Via JMG: Jim Obergefell To Sit With First Lady During SOTU

January 10, 2016 LGBT History, Marriage Equality

This morning the White House announced that Jim Obergefell will be among the guests seated with the First Lady during President Obama’s final State Of The Union address. From their bio on Obergefell:

Jim Obergefell was the named plaintiff in the landmark marriage equality case Obergefell v. Hodges, which ruled same-sex couples nationwide have the Constitutional right to marry. In 2013, Jim married his partner of 20 years, John, who was dying of ALS. Their marriage – performed in Maryland – wasn’t recognized in their home state of Ohio, setting off a legal proceeding over whether the marriage should be recognized under Ohio law and listed on John’s death certificate.

While they won the initial legal battle, Ohio appealed, and their case eventually made its way to the Supreme Court, which declared marriage equality the law of the land. Jim considers himself an accidental activist, one who became entwined in a political statement larger than himself – a statement of equality and dignity that Americans have been fighting for since this nation’s founding – and he now remains committed to ensuring the civil rights for all Americans.

Other guests to be seated with the First Lady include a Syrian refugee, an Obamacare navigator, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and USAF Sgt. Spencer Stone, who helped thwart a terrorist attack on a Paris-bound train. The press release includes this important notation:

We leave one seat empty in the First Lady’s State of the Union Guest Box for the victims of gun violence who no longer have a voice – because they need the rest of us to speak for them. To tell their stories. To honor their memory. To support the Americans whose lives have been forever changed by the terrible ripple effect of gun violence – survivors who’ve had to learn to live with a disability, or without the love of their life. To remind every single one of our representatives that it’s their responsibility to do something about this.

Make the jump here to read the original on JMG

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 10/01/2016

“É impossível estar no mundo sem se relacionar. Você pode trabalhar na Wall Street, viver numa praia deserta, num monastério ou comunidade espiritual, mas os desafios do relacionamento sempre estarão presentes. Isso porque muda o cenário e os personagens, mas não muda o que você carrega dentro de si. Enquanto você não olha de frente, compreende e aceita as suas imperfeições, sempre haverá alguém que te incomoda. Mas quando você aceita e integra as partes da sua personalidade que foram negadas, ocorre uma cura, e você se torna capaz de viver em harmonia com o outro, não importa o lugar.”

“Es imposible estar en el mundo sin relacionarse. Puedes trabajar en Wall Street, vivir en una playa desierta, en un monasterio o comunidad espiritual, pero los desafíos de las relaciones siempre estarán presentes. Esto es porque cambia el escenario y los personajes, pero no cambia lo que cargas dentro de ti. Mientras no mires de frente, comprendas y aceptes tus imperfecciones, siempre habrá alguien que te. Pero cuando aceptas e integras las partes de tu personalidad que fueron negadas, sucede una cura, y te vuelves capaz de vivir en armonía con el otro, no importa el lugar.”

"It is impossible to live in this world without relating. Whether one works on Wall Street, lives on a deserted beach, in a monastery or a spiritual community, the challenges of relationships will always be present. The setting or characters may change, but what we carry inside does not. As long as we do not face this straight on and understand and accept our imperfections, there will always be someone who throws us off center. On the other hand, when we accept and integrate the parts of our personality that were denied, a healing occurs. We are then able to live in harmony with each other, regardless of where we may be."

Via Daily Dharma: Before It’s Too Late

There’s a wonderful Kagyu saying: “When we are young, we don’t realize the importance of dharma practice; when we are middle-aged, we think we are too busy to do it; and when we are old, it’s too late.” 

—Reggie Ray, "The Power of Solitude"

 

Read More 

Dra Yang Project " Namo Buddhaya, namo Dharmaya, namo Sanghaya "

Via Medical News Today: What is the difference between sex and gender?

The words sex and gender are commonly used interchangeably, but many linguists would argue that their usage is quite distinct. Sex refers to the biological and physiological characteristics, while gender refers to behaviors, roles, expectations, and activities in society.

Sex refers to male or female, while gender refers to masculine or feminine.
The differences in the sexes do not vary throughout the world, but differences in gender do.
Here are some examples of characteristics related to sex:

• Females have a vagina, males do not
• Males have a penis, females do not
• Male newborns tend to weigh more than female newborns
• Females can breastfeed their babies, males cannot
• Males have deeper voices than females
• Females can get pregnant, males cannot
• Males have testicles and females have ovaries

Here are some examples of characteristics related to gender:

• Women tend to do more of the housework than their spouses do
• A higher percentage of US doctors are women, compared to Egypt
• Nursing is often seen as a woman's job, although many men enter the profession
• In some countries women have to cover their heads when they go outside the house
• 120 years ago women were not allowed to vote in elections.

