A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 21/11/15
“Enquanto for um escravo da mente condicionada, você irremediavelmente
será lançado ao sofrimento. A mente condicionada facilmente é arrastada
para o mundo e para todas as histórias que nascem da identificação com
ele, e assim entra em decadência. Quando menos espera você se vê dentro
de um drama; você é tragado pelas criações da mente. Portanto, se você
quer se libertar do sofrimento e experimentar o sabor da liberdade, se faz necessário tornar-se o senhor da sua própria mente.”
“Mientras seas un esclavo de la mente condicionada, inevitablemente
serás lanzado al sufrimiento. La mente condicionada es fácilmente
arrastrada hacia el mundo y hacia todas las historias que nacen de la
identificación con él, y así entra en decadencia. Cuando menos lo
esperas te encuentras adentro de un drama; eres tragado por las
creaciones de la mente. Por lo tanto, si te quieres liberar del
sufrimiento y experimentar el sabor de la libertad, es necesario
convertirse en señor de tu propia mente.”
“As long as we are slaves to the conditioned mind, we will inevitably be thrown into suffering. The conditioned mind is easily taken over by the world and by all of the stories that are born when we are identified with the world. We then fall into decadence. When we least expect it, we see ourselves there again, engaged in some drama, having beendragged down by the mind’s creations. We must become Lords of our own minds if we want to be free of suffering and to experience the taste of freedom.”
Link do Satsang completo: http://www.sriprembaba.org/pt-br/satsang/290913
“As long as we are slaves to the conditioned mind, we will inevitably be thrown into suffering. The conditioned mind is easily taken over by the world and by all of the stories that are born when we are identified with the world. We then fall into decadence. When we least expect it, we see ourselves there again, engaged in some drama, having beendragged down by the mind’s creations. We must become Lords of our own minds if we want to be free of suffering and to experience the taste of freedom.”
Link do Satsang completo: http://www.sriprembaba.org/pt-br/satsang/290913
Today's Daily Dharma: Releasing Control
Releasing Control
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Friday, November 20, 2015
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 20/11/2015
“Para termos êxito no caminho espiritual, precisamos desenvolver a
verdadeira fé. Mas é preciso compreender o que é fé, pois essa é uma
palavra que teve seu significado
muito distorcido. Fé é quando tudo está desmoronando, mas você não cai. Quando estabelece esse ponto de fé dentro de você, as vozes do ceticismo e do medo podem gritar e fazer tudo balançar, mas você não cai. Esse ponto de fé é inquebrável - ele é o que te segura. Esse é o êxito ao qual eu me refiro. Um ponto eterno de conexão com a realidade espiritual.”
muito distorcido. Fé é quando tudo está desmoronando, mas você não cai. Quando estabelece esse ponto de fé dentro de você, as vozes do ceticismo e do medo podem gritar e fazer tudo balançar, mas você não cai. Esse ponto de fé é inquebrável - ele é o que te segura. Esse é o êxito ao qual eu me refiro. Um ponto eterno de conexão com a realidade espiritual.”
“Para tener éxito en el camino espiritual necesitamos desarrollar la
verdadera fe. Pero es preciso comprender lo que es fe, porque esta es
una palabra que tuvo su significado muy distorsionado. Fe es cuando todo
se está desmoronando, pero tú no caes. Cuando estableces este punto de
fe dentro de ti, las voces del escepticismo y del miedo pueden gritar y
hacer todo temblar, pero no caes. Este punto de fe es inquebrantable -es
lo que te asegura-. Este es el éxito al que me refiero. Un punto eterno
de conexión con la realidad espiritual.”
“In order to be successful on the spiritual path, we must develop true faith. But first we need to understand what the word ‘faith’ means, especially since its meaning has been so distorted over time. When everything is crumbling around us, faith holds us steady. Once we have established this much faith within ourselves, the voices of skepticism and fear may scream and shake everything up, yet we won’t fall. This type of faith is unshakable; it is what holds us steady. This is having 'success,' having faith build an eternal bridge connecting us to the spiritual reality.”
