Via Daily Dharma: Anger and Equilibrium

The destructive effects of anger are easily recognized. When even mild annoyance arises, it can quickly grow and overwhelm us. Inner peace is lost.

—Allan Lokos, "Cooling Emotional Fires"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 20/03/2016

“A austeridade inteligente é uma prática que te prepara para a verdadeira renúncia. Porém, essa prática só é possível quando você já compreendeu o condicionamento ou aspecto do eu inferior que precisa ser renunciado. Caso contrário, ela pode servir apenas para aumentar o vício e o sentimento de impotência.”

“La austeridad inteligente es una práctica que te prepara para la verdadera renuncia. Sin embargo, esta práctica sólo es posible cuando ya comprendiste el condicionamiento o aspecto del yo inferior que precisa ser renunciado. De lo contrario, puede servir sólo para aumentar el vicio y el sentimiento de impotencia.”

"An intelligent austerity is a practice that prepares us for true renunciation. However, this practice is only truly possible when we have understood the conditioning or the aspect of the lower self that needs to be renounced. If this is not fully understood, this austerity will only serve to increase our addictions and the feeling of helplessness."

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 19/03/2016

“Não podemos falar em preservação do meio ambiente sem falar da Mãe universal, a energia feminina que permeia a criação. Podemos compreender a situação de uma sociedade observando a forma como os seus indivíduos se relacionam com suas mães. A separação é somente uma ilusão. Assim como somos Um, o feminino também é um, e você se relaciona com o feminino da mesma forma que se relaciona com a sua mãe. Porém, às vezes você não percebe como está a relação com a sua mãe justamente porque se tornou indiferente a ela, assim como se tornou indiferente em relação ao planeta.” 

“No podemos hablar de preservación del medio ambiente sin hablar de la Madre universal, la energía femenina que permea la creación. Podemos comprender la situación de una sociedad observando la manera cómo sus individuos se relacionan con sus madres. La separación es solamente una ilusión. Así como somos Uno, lo femenino también es uno, y te relacionas con lo femenino de la misma manera que te relacionas con tu madre. Pero a veces no percibes cómo está la relación con tu madre justamente porque te has vuelto indiferente a ella, así como te has vuelto indiferente en relación al planeta.”

“We can not speak about preserving the environment without mentioning the Universal Mother, the feminine energy that permeates all of creation. We can understand a society by simply observing the way its individuals relate with their own mothers. Separation is only an illusion. The same way that we are all one, the feminine is also one, thus we relate to the feminine in the same way as we relate to our mothers. Often times we don't really see how our relationship is with our mother because we have grown indifferent, just like we have grown indifferent to our planet."

Via Daily Dharma: Defining Nirvana

Experiencing nibbana is like taking a dip in a refreshing pond. A quick dip and we are slightly refreshed. With a long soak we are thoroughly refreshed. Even the first, brief dip into nibbana is a powerful lesson in the possibility of a great happiness, freedom, and peace not dependent on the conditions of the world.

—Gil Fronsdal, "Nirvana: Three Takes"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 18/03/2016

“Tudo é divino. Deus é a própria vida. Ele faz tudo acontecer - ele traz os encontros e os desencontros - ele traz os desafios. Esteja conectado com essa percepção e você verá que a vida se comunica com você através de sincronicidades. Esteja atento e aberto para perceber esses sinais. Estar aberto significa estar desapegado de expectativas em relação ao desfecho das situações. Então, se você consegue manter-se atento, aberto e desapegado, a sua vida se torna a sua prática de yoga.”

“Todo es divino. Dios es la propia vida. Él hace que todo suceda -trae los encuentros y los desencuentros- trae los desafíos. Estate conectado con esta percepción y verás que la vida se comunica contigo a través de sincronicidades. Estate atento y abierto para percibir estas señales. Estar abierto significa estar desapegado de expectativas con respecto al resultado de las situaciones. Entonces, si puedes mantenerte atento, abierto y desapegado, tu vida se convierte en tu práctica de yoga".

