Via Occupy Democrats / FB:

Via Ram Dass

February 28, 2016

To die consciously, you must live consciously. To live consciously, you must have the courage to go inside yourself to find out ‘who you really are.’ To understand that behind all of the masks of individual differences you are a being of beauty, love and awareness. Christ said, “The kingdom of heaven is within you.” He wasn’t just putting you on. When the Buddha said, “Every person is the Buddha,” he was saying the same thing.

 

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 28/02/2016

“Eu sou um homem espiritual, mas gosto muito de me sentar com todos os tipos de pessoas, até as mais céticas e materialistas. Essa aparente diferença é justamente o que me estimula, pois independentemente daquilo que cada um acredita, sempre há algo em comum entre nós. O nosso trabalho é criar união, mas para realizarmos essa meta, precisamos nos libertar de qualquer resquício de fanatismo. Por isso, independentemente do seu time de futebol, do seu partido político ou da sua religião, eu estou sempre aberto para te receber.”

“Soy un hombre espiritual, pero me gusta mucho sentarme con todos los tipos de personas, incluso los más escépticos y materialistas. Esta aparente diferencia es justamente lo que me estimula, porque independientemente de lo que cada uno cree, siempre hay algo en común entre nosotros. Nuestro trabajo es crear unión, pero para realizar esta meta, necesitamos liberarnos de cualquier rastro de fanatismo. Por eso, independientemente de tu equipo de fútbol, de tu partido político o de tu religión, yo estoy siempre abierto a recibirte.”

"I am a man of spirituality, but I like to meet with all kinds of people, even the most skeptical and materialistic ones. This apparent difference enthralls me, because regardless of each person’s beliefs, there is always something in common between us. Our goal is to create union, but for that we must free ourselves from any trace of fanaticism. Regardless of what one’s religion, political party or favorite soccer team is, I'm always open to receive you.

Via Daily Dharma: The First Step

We’re often not aware of the extent to which fear plays a part in our lives, which means that the first stage of practicing with fear requires acknowledging its presence.

—Ezra Bayda, "The Three Things We Fear Most"

Pet Shop Boys - Go West

Via Lamonte M. Fowler / FB: Dropping Some Truth

I feel the need to drop a little truth on y’all. So buckle up…I’m about to be politically incorrect.

We don’t need to take America back. No one stole it. It’s right here…you’re sitting in it. Chillax.

Mexico isn’t going to pay for the wall and we’re not going to deport millions of people and break up families. If you think either one is a good idea, you’re not smart and probably not a person I want to hang out with.

We don’t live in a democracy. Technically we are a Federal Republic. But in reality we are ruled by an oligarchy. If you don’t know what that is, look it up. Reading will do you good. You probably need to do more of it.

FoxNews, CNN, and MSNBC have an agenda and are not “fair and balanced” or in any way unbiased. I’ll reiterate…read more. Read newspapers (even online ones). Read lots of opinions and sources and then (stay with me here), THINK! Form your own opinion based on as many facts as your can brain can tolerate.

Speaking of facts…there actually is a difference between facts, opinions, and propaganda. You should learn the difference. (Another opportunity to show off your mad reading skills.)

Science is real. We know things because of science. Don’t be afraid of it. You have an iPhone and Facebook because of science. It’s your friend.

Global warming or “climate change” as the cool kids call it IS REAL. Anyone who tells you it’s not real is not a smart person and probably should not be dressing themselves or caring for children.

Racism exists. And you are probably a little racist and should work on that. Seriously.
 
American Christians are not under attack. We are not being persecuted. We wield so much power in this country that politicians pretend to be Christian just so we will vote for them. No one is trying to take your bible away from you. The gay people are not destroying our families—we don’t need any help from them, thank you. We do a fine job of that by ourselves. So stop saying we are persecuted. You sound stupid.

Poor people need help. If you’re not helping them but complaining about how the government helps them with your money you are not a nice person.

Be nice to the people who teach your children. Don’t send them nasty emails or yell at them. Their job is 10,000 times harder than your stupid job. You are not a professional educator so just shut your mouth and be thankful someone is willing to teach your offspring.

You don’t know what Common Core is. You think you do, but you don’t unless you’re a teacher. So stop complaining about math problem memes on Facebook. You can’t do the math anyway.

ISIS is not an existential threat to the United States. We do not need to rebuild our military. Our military is the strongest, scariest, most badass killing machine the world has ever seen. So stop being afraid and stop letting politicians and pundits scare you.

Guns do in fact kill people. That’s what they are designed to do. If you feel you need a gun to protect yourself in America, you are probably living in the wrong neighborhood and should move before you go out and buy a gun. There are like a billion places to live where you won’t need a gun, or even need to lock your front door.

If you do own a gun, then make sure you know how to use it really, really, really well. Seriously…get some training because you still don’t know how to record stuff with your DVR. Go to the gun range and shoot the thing a lot. Learn how to clean it properly and be able to disassemble it and reassemble it with your eyes closed. 

