Flower of the Day: 07/28/14

"We waste a great part of our journey looking for someone to blame for our unhappiness, and believing that we are not good or worthy enough to be happy. This addiction to accusing others is so deeply rooted and can be so subtle that, when you least expect it, you find yourself accusing the other and believing that you are a helpless victim. But when you can transform this victim within you and free yourself from the lenses that distort your perception, you experience a major change in perspective: you stop seeing the glass half empty and start seeing it as half full."

 

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

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Heart of Mine | July 28, 2014

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Men ask the way to Cold Mountain
Cold Mountain: there’s no through trail.
In summer, ice doesn’t melt
The rising sun blurs in swirling fog.
How did I make it?
My heart’s not the same as yours.
If your heart was like mine
You’d get it and be right here. 

 

—Han-Shan and Gary Snyder, "Parting Words Summer 2014"

 

Via Daily Dharma

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Clear Insight | July 27, 2014

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A clear insight into the nature of physical forms and mental events will release you from all suffering and stress. 

 

—Upasika Kee Nanayon, "Tough Teachings to Ease the Mind"

 

Flower of the Day: 07/27/14

~ Worldwide current of Prabhu Ap Jago for peace in the Middle East ~
PRABHU AP JAGO, PARAMATMA JAGO, MERE SARVE JAGO, SARVATRA JAGO
 
“This mantra in itself only has an effect on the body, mind and spirit. But if one is aware of the meaning of the words and sings them with awareness, then this song is transformed into a prayer. It becomes a prayer from God to God. The meaning of this mantra is: ‘God awaken, God awaken in me, God awaken everywhere.’ But we can understand its meaning in other ways as well. Since we know that God is love, we are also saying: ‘May love awaken, may love awaken everywhere’, or still, ‘Open my heart, and with my heart open, I ask you to open the hearts of my brothers and sisters.”

Sri Prem Baba

Flower of the Day: 07/25/14

"Trust and freedom are intimately related to vulnerability. Human beings fear being vulnerable, which is why trust and freedom are rare phenomena. A leaf doesn’t know where the wind is blowing, but that doesn't stop it from going with the wind. If you are a leaf full of expectations, always trying to control the wind's direction, your life will become full of challenges. This controlling self is fear itself trying to make things go the way it imagines they should be. But this approach always ends up creating separation, destruction and suffering."

 

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

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A Place for Desire | July 25, 2014

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The ultimate aim of my own Buddhist practice is an indestructibly confident and happy state of life through which I can help suffering people. Finding a balanced place for desire in that pursuit helps keep me motivated to do the hard, personal work demanded of a Buddhist practitioner. 

 

—Jamie Liptan, "Chanting for Stuff" 

 

Flower of the Day: 07/24/14

"The mind tries to understand the truth, as it wants a rational answer to everything, so it actively seeks out these answers. But these answers only arrive when the mind quiets down. This is when you understand the truth, and when knowledge becomes wisdom. Knowledge only transforms into wisdom through experience, not through the mind." Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

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Real Devotion | July 24, 2014

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Real devotion only arises when you have a glimpse of emptiness, some glimpse of the nature of mind. Once you have some very precise insight as to how emptiness helps to alleviate suffering, then devotion is based on a real, embodied experience. 

 

—Kyabgön Phakchok Rinpoche, "Keys to Happiness"

 

PLEASE SHARE! SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE! In Tune - Kellee Maize

The Imitation Game - Official Trailer - The Weinstein Company

Flower of the Day: 07/23/14

"The deepest reason for our being here on this planet is to awaken love. This is what moves us in this world, what makes us get up in the morning, and keeps us alive. Some people are aware of this, and they experience the joy of being alive. If you are not aware of this, you feel anxious because you are unable to find any meaning in life. You have no reason to get up in the morning. This generates depression and the feeling that you don’t belong. Giving meaning to life is a choice: we choose what to do with our time. But we can only make this choice once we are mature enough to hear our heart's calling, which is always exclaiming, ‘Awaken love! Awaken in everyone and everywhere!’ "

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma:

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Non-Lying | July 23, 2014

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Fully facing, getting to know, and actually welcoming the various kinds of liar that I am gives me a taste of not excluding anything; a taste of no inside, no outside. The more I can do this with no outcome or gaining idea in mind, the more truth-speaking and selflessness can naturally arise. 

 

—Roshi Nancy Mujo Baker, "Non-Lying"

 

Via Gay Politics Report: White House bans LGBT discrimination by federal contractors

President Barack Obama on Monday signed an executive order protecting LGBT employees of federal contractors and the federal government from workplace discrimination. The order makes it illegal to fire or harass employees of federal contractors based on their sexual orientation or gender identity and also bans discrimination against transgender employees of the federal government. The order did not include a religious exemption opposed by LGBT groups. NBC News (7/21), The Huffington Post (7/21), Politico (Washington, D.C.) (7/21), The Washington Post (tiered subscription model)/PostPartisan blog (7/21)

Flower of the Day: 07/22/14

"Who am I? Who inhabits this body? Who is playing this game of life? Why am I here and what am I here for? Why am I being led to live certain experiences? Sensible people ask themselves these questions. This sensibility is where you begin remembering who you really are."