"Everything is divine. God is life itself. God is what makes everything happen: the encounters and the farewells, as well as the challenges. If we are connected to this perception of life, we can see that life is communicating with us through the form of synchronicities. Just be attentive and open to perceive these signals. To be open means to be without expectations for certain results of situations. So, if we are able to remain attentive, open and detached, our lives become our yoga practice."

Via Daily Dharma: The Path is Personal

What we end up doing with the wild and unruly character of our thoughts and emotions still remains a question for us. How we bring the practice to life is something personal, and it can’t be taught.

—Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel, "The Power of an Open Question"

Via FB:

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 17/03/2016ia

“Você pode encontrar milhões de razões para não se abrir para o outro. Na verdade, você pode até ter motivos de verdade para não se abrir para ele. Mas, estando comprometido com o autoconhecimento, é preciso lembrar que esse fechamento é um sintoma do medo. E o medo sempre está a serviço de esconder alguma coisa. Se você tiver coragem de olhar de frente para esse medo, ele vai te mostrar alguma outra coisa, provavelmente uma vergonha, que é um aspecto do orgulho. Esse medo está escondendo alguma coisa que você não quer tomar consciência, e nem quer que o outro saiba.”

“Puedes encontrar millones de razones para no abrirte al otro. En verdad, puedes hasta tener motivos verdaderos para no abrirte a él. Pero estando comprometido con el auto-conocimiento, es preciso recordar que este cierre es un síntoma del miedo. Y el miedo siempre está al servicio de esconder algo. Si tienes el coraje de mirar de frente a este miedo, te va a mostrar alguna otra cosa, probablemente, una vergüenza, que es un aspecto del orgullo. Este miedo está escondiendo algo que no quieres tomar conciencia, y tampoco quieres que el otro sepa.” 

"We can find thousands of reasons not to open up to the other. In truth, we may even have real reasons as to why we shouldn’t open up to them. But if we are truly committed to self-knowledge, we need to remember that this closure is a symptom of fear. Fear is always trying to hide something. If we can be courageous enough to confront this fear, it will lead us to something else such as shame, which is another aspect of pride. This fear is hiding something that we don't want to face and that we don't want the other to see."

Via Daily Dharma: Buddhist Science

Buddhist science is not just an intellectual pursuit for the sake of unraveling the mystery of nature, but it also has a therapeutic aspect that gets to the very basic cause of suffering. In this context, a rigorous pursuit of science is not to hold a blind belief in anything but to honestly and eagerly pursue the investigation of the mechanism of happiness and suffering.

—Matthieu Ricard, "Why Meditate?"

Via Ram Dass...

March 16, 2016

The pilgrim and the goal are the same. So how can you take a trip seriously when you know the end of the trip is awakening from the illusion that you’re on a trip? See, you just know it, you don’t BE it.

Via Daily Dharma: Creative Practice, Disciplined Understanding

Just as a yogi must return again and again to the mat or the meditation seat—to directly touch the reality of each moment—the writer must return to the empty page, the sculptor to the clay, the painter to the easel. And through this discipline, both yogi and artist become one with the worlds within and without.

—Anne Cushman, "The Yoga of Creativity"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 16/03/2016

“Um dos principais obstáculos na jornada evolutiva do ser humano é a negação. E o moralismo é um dos instrumentos que está a serviço desse mecanismo de negação. Ele é uma espécie de conhecimento emprestado que determina o que é certo ou errado. Você avalia os seus desejos e mede suas atitudes a partir desse conhecimento emprestado. E como você precisa agradar os outros porque acredita que somente assim será amado, você condena seus próprios desejos e passa a negá-los. Mas, como tudo o que é proibido é desejado, essa negação é apenas um combustível para o desejo.”

“Uno de los principales obstáculos en el camino evolutivo del ser humano es la negación. Y el moralismo es uno de los instrumentos que está al servicio de este mecanismo de negación. Es un tipo de conocimiento prestado que determina lo que es correcto o incorrecto. Evalúas tus deseos y mides tus actitudes a partir de ese conocimiento prestado. Y como precisas agradarle a los otros porque crees que solamente así serás amado, condenas tus propios deseos y pasas a negarlos. Pero como todo lo que es prohibido es deseado, esta negación es sólo un combustible para el deseo.”

