A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Monday, August 29, 2016
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 29/08/2016
“A gula é uma matriz psicológica que se manifesta como voracidade. A
pessoa gulosa tenta preencher a carência e o vazio existencial através
de compulsões, sendo que a mais básica é a compulsão alimentar. São
muitos os tipos de compulsões (por falar, por sexo, pornografia,
compras, jogos...), mas todas tem relação com a sexualidade. A gula é um
sintoma; ela indica que algo precisa ser curado. Existe um conteúdo
relacionado a sexualidade que ainda não foi compreendido e aceito.”
“La gula es una matriz psicológica que se manifiesta como voracidad. La
persona golosa intenta llenar la carencia y el vacío existencial a
través de compulsiones, siendo que la más básica es la compulsión
alimentaria. Son muchos los tipos de compulsiones (por hablar, por sexo,
pornografía, compras, juegos de azar...), pero todas tienen que ver con
la sexualidad. La gula es un síntoma; indica que algo precisa ser
sanado. Hay un contenido relacionado con la sexualidad que todavía no
fuecomprendido y aceptado.”
“Gluttony is the psychological matrix that manifests as voracity. A gluttonous person tries to fill neediness and existential emptiness through compulsions, of which the most basic is the compulsion to eat. There are many types of compulsions, the compulsion to speak, to have sex, to watch pornography, shopping, games, and so on. All of them are related to sexuality. Gluttony is only a symptom. It indicates that something needs to be healed. It means that there is some content in relationship to sexuality that still hasn’t been comprehended and accepted.”
“Gluttony is the psychological matrix that manifests as voracity. A gluttonous person tries to fill neediness and existential emptiness through compulsions, of which the most basic is the compulsion to eat. There are many types of compulsions, the compulsion to speak, to have sex, to watch pornography, shopping, games, and so on. All of them are related to sexuality. Gluttony is only a symptom. It indicates that something needs to be healed. It means that there is some content in relationship to sexuality that still hasn’t been comprehended and accepted.”
Via DailyDharma / August 29, 2016: We Belong to Each Other
After
hundreds of thousands of millions of years, every particle of clay has
passed through every kind of vessel. Every body has particles that have
“belonged” to every other body. The vessel-bodies are so tightly packed
that there is no distance between them, one shape curving into the next,
a valley in one is a hill in another.
—Jan Chozen Bays, "Embodiment"
—Jan Chozen Bays, "Embodiment"
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Via Ram Dass
August 28, 2016
It’s quite apparent that as you work on yourself, on your consciousness, you continue to do whatever dance you’re doing, the dance evolves. You begin to see how the acts you perform can become more and more optimum to the conditions. For instance, when you’re about to change a law in a country you stand back, and you begin to understand the way the whole system works, and you see what the optimum act you can do is, and you perform it totally, without emotional attachment to that act, and instead an awareness of how that act works in the whole system.
In other words, it’s the ability to sometimes have delay of gratification, the ability to stand back to do what is the more optimum response.
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 28/08/2016
“A purificação é a fase da jornada na qual trabalhamos para nos
libertar da falsa identidade, e é nessa fase que surgem os maiores
desafios, justamente porque nos apegamos a ela. Existem momentos em que a
jornada se torna desértica e passamos muito tempo sem ter um gole de
água para beber - nossa fé é testada ao máximo. Essa fase requer
paciência e boa vontade, pois é isso que nos dá força para continuar
batendo na porta da Verdade. Então nós batemos até que, em algum momento, a porta se abre e a Verdade se revela.”
“La purificación es la fase del camino en el que trabajamos para
liberarnos de la falsa identidad, y es en esta fase donde surgen los
mayores desafíos, justamente porque nos apegamos a ella. Hay momentos en
que el camino se hace desértico y pasamos mucho tiempo sin tener un
sorbo de agua para beber - nuestra fe es probada al máximo. Esta fase
requiere paciencia y buena voluntad, porque eso es lo que nos da fuerza
para continuar golpeando la puerta de la Verdad. Entonces golpeamos
hasta que, en algún momento, la puerta se abre y la Verdad se revela.”
