Saturday, February 28, 2015

Via God / FB:


Via Daily Dharma


One Essential Step | February 28, 2015


One essential step in learning to more genuinely see each other is to bother to look. If someone yells at us, or annoys us, or dazzles us with a gift, we do pay attention to them. Our challenge then is to see them as they are, not as we project or assume them to be. But if they don’t make much of an impression on us, we have a different challenge; it is all too easy to look right through them.

- Sharon Salzberg., "A More Complete Attention"

Via Freedom to Marry


A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. #LLAP " -Nimoy's final tweet; Feb 22


Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia- Flor del día- Flower of the day 28/02/2015

LOKAH SAMASTAH SUKHINO BHAVANTHU:
Que todos os seres, em todos os mundos, sejam felizes.
“Rezar pelo seu irmão é uma das características do amor maduro. Rezar para que o seu irmão seja feliz e livre; para que tenha todas as suas necessidades atendidas - essa é uma das características do Divino em nós. Porque o Divino em nós ama a todos, serve a todos, e se move em direção à união e à construção. O que caracteriza a maturidade espiritual é exatamente a capacidade de se doar e de se tornar um canal de bênçãos. A bênção é um desejo profundo de que o outro seja feliz - é quando esse mantra ecoa e age através de você de verdade.”


LOKAH SAMASTAH SUKHINO BHAVANTHU:
Que todos los seres, en todos los mundos, sean felices.
“Rezar por tu hermano es una de la características del amor maduro. Rezar para que tu hermano sea feliz y libre, para que tenga todas sus necesidades atendidas – esta es una de las características del Divino en nosotros. Porque lo Divino en nosotros ama a todos, sirve a todos, y se mueve en dirección a la unión y a la construcción. Lo que caracteriza la madurez espiritual es exactamente la capacidad de donarse y de tornarse un canal de bendiciones. La bendición es un deseo profundo de que el otro sea feliz – es cuando ese mantra hace eco y actúa a través tuyo de verdad.”


“Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu*:
May all beings, in all worlds, be happy. Praying for your brothers and sisters is one of the characteristics of mature love. Pray that your brother and sister may be happy and free, and have all of his or her needs met. This is one of the attributes of the Divine within us, who loves everyone, serves all, and moves towards union and creation. What characterizes spiritual maturity is precisely the ability to give of oneself and become a channel of blessings. A blessing is a deep desire to see the other happy. It happens when this mantra echoes within you and acts through you truthfully."

Friday, February 27, 2015

Via Daily Dharma


A Radical Challenge | February 27, 2015


The Buddha presented a radical challenge to the way we see the world, both the world that was seen two millennia ago and the world that is seen today. What he taught is not different, it is not an alternative, it is the opposite. That the path that we think will lead us to happiness leads instead to sorrow. That what we believe is true is instead false. That what we imagine to be real is unreal. A certain value lies in remembering that challenge from time to time.

- Donald S. Lopez, Jr., "The Scientific Buddha"

JMG MEXICO: Marriage Rights On The March



 
Buzzfeed reporter J. Lester Feder today examined the complex and rapidly changing status of same-sex marriage across Mexico's 31 states.
Courts in more than two-thirds of Mexico’s 31 states have granted same-sex couples the right to marry over the past two years in a series of rulings that will likely make marriage equality a reality nationwide in the near future. The wave of rulings throughout Mexico hasn’t caused the uproar that has followed rulings in the United States over the past year striking down state laws barring same-sex couples from marrying. Couples have not rushed to marry nor have conservatives organized major protests.

This is in part because the technicalities of Mexican law have meant these decisions have been much more narrow in their immediate impact. Each decision applies only to the individuals who have brought the cases, and other same-sex couples will still have to sue in order to marry. It takes multiple cases meeting certain technical requirements for the courts to nullify a state law in Mexico — a hurdle that has not yet been met. But with new rulings being announced almost every week — judges in six new states ruled in favor of marriage equality in the first two months of 2015 alone — it seems almost inevitable that this day is coming, say legal experts who have closely followed the litigation.
Same-sex marriages legally conducted in any Mexican jurisdiction are recognized by every state and by the federal government. Hit the first link and read the full report.


