Also via Daily Dharma

BLOG: TURNING INTENTION INTO MOTIVATION How do we motivate ourselves to live up to our best aspirations? Thupten Jinpa, the Dalai Lama's principal translator and a scholar in his own right, offers two exercises that align our strongest motivations with our highest intentions.  Read More →

Via Daily Dharma

Beyond Meditation | May 13, 2015 The superhighway of meditation practice alone can’t be a pretext for bypassing essential ego work; we also must traverse the local roads of personal and interpersonal transformation. - Lewis Richmond, "The Authentic Life" Read More →

NSFW: YOGA PARODY - JANELLE MONAE, JIDENNA

SCORE!!! Olympics Officials Make HUGE Pro-Gay Move

SCORE!!! Olympics Officials Make HUGE Pro-Gay Move

In what's already being hailed as "a great step forward," the International Olympic Committee has taken a significant move against future intolerance toward the lesbian, gay and bisexual community in the Olympic Games.

The Chicago Tribune reports that IOC members unanimously voted to approve a recommendation which adds non-discrimination language regarding sexual orientation to the Olympic Charter.

"The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Olympic Charter shall be secured without discrimination of any kind, such as race, color, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status," the Charter now reads, according to the publication.

The decision to update the wording, which will also be included in all future Olympic Games host city contracts, follows a flurry of controversy surrounding the 2014 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sochi, Russia. A number of high-profile LGBT rights advocates called for the U.S. to boycott the Sochi games in response to Russia's controversial "gay propaganda" legislation.

Cher, Madonna and Lady Gaga were among the high-profile celebrities to decry the law, which imposes fines and sentences on anyone deemed to be distributing "pro-gay" information to minors. Full story here!

  Read the orginal on WGB here

Via WGB: International Study Finds Widespread Anti-Gay Discrimination in Sports

One in four gay men said they had received verbal threats of harm or had been bullied while participating in sports, and around 80 percent of people said they had witnessed such discrimination, according to a survey of 9,500 respondents.

The findings were contained in "Out on the Fields," released Sunday, which officials said was the first international study and the largest conducted on discrimination against gay, lesbian and bisexual participants in sports.

The study, which also canvassed heterosexual respondents, surveyed nearly 3,000 people in Australia, 2,025 in the United States and 1,780 in Britain. The study was also conducted in Canada, New Zealand and Ireland. Full story here via Edge!

Make the jump here to read the full article at WGB

Project ~ Equality

I Don't Know -Yes Equality

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 12/05/2015

“À medida que a sua consciência vai se expandindo, que a sua percepção vai se ampliando, e você começa a enxergar as partes da sua personalidade que estavam trancadas em negação, simultaneamente, seu canal espiritual vai se alargando. Ao mesmo tempo em que trabalha para transformar os aspectos negativos da sua personalidade, aos poucos você vai se tornando uma usina de transformação do sofrimento planetário. Então você passa a captar os karmas dos grupos mais próximos, e conforme o seu canal vai se abrindo, o diâmetro de captação vai aumentando.”

“A medida que tu consciencia se va expandiendo, que tu percepción se va ampliando, y comienzas a ver las partes de tu personalidad que estaban trabadas en negación, simultáneamente, tu canal espiritual se va ensanchando. Al mismo tiempo en que trabajas para transformar los aspectos negativos de tu personalidad, de a poco te vas volviendo una usina de transformación del sufrimiento planetario. Entonces pasas a captar los karmas de los grupos más próximos, y conforme tu canal se va abriendo, el diámetro de captación va aumentando.”

"As our consciousness expands, our perception widens and we get to see parts of our personality that were locked up in denial. As that happens, our spiritual channel continues to broaden. Even while we work to transform the negative aspects of our personality, we become 'power plants' for transforming global suffering. We start taking on the karma of those closest to us, and as our inner channel continues to open, we reach circles with an ever-expanding radius."

Via Daily Dharma

How to Fail | May 12, 2015 If you want to be a complete human being, if you want to be genuine and hold the fullness of life in your heart, then failure is an opportunity to get curious about what is going on and listen to the storylines. Don't buy the ones that blame it on everybody else, and don’t buy the storylines that blame it on yourself, either. - Pema Chödrön, "How to Fail" Read More →

Anon FB Post of the Day: Dream on fundamentalists.

"I love this explanation: 

So this whole universe is infinite as far as human perception goes and one galaxy is a spec of dust in that universe and the earth is a spec of dust in the galaxy and God really cares if one is gay or straight? God is that small and petty?
 
Dream on fundamentalists."

Via FB:

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 11/05/2015

“A mente condicionada normalmente nos leva a seguir na direção oposta àquela que determina o coração. Isso gera tensão e angústia. Esse conflito de direções dentro de nós é o que conhecemos como sofrimento. A mente condicionada quer agradar; ela quer ser respeitada, considerada e amada. Portanto todas as ações que nascem dela são estratégias para receber esse amor. Mas amor forçado não é amor. Esse “amor” não preenche, somente aumenta a angústia. A ação capaz de preencher o vazio existencial do ser humano com alegria é aquela que nasce do coração. É preciso saber ouvir a voz do coração, mesmo quando somos julgados e criticados por isso.”