It’s a freaking gun and it deserves that level of care, proficiency and respect. And for God’s sake, keep it locked up and away from your kids.

If you are even a little bit crazy, sad, or pissed off…you shouldn’t have a gun. And the Founding Fathers would totally agree with me.

Stop being suspicious of American Muslims. I guarantee the guy sitting next to you in the cubicle at work is probably more of a threat to you than any Muslim. He has to listen to your uninformed ranting day after day and has probably already imagined very colorful and creative ways to end you.

Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, and all the rest are ENTERTAINERS! Stop getting your opinions from them. (Here’s where that reading thing can really be an advantage.)

Stop sharing Facebook memes that tell me to share or else Jesus won’t bless me with a laundry basket full of cash. That’s not how prayer works. And I don’t want money delivered (even from God) in a laundry basket. Nobody ever washes those things out and they just keep putting nasty dirty clothes in them. Yuck!

We are the United States of America and we can afford to house every homeless veteran, feed every child, and take in every refugee and still have money left over for Starbucks and a bucket of KFC.

Unless you can trace your family line back to someone who made deerskin pants look stylish and could field dress a buffalo, you are a descendent of an immigrant. Please stop saying that immigrants are ruining our country. Such comments are like a giant verbal burrito stuffed with of historical ignorance, latent racism, and xenophobia all wrapped in a fascist tortilla.

That’s all for now. I feel better.

Read the original and more here

Via Daily Dharma: Commit to Love

To commit to love is fundamentally to commit to a life beyond dualism. That's why love is so sacred in a culture of domination, because it simply begins to erode your dualisms: dualisms of black and white, male and female, right and wrong.

—bell hooks, "Agent of Change: An Interview with bell hooks"

Via The Liberal Agenda / FB:

Via Occupy Democrats / FB:

 

 

 

 

Thank you, President Obama. We recognize the great service you have done for our country in the face of unprecedented obstruction.

Image by Occupy Democrats, LIKE our page for more!

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 26/02/2016

“O dharma do sol é iluminar e aquecer. Ele ilumina e aquece a todos por igual; ele não faz nenhuma diferenciação. Odharma da água é saciar a sede. Ela não escolhe religião, classe social, cor da pele ou qualquer outra coisa - ela sacia a sede de todos. O dharma do ser humano é amar – amar a todos, sem distinção. É ver Deus em todos e servir a todos. Quando manifestamos nossodharma, podemos realizar a meta máxima da vida, a iluminação. É através do Amor que a consciência humana se expande e se torna divina.”

“El dharma del sol es iluminar y calentar. Ilumina y calienta a todos por igual; no hace ninguna distinción. El dharma del agua es saciar la sed. Ella no elige religión, clase social, color de piel o cualquier otra cosa - ella calma la sed de todos. El dharma del ser humano es amar, amar a todos, sin distinción. Es ver a Dios en todos y servir a todos. Cuando manifestamos nuestro dharma, podemos realizar la meta máxima de la vida, la iluminación. Es a través del Amor que la conciencia humana se expande y se vuelve divina.

"The dharma of the sun is to illuminate and bring warmth. It illuminates and brings warmth to everyone equally without discriminating. The dharma of water is to quench thirst regardless of the religion, social class, or skin color of those who drink it. The dharma of human beings is to love - to love everyone without discrepancy, serving and seeing God in all. When we live into our dharma, we can achieve the ultimate goal of life: enlightenment. Through love human consciousness expands, and becomes divine.”

Via Daily Dharma: Endless Wealth

When we achieve a mind of gratitude and dedicate ourselves to helping others, we can practice generosity. We can be generous with our wealth, with ourselves, and with the Dharma. In some ways, giving wealth is the easiest. If we consume less and live more frugally, we can give away what we save.

—Master Sheng Yen, "Rich Generosity"

 

 

Via FB:

Via JMG: INDONESIA: Mayor Tells Young Mothers That Instant Noodles & Canned Milk Will Make Their Baby Gay

Coconuts Jakarta reports:

We seriously do think that Indonesian politicians are competing to see who can say the craziest, most scaremongering thing possible about LGBT issues. After Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu recently declared that the pro-LGBT movement was more dangerous than nuclear warfare, today we have Tangerang Mayor Arief Wismansyah saying that feeding your baby canned milk and instant noodles might make them gay. We wish we were joking.
Most scientists would strongly agree with the crucial importance of early childhood nutrition, but we’re pretty sure there isn’t a single credible scientist who would agree with what Mayor Arief went on to say. According to him, nowadays parents are so busy that they often only feed their children formula and instant foods, which can have a permanent negative effect on their child’s development. “So, it’s no wonder that recently there are more LGBT,” he concluded.
Now to be fair, Arief also said at the seminar that regional leaders such as himself should not discriminate against any of their citizens, even if they are deviant members of the LGBT community. Which is a nice thing to say. Because it would be really unfair to discriminate against somebody just because their lazy parents turned them gay by feeding them formula and instant noodles as a child.

