Via Daily Dharma: Making History Here

World history is a record of the effects of the negative and positive thoughts of human beings. This, I think, is quite clear. By reflecting on these past occurrences, we can see that if we want to have a better and happier future, now is the time to examine the mindset of our present generation and to reflect on the way of life that it may bring about in the future.

—The Dalai Lama, "The Enemy Within"

Via JMG: GEORGIA: Gov. Nathan Deal Denounces Anti-LGBT “Religious Liberty” Bill By Citing The Bible

March 3, 2016 LGBT News, Religion

Feeling the heat from major local corporations, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal today denounced the pending anti-LGBT “religious liberty” bill by citing scripture. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Standing in the lobby of a government building after a ribbon-cutting ceremony, he laid out a lengthy condemnation of the measure from a Biblical perspective, first noting that he is a Southern Baptist who took religion courses at Mercer University.

“What the New Testament teaches us is that Jesus reached out to those who were considered the outcasts, the ones that did not conform to the religious societies’ view of the world. We do not have a belief in my way of looking at religion that says we have to discriminate against anybody. If you were to apply those standards to the teaching of Jesus, I don’t think they fit.”

He then turned to a passage from the Gospel of John that showed Jesus reaching out to an outcast.
“What that says is we have a belief in forgiveness and that we do not have to discriminate unduly against anyone on the basis of our own religious beliefs. We are not jeopardized, in my opinion, by those who believe differently from us. We are not, in my opinion, put in jeopardy by virtue of those who might hold different beliefs or who may not even agree with what our Supreme Court said the law of the land is on the issue of same-sex marriage. I do not feel threatened by the fact that people who might choose same-sex marriages pursue that route.”

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Via LGBT News/FB:

 

 

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Via JMG: UTAH: Mormon Church Helps Kill Hate Crimes Bill

March 3, 2016 LGBT News, Religion

 The Salt Lake Tribune reports:

Rusty Andrade was prepared to lose. But it still felt like a punch to the gut Wednesday as he watched, from a seat on the Senate floor, lawmakers vote to kill a proposal to bolster Utah’s hate-crime laws. “It totally feels like a revictimization,” said Andrade, 35, whose 2014 beating by two men shouting gay slurs helped inspire Sen. Steve Urquhartt’s hate-crime bill. “It just re-emphasizes that they don’t see us worthy of protection.” SB107 failed on a 17-11 vote.

Urquhart said senators have made up their minds, and he can see no way to sway the votes. It’s clear, he said, that the opposition from Utah’s predominant religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ultimately killed his bill, changing at least three votes that would have meant its passage and shutting down the dialogue he would have needed to win back support. “I felt that we were going to pass hate crimes through the process,” he said, “and after their statement, there was really no way.”

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Via FB: Not surprised that "WE" is a reflection of "ME" on a deeper Level of truth.

"We meet ourselves time and again in a thousand disguises on the path of life." - C.G. Jung

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

“As palavras que surgem para serem transmitidas em nossos encontros são espontâneas. Não costumo preparar nada com antecedência. Não porque me oponho a esse método, mas simplesmente porque é assim que acontece comigo. As palavras, quando surgem, fazem parte de um jogo divino, elas servem como uma forma de confirmar a intuição; uma forma de auxiliar na leitura dos sinais e sincronicidades que a vida oferece. Tais sinais são a forma mais simples do Mistério se comunicar com você. A sua parte é compreender a mensagem.”

“Las palabras que surgen para ser transmitidas en nuestros encuentros son espontáneas. No acostumbro preparar nada con anticipación. No porque me oponga a este método, simplemente porque es así como sucede conmigo. Las palabras, cuando surgen, son parte de un juego divino, sirven como una manera de confirmar la intuición; una manera de ayudar en la lectura de las señales y sincronicidades que la vida ofrece. Tales señales son la forma más simple para el Misterio comunicarse contigo. Tu parte es comprender el mensaje.”

"The words that arise to be transmitted in our encounters are spontaneous. I usually do not prepare anything in advance. It’s not that I am opposed to different methods, my transmissions simply take place this way because that is how they come through me. When the words arise, they become a part of God's play. They serve as a means to confirm intuition and a way to assist us in interpreting the signs and synchronicities that life offers. Such signals are the simplest ways in which the Mystery communicates with us. Our part is to understand these messages.”

Via Daily Dharma: The Mindlessness of Aggression

In the eyes of Great Compassion, there is no separation between subject and object, no separate self. If a cruel and violent person disembowels you, you can smile and look at him with love. It is his upbringing, his situation, and his ignorance that cause him to act so mindlessly.