“In order to be successful on the spiritual path, we must develop true faith. But first we need to understand what the word ‘faith’ means, especially since its meaning has been so distorted over time. When everything is crumbling around us, faith holds us steady. Once we have established this much faith within ourselves, the voices of skepticism and fear may scream and shake everything up, yet we won’t fall. This type of faith is unshakable; it is what holds us steady. This is having 'success,' having faith build an eternal bridge connecting us to the spiritual reality.”
Today's Daily Dharma: Letting Things Be
Letting Things Be
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Thursday, November 19, 2015
Via WGB: Ten Things For which Gay Men can be Thankful
Ten Things
For which Gay Men can be Thankful
By Lawrence Pfeil, Jr.
Being Gay -- With all the rights, privileges and honors appertaining thereto; including being fabulous, stylish, and taste makers in most things that straight people will soon want to imitate.
Gay Saints -- Judy, Barbra, Liza, Bette, Patti, Cher, and Madonna whose talent and stature no longer require need of their mortal sir names Garland, Streisand, Minelli, Midler, LuPone, Bono-Allman, or Ciccone from whom we draw strength and inspiration. Not to mention, the “Patron Saint of Homosexuals,” St. Sebastian (no kidding); who was undoubtedly chosen so priests could identify gay men by all the lisping going on while they were saying his name in prayer.
Fierce Black Divas -- Darlene Love, Aretha Franklin, Martha Wash, Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé, et al, whose understanding of gay men’s tortured souls compels them to sing. The connection between gay men and black women is so strong in fact; it is thought that gay men are really black women who didn’t completely reincarnate.
Nieces and Nephews – We enjoy spoiling them rotten, making us the de facto “fabulous gay uncle” which their tight-ass parents thoroughly resent. So for all the teasing and torment we took from our siblings growing up… revenge is now served cold.
Women carrying the “Gay Gene” – They breed with hot studs and continue to populate the world with beautiful gay babies. We couldn’t do it without you!
Red Wine – Shiraz, Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigori, Chardonnay, vodka, scotch, Hennessy, or any other liquor that gets us through family gatherings at the holidays without bloodshed.
Therapists -- They helps us learn to let go of damaged baggage from our families; cope with the never ending drama of insane friends; and resist choking the living shit out of fucked up exes who desperately deserve it! (God bless their prescription pads too)
Modern Condoms and Lube – The earliest condoms from China were made of silk paper while in Japan, tortoise shell and animal horn; by the 16th century, European’s were using linen sheaths tied with ribbon; but it wasn’t until the early 20th century that natural intestine became widely popular. Slather them up with lard, olive oil, grease, Crisco, or Vaseline, and today’s latex/polyisoprene ultra-thins and designer lubes are truly carnal blessings.
Hung Men going Commando – They make the world a more beautiful place to behold, hold, stroke, etc.
Legalized Same-Sex Marriage – The battle was hard fought, the day longtime coming, but we have finally been granted full equality in reciprocity for the all the Tupperware and expensive wedding presents we’ve given hetero-couples for decades.
Let the church say, Amen!
Today's Daily Dharma: Free to Act Wisely
Free to Act Wisely
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Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Today's Daily Dharma: Living Truths
Living Truths
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Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 17/11/2015
“Temos que olhar para o ser humano - não importa o time que ele torce, o
partido político que ele prefere ou a religião a qual ele pertence –
para ver se existe a disponibilidade de se comprometer com o bem. É
preciso compreender o que está se passando dentro. Se dentro existe
abertura para a paz, abertura para o amor e para se tornar um
instrumento do Eu Maior.”
“Tenemos que mirar hacia el ser humano -no importa a qué equipo aliente, el partido político que prefiera o la religión a la que pertenezca- para ver si existe la disponibilidad de comprometerse con el bien. Es necesario comprender lo que está pasando adentro. Si adentro existe apertura para la paz, apertura para el amor y para convertirse en un instrumento del Yo Mayor.”
