Flower of the Day: 02/09/15

"It is true that the spiritual master is One, that the truth is One, and that the path is One. However, it’s necessary to be aware of the importance of focusing and connecting with the channel that represents the bridge to this oneness for us at this precise moment. Compulsion can manifest in different ways in the many areas of life, and if we are in a particular place but cannot relax and surrender to the process, then we won’t be able to benefit from it. In order to benefit from the path we are on, we must enter into communion with it. For this to occur, we need to focus, surrender and relax."

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

The Witness | February 9, 2015 When you sit with the earth, when you make it your witness and when you act as a witness for it—what do you see? What are you compelled to do? These are questions that take us beyond political stances, beyond principles, beyond arguments about engagement or detachment. They are questions, it seems to me, that can never be answered in any way other than the strictly personal. Sitting or acting; engagement or retreat; perhaps there need be no contradiction. - Paul Kingsnorth, "The Witness" Read More →

Via Daily Dharma

Through Every Jewel | February 8, 2015 All day long, creatures are bumping into other creatures, squashing them, killing and eating and drinking them, wearing and using them, walking and lying on them, destroying their homes. There is no personal boundary to this karmic responsibility—it radiates through every jewel in Indra's net. A karmic debt 'owed' by one is owed by all. Vegetarians owe as much as meat eaters, pacifists as much as fighters. There are no personal safe zones, no useful strategies for self-protection. - John McClellan, "Meat: To Eat It or Not" Read More →

Via Daily Dharma

Wisdom Will Resurface | February 7, 2015 Wisdom does accumulate—not in a linear arithmetic progression but in a complex, dynamic system. Each understanding sheds light upon the others in an interactive living process. Insights that seem unassailable may suddenly meet passionate doubt, all clarity shattered at the very moment it is most needed. Then, just as suddenly, wisdom will resurface, stronger for having vanished, wisdom that now knows of its own disintegration. - Nina Wise, "Sudden Awakening" Read More →

Via JMG: 81% Of College Freshmen Back Marriage

 

In its annual American Freshman Survey, UCLA researchers polled over 150,000 incoming freshmen at 227 colleges and universities. This year's result on marriage:

The survey last asked about same-sex marriage in 2012. In the interim, support for same-sex couples having the legal right to marry has increased 6.5 percentage points to 81.5%. This increase covers a span of time where the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California’s state ban on same-sex marriage. Additionally, since these Supreme Court decisions, state-level same-sex marriage bans have fallen across the country in U.S. Circuit and District courts; as of January 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up four pending cases from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Figure 10 breaks support for same-sex marriage down by political ideology. The findings show that only students who identify as “far right” do not support same-sex marriage. Just 44.3% of students identified as “far right” either “agreed somewhat” or “agreed strongly” that same-sex couples should have the legal right to marry. This figure contrasts with 56.6% of “conservative” students, 84.7% of “middle-of-the-road” students, 93.9% of “liberal” students, and 90.5% of “far left” students. It is clear that same-sex marriage is no longer an issue for the vast majority of entering college freshmen.

We can't wait for Tony Perkins to spin this one.

Labels: education, marriage equality, polls

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Daily Dharma

Experiential Ethics | February 5, 2015 The wonderful challenge of Buddhism is that it does not offer any absolute formulas for virtuousness. In the Silabatta Sutta, the Buddha asks Ananda if every precept and practice taught by the dharma is holy. Ananda replies, 'Lord, that is not to be answered with a categorical answer.' - Hannah Tennant-Moore, "Personal Heaven, Personal Hell" Read More →

Flower of the Day: 02/06/15

"By deepening the practice of self-observation, we may reach the surprising conclusion that we feel pleasure through our negative actions in the world. There is a pleasure connected to the negative situation that repeats itself in our lives. Our vital energy is invested into this destructive action. As we deepen even further into this practice of self-observation, we realize that this may be the only way we know how to feel pleasure. Oftentimes, the positive manifestation of pleasure is a threat to the human being. Since we are so identified with this negativity, we suffer the terror of being annihilated in its absence. Unconsciously, we believe that letting go of this negativity would mean death."

- Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

You Can't Always Get What You Want | February 6, 2015 The chains of desire pull us into a life of frustration and suffering, while renunciation cuts those chains. Renunciation, though often understood to mean 'giving up,' is, more accurately, the willingness to experience things as they are, not as we want them to be. Here you discover true freedom, the deep, quiet joy that has always been present in you. - Ken McLeod, "You Can't Always Get What You Want" Read More →

Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 04/02/2015

“Alguns seres que atingiram a meta da autorrealização enxergam esse planeta como uma prisão. Eu prefiro vê-lo como uma escola, onde a principal matéria é o amor desinteressado. Mas, para amar de forma desinteressada você precisa aprender a perdoar e agradecer, e para perdoar e agradecer, você tem que aprender muitas outras coisas.”

“Algunos seres que han alcanzado la meta de la autorrealización ven este planeta como una prisión. Yo prefiero verlo como una escuela, donde la principal materia es el amor desinteresado. Pero para amar de forma desinteresada, precisas aprender a perdonar y agradecer, y para perdonar y agradecer, tienes que aprender muchas otras cosas.”