Another way of putting it is:
Sex refers to a natural or biological feature. Gender refers to cultural or learned significance of sex.

According to Medilexicon's medical dictionary:

Sex is "The biologic character or quality that distinguishes male and female from one another as expressed by analysis of the person's gonadal, morphologic (internal and external), chromosomal, and hormonal characteristics."
Gender is "The category to which an individual is assigned by self or others, on the basis of sex."

The word gender comes from Middle English gendre, which came from Old French, which in turn came from the Latin word genus, meaning "kind," "type," or "sort."
The word sex probably comes from Middle English, meaning "section" or "divide." In Latin, the word sex means the number "six." 

Written by Christian Nordqvist

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 08/01/2016

"Conheça-te a ti mesmo e conhecerás o Universo. O homem é um microcosmo - absolutamente tudo que existe lá fora está dentro. Todas as respostas para todas as perguntas podem ser encontradas nos nossos mundos internos, assim como o antídoto para todas nossas as doenças encontra-se dentro de nós mesmos."

“Conócete a ti mismo y conocerás el Universo. El hombre es un microcosmos- absolutamente todo lo que existe allá afuera está adentro. Todas las respuestas a todas las preguntas pueden encontrarse en nuestros mundos internos, así como el antídoto para todas nuestras enfermedades se encuentra dentro de nosotros mismos.”

"Know thyself and you will know the Universe. Humans are a microcosm. Absolutely everything that exists on the outside exists within. The answer to every question can be found in our inner worlds – that’s where we find the antidote to all our ailments."

Via Daily Dharma: Seeing Through Failure

Disappointment and failure bring us down to the ground so we can see through our ideas to the way things really are.  

—Natalie Goldberg, "Beyond Betrayal"

 

Read More 

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 07/01/2016

“No mais profundo, a causa pela qual temos gerado tanta destruição neste planeta, é a ignorância a respeito da nossa verdadeira identidade. Por trás dessa destruição está o impulso de acumular bens materiais. Não sabendo quem somos, agimos a partir de uma crença a respeito de quem somos, e isso gera um vazio que se traduz em uma profunda angústia. Nós tentamos preencher esse vazio através de coisas. Você acumula para agregar valor e poder à sua falsa identidade; para aliviar a angústia causada pela falta de conexão consigo mesmo. E para ter mais coisas, você faz qualquer coisa. Essa é a raiz da destruição.”

En lo más profundo, la causa por la cual hemos generado tanta destrucción en este planeta, es la ignorancia al respecto de nuestra verdadera identidad. Por detrás de esta destrucción está el impulso de acumular bienes materiales. Al no saber quiénes somos, actuamos desde una creencia acerca de quién somos, y eso genera un vacío que se traduce en una profunda angustia. Tratamos de llenar este vacío a través de cosas. Acumulas para agregar valor y poder a tu falsa identidad; para aliviar la angustia causada por la falta de conexión contigo mismo. Y para tener más cosas, haces cualquier cosa. Esta es la raíz de la destrucción.”

"The root cause for all this destruction we wage on the planet is our ignorance regarding our true identity. Behind this destruction lies the impulse to accumulate material goods – and we’ll do anything to get more things. Not knowing who we truly are, we act out of our mistaken beliefs about who we are, and this creates a void that turns into profound anguish. We try to fill this void by hoarding material things, striving to add value and power to our false identity. We do so to alleviate the anguish caused by our lack of connection with our own selves. This is the root of destruction."

Via Daily Dharma: Finding Your Direction

There is nothing to hang on to. The path emerges from a personal, surprisingly innate sense of direction and not from what’s expected of us by those who supposedly know better. Staying awake means continually reevaluating the ground on which we walk. 

—Stephen Schettini, "A Sense of Belonging"

Via Queerty: Queen Elizabeth II Says Gay Marriage Is Absolutely “Wonderful”

Just when we didn’t think she could get any more amazing, Queen Elizabeth II called gay marriage in England “wonderful.”

Or at least according to comedian/newlywed Stephen Fry.

During an interview over the weekend, Fry explained how the 88-year-old monarch expressed her approval of gay marriage in July 2013 when signing the Marriage Act, which granted same-sex couples the right to legally marry in England.

