Via NYT: On Same-Sex Marriage, Catholics Are Leading the Way

Take a look at this list of countries: Belgium, Canada, Spain, Argentina, Portugal, Brazil, France, Uruguay, Luxembourg and Ireland. Name two things that they have in common.

They don’t share a continent, obviously. Or a language.

But in all of them, the Roman Catholic Church has more adherents, at least nominally, than any other religious denomination does.

And all of them belong to the vanguard of 20 nations that have decided to make same-sex marriage legal.

In fact, countries with a Catholic majority or plurality make up half of those where two men or two women can now wed or will soon be able to.

Make the jump here to read the full article on the NYT

Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 27/05/2015

“Nascemos querendo receber amor exclusivo. Passamos a vida exigindo esse amor em nossas relações. Mas isso não existe, então sofremos. Apanhamos até perceber que tudo que buscamos está dentro de nós mesmos. Então compreendemos que seremos amados somente quando esse amor estiver fluindo abundantemente dos nossos próprios corações. Parece absurdo, mas assim é.”

“Nacemos queriendo recibir amor exclusivo. Pasamos la vida exigiendo ese amor en nuestras relaciones. Pero esto no existe, entonces sufrimos. Sufrimos hasta percibir que todo lo que buscamos está dentro de nosotros. Entonces comprendemos que solamente seremos amados cuando ese amor esté fluyendo abundantemente desde nuestros propios corazones. Parece absurdo, pero así es.”

"When we are born, we want to receive exclusive love. We spend our lives demanding this love from our relationships, but it does not exist, so we suffer. We get caught up in this idea until we realize that everything we are looking for is within us. Then we understand that we will only be loved when love is flowing abundantly from our own hearts. This seems absurd, but that’s how it works.”

Today's Daily Dharma: Caught Up in Thoughts.

 

Caught Up in Thoughts

The thoughts are not the problem. Thoughts are the nature of the mind. The problem is that we identify with them. 

- Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, "No Excuses"  

 

Via Global Secular Humanist Movement

Sesame Street: Grover and Zachary Quinto are Flexible

Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 26/05/2015

“Às vezes é necessário realizar a prática de uma austeridade inteligente, que é quando fazemos um esforço, um exercício, para redirecionar os vetores da nossa vontade. Tenho incentivado e sugerido cada vez mais a prática do silêncio, porque ele é a fundação que sustenta o templo da consciência.”

“A veces es necesario realizar la práctica de una austeridad inteligente, que es cuando hacemos un esfuerzo, un ejercicio, para redireccionar los vectores de nuestra voluntad. Vengo incentivado y sugiriendo cada vez más la práctica del silencio, porque éste es la base que sustenta el templo de la consciencia.”

“Sometimes we need to practice an intelligent austerity, which means putting our energy towards an activity that redirects our willpower. More and more, I have been encouraging and suggesting the practice of cultivating silence. Silence is the foundation on which the temple of awareness rests.”

Today's Daily Dharma: Respect Between Sects.

Respect Between Sects

Whoever honors his own sect and disparages another man’s, whether from blind loyalty or with the intention of showing his own sect in a favorable light, does his own sect the greatest possible harm. Concord is best, with each hearing and respecting the other’s teachings. 

- Ashoka, "Ashoka, Beloved of the Gods"  

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Via JMG: Greenland Approves Same-Sex Marriage

 

Google Translate has a bit of difficulty with Danish, but our resident international expert, JMG reader Luis, advises us that Greenland's Parliament has just voted unanimously to adopt Danish laws legalizing same-sex marriage and gay adoption. Greenland is an autonomous country within the kingdom of Denmark and is not a member of the United Nations. More than three times the size of Texas, Greenland has a population of about 57,000.

Labels: Denmark, gay adoption, Greenland, marriage equality

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Vi JMG: TEXAS: Lawmaker Vows To Kill His Own Bill Rather Than Allow Anti-Gay "Defy SCOTUS" Marriage Amendment

 

From the Houston Chronicle:

A Democratic state senator has dredged up anti-gay marriage legislation that advocates thought was dead this session, attaching the language to an uncontroversial county affairs bill under the noses of his fellow Democrats. While gay rights advocates decried the move, the bill's original sponsor in the House said he would never let his legislation pass with the anti-same-sex marriage language in-tact. "I'm the author of the bill. I will resolve the bill," said Rep. Garnet Coleman, D- Houston, a staunch gay marriage advocate.
House Bill 2977, as Coleman originally filed it, was an uncontroversial county affairs placeholder bill, meant to act as a vehicle for lawmakers to ensure important local issues can be passed late in the session. As the bill was headed to the Senate committee for approval this week, however, Sen. Eddie Lucio, Jr. attached a number of other bills to Coleman's legislation, including one that would seek to block a Supreme Court ruling in favor of gay marriage.
If the bill passes in the GOP-dominated Senate, which Coleman expects it to, it would need to return to the House, where the lower chamber's members would have to concur with the changes. Coleman said if he can't strip the anti-gay marriage off his legislation, then he would withdraw it completely. "If I can't get it off, then the bill goes to bill heaven," Coleman said. "I don't support that legislation or that language."