“Tenemos que mirar hacia el ser humano -no importa a qué equipo aliente, el partido político que prefiera o la religión a la que pertenezca- para ver si existe la disponibilidad de comprometerse con el bien. Es necesario comprender lo que está pasando adentro. Si adentro existe apertura para la paz, apertura para el amor y para convertirse en un instrumento del Yo Mayor.”
“We need to look at the human beings within people, looking for a
willingness in them to commit to the greater good. This willingness
might exist regardless of one’s favorite team, political party stance,
or the religion one belongs to. We must understand what someone is going
through internally, looking for any openness for inner peace and love,
really wanting to become an instrument of the higher self.”
Today's Daily Dharma: A Tempered Response
A Tempered Response
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Via Breitbart: I’m a Gay Man and Mass Muslim Immigration Terrifies Me
I’d hate to be thrown off a roof. I mean, imagine if I landed on this face. But that’s the future Europe and even the US are sleepwalking into if we let wacky progressive hand-wringers keep apologising for radical Islam and calling the rest of us racist for expressing our concern at mass immigration from cultures that care nothing for the rights of women and gays.
You want to see a “patriarchy”? Fly to Riyadh or Tehran. In the former, women can’t drive. (Alright, fair enough, they might be on to something there.) In the latter, gays are hanged, often from cranes in public places. ISIS is even more brutal, hurling fags off the roof after ritually humiliating them. In Raqqa you’ll see women and children sold for a few hundred dollars.These are the attitudes we’re importing by allowing millions of Muslims to settle in western Europe. Sorry if that sounds intolerant, but remember women and gays aren’t just treated like shit by ISIS, but mainstream Muslim culture, too. I can’t remember how many Muslim countries have the death penalty for homosexuality. What is it, ten? Eleven?
We now know that at least one of the Paris terrorists came into Europe posing as a “refugee.” This confirms all the worst fears of progressive commentators who were hoping the political Right was wrong about the security threat mass immigration presented.
But there’s a more general concern for liberal western democracies: it’s not just the jihadis, but the attitudes of ordinary Muslims that are a grave cause for concern, not just for the women being gang-raped in Malmö but homosexuals everywhere in Europe.
So you can accuse me of being “islamophobic” if you want, because no, I don’t want to be shouted at or spat on in the street. Maybe my gayness is standing in the way of a Muslim utopia… but I’m going to be selfish here and say maybe we don’t import all the people who want to murder me.
Read the full article here
Monday, November 16, 2015
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 16/11/2015
“A sua felicidade é de grande valia para a elevação da vibração do
planeta e para a resolução da crise planetária. E a felicidade está
intimamente relacionada com a manifestação da consciência amorosa. Por
isso trabalhe para manifestar essa consciência no seu mundo, no seu
universo de relações. Esse é o seu desafio.”
“Tu felicidad es de gran valor para la elevación de la vibración del planeta y para la resolución de la crisis planetaria. Y la felicidad está íntimamente relacionada con la manifestación de la consciencia amorosa. Por eso trabaja para manifestar esa consciencia en tu mundo, en tu universo de relaciones. Este es tu desafío.”
“Tu felicidad es de gran valor para la elevación de la vibración del planeta y para la resolución de la crisis planetaria. Y la felicidad está íntimamente relacionada con la manifestación de la consciencia amorosa. Por eso trabaja para manifestar esa consciencia en tu mundo, en tu universo de relaciones. Este es tu desafío.”
“Our happiness
has a great impact on elevating the planet’s vibration and on resolving
our planetary crisis. Happiness is intimately relatedto manifesting
loving consciousness. This is why we should work for this consciousness
to manifest in our world and in our sphere of relationships. It is our
challenge.”
