JMG REPORT: ISIS Beheads Gay Men In Iraq

Via News 24:

ISIS has publicly beheaded three men in northern Iraq, two of them for allegedly engaging in homosexual acts, according to photos shared by sympathisers on social media on Tuesday. The jihadist group, which controls swathes of Iraq and neighbouring Syria, has carried out hundreds of executions as it has imposed its brutal version of Islamic law, many of them photographed or videotaped. The latest images did not show the claimed beheadings and their authenticity could not be independently verified. A series of photographs shows the blindfolded men kneeling in the centre of what appears to be a traffic circle with a crowd of people looking on as a masked, black-clad executioner stands by with a long, rusty blade. Accompanying captions said the trio were then executed, the third of them for alleged blasphemy.

Some reports say all three young men were accused of homosexuality, adding that two of them may have been a couple. However ISIS is known to accuse its enemies of being gay in order to "justify" their executions.

Labels: Iraq, ISIS, Islamists, terrorism

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 10/03/2015

“A mente é um veículo que precisa ser bem conduzido. Se um veículo não é bem conduzido, inevitavelmente haverá acidentes. E o principal acidente de uma mente mal conduzida são as repetições negativas. Durante algum tempo, você segue acreditando que a vida pode ser diferente, mas quando menos espera, o drama se repete. Então, aos poucos você se torna uma pessoa sem esperança.”

“La mente es un vehículo que necesita ser bien conducido. Si un vehículo no es bien conducido, inevitablemente habrá accidentes. Y el principal accidente de una mente mal conducida son las repeticiones negativas. Durante algún tiempo, sigues creyendo que la vida puede ser diferente, pero cuando menos lo esperas el drama se repite. Entonces, de a poco, te vuelves una persona sin esperanza.”

“The mind is a vehicle that needs to be driven well. If we do not drive a car properly, we will unavoidably have accidents. The main accident resulting from a poorly driven mind is negative repetitions in our lives. For a while, we continue to believe that life can be different, but when we least expect it, the drama repeats itself. Then, little by little, we begin to lose hope.”

Via Daily Dharma

Profound and Subtle | March 10, 2015 Shakyamuni Buddha taught that all suffering can be overcome by understanding its true nature. This is a profound and subtle process. It can take a while. - Patricia Anderson, "Good Death" Read More →

Via Human Rights Campaign / FB:

On the Path with Thay A longtime student reflects on 30 years with the Vietnamese master.

Back in the ’80s, I had a friend named Michael Attie, a lay Zen practitioner known in the media as the “lingerie monk” because he once organized a sitting group on the roof of his business, Playmates of Hollywood, one of the world’s largest lingerie stores. Thanks to his persistence one Sunday in 1987, I agreed to accompany him to see a Vietnamese Buddhist monk and antiwar activist giving a talk under the “teaching tree” of the Ojai Foundation, 90 minutes by car from Los Angeles. The Foundation was created by Joan Halifax, then an anthropologist who worked with Joseph Campbell, the mythologist and writer widely known for his now often-repeated slogan “Follow your bliss.” It was meant to bring Native American teachers and Buddhist masters together to teach in a natural power spot facing the dramatically sculpted Topa Topa mountains.

From the moment that I laid eyes on Thich Nhat Hanh (known to students as “Thay,” meaning “teacher” in Vietnamese), I was struck by how quietly impassioned he was. I will always remember how he began the talk: “Dear brothers and sisters—our appointment with life is only available in the present moment.” One had the sense that this gentle yet vehement monk was offering himself as a living example of a Buddha for us to scrutinize.

Read the full article here

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 09/03/2015

"Rezar para que todos os seres sejam felizes é algo realmente significativo. Mas, até que você possa manifestar esse amor por todos os seres (até que possa se tornar essa oração), será preciso aprender a amar quem está perto de você; aquele a quem você está vinculado emocionalmente. Para que possa em algum momento amar a grande família, você precisará amar a sua pequena família. Às vezes os obstáculos para amar a pequena família são tão grandes que você primeiro tem um vislumbre do amor pela grande família – mas, somente um vislumbre, pois não é possível sustentar essa abertura sem ter purificado o núcleo do amor. E você só completa essa purificação quando aprende determinadas lições que dizem respeito à pequena família.”

“Rezar para que todos sean felices es algo realmente significativo. Pero hasta que puedas manifestar ese amor por todos los seres (hasta que puedas volverte esa oración), será necesario aprender a amar a quien está cerca tuyo, aquel con quien estás vinculado emocionalmente. Para que puedas en algún momento amar a la gran familia, necesitarás amar a tu pequeña familia. A veces los obstáculos para amar a la pequeña familia son tan grandes que primero tienes un vislumbre del amor por la gran familia – pero solamente un vislumbre, porque no es posible sustentar esa apertura sin haber purificado el núcleo de amor. Y solo completas esa purificación cuando aprendes determinadas lecciones que dicen respecto a la pequeña familia.”