 

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma:

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Mindful of the Dharma | July 22, 2014

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We can be mindful of the dharma as we go about our lives. Then we notice our imperfections, but rather than becoming frustrated by our inability to rid ourselves of these shortcomings, we notice that our interdependence with all life also brings us kindness and joy, unconditionally.

 

—Rev. Patricia Kanaya Usuki, "The Great Compassion"

 

Via JMG: IDAHO: "Add The Four Words" Protesters Given Light Sentences By Cheering Judge

Via Idaho's Spokesman-Review:

The last of more than 100 Idahoans arrested this year in gay-rights protests at the state Capitol were sentenced in a four-hour-plus hearing Monday, and the judge had this message for them: “I respect your courage in doing what you did.” The protesters took part in “Add the 4 Words” demonstrations during this year’s session of the Idaho Legislature, standing silently, hands over their mouths, and refusing to leave until lawmakers agreed to hold a hearing on legislation to amend the Idaho Human Rights Act – or until they were arrested. No hearing was held. The protesters want the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” added to the types of discrimination banned by the act. Lawmakers have refused to hold a hearing on the proposed legislation for the past nine years.

The vast majority of the protesters, who were arrested only once, had their charges dismissed. Another two dozen activists who had been arrested multiple times were fined $10 per arrest plus court costs. (Tipped by JMG reader Javier)

RELATED: The entire national LGBT movement should heed the actions of our heroes in Idaho. Adding those four words (sexual orientation and gender identity) to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is our only way forward after the crumbling of ENDA.

Labels: activism, Add The Four Words, Idaho, LGBT righs

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: MINNESOTA: Vikings Coach Suspended For Anti-Gay Remarks, Kluwe Vindicated

Early this year former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe declared that Vikings Special Teams Coach Mike Priefer had called for rounding up all gay people, putting them on an island, and "nuking it until it glows." Kluwe has contended that his departure from the team came, at least in part, because Priefer objected to his nationally famous advocacy for LGBT rights. On Friday, the Vikings announced that their investigation showed that Priefer had indeed made the anti-gay remarks and that he has been suspended for three games. Via CBS Sports:

The Vikings said that three-game suspension could be reduced to two games provided that Priefer "also attend individualized anti-harassment, diversity and sexual-orientation sensitivity training." Priefer also apologized in a statement. "I owe an apology to many people -- the Wilf family, the Minnesota Vikings organization and fans, my family, the LGBT community, Chris Kluwe and anyone else that I offended with my insensitive remark," Priefer said. "I regret what has occurred and what I said. I am extremely sorry but I will learn from this situation and will work on educating others to create more tolerance and respect." The team announced that it would donate $100,000 to LGBT rights charitable and educational organizations.

The Vikings report also contains "negative information" about Kluwe, prompted him to threaten to release more "dirty" stories about the Vikings. He also said that his $10M lawsuit against the team will continue. The Vikings' action against Preifer is being denounced as "homofascism" across Teabagistan.

More from Think Progress:

The Vikings lawyers acknowledge that Kluwe was encouraged by Vikings management to scale back his activism in support of LGBT rights, but insist it was completely unrelated to the substance of his activism. The analysis claims that “players and management were concerned about the distraction that Kluwe’s activism was creating, as opposed to the nature and content of his activism.” Of course, it was the “nature and content of his activism” that ultimately created the “distraction.” It’s hard to image if Kluwe was speaking out to reduce childhood obesity that it would have become an issue.

Although the full investigation has not been released, the Vikings lawyers did make sure to include information that casts Kluwe in a negative light. Specifically, the analysis alleges that Kluwe made crude jokes about the Penn State rape scandal. Kluwe appeared to confirm the allegations were true on Twitter but that the jokes were pervasive throughout the entire team. No one claims Kluwe was fired for the jokes so it’s unclear what relevance they had to the investigation.

Labels: Chris Kluwe, language, LGBT rights, marriage equality, Minnesota, NFL, sports

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Scott Stabile / FB:

Flower of the Day: 07/21/14

"One of the mind's numerous traps is guilt. People easily go from being the victim, to feeling guilty and condemning themselves for being in a bad situation. This is one way of keeping oneself stuck in a hole. Self-responsibility is not blaming oneself; one instead recognizes what exactly lures one into a hole or towards some negative situation. Examples of these situations could be having financial difficulties, problems in a relationship, dissatisfaction with one’s professional life, or even an existential anguish."

 

Sri Prem Baba