Saturday, October 18, 2014
JMG HomoQuotable - Matt Stolhandske
Labels: Christianists, HomoQuotable, LGBT rights, Matt Stolhandske, Oregon, public accommodations, religion, WaPo
Flower of the Day: 10/18/14
“Many
of the games of our lower nature which cause destruction in our lives
and in the lives of those around us come from our inability to feel
gratitude. Ingratitude results from a lack of understanding about the
game of life. This feeds the victim within us who sees fault in
absolutely everything, not just in difficult unpleasant situations, but
also in the good things of life. One of the main characteristics of the
victim is complaining and lamenting. This turns into an addiction which
is oftentimes more powerful than even the addiction to chemical
substances.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Defining Emptiness | October 18, 2014
Emptiness simply means an absence of
reactivity. When you relate to somebody, there's not you and me
and your little mind running its little comparisons and judgments. When
those are gone, that is emptiness.
- Charlotte Joko Beck, "Life's Not a Problem"
Friday, October 17, 2014
Flower of the Day: 10/17/14
“We
see reality subjectively, since we look at it through colored lenses
that distort our perception. These lenses are our mistaken ideas and
false beliefs. For example, say that your mother was betrayed and
therefore became resentful. She might have then transmitted her belief
to you that ‘men cannot be trusted because they betray you.’
Consequently, you would end up attracting men who cheat on you, because
your energy was vibrating at this frequency and these beliefs acted like
magnets. When you look at men you always become suspicious, and this
activates the worst in them. That’s how we confirm our beliefs and
maintain our limited perception of reality.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
The Principle of Renunciation | October 17, 2014
The principle of renunciation is not to
encourage a state of lack, but to establish as complete a state of
simplicity as possible.
- Ajaan Amaro, "Just Another Thing in the Forest"
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Flower of the Day: 10/16/14
“Maturity
comes from comprehension. Growing spiritually means increasing your
understanding of things. A mature person is someone who understands, and
this understanding allows him or her to accept the game of life. In
this way, they can experience peace and silence, calmness and
tranquility.”
Sri Prem Baba
A buddy of mine posted this on another post:
In relation to a discussion about the Catholic Church possibly becoming more tolerant my Gay Baha'i amigo, Gary wrote:
In the end, all the very conservative religions and political parties are going to have to make a decision whether they want to cater to old people who are dying off or young people of the progressive future. The answer is, of course, obvious, but not to them. Because until now, the older fearful bigoted population was larger and more powerful. So they unwisely catered to that group (short term thinking, which also infects western capitalists). For greedy short-term easy gain, they made the worst possible long-term choice, to be conservative rather the progressive (which is what religion is supposed to be). And in doing so, they have made themselves irrelevant. And they may very well go out of business because of their refusal to adapt to an evolving world. Just like the guy who refused to stop betting on buggy whips when the automobile was first introduced. My own life is a perfect example of this huge mistake made by religion. My religion belittled and scorned me, despite my lifelong devotion to it. So I drifted away to be my true self, at a time when most of society also scorned me. And now all these years later, much of society has come around to accept me, but not my religion. In the meantime, my ordeal taught me I actually prefer my life without the religion. My life is actually much better. So now, even if the religion were to catch up with society, I would not go back. I am just one example. I can only imagine how many others have been similarly impacted by this process. It's too bad religions and political conservatives got themselves caught up on the wrong side of history in the gay civil rights movement, but they did, and they did knowing full well what the repercussions would be and they were also sufficiently warned; they did it anyway. They now will pay the price.
In the end, all the very conservative religions and political parties are going to have to make a decision whether they want to cater to old people who are dying off or young people of the progressive future. The answer is, of course, obvious, but not to them. Because until now, the older fearful bigoted population was larger and more powerful. So they unwisely catered to that group (short term thinking, which also infects western capitalists). For greedy short-term easy gain, they made the worst possible long-term choice, to be conservative rather the progressive (which is what religion is supposed to be). And in doing so, they have made themselves irrelevant. And they may very well go out of business because of their refusal to adapt to an evolving world. Just like the guy who refused to stop betting on buggy whips when the automobile was first introduced. My own life is a perfect example of this huge mistake made by religion. My religion belittled and scorned me, despite my lifelong devotion to it. So I drifted away to be my true self, at a time when most of society also scorned me. And now all these years later, much of society has come around to accept me, but not my religion. In the meantime, my ordeal taught me I actually prefer my life without the religion. My life is actually much better. So now, even if the religion were to catch up with society, I would not go back. I am just one example. I can only imagine how many others have been similarly impacted by this process. It's too bad religions and political conservatives got themselves caught up on the wrong side of history in the gay civil rights movement, but they did, and they did knowing full well what the repercussions would be and they were also sufficiently warned; they did it anyway. They now will pay the price.