—Thich Nhat Hanh, "Great Compassion"

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Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 02/03/2016

“Abençoado é cada momento em que temos a oportunidade de estar juntos, aprendendo mais sobre nós mesmos. Pois é o autoconhecimento que possibilita a liberação do sofrimento. Todo sofrimento nasce da ignorância a respeito da nossa verdadeira natureza, do esquecimento de quem somos, ou seja, da falsa ideia de eu. Portanto, o autoconhecimento é o que possibilita o acesso à realidade de quem somos, ou seja, a autorrealização.”

“Bendito es cada momento que tenemos la oportunidad de estar juntos, aprendiendo más acerca de nosotros mismos. Pues el autoconocimiento es lo que posibilita la liberación del sufrimiento. Todo sufrimiento nace de la ignorancia sobre nuestra verdadera naturaleza, del olvido de quienes somos, es decir, la falsa idea de yo. Por lo tanto, el autoconocimiento es lo que permite el acceso a la realidad de quien somos, es decir, la auto-realización.”

"Every time we have the opportunity to be together it is a blessing, as we are given the opportunity to learn more about ourselves. Self-knowledge enables our freedom from suffering. All suffering is born out of the ignorance about our true nature, the forgetfulness of who we are, and the false idea of self. Therefore, self-knowledge is what allows us to access the reality of who we are, which is self-realization.”

Via Ram Dass:

March 2, 2016

Every moment of your life, once you understand it’s purpose, is your vehicle for awakening. This moment is your vehicle for awakening. If you’re uncomfortable, allow it. If you’re fascinated, be fascinated, allow it. Give it space.

Via Daily Dharma: Intimate Compassion

In short, for compassion to develop toward a wide range of persons, mere knowledge of how beings suffer is not sufficient; there has to be a sense of closeness with regard to every being.

—Jeffrey Hopkins, "Everyone as a Friend"

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

“Estamos atravessando um momento difícil da nossa jornada evolutiva enquanto seres humanos. Precisamos olhar de frente para os nossos problemas e suas verdadeiras causas, afim de encontrarmos reais soluções. Ao fugir da solução real, aumentamos tensões e dificuldades. Em tempos como esse somos mais exigidos: devemos abandonar os velhos hábitos e mecanismos de defesa geradores dos problemas, especialmente o orgulho e o apego a crenças e pontos de vista limitantes. Porém, continuamos negando as causas e ainda não nos responsabilizamos por nossas próprias criações. Continuamos sendo guiados pelo jogo de acusações e cegos para o óbvio. Mas o preço dessa fuga é muito alto. Não é somente a destruição do planeta e da população – o pior é não termos acesso à Verdade e ao propósito maior da nossa existência.”

“Estamos atravesando un momento difícil en nuestro camino evolutivo como seres humanos. Precisamos mirar de frente nuestros problemas y sus verdaderas causas, con el fin de encontrar soluciones reales. Al huir de la solución real, aumentamos tensiones y dificultades. En tiempos como este somos más exigidos: debemos abandonar los viejos hábitos y mecanismos de defensa generadores de problemas, especialmente el orgullo y el apego a las creencias y puntos de vista limitantes. Sin embargo, seguimos negando las causas y todavía no nos responsabilizamos por nuestras propias creaciones. Continuamos siendo guiados por el juego de acusaciones y ciegos a lo obvio. Pero el precio de esa fuga es muy alto. No es sólo la destrucción del planeta y de la población, lo peor es no tener acceso a la Verdad y al propósito mayor de nuestra existencia.”

"We are going through a difficult time in our evolutionary journey as human beings. We need to face our problems and their true causes head on in order to find real solutions. If we continue to flee from the actual solutions, our tensions and difficulties will only increase. In times like these, a lot is being demanded of us: we must abandon our old habits and defense mechanisms that are generating these problems, especially our pride and attachment to our limited beliefs and points of view. We continue to deny the causes of our problems and we still refuse to take responsibility for our own creations. We continue being guided by the blame game and remain blind to the obvious truths. The price of our fleeing is very high: it does not only involve the destruction of our planet and population - the worst part is that we don’t have access to the truth and to the greater purpose of our existence."

Via Daily Dharma: Sit, Sit, Sit

The zazen period we are recommending is 20 minutes. You may find that you will want to do more—or less—and that is fine. What is important is consistency. To keep your practice consistent, remember what the famous Nike ad says: “Just do it.” Don’t concern yourself with trying to get to some particular place or state of mind. Each day’s zazen will be a little different, just like the rest of life.

—Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara, "An Introduction to Zen"

Via JMG: Nathan Lane & Matthew Broderick Revive The Producers In Anti-Trump Skit On Jimmy Kimmel Show [VIDEO]

February 29, 2016 2016 Election, Entertainment

Mediaite recaps the highlight of Jimmy Kimmel’s post-Oscars special:

Perhaps the greatest moment of the night occurred when he had Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick reprise their legendary roles from The Producers to poke fun at Donald Trump in a big way. The original musical focuses on two Broadway producing con-artists who plot to create a show guaranteed to fail so that they can present it as the next big hit and abscond with the profits. In Kimmel’s take, Lane and Broderick are political consultants with a similar plan to profit off the fundraising for a doomed candidate, and they realize that Trump is exactly the kind of “train-wreck, gold-plated nincompoop,” they’re looking for.

 Make the jump here to  see the video and more at JMG

Via Toweleroad: Justin Trudeau to Grant Posthumous Pardon to Man Imprisoned for Being Gay

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced he will posthumously pardon a man imprisoned in 1966 for being gay who is largely credited for bringing about a change in Canada’s laws on homosexuality.

 

Everett George Klippert (right) was deemed a dangerous sexual offender by the Canadian government after he told police that he’d had consensual sex with four men. Klippert volunteered the information during an arson investigation. Klippert was charged with gross indecency and was determined to be a dangerous sexual offender because a government-appointed psychiatrist concluded that Klippert’s homosexuality was “incurable.” Kilppert was sentenced to “preventative detention” which was the equivalent of an indefinite term in prison.

CBC reports: 

The sentence was backed up by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1967, although Chief Justice John Cartwright suggested the laws regarding homosexuality be clarified, and that incarceration of harmless homosexuals was not their intention.

The Klippert case stoked considerable media and political interest. Just six weeks later, Pierre Trudeau, the Liberal government’s justice minister (who would later become prime minister) introduced a bill that, among other things, called for the decriminalization of private, consensual homosexual acts between people over the age of 21.

Pierre Trudeau was of course Justin Trudeau’s father. One gay rights advocate commented, “It’s great that the young Trudeau is finishing the work that his father started.” More on the announcement of the pardon from CBC:

“The prime minister intends to recommend that a pardon under the authority of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy be granted posthumously to Mr. Klippert,” Trudeau’s office said in a media release.

The move was cheered Sunday by gay-rights advocates.

“It’s fantastic that he’ll get a posthumous pardon,” lawyer Doug Elliott told CBC News.

As well, the statement said the Liberal government will also look to see whether pardons are “warranted” after reviewing the cases of other individuals who in the past were convicted on charges such as gross indecency and buggery.

“As Canadians, we know that protecting and promoting fundamental human rights must be an imperative for governments and individuals alike, and this includes gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation,” the weekend statement said.

Trudeau’s office credited Klippert’s case for being “instrumental” in Canada’s decision to decriminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults.

Klippert was released from prison in 1971, 5 years after being convicted. He died in 1996 at age 69.
Lawyer Doug Elliot criticized Trudeau’s father for not pardoning him during his lifetime:

“I never understood: Why didn’t Pierre Trudeau let him out in 1969 when they decriminalized gay sex?” Elliott said. “They kept the poor guy who was responsible for shining a light on this issue in jail for another couple of years.”

Earlier this month, Justin Trudeau announced that he would become the first sitting Canadian prime minister to attend a gay pride parade. 

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Via Project Happiness / FB:

 

Be selective in your battles; choose to forgive others, not necessarily because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace...

#FridayFreedom

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 29/02/2016

“Matemática básica: se o coração está fechado, existe acusação. Se existe acusação, você não está podendo assumir responsabilidade pelo seu próprio fechamento. Existe aí uma vítima, uma ideia de que você tem inimigos. Eu chamo isso de distração. E é através da distração que o ser humano se perde - ele se perde na mente.”

“Matemática básica: si el corazón está cerrado, existe acusación. Si existe acusación, no estás pudiendo asumir responsabilidad por tu propio bloqueo. Existe ahí una víctima, una idea de que tienes enemigos. A esto lo llamo distracción. Y es a través de esta distracción que el ser humano se pierde, se pierde en la mente.”

"This is basic math: if the heart is closed, there is an accusation being made. If there is an accusation, you are not being able to assume responsibility for closing up your heart. In this case, there is a victim holding onto the idea that you have enemies. This is a distraction, and distraction only makes human beings get lost in the mind.”