Saturday, July 11, 2015
JMG Quote Of The Day - Henry Rollins
Via DailyExtra: Gay sexuality a gift from God, says head of United Church of Canada
United Church Moderator Gary Paterson describes sexuality — including gay sexuality — as a gift from God.
“First of all let’s back up and say it’s not sin,” he says. “But somewhere the church built up a reputation as being anti-body and anti-sex. And when you look at the history I can understand how that can be deserved, but it is not true to our deep biblical verses.”
From July 24–26, 2015, Paterson’s home congregation of St Andrew’s-Wesley United Church will kick off Pride Week in Vancouver with SpiritPride, an LGBT spirituality conference just steps from the heart of the Davie Village.
Conference organizer Gregg Taylor says faith and sexuality will be major topics of discussion at the event.
“A full, intimate relationship is going to have emotional, psychological and also physical components in order to be an integrated expression of passion and love,” he says. “So that means that Christians are going to have to have sex — and gay Christians are going to have gay sex.”
Taylor says SpiritPride will not be an evangelical conference where attendees will be expected to accept a certain doctrine, but will instead be a chance for people of faith, as well as those who are curious, to better understand the links between sexuality and spirituality.
“Our church comes from the Christian faith perspective but one of our keynote speakers is going to approach it from a much broader perspective from spirituality and sexuality,” he explains. “As whole persons we are spiritual and we are sexual, we have a spiritual body, a sense of something greater than ourselves and how we connect to the world around us.”
Curt Allison, who is presenting at the conference, hopes the event will help people reconcile conflicting social messages about Christianity and gay sexuality.
“Growing up many of us got messages from our churches which weren’t always affirming and inclusive,” he says. “Things are changing but for a lot of us the message sticks in there. And while I like to think the world is elevating to a higher level of consciousness, there are still people who are not comfortable at all with being LGBT. They desire to serve God and Christ but at the same time they are gay.”
Allison says the conference is taking place to both celebrate the accomplishments of LGBT people within the United Church, and to facilitate community among LGBT people of faith.
“This will be a safe space to hear other perspectives on scripture, on church teachings and to meet other people who are reconciled and vibrant in their faith and are also out,” he says. “This might be a chance for them to check out a safe space or follow an inner urging they feel to exploring a spiritual life or live in a spiritual dimension.”
Paterson, who is openly gay, recognizes that the United Church is relatively unique within Christendom in its long-standing affirmation of openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people as full church members. He concedes that it may take time for other churches, individuals and society as a whole to catch up.
“Take a deep breath and know you’ll be there for the long-haul,” he says. “I’m really committed to trying to work for change and so when I meet people who aren’t comfortable around gay people I want to be present in conversation. Present and available, not an ‘I’m here and queer’ kind of thing but something close to that, saying ‘I’m comfortable and confident in who I am and if you have questions or you want to talk about it I’m available and I’m not going to disappear.’”
The United Church’s SpiritPride conference runs from July 24–26, 2015, in Vancouver. For more information go to spiritpride.org
Via Ram Dass: Open Heart Extra - Listening Quietly to Our Intuition
“But he learned more from the river than Vasudeva could teach him. He learned from it continually. Above all, he learned from it how to listen with a still heart, with a waiting open soul, without passion, without desire, without judgment, without opinions.”
– Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha
Listening Quietly to Our Intuition: https://goo.gl/znCwpF
Via Elephant Journal: The Rainbow-Colored Wildfire is Spreading—But Guess Where Gay Marriage is Still Not Legal?
It warms my heart to see nation after nation recognize the rights of a minority that for so many years have been sidelined and marginalized.
Europe—hosting some of the most liberal countries—was the first cab off the rank, the Netherlands being the first to recognize equal rights for all back in 2001.(Can we all pause for a moment to reflect on that momentarily. 2001. Does anyone else think it’s rubbish that 14 years later this is still an issue?!)
From there, in a series of dominoes, others came forward:
Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa,
Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, Denmark, Brazil, France,
Uruguay, New Zealand, England/Wales, Scotland, Luxembourg, Finland,
Ireland and of course, most recently, The United States.
Twenty-one countries all up.
Twenty-one countries in total recognizing that all who are in love should have the right to get married, regardless of gender.
It may have taken longer than I would have liked but this is still an incredible shift!
There is one country however, still notably missing from the list that. This is a well-known Western country that continues to sit on the proverbial fence.
Australia.
Chances are this comes as a surprise to you.
I recently heard a radio interview asking Americans whether they thought gay marriage was legal in Australia. Every person who was asked said yes.
Internationally, Australia is seen to be a modern culture. Much more accepting, and dare I say liberal, than The United States.
Nearly 75 per cent of Australians support legislation changes legalizing same-sex marriage. This is a higher percentage in terms of support for legislation change than in any other country that has already legalized gay marriage. Clearly, it’s not the Australian people who are standing in the way of Australia maintaining its ‘modern’ label.