Reposted from Joe Jervis

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Today in "there are still things in this world so beautiful that it makes me weep":

2CELLOS - LIVE at Exit Festival 2014 [FULL CONCERT] 

 

Via JMG: Donny Osmond Slams NPH: "No Class"


Osmond's Wikipedia page notes that he performed in a loincloth for over 2000 performances of Joseph And The Technicolor Dreamcoat. But that was classy! 

RELATED: In 2008 Osmond wrote about same-sex marriage in a now-deleted response (check the URL) to a fan on his personal website. An excerpt:
"There are many gay individuals that are members of our church. I know many of them. In fact, some of my best friends are gay. You ask how I react regarding their marriages. Well, I do support our Church leaders who say that we can accept those with gay tendencies in our church as long as they do not act upon their temptations. Everyone has tenancies to succumb to temptation, but we all have the same standard given to us by our Father in Heaven. Whether we may be tempted to be immoral with members of our own sex or of the opposite sex, we are expected to live chaste lives. This is very well explained not only in the Book of Mormon, but in the Bible as well."
Osmond also included this quote from a Mormon document:
We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets. We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia- Flor del día- Flower of the day 26/02/2015

“O movimento em direção à Verdade implica em reconhecer aquilo que é mentira. Então o que não é Verdade vai caindo, até que sobra somente a Verdade. Essa é a essência do processo de autoconhecimento que tenho oferecido e que às vezes chamo de “desvendar do amor”. Porque o amor é uma manifestação da Verdade, que é a essência. A Verdade é; ela está em tudo. Ela sempre existiu e sempre existirá; está presente no início, no meio e no fim, e ao mesmo tempo, nunca teve início e nunca terá fim.”

“El movimiento en dirección a la Verdad implica reconocer aquello que es mentira. Entonces lo que no es Verdad va cayendo, hasta que sobra solamente la Verdad. Esa es la esencia del proceso de autoconocimiento que vengo ofreciendo y que a veces llamo “develar del amor”. Porque el amor es una manifestación de la Verdad, que es la esencia. La Verdad es, ella está en todo. Siempre existió y siempre existirá, está presente en el inicio, en el medio y en el fin, y al mismo tiempo, nunca tuvo inicio y nunca tendrá fin.”

"Moving towards the truth implies recognizing what is a lie. So what is not true starts to fall away, until only the truth is left. This is the essence of the process of self-investigation that I propose, which I sometimes call the ‘unveiling of love.’ Love is a manifestation of the truth; the truth is the essence of love. The truth simply is. It is in everything. It has always existed and will always exist. It has been here since the beginning, it exists now, and will be here until the end. At the same time, the truth has no beginning and no end."

The Mouse

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality."
- Desmond Tutu

VIa Daily Dharma


Using Habit Against Itself | February 26, 2015


Each step may seem to take forever, but no matter how uninspired you feel, continue to follow your practice schedule precisely and consistently. This is how we can use our greatest enemy, habit, against itself.

- Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, "Tortoise Steps"

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

First Gay Hug (A Homophobic Experiment) | First Kiss Video


Via Upworthy: When the straight guy says he thinks gay sex is gross, the gay guy's response is hard to argue with.

A group of 15 actors agreed to participate in a short film.

Their role was simple: Meet a gay person...

 

First Gay Hug (A Homophobic Experiment) | First Kiss Video

 

Make the jump here to read the full article

Via Progressivechristianity.org: Eric Alexander Asks Four Key Questions to Defrocked Pastor Frank Schaefer about LGBTQ’s and the Church




frank-schaefer 

I recently had an opportunity to catch up with Frank Schaefer, who is the prolific United Methodist pastor who was very publicly defrocked (fired and stripped of his credentials) for officiating the wedding ceremony of his gay son.   He has since been “refrocked” and is serving at a UMC in Isla Vista, CA – and he is continuing to speak about what he learned through his experience.  I asked Frank four key questions about what the future might have in store for our LGBTQ brothers and sisters in the Church, and his wisdom and vision were palpable.  We won’t go much into Frank’s back-story here, but you can learn more from his book Defrocked or by watching this video which nicely recaps his experience in three minutes or so. 

