Via Christianity Today: Obama appoints transgender woman, Sikh and Baha'i to faith advisory council

A transgender woman will join representatives from the Sikh and Baha'i communities as new advisers to President Obama on faith-based issues.

The White House announced the additions to the President's third and final advisory council on faith-based and neighbourhood partnerships last week.

 

National LGBT Task Force

Barbara Satin was involved in the UCC's decision to fully include LGBT people as members and ministers in 2003

 

Barbara Satin is the assistant faith work director for the National LGBTQ Task Force and a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC). She was the first openly transgender member of the UCC's executive council and has served on the board of a number of other LGBT community groups.

Of her appointment, Satin said: "Given the current political climate, I believe it's important that a voice of faith representing the transgender and gender non-conforming community — as well as a person of my years, nearly 82 — be present and heard in these vital conversations."

The other appointments included Naseem Kourosh, human rights officer at the US Baha'i office of public affairs and Manjit Singh, co-founder and chairman of the Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund.

Along with a number of other appointments, Obama said Satin, Kourosh and Singh were "fine public servants" and would bring "depth of experience and tremendous dedication" to their roles.

"I look forward to working with them," he said.

The President's advisory council is charged with making policy recommendations to the administration as well as suggesting improvements and best practices for services that relate to faith-based groups. The council currently has fifteen members, most of whom are Christian.

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Via Ram Dass:

July 6, 2016

From the soul’s point of view, you come to appreciate that each one of us is living out his or her own karma. We interact together, and those interactions are the grist for each other’s mill of awakening.

From a personality point of view, you develop judgment, but from the soul’s point of view, you develop appreciation. This shift from judging to appreciating — to appreciating yourself and what your karmic predicament is, and who other beings are with their own karma — brings everything into a simple loving awareness. To be free means to open your heart and your being to the fullness of who you are, because only when you are resting in the place of unity can you truly honor and appreciate others and the incredible diversity of the universe.

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 06/07/2016

“Quando você completa um ciclo de cura a gratidão é iluminada e novos caminhos se abrem na sua vida - pelo menos os caminhos relacionados ao padrão que foi curado. Você percebe que está se harmonizando com a lei do mínimo esforço, o que significa que, com um pequeno esforço, grandes coisas se manifestam. Você sente que o universo está a seu favor e tudo flui facilmente.”

“Cuando completas un ciclo de cura la gratitud es iluminada y nuevos caminos se abren en tu vida, al menos los caminos relacionados con el patrón que fuecurado. Percibes que te estás armonizando con la ley del mínimo esfuerzo, lo que significa que, con un pequeño esfuerzo, grandes cosas se manifiestan. Sientes que el universo está atu favor y todo fluye fácilmente.”

“When we are able to complete a certain healing cycle in life, gratitude becomes illuminated and new paths open to us- at least paths related to the pattern that was healed. We see that we are in harmony with the law of least effort. Withthe minimum of force, great things are manifested. We feel as though the universe is on our side and everything flows easily.”

Via Daily Dharma / July 6, 2016: Digging Toward the Sky

We think we know our own life, but what we know is only an edited version, colored by our emotions and narrow vision. How close can we come to the original draft? By staring at truth, the soil is warmed, and we begin digging toward the sky.

—Gregg Krech, "Naikan Therapy"