Via JMG: HOUSTON: LGBT Rights Bill Will Stand

Via the Houston Chronicle:

Opponents of Houston's non-discrimination ordinance failed to gather enough valid signatures to force a repeal referendum, a state district judge ruled Friday, validating city officials' decision to toss out the petition foes submitted last summer. After separate rulings from both a jury and state District Judge Robert Schaffer, attorneys for both sides entered dueling counts of the valid signatures, adding and subtracting voters as Schaffer responded to motions. By early this week, the counts were closer together than ever before, fewer than 1,000 signatures apart. Ultimately, Schaffer on Friday ruled the final count of valid signatures was 16,684, leaving opponents short of the threshold required in the city charter of 17,249 signatures, or 10 percent of the ballots cast in the last mayoral election.

"The jury's verdict and the judge's ruling are a powerful smack-down against the forces of discrimination and intolerance," said Geoffrey Harrison, lead attorney for the city, in a statement. "And maybe, just maybe, they'll reconsider their misguided ways." The law, on hold during trial, is now in effect, according to a city spokeswoman. Mayor Annise Parker released a statement celebrating the verdict. "I would hope that the plaintiffs would not appeal, they lost during a jury trial and today they also lost with the judge's ruling," Parker said. "Now all Houstonians have access to the same protections." But opponents, largely conservative activists and pastors whose objections center on the protections the law extends to gay and transgender residents, say they will appeal the decision. Andy Taylor, attorney for the plaintiffs, said he remains confident they will ultimately take the law to voters.

Stand by for some epic sadz! Read the ruling.

Labels: Annise Parker, Christianists, crackpots, HA HA HA, hate groups, Houston, Jonathan Saenz, LGBT rights, Liberty Institute, religion, Texas, Texas Values

Reposted from Joe Jervis

It Takeis Two Episode 2: "Seriously Part 2?!"

Via Sri Prem Baba: aFlor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 18/04/2015

“O eu inferior age na forma de pensamentos destrutivos gerando angústia, depressão e desespero. Mergulhamos nos nossos dramas e fantasias, e a nossa vida acaba se tornando uma maneira de provar que isso é verdade. Ao se ver identificado com esses pensamentos, fique um minuto em silêncio. Um instante em silêncio faz com que você volte para o seu centro, e se torne uma testemunha silenciosa do que acontece. Nesse lugar não existe sofrimento. Este é o nosso trabalho: desapegar da compulsão de pensar.”

“El yo inferior actúa en la forma de pensamientos destructivos generando angustia, depresión y desesperación. Nos sumergimos en nuestros dramas y fantasías, y nuestra vida acaba tornándose una manera de probar que eso es verdad. Al verte identificado con estos pensamientos, permanece un minuto en silencio. Un instante en silencio hace que vuelvas a tu centro, y te vuelvas un testigo silencioso de lo que sucede. En este lugar no existe sufrimiento. Este es nuestro trabajo: desapegarnos de la compulsión de pensar.”

"The lower self acts through the form of destructive thoughts, which in turn generate anxiety, depression and despair. We dive head-on into our dramas and fantasies, and our lives turn out to be a way of proving that they are true. If we find ourselves identified with these thoughts, we can take one minute of silence. A moment of silence allows us to come back to our center and to become a silent witness of what is happening. In this place, there is no suffering. It is our job to detach ourselves from compulsive thinking."

Via Daily Dharma

No Need to Get Angry | April 18, 2015 We may curse inanimate things like the weather, but it is with animate beings that we most often get angry. If we further analyze these animate causes that make us unhappy, we find that they are themselves influenced by other conditions. They are not making us angry simply because they want to. In this respect, because they are influenced by other conditions they are in fact powerless; so there is no need to get angry with them. - His Holiness the Dalai Lama, "Enduring the Fires" Read More →

Brokenhearted Baha'is: LGBT's Rejected by Their Church

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/nicholassnowlive/2015/04/17/brokenhearted-bahais-lgbts-rejected-by-their-church

Nicholas Snow welcomes Sean Rayshel, an openly-gay, third generation American Baha'i who for the past fifteen years has been an advocate for LGBT inclusiveness in the Baha'i Faith. Says the Baha'i official website, "the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith inspire individuals and communities as they work to improve their own lives and contribute to the advancement of civilization." Yet, in a widely circulated letter from the faith's Department of the Secretariat the faith reinforces,"Marriage is a union between a man and a woman, and sexual relations are only permissible between husband and wife."  Because of his same-sex marriage (since 2008 to Rich Tarpening), Sean faces the loss of his Administrative Rights and/or expulsion from the Baha'i Faith.

