Via Daily Dharma

Waiting for American Buddhism | December 10, 2014 Americans tend to be impatient. We think if Buddhism has been here for a hundred and fifty years, of course it should be totally American. But that ignores the fact that in Asia it took centuries for Buddhism to become fully acculturated when it moved to a new cultural region. . . . It will take time. - Charles Prebish, "Pursuing an American Buddhism"

Via Gay Politics Report: Pope Francis calls for church support of LGBT families

Pope Francis calls for church support of LGBT families
Pope Francis on Sunday called on the Catholic Church to provide support for parents with LGBT children. "We come across this reality all the time in the confessional: a father and a mother whose son or daughter is in that situation. ... We have to find a way to help that father or that mother to stand by their son or daughter," Francis said during a discussion of the church's Synod of Bishops in the fall. A day earlier, the pontiff urged his fellow officials to recognize the "signs of the times." 

International Business Times/Independent (London) (tiered subscription model), The (12/8), Advocate.com/LaNacion.com.ar (Argentina) (Spanish-language content) (12/8)

Flower of the Day: 12/09/14

"Competition is at the service of adding value to the idea of ‘me’: we want to be recognized since that makes us feel we have found our place in the world. When we feel isolated and separate, and start competing with others, it’s almost impossible for us to discover our place in the world. I invite you to give up the ‘doer,’ since compulsive doing serves this sense of competition. Each time we do something compulsively, we get further imprisoned in the webs of karma."

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

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"

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

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The Care We Share | December 8, 2014

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Like an underground spring that nourishes living things but goes unseen, the care we share is the underpinning of our life, its hidden support.

- Andrew Cooper, "Life's Hidden Support"

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

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Fear of Silence | December 6, 2014

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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"

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

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Innate Dignity | December 5, 2014

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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"

Via Lizzy the Lezzy / FB:

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"

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.

"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.

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.

Labels: Barack Obama, business, employment, executive orders, feds, Labor Department, LGBT rights, Obama cabinet, Tom Perez

Reposted from Joe Jervis

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

Via Being Liberal / FB:

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

Reposted from Joe Jervis

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.

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