Via JMG: Ellen DeGeneres Slams Indiana

Labels: Ellen Degeneres, Indiana, LGBT rights, religious liberty

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 27/03/2015

“A religião tem nos distanciado muito de Deus. Ela tem nos levado a acreditar em um Deus que está fora de nós. E você acredita porque um Deus que te observa, protege, e guia seus passos, traz uma sensação de segurança. Você se sente confortável e interpreta esse estado de conforto como felicidade. Mas, essa felicidade não resiste a dez minutos de análise, porque é uma felicidade baseada em crenças, não na experiência.”

“La religión nos ha distanciado mucho de Dios. Ella nos ha llevado a creer en un Dios que está fuera de nosotros. Y tú crees porque es un Dios que te observa, protege, y guía tus pasos, trae una sensación de seguridad. Te sientes cómodo e interpretas ese estado de comodidad como felicidad. Pero esta felicidad no resiste diez minutos de análisis, porque es una felicidad basada en creencias, no en la experiencia.”

"Religion has created a great distance between us and God. It has led us to believe in a God who exists outside of us. We believe this because it brings us a sense of security to imagine a God who watches over us, protects us, and guides our steps. We feel comfortable and interpret this state of comfort as happiness. But this happiness does not stand up to ten minutes of interrogative analysis, because it’s a happiness based on beliefs, not a direct experience."

Via Daily Dharma

Precious Human Birth | March 27, 2015 Too much suffering is not good. If you become always manipulated by it, if suffering is always the boss, that is not good. And if you have too little suffering, you will not be inspired to pursue real happiness. That is why we speak of 'precious human birth.' Because being born in the human body provides just the right amount of suffering that we need in order to transform suffering into a source of wisdom and knowledge. - Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, "Trust Through Reason" Read More →

Via Lion's Roar: Thich Nhat Hanh on Walking Meditation

The practice of mindful walking, says Thich Nhat Hanh, is a profound and pleasurable way to deepen our connection with our body and the earth. We breathe, take a mindful step, and come back to our true home. Read on and learn how to.

Many of us walk for the sole purpose of getting from one place to another. Now suppose we are walking to a sacred place. We would walk quietly and take each gentle step with reverence. I propose that we walk this way every time we walk on the earth. The earth is sacred and we touch her with each step. We should be very respectful, because we are walking on our mother. If we walk like that, then every step will be grounding, every step will be nourishing.

We can train ourselves to walk with reverence. Wherever we walk, whether it’s the railway station or the supermarket, we are walking on the earth and so we are in a holy sanctuary. If we remember to walk like that, we can be nourished and find solidity with each step.



To walk in this way, we have to notice each step. Each step made in mindfulness can bring us back to the here and the now. Go slowly. 

Mindfulness lights our way. We don’t rush. With each breath we may take just one step. We may have run all our life, but now we don’t have to run anymore. This is the time to stop running. To be grounded in the earth is to feel its solidity with each step and know that we are right where we are supposed to be.

Each mindful breath, each mindful step, reminds us that we are alive on this beautiful planet. We don’t need anything else. It is wonderful enough just to be alive, to breathe in, and to make one step. We have arrived at where real life is available—the present moment. If we breathe and walk in this way, we become as solid as a mountain.

There are those of us who have a comfortable house, but we don’t feel that we are home. We don’t want for anything, and yet we don’t feel home. All of us are looking for our solid ground, our true home. The earth is our true home and it is always there, beneath us and around us. Breathe, take a mindful step, and arrive. We are already at home.

Make the jump here to read the full article

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 26/03/2015

“Aprenda a confiar no seu coração; aprenda a ouvi-lo e a confiar no que ele diz. A voz do coração é a voz de Deus em você. Não há diferença entre Deus, o seu coração e o próprio fluxo da vida. A Verdade é uma só.”

“Aprende a confiar en tu corazón, aprende a escucharlo y a confiar lo que él dice. La voz del corazón es la voz de Dios en ti. No hay diferencia entre Dios, tu corazón y el propio flujo de la vida. La Verdad es una sola.”

"Learn to trust your heart. Learn to listen to it and trust what it says. The voice of the heart is the voice of God within you. There is no difference between God, your heart and the very flow of life. Truth is one."