"One of the main obstacles along the human being’s evolutionary journey is denial. Morality is one of the main instruments that further serves our denial mechanisms. Morality is like borrowed knowledge that determines what is right or wrong. We use these borrowed ideas of morality to evaluate and measure our desires and our very own attitudes. So long as we go on needing to please the other as we believe this is the only way we will be loved, we inadvertently wind up condemning our own desires and thereby denying them. However, everything that is prohibited is ultimately desired. So this denial only serves to ignite more desire."

Via Instinct: Sally Field Is 'Horrified' By Parents Who Do Not Accept Their Gay Children

Sally Field was recently bestowed the Human Rights Campaign‘s Ally for Equality Award, an honor that was presented to her by her gay son Sam.

During a recent EW Radio town hall on SiriusXM, she said:

"First of all, don’t be frightened. And don’t put your own prejudices or fears about sexuality – your own fears about sexuality – on your children. Sexuality is a glorious part of existence.

“What horrifies me is that there are parents who so disapprove, who are so brainwashed to think that this is something out of the Bible or ungodly or against nature. It’s not against nature if nature has actually done this. Sam was always Sam, this wonderful human that he is, from the time he was born. … Some people actually shut their children out of the house when they’re young, they’re teenagers – they’re having a hard enough time to be teenagers and own any part of sexuality. I’m still trying to figure it out!”

Read the original and more here

Via Daily Dharma: A Wise Response

By cultivating skillful attitudes of mind, we will respond to more and more of life with awareness and wisdom. With steady awareness of the way things are, the perseverance to stay with that awareness, and the willingness to learn from it, we maximize our sense of well-being.

—Steve Armstrong, "Got Attitude?"

Via Ram Dass

March 13, 2016

Whether you are a parent or a teacher, anything; whatever your gig is, the only thing you can offer to another being is your consciousness. You are an environment for everyone you meet, in which they can become as conscious as they are ready to become. Offer your most conscious being to others.

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 14/03/2016

“Se o planeta Terra é uma escola e o principal curso é criar uma cultura de paz e prosperidade, nós estamos de recuperação. Só haverá paz se houver união, só haverá união se houver amor e só haverá amor se desaprendermos a odiar. E para desaprendermos a odiar, precisaremos ter coragem de perdoar. Isso é matéria básica nesse curso. Parece tão óbvio, mas o ser humano ainda não aprendeu.”

“Si el planeta Tierra es una escuela y el principal curso es crear una cultura de paz y prosperidad, nosotros estamos en recuperatorio. Solo habrá paz si hay unión, solo habrá unión si hay amor y solo habrá amor si desaprendemos a odiar. Y para desaprender a odiar, necesitamos tener coraje de perdonar. Esto es materia básica en este curso. Parece tan obvio, pero el ser humano aún no aprendió.”

"If planet Earth is a school and the main course is to create a culture of peace and prosperity, we are failing the course. There will only be peace if there is unity. There will only be union if there is love. We will only have love if we learn how not to hate. To stop the hate short in its tracks, we need to have the courage to forgive. This is the basic school material for this course. It seems so obvious, but we humans have not yet learned it.”

Via Daily Dharma: Testing the Truth

So what is the test of truth? The Buddha offers a simple formula: Test things in terms of cause and effect. Whatever is unskillful, leading to harm and ill, should be abandoned; whatever is skillful, leading to happiness and peace, should be pursued.

—Larry Rosenberg, "The Right to Ask Questions"

Via Daily Dharma: The Need for Narrative

The sense of nagging inauthenticity about my narrative self—the sense that when it comes down to it my story is a lie—persists, and one of the great joys of meditation is that it offers an opportunity to put the story aside for a while and abide, albeit briefly, in the images.

—Alex Gooch, "Being Somebody, Going Somewhere"

Via Daily Dharma: The Breath That Breathes Itself

As we begin to practice mindfulness of breathing, we often see ourselves, initially, as the breather, apart and separate from the breath itself. The direction and development of the practice is eventually to bridge this separation until our attention is absorbed fully into the breath. The breath breathes itself, and we experience a place of deep calmness, concentration, and ease.

—Christina Feldman, "Receiving the Breath: Meditation Q & A"