The solution does not lie in ‘returning to nature.’ We cannot return to nature, because we have never left it.
|
We
need to give up something. We can’t have it all. We can’t try to layer
wisdom on top of confusion. The spiritual path is about what we give up,
not what we get.
|
The sci-fi action movie “Ender’s Game” isn’t out until Nov. 1, but it’s already the target of an organized boycott. The group Geeks Out has launched an online protest and is asking people to “Skip Ender’s Game” because of anti-gay marriage comments made by Orson Scott Card, author of the 1985 book upon which the Lionsgate film is based. "Do not buy a ticket at the theater, do not purchase the DVD, do not watch it on-demand. Ignore all merchandise and toys," the site implores. “By pledging to Skip Ender’s Game, we can send a clear and serious message to Card and those that do business with his brand of anti-gay activism -- whatever he’s selling, we’re not buying."The boycott and petition site is here. (Tipped by JMG reader Neil)
Technology’s
value is the value we give it as a society and as individuals, in
millions of large and small decisions that are made every day. It
reshapes our world into something that can seem unfamiliar and even
strange. But we are still in human territory—territory we can navigate
with human wisdom and insight, should we choose to do so.
|
We
reassure ourselves that the changes we’ve made in Buddhism are all for
the best—that Buddhism has always adapted itself to every culture it
enters, and we can trust it to adapt wisely to the West. But this treats
Buddhism as if it were a conscious agent—a wise amoebic force that
knows how to adapt to its environment in order to survive. Actually,
Buddhism isn’t an agent, and it doesn’t adapt. It gets adapted—sometimes
by people who know what they’re doing, sometimes by people who don’t.
Just because a particular adaptation survives and prevails doesn’t mean
that it’s genuine dharma. It may simply appeal to the desires and fears
of its target audience.
|
“My message is that lovemaking is good,” Dr. David Weeks told the British Psychological Society. Former head of old age psychology at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Weeks said he spent a decade prying into the private lives of thousands of men and women of all ages. Weeks found that sexual pleasure is a “crucial factor” in preserving youth.
How? Lovemaking releases the human growth hormone, which helps keep the skin elastic and thus less likely to wrinkle, he said. Sex also released endorphins, which are the body’s feel-good chemicals and natural painkillers that ease anxiety and make it easier to sleep, Weeks added. Nookie boosts blood circulation, which is good for that heart and gives skin that healthy glow, the good doctor said. Finally, sex burns fat and releases other chemicals that bolster the immune system, he said.
Presence
has no measurable product except positive feelings, feelings of
support, intimacy, and happiness. When we stop being busy and productive
and switch to just being still and aware, we ourselves will also feel
support, intimacy, and happiness, even if no one else is around.
|
A
sense of dissatisfaction is regarded as an essential prerequisite for
progress on the Buddhist path. Far from seeking to become somehow
'nonjudgmental,' the meditator is instructed to judge all the objects of
ordinary experience as scarred by three marks: impermanence, suffering,
and no self.
|
As
we open and empty ourselves, we come to experience an
interconnectedness, the realization that all things are joined and
conditioned in an interdependent arising. Each experience and event
contains all others.
|
The Supreme Court decision this week striking down the Defense of Marriage Act means a lot of things to a lot of people. But to Edith Windsor, the plaintiff who brought the case, the landmark ruling also means she will finally get back the $638,000 in estate tax payments she had to make to the IRS and to New York State after her spouse -- Thea Spyer -- died in 2009. Windsor will also be paid interest on her refunds. Paul, Weiss, the law firm that represents her, estimates she will receive about $45,000 in interest on her federal refund and $25,000 on her New York State refund. The other good news for the 83-year-old Windsor? Her lawyers won't be getting a cut because Paul, Weiss took the case pro bono.
Fear
diminishes me, makes me no bigger than that part of me which fears.
Fearful, I am too small to contain thought, too small to hold real
compassion. Protecting myself, I will hurt others.
|