Make the jump here to read the original and more on JMG

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 25/02/2016

“O amor é o poder que permite que transcendamos todas as nossas limitações. Nosso trabalho é remover tudo aquilo que nos impede de manifestar esse poder. Nosso desafio é remover as capas temporárias formadas pelo karma; capas que fecham nosso coração e restringem nossa capacidade de amar. Somente um coração aberto pode colocar o amor em movimento; e somente quando o amor está em movimento, ou seja, está sendo compartilhado com todos, a ascensão é possível. Portanto, nosso maior desafio é sustentar o coração aberto em todas as situações da vida.”

“El amor es el poder que nos permite trascender todas nuestras limitaciones. Nuestro trabajo es remover todo aquello que nos impide manifestar ese poder. Nuestro desafío es remover las capas temporales formadas por el karma; capas que cierran nuestro corazón y restringen nuestra capacidad de amar. Sólo un corazón abierto puede poner el amor en movimiento; y sólo cuando el amor está en movimiento, es decir, está siendo compartido con todos, la ascensión es posible. Por lo tanto, nuestro mayor desafío es mantener el corazón abierto en todas las situaciones de la vida.”

"Love is the power that enables us to transcend all of our limitations. Our job is to remove everything that prevents us from manifesting this power. Our challenge is to remove the temporary layers formed by karma, which keep our hearts closed and restrict our ability to love. Only an open heart can put love in motion, and only when love is being shared can we ascend. Our greatest challenge is to sustain an open heart in all situations of life.”

Via Daily Dharma: On Daily Practice

As Buddhists, we take up the work of the community. We weed the garden, we wash the dishes.

—Susan Moon, "Ten Practices to Change the World"

Via Have A Gay Day / FB:

A foto of my husband & I in Amparo, São Paulo, during Carnval 2016

Just a pair of grandpas, together 18 years in August 2016.

Via Ram Dass...

February 24, 2016

Until you can allow your own beauty, your own dignity, your own being, you cannot free another; so if I were giving one instruction, I would say, ‘Work on yourself; have compassion for yourself; allow yourself to be beautiful, and all the rest will follow.’

 

Another long but very true story…

When I lived in ABQ (that's Albuquerque, NM), finishing grad school… coming out, divorce… it was a tough time.  It was more than 30 years ago. I was really a lost rowboat on a stormy sea… poor choice of metaphore whe nyou are living at the northern reach ofthe Chiuahan Destert, but I  digress... I even attempted a suicide once or twice on my bike in traffic… dumb, I know.

A professor of mine, Rafael, was one of the first openly gay role models I had. He was a former Jesuit, turned Zen practioner, and let me stay with him and his partner until I could steady myself. I owe a lot to them.  Strike that, I owe everything to them… Until then, my only contact with gay people, was, with, well unsavory and not very well put together types. 
They introduced me to strong, together, professionals and good decent people.  Saturdays we went to a Gay men’s meditation group, and then we went to brunch. Learnign to brunch is an essential gay skill, I had to learn. It was there that I first met some gay men who were working on their spiritual side.  At that time, I was still going to feasts and wearing a Bahá’í ring.  
One morning a very, very odd man came to the group, his energy field was really off, and at brunch he sat next to me.  Early on he noticed my ring, and began ranting about the Guardian… come to find out he was a big cheese in the Covenant Breakers near ABQ. Sigh… he began a very wacky rant… I remember, turning to him and saying,“My friend, this is hardly the place for such a discussion, I do not agree with you, and we will not continue this discussion. Period”.

He started in again, and as he did, his plate lifted off the table, and dumped into his lap…

The group just stared at him, our Zen teacher and leader turned to Rafael, and said…
“The force is strong in this one” and we all laughed…

Soon after, I took a faculty position in Sacramento, and Rafa, got a job at Stanford… he is since retired, and still a great mentor.  I owe him a lot, he taught me that I could be gay and follow a spiritual path, and could ignore all this nutty Bahá’í administrative homophobic dysfunction. He introduced me to the idea of service and tools that helped me deal with the anger I had with Bahá’í. I volunteered with the Sacramento AIDS project when things began to explode in SMF. Again I met a lot of good, decent, service oriented people. His mentorship planted the seed in me that allowed me to eventually meet the other great people here. 

It is also why I get frustrated with all this Bahá’íness… it doesn’t want to look at what works, or adapt. And why I no longer feel the magic with it or have any sense of Sangha in it.

So maybe, just maybe Baha’u’llah was looking  out for me after all, and  showed me a place where I was loved, where I was welcome, where I could serve with out fear.

Namaskar Rafa!