Sean founded the only LGBT Baha'i Twitter account Gay Baha'is United which currently has 1,500 followers, as well as being a co-administrator of the Facebook group "LGBTQ Baha'is and Allies".  Recently Sean has taken over the helm of the longest standing LGBT Baha'i online site Gay/Lesbian Baha'i Story Project.

Follow Nicholas on Twitter and Facebook to be alerted at the start of live broadcasts!

"That's Our Gal"

O hell yes!

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 17/04/2015

“A verdadeira riqueza nasce da confiança e da plenitude, não do medo. Para alinhar-se com a prosperidade é preciso desenvolver a virtude da confiança e se mover em direção à entrega. Nas áreas da sua vida em que você completou a entrega e já pode confiar no fluxo da vida, a energia flui livremente. As coisas acontecem com base na corrente de afirmação, que é a corrente que se move em direção à prosperidade, à saúde, ao contentamento.”

Para ler o Satsang completo, acesse: bit.ly/1ysTYMz

“La verdadera riqueza nace de la confianza y de la plenitud, no del miedo. Para alinearte con la prosperidad es necesario desarrollar la virtud de la confianza y moverse en dirección a la entrega. En las áreas de tu vida en las que completaste la entrega y ya puedes confiar en el flujo de la vida, la energía fluye libremente. Las cosas suceden con base en la corriente de afirmación, que es la corriente que se mueve en dirección a la prosperidad, la salud, el contentamiento.”

"True wealth is born out of trust and abundance, not out of fear. In order to align oneself with prosperity, it is necessary to develop the virtue of trust and to move towards surrender. In the areas of your life where you have already surrendered and are able to trust in the flow of life, the energy flows freely. Things happen out of a current of affirmation. This current naturally moves towards prosperity, health, and contentment."

Via Daily Dharma

Receiving Love | April 17, 2015 Many people are extending love, the simple wish for us to be happy—and have been since the day we were born. What is remarkable to me is what happens when we are willing to notice it. And even more remarkable is what happens when we are willing to receive it. The simple act of accepting a stranger’s wish for our happiness empowers us to experience the world in a completely different way. - John Makransky, "Love Is All Around" Read More →

Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 16/04/2015

“Num relacionamento, quando o outro diz não para você, ou seja, quando ele não atende as suas expectativas, você logo fica magoado. Você se fecha e passa a agir com indiferença. Essa é sua defesa. Você finge que nada está acontecendo, mas fica remoendo por dentro. No fundo, você quer chamar a atenção do outro; quer que ele peça desculpas e faça você se sentir importante. Assim age o orgulho dentro de nós. Ele é um guardião que está a serviço de manter a identificação com o eu inferior. Enquanto não puder aceitar que o outro não pode fazer como você quer, trabalhe para se desidentificar do orgulho. Ao percebê-lo atuando pergunte: ‘Será que eu sou só isso? Eu sou o orgulho?’ Assim você pode voltar ao seu centro e abrir mão desse jogo.”

Acesse o Satsang completo: bit.ly/1HuNEq0

“En una relación de pareja, cuando el otro te dice no, o sea, cuando no atiende tus expectativas, después quedas herido. Te cierras y pasas a actuar con indiferencia. Esta es tu defensa. Pretendes que nada está sucediendo, pero te quedas molesto por dentro. En el fondo, quieres llamar la atención del otro, quieres que te pida disculpas y te haga sentir importante. Así actúa el orgullo dentro nuestro. Es un guardián que está al servicio de mantener la identificación con el yo inferior. Mientras no puedas aceptar que el otro no puede hacer lo que tú quieres, trabaja para des-identificarte del orgullo. Al percibirlo actuando pregúntate: ¿Será que yo solo soy eso? ¿Soy el orgullo? Así puedes volver a tu centro y soltar este juego.”

