The World of Interaction | December 9, 2014
Awakening is not an individual achievement but arises because of and along with the awakening of others.
- Rev. Patti Nakai, "The Tie That Need Not Bind" |
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.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
Monday, December 8, 2014
Flower of the Day: 12/08/14
"Deconstructing
the masks, our false identities, implies reliving certain wounds. It
means getting in touch with the feelings of abandonment, humiliation,
rejection and exclusion that were experienced in the past. This is not
easy, but you can only move forward in your evolutionary journey if you
can free yourself of denied feelings. Some people believe that it is
enough to just focus their awareness on the present moment without
paying attention to the past, but this approach can be dangerous
precisely because it is suppressing the past. The past cannot be denied:
it needs to be transcended. Transcendence is only possible when you
understand the past and can be in harmony with it."
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Flower of the Day: 12/06/14
"When
we arrive in this realm through the physical body, our vision gets
veiled, meaning that our perception diminishes. Thus, we take the real
for the unreal, and we believe the unreal to be real. This is the main
source of human suffering. We then continue to deal with suffering until
we reach a saturation point and get tired of it. At that point, we
start seeing that there may be something wrong with our perception, and
so begin the work of self-awareness by increasing our perception. That's
how we remove the veil of ignorance that covers our higher self."
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Fear of Silence | December 6, 2014
I have the impression that many of us are afraid of silence. We’re
always taking in something—text, music, radio, television, or
thoughts—to occupy the space. If quiet and space are so important for
our happiness, why don’t we make more room for them in our lives?
- Thich Nhat Hahn, "Fear of Silence"
- Thich Nhat Hahn, "Fear of Silence"
Friday, December 5, 2014
Flower of the Day: 12/05/14
"The
first layer of the veil of illusion is forgetting life’s purpose. Being
aware of our purpose connects us to the source and enables us to
remember the truth. Being enveloped by the veil of illusion, we feel
separate and isolated, and a by-product of this isolation is anguish.
This anguish is a great poison, which often finds its way in through a
sadness that seemingly comes out of nowhere. This opens the door to bad
habits, which in turn opens the door to evil."
Sri Prem Baba
Innate Dignity | December 5, 2014
My own practice of loving kindness has opened me to the power of
compassion and to the fact that all beings want to be happy. Everybody
wants to have their innate dignity recognized and to recognize the
innate dignity of others.
- Sharon Salzberg, "Why I Support Fast Food Workers"
- Sharon Salzberg, "Why I Support Fast Food Workers"
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Flower of the Day: 12/04/14
"Children
must be free, and at the same time, they need firm boundaries and care.
But these boundaries must be born from a loving heart that truly sees
the child. They must be born out of respect, and not from the adult’s
wounded child."
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Creating Compassion | December 4, 2014
The idea of creating compassion for our environment, for something
that we take for granted daily—something that, as a human race, we are
just absolutely destroying, for the most part without a care—I think
that connecting compassion to that is really, really powerful.
- Emily Burke, "Meditating in Public" |
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Via JMG: Labor Department Issues Final Rule On LGBT Anti-Discrimination Measures
Via press release:
A new rule prohibiting discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity in the federal contracting workforce is being announced today by the U.S. Department of Labor. The rule implements Executive Order 13672, which was signed by President Obama on July 21.The press release notes that today's action becomes effective 120 days after being formally entered into the Federal Register and will apply to all "new and modified" civilian contracts with the federal government from that date forward.
"Americans believe in fairness and opportunity. No one should live in fear of being fired or passed over or discriminated against at work simply because of who they are or who they love," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. "Laws prohibiting workplace discrimination on the bases of sexual orientation and gender identity are long overdue, and we're taking a big step forward today to fix that."
EO 13672 tasked the department with updating the rules implementing EO 11246 to add gender identity and sexual orientation to the classes it protects. While 18 states, the District of Columbia and many businesses, large and small, already offer workplace protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees, July's executive order was the first federal action to ensure LGBT workplace equality in the private sector.
Labels: Barack Obama, business, employment, executive orders, feds, Labor Department, LGBT rights, Obama cabinet, Tom Perez
Via Steven Petrow / FB:
Bye bye Anita Bryant. And for those of you too young to know who she was and what she did, Google her homophobic antics.
LINK: http://eqfl.org/marriagevictory
Equality Florida #marriageequality #AnitaBryant #progress
LINK: http://eqfl.org/marriagevictory
Equality Florida #marriageequality #AnitaBryant #progress
Via JMG: BREAKING: DC Bans "Ex-Gay" Torture
Via press release from the National Center for Lesbian Rights:
Today, the District of Columbia Council unanimously approved a bill that will protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth from the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion therapy. When signed into law, Washington, D.C. will become the third jurisdiction—behind California and New Jersey—to pass legislation protecting LGBT youth from practices that are known to cause severe depression and even suicide. “Today, the DC Council sent a powerful message to LGBT youth and their families that they are accepted, supported, and loved,” said Samantha Ames, NCLR staff attorney and coordinator of the #BornPerfect campaign at the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR). “The Council has used its authority to protect our most vulnerable youth from dangerous and discredited pseudoscience that tells them who they are is wrong, and reaffirmed the consensus of every major medical and mental health organization that all children are born perfect, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”The Liberty Counsel fought those bills in both states, taking their fight against California's bill all the way to the Supreme Court, who smacked them down for the final time in June.
Labels: brainwashing, Christianists, ex-gay, LGBT youth, NCLR, religion, sexuality, torture, Washington DC
What Is Your Strongest Chakra?
One of those FB thingys gave me this
The Crown Chakra
You got The Crown Chakra! Crown chakra is all about understanding wisdom and various other things.
Gland: Pineal Gland
Associated Stones: Crystal Quartz, Moonstone, Selenite, Pearl, Amethyst, Lepidolite, Calcite, White or Clear Stones and Crystals.
Effects: Seeing the overall picture, Connection to the universe, Oneness, Spiritual Awareness, Consciousness and Enlightenment.
Gland: Pineal Gland
Associated Stones: Crystal Quartz, Moonstone, Selenite, Pearl, Amethyst, Lepidolite, Calcite, White or Clear Stones and Crystals.
Effects: Seeing the overall picture, Connection to the universe, Oneness, Spiritual Awareness, Consciousness and Enlightenment.
Flower of the Day: 12/03/14
"Living
in presence means walking through life without a map, following only
the commands of the heart and being guided by the Holy Spirit. Presence
itself guides you. Being present, it’s impossible to run away from
yourself. In fact, you only find yourself and recognize your gifts and
talents in presence, because it is the manifestation of spontaneity.
Through presence, you become a pure channel of the divine will."
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Dharma and the Law | December 3, 2014
In the simplest—and probably the most common—terms, the present
state of the American judicial process runs counter to the tenets of
Buddhism. It is predicated on an adversarial system that places people
in mutually exclusive positions: victim and perpetrator, prosecution and
defense, forces of good and forces of evil.
- Mary Talbot, "No Justice, No Peace" |
Uma frase do Dalai Lama para nós recitarmos todas as manhãs
“Toda manhã, pense quando você acorda: Eu estou vivo, Eu tenho uma preciosa vida humana, Eu não vou desperdiçá-la. Eu vou usar todas as minhas energias para me desenvolver, Para expandir o meu coração para os outros, Para alcançar a iluminação para o benefício de todos os seres. Eu não vou ficar com raiva, Ou pensar mal de outros. Vou beneficiar os outros, tanto quanto eu posso.”
- Dalai Lama.
http://www.budavirtual.com.br/uma-frase-dalai-lama-para-nos-recitarmos-todas-manhas/
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
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