”

“Nadie tiene el poder de cambiar al otro, solo a sí mismo. Y a partir de sí mismo es posible inspirar al otro a cambiar. Sin embargo, el ego quiere tener poder. Él cree que ya sabe de todo y que puede cambiar al otro. Creer que sabes más que el otro y querer modificarlo a partir de tus creencias, es una de las mayores distracciones del camino espiritual.”

“Nobody has the power to change others, only themselves. By changing ourselves, it’s possible to inspire others to change. The ego wants to have power, and it thinks that it already knows everything and can change the other. One of the greatest distractions on the spiritual path is to think that we know more than others, wanting to change them according to our own beliefs.”

Today's Daily Dharma: Not for Sale

Not for Sale
Zen teacher Reb Anderson says “Stop shopping” is Zen practice in a nutshell. The planet will be better off when we catch on to the idea that more new stuff isn’t what’s going to save us from suffering.
—Susan Moon, "Stop Shopping"
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