"In a relationship, we easily get hurt when the other says no or simply doesn’t meet our expectations. We close ourselves off and we become indifferent. This is our defense mechanism. We pretend that nothing is happening, but we are actually simmering on the inside. At a deeper level, we just want to get the other’s attention; we want them to apologize to us and make us feel important. This is the way pride acts within us. Pride is a guardian that is at the service of maintaining our identification with the lower self. As long as we’re still unable to accept that the other cannot or will not do what we would like, we must try to de-identify from our pride. As we observe pride acting in us, we can ask ourselves: ‘Is this all that I am? Am I only this pride?’ This will help you to return to your center and let go of this game.”

Via Daily Dharma

Compassionate Fierceness | April 16, 2015 Fierceness is not the same as cruelty. Our fierceness is what gives us the energy to want to change things in a positive direction. It’s also what mothers feel when somebody attacks their children. And that’s a healthy thing. We need to re-embrace that kind of fierceness and indignation, not from an egoistic point of view but from a compassionate perspective. We can’t let the world be destroyed, and we need to be fierce—not violent or cruel, but fierce about it. - Michael Soulé, "The Whole Package" Read More →

Via Sen McGlinn's blog: On conversion therapies for homosexuality, July 7, 2014

[This is a citation from a letter to an individual written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice: dated 7 July, 2014. It was cited, in German, by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahais of Germany. A full text would be much appreciated. ~ Sen]

“Sie haben auch gefragt, ob das Haus der Gerechtigkeit‚wirksame Behandlungen der Homosexualität nennen könnte, die dokumentierte Erfolge aufwiesen. Darüber wird die Wissenschaft zu entscheiden haben, und natürlich haben sich die Ansichten der Mediziner zur Homosexualität im Laufe der Jahre deutlich verändert. Die Frage ist jedoch nicht, ob die sexuelle Ausrichtung geändert werden kann, sondern ob man sich als Bahá’í nach Kräften bemüht, Bahá’u’lláhs Lehren zu folgen. Es bleibt dem einzelnen Gläubigen überlassen zu entscheiden, ob eine Beratung oder ein anderer Ansatz ihm persönlich dabei hilft.”

(Aus einem Brief im Auftrag des Universalen Hauses der Gerechtigkeit an einen einzelnen Gläubigen, 7. Juli 2014)

Sen's English translation:

They also asked whether House of Justice could name any effective treatments for homosexuality, whose success has been documented. This is something that science will have to determine, and of course physicians’ views regarding homosexuality have changed significantly over the years. However, the question is not whether sexual orientation can be changed, but whether one does one’s best, as a Bahai, to follow Baha’u’llah’s teachings. It is left to the individual believer to decide whether a particular kind of counseling, or some other approach, helps him personally.
(From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, July 7, 2014)

~~~~~~~~~

Short link: http://wp.me/PcgF5-2y2

Make the jump here to the Original Posting

Via JMG: Apple's Tim Cook Tops Out's Power 50 List

 

Out Magazine today published its ninth annual ranking of the 50 most powerful LGBT people in the United States.  Taking the top spot from last year's list leader, Ellen DeGeneres, is Apple CEO Tim Cook, who formally came out six months ago. Here is this year's top ten:
1. Tim Cook 2. Ellen DeGeneres 3. Rachel Maddow 4. Sen. Tammy Baldwin 5. Anderson Cooper 6. Anthony Romero  7. Chad Griffin 8. Mary Kay Henry 9. Laverne Cox 10. Andy Cohen
Romero is the executive director of the ACLU and Henry is the head of the SEIU. Missing from the list for the second year is closeted homocon blogger Matt Drudge, who ranked at #21 in 2013 and at #16 in 2012. Fellow homocons Peter Thiel and Ken Mehlman appear on this year's ranking at #13 and #41 respectively, with closeted Fox anchor Shepard Smith coming at #20. Also gone this year is recently retired blogger Andrew Sullivan, who ranked at #26 last year. Hit the top link for the full 2015 list.

Labels: Anderson Cooper, Chad Griffin, Ellen Degeneres, Out Magazine, Rachel Maddow, Shepard Smith, Tammy Baldwin, Tim Cook

posted by Joe Jervis

Via Mindful: The Many Meanings of Mindfulness

When we hear "mindfulness" it ought to inspire caring and joy, not just attention.

Photograph by Caleb Roenigk/Flickr.com

By Barry Boyce

Mindfulness is a big deal these days. Now that we’re hearing the word so often in so many contexts, some readers are telling us that it can confuse them. The meaning fuzzes out, and they have a hard time talking to others about it. It’s like breakfast, which covers everything from a granola bar to a Grand Slam at Denny’s. So it may be worth taking some time to consider what mindfulness conjures up in people’s minds when they hear it.

One of the first things to clarify is that the word is doing double duty. For one, it refers to an innate quality or way of being we all have access to that allows us to be fully present, attending to the moment, deeply engaged and yet at peace. Mindfulness also refers to techniques that train our minds to be that way more often. Understanding the difference between the practice and the innate quality is vital. If we don’t, it becomes far too easy to think mindfulness is something possessed by experts and conferred by them on others.

Once you’ve sorted out the confusion between the way of being and the practices to cultivate it, you’re left with the question of how adequate a job this single word can do to describe a quality so elusive, and so wonderful, that it’s like water. How many ways can you describe what water is, and does, and the forms it can take?

To delve into this question, we queried a dozen or so people who teach mindfulness (the practice, not the innate quality) to get their thoughts about the effectiveness of the word.

There was a consensus that mindfulness as an umbrella term for a range of qualities is powerful, but also limited in certain ways. For one thing, Jon Kabat-Zinn and others say, mindfulness also needs to be heartfulness. There’s feeling and caring there, not just cool, distant perception. Being mindful can also mean being aware of causes and effects and responsibilities—up to and including for our whole planet—but there is no mindful ideology that everyone who meditates signs on to.

Others commented that mindfulness can sound like something that takes a lot of work, like mental ditch digging, or that involves being hypervigilant—never misplacing your keys or making a wrong turn. In fact, there’s an ease that comes about as one obsesses less about maintaining storylines that solidly define us in every situation.

Janice Marturano, of the Institute for Mindful Leadership, emphasized that there’s a strong element of aspiration to mindfulness. It’s not something you get once and then have forever. In a similar vein, Michael Chender, who also does leadership training, talked about relaxing into ambiguity or uncertainty, not needing to nail things down in every moment.

Still others were looking for some juice or joy. Mindfulness has a quality of pleasure about it, and connectedness, to other people and your surroundings. It makes things taste better. When you hear a word like chocolate, juices start to flow. The heavy three-syllableness of mindfulness doesn’t capture the pleasure factor. Some suggested that space or flow or presence are qualities that make sense to talk about in the right context.

Tara Healey, of Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, among others, concluded by saying that uncovering mindfulness is a journey. And all the limited ways we think about it come about because we’re asking the word to carry a wide range of meanings. No single definition can cover the whole territory. It’s a territory we discover in moments that go beyond words.

