Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Today's Daily Dharma: What Meditation Is About

What Meditation Is About

When you feel the fear and you feel the rage in meditation, there’s no storyline. . . . Meditation practice is about the experience of what is, of what’s going on. That is what is liberating. And this truth is quite beyond 'the story.'

- Gavin Harrison, "Lotus in the Fire"


Monday, August 17, 2015

It Gets Better Video: Jenni and Lisa 2015


Via Stop Telling Lies About Liberals And We'll Stop Telling The Truth About You / FB:


Via SBMG:

"In the twenty-first century, we will have to practice meditation collectively- as a family, a city, a nation, and a community of nations. The Buddha of the twenty-first century - Maitreya, the Buddha of Love- may well be a community rather than an individual. Sanghas that practice loving kindness and compassion are the Buddha we need."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día - Flower of the Day 17/08/2015

“Conscientes disso ou não, nos movemos da consciência humana em direção à Consciência divina. Porém, algumas dimensões da consciência humana ainda são tão primitivas que se assemelham à consciência animal, na qual a crueldade serve para suprir o instinto básico de sobrevivência. Na natureza, muitas vezes é necessário ser cruel, como um animal que se alimenta do outro para sobreviver. Isso não é certo ou errado, simplesmente é. Mas, aos poucos vamos alcançando dimensões humanas mais elevadas, e à medida em que nos libertamos da crueldade e nos tornamos capazes de amar, esse amor nos conduz à Consciência divina.”

“Conscientes de ello o no, nos movemos de la conciencia humana en dirección a la Conciencia divina. Sin embargo, algunas dimensiones de la conciencia humana aún son tan primitivas que se asemejan a la consciencia animal, en la cual la crueldad sirve para suplir el instinto básico de supervivencia. En la naturaleza, muchas veces es necesario ser cruel, como un animal que se alimenta del otro para sobrevivir. Esto no está bien ni mal, simplemente es. Pero, poco a poco, vamos alcanzando dimensiones humanas más elevadas, y a medida que nos liberamos de la crueldad y nos volvemos capaces de amar, este amor nos conduce a la Conciencia divina.”

“Whether we are aware of it or not, we move from human consciousness towards divine consciousness. However, some dimensions of human consciousness are still so primitive that they resemble animal consciousness. In this animalistic state of awareness, cruelty results from a basic survival instinct. In nature, it’s often necessary to be cruel, so that one animal preys on another animal in order to survive. This is not right or wrong; it simply is the way things are. Gradually, as we reach more elevated dimensions of human awareness, we free ourselves from cruelty and become capable of loving. This capacity to love is what then guides us towards divine consciousness.”

Today's Daily Dharma: Direct Liberation

Direct Liberation
The Buddhist teachings say that when we can actually feel pain directly, we spontaneously let go, just as feeling the hot handle of a cast-iron skillet makes us let go. When we feel the powerful, undeniable suffering of jealousy, we want liberation in the most direct way possible. We feel it, and we let go.

- Judith Simmer-Brown, "Transforming the Green Ey'd Monster"

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Kids Speak Out on Religion


Via Spirit Science / FB:


A little known fact of history...


http://fusion.net/story/183139/san-franciscos-stonewall-the-landmark-transgender-rights-riot-of-1966/

and thanks to WGB for the heads up here: http://www.wickedgayblog.com/2015/08/san-franciscos-stonewall-landmark.html

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día - Flower of the Day 16/08/2015

"Quando a mente se aquieta, tudo fica bom. Assim, quando Deus quer, ele te pega. Mas eu descobri que Deus sempre quer te pegar; ele está sempre de braços abertos. O que ocorre é que o ser humano ainda não aprendeu a usar esse instrumento que lhe foi dado, esse grande poder que é a mente." 
Satsang completo -> bit.ly/1TIbdhM

“Cuando la mente se calma, todo está bien. Así, cuando Dios quiere, él te agarra. Pero yo descubrí que Dios siempre quiere agarrarte; él está siempre con los brazos abiertos. Lo que ocurre es que el ser humano aún no aprendió a utilizar este instrumento que se le dio, este gran poder que es la mente”