Via Daily Dharma

What Your Demons Really Need | March 26, 2015 When we obsess about weight issues or become drained by a relationship or crave a cigarette, we give our demons strength, because we aren’t really paying attention to the demon. When we understand how to feed the demon’s real need with fearless generosity, the energy tied up in our demon will tend to dissolve and become an ally. - Tsultrim Allione, "Feeding Your Demons" Read More →

Via JMG: BREAKING: California AG Asks Court To Quash Gay Death Penalty Referendum

 

"As Attorney General of California, it is my sworn duty to uphold the California and United States Constitutions and to protect the rights of all Californians. This proposal not only threatens public safety, it is patently unconstitutional, utterly reprehensible, and has no place in a civil society. Today, I am filing an action for declaratory relief with the Court seeking judicial authorization for relief from the duty to prepare and issue the title and summary for the 'Sodomite Suppression Act.' If the Court does not grant this relief, my office will be forced to issue a title and summary for a proposal that seeks to legalize discrimination and vigilantism." - California Attorney General Kamala Harris, via press release. 

Labels: California, Christian Love, Christianists, Democrats, gay death penalty, Kamala Harris, Matt McLaughlin, religion

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 25/03/2015

“Algumas pessoas compreendem que precisam resgatar a naturalidade nos cuidados com a saúde, mas acabam desenvolvendo diversas manias. Elas se tornam obsessivas por remédios, coisas “naturais” (remédios naturais, comida orgânica...). Não que o remédio natural não seja ótimo e a comida orgânica não seja maravilhosa, mas ao tornar-se obsessivo por alguma coisa, você deixa de ser natural. Pois o que é natural flui, assim como o rio.”

“Algunas personas comprenden que necesitan rescatar la naturalidad en los cuidados con la salud, pero terminan desarrollando diversas manías. Ellas se vuelven obsesivas por remedios y cosas “naturales” (remedios naturales, comida orgánica...). No es que el remedio natural no sea genial y la comida orgánica no sea maravillosa, pero al volverte obsesivo por alguna cosa, dejas de ser natural. Porque lo que es natural fluye, así como el río.”

"Some people understand the need to care for their health in a more natural way, but oftentimes they develop various obsessions. They become obsessed with natural remedies, organic foods, and so forth. This is not to say that natural medicines aren’t great and that organic food isn’t wonderful, but once we become obsessed with something, it’s no longer natural. That which is natural just flows, like a river."

Via JMG: J.K. Rowling On Dumbledore Being Gay

Labels: books, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling

Reposted from  Joe Jervis

Via Daily Dharma

One Head is Enough | March 25, 2015 In the search for 'understanding,' the mind grapples with ideas. And yet it’s only when ideas are exhausted that any breakthrough can occur. I’m a great fan of metaphors, as any poet or reader of poetry is bound to be. But from a Zen point of view, I think it helps to remember that metaphor can also be like putting a head on top of your head. Isn’t one enough? - Seido Ray Ronci, "No Words" Read More →

Via LGBT Activists / FB:

American support by the Obama administration since 2009 for LGBT rights at the UN has given Ban Ki Moon the political space he needed to push the envelope, even when faced with opposition from culturally conservative countries. In 2012 he created the UN Free and Equal Campaign, which has helped mainstream LGBT rights throughout the entire UN system. It also gave him the space to be able to lead by example and change personnel policy to be more expansively welcoming to same sex partners.

This simply would not have been possible without the support of the USA. And today’s vote is a good example why that is. The USA used its influence and compel countries on the fence to abstain from today’s vote, thereby ensuring its failure.

 

A Victory for LGBT Rights at the UN | UN Dispatch

LGBT rights secured a major bureaucratic victory at the United Nations today when member states overwhelmingly voted down a Russian-backed proposal to curtail benefits afforded to the same-sex spouses of UN staff. The vote failed by a...

undispatch.com

Ricky Martin - Disparo al Corazón (Official Video)

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/watch-ricky-martin-sing-gay-marriage-new-music-video240315

Via TED: Michael Sandel: A Arte Esquecida do Debate Democrático

Publicado em 9 de abr de 2012

A democracia prospera com o debate cívico, é o que diz Michael Sandel -- mas, vergonhosamente, perdemos essa prática. Ele conduz um divertido exercício, como participantes do TED discutindo sobre um caso recente da Suprema Corte (PGA Tour, Inc. vs. Martin) cujo resultado revela o ingrediente crítico da justiça.