Via John Allen Hough / FB:


Via Daily Dharma


Why Become Enlightened? | February 25, 2015


Why become enlightened? This is a question I sometimes ask myself. The answer I give is twofold: to make the world a better place and to avoid the pain of clinging to an existence that is unhappy. My belief is that somewhere down the line these two reasons converge: that my own ability to reach peace with myself will benefit the whole world.

- Kate Brandt, "When the World is Perfect"

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 24/02/2015

“O Eu divino que habita o seu coração se move em direção à união, à construção, ao altruísmo - em direção ao amor. Ele é uma manifestação do próprio amor que se move em direção à totalidade de si mesmo - é o rio se movendo em direção ao oceano.”

“El Yo divino que habita tu corazón se mueve en dirección a la unión, a la construcción, al altruismo – en dirección al amor. Él es una manifestación del propio amor que se mueve en dirección a la totalidad de sí mismo – es el río moviéndose en dirección al océano.”

"The divine self that inhabits your heart moves towards union, construction, and altruism; towards love. It’s a manifestation of love itself moving towards its own wholeness. It is the river flowing towards the ocean."

Via Daily Dharma


The Work That Reconnects | February 24, 2015


This is a dark time, filled with suffering and uncertainty. Like living cells in a larger body, it is natural that we feel the trauma of our world. So don’t be afraid of the anguish you feel, or the anger or fear, because these responses arise from the depth of your caring and the truth of your interconnectedness with all beings.

- Joanna Macy and Sam Mowe, "The Work That Reconnects"

Monday, February 23, 2015

Alan Turing’s family fights to correct a historical injustice


Via Huffington: Hate the Gays? Imagine the World Without Us
















In our current political discourse, right-wing politicians continue to demonize the LGBT community in sad and desperate attempts to rally their base. While, happily, their efforts have not been as effective as in the past, any attempt to make gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender people feel anything less than equal can lead to devastating consequences, as the ongoing string of youth suicides so painfully highlights.

Any preventable loss of dignity and human life must be stopped. The question is, "How?"

While prior efforts have focused on the issue of harassment, it is time for the LGBT community to take the dialogue one step further. When you are a teen, simply waiting for your next birthday can seem like an eternity. Telling our youth that life will indeed get better, some years into the future, is not enough. We must instead create a world in which there is no longer any shame in being gay. We must show that each and every one of us has something of value to contribute to this world, period. 

The first step is creating discussion with the haters around where their anti-gay beliefs come from, and challenging those beliefs with facts. But we then need to take that dialogue even further and examine more closely what they hope that such convictions will ultimately achieve.

Typically, those who hold negativity toward those who are LGBT can be placed into two main camps: those who believe that being gay is unnatural, going against nature, or those who believe it goes against religious teaching. 

With either group, the case can be made to counter such beliefs with facts. For example, those who believe that being gay is unnatural may be surprised to learn that homosexual activity has been observed in close to 1,500 species, and that such scientific certitudes should be spotlighted. For those who believe that homosexuality violates religious principles, pointing to texts such as the Bible as justification, and dialogue around translation issues, intent, and historical context, might be beneficial.

However, in both situations, while factual evidence might change some minds, most will still be unwilling to let go of long-held beliefs. My question to them then becomes, "What do you hope these beliefs will achieve?"