The current political environment in Australia is currently of a much more conservative nature, and herein lies the source of the holdup.
Our Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, is publicly against gay marriage. This is despite having an openly gay sister who is a forceful driver of Australia legalizing marriage equality. I’m ashamed to Abbott’s recent comments indicate a preference for keeping to an agenda of growing the economy and building jobs for Australians, highlighting that this is what he and his party were voted in for.
The media, however, have entirely other ideas.
Not a day goes by here in Australia without some report referencing gay marriage rights. With the direction of all other developed nations blowing the wind towards marriage equality, for many here, it only seems like a matter of time.
Continued coverage of this issue across all media platforms, both internationally and locally, is keeping marriage equality on the forefront of everyone’s mind. As research illustrates how people look to the media for information on the existence and severity of current issues, it’s fairly safe to say this particular issue of marriage equality is not going away.
We certainly can’t just sweep it under the same rug we continue to sweep the horrific treatment of our Indigenous people (that’s another story entirely).
Personally I am embarrassed by the sluggishness of my country in supporting marriage equality. As was so beautifully articulated in a recent article I read, this is ‘an issue that helps define the social fabric of a nation’.
The change in law may not directly affect me but I want to be able to proudly proclaim that my country stands for equality.
That my country does not diminish a person’s love based on gender.
That above all, Love Fucking Wins in Australia too.
At some point in the (hopefully) not too distant future, marriage equality will go to vote in Australia, and I can’t see it being rejected when it does. Sadly, while many countries can now report that #lovewins, Australia has some way to go before we can proudly fly the same rainbow coloured flag.
For now, as the only developed English speaking country that has not reformed their laws, Australia insists on staying in the Equality Stone Age and I for one, am impatient to see that shift.
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día - Flower of the Day 11/07/2015
“A essência do ser humano é o amor. Mas, por conta dos choques de
abandono, exclusão, humilhação e rejeição, nos esquecemos de amar e
aprendemos a odiar. Por isso tenho dito que nosso principal trabalho não
é aprender a amar, mas sim desaprender a odiar.”
“La esencia del ser humano es el amor. Pero por cuenta de los choques de abandono, exclusión, humillación y rechazo, nos olvidamos de amar y aprendemos a odiar. Por eso vengo diciendo que nuestro principal trabajo no es aprender a amar, pero sí desaprender a odiar.”
“La esencia del ser humano es el amor. Pero por cuenta de los choques de abandono, exclusión, humillación y rechazo, nos olvidamos de amar y aprendemos a odiar. Por eso vengo diciendo que nuestro principal trabajo no es aprender a amar, pero sí desaprender a odiar.”
“The essence of the human being is love. Due to the shocks of
abandonment, humiliation and rejection, we forgot how to love and
learned how to hate instead. This is why I have been saying that our
main work is not to learn how to love, but to unlearn how to hate.”
Today's Daily Dharma: Clash of Values
Clash of Values
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Buddhism
has its own orienting perspectives, attitudes, and values, as does
American corporate culture. And not only are they very different from
each other, they are also often fundamentally opposed to each other.
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Friday, July 10, 2015
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día - Flower of the Day 10/07/2015
“Existe uma conexão entre o sofrimento e a energia vital, ou seja,
existe um certo prazer no sofrimento. E isso é esse prazer que mantém a
entidade humana presa ao sadomasoquismo, viciada em machucar e ser
machucada. É isso que faz com que ela reedite a guerra, quer seja com o
parceiro sexual, com o sócio, com o vizinho, e até mesmo com o cachorro,
com as plantas - com o planeta!”
“Existe una conexión entre el sufrimiento y la energía vital, es decir, existe un cierto placer en el sufrimiento. Y esto es, ese placer que mantiene a la entidad humana presa al sadomasoquismo, enviciada en lastimar y ser lastimada. Es esto lo que hace que ella reedite la guerra, ya sea con el compañero sexual, con el socio, con el vecino, y hasta incluso con el perro, con las plantas – ¡con el planeta!”
“Existe una conexión entre el sufrimiento y la energía vital, es decir, existe un cierto placer en el sufrimiento. Y esto es, ese placer que mantiene a la entidad humana presa al sadomasoquismo, enviciada en lastimar y ser lastimada. Es esto lo que hace que ella reedite la guerra, ya sea con el compañero sexual, con el socio, con el vecino, y hasta incluso con el perro, con las plantas – ¡con el planeta!”
“There is a connection between our suffering and our vital energy. In
other words, there is a degree of pleasure in our suffering. This is the
pleasure that imprisons human beings in sadomasochism, in the addiction
to hurting others and being hurt. This is what causes us to re-create
conflicts, whether they be between sexual partners, business partners,
neighbors or even with animals and nature. Through all this conflict we
are ultimately waging a war on the planet itself.”