"Some beings who have attained the goal of self-realization see this planet as a prison. I prefer to see it as a school, where the main subject matter is selfless love. To be able to love selflessly, we must learn to forgive and give thanks. In order to forgive and thank, we have to learn many more things."

- Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

The Enlightened Life | February 4, 2015 When we call forth and base ourselves on the magnificent enlightened life that exists within each of us without exception . . . even the most fundamental, inescapable sufferings of life and death need not be experienced as pain. Rather, they can be transformed into a life embodying the virtues of eternity, joy, true self, and purity. - Daisaku Ikeda, "Faith in Revolution" Read More →

Via Daily Dharma

Liberation is Already in Effect | February 3, 2015 From the viewpoint of a leap philosophy, there is no causal connection between the liberated and the unliberated state; it is, therefore, impossible to build a bridge between these two wholly incompatible realms. If it is not possible to create a causal chain that will lead one from unliberated to liberated status, and yet, as is claimed, liberation is possible, it must be the case that liberation is already in effect. All we must do as practitioners is allow ourselves to see, and to acknowledge, that fact. - Jan Nattier, "A Greater Awakening" Read More →

Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 03/02/2015

“Toda a entidade humana em evolução carrega partes dentro de si mesma com as quais não pôde chegar a um acordo; partes que, de alguma maneira, ela se envergonha ou não compreende, e por isso as mantêm separadas, trancadas em negação. Mas, a negação é o principal obstáculo para a felicidade, pois é somente através da integração dessas partes negadas e separadas que se pode ter um vislumbre da Unidade, e por consequência da paz e do amor.”

Acesse ao Satsang completo: bit.ly/1uTivU9

“Toda la miseria que vemos en este mundo es causada por el olvido de nuestra verdadera naturaleza espiritual. La crisis que vemos en todas las áreas de la sociedad se debe a este olvido. Podemos decir que nuestra sociedad está psicótica, porque existe una profunda identificación con el falso yo. Todos están demasiado ocupados en mantener y embellecer la propia historia, pero no saben que ella no es más que una ficción, una gran mentira; y para sustentarla son capaces de cualquier cosa.”

“All evolving human entities carry parts of themselves that they have not yet come to terms with. They somehow still feel ashamed of these parts within them or have not yet been able to fully understand them, so they keep these feelings separate, locked up in denial. Denial is the main obstacle towards happiness, because only by integrating these denied and separate parts can one have a glimpse of unity and, consequently, of peace and love.”

- Sri Prem Baba

Hallmark Valentine's Ad Stars Gay Couple

Gay Pride Parade Mumbai

Jimmy Fallon, The Roots, and Music Superstars Sing "We Are The Champions" (A Cappella)

Via JMG: Anti-Gay Lawmakers Seek Revenge with New Laws: Feb 2 MNW

Via JMG: Obama's Budget Gives Social Security Benefits to Gay Couples Nationwide

Via Talking Points Memo:

In his fiscal 2016 budget, released Monday, President Barack Obama proposed allowing married same-sex couples to receive spousal Social Security benefits, regardless of which state they live in. Currently, married same-sex couples lose their benefits it they move to a state that does not recognize their unions. "The budget proposes to amend the Social Security Act to ensure all lawfully married same-sex couples will be eligible to receive Social Security spousal benefits, regardless of where they live," Obama's proposal states. "Under this proposal, such married couples would have access to these benefits," the budget says. Same-sex marriages are currently recognized in 36 states, as Bloomberg noted. The proposal would have to be approved by the Republican-led Congress to take effect.

Freedom To Marry reacts via press release:

Once again, President Obama has demonstrated his commitment to fairness and freedom for all Americans, including same-sex couples and their families. His proposal to ensure equal Social Security benefits would fix a crucial gap in federal protections for same-sex couples.President Obama's leadership in helping bring the freedom to marry to all Americans will be a shining part of this president's legacy. Of course, the only way to ensure same-sex couples nationwide have all the protections of marriage is for the Supreme Court to put the country on the right side of history by ending marriage discrimination throughout the United States, leaving no family and no state behind.

Labels: Barack Obama, feds, Freedom To Marry, LGBT rights, marriage equality, Obama administration, Social Security

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Julian Bond For Mississippi Marriage

 

"Mississippians know sexual orientation or gender identity shouldn’t matter when it comes to working hard and taking care of your neighbor. Mississippians know all children are valued, no matter who they are. And Mississippians know that above all, treating one another with dignity and respect is what counts.

"The fight for basic civil rights is not a quest for superiority or an unvoiced desire for power. It is, at its root, a battle to raise us all up. We all deserve the right to try and fail, move forward and fall back, and ultimately succeed on our own merits and individual gifts. But for many of us, our ability to dream of a greater and more brilliant future is limited by the color of our skin, the texts of our religious tomes, and the gender of whom we love and who we are.

"The push for full equality for all Americans has always come with hurdles and setbacks. But we are not dissuaded from our path. LGBT Mississippians and their families yearn for a better day, one that we can work together to create. Let’s begin right now." - NAACP chairman emeritus Julian Bond, writing for the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. Hit the link and read the full op-ed.

Labels: Julian Bond, marriage equality, Mississippi, NAACP

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking and Arthur C. Clarke - God, The Universe and Everything Else (1988)