“Purification is the phase of the journey in which we work to liberate ourselves from false identity. This is where our greatest challenges arise precisely because we are attached to this identity. There are times when the journey becomes a desert and we spend a long time without even a drop of water to drink and our faith is severely tested. This phase requires patience and strong willpower that gives us the force necessary to keep knocking on the door of truth. Then we knock on the door of truth, until at some point, the door opens and the truth is revealed.”
“Purification is the phase of the journey in which we work to liberate ourselves from false identity. This is where our greatest challenges arise precisely because we are attached to this identity. There are times when the journey becomes a desert and we spend a long time without even a drop of water to drink and our faith is severely tested. This phase requires patience and strong willpower that gives us the force necessary to keep knocking on the door of truth. Then we knock on the door of truth, until at some point, the door opens and the truth is revealed.”
Via Daily Dharma / August 28, 2016: The Myth of the Negative Emotion
There
isn’t any such thing as a negative emotion. There are negative things
that we do with our emotions, but our emotions themselves are neither
negative nor positive. They simply are.
—Robert Augustus Masters, "From Spiritual Bypassing"
—Robert Augustus Masters, "From Spiritual Bypassing"
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Via Boyfactor: 8 Openly Homophobic Companies To Avoid
Chick-Fil-A
Before you “Chow Down at Chick-Fil-A ala Willam Belli, you
might want to know that they are famed for their disdain of everything
gay.
CEO Dan Cathy believes firmly in the “traditional
definition of marriage” to the point that he has donated to Christian
Organizations which support the murder of gay individuals in Africa. You
know that “Kill the Gays” bill in Uganda? That came thanks to
organizations that have gotten substantial donation from this fast food
chain.
Chick-Fil-A: Serving up nuggets with a side of homophobia.
Purina
For a company that’s devoted to feeding animals, Purina
does a good job at being discriminatory to a large group of humans. The
pet-chow company offers zero benefits for same-sex partners, and has no
anti-discrimination policy in place. They also famously pulled ads from
Saturday Night Live because it was “immoral” and promoted an “unclean
lifestyle.” Lofty words from a company whose claim to fame is Beggin’
Strips and Sausages.
The Salvation Army
Next
time you see a friendly bell-ringer at your local grocery store, be
advised that your donated money is actually going to a company that
wishes death on gay and transgender individuals. According to one
higher-up in the corporation, they take the word of the Bible literally
and seriously, meaning gay and trans individuals are hell-bound and
deserve death. There has also been issues with trans and gay folks being
denied access to Salvation Army operated shelters because of their
“lifestyle choices.” With opinions like that, it might be time to change
the company’s name to the “Selective Salvation Army.”
Dominos
Even pizza companies are getting political these days.
Dominos has a founder who is notoriously sexist and homophobic and has
donated hundreds of millions of dollars to conservative causes
to undercut equality. Evidently Dominos is just too highbrow and classy
to allow us queers access to the pizza cutter. Their loss: We’re pros at
working with sausage.
Urban Outfitters
This one is a bit more surprising to some people
considering Urban has achieved a sort of reverance in the gay community
for the clothing it sells. Despite the CEO being an openly gay man, the
founder of Urban Outfitters has donated money to the campaigns of
politicans such as Rick “can’t hear you over my Bible audiobook”
Santorum.
Additionally, Urban has removed Pro-Gay clothing from its
shelves in the past while keeping clothing with transphobic, sexist, and
racist language out for sale. Keep that in mind next time you’re
shooting for Hipster-Chic and Urban comes up as an option.