Via JMG: Feds Appoint First LGBT Rights Envoy



The State Department today appointed the first LGBT rights foreign envoy in US history.
Randy W Berry, who is gay, has been appointed to the senior role within the US State Department by President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry. He has previously served as Consul General in Amsterdam, and has also had postings for the State Department in Bangladesh, Egypt, Uganda, South Africa, and Washington DC. John Kerry said: “Randy’s a leader, he’s a motivator. But most importantly for this effort, he’s got vision. Wherever he’s served — from Nepal to New Zealand, from Uganda to Bangladesh, from Egypt to South Africa, and most recently as consul general in Amsterdam — Randy has excelled."
The HRC applauds:
“At a moment when many LGBT people around the world are facing persecution and daily violence, this unprecedented appointment shows a historic commitment to the principle that LGBT rights are human rights,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “President Obama and Secretary Kerry have shown tremendous leadership in championing the rights of LGBT people abroad. Now, working closely with this new envoy, we’ve got to work harder than ever to create new allies, push back on human rights violators, and support the brave leaders and organizations that fight for LGBT rights around the world."
IGLHRC does the same:
“The appointment of Randy Berry as a special diplomatic envoy brings to a pinnacle the historic trend, first put in motion by the 2011 Presidential Memorandum, of integrating the rights of LGBT people into U.S. foreign policy. Having long advocated for this step forward, we at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission celebrate its arrival and congratulate Mr. Berry on his new role. The U.S. envoy can contribute to a new era in which the conscience of governments everywhere can be focused on the destabilizing impact of prejudice and abuse that inflicts suffering on millions worldwide. Human rights should be a priority for every government in both domestic and foreign policy.
Hate groups have already denounced the creation of the position as yet another example of the Obama administration imposing its homofascist agenda on foreign countries.


Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via THE BEER PARTY / FB:


Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Elected Judges (HBO)


JMG Quote Of The Day - Graham Moore


"I’m not gay, but I’ve never talked publicly about depression before or any of that and that was so much of what the movie was about and it was one of the things that drew me to Alan Turing so much. I think we all feel like weirdos for different reasons. Alan had his share of them and I had my own and that’s what always moved me so much about his story.” - Oscar-winning screenwriter Graham Moore, speaking to Buzzfeed. Moore's "it gets better" acceptance speech led many (including numerous media outlets) to wrongly assume that he is gay. At this writing #StayWeird remains a top-trending hashtag on Twitter.


Reposted from Joe Jervis

Common, John Legend - Glory


Via Tricycle: Nothing Need Be Done

Nothing Need Be Done

A 1988 interview with Gary Snyder, from the newly published anthology Nobody Home: Writing, Buddhism, and Living in Places

 

A 1988 interview with Gary Snyder, from the newly published anthology Nobody Home: Writing, Buddhism, and Living in Places



One morning in 1984, a letter posted on the other side of the world clacked through the flap of my door in Cape Town. It was from the poet, environmental activist, and longtime Buddhist Gary Snyder, a warm response to questions about his writing. I was a graduate student at the time and had been reading his work after a friend gave me a copy of his 1967 collection A Range of Poems. That first letter was the beginning of a long long-distance friendship and an ongoing conversation.

It started as an intellectual exchange and became an exploration of practice. As a young person living in a society demarcated by the paranoid logic of apartheid, I found it refreshing to meet the spaciousness of Gary’s way of seeing. His delight in wildness. Poems that opened up the idea of social justice to include nonhuman beings and the living world. The truly radical realization that things are not things but process, nodes in the jeweled net. And in all this a tendency simply to walk out of the narrow prison of dualistic thought.

Over the years, what has kept on bringing me back to Gary’s writing and to our conversation is his steady articulation of this vision in practice: Buddhist practice, the practice of writing, of being a householder, of living in places.

Nobody Home: Writing, Buddhism, and Living in Places puts together three interviews and a selection of letters from around 30 years. We recorded the first interview, an adaptation from which follows, in 1988 at Kitkitdizze, Gary’s home on the San Juan Ridge in the Sierra Nevada, where he is also a member of the Ring of Bone Zendo. It was a hot day in late August, and Carole Koda, his new partner, sat listening throughout.

 

Via Daily Dharma



From the Ground Up | February 23, 2015


It would be really easy to live in the city and teach at a Zen center and do nothing but Buddhist teaching. I wouldn’t want to do it that way. I’d rather go out and start working in the neighborhoods as much as I could, because I think you have to work the ground for a Buddhist society first. You can’t just leave your society the way it is and say 'We offer this as one of the teachings.' You’ve got to help the society get its feet on the ground before those teachings can begin to flourish.

