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.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma September 18, 2012
When Pain Happens to Us
We suffer because we marry our instinctive aversion to pain to the deep-seated belief that life should
be free from pain. In resisting our pain by holding this belief, we
strengthen just what we're trying to avoid. When we make pain the enemy,
we solidify it. This resistance is where our suffering begins.
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- Ezra Bayda, "When It Happens to Us"
Monday, September 17, 2012
Via JMG: Toronto Blue Jay: Tu Ere Maricón
Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar took the field on Saturday with "You are a faggot" written in Spanish in his eye black.
Several messages seeking comment from Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos were not immediately returned. The Jays are expected to hold a news conference Tuesday afternoon in New York, before their game against the Yankees. Escobar, 29, was originally in Sunday’s starting lineup, but was scratched before game-time. A club spokesman said he had the flu. The photo generated a flurry of responses on Twitter, mostly critical of Escobar, some urging that he be suspended for the rest of the season, some urging fans to reserve judgment until “context” became available. Others speculated that he had been pulled from Sunday’s lineup as a disciplinary measure.Escobar was drafted into the Major League by Atlanta in 2005 and was traded to Toronto in 2010. Last year he signed a two-year contract extension worth $10M. Last year a Change.org petition was launched asking the Blue Jays to join the eight other MLB teams to make an It Gets Better video, but that has not yet happened.
Via Paulo Coelho / FB:
Feche algumas portas. Não por orgulho, incapacidade ou arrogância - mas simplesmente porque já não levam a lugar nenhum
Feche algumas portas. Não por orgulho, incapacidade ou arrogância - mas simplesmente porque já não levam a lugar nenhum
Via JMG: Romney Campaign Turns Right
Romney campaign advisers are telling Buzzfeed that their new strategy is to focus less on the economy and more on social issues.
This shifting campaign calculus has produced a split in Romney's message. His talk show interviews and big ad buys continue to offer a straightforward economic focus aimed at traditional undecided voters. But out stumping day to day is a candidate who wants to talk about patriotism and God, and who is increasingly looking to connect with the right's intense, personal dislike for President Barack Obama. Three Romney advisers told BuzzFeed the campaign's top priority now is to rally conservative Republicans, in hopes that they'll show up on Election Day, and drag their less politically-engaged friends with them.
The earliest, ambiguous signal of this turn toward the party's right was the selection of Rep. Paul Ryan as Romney's running mate, a top Romney aide said. "This is going to be a base election, and we need them to come out to vote," the aide said, explaining the pick. Another adviser, who also discussed strategy on the condition of anonymity, described the campaign's key targets as Republican activists: "The people who are going to talk to their neighbors, drive them to the polls on Election Day, and hold their hands on the way in to vote."
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma September 17, 2012
Living Beyond Words
Zen
practice is always about returning to that place where there are no
words. Early on, I realized that to use words, you have to live life
beyond words, before words, without words. Only then do you have the
right to speak.
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- Seido Ray Ronci, "No Words"
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Via Nalanda LGBT Buddhist Cultural and Resource Center / FB:
"Famine occurs as a result of greed, pestilence as a result of foolishness, and warfare as a result of anger." -The Buddha
Via JMG: FRC's Prayer Of The Day
As the FRC's hate fest continues in Washington DC, they've posted the below prayer request for God to stop LGBT rights in America.
The dedicated Christian staff at FRC does not hate homosexuals. Indeed, by publishing Biblical and scientific truth, our aim is redemptive. We pray for those caught in this destructive lifestyle for their liberty. We labor to advance public policy that strengthens faith, family and freedom, and physical, moral and spiritual safety for our children.(Via Good As You)
Please pray that God will give FRC and our friends courage ceaselessly to proclaim truth as it pertains to marriage and human sexuality. May God grant us favor in fashioning public policy that fosters marriage and human sexuality that reflects God's wisdom and righteousness! (Dt 17:18; Ps 5:11; Is 10:1; Mt 19:3 ff; Eph 5:22-33; Titus 1:8 ff; Heb 13:4; Jude 7)
JMG Photo Of The Day:
Matt Stopera has the caption: "Ricky Watson of Littleton, Colorado wipes tears from his eyes after he thanked U.S. President Barack Obama for repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' at a campaign rally in Golden, Colorado. Watson was kicked out of the Air Force 25 years ago for being gay."
Via JMG: SF's Gold's Gyms Keep Their Word
From an October 2010 JMG post:
San Francisco's four Gold's Gyms announced on Facebook today that they will be ending their franchise agreement with the company in response to the news that CEO Robert Rowling had donated millions to Karl Rove's anti-gay American Crossroads PAC. The locally-owned Gold's still have almost two years on their contract, but have vowed to "match every dollar" in their remaining franchise fees with "equal or greater" donations to LGBT causes.As you can see by the above photo, those four gyms have kept their word. As I wrote two years ago: "THAT, my buff kittens, is how you run a business." (Tipped by JMG reader Aaron)
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma September 16, 2012
Do Less, Accomplish More
We
are born with all the wisdom, playfulness, and imagination we need; we
just sometimes need a reminder to return to our senses and get out of
our own way. Let go of whatever fears, assumptions, distractions,
resistance, and busyness may be hampering you. Allow yourself to think
and feel and live that way.
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- Marc Lesser, "Do Less, Accomplish More"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through September 18th, 2012
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma September 16, 2012
Do Less, Accomplish More
We
are born with all the wisdom, playfulness, and imagination we need; we
just sometimes need a reminder to return to our senses and get out of
our own way. Let go of whatever fears, assumptions, distractions,
resistance, and busyness may be hampering you. Allow yourself to think
and feel and live that way.
|
- Marc Lesser, "Do Less, Accomplish More"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection through September 18th, 2012
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
For full access at any time, become a Tricycle Community Supporting or Sustaining Member
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma September 15, 2012
Letting Go of Getting
The first thing to let go of is trying to "get" love, and instead to give it. That's the secret of the spiritual path.
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- Ayya Khema, "What Love Is"
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Dalai Lama tells his Facebook friends that religion “is no longer adequate”
George Dvorsky, io9: This past Monday, people who have the Dalai Lama as a Facebook friend found this little gem in their newsfeed.
All the world’s major religions, with their emphasis on love, compassion, patience, tolerance, and forgiveness can and do promote inner values. But the reality of the world today is that grounding ethics in religion is no longer adequate. This is why I am increasingly convinced that the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion altogether.The Dalai Lama’s advice sounds startling familiar — one that echos the sentiment put forth by outspoken…
Read the original article »
Via Vida Rz / Adyashanti's photo / FB:
We are the one who are causing our suffering, and it’s we alone who can the find the way out.
Most addicts let go of their addiction when they’ve really seen that
there’s no possibility of being happy and being an addict…So when does
an addict actually stop? They tend to quit when they hit bottom, when
they’ve seen the wisdom of absolutely no escape, that nothing’s going to
work except facing themselves and their situation where they are.
…truthfully almost all of us are addicts and the deepest thing we’re
addicted to, our drug of choice, is actually suffering. The very thing
we want to be without is the thing we’re addicted to, and that’s
suffering. ~ Adyashanti
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