Flower of the Day: 07/14/14

“The world is full of distractions that can completely overwhelm you. The mind can easily be dragged down and fall into decay. This is the nature of the world. It is your work to learn how to walk the fine line of living in the world without getting lost in it. This is the path of the yogi, the one who becomes Lord of himself. On this path, it is important that you be able to rein in your mind in order to re-inform it. To this end, I suggest practicing silence daily, even if it’s for short periods of time.”

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

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The Results of Practice | July 14, 2014

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One becomes an ordinary person, but in an extraordinary way. Your words are still there, your hang-ups may still be there, you still have to deal with all your karmic baggage and so on, but you see it in a totally different light. You’re at peace with yourself, at peace with the world. Not in a complacent sense, but in the sense that you can simply devote yourself to a life of compassion.

 

—L.F. Habito, “Other Fingers Pointing to the Moon”

 

20 Misconceptions About Sex - mental_floss on YouTube (Ep.212)

Via JMG: World Health Organization: ALL Gay Men Should Be On Anti-Retroviral Drugs

A stunning declaration from the World Health Organization:

The World Health Organization has suggested for the first time that all men who have sex with men should take antiretroviral medicine, warning that HIV infection rates among gay men are exploding around the world. In guidelines published Friday, it said that it “strongly recommends men who have sex with men consider taking antiretroviral medicines as an additional method of preventing HIV infection.” Similar guidelines were issued by the U.S. in May.

In May, the CDC expanded its own recommendations, saying that anybody at risk for HIV, not just gay men, should be taking Truvada.

Labels: HIV, PrEP, science, Truvada, WHO

Reposted from Joe Jervis

JMG Editorial Of The Day

From the editorial board of the New York TImes:

President Obama should resist a pressure campaign by some religious groups to weaken a promised executive order that would prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against gay men, lesbians and transgender people in their hiring practices.

Emboldened by the Supreme Court’s addlebrained Hobby Lobby decision, several groups wrote to Mr. Obama on July 1 asking him to allow federal contractors to fire or refuse to hire workers based on their religious objections to a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

This is not a question of religious freedom. It is a question of whether to allow religion to be used as an excuse to discriminate in employment against a particular group of people. Many states already have laws protecting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers. There is no such federal law, so the presidential order (promised but not yet produced) would extend those rules to companies that receive federal contracts in states without those kinds of anti-bias laws, protecting millions more people.

Mr. Obama’s resolve is being tested. There is no good reason to give religious employers a special privilege to inflict undeserved pain by, for example, refusing to hire someone to work on a government-backed project just because she happens to be a lesbian, or firing a capable employee who marries someone of the same sex.

(Tipped by JMG reader Win)

Labels: Barack Obama, Christianists, employment, executive orders, feds, Hobby Lobby, LGBT rights, New York Times, Obama administration, religion

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Ian Thorpe On Coming Out

Via the Guardian:

On Sunday night on Australian television Thorpe faced Sir Michael Parkinson to overturn what he said had become the "big lie" in his life. "What happened was, I felt that the lie had become so big that I didn't want people to question my integrity and a little bit of ego comes into this," Thorpe said in a 90-minute interview on the Ten network. "I didn't want people to think that I had lied about everything." Now 31, the swimmer said the words he had been avoiding: "I'm not straight and this is only something that very recently – we're talking in the past two weeks – I've been comfortable telling the closest people around me." His mother was shocked; his friends less so. But everyone had embraced him and he was relieved. When the interview goes to air in Australia, he said, I can finally "breathe out".

(Via Towleroad)

Labels: Australia, coming out, gay athletes, Ian Thorpe

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Robert Reich / FB

The real dividing line in America today isn’t between conservatives and liberals or between Democrats and Republicans. It’s between the haters and the big-hearted. The haters direct their venom not just at child refugees seeking asylum from the drug war we created, but also at gays who want to marry, African-Americans who want to vote and exercise their other rights of citizenship, women who seek abortions, or even women in general, Latinos who want their children to be taught in Spanish, immigrants in general, Muslims, Jews, government “bureaucrats,” the poor and needy, anyone who dares suggest a required background check before buying guns, people they call “liberals” or “socialists” or “communists,” even the President of the United States. The haters are enflamed by hate-mongers in the media who blame the nation’s troubles on “them.” The haters are loud and angry; they yell and wave their signs before the cameras. But the haters are not America. They are a small and vocal minority. Most Americans are generous and welcoming, decent and kind-hearted. We are the silent majority, who have been silent too long.

 - Robert Reich

Via Daily Dharma

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Room for Everything | July 13, 2014

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Noticing the space around people and things provides a different way of looking at them, and developing this spacious view is a way of opening oneself. When one has a spacious mind, there is room for everything.

 

—Ajahn Sumedho, “Noticing Space”

 

Flower of the Day: 07/13/14

“It is important to differentiate between vertical and horizontal religions. Vertical religion is spirituality, the path towards enlightenment. It represents the deepest meaning of the word ‘religion,’ which is the reconnection of the individual soul with the Absolute. This union is only possible when one is able to follow the orders given by one’s own heart. Horizontal religion is a creation of the human mind in order to meet a social need. In this sense, I do not work with religion. I never say do this or that. I simply suggest that you become silent, receptive and increase your perception enough to notice the commandment that comes from within.”

Sri Prem Baba

Flower of the Day: 07/12/14

“Misunderstanding the true nature of the master teacher is a great obstacle. The master is not a human nor a body – this is but a limited understanding of spiritual reality. The spiritual master is life itself, your true self. By surrendering to the guidance of a master, you surrender to the flow of life and to the truth of who you are. You surrender to the heart.”

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

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Awareness Breaks the Spell | July 12, 2014

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Seeing attachment, aversion, expectation, and disappointment as they arise allows the mind to understand and to disengage from them. Awareness breaks the spell; the mind is no longer enchanted when we see the defilement for what it is. When a defilement has no hold on the mind, suffering ceases.

 

—Steve Armstrong, “Got Attitude?”

 

Via Daily Dharma

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On the Cushion | July 11, 2014

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Our practice is to meet life exactly as it is and to notice whatever fear, anger, or doubt gets in the way of direct intimate contact with this moment, bringing attention to that as well. Rather than changing something or seeking to get somewhere we imagine we should be, practice is about seeing clearly exactly how things really are and how we relate to them.

 

—Douglas Phillips, "Q&A with Douglas Phillips"

 

Via JMG: Michael Sam For Out Magazine

Labels: gay athletes, Michael Sam, Out Magazine

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: ARGENTINA: Gay Activists To Stage Kiss-In During Visit By Vladimir Putin

 

The kiss-in will take place today outside the Russian embassy. Source.

Labels: activism, Argentina, Russia, Vladimir Putin

Reposted from Joe Jervis

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.

Labels: Colorado, maps, marriage equality

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

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Liberation through Insight | July 10, 2014

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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?"

 

Nothing Lasts Forever (1984)

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