BOOM. (Tipped by JMG reader American Putz)

Labels: Cecil Bell, crackpots, Eddie Lucio, Garnet Coleman, LGBT rights, marriage equality, religion, SCOTUS, Texas

Reposted from Joe Jervis

VIa Free & Equal / FB:

VIa JMG: IRELAND: Marriages By September

 

Via the Irish Times:

Work will begin this week to give effect to the referendum decision to amend the Constitution with the first same-sex marriages likely to take place as early as September. Tánaiste Joan Burton said legislation would be brought before the Seanad and Dáil as early as possible, with the aim of getting it passed before the summer recess. “That would mean that we would be in a position to have same-sex marriage celebrations, civil ceremonies by, probably, September,” she told reporters at the Africa Day celebrations in the Phoenix Park. The Constitution will be formally amended in the coming days when President Michael D Higgins signs the Marriage Equality Bill into law, and a new sentence will be added to article 41 stating: “Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex.” To give effect to the amendment, the Oireachtas will enact the Marriage Bill 2015, which will state in law the principle that being of the same sex is no longer an impediment to marriage. It will also make clear that religious solemnisers will not be obliged to solemnise the marriage of a same-sex couple, and that the same prohibited degrees of relationship will apply to same-sex marriages.

RELATED:  In the above map from Freedom To Marry, Finland is shaded red although their law doesn't go into effect until March 2017. Slovenia is shaded light green because although their legislature approved same-sex marriage in March 2015, their bill has not yet been signed into law due to a continuing battle to place the issue to a public referendum.

 

Labels: Ireland, LGBT rights, marriage equality

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via The Guardian: LGBT veterans to get their first federally approved monument

 

A monument dedicated to LGBT veterans will be unveiled in a national cemetery near Chicago on Memorial Day, in a celebration of the first federally approved monument to LGBT veterans.

Make the jump here to read the full article

Via Deep South Daily: “I am the mother of a gay son and I’ve taken enough from you good people”

 

Photo by Jamiecat (Flickr/cc)

Read one of the most heartfelt letters a newspaper has ever published.

It seems that a century’s worth of progress has been made for gay rights since the dawn of the millennium fifteen years ago. Back then, not a single U.S. state had marriage equality. The term “marriage equality” was not even a part of the social zeitgeist. But today, marriage equality is the law of the land in all but a handful of states. It looks likely that the Supreme Court will soon rule on a right to marriage for all. And just yesterday, Ireland — traditionally a very conservative, Catholic country — became the first nation to pass (and overwhelmingly so) marriage equality by national referendum.

Even more importantly than marriage, a social revolution has made being an LGBT person more socially accepted — at times even celebrated — than the kids of the year 2000 could’ve ever dreamed. Still, there are constant reminders of the work that remains to be done.
We still see the forces of discrimination and bigotry hard at work to stave off the tide of freedom and acceptance that LGBT people are now experiencing. Evangelicals rally around viciously anti-gay reality show stars — like the Robertson family of Duck Dynasty or the Duggars of 19 Kids and Counting. And that’s why it’s important to remember that, for all these gains, there is still work to be done.

In April 2000, a mother named Sharon Underwood from White River Junction, Vermont wrote one of the most heartfelt and pointed letters to the editor that the Valley News has probably ever received. In the letter, she expressed her righteous anger at the local do-gooders whose moralism had for years inflicted pain and torment on her young gay son. That letter is still prescient today. Even now, it tells the story of thousands of LGBT youth trapped in communities where they still aren’t welcome.

Here is the full article including the letter, reprinted in full here

Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 25/05/2015

“O mal atrai o mal. O mal em você sente atração pelo mal lá fora. Isso ocorre porque a maldade precisa ser ativada para ser purificada e transformada. E conforme a purificação vai acontecendo, você começa a ver que tudo está absolutamente certo, mesmo quando está errado. Os erros, na verdade, são oportunidades de aprendizado, cura e libertação.”

“El mal atrae el mal. El mal en ti siente atracción por el mal ahí afuera. Esto ocurre porque la maldad necesita ser activada para ser purificada y transformada. Y conforme la purificación va sucediendo, comienzas a ver que todo está absolutamente bien, hasta cuando está equivocado. Las equivocaciones, en verdad, son oportunidades de aprendizaje, cura y liberación.” 

“Evil attracts evil. The malevolence in us feels attracted to the malevolence outside. Evil needs to be activated in order to be purified and transformed. As this purification takes place, we start to see that everything is absolutely right, even when it is ‘wrong.’ Mistakes are in fact an opportunity for learning, healing, and liberation.”

Today's Daily Dharma: Undistorted Experience

 

Undistorted Experience

When mindfulness is quick enough, the student will experience the moment of consciousness itself. He will see one mind-moment arising and vanishing in clear detail. This is to witness the truth of experience, undistorted by delusion. It is a glimpse of ultimate reality. - Cynthia Thatcher, "How Long Is a Moment"

Read More

Via Mindbodygreen.com: 8 Things Happy People Do Every Morning

For many of us, mornings begin in a rushed panic. We allow our alarm clocks to buzz at least a dozen times before we decide we have to get out of bed. We then rush around our homes half-awake trying to get ready for our day. In a hurry, we stub our toe on the bedpost, forget to put on deodorant, and don't pack a lunch because we simply do not have time. 