Today's Daily Dharma: Desire Creates Suffering
Desire Creates Suffering
It
is important to distinguish between sense-pleasure and sense-desire.
There is nothing wrong with sense-pleasure. Pleasure and pain are part
of our human experience. Sense-desire, on the other hand, is the
grasping at pleasure or the avoidance of pain. This is what creates
suffering?grasping and avoidance.
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Thursday, July 9, 2015
Via JMG: Attorney General Loretta Lynch Announces Full Federal Marriage Benefits Nationwide
"Following the Supreme Court’s historic decision in Obergefell
that every couple has the same right to participate in the institution
of marriage, whether the partners are of the same-sex or opposite sexes,
I directed Justice Department staff to work with the agencies to ensure
that the ruling be given full effect across the federal government.
Thanks to their leadership and the quick work of the Social Security
Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs, today I am proud
to announce that the critical programs for veterans and elderly and
disabled Americans, which previously could not give effect to the
marriages of couples living in states that did not recognize those
marriages, will now provide federal recognition for all marriages
nationwide. The agencies are currently working towards providing
guidance to implement this change in law.
"Just over a year ago, Attorney General Holder announced that agencies across the federal government had implemented the Supreme Court’s Windsor decision by treating married same-sex couples the same as married opposite-sex couples to the greatest extent possible under the law as it then stood. With the Supreme Court’s new ruling that the Constitution requires marriage equality, we have now taken the further step of ensuring that all federal benefits will be available equally to married couples in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the US Territories. The department will continue to work across the administration to fulfill our commitment to equal treatment for all Americans, including equal access to the benefits of marriage that the Obergefell decision guarantees. - Attorney General Loretta Lynch, via White House press release.
Reposted from Joe Jervis
"Just over a year ago, Attorney General Holder announced that agencies across the federal government had implemented the Supreme Court’s Windsor decision by treating married same-sex couples the same as married opposite-sex couples to the greatest extent possible under the law as it then stood. With the Supreme Court’s new ruling that the Constitution requires marriage equality, we have now taken the further step of ensuring that all federal benefits will be available equally to married couples in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the US Territories. The department will continue to work across the administration to fulfill our commitment to equal treatment for all Americans, including equal access to the benefits of marriage that the Obergefell decision guarantees. - Attorney General Loretta Lynch, via White House press release.
Via JMG: DC Gay Chorus Heads To Cuba
NBC News reports:
Reposted from Joe Jervis
The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington is traveling to Cuba Saturday to spread their message through song. The 23 singers are among the first U.S. citizens who will be able to travel to Cuba since diplomatic relations with the U.S. improved. The group aims to raise awareness of LGBTQ rights through music. "It brings people together over something without addressing the issue head on. So, I often find that music can be actually more powerful than giving a speech at podium," Executive Director Chase Maggiano said. The chorus is scheduled to perform several concerts around Havana next week in addition to participating in forum-style discussions. They were invited by Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro.The chorus will perform in Miami tomorrow night before departing.
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día - Flower of the Day 08/07/2015
“O que está por trás da acusação, do ciúme, da posse, das disputas e de
todos os jogos da luxúria? É você acreditar que sua felicidade depende
do outro. Essa é a ilusão básica que faz de você um escravo do outro.”
“¿Qué hay detrás de la acusación, de los celos, de la posesión, de las disputas y de todos los juegos de la lujuria? Es creer que tu felicidad depende del otro. Esa es la ilusión básica que te hace un esclavo del otro.”
“¿Qué hay detrás de la acusación, de los celos, de la posesión, de las disputas y de todos los juegos de la lujuria? Es creer que tu felicidad depende del otro. Esa es la ilusión básica que te hace un esclavo del otro.”
“What is behind accusation, jealousy, possession, conflict, and all the
other games of lust? It is the belief that our happiness depends on the
other. This is the basic illusion that makes us a slave to the other.”
Today's Daily Dharma: Delusion vs. Enlightenment
Delusion vs. Enlightenment
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That
the self advances and confirms the ten thousand things / is called
delusion; / That the ten thousand things advance and confirm the self /
is called enlightenment.
- Dogen Zenji, "Wandering Clouds: The Poets of Ch'an Buddhism"
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Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Via WGB: Marriage Equality Victory in Puerto Rico
A three-judge panel with the federal First Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled Puerto Rico’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, according to the Washington Blade.
With today's pro-equality ruling from the First Circuit Court of Appeals, same-sex marriages can begin in Puerto Rico on July 15, according to reports. Full story here!
Via JMG: PUERTO RICO: First Circuit Finally Rules Marriage Ban To Be Unconstitutional
Earlier this year the First Circuit punted on the appeal of Puerto
Rico's marriage case, saying that it would wait until SCOTUS rules.