“Praying for all beings to be happy is a truly significant thing. For you to be able to manifest this love for all beings, and to become this prayer, you will first have to learn to love those near you who you are linked to emotionally. In order for you to love the big family, you have to love your small family. Sometimes, the obstacles to loving your immediate family are so great that you get a glimpse of love for the global family first – but only a glimpse, as it’s impossible to sustain this opening if you have not purified the nucleus of love first. You only complete this purification process when you learn certain lessons related to your direct family.”

Via Daily Dharma

Here to Awaken | March 9, 2015 We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness. - Thich Nhat Hanh, "A Floating Sangha Takes Root." Read More →

the power of now audiobook by ekhart tolle Keith Stevens Keith Stevens 273 31.438

The Most Powerful Video on Spirituality and Happiness - Rare Eckhart Tolle Teaching - Must See

Via http://higherperspective:

3 Buddhist Teachings That Will Make Your Life A Happier One

Buddhism has a lot to offer the world, and unlike many other religions, if you aren’t Buddhist, that’s okay with Buddhism. It’s not here to be dogmatic, but to help people grow and develop themselves. These are 3 Buddhist teachings that can make your life better.

1. Anitya – Impermanence.

We aren’t permanent. Nor is anything else in this world. Things change every day. Each day, our bodies are different, our environment is different – our whole universe is different!
Celebrate the idea that our lives change every day. Accept this constantly moving existence. When you look at it through new eyes, it’s pretty exciting, isn’t it! Each new day brings new opportunities.

2. Dukkha – Life is suffering.

This one sounds kind of negative, doesn’t it? But it’s not just trying to tell you that life is tough and you need to buck up, but that attachment to people, things, and expectations is a cause of pain. Try not to buy into the idea that you’re a broken person. Expect that your body will decay over time and that strife will happen and you’ll be more resilient in the face of it.

3. Anatma – Life is constantly changing.

Buddhism doesn’t assume that there is a fixed self, but rather, a constantly changing self. Our thoughts, names, jobs, titles, and even personalities identify us, but those things can change overtime. As Thich Nhat Hanh says, “Thanks to impermanence, anything is possible.”
Instead of trying to find yourself, focus on creating yourself. Create the best possible self for this moment. Worry about the kind of self you need to be for tomorrow tomorrow. Focus on the you you want to be now.

Read more at http://higherperspective.com/2015/03/3-buddhist-teachings.html#crctShTPOmAMPzMI.99

Via JMG: President Obama Speaks At Selma, Gives Nod To Battle For LGBT Rights

Via the New York Times:

In an address at the scene of what became known as “Bloody Sunday,” Mr. Obama rejected the notion that race relations have not improved since then, despite the string of police shootings that have provoked demonstrations. “What happened in Ferguson may not be unique,” he said, “but it’s no longer endemic. It’s no longer sanctioned by law or custom, and before the civil rights movement, it most surely was.” But the president also rejected the notion that racism has been defeated. “We don’t need the Ferguson report to know that’s not true,” he said. “We just need to open our eyes and our ears and our hearts to know that this nation’s racial history still casts its long shadow upon us. We know the march is not yet over; we know the race is not yet won. We know reaching that blessed destination where we are judged by the content of our character requires admitting as much.”

And of course he mentioned LGBT rights.

On the 50th anniversary of the march, Obama honored the protesters by saying, “Because of what they did, the doors of opportunity swung open not just for African-Americans, but for every American. Women marched through those doors. Latinos marched through those doors. Asian-Americans, gay Americans, and Americans with disabilities came through those doors. Their endeavors gave the entire South the chance to rise again, not by reasserting the past, but by transcending the past.”

He further noted, “We do a disservice to the cause of justice by intimating that bias and discrimination are immutable, or that racial division is inherent to America. If you think nothing’s changed in the past 50 years, ask somebody who lived through the Selma or Chicago or L.A. of the ’50s. Ask the female CEO who once might have been assigned to the secretarial pool if nothing’s changed. Ask your gay friend if it’s easier to be out and proud in America now than it was 30 years ago. To deny this progress — our progress — would be to rob us of our own agency; our responsibility to do what we can to make America better.”

President Obama Delivers Remarks on the 50th Anniversary of the Selma Marches

Labels: Alabama, American history, Barack Obama, civil rights, civil unrest, racism, Roy Moore, Selma

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: SCOTUSblog On The DOJ's Brief

Lyle Denniston writes at SCOTUSblog:

The brief was limited to defending same-sex marriage under an “equal protection” standard, leaving unmentioned the other constitutional argument that some challengers to state bans have made: that marriage is a fundamental right that cannot be closed to such couples, a “due process” argument.

The government’s new filing, signed by U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., and other Justice Department officials and staff lawyers, sought to persuade the Court to embrace a constitutional test that this administration has been pressing for some time in gay rights cases.

It called for what is known as “heightened scrutiny” — the middle level of three ascending tests for judging claims that laws discriminate on the basis of a forbidden personal trait. The easiest standard to meet is “rational basis,” and the toughest is “strict scrutiny.”

Under the middle level, a law that is challenged as discriminatory can be upheld only if it serves an “important government objective” and its terms are “substantially related” to such a policy goal.

In a series of decisions in recent years that have added to gay rights, the Supreme Court has never specified an explicit standard for use in the field of sexual orientation. At times, it has seemed to adopt something like “rational basis-plus,” but it has never given a specific definition of the test or tests it has used.