“Once the mind quiets down, all is well, and when God sees fit, God catches a hold of us. I have discovered that God’s arms are always wide open, waiting to catch us. But human beings have not yet learned how to properly use this powerful instrument of the mind, making it still so God may take us…”

Today's Daily Dharma: The Fact of Suffering

The Fact of Suffering
The Four Noble Truths are grounded in the fact of suffering. People might think that's negative, but it's only the truth. It's our human condition. So Buddhism has us just look at it nakedly. Look and ask yourself, 'What is this? What am I?'
- Barbara Rhodes, "Village Women"

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Poet, Blanco, urges U.S., Cuba "to breathe together, to heal together"


Gay Adoption | What Would You Do? | WWYD


Stonewall Trailer (Parody)


Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día - Flower of the Day 15/08/2015

“Ao se perceber sofrendo, identifique com qual parte da sua personalidade você está identificado. Por exemplo, se estiver identificado com o ciúme, se pergunte: “Se eu abrir mão disso será que não sobra nada”? Assim, aos poucos você começa a perceber que existe alguém em você que quer sentir ciúme. Esse é o carcereiro dessa prisão de sofrimento. Descubra quem é ele, pois é ele que quer sentir isso - ele tem prazer nisso. E é esse prazer negativo que te impede de abrir mão dos padrões destrutivos. Porque prazer é vida, e o ego teme abrir mão disso, pois ele teme morrer.”

“Al percibirte sufriendo, identifica con cuál parte de tu personalidad estás identificado. Por ejemplo, si estuvieses identificado con los celos, pregúntate: “Si yo suelto esto, ¿será que no queda nada?” Así, de a poco, comienzas a percibir que existe alguien en ti que quiere sentir celos. Ese es el carcelero de esa prisión de sufrimiento. Descubre quién es él, porque es él quien quiere sentir eso – él tiene placer en eso. Y es ese placer negativo lo que te impide soltar los patrones destructivos. Porque placer es vida, y el ego teme soltar eso, porque teme morir.” 

“When we perceive ourselves to be suffering, we can first observe which part of our personality we are identified with. For example, if we are identified with jealousy, we may ask ourselves, ‘If I let go of this jealousy, will there be nothing left of me?’ Gradually, we can see that there is someone inside of us that wants to feel jealous. This prison guard called jealousy wants us to remain in this jail of suffering. Find out who this guard is, because he is the one wanting to feel this jealousy and get the pleasure out of it. It is this negatively oriented pleasure that prevents us from letting go of destructive patterns. Since pleasure is life, the ego fears giving up this pleasure because it fears that it will die.”

Today's Daily Dharma: Abide in Patience

Abide in Patience
Praise and so on distract me and remove my disillusionment with the cycle of existence. They stir up jealousy toward gifted people, and anger at their success. . . . It is wrong to feel anger toward someone, thinking that person impedes my merit. As there is no austerity equal to patience, shall I not abide in that?
- Shantideva, "The Way of the Bodhisattva"

Friday, August 14, 2015

Via Collective Evolution / FB:


How Sitcoms Handled Homos in the 70s and 80s


Via JMG: Totally Not-Gay Catholic Priest Tells Ex-Gays: Homosexuality Is Like Trying To Eat A Bagel With Your Ear


Gay Star News reports:
A Catholic priest has come up with one of the strangest analogies yet for gay sex, claiming it is like cramming a piece of bagel in your ear. Preacher John Riccardo was speaking at a conference in Michigan on Wednesday, called Welcoming and Accompanying Our Brothers and Sisters with Same-Sex Attraction. It was a Catholic conference in order to help gay and lesbian people stay celibate. He was taking part in a lecture called ‘HIV and Other Health Risks Associated with Men Who Have Sex With Men’, led by HIV researcher Timothy Flanigan. Riccardo said junior high students have asked him why God hates gay people, and he responded that it is because gay sex is unnatural. “If i just rip open a bagel, I take it, and I cram it in my ear. What would you say?” he said he tells them. “That doesn’t go there. It’ll ruin your ear canal.”
(Reposted from JMG)