Today's Daily Dharma: The Truth about Truth
The Truth about Truth
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Sunday, November 15, 2015
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 15/11/2015
“Estamos atravessando um momento difícil. A pobreza, a violência, a
corrupção... Tudo isso é um chamado para uma reflexão: onde nós estamos
errando? Chegou o momento de assumirmos a nossa responsabilidade. É
muito limitado pensar que toda a maldade do mundo está somente no
coração dos criminosos e dos terroristas. A verdade é que nós somos
co-criadores de tudo o que acontece. Nós criamos essa realidade.”
“Estamos atravesando un momento difícil. La pobreza, la violencia, la corrupción... Todo eso es un llamado para una reflexión: ¿Dónde nos estamos equivocando? Llegó el momento de asumir nuestra responsabilidad. Es muy limitado pensar que toda la maldad del mundo está solamente en el corazón de los criminales y de los terroristas. La verdad es que somos co-creadores de todo lo que sucede. Nosotros creamos esta realidad.”
“Estamos atravesando un momento difícil. La pobreza, la violencia, la corrupción... Todo eso es un llamado para una reflexión: ¿Dónde nos estamos equivocando? Llegó el momento de asumir nuestra responsabilidad. Es muy limitado pensar que toda la maldad del mundo está solamente en el corazón de los criminales y de los terroristas. La verdad es que somos co-creadores de todo lo que sucede. Nosotros creamos esta realidad.”
“We are passing through a very difficult moment. Poverty, violence, and
corruption are all calling us to reflect on where we are going wrong.
The moment has arrived for us all to take responsibility. It is very
limited to think that all the evil in the world only exists in the
hearts of criminals and terrorists. The truth is that we are co-creators
of everything that happens here on this plane. We create this reality.”
Today's Daily Dharma: How to Negotiate Conflict
How to Negotiate Conflict
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Saturday, November 14, 2015
Via back2stonewall: Is This The First “Gay” Movie Ever Made? – Different From Others (1919) – Video
We all know there is a HUGE selection of gay films available to watch. Many are recent while some began to come into mainstream media in the 1990’s. But is it possible that the first film ever to showcase a gay couple was made almost 100 years ago?
A few years ago the UCLA Film and Television Archives discovered a film that was produced in 1919 Germany. During that time in Germany, a Social Democratic government came into power allowing long-standing censorship laws to be lifted.
Acting quickly, filmmaker Richard Oswald joined with psychiatrist and gay-rights pioneer Magnus Hirschfeld to write and produce the first gay centered film.
Different From The Others was a 90 minute film centered around a famous violinist and his male student. This was a drama that showed a love affair between the two men. Although the film did not show any sex, it is very clear in the film that the two men were in love. Unfortunately, the film suffered many vicious attacks from the right-wing press calling Oswald a “perverted Jew”.
The complete physical copy of the film was lost except for 40 minutes that Hirschfeld edited into a 1926 documentary about tolerance.
As part of the preservation, the gay and lesbian film festival, Outfest, partnered with UCLA Film and Television Archives has reassembled those 40 minutes based on Oswald’s screenplay.
“To use the term ‘restore’ would be wrong,” says Jan-Christopher Horak, director of the archives. “There’s not enough footage for a real restoration. But what we have put together allows people to experience the remarkable culture that existed in Berlin in the 1920s, which was wiped out, of course, by the Nazis. As far as I know, this is the earliest document we have of gays and lesbians being represented on-screen.”This is an incredible piece of LGBT history. This may be the first example of LGBT people being depicted in film. This also may be one of the first steps towards the fight for LGBT equality.
Released in released in 1919 and starring Conrad Veidt and Reinhold Schünzel. You can watch Different From Others below:
Make the jump here to read the full and original here
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 14/11/2015
“O que está por trás de todos esses jogos de acusação, da
possessividade, do ciúme e da culpa? É você acreditar que a sua
felicidade depende do outro. Essa é a ilusão básica que faz de você um
escravo. A felicidade verdadeira é aquela que vem de dentro e não
depende de nada nem de ninguém. A liberdade e a felicidade caminham
sempre juntas.”