Today we finally got that decision. Via Lambda Legal:
Reposted from Joe Jervis
Today’s decision provides further recognition of the dignity and equality of LGBT people in Puerto Rico. We applaud the First Circuit for recognizing that Puerto Rico’s marriage ban is unconstitutional, and reversing the lower court ruling. We also commend the Puerto Rico government for joining in the call to end the marriage ban. Certainly, after the historic ruling from the Supreme Court, this ruling from the First Circuit was not unexpected. There remains no legal or moral justification for forcing same-sex couples in Puerto Rico to wait any longer to have their love and commitment recognized by the state. The Governor of Puerto Rico already signed an executive order on June 26 that marriages will begin 15 days after the Supreme Court ruling, but now that the First Circuit has agreed that the marriage ban is unconstitutional, same-sex couples should be able to marry now. To do otherwise is to put form over substance.
Via Sojourn Blog: More Than Just Male and Female: The Six Genders in Classical Judaism
It's very easy to assume that Judaism is an exclusively gender-binary
religion. Almost all of the common traditional laws are based on the
assumed differences between males and females. We see it in assumed
gender roles, in liturgy, in proscribed family responsibilities, and in
both our secular and religious laws.
If, however, we look just a bit deeper into our sacred texts, we see that a simple male/female binary is not only cumbersome, it's wholly inaccurate. This description from Trans Torah/Rabbi Elliot Kukla starts the conversation that we will continue throughout the summer:
There's a huge amount of information to unpack here, and we'll be continuing all summer long to do just that, including looking at the legal obligations of each of the genders and what the real-world application of this information is. For now, though, the main point to take from all of this: The male/female binary is not, in any way, the exclusive system of gender classification in traditional Judaism*.
So how did we get to this point, where the assumption has become that only male and female exist? It's a classic example of commonality being equated to superiority. Because male and female are the two most common categories, they were assumed to be "better," rather than "typical." As we have come to understand the complexities of gender more and more in secular society, these Judaic classifications are beginning to appear more and more often and we can clearly see that our ancestors were quite progressive when it comes to gender.
Because, as Ben Bagbag says in Pirkei Avot 5:22:
Make the jump here to read the original
If, however, we look just a bit deeper into our sacred texts, we see that a simple male/female binary is not only cumbersome, it's wholly inaccurate. This description from Trans Torah/Rabbi Elliot Kukla starts the conversation that we will continue throughout the summer:
Zachar/זָכָר: This term is derived from the word for a pointy sword and refers to a phallus. It is usually translated as “male” in English.
Nekeivah/נְקֵבָה: This term is derived from the word for a crevice and probably refers to a vaginal opening. It is usually translated as “female” in English.
Androgynos/אַנְדְּרוֹגִינוֹס: A person who has both “male” and “female” sexual characteristics. 149 references in Mishna and Talmud (1st-8th Centuries CE); 350 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes (2nd -16th Centuries CE).
Tumtum/ טֻומְטוּם A person whose sexual characteristics are indeterminate or obscured. 181 references in Mishna and Talmud; 335 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes.
Ay’lonit/איילונית: A person who is identified as “female” at birth but develops “male” characteristics at puberty and is infertile. 80 references in Mishna and Talmud; 40 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes.
Saris/סריס: A person who is identified as “male” at birth but develops “female” characteristics as puberty and/or is lacking a penis. A saris can be “naturally” a saris (saris hamah), or become one through human intervention (saris adam). 156 references in mishna and Talmud; 379 in classical midrash and Jewish law codes.
There's a huge amount of information to unpack here, and we'll be continuing all summer long to do just that, including looking at the legal obligations of each of the genders and what the real-world application of this information is. For now, though, the main point to take from all of this: The male/female binary is not, in any way, the exclusive system of gender classification in traditional Judaism*.
So how did we get to this point, where the assumption has become that only male and female exist? It's a classic example of commonality being equated to superiority. Because male and female are the two most common categories, they were assumed to be "better," rather than "typical." As we have come to understand the complexities of gender more and more in secular society, these Judaic classifications are beginning to appear more and more often and we can clearly see that our ancestors were quite progressive when it comes to gender.
Because, as Ben Bagbag says in Pirkei Avot 5:22:
בן בגבג אומר, הפוך בה והפך בה, והגי בה דכולא בה, ובה תחזי, סיב ובלי בה; ומינה לא תזוז, שאין לך מידה טובה יותר ממנה
Ben Bagbag said: Turn it [Torah] over and turn it over because everything is in it. Look within it and grow old within it; do not move from it, because there is no better attribute for you to have than it.
*Here is a fascinating article that goes more in-depth on the subject: Gender Identity In Halakhic Discourse by Charlotte Elisheva Fonrobert.Make the jump here to read the original
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