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Via LGBTq Nation // The U.S. May Be Descending Into Fascism But SimNation Is Getting Even Gayer How do you say “I’m here, I’m queer, get used to it” in Simlish?

 

Via LGBTQ Nation Newsletter / A community's surprising response to a GOP book ban 📚

 

Via Bodhipaksa @ Wildmind // Eight Benefits of Consciously Connecting With Others

 

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𑁍 Eight Benefits of Consciously Connecting With Others 𑁍 Dear friend of Wildmind. Spiritual friendship is an important practice in the Buddhist tradition. To understand why, let's look — in purely secular terms — at eight benefits of supportive personal connections. 1. Friendships Help Shape Who You Become The people you surround yourself with influence your habits, mindset, and values. Positive friendships encourage self-improvement, while toxic ones can drag you down. Choose to be around people who embrace your most positive values. 2. Friends Reduce Loneliness and Foster Belonging Isolation is as bad for your health as smoking! A supportive social circle is linked to greater happiness and longevity. Connecting with others benefits both you and them. 3. Friends Keep You Accountable Good friends gently steer you away from harmful behaviors, like self-sabotage, impulsiveness, or negativity, and toward better choices. Choose to be around people who help you stay on track.. 4. Friends Encourage You When You’re Struggling Growth isn’t linear—everyone faces setbacks. True friends help you stay committed to your goals, even when motivation is low. Choose to be around those who remind you of your strengths when you forget them. 5. Friends Model What’s Possible Seeing friends model appreciation, resilience, kindness, and wisdom inspires you to embody those same qualities. Choose to be with people who show you positive ways of behaving. 6. Friends Help You See Things In New Ways Friends share their hard-won wisdom. And often they will open you up to surprising new ways of seeing things.  Develop connections with people who model wisdom. 7. Friends Encourage Letting Go of What Doesn’t Serve You Whether it’s unhealthy relationships, grudges, or materialism, good friends help you focus on what truly brings fulfillment. Be with people who tell you what you need to hear, not just what you want to hear. 8. Friends Help You Grow Toward Your Best Self The ultimate role of a true friend isn’t just to make you feel good temporarily—it’s to help you become wiser, kinder, and more resilient in the long term. Choose to hang out with those who encourage the best in you. Final Thought You don’t have to be Buddhist to recognize that friendships can transform your life. So I invite you to join the Wildmind community — a group that shares your aspirations to be your best self. Surrounding yourself with people who uplift and challenge you is one of the most powerful choices you can make. With love and gratitude, Bodhipaksa Click here to join Wildmind's Meditation Community

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Via The Economist // The secret life of the first millennial saint

 

 

	Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989

Noteworthy 2000 - CAKES DA KILLA (aka Rashard Bradshaw) is an American rap artist who fuses genres of hip hop, house, and electronic dance music. He came to prominence in the "queer explosion" of hip hop music stemming from New York in 2012 and is among the credited performers for the current trend of acceptance of LGBT people in the rap community. Bradshaw is currently based in Atlanta and his first full-length studio album Svengali was released in October  2022. We are unable to ascertain a precise date of birth, so he is included here. Rashard Bradshaw started rapping in high school for fun before considering it as a career. He first began writing tracks to instrumentals he found on the internet and posting them to Facebook. In 2011, his homemade demos came to the attention of an executive producer named Stixx, who invited Bradshaw to appear on the mixtape Downtown Mayhem Vol. 1 alongside Rip The Ruler. Bradshaw then went on to release his own debut mixtape Easy Bake Oven, Vol. 1 through Stixx' Downtown Mayhem label. As an emerging artist in the hip hop genre—along with fellow LGBT artists such as Le1f, Mykki Blanco, and House of Ladosha—Bradshaw gained popularity through media interest in LGBT figures and themes in hip hop and rap, having been written about in a Pitchfork article about said "movement".  'I came outin the third grade. This is just me being me. People make it sound like it's controversial and revolutionary, and that's weird to me, because in hip-hop you have people glorifying negativity, like killing people and not taking care of your kids -- that should be scandalous. That should be what we talk about. And openly gay rapper shouldn't be breaking news. -- Bradshaw on being gay in hip hop.

|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8| Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute "With the increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989! www.whitecraneinstitute.org |8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

 

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Effort: Developing Unarisen Healthy States

 

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RIGHT EFFORT Developing Unarisen Healthy States Whatever a person frequently thinks about and ponders, that will become the inclination of their mind. If one frequently thinks about and ponders healthy states, one has abandoned unhealthy states to cultivate healthy states, and then one’s mind inclines to healthy states. (MN 19) Here a person rouses the will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts the mind, and strives to develop the arising of unarisen healthy mental states. One develops the unarisen tranquility and concentration awakening factors. (MN 141)

Reflection Sometimes healthy states of mind come up on their own, apparently spontaneously. Other times we have to make them happen. The word for “develop” in Pali (bhāvana) literally means “cause to be” or “make become” and so is very descriptive of the process. The more you experience healthy states, the more they develop, and the more the mind inclines toward what is helpful and skillful. Daily Practice Practice calling to mind thoughts that are likely to bring on healthy mental states. These might be thoughts of a loved one that evoke friendliness and lovingkindness. Or thinking about those in distress might bring about feelings of compassion and wanting to help. Among the best positive states to develop are peacefulness, or tranquility, and focusing the mind with concentration. The more you develop these states, the easier it gets. Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Mind and Abiding in the Third Jhāna One week from today: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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Via Daily Dharma: Beyond Dualism

 

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Beyond Dualism According to the Buddha, our own sense of reason or logic is not to be trusted. The simple reason for this is that absolute reality, our ultimate nature, is beyond the dualism of the thinking mind. Pema Düddul, “Wisdom Beyond Reason” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

The Way of the Rails By Susan Moon A Soto Zen teacher and writer captures how life is like a train ride across the country. Read more » Women of Tibet: A Quiet Revolution Directed by Rosemary Rawcliffe On March 12, 1959, 15,000 unarmed Tibetan women took to the streets of Lhasa to oppose the violent occupation of their country by the Communist Chinese army. For the first time on film, three generations of Tibetan women and His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama tell the story of one of the great movements of nonviolent resistance in modern history. Watch now »