Hit the link for more analysis.

Labels: DOJ, marriage equality, SCOTUS, SCOTUSblog

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Popular Street Names By State

 

From the Washington Post:

For decades we have believed that the most popular name for a road was “2nd.” But by my analysis, that crown actually goes to “Park.” (Again, look to the methodology section for a discussion of this.) Out of over a million roads in the United States, 9,640 are named “Park.” Only 8,232 are named “2nd,” or “Second.” Still, both the Census and I agree that “2nd” is a more popular road name than “1st.” The most convincing explanation anyone has come up with so far is that in many towns the primary thoroughfare is “Main” street instead of “1st” street. Because those two names split the honor, so to speak, they tumble in the rankings. Trees, numbers, and presidents are the most popular names for streets, which is understandable.

Labels: maps, U.S. Census Bureau, United States

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 08/03/2015

“Deus e Amor - essas são palavras que têm sido muito distorcidas ao longo do tempo. Poucos são os que realmente conhecem seu significado. Estou citando essas duas palavras porque entre elas existe uma sinergia - elas são sinônimas. Mas, como falar de algo tão profundo? Posso tentar fazer uso adequado das palavras para descrever o que é Deus, e o que é o Amor, mas no máximo poderei criar um campo para você viver uma experiência. Podemos tentar descrever o sabor de uma fruta e, dependendo da nossa habilidade com as palavras, você poderá imaginar esse sabor, mas para realmente conhecer o sabor da fruta você terá que saboreá-la.”

“Dios y Amor – esas son palabras que han sido muy distorsionadas a lo largo del tiempo. Pocos son los que realmente conocen su significado. Estoy citando estas dos palabras porque entre ellas existe una sinergia – ellas son sinónimos. Pero ¿cómo hablar de algo tan profundo? Puedo intentar hacer un uso adecuado de las palabras para describir lo que es Dios, y lo que es el Amor, pero como máximo podré crear un campo para que vivas una experiencia. Podemos intentar describir el sabor de una fruta y dependiendo de nuestra habilidad con las palabras, podrás imaginar ese sabor, pero para realmente conocer el sabor de la fruta tendrás que saborearla.”

“God is love. These words have been distorted over time, and few people really know what they mean. I am mentioning these two words because a synergy exists between them; they are synonyms. But how can I speak about something that is so profound? I can try to make an appropriate use of words to describe what God and love are, but the best I can do is create a field for you to experience them in. We can try to describe what a fruit tastes like and, depending on how good we are with words, you could even imagine what it tastes like. But if you really want to know what the fruit tastes like, you have to try it for yourself.”

Via Daily Dharma

Stick with It | March 8, 2015 Once we have made the outward choice among the many paths available and have begun a systematic practice, we often find ourselves assailed from within by doubts and fears, by all the feelings that we have never dared experience. Eventually, all of the dammed-up pain of a lifetime will arise. Once we have chosen a practice, we must have the courage and the determination to stick with it and use it in the face of all our difficulties. - Jack Kornfield, "Take the One Seat" Read More →

President Obama Selma Speech 2015 on 50th 'Bloody Sunday' at Edmond Pettus Bridge, Alabama |FULL

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 07/03/2015

“A preguiça é uma matriz psicológica que se relaciona a sentimentos negados e congelados no corpo emocional. Esses sentimentos agem como uma barreira que impede a circulação da energia. Com o tempo, esse bloqueio do sistema energético começa a provocar somatizações, ou seja, começa a provocar desequilíbrio até mesmo no corpo físico. A preguiça provoca uma paralisia - ela impede a ação, que é nossa resposta aos estímulos da vida. E é a ação que possibilita o movimento e o desenvolvimento da consciência.” 

“La pereza es una matriz psicológica que está relacionada a sentimientos negados y congelados en el cuerpo emocional. Estos sentimientos actúan como una barrera que impiden la circulación de la energía. Con el tiempo, ese bloqueo del sistema energético comienza a provocar somatizaciones, es decir, comienza a provocar desequilibrio hasta mismo en el cuerpo físico. La pereza provoca una parálisis - ella impide la acción, que es nuestra respuesta a los estímulos de la vida. Y es la acción lo que posibilita el movimiento y el desarrollo de la conciencia.”

“Laziness is a psychological matrix related to denied feelings that are frozen in the emotional body. These feelings act as a barrier that prevents our energy from circulating. Over time, these blockages in our energy systems begin to create somatizations. In other words, they eventually cause imbalances in the physical body. Laziness leads to paralysis, which prevents us from acting. Action is our response to the stimulus of life; it is what allows for movement and the development of consciousness.”

Via Daily Dharma

Rules That Serve You | March 7, 2015 I suggest you become aware of the rules in your meditation practice, and not just try to stop them, for that would just be creating a rule not to have rules. You will have rules in your meditation practice, but they need to be ones that serve you rather than oppress you. The rules need to be open to questioning, to reassessment, and to further refinement. - Jason Siff, "The Problem with Meditation Instructions" Read More →

Via Upworthy / FB: