Via Ram Dass LGBTQ+ September Satsang ~ Connecting with the Divine

 

September LGBTQ+ Satsang Following in the Footsteps ~ Connecting with the Divine Sept 11 @ 8 pm EDT | 5 pm PDT REGISTER HERE   “I hang out with my guru in my heart. And I love everything in the universe. That's all I do all day.” ~ Ram Dass

In Honor of Neem Karoli Baba’s Mahasamadhi (meaning, a conscious being’s exit from the body at the time of physical death), the Ram Dass LGBT Fellowship is gathering to share stories and communally delve into our experiences contacting the Divine Presence.  We will share with each other how Ram Dass and/or Maharaji-ji is present to us in whatever form, be it from within our own heart, via another person, in spirit, in dreams, recorded teachings, or in a myriad of other ways. Join us for a spirited gathering to honor our queer fellowship community. This event will include meditation, social discussion time, and kirtan. Please feel free to bring a story, excerpt, or teaching to share with the satsang, that connects you to or reflects your queer spiritual experience. REGISTER HERE Add event to calendar          LGBTQ+ Fellowship Mission Statement The LGBTQ+ Ram Dass Satsang’s mission is to cultivate loving awareness and heart connections in a community of kindred souls. We celebrate our unity in the full spectrum of gender and sexuality in and from a space of supportive openness. GOALS: Create a refuge of satsang for LGBTQ+ individuals through the teachings of Maharaj-ji and Ram Dass Promote inclusive transcendence and self-acceptance of our human incarnation as members of the LGBTQ+ community Explore the intersection of seva/service & the spectrum of gender and sexuality  Hold a space for exploring being LGBTQ+ from the perspective of consciousness  Have a place to have a voice and be a valued part of the community   Remove barriers from LGBTQ+ identities within the spiritual world Help to generate a shift within the collective consciousness through awakening VALUES: Following the teachings of Neem Karoli Baba & Ram Dass Service Compassion Acceptance Spiritual Inquiry Cultivating the Witness Loving Awareness Devotion Healing Loving our Roles and Souls Honoring the individuality within the Unity Developing our Sadhana SEE YOU SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 The Ram Dass LGBTQ+ Satsang team

Register Here

You signed up for the Ram Dass Fellowship via the Form you filled out after one of RamDass.org's Meditation Courses or by visiting our website.​ Our mailing address is: Love Serve Remember Foundation 226 W Ojai Ave Ste 101 #531 Ojai, CA 93023

Via JMG: CDC Data: Life Expectancy Dropped 1.8 Years In 2020

 

Via Lama Rod Owens

 

Podcast: Rethinking the Dharma with Lama Rod Owens and David Nichtern In this podcast episode, Lama Rod Owens joins Buddhist teacher and Grammy-nominated musician, David Nichtern to discuss reimagining the dharma in a way that is appropriate for our time.

Listen Here

Tending to the summer of apocalypse

Inbox

Lama Rod Owens assist@lamarod.com via gmail.mcsv.net

2:14 PM (14 minutes ago)

to me

Dear Friends,  Probably like you, I have been really exhausted.  Though I now enjoy my life, it has been tremendous labor to experience this level of mental and physical wellness. I am grateful for the labor, and still, it is important for me to tell the truth that this labor has cost a lot.  These pandemic years have invited me to re-evaluate how I spend my time and direct my energy. I have come to understand that I must protect my energy, especially in a culture where so many people don’t realize the preciousness of their energy and have found themselves spending energy unskillfully or taking energy from others in ways that they may not be aware of. Boundaries have become essential in protecting my energy. I’ve had to divest from spaces, groups, relationships, and even lineages not because I disliked them but because I just don’t have the energy to offer right now; though I hope to be able to return to these places when I am not trying to survive an apocalypse.  As we continue moving through the year and deeper into this apocalypse, we have to become more conscious of how we spend our energy. We must figure out how to let go of the places, things, and relationships that are taking more from us than we realize.  My goal is to care for myself in order to care for my communities. I am not called to be a martyr in this life, and likely you are not either.  I am called to survive to help bring about this new world to which I believe we are giving birth. I want to be of service to help, not deplete myself in meaningless ways.  So this is a question I leave for you: Are you being depleted, or are you being sustained?  With love, Lama Rod

Podcast: Rethinking the Dharma with Lama Rod Owens and David Nichtern In this podcast episode, Lama Rod Owens joins Buddhist teacher and Grammy-nominated musician, David Nichtern to discuss reimagining the dharma in a way that is appropriate for our time.

Listen Here

 

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Intention: Cultivating Appreciative Joy

 

RIGHT INTENTION
Cultivating Appreciative Joy

Whatever you intend, whatever you plan, and whatever you have a tendency toward, that will become the basis upon which your mind is established. (SN 12.40) Develop meditation on appreciative joy, for when you develop meditation on appreciative joy, any discontent will be abandoned. (MN 62)  The far enemy of appreciative joy is discontent. (Vm 9.100)

Reflection

It is telling that we do not even have a word in English for the Pali word for appreciative joy (mudita). By putting together two words, we only approximate what we are trying to convey. Appreciative joy is the emotion of feeling happy for the other person, not because of them or about them, but celebrating the fact that they are happy and feeling blessed or fortunate in some way. Why don’t we have a word for this?

Daily Practice

Pay close attention to what happens in your own experience when you hear news of some good fortune befalling someone, whether the person is well known to you or not. Do you feel resentment, jealousy, or some other form of discontent? If so, stop right there and intervene. Conjure up goodwill instead and practice feeling happy for the person. These two mind states are opposites: one is unhealthy and the other healthy.

Tomorrow: Refraining from Harsh Speech
One week from today: Cultivating Equanimity

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Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Daily Dharma: Be Patient with Your Mind

 Understanding comes from patiently reasoning with yourself. You cannot force your mind or order it about. 

Gehlek Rinpoche, “An Interview with Gehlek Rinpoche”

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