Via Profoundly Human: Baha’i Curious: Why Can’t My Religion Accept My Sexuality?

I’ve been a Baha’i since April 21, 2007. 

I came out of the closet November 4, 2010, at age 24.

I’ve been gay, however, since as far back as I can remember.

I first learned about the Baha’i Faith from a Persian classmate at my high school in Auburn, Maine. We’re best of friends 15 years later, still.

She invited me over to her family home for a devotional. There, I met friends from around the world from various faiths, races and backgrounds. This diversity was intoxicating in my humble, if not sheltered, hometown of 30,000 people. I was awe-struck by the oneness that I felt at the devotional. There were songs, prayers, food and fellowship. I went back every Thursday after and became a Baha’i seven years later. It has informed, guided and enriched my life in every way imaginable.
Baha’is, by the way, believe in:

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1. The Oneness of God

2. The Oneness of Humanity and; 

3. The Oneness of Religion. 

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What got me was the idea of progressive revelation; in essence, that no one prophet is it, that Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Zoroaster, Buddha, the Bab and Baha’u’llah — who Baha’is believe is the most recent manifestation of God — have come based on the needs of humanity for the era in which they lived. 

I’ve visited the Baha’i World Center in Israel twice and I’ve opened my home in New York City for devotionals hundreds of times. I share the ideas of the Baha’i Faith with those who are curious and have been an active member within the community. Aside from my parents, the Baha’i Faith has cultivated and shaped who I've become in my life, and it is the most consistent community to which I’ve belonged.

That’s why it’s so heart-breaking that I’m considering leaving the Baha’i Faith. 

DON’T DO IT

Friends suggested that I not write this article. Baha’is have told me to deal with this quietly because it may bring about disunity. It’s been suggested that I talk it out instead; for fear that my writing something would have negative repercussions for me. I believe that any time one can express their challenges — their vulnerabilities and that which they feel makes them unlovable (and lately, being gay and a Baha’i mostly certainly makes me feel unlovable) — that it allows more shining to take place. That’s my goal in writing this: That we may all celebrate our wholeness, despite our challenges.

I also hope this is helpful to those who read it. In particular, for those gay Baha’is who are in the closet right now and, even more so, the gay Baha’is in the closet who’ve chosen to repress their sexuality and marry women in order to serve the Cause of the Baha’i Faith. Let's not pretend you don't exist.

Many Baha’is have written me over the months since The Jake Sasseville Show went live asking how I’ve reconciled being openly gay and a Baha’i. The truth is, as I receive many kind emails and Facebook posts, I realize I'm quite embarrassed to call myself a Baha'i while being at odds with the core Teaching around marriage and sexuality. 

THE TEACHING

According to the Universal House of Justice, the supreme ruling, democratically elected body of the Baha’i Faith, made up of nine members headquartered at the Baha’i World Center in Haifa, Israel:

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“Homosexuality… can well have medical aspects, and in such cases recourse should certainly be had with the best medical assistance. But it is clear from the teaching of Baha’u’llah that homosexuality is not a condition to which a person should be reconciled, but is a distortion of his or her nature which should be controlled or overcome.” (Letter to a member of the Baha’i Faith, 1973)

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Read the full article here

Photo: Like The Ocean Photography

Via JMG: CALIFORNIA: Activist Charlotte Laws Files "Jackass Initiative" Ballot Measure

In response to the proposed Sodomite Suppression Act, activist Charlotte Laws has filed her own California ballot measure titled the "Jackass Initiative."

Any person, herein known as an "Intolerant Jackass," who brings forth a ballot measure that suggests the killing of gays and/or lesbians, whether this measure is called the Sodomite Suppression Act or is known by some other name, shall be required to attend sensitivity training for at least three (3) hours per month for twelve (12) consecutive months. In addition, the offender or "Intolerant Jackass" must donate $5000 to a pro-gay or pro-lesbian organization.

