A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Flower of the Day: 11/07/14
“Let
us continue spreading the perfume of peace, love and prosperity to all
corners of the world, inspiring all to sing the names of the Supreme. It
doesn’t matter in what language or what form of the Divine is revered
because we know that God is one. The Eternal manifests in different ways
according to the needs of each group of people. When we pay homage to
the different forms of the Supreme, we invoke the Supreme that lives in
each and every one of us.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Barack Obama
| ||||
The Republicans had a good night on Tuesday, Daniel -- but believe me when I tell you that our results were better because you stepped up, talked to your family and friends, and cast your ballot.
I want you to remember that we're making progress. There are workers who have jobs today who didn't have them before. There are millions of families who have health insurance today who didn't have it before. There are kids going to college today who didn't have the opportunity to go to college before.
So don't get cynical, Daniel. Cynicism didn't put a man on the moon. Cynicism has never won a war, or cured a disease, or built a business, or fed a young mind. Cynicism is a choice. And hope will always be a better choice.
I have hope for the next few years, and I have hope for what we're going to accomplish together.
Thank you so much, Daniel.
Barack Obama
Flower of the Day: 11/08/14
“In
short, it is necessary to surrender to love. If love is the juice of
life, then love is leading us and giving us our commands. Love is
breaking our attachments and our control so that we can return back to
love itself. Love is awakening the love that pulsates inside of us. But
we must have a certain type of courage in order to love and
to surrender. Pray for this courage, call for it. Implore the universal
principle of love to give you the strength and firmness to
follow its commands.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Friday, November 7, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
Bringing It All Back Home | November 6, 2014
While an attitude of nonattachment is
essential, it would be sadly misguided to imagine we need to give up
love and affection for our children or other family members in order to
follow the Bodhisattva Way.
- Lama Jampa Thaye, "Bringing It All Back Home" |
Flower of the Day: 11/06/14
“The
great saboteur of peace in relationships is pride, and this pride is
serving fear. We must have humility in order to say ‘no’ to the
conditioning that makes us point the finger at others through blame.
This doesn’t mean looking away from their faults, but rather developing
an objective view of reality. In this objective view, there is no room
for the blaming game. There’s only space for what is true. This
objective viewpoint is only possible to attain through loving
consciousness.”
Sri Prem Baba
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Via JMG: RE-ELECTED: All LGBT House Members
The 2014 midterms were not a total disaster, at least for the six openly LGBT members of the US House. Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA), Rep. Jared Polis* (D-CO), Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), Rep Mark Pocan (D-WI), Rep David Cicilline (D-RI), and Rep. Kysten Sinema (D-AZ) all retained their seats today.
Openly gay US House candidates who lost their bids today include Oklahoma state Sen. Al McCaffrey, Texas military veteran Louie Minor, North Carolina American Idol finalist Clay Aiken, former Massachusetts GOP legislator Richard Tisei, and New York investment banker Sean Eldridge, the husband of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes.
The House bid of scandal-plagued homocon Carl DeMaio is too close to call at this writing.
*Not pictured.
Reposted from Joe Jervis
Openly gay US House candidates who lost their bids today include Oklahoma state Sen. Al McCaffrey, Texas military veteran Louie Minor, North Carolina American Idol finalist Clay Aiken, former Massachusetts GOP legislator Richard Tisei, and New York investment banker Sean Eldridge, the husband of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes.
The House bid of scandal-plagued homocon Carl DeMaio is too close to call at this writing.
*Not pictured.
Labels: 2014 elections, Clay Aiken, David Cicilline, gay politicians, Jared Polis, Krysten Sinema, Mark Pocan, Mark Takano, Richard Tisei, Sean Maloney, U.S. House
Flower of the Day: 11/05/14
“What
makes us repeat a negative pattern is our enchantment with our own
story. This enchantment is sustained by negatively oriented pleasure,
which is the connection between pleasure and destructiveness. This
connection takes place when our spontaneity was first repressed, causing
pain that had to be numbed up. At this moment, pleasure got connected
with the mask, as well as all the games that today sustain the status
quo.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Surrender and Engagement | November 5, 2014
We must walk a fine line between surrender
and engagement. As we individuate, we learn to remain open to the nature
of uncertainty in the journey, allowing ourselves to fearlessly unfold.
At the same time, our active participation in the process functions as a
kind of dialogue between the ego and our Buddha-nature. We still pay
the bills, do the washing up, and take the kids to school.
- Rob Preece, "The Solace of Surrender" |
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Flower of the Day: 11/04/14
“Selfless
service is an action that purifies selfishness. Usually all of our
actions are full of self-interest: we want to be important, we want to
be recognized and receive attention, but this is not service. What we
can call service is selfless action performed without any expectation of
the fruits of our labor. It is a pure act, a sincere giving that is
done in silence and with discretion. It is an act made out of kindness
and sweetness. It’s a tool used in the process of personal
transformation and at the same time is a way to help awaken love.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Via JMG: RUSSIA: Steve Jobs Memorial Torn Down Because Apple CEO Tim Cook Came Out
Via Business Insider:
Reposted from Joe Jervis
Residents of Saint Petersburg have reportedly torn down a giant interactive iPhone memorial that commemorated the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs after the company's current CEO, Tim Cook, came out as gay on Thursday. Business FM Radio reports that the company that originally funded the memorial, ZEFS, decided to tear it down after Cook said he was proud to be gay. The six-foot tall memorial was erected in 2013 to celebrate Steve Jobs' life. It featured a large screen that showcased moments from Jobs' life, as well as scrolling quotations from his speeches and a QR code on the back that would take people who scanned it to a website.The chairman of the company that installed the memorial said that it might return with a message that instructs Russians not to buy Apple products. (Tipped by JMG reader Alan)
Labels: Apple, bigotry, business, coming out, religion, Russia, St. Petersburg, Steve Jobs, Tim Cook
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