Via Daily Dharma / July 8, 2016: Don't Try Hard, Try Soft

There’s no switch that turns on enlightenment. You move toward it with your effort. It’s an effort that might be unrecognizable to those who think “effort” means trying hard. You have to try soft—to be curious and open to whatever it is that results.

—Nancy Thompson, "Being Held by the Dharma"

Make it so!

Via O Tempo: Violência Homofóbica no País ganha Destaque no Exterior

Via FB:

Via JMG: Ohio Bakery: No BIRTHDAY Cakes For Gay Couples

July 7, 2016 Business, Civil Rights, LGBT News

From Toledo’s ABC affiliate:

It certainly wasn’t the text message Candice Lowe was expecting to get on her honeymoon. She says it came from the owner of Take the Cake Bakery in Toledo, canceling the order for her wife’s birthday cake.
Lowe says, “after she saw my Facebook page, she found out that I was in a same-sex marriage and she could not do my cake.”
“She did all of their effort to get a cake and gets a text message and has to tell me her surprise, it kind of ruined our day,” Amanda Lowe said of her wife.
“It wasn’t a wedding cake, it was just a birthday cake,” Candice said. “A birthday cake has nothing to do with your sexual preference.”

According to the local media, the owner of the bakery initially expressed interest in telling her side of the story, but she has since refused to comment. As usual in these situations, negative comments are pouring onto the bakery’s Facebook page.

More from The Inquisitor:

According to Equality Ohio, Toledo is one of 15 Ohio municipalities with an ordinance to prevent discrimination against LGBT couples and individuals. However, Cee Lowe has not discussed whether she is considering a lawsuit.

In an interview with 13 ABC, Lowe said she was simply disappointed that her order was canceled due to her sexual preference. She was also disturbed because Take the Cake owner LaGresha Fizer-Brown apparently “stalked” her Facebook page to gain that information.

Dan Savage reacts:

It’s not just our weddings they object to. It’s our existence. Refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding says, “I don’t think you people should be able to celebrate or solemnize your relationships because same-sex marriage is a sin.”

Refusing to bake a birthday cake for a lesbian says, “I don’t think your birth is something to celebrate because the world would be better off if you didn’t exist.”
Welcome to America — where bigoted bakers do background checks to avoid selling cakes to lesbians (because Jesus) but we don’t require merchants at gun shows to do background checks to avoid selling weapons of war to crazed terrorists, abusive spouses, and the mentally ill (because freedom).

Candice Lowe screen-capped the text message and posted it to her Facebook page.

Via Frontiers Media: One Billion People Worldwide Live with Marriage Equality

One Billion People Worldwide Live with Marriage Equality

14% of the world's population now live in countries with marriage equality laws

By Dominic Preston

New research has revealed that for the first time ever, more than a billion people live in countries with marriage equality laws. 

The analysis comes from Melbourne-based LGBT activist Tony Pitman, and reveals that the world crossed the billion-mark just a few weeks ago.

“The turning point came a few weeks ago when Colombia and then several Mexican states all achieved marriage equality within a few days.That pushed us up over a billion for the first time in history,” said Pitman. “When you think that the first ever same-sex marriages took place in the Netherlands in 2001, that means we’ve gone from zero to a billion in just 15 years. That’s an extraordinary rate of social progress. We’re witnessing an historic shift on a truly global scale.”

The U.S. is the most populous country to boast marriage equality, with 328 million citizens. It’s then followed by Brazil, with 206 million, and France, with 67 million. 

The U.K. comes next, though doesn’t quite boast full equality yet, as gay marriage is still illegal in Northern Ireland. Mexico also only has equality across some states, though President Enrique Peña Nieto has made it clear that he intends to legalize it across the country.

With a global population of roughly 7.3 billion, it means that just under 14% of people live with marriage equality — which could rise this year if Australia joins the other billion of us.

Read the original and more here

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

“Quando você sente gratidão, significa que chegou a um acordo com o passado mas, ainda é possível que algum obstáculo surja novamente. Mesmo quando você completa um ciclo, se sente abençoado e alinhado com a corrente afirmativa, é possível que ainda haja alguma dificuldade mas, nesse caso, a situação não tem relação com um imagem do passado. Trata-se de uma dificuldade que surge devido à lei de causa e efeito. Nesse caso, ao perceber a dificuldade, você se coloca presente e direciona a vontade para mudar a situação, e ela muda. É como uma poeira que acumulou no espelho, basta passar um pano para limpar.”

“Cuando sientes gratitud, significa que llegaste a un acuerdo con el pasado pero, es posible que aunsurjanuevamentealgún obstáculo. Incluso cuando completas un ciclo, te sientes bendecido y alineado con la corriente afirmativa, es posible que todavía hayaalguna dificultad,pero en este caso, la situación no tiene relación con una imagen del pasado. Se trata de una dificultad que surge debido a la ley de causa y efecto. En este caso, al percibir la dificultad, te colocaspresente y direccionas la voluntad para cambiar la situación, y cambia. Es como el polvo que se ha acumulado en el espejo, basta con pasarle un paño para limpiarlo.”

“When we are able to feel gratitude, it means that an understanding with the past has been reached but it is still possible for an obstacle to arise again. Even though, after the completion of a healing cycle, we may feel blessed and aligned with the positive current, it is still possible that some difficulty may arise. In this case, it is not necessarily due to an image from the past. This is a challenge that has arisen due to the law of cause and effect. As we become aware of the difficulty, we place ourselves in the present moment and direct our will to change the situation, and the situation changes. It is just like some dust that accumulates on the mirror. All we need to do is take a cloth and wipe away the dirt.”

Via Daily Dharma / July 7, 2016: Sincere Compassion

We lose humility because we feed our ego by being the lord of the universe, feeding everyone with love and compassion. That is a problem. I always emphasize meditating on compassion for a living person, your family, persons you care for, and then expanding on that.

—Gelek Rinpoche, "A Lama for All Seasons"

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.

Read the original or more here

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"

Via The Good Men Project: At the End of the Day, Love is Love

When faced with a world that can be cold and harsh, we all long for a warm protective embrace of another, regardless of gender.

It’s been a long day, a long week. I have not been my best self lately — with my students, my colleagues, and even myself. The inner critic’s voice seems to be turned to full volume. Looking in the mirror most mornings I am only capable of seeing the imperfections and scars. I am feeling my age as of late. The wrinkles on my face seem deeper, the gray hair more pronounced and out of control. New growths seem to be popping up on my skin, rough patches—barnacles—acquired from many years at life’s turbulent sea. I feel unattractive, undesirable, and to a certain extent, unloveable.

I first notice the scent of him, soap and deodorant and shampoo. It’s a scent I know now in my DNA.

I am standing at the kitchen sink now running a scouring sponge for the fiftieth time across a grease encrusted pan. The soapy water stings my dry chapped hands. I stare blankly out the kitchen window at the landscape, parched of color and detail. The wind sweeps up drifts of snow and scatters flakes in front of my view. They fail to sparkle in the dim gray light. As the snowflakes drift from sight I let out an audible sigh. Though the temperature inside is a comfortable warmth, the chilling wind outside seems to have penetrated through the walls and glass, anchoring itself deep in my bones and joints. I am no longer the idealistic, charismatic, adventurous, sensual person I used to be . . . at least not today.
- See more at: http://goodmenproject.com/featured-content/at-the-end-of-the-day-love-is-love-dg/#sthash.uUQsrpig.dpuf

 Make the jump here to read the full article and more

Via Daily Dharma / July 5, 2016: The Stories We Tell

To see stories as the problem is to blame the victim. Instead of getting rid of stories one can liberate them: storying more flexibly, according to the situation. Shunyata, “emptiness,” is a heuristic device to free us from wherever we are stuck.

— David Loy, "A Second Arrow Story"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 04/07/2016

“O que podemos considerar como êxito para o ser humano é a capacidade de identificar suas contradições ou insanidades, pois esse é o início da sanidade. A identificação da doença é o início da cura. Mas, entre a identificação e a cura da doença, existe um caminho e, às vezes, é um longo caminho. Às vezes, são necessários muitos procedimentos; às vezes é necessário mudar hábitos e reeducar muita coisa na sua vida. Esse é um processo atemporal porque a cura depende de muitos fatores. Então, não se preocupe com o tempo, apenas trabalhe para identificar suas contradições.”

“Lo que podemos considerar como éxito para el ser humano es la capacidad de identificar sus contradicciones o insania, porque este es el inicio de la sanidad. La identificación de la enfermedad es el inicio de la cura. Pero entre la identificación y la cura de la enfermedad, existe uncamino y,a veces, es un largo camino. A veces, se necesitan muchos procedimientos; a veces es necesario cambiar hábitos y reeducar muchas cosas en tu vida. Este es un proceso atemporal porque la cura depende de muchos factores. Entonces no te preocupes por el tiempo, sólo trabaja para identificar tus contradicciones.”

“What we can consider as a success for the human being is the capacity to identify one’s contradictions or insanity, because this is the beginning of sanity. Identifying the illness heralds the beginning of the cure. However, between the identification and the cure of an illness, there is a path one must travel and sometimes it is a very long path. Sometimes, it is necessary to undergo various procedures. It may be necessary to change one’s habits and to become reeducated regarding certain things in one’s life. This is a process that can not simply be measured in time because healing involves many factors. So, time should not be our concern. We simply work to identify our contradictions.”

Via Daily Dharma / July 4, 2016: Happy Interdependence Day!

It is when we begin to witness interdependence that we see the true importance of personal responsibility. Once we see that nothing happens in a vacuum, that’s the exact moment when we are properly inspired to become accountable for our own mind.

—Ethan Nichtern, "Awake with Others"

STEVE HAYES: Tired Old Queen at the Movies - THE WOMEN

Via JMG: CANADA: Justin Trudeau Becomes First Sitting Prime Minister To March In LGBT Pride Parade [VIDEO]

 

The Toronto Pride Parade just kicked off with Justin Trudeau making Canadian history as the first sitting Prime Minister to march in such an event. From the Ottawa Citizen: Other notable politicians marching include Ontario’s premier, Kathleen Wynne, and the mayor of Toronto, John Tory.  

Make the jump here to read the full story on JMG and much more