“La mente condicionada normalmente nos lleva a seguir en la dirección opuesta de aquella que determina el corazón. Esto genera tensión y angustia. Este conflicto de direcciones dentro nuestro es lo que conocemos como sufrimiento. La mente condicionada quiere agradar, quiere ser respetada, considerada y amada. Por lo tanto, todas las acciones que nacen de ella son estrategias para recibir ese amor. Pero amor forzado no es amor. Ese “amor” no llena, solamente aumente la angustia. La acción capaz de llenar el vacío existencial del ser humano con alegría es aquella que nace del corazón. Es necesario saber oír la voz del corazón, hasta cuando somos juzgados y criticados por ello.”

"The conditioned mind usually leads us to the opposite direction from where our heart guides us towards. This causes tension and anguish. We feel this clash in directions simply as suffering. The conditioned mind wants to please, so as to make us feel respected, considered and loved. All actions born from this place are strategies to receive this love – a forced love that really isn't love at all, for it doesn't fulfill us and only increases our anguish. Only actions that spring from the heart can fill up with joy that existential emptiness human beings feel. We need to learn to listen to the voice of the heart, even if we are judged and criticized for it."

Via Daily Dharma

It's Up to You | May 11, 2015 Nobody is going to save you from your own mind. Nobody can get into the heart of your experience and fix anything for you. If you want to make your own internal experience more hospitable, only you can do that work. Others can always support and guide you and spark insights, but ultimately you are your own boss and the agent of understanding your mind and opening your heart. - Ethan Nichtern, "Awake with Others" Read More →

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 09/05/2015

“Qual a diferença entre a dependência e a entrega num relacionamento? É a mesma diferença que existe entre medo e confiança, são extremos opostos. A dependência é um desdobramento do medo, a entrega é um desdobramento da confiança.”

“¿Cuál es la diferencia entre la dependencia y la entrega en una relación? Es la misma diferencia que existe entre miedo y confianza, son extremos opuestos. La dependencia es un desdoblamiento del miedo, la entrega es un desdoblamiento de la confianza.”

"What is the difference between dependence and surrender within a relationship? It's the same as the difference between fear and trust – they are extreme opposites. Dependence is an offshoot of fear, while surrender is an unfolding of trust.”

Via Daily Dharma!

The Limits of Language | May 9, 2015 Our hearts and minds change from moment to moment, just as the clouds shift in the evening sky as the sun goes down. Who are we to think we have grasped the true nature of our souls? The Buddha-mind within us will not be constrained by the limits of language. - Abbess Fushimi, "Shedding Light" Read More →

Via FB:

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 08/05/2015

“Temos reproduzido na esfera coletiva as mesmas dificuldades que vivemos nos nossos relacionamentos afetivos, na nossa família, com nossos vizinhos, com quem está perto. Precisamos rever nossos comportamentos, mudar a nossa relação com o outro e com a natureza. Os sintomas da crise que estamos vivendo são desdobramentos da inabilidade do ser humano em lidar com a própria sombra. Assim como suprimimos o ciúme e a inveja, deixando esses sentimentos influenciarem nossas vidas de forma indireta, temos deixado o ódio inconsciente destruir o planeta. Na base da crise planetária está a guerra dos sexos, a distorção do masculino e do feminino.”

“Hemos reproducido en la esfera colectiva las mismas dificultades que vivimos en nuestras relaciones afectivas, en nuestra familia, con nuestros vecinos, con quien está cerca. Necesitamos rever nuestros comportamientos, cambiar nuestra relación con el otro y con la naturaleza. Los síntomas de la crisis que estamos viviendo son desdoblamientos de la inhabilidad del ser humano en lidiar con la propia sombra. Así como suprimimos los celos y la envidia, dejando que estos sentimientos influencien nuestras vidas de forma indirecta, hemos dejado que el odio inconsciente destruya el planeta. En la base de la crisis planetaria está la guerra de los sexos, la distorsión del masculino y del femenino.”

"We recreate the same difficulties at the collective level that we endure within our loving relationships, with our family, neighbors or whoever we are around. It's time we take a better look at our behaviors, so as to transform our relationship with others, as well as with nature as a whole. We are experiencing a crisis, the symptoms of which stem from our inability to deal with our own shadow. In the same way that we feed jealousy or envy, allowing these feelings to indirectly influence our lives, we have also been allowing unconscious hatred to destroy the planet. At the very root of this whole global crisis lies a war between the sexes, acting through the distortion of the masculine and feminine principles."

Via Daily Dharma

Dissatisfaction Motivates Awakening | May 8, 2015 It is precisely because impermanent, conditioned phenomena are unsatisfying that we are motivated to awaken. Seeing these characteristics clearly becomes the cause of and condition for liberation. - Joseph Goldstein, "The End of Suffering" Read More →

WGB Poll: Americans more comfortable with gay presidential candidate than evangelical

Americans would feel more comfortable with an LGBTI presidential candidate than an evangelical Christian one, according to a new poll.

The latest WSJ/NBC poll asked 1,000 adults last week whether they would 'be enthusiastic,' 'be comfortable with,' 'have some reservations about' or 'be very uncomfortable with' a list of qualities of a potential leader.

Some 61% said they would be either enthusiastic about or comfortable with an LGBTI candidate, while only 37% said they would have reservations or be uncomfortable and 2% were not sure.

By comparison, 52% said they'd be enthusiastic about or comfortable with an evangelical Christian running for president, while 44% expressed some degree of hesitancy about the idea and 4% were not sure. Full story here!

WGB: I was actually surprised to read this. I am pleased, but surprised.