Dazzled by Technology | October 16, 2014
People today are dazzled by advances in
science and technology and take human progress to be identical with
scientific discovery. This is the fundamental group stupidity of our
modern times. We must clearly distinguish between scientific advancement
and human progress.
- Kosho Uchiyama, "The Chimera of Human Advancement"
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
Touching Enlightenment | October 15, 2014
My sense is that there is a very real
problem among Western Buddhist practitioners. We are attempting to
practice meditation and to follow a spiritual path in a disembodied
state, and our practice is therefore doomed to failure. The full
benefits and fruition of meditation cannot be experienced or enjoyed
when we are not grounded in our bodies.
- "Touching Enlightenment," Reggie Ray
Flower of the Day: 10/15/14
"The mantra Prabhu Ap Jago
is a ripe fruit from the tree of consciousness. Its power is
impressive when it is sung from the heart. It is a fragrance of the
Being, imbued with notes of compassion. This is a prayer that comes from
the depths of one’s emotional center. It is a request for God to awaken
in everyone, everywhere, and to illuminate the game of joy."
Sri Prem Baba
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
A ‘Pastoral Earthquake’: Catholic Church Proposes Extraordinary Shift On Gays And Lesbians
CREDIT: AP
A panel of high-ranking Catholic officials has proposed a dramatic change in the way the church treats gays and lesbians. The group of Cardinals, known as a synod, suggested the church is capable of “valuing their sexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine.”
The document was called a “pastoral eathquake” by John Thavis, a prominent journalist who covers the Vatican. It was produced by Pope Francis’s ongoing extraordinary synod on the family. That group previously polled Catholics about their opinions on issues including same-sex marriage, divorce, and contraception. The document produced by the synod, however, does not represent a formal change in church policy.
To read the full article make the jump here
Flower of the Day: 10/14/14
"Sanatana dharma
is the path to enlightenment, the way of the eternal religion, which
leaves us some inheritances. These act like footprints of love that
serve as a map, a guide to the path of the heart. All the names and
forms of the Divine I allude to refer to the higher self that inhabits
each one of us. They’re like frequencies of light. Just as white light
is composed of all the colors of the rainbow, the higher self consists
of many aspects that act as virtues or qualities of the Being. Such
virtues are emanations of the same Being. They are scents of the
fragrance of love."
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Discovering Truth | October 14, 2014
Trees bend and birds are tossed high.
Lives are thrown onto new courses by the spiritual tide. In our ordinary
struggles with life and our interminable retreat into the
compulsiveness of ordinary being, if we can look honestly, we may
experience our religious sense as fully as in many high-flown writings.
Looking deeply at our foolishness, we discover truth.
- Caroline Brazier, "Discovering Truth"
Monday, October 13, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
Not What You Think | October 13, 2014
The early teachings deconstruct many
habitual ways of being and seeing. We think we’re permanent, but we’re
not. We think that by craving things we’ll find happiness, but we won’t.
One after another the Buddha challenges our established views, our ways
of constructing our version of the world, and takes them apart: you
think it’s one way but it’s not; you want an answer, but the problem is
your very wanting of an answer.
- Henry Shukman, “The Unfamiliar Familiar”
Flower of the Day: 10/13/14
"I
have called your attention to this cycle of time we are living in. I
have almost no words to express the characteristics of this period;
suffice it to say that it’s a very strange or different period. We are
entering the peak of Parivartan, the great planetary
transformation, so fasten your seatbelts, for we are entering
turbulence. Tightening one’s seatbelt means becoming steadfast in one’s sadhana,
one’s spiritual practice, because everything will shake. At the same
time, we are having wonderful opportunities to serve and to grow in all
aspects."
Sri Prem Baba
Via JMG: UPDATED: Wikipedia Marriage Map
Labels: Alaska, marriage, United States
Via JMG/ Comments:
Top 10 schadenfreude marriage equality states (so far):
1. Utah (LDS)
2. Virginia (Matt Barber, Liberty U., so many others)
3. Oklahoma (Sally Kern)
4. California (Frank Schubert, Randy Thomasson, many others, prop 8 voters)
5. Alaska (Palins)
6. Illinois (Peter LaBarbarian)
7. Massachusetts (MassResistance)
8. North Carolina (a whollllle lotta folks)
9. Hawaii (5000 speakers at the House hearings)
10. Colorado (James Dobson)
More to come, including Mississippi & Texas!
Via JMG/ Comments:
Top 10 schadenfreude marriage equality states (so far):
1. Utah (LDS)
2. Virginia (Matt Barber, Liberty U., so many others)
3. Oklahoma (Sally Kern)
4. California (Frank Schubert, Randy Thomasson, many others, prop 8 voters)
5. Alaska (Palins)
6. Illinois (Peter LaBarbarian)
7. Massachusetts (MassResistance)
8. North Carolina (a whollllle lotta folks)
9. Hawaii (5000 speakers at the House hearings)
10. Colorado (James Dobson)
More to come, including Mississippi & Texas!
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)