“It was only last summer that Her Majesty The Queen gave the Royal Assent,” he told The Jonathan Ross Show.

The Queen must remain politically neutral and has never spoken publicly about gay marriage, but according to sources who Fry describes as “well-founded,” her royal majesty is all for marriage equality.

“When the Queen signed the Royal Assent for the equal marriages act, allowing gay people to marry for the first time, she put it down and said ‘Well, who’d have thought 62 years ago when I came to the throne, I’d be signing something like this? Isn’t it wonderful?'”

Wonderful, indeed!

h/t: Gay Star News

Related stories:
Queen Elizabeth Makes Marriage Equality Law Final
Police Concerned Over Threat Grindr Poses To Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth Makes Historic First Statement Supporting LGBT Rights

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor de día - Flower of the day - 06/01/2015

“A espiritualidade pode ser traduzida como uma experiência da realidade – um processo de despertar de um sonho. A iluminação espiritual começa quando a imaginação cessa. Imaginação quer dizer fantasias criadas pela mente. Num clássico exemplo utilizado pelo Vedanta: uma pessoa que olha para um pedaço de corda vê uma cobra, e a partir dessa visão, ela cria toda uma história em torno da cobra. Quando começa a ver a corda no lugar da cobra, o seu processo de despertar se iniciou.”

“La espiritualidad puede ser traducida como una experiencia de la realidad - un proceso de despertar de un sueño. La iluminación espiritual comienza cuando la imaginación cesa. Imaginación quiere decir fantasías creadas por la mente. En un ejemplo clásico utilizado por el Vedanta: una persona que mira hacia un trozo de cuerda ve una serpiente, y a partir de esta visión, crea toda una historia alrededor de la serpiente. Cuando comienzas a ver la cuerda en lugar de la serpiente, tu proceso de despertar comenzó.” 

"Spirituality can be translated as the experience of reality. It is a process of awakening from a dream. Spiritual enlightenment begins when one ceases to imagine things, meaning the mind stops fantasizing. A classic example used in Advaita Vedanta is that a rope seen in dim light is mistaken for a snake, and with this image in mind, the rope affects the person as much as an actual snake would. When the person begins to realize it was a rope rather than a snake, their process of awakening begins."

Via Daily Dharma: Already Enlightened

We don’t practice to attain enlightenment, just as we don’t eat or breathe to be alive. Because we’re alive, we breathe. Because we’re alive, we eat. Because we’re enlightened, we do zazen. 

— Bernard Gassman and Rick Fields, "Instructions to the Cook"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 05/01/2016

“O primeiro passo para ampliar a percepção e o seu poder de auto-observação é ocupar o seu corpo, é colocar-se presente, ocupando cada molécula. Estando aqui e agora não existe a possibilidade de você ser governado por impulsos inconscientes. Não estando presente, você se torna um joguete nas mãos das mais diversas forças, não somente do seu próprio passado, mas das suas fantasias a respeito do futuro.”

El primer paso para ampliar la percepción y tu poder de auto-observación es ocupar tu cuerpo, estar presente, ocupando cada molécula. Al estar aquí y ahora no existe la posibilidad de que seas gobernado por impulsos inconscientes. Al no estar presente, te conviertes en un juguete en las manos de las más diversas fuerzas, no solo de tu propio pasado, sino también de tus fantasías respecto del futuro.”

"The first step towards increasing our perception and our power of self-observation is to inhabit our bodies, becoming present and occupying each molecule. When we are in the here and now we cannot be ruled by unconscious impulses. On the other hand, if we are not present, we become a puppet in the hands of many forces, including our own pasts as well as our fantasies about the future."

Via Tricycle / Daily Dharma: Learning How to Listen

To hear every sound as the dharma means to just pay attention. Listen to what people are saying when somebody is talking to you. We are usually so busy trying to say something that will impress them that we don’t really listen to what they are saying. It is easy to give an appropriate response if we are really listening. 

—Gerry Shishin Wick Sensei, "Zen in the Workplace"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 04/01/2016

“O medo é um sentimento que se tornou tão habitual que você mal percebe o quanto ele influencia a sua vida. Você tem diversos tipos de medo, mas muitas vezes não tem consciência disso. Medo de ser humilhado, traído, machucado, entre tantas outras coisas. Mas, normalmente, o medo não tem base na realidade. É um sentimento criado a partir de uma fantasia a respeito de uma suposta dor, que pode vir ou não. E, tomado por essas fantasias, que normalmente são fruto de experiências traumáticas do passado, seu coração se enche de escuridão; e você vive tenso, com a sensação de que elas irão se repetir.”