Laws has been interviewed by Slate:

“I’m fighting fire with fire,” she told me. “The only way to counter [the Sodomite Suppression Act] is … to let people know that most people in California don’t agree with something as incendiary and hateful as what this one attorney proposed.” Laws recognizes the merit of having a content-neutral initiative system, but she believes “we have a very open-minded state and country. This is one guy, and there are millions of us who do not agree with this.” Laws, a former Los Angeles politician and community activist, has devoted the last few years to battling revenge porn, especially kingpin of the genre Hunter Moore. Her new campaign is much more lighthearted—and, of course, a bit quixotic.

According to her Wikipedia page, Laws is former two-term member of the Greater Valley Glen Council and is the first politician to run on the platform of representing all "beings" in her district, not merely humans. Yesterday she spoke about the Jackass Initiative on a California radio show.

Labels: 2016 elections, activism, California, Charlotte Laws, gay death penalty, Matt McLaughlin, religion

 
Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 24/03/2015

“A autopunição é uma forma de sabotagem da própria felicidade. Ela nasce da culpa. Ao se perceber vendo o prazer ou a felicidade como um perigo, procure identificar a culpa dentro de você. Se existe culpa é porque você ainda não entrou em acordo com algum aspecto do seu passado. Nesse caso, você pode não lembrar do passado, mas ele está tão presente quanto aquilo que acontece aqui agora.”

“El autocastigo es una forma de sabotaje de la propia felicidad. Éste nace de la culpa. Al percibirte viendo el placer o la felicidad como un peligro, intenta identificar la culpa dentro tuyo. Si existe culpa es porque aún no entraste en acuerdo con algún aspecto de tu pasado. En ese caso, puedes no recordar el pasado, pero éste está tan presente como aquello que sucede aquí y ahora.”

“Self-punishment is a form of sabotaging one’s own happiness. It is born out of guilt. If we’re able to notice that we perceive pleasure or happiness as a threat, we should try to observe the guilt that exists within us. If there is guilt, it’s because we have yet to integrate some aspect of our past. We may not even remember our past, but it is as present as what is happening right here and now."

Via Daily Dharma

The Empowered Individual | March 24, 2015 When individuals are happy and empowered they’re more likely to take action for the sake of others, more likely to be aware of the dignity of life and to treat all life with respect in their everyday actions, more likely to encourage others to do the same. - Pauline Sherrow, "Q&A with Pauline Sherrow" Read More →

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 23/03/2015

“Quando é possível haver um grupo de estudantes comprometidos com a Verdade, o satsang se transforma na própria experiência da Unidade. Nesse caso, o discurso é um mero detalhe, porque a transmissão acontece através do silêncio. A clareza, a guiança, as instruções chegam e tudo fica claro no seu coração, mesmo que nenhuma palavra seja dita. Até porque as palavras são muito pequenas para expressar a grandeza da Verdade.”

“Cuando es posible que haya un grupo de estudiantes comprometidos con la Verdad, el satsang se convierte en la propia experiencia de la Unidad. En ese caso, el discurso es un mero detalle, porque la transmisión sucede a través del silencio. La claridad, la guía, las instrucciones llegan y todo se aclara en tu corazón, aunque ninguna palabra sea dicha. Incluso porque las palabras son demasiado pequeñas para expresar la grandeza de la Verdad.”

"When it’s possible to have a group of students committed to the truth, satsang becomes the experience of oneness. In this case, the discourse is a mere detail, because the transmission takes place through silence. Clarity, guidance, and instructions come and everything becomes clear in one’s heart, even if no words are spoken. Words are too small to express the greatness of the truth anyways."

Via Daily Dharma

Adventures in Going Nowhere | March 23, 2015 One of the beauties of Nowhere is that you never know where you’ll end up when you head in its direction, and though the horizon is unlimited, you may have very little sense of what you’ll see along the way. The deeper blessing is that it can get you as wide-awake, exhilarated, and pumping-hearted as when you are in love. - Pico Iyer, "Adventures in Going Nowhere" Read More →