Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma February 1, 2013

The Simple Act of Attention

Empathy naturally leads to compassionate action. But simple inattention kills empathy, let alone compassion. So the first step in compassion is to notice the other's need. It all begins with the simple act of attention.

- Daniel Goleman, “I Feel Your Brain”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through February 2nd, 2013
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Via Give a Damn Campaign / FB:

Via JMG: Nielsen: Gays Shop & Spend More

Nielsen has come to the shocking conclusion that gay men go shopping a lot.

American same-sex partnered households have significant spending power. In fact, same-sex partnered households make 16 percent more shopping trips than the average U.S. household each year (173 average shopping trips vs. 149 average shopping trips for total U.S. households), according to a recent Nielsen report measuring the shopping habits of U.S. lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) households. The additional shopping trips translate into a marked difference in total spending on consumer packaged goods (CPG). Same-sex partnered households spend an average of $8,651 each year on CPG, compared with $6,898 for the average U.S. household. Within the LGBT community, male same-sex partnered households shop more frequently than female same-sex households (182 trips vs. 163 trips), raising male same-sex household annual CPG spending to $8,943—nearly 30 percent higher than the average U.S. household.

But the below chart that compares where gay men and lesbians exceed the national purchasing average is more interesting, yes?  The linked article doesn't make it clear, but one presumes the overall average for each of the below categories is 100.

(Tipped by JMG reader Thomas)

Labels: LGBT culture, Nielsen, retail

Reposted from Joe

Via FB

Via JMG: Syron: Here (Official Music Video)

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	There are thousands upon thousands of students who have practiced meditation and obtained its fruits. Do not doubt its possibilities because of the simplicity of the method. If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it? - The Practice of Meditation, Zen Master Dogen More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma January 31, 2013

Mature Wisdom

The test of how far your wisdom has matured lies in the strategic skill with which you can keep yourself from doing things that you like to do but that would cause long-term harm, and the skill with which you can talk yourself into doing things that you don’t like to do but that would lead to long-term well-being and happiness. In other words, mature wisdom requires a mature ego.

- Thanissaro Bhikkhu, “Hang On to Your Ego”

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Via JMG: Conference Of Catholic Bishops Files SCOTUS Briefs On DOMA & Prop 8

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops today filed Supreme Court briefs against the overturn of DOMA and Proposition 8.
From their DOMA brief:

The USCCB brief in United States v. Windsor says that “there is no fundamental right to marry a person of the same sex.” The brief also states that “as defined by courts ‘sexual orientation’ is not a classification that should trigger heightened scrutiny,” such as race or ethnicity would. It added that “civil recognition of same-sex relationships is not deeply rooted in the Nation’s history and tradition—quite the opposite is true. Nor can the treatment of such relationships as marriages be said to be implicit in the concept of ordered liberty, such that neither liberty nor justice would exist if they were sacrificed.” USCCB argued that previous Supreme Court decisions “describing marriage as a fundamental right plainly contemplate the union of one man and one woman.” The USCCB also cautioned that a decision invalidating DOMA “would have adverse consequences in other areas of law.”

From their Proposition 8 brief:

“While this Court has held that laws forbidding private, consensual, homosexual conduct between adults lack a rational basis, it does not follow that the government has a constitutional duty to encourage or endorse such conduct. Thus, governments may legitimately decide to further the interests of opposite-sex unions only. Similarly, minimum standards of rationality under the Constitution do not require adopting the lower court’s incoherent definition of ‘marriage’ as merely a ‘committed lifelong relationship,’ which is wildly over-inclusive, empties the term of its meaning, and leads to absurd results.” “Marriage, understood as the union of one man and one woman, is not an historical relic, but a vital and foundational institution of civil society today,” the USCCB brief states.

(Via Zack Ford @ Think Progress)

Labels: Catholic Church, child abuse, cults, DOMA, marriage equality, molestation, Proposition 8, SCOTUS, UCCB, Vatican

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Super Gay Bet: Blade Vs B.A.R.