“El miedo es un sentimiento que se volvió tan habitual que apenas percibes cuánto influye en tu vida. Tienes diversos tipos de miedo, pero muchas veces no eres consciente de ello. Miedo a ser humillado, traicionado, lastimado, entre tantas otras cosas. Pero por lo general, el miedo no tiene base en la realidad. Es un sentimiento creado a partir de una fantasía al respecto de un supuesto dolor, que puede venir o no. Y atrapado por estas fantasías, que suelen ser el resultado de experiencias traumáticas del pasado, tu corazón se llena de oscuridad; y vives tenso, con la sensación de que se van a repetir.”

"Fear is a feeling that has become so habitual that we hardly realize how much it influences our lives. We have many different types of fear, and we’re often unaware of it. We fear being humiliated, betrayed, and hurt, among other things. Most often, fear has no basis in reality. Fear is a feeling created due to a fantasized pain that we may or may not experience. When we are taken over by these fantasies, which are usually the result of past traumatic experiences, our hearts are filled with darkness. We live in constant tension, with the feeling that these experiences will repeat themselves."

Deep Tranquility

Pleasure without pain is possible only as we progress toward higher states of mindfulness. Unlike sensory pleasure that leads only to an instant of temporary happiness, the joy we feel when we achieve deep concentration brings peace and tranquility. 

—Bhante Gunaratana, "Desire and Craving"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 03/01/2016

“Durante um estágio da evolução da consciência, você pode simplesmente trabalhar para ganhar dinheiro, sem se questionar a respeito do propósito daquilo que está fazendo. Mas quando sua consciência começa a expandir, naturalmente você se questiona a respeito disso. Pois é a consciência do seu propósito no mundo que proporciona a sensação de pertencimento e de preenchimento que você tanto busca. Estando consciente do que veio fazer no mundo, você utiliza a sua energia e os seus dons para realizar essa meta. Você segue tendo uma razão para continuar levantando da cama todas as manhãs.”

“Durante una etapa de la evolución de la conciencia, puedes simplemente trabajar para ganar dinero, sin cuestionarte al respecto del propósito de lo que estás haciendo. Pero cuando tu conciencia comienza a expandirse, naturalmente te cuestionas al respecto de esto. Pues es la conciencia de tu propósito en el mundo que proporciona la sensación de pertenencia y de satisfacción que tanto buscas. Al estar consciente de lo que viniste a hacer en el mundo, utilizas tu energía y tus dones para realizar este objetivo. Sigues teniendo una razón para continuar levantándote de la cama todas las mañanas.”

"During a certain stage in the evolution of consciousness, you can work to simply make money without questioning the purpose of what you are doing. But when your consciousness begins to expand, you naturally begin to question your purpose. This awareness of your purpose in the world gives you the sense of belonging and fulfillment that you so yearn for. Once you are aware of what you came to do in the world, you use your energy and your gifts to accomplish this goal. You wake up every morning with a reason to get out of bed."

Today's Daily Dharma: My Faults, My Friends

My Faults, My Friends

The main thing to work with is my relation to my own faults. Can I befriend them or compassionately allow them? Choose your own language. The main thing is not to suppress them, act them out, or blame others.

—Nancy Baker, "The Buddhist Guide to Gossip"

Read More

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 02/01/2016

“O nosso trabalho é dissolver a guerra, é colocar todos juntos, trabalhando pelo despertar da consciência amorosa. Pessoas de todos os tipos, de todas as denominações religiosas, de diferentes partidos políticos, palmeirenses e corintianos... Todos juntos em prol do mesmo objetivo, que é estabelecer uma cultura de paz e prosperidade. Pois somente assim teremos um mundo melhor para viver.”

“Nuestro trabajo es disolver la guerra, es ponernos todos juntos, a trabajar por el despertar de la conciencia amorosa. Personas de todos los tipos, de todas las denominaciones religiosas, de diferentes partidos políticos, palmeirenses y corintianos… Todos juntos en pro del mismo objetivo, que es establecer una cultura de paz y prosperidad. Porque solo así tendremos un mundo mejor para vivir.”

"Our job is to dissolve conflicts, working together to awaken loving consciousness. People of all kinds, of all faiths and all political parties must join hands for the same goal, which is to establish a culture of peace and prosperity. Only then will we have a better world to live in."