“¿Qué está por detrás de todos esos juegos de acusación, de la posesividad, de los celos y de la culpa? Es creer que tu felicidad depende del otro. Esa es la ilusión básica que hace de ti un esclavo. La felicidad verdadera es aquella que viene de adentro y no depende de nada ni de nadie. La libertad y la felicidad caminan siempre juntas.”
“¿Qué está por detrás de todos esos juegos de acusación, de la posesividad, de los celos y de la culpa? Es creer que tu felicidad depende del otro. Esa es la ilusión básica que hace de ti un esclavo. La felicidad verdadera es aquella que viene de adentro y no depende de nada ni de nadie. La libertad y la felicidad caminan siempre juntas.”
“What is behind all of these games of accusation, possessiveness,
jealousy, and guilt? It is the belief that our happiness depends on the
other. This is the basic illusion that makes us into a slave. True
happiness comes from within, and it doesn’t depend on anything or
anyone. Freedom and happiness always walk hand-in-hand.”
Today's Daily Dharma: The Chaos Under the Hood
The Chaos Under the Hood
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Friday, November 13, 2015
Via JMG: Anti-Gay Activist: Candidates Wouldn’t Have Attended “Death To Gays” Event If They’d Known In Advance
Anti-gay activist Michael Brown,
who makes a living writing a series of vile anti-LGBT books, says that
GOP candidates would never have attended Kevin Swanson’s “death to gays”
convention if they’d been warned in advance of Swanson’s views. Of
course we know that they WERE warned, over and over, especially Ted
Cruz, who was asked about his attendance by CNN’s Jake Tapper on the day
before the event began.
Brown’s claims come, rather laughably, via a column on BarbWire, a site best known here for also publishing columns by several advocates of executing homosexuals. His column comes in the form of an open letter to Rachel Maddow:
NOTE: I don’t link to BarbWire because that site sets off my malware alarms. Feel free to seek out the full column if you are confident that your virus protections are up to date.
PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Michael Brown claims gay activists want Christians thrown into prison. Michael Brown claims that Hillary Clinton is controlled by Satanic homosexuals. Michael Brown claims that the Bible is 100% true except for the parts he doesn’t like. Michael Brown leads a hate march of hundreds of Christians to disrupt Charlotte’s gay pride parade. Michael Brown debuts his book with a video using small children to ridicule gay families.
Brown’s claims come, rather laughably, via a column on BarbWire, a site best known here for also publishing columns by several advocates of executing homosexuals. His column comes in the form of an open letter to Rachel Maddow:
In light of the extreme rhetoric of that rally, I felt it was important to you remind you of what’s happening in the world that most of us live in. That rhetoric does not represent us in the least. It’s also important that you recognize that the presidential candidates who attended this rally (Bobby Jindal, Mike Huckabee, and Ted Cruz) were there to identify with the cause of religious liberty, and they too would categorically reject some of the words spoken at the conference (as well as reject some of the positions advocated by at least one of the speakers outside of the conference).
I also feel confident that, had they known in advance what Kevin Swanson, the conference’s chief organizer, planned to say, they would not have attended the rally. Rachel, as a conservative moral leader, I’ve sat at behind the scenes meetings of groups like Focus on the Family or the Family Research Council, and I never heard one hostile word spoken about gays or lesbians, let alone a word calling for violence or execution. Perish the thought! That’s because those things violate the very spirit of our faith, and, as I stated earlier, it is that faith that informs us and guides us, a faith that clings tightly to the words and example of Jesus.
NOTE: I don’t link to BarbWire because that site sets off my malware alarms. Feel free to seek out the full column if you are confident that your virus protections are up to date.
PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Michael Brown claims gay activists want Christians thrown into prison. Michael Brown claims that Hillary Clinton is controlled by Satanic homosexuals. Michael Brown claims that the Bible is 100% true except for the parts he doesn’t like. Michael Brown leads a hate march of hundreds of Christians to disrupt Charlotte’s gay pride parade. Michael Brown debuts his book with a video using small children to ridicule gay families.
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