From Washington Blade reporter Phil Reese:

Editors and publishers of the Washington Blade and the Bay Area Reporter, an LGBT newspaper in San Francisco, announced this week the terms of a bet for their respective teams playing in Sunday’s Super Bowl championship in New Orleans. If the Ravens win, BAR will send the Blade staff a lunch of dungeness crabs and a $1,000 donation to the local LGBT charity of the Blade’s choosing. If the 49ers win, the Blade will send BAR’s staff a lunch of Chesapeake Bay blue crabs and a $1,000 donation to a San Francisco LGBT charity of BAR’s choosing. “When Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage in 2004, the Patriots won the Super Bowl. When New York legalized marriage in 2011, the Giants won the Super Bowl. In 2012, Maryland passed marriage equality, so it’s our turn,” said Blade editor Kevin Naff, who lives in Baltimore. “Go Ravens!”

I suppose it should be pointed out that DC legalized same-sex marriage in 2009 and that the Redskins finished last in their division that year, having won only four games all season. Yes, I had look that up. Go sportsball! Go local/regional team! I like the ones in the aubergine blouses!

Labels: Bay Area Reporter, Super Bowl, Washington Blade

Reposted from Joe

Via Nalanda LGBT Buddhist Cultural and Resource Center / FB:

‎"Happiness arises as a result of different causes and conditions. If you harm someone out of anger, you may feel some superficial satisfaction, but deep down you know it was wrong. Your confidence will be undermined. However, if you have an altruistic attitude, you’ll feel comfortable and confident in the presence of others."    - His Holiness, the Dalai Lama

Via 2012 Healing the Planet 2012 / FB:

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

 

 Image source : www.facebook.com/DalaiLama

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Regard him as one who points out treasure, the wise one who seeing your faults rebukes you. Stay with this sort of sage. For the one who stays with a sage of this sort, things get better, not worse. - Dhammapada, 6, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma January 30, 2013

Unraveling Desire

The truth is that we like our preferences and prejudices, we like defining ourselves in terms of what we like and don’t like. It is precisely desire’s entanglement with the sense of self that makes this all so difficult to unravel. Fortunately, there is a relatively easy and accessible way to counter the powerful forces of desire: the cultivation of equanimity. Every moment of mindfulness is also a moment of equanimity.

- Andrew Olendzki, "The Buddha's Smile"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through January 31st, 2013
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How Does Captain America Feel About Gay Marriage?

Chris Evans is Captain America. In real life, his brother is gay. He's not ashamed of his brother. But he is ashamed of America. When the guy who literally wears the American flag on his sleeve is ashamed of his own country, it's time for things to change.

 

Share this if you think he's right about where we'll be in 10 years. 

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	The mind is like the wick of a lamp illumined only through its own radiance. - Milarepa, "Drinking the Mountain Stream" More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma January 29, 2013

Understanding and Respect

Learning about other faiths helps us to understand, and to live side by side with, differing views and belief systems. To remain in one tradition without absorbing the benefits of the others seems disrespectful to the gifts that the Buddha passed down to us. Only through mutual understanding and respect can we successfully implement what the Buddha taught.

- Scott Hunt, “Scott Hunt’s Seaworthy Dream In Two Parts”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through January 30th, 2013
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Via JMG: HRC Launches New Coalition: Businesses For The Repeal Of DOMA

The Human Rights Campaign today announced a new coalition of corporations that is endorsing the Respect For Marriage Act, which would legislatively repeal DOMA.

The Business Coalition for DOMA Repeal is a group of leading U.S. employers that support legislative efforts to repeal the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act through the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act. These Coalition members recognize that DOMA is bad for business and have pledged their support for RMA, which restores the rights of all lawfully married couples—including same-sex couples – to receive the benefits of marriage under federal law.

Among the first companies to join the coalition are A|X Armani Exchange, Aetna Inc., Biogen Idec, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Diageo North America, eBay, Electronic Arts, Kimpton Hotels, Marriott International, Massachusetts Mutual Life, Replacements, Ltd., Sun Life Financial, and Thomson Reuters.

Labels: activism, business, Congress, DOMA, HRC, marriage equality, Respect For Marriage Act

Reposted from Joe

Via O Bosque de Berkana / FB:

''O prazer é sempre derivado de algo fora de você, enquanto que a alegria surge de dentro. O passado não tem poder sobre o momento presente. Você não pode encontrar-se, indo para o passado. Você pode encontrar a si mesmo, vindo para o presente.

 

Perceba profundamente que o momento presente é tudo o que você tem. Faça do Agora o foco principal da sua vida.''

Eckhart Tolle
Localização - Sorrento: Valle dei Mulini (Sorrento,Campania,Italy) —

 

God's Perfect Plan