Thursday, July 10, 2014
Via JMG: Updated Marriage Map
I think the reason that Nebraska and Mississippi
are lacking the ticking clock is because the lawsuits there only ask
for recognition of out-of-state marriages. According to the linked
recaps at Freedom To Marry, both those cases have been dismissed but the
plaintiffs plan to appeal. I'm sure some of you folks can fill us in.
Is anybody else starting to lose track of all this? It's a good thing,
right? I really do like this guy's maps.
Ewposted from Joe Jervis
Flower of the Day: 07/10/14
“Laziness
is a psychological matrix created by blocked feelings and repressed
energy. Laziness can manifest in the form of paralysis, or even as
compulsive action. But in this case, the compulsion to do is a
distraction that prevents you from doing what really needs to be done.
There is something stopping you from accomplishing precisely that which
is most important to you. So you are overcome with guilt about not doing
what your consciousness demands. When this happens, it is important to
open yourself up to understanding what is paralyzing you. In this way
you begin a healing work that will lead you to confront the points of
blockage that are robbing you of your energy and willpower.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daiy Dharma
Liberation through Insight | July 10, 2014
The whole point of Buddha-dharma is
that liberation comes not by believing in the right set of tenets or of
dogmatic assertions, or even necessarily by behaving in the right way.
It’s insight, it’s wisdom, it’s knowing the nature of reality. It is
only truth that will make us free.
—B. Alan Wallace, "What is True Happiness?"
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Flower of the Day: 07/09/14
“Anxiety,
sadness, depression and a constant anguish are all symptoms of that
aspect of pride known as perfectionism. This is an aspect of the
idealized self that is addicted to self-criticism and is always
condemning and judging. The idealized self is a cruel tyrant who does
not accept mistakes. We have to be the best of the best; the most
precious stone. Thus, we begin to compulsively do things, and put
pressure on ourselves demanding all sorts of things, as a constant form
of self-punishment. This prevents us from relaxing enough to notice that
we are already a diamond. We already are the most precious stone there
is, and it is precisely this compulsion to prove something to the world
that prevents us from truly shining.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Complete Engagement | July 8, 2014
Only one thing
made him happy
and now that
it was gone
everything
made him happy.
made him happy
and now that
it was gone
everything
made him happy.
—Leonard Cohen, "Leonard Koan"
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Flower of the Day: 07/08/14
“Do
not feed your sadness – this is unnecessary suffering created by the
victim trying to sneak in through the back door. True pain doesn’t last
long. You get in touch with it, and soon after it passes. Oftentimes,
sadness is a messenger that prepares you for getting in touch with the
deep-rooted pain that leads to your healing. This is a healthy sadness,
while an unhealthy sadness is always linked to an accusation. It is born
out of anger; and although anger’s role in the divine game is to take
you somewhere, anger can also be a major distraction. In most cases,
anger is merely an escape from this sadness that could get you in touch
with the primordial pain.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Complete Engagement | July 8, 2014
Ultimately, from the point of view of
the dharma—at least, my understanding of it—cultivating your mind
through meditation is also social radicalism. Because if the goal is to
produce more people who are manifesting the attributes of
enlightenment—namely, wisdom and compassion—then that, by necessity, is a
transformation of the social situation as well.
—Richard Reoch, "The Path of Complete Engagement"
Monday, July 7, 2014
Via JMG: Russian Priest: The World Cup Is A Homosexual Abomination Because Shoes
While thousands of Russian fans were left devastated by their team's early exit from the World Cup tournament, one Orthodox priest has openly rejoiced at their failure, denouncing the contest as a "homosexual abomination." Priest Alexander Shumsky seems to have taken particular exception to the brightly colored footwear on display in Brazil, writing in his column on Christian website Russian People's Line that players who wear green, yellow, pink or blue shoes helped promote the "gay rainbow." "Wearing pink or blue shoes, [the players] might as well wear women's panties or a bra," Shumsky wrote, adding that he was also offended by the "unthinkable" hairstyles of some of the players in Brazil.(Tipped by JMG reader Kevin)
George Takei: Why I love a country that once betrayed me
Publicado em 04/07/2014
When he was a child, George Takei
and his family were forced into an internment camp for
Japanese-Americans, as a "security" measure during World War II. 70
years later, Takei looks back at how the camp shaped his surprising,
personal definition of patriotism and democracy.
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TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.
Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at http://www.ted.com/translate
Follow TED news on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tednews
Like TED on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TED
Subscribe to our channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TEDtalksD...
Via Daily Dharma
Thinking Like a Mountain | July 7, 2014
How do you watch a mountain? Nothing’s
going to happen in any time frame that you can consider—except the light
changes on it. And so that was my mountain watching. The changing light
on the mountain was like the changing thoughts in my mind, just these
little shifting shadows, that’s all that it is.
—Gary Snyder, “Thinking Like a Mountain”
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
The Everyday Sublime | July 6, 2014
To experience the everyday sublime one
needs to dismantle piece by piece the perceptual conditioning that
insists on seeing oneself and the world as essentially comfortable,
permanent, solid, and mine. It means to embrace suffering and conflict,
rather than to shy away from them, to cultivate the radical attention
(yonisomanasikara) that contemplates the tragic, changing, empty, and
impersonal dimensions of life, rather than succumbing to fantasies of
self-glorification or self-loathing.
—Stephen Batchelor, “The Everyday Sublime”
Flower of the Day: 07/06/14
“Gratitude
opens the portals to ascension. It has the great power of illuminating
your life. When gratitude blossoms, the idea of the victim disappears
from one’s system. All complaints, all self-criticisms, and all the
games of accusation fall away. Gratitude is an immunizing agent that
protects you against evil. It increases trust and opens the paths
towards the Infinite. One can seek gratitude, but one cannot create it
with the mind. Gratitude blooms when you are mature enough for it.”
Sri Prem Baba
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Via AUSTRALIA: New Study Says Kids Of Gay Parents FB:
Via ABC News Australia:
Children of same-sex parents enjoy better levels of health and wellbeing than their peers from traditional family units, new Australian research suggests. In what they described as the largest study of its type in the world, University of Melbourne researchers surveyed 315 same-sex parents and 500 children about their physical health and social wellbeing. Lead researcher Doctor Simon Crouch said children raised by same-sex partners scored an average of 6 per cent higher than the general population on measures of general health and family cohesion. "That's really a measure that looks at how well families get along, and it seems that same-sex-parent families and the children in them are getting along well, and this has positive impacts on child health," Dr Crouch said.Read the full study. (Tipped by JMG readers Alan and Str8 Grandmother)
Via Daily Dharma
Forget the Self | July 5, 2014
To forget the self is to be enlightened
by all things. Buddhist teaching suggests that the Self is an illusion,
and identity is an ongoing confluence of forces. That means that, very
literally, our sense of self is shaped by the world around us.
—Richard Eskow, "DNA Sutra"
Flower of the Day: 07/05/14
“Mental
equanimity means placing one’s mind on God. Setting one’s mind on God
is like putting down your baggage on the train’s luggage rack and
relaxing along the journey. But the mind prefers to carry the burden of
the baggage because leaving it on the rack requires trust. At the
nucleus of the conditioned mind is fear, and one of the main aspects of
fear is control. The ways of God are mysterious, and it’s not always
possible to understand what God has planned for you. So one creates many
expectations about one’s life and hopes that God will meet them. Yet
only God understands our hearts and knows what we really need. This is
why we must become aware of our lack of trust that has caused us to
carry such a heavy burden.”
Sri Prem Baba
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