This article also appeared in the February 2015 issue of Mindful magazine.
Subscribe to Mindful's print edition or digital edition.

Make the jump here to read the original

Sete Vidas: Luís conta para os filhos que teve duas mães

"Em algumas famílias, todos são da mesma cor. Em algumas famílias, todos são de cores diferentes. Algumas famílias têm...
Posted by Jean Wyllys on Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Sete Vidas: Luís conta para os filhos que teve duas mães

"Em algumas famílias, todos são da mesma cor. Em algumas famílias, todos são de cores diferentes. Algumas famílias têm madrasta ou padrasto, irmão postiço ou irmã postiça. Algumas famílias adotam filhos, algumas famílias podem ter dois pais e outras famílias podem ter duas mães... Vocês sabiam disso, que uma família pode ter duas mães? Às vezes são dois pais e, às vezes, duas mães.

É um pouco confuso, sim, porque não é assim que acontece na maioria dos casos. Tão confuso que a sua irmã, quando era bem pequenininha, perguntou para a mamãe quem era o avô dela e a sua mãe, com medo que a sua irmã não fosse entender, inventou um avô de mentirinha; foi uma forma que a sua mãe encontrou para adiar o assunto da vovó Vivian, para vocês estarem grandes e entender tudo melhor, como estão agora.

(Não tinha pai), mas eu tive DUAS MÃES. Para mim foi legal (ter duas mães) porque eu tive ESSAS MÃES. Tudo o que uma criança precisa, meu filho - amor, carinho, dedicação - tudo isto eu tinha de sobra. A Estér e a Vivan eram casadas, tipo namoradas, duas mulheres que se amavam muito. A minha família era tão legal que eu nunca podia imaginar que família pudesse ser de outro jeito.

Não importa se quem cuida de você é homem ou mulher, o importante é a pessoa que cuida de você te dar amor e segurança."

#SeteVidas
#EmDefesaDeTodasAsFamílias
#MinhaFamíliaExiste

Via Human Rights Campaign

J.K. Rowling Harvard Commencement Speech | Harvard University Commencement 2008

The Baha'i Faith is Homophobic: The Baha'i faith and LGB issues

From a colelague on FB:

The group, Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, believes that all religions have some good and that nearly all religions change their beliefs over time -- generally becoming more tolerant. Here's an observation the group makes about the Bahai Faith and homosexuality. It seems to be a reasonably accurate and pithy summary of the present situation:

The Baha'i Faith and LGB issues

The Baha'i Faith teaches that homosexual behavior is unacceptable among its members. Voting rights of some of their lesbian, gay and bisexual members quite an(LGB) who are out of the "closet" have been suspended; some memberships have been terminated.

The Baha'i faith is in a unique position with regards to lesbians, gays, and bisexuals (LGB's) because:

The last person capable of changing the authoritative interpretation of its holy texts confirmed that homosexual behavior, same-sex marriage, etc. is unacceptable.

He died without naming a successor.

Human sexuality researchers, professional mental health associations, social worker professional associations, and liberal religious groups have reached a near consensus that homosexual and bisexual orientations and behavior are normal and natural for a minority of adults, and that homosexual orientation is unchosen, and unchangeable.

One of the main principles of the Baha'i faith is their respect and adoption of the findings of science.

Thus Baha'i beliefs concerning sexual orientation are quite similar to those of the conservative wings of Christianity, Islam, Judaism and other religions. They reject the findings of science on this topic, and they have no mechanism to change their position.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_bah.htm

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 15/04/2015

“Ao avançar e aprofundar nas práticas espirituais, você inevitavelmente começa a enxergar mais claramente as atuações do eu inferior. É a sua dedicação à prática espiritual que te dá essa visão clara. Portanto, esteja atento para não cair na armadilha da mente que te faz acreditar que você está involuindo. Você está apenas podendo perceber coisas que antes não percebia, e a impressão é que a sombra está ficando maior, mas isso não é verdade.”

“Al avanzar y profundizar en las prácticas espirituales, inevitablemente comienzas a ver más claramente las actuaciones del yo inferior. Es tu dedicación a la práctica espiritual lo que te da esta visión clara. Por lo tanto, permanece atento para no caer en la trampa de la mente que te hace creer que estás involucionando. Solo estás pudiendo percibir cosas que antes no percibías, y la impresión es que la sombra se está haciendo más grande, pero eso no es verdad.”

"By advancing and deepening in your spiritual practices, you inevitably begin to see the actions of the lower self more clearly. Your dedication to a spiritual practice gives you this clear vision. So be careful not to fall into the trap of the mind that makes you believe you are going backwards. You're just being able to perceive things now that you couldn’t see before. It may seem as though the shadow is getting bigger, but this is not true."