Via The Urban Farm & Garden / FB:

Via Bernie Sanders is my HERO / FB:

Stephen Fry - Dealing with Prejudice

Via JMG: NEW YORK CITY: President Obama Poised To Declare Stonewall Inn A National Monument To LGBT Rights

May 4, 2016 LGBT History, LGBT News

From the Washington Post:

President Obama is poised to declare the first-ever national monument recognizing the struggle for gay rights, singling out a sliver of green space and part of the surrounding Greenwich Village neighborhood as the birthplace of America’s modern gay liberation movement.

While most national monuments have highlighted iconic wild landscapes or historic sites from centuries ago, this reflects the country’s diversity of terrain and peoples in a different vein: It would be the first national monument anchored by a dive bar and surrounded by a warren of narrow streets that long has been regarded the historic center of gay cultural life in New York City.

Federal officials, including Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), will hold a listening session on May 9 to solicit feedback on the proposal. Barring a last-minute complication — city officials are still investigating the history of the land title — Obama is prepared to designate the area part of the National Park Service as soon as next month, which commemorates gay pride.

As always you can make the jump here to JMG to read this and other great feeds...

Via Ram Dass:

May 4, 2016

As I have gone from identity with ego to identity with soul or witness, I have found a space and a way in relation to the mystery of the universe that allows me to be with the suffering that lives on this plane, mine and others, in a way that doesn’t overwhelm me. I’m not overwhelmed by my impotence to take it all away and I don’t have to look away from it, and I deal with it as it arises.

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia / Flor del dia / Flower of the Day – 04/05/2016

“Nós seres humanos perdemos a nossa naturalidade e nos tornamos artificiais. Isso ocorreu porque, em algum momento, perdemos a confiança na vida e o medo se instalou no sistema. O medo desenvolveu a máscara e a máscara não permite que sejamos nós mesmos. A máscara é um fingir ser; e nós fingimos com o objetivo de sermos amados. A máscara serve para forçarmos o outro a nos amar. Mas, como amor forçado não é amor, isso apenas gera mais ódio. Essa é a essência do que conhecemos por sofrimento.”

“Nosotros seres humanos perdimosnuestranaturalidad y nos volvimosartificiales. Esto ocurrió porque, en algún momento, perdimos la confianza en la vida y el miedo se instaló en el sistema. El miedo desarrolló la máscara y la máscara no permite que seamos nosotros mismos. La máscara es un fingir ser; y fingimos con el objetivo de ser amados. La máscara sirve para forzar al otro a amarnos. Pero como amor forzado no es amor, eso solo genera más odio. Esta es la esencia de lo que conocemos como sufrimiento.”

“Part of the human experience involves losing our naturalness and becoming more ‘artificial’. At a certain point in our development, we lose trust in life, and fear is programmed into our systems. Out of fear, the mask is developed and this mask does not allow us to be ourselves. The mask is a pretense that we put on with the goal of being loved. Thus, the mask is used to force the other to love us. Since forced love is not real love, this only creates more hatred. This is the root of what we call suffering.

Via Daily Dharma / May 4, 2016: Every Moment Is Absolute

Every moment in life is absolute in itself. That’s all there is. There is nothing other than this present moment; there is no past, there is no future; there is nothing but this. So when we don’t pay attention to each little this, we miss the whole thing.

—Charlotte Joko Beck, "Attention Means Attention"