- Gary Snyder, "Nothing Need Be Done"

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Via Progressive America / FB:


Via BNR LGBT / FB:


Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 22/02/2015

“O que tira a mente do momento presente é o desejar compulsivo. O desejo está intimamente relacionado com a sua história: com o seu passado e com as marcas do seu corpo emocional, que agem como buracos que você tenta preencher através de coisas. Você deseja uma coisa - consegue essa coisa – e se sente preenchido. Porém, esse preenchimento dura muito pouco, porque você tenta preencher um buraco interno com algo de fora. Isso não é possível. O máximo que você consegue é viver a ilusão, por um curto espaço de tempo, de que o seu buraco foi preenchido. Esse buraco só pode ser preenchido de dentro para fora, ou seja, somente quando você se harmoniza com o seu passado.”

“Lo que saca a la mente del momento presente es el desear compulsivo. El deseo está íntimamente relacionado con tu historia: con tu pasado y con las marcas de tu cuerpo emocional, que actúan como agujeros que intentas llenar a través de cosas. Deseas una cosa - consigues esta cosa - y te sientes satisfecho. Sin embargo, este relleno dura muy poco, porque intentas llenar un agujero interno con algo de afuera. Esto no es posible. Lo máximo que consigues es vivir la ilusión, por un corto espacio de tiempo, que tu agujero se llenó. Este agujero sólo puede ser rellenado desde adentro hacia afuera, es decir, sólo cuando te armonizas con tu pasado.”

"What takes the mind away from the present moment is compulsive desire. Desires are closely related to our history, our past, and the imprints on our emotional bodies, which are like holes that we try to fill up with things. We desire something, we get it, and we feel satisfied. However, this satisfaction doesn’t last very long, because we’re trying to fill an internal hole with something external. This is not possible. The most we can achieve is to live in this illusion for a short time, believing that the hole was filled. This hole can only be filled from the inside-out. In other words, it will only be filled when we can be in harmony with our past."

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 21/02/2015

“Shalom, shanti, piece, paz... Conscientes ou não, todos estamos em busca disso, mesmo quando acreditamos estar em busca de realizações materiais, afetivas, sexuais e espirituais. A paz é a mais elevada das virtudes; é o fruto maduro da árvore da consciência. Mas, para realizar a paz se faz necessário chegar a um acordo com o desejo. O desejo é o gerador do apego e do tumulto interno.”

“Shalom, shanti, peace, paz... Conscientes o no, todos estamos en busca de eso, incluso cuando creemos estar en busca de realizaciones materiales, afectivas, sexuales y espirituales. La paz es la más elevada de las virtudes; es el fruto maduro del árbol de la conciencia. Pero para realizar la paz es necesario llegar a un acuerdo con el deseo. El deseo es el generador del apego y del tumulto interno.”

"Shalom, shanti, paz, peace... Whether we’re aware of it or not, we are all in search of peace – even when we believe we’re in search of material, romantic, sexual or spiritual experiences. Peace is the highest virtue: it is the ripe fruit of the tree of consciousness. In order to achieve peace, we must come to an agreement with desire. Desire generates attachments and inner turmoil."

Via Daily Dharma


The Force of Gratitude | February 22, 2015


Gratitude is a way of undercutting your ego—that is, it is a way of being Buddhist. There is an awareness that we get now and then about what we owe to others, and Shinran [the founder of Shin Buddhism] feels that that should become the moving force of one’s life. That awakening, that awareness, transforms your way of dealing with life, with people, and with all things.

- Rev. Dr. Alfred Bloom, "Beyond Religion"

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Guy Winch: Why we all need to practice emotional first aid


Gay Marriage, WHAT?!


Review: A Lost History of the Baha’i Faith



Books that simultaneously address family history and religious studies appeal to both of my literary obsessions, and hence tend to be among my favorite reading material. Several years ago Prophet’s Daughter by Erin Prophet told the story of the rise and fall of the Church Universal and Triumphant in a way no one else ever could; the author being the ultimate insider yet also a complete outsider. 