It's no wonder that so many folks despise the thought of being awake before 9 am! 

So it may not surprise you to know that happy individuals tend to actually enjoy their mornings. They appear to thrive on waking up with the sun and look forward to a new day or possibilities. These happy people have humble morning rituals that increase their own sense of well-being and give their day purpose. 

Happy people tend to share many of the following morning habits: 

1. They wake up with a sense of gratitude.
Practicing gratitude is associated with a sense of overall gladness. They start the day with love. This means that they're truly appreciative of their life and all of its little treasures. They practice small acts of gratitude in the morning by expressing thankfulness to their partner each morning before they rise from bed. They may also write about their gratefulness for five minutes each morning in a journal that they keep bedside. 

2. They begin anew each and every morning.
They know that it's a brand-new day to start over and do something different. Yesterday may have been a complete failure for them, but today is a new day for success and adventure. Individuals who aren't ruined by one bad day are resilient creatures. Resiliency is a telltale sign of having purpose and happiness. 

3. They take part in prayer, affirmation, or meditation.
Many of the happiest folks alive are spiritual. Prayer is a way of connecting and giving thanks for our creator. Meditation helps keep our mind focused, calms our nerves and supports inner peace.
Happy people even use affirmations to declare how their day will go. Steve Jobs' morning routine used to start by looking in the mirror and asking himself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And Benjamin Franklin asked himself each morning, "What good shall I do today?" 

4. They read.
Some happy people read a bit of scripture each morning, while others read inspiring stories to get their day started. Either way, they make it a ritual to read self-improvement literature to stretch and grow their insight and knowledge. It's starts their day off on a positive note with new ideas to guide their day's journey. 

5. They keep things simple and don't rush out the door.
Complex morning routines are difficult to stick to and set us up for failure. Happy individuals' routines are simple for them because they prepared the night before. They picked out their work attire, prepared their lunch, set their coffee to brew — all the night before. A simple routine limits any multitasking that most people do in the morning to ensure that they make it to work on time. Multitasking may create stress and anxiety and steal your peace during your first waking hours. 

6. They exercise.
Exercise boosts levels of health-promoting brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, which may help buffer some of the effects of stress and also relieve some symptoms of depression. Exercise is a big enough priority that happy folks tend to do it first thing in the morning so that they don't have to try to make time later in the day for it. They recognize that willpower is strongest in the morning.
Morning exercise gets the blood flowing and gives them more energy throughout the day. One study published in the Journal of Health Psychology discovered that working out improved how people felt about their physical bodies — even if they didn't lose weight or gain any noticeable improvements in their physique. 

7. They get some fresh air.
Morning walks are beneficial for all creatures. Walking is also proven to stimulate creativity in the brain, which isn't a bad way to start the day either.
If they have a dog, they walk it. Walking the dog a mile or two in the morning is a form of much needed exercise for humans and dogs alike. When happy individuals walk their dog outside, they breath in the crisp morning air, which promotes a sense of vitality. 

8. They savor the beauty of their surroundings and practice being present in the moment.
Whether they go on a morning walk with their dog or sit in their favorite chair by the window, taking the time to appreciate their environment can be invigorating and gets folks excited about their day. Being present connects and grounds them to what is really important in the moment. There is a certain kind of wisdom that comes with being a witness to your own life. 

How many of these habits do you perform each morning? Are there some that you would like to see on the list? 

Make the jump here to read the original article

Via Social Work Helperia / FB

JMG Editorial Of The Day

From the editorial board of the New York Times:

In a statement conceding defeat, the Iona Institute, the main opposition group, said it would continue to affirm “the importance of biological ties and of motherhood and fatherhood.” The absurdity of that statement speaks for itself. As soon as the referendum is ratified by Parliament, Ireland will join 19 nations that have legalized same-sex marriage — an honor roll that does not include the United States.

The Irish path to legalizing same-sex marriage was remarkable because advocates have long seen courts and legislative initiatives as easier paths to prevail on an issue that continues to trouble many people on moral and religious grounds. Lawmakers in the United Kingdom approved same-sex marriage in 2013. In the United States, the expanding recognition of marriage rights in 36 states and the District of Columbia has been achieved through lawsuits and legislatures. The Supreme Court is expected to rule next month on a case that could establish a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.

The outcome in Ireland sends an unmistakable signal to politicians and religious leaders around the world who continue to harbor intolerant views against gays and lesbians. It also should offer hope to sexual minorities in Russia, the Arab world and many African nations where intolerance and discriminatory laws remain widespread. The tide is shifting quickly. Even in unlikely places, love and justice will continue to prevail.

Labels: Ireland, LGBT History, marriage equality, SCOTUS

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Ireland says YES to love!