An insider in that she was a participant in all the events she describes, but an outsider in that she entirely rejects the belief system constructed by her parents. The finest book in the literature about Edgar Cayce, in my opinion, is Sidney Kirkpatrick’s biography Edgar Cayce: An American Prophet, because it goes into greater depth about the extended family of Edgar and Gertrude, their parents, siblings, children,and cousins, than any before or since.

It is not unusual for the descendants of a movement founder to find themselves at odds with the authorities who gain control of a religion’s governance. The entire family of Elizabeth Clare Prophet is now in such a position, but far more extensive are the descendants of Joseph Smith, Jr. Although the Utah Mormon church accounts for about 98% of LDS membership worldwide, most of the prophet’s descendants ended up in the Reorganized LDS church, which in 2001 became the Community of Christ. It is far more theologically liberal than the Utah church, for example having ordained women since the 1980s. According to certain traditions, the family of Jesus found themselves alienated from the authorities of the early Christian church. Although the Gospels name four brothers of Jesus and mention unnamed sisters, by the fourth century church authorities decided that he could not possibly have any siblings because Mary was a perpetual virgin, and this remains official church doctrine among Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and some Protestant groups. Although earlier historical records indicate that people had been recognized as blood relatives of Jesus in the first century, they were ultimately defined out of existence because they conflicted with a dogma based on metaphysics rather than history. But no case of a split between a prophet’s family and the religious authority structure of a faith community is as extreme and antagonistic as the example of the Baha’is. Eric Stetson has brought to light what he aptly entitles A Lost History of the Baha’i Faith, predominantly the unpublished writings of Shua Ullah Behai, grandson of the Baha’I founder Baha’u’llah. The collection includes the works of a dozen other individuals, almost all descendants of Baha’u’llah who have been not just alienated from, but demonized by the religious authorities who govern the contemporary Baha’i community.

The highest current authority is the Universal House of Justice, an all-male governing body that was first elected in 1963, six years after the death of the only Guardian of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi. The office of Guardian was ordained by the Will and Testament of Abdu’l Baha, oldest son of Baha’u'llah and grandfather of Shoghi Effendi, to last in perpetuity. But the Guardian was supposed to be a lineal descendant of Baha’u’llah, appointed by his predecessor; and Shoghi Effendi died without leaving a will and after excommunicating all his relatives, including his parents and siblings. Hence the Guardianship was declared abrogated. In this context as with the previous generation of leadership, excommunication is combined with shunning, and those shunned are called “covenant-breakers” and described as having a contagious spiritual disease. There are now several competing sects based on various claims by non-descendants to inherit the mantle of the Guardianship, but none of these have been supported by any of the Baha’I descendants. The new book now available is the work of an earlier category of “covenant-breakers,” those excommunicated by Abdu’l Baha, including two of his brothers and all their families—one of whom, a nephew, is the primary author of the book.

Stetson’s excellent introduction and conclusion are scholarly rather than polemical in tone, but the notes and comments in the body of the book show his admiration and sympathy for these excommunicated relatives. The surviving descendants who cooperated with Stetson and encouraged publication of the book have a positive message of inclusion and reconciliation. But like the great-great-great-nephews and nieces of Jesus, their very existence is an “inconvenient truth” to the belief system as it evolved under ecclesiastical authority over time.

The forthcoming volume of correspondence of Thomas Moore Johnson reveals a hitherto unsuspected connection between early American Baha’is and the HBofL. The phrase “Religion of the Stars” appeared as a catch-phrase of the astro-Masonic late 19th century group the Oriental Order othe Magi. The OOM, as it turns out, involved both Ibrahim Kheiralla, the first Baha’I missionary in the US, and some correspondents of Mr. Johnson. Mr. Kheiralla, who died in 1929, is one of the many “covenant-breaker” dissidents whose writings are included in A Lost History of the Baha’i Faith.

Make the jump here to read the original post

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


Our Real Home | February 21, 2015


Anyone can build a house of wood and bricks, but the Buddha taught that that is not our real home. Our real home is inner peace.

- Ajahn Chah Subatto, "Our Real Home"

Friday, February 20, 2015

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:

IBrrK6H

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"

Thursday, February 19, 2015

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.


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)


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.

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%."


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.)

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