Cracker Barrel
Color me shocked to hear a restaurant chain famed for
Southern influences is homophobic. Cracker Barrel not only does not
protect the LGBT individuals from being fired or mistreated, it actively
does not hire these individuals because their “lifestyle” is
incongruent with Cracker Barrel’s values as well as the values of “the
majority of our clientele.” If you find yourself hankering for some
chicken and waffles, consider finding a place that doesn’t cater to
folks who enjoy good old-fashioned queer-beatings and down-home
transphobia.
Wal-Mart
Famous
for rollback prices and for being a terrible place to work if you want
competitive wages, Wal-Mart also has an anti-LGBT streak in it. Though
it is the country’s largest seller of books, Wal-Mart does not have any
LGBT-themed pieces of literature for sale in its stores. One book that was
famously vended by the retail giant promoted the idea that gay people
can overcome their sin and become straight, because if there is one
place qualified to offer conversion therapy, it’s Wal-Mart.
Exxon
Here’s the big one. The granddady of homophobic companies.
Far and away the record-holder for lowest score on the HRC’s Corporate
Equality Index. Exxon Oil come on down, claim your prize! With a
Corporate Equity Index score of negative 25 out of 100 Exxon is far and
away the worst place to work if you are LGBT.
As is common with the rest of these companies, Exxon
refuses to provide benefits for LGBT workers and their partners.
However, Exxon enjoys the distinction of having actually revoked these
benefits which were present in the past. In addition to just kind of
being dicks with regards to the environment, Exxon actively pursues
legislation which is designed to keep LGBT folks from receiving
equality. Exxon execs firmly opposed ENDA
and are adamantly refusing the become the final Fortune 10 company to
protect LGBT individuals from unfair workplace treatment. Exxon is the
most profitable company in the world, but also holds the title of “Least
LGBT Friendly Company.” Just because Exxon is responsible for turning
dead dinosaurs into fuel doesn’t mean they need to have prehistoric
mindset when it comes to equality.
These are only a few of the unfortunately large list of
companies that oppose LGBT equality. Knowing where your money goes when
you spend it is important lest it go toward murdering gay people in
Uganda as in the case of Chick-Fil-A. The good news is that these
companies are offset by an ever-growing number of companies who actively
support LGBT rights. For every Wal-Mart there is a Costco, and for
every Cracker-Barrel there is a Starbucks which combat the various
phobias these companies perpetuate. With the holiday season coming up
and shopping about to get hella busy, consider checking out the HRC’s
full list of Corporate Equality Index scores so you can spend your money
somewhere that doesn’t want you dead.
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 27/08/2016
Estamos trabalhando para que haja um despertar da consciência humana.
Despertar, nesse contexto, significa ampliar a percepção de forma que
possamos ver aquilo que não vemos; significa remover as lentes que
distorcem a realidade para que possamos ter acesso a ela. Tais lentes
representam os sistemas de crenças que nos fazem interpretar a realidade
a partir das nossas feridas infantis. Isso nos impede de evoluir e desenvolver
nossos potenciais latentes porque ficamos presos ao passado. Porém, a
natureza da vida é movimento e expansão e inevitavelmente chega um
momento em que as nossas crenças são questionadas e passamos a perceber a
vida de outra maneira. Esse é o início do despertar.”
“Estamos trabajando para que haya un despertar de la conciencia humana.
Despertar, en este contexto, significa ampliar la percepción de modo
que podamos ver aquello que no vemos; significa remover los lentesque
distorsionan la realidad para que podamos tener acceso a ella. Tales
lentes representan los sistemas de creencias que nos hacen interpretar
la realidad desde nuestras heridas infantiles. Esto nos impide
evolucionar y desarrollar nuestros potenciales latentes porque estamos
atados al pasado. Sin embargo, la naturaleza de la vida es movimiento y
expansión e inevitablemente llega un momento en que nuestras creencias
son cuestionadas y pasamos a percibir la vida de otra manera. Este es el
inicio del despertar.”
“We are working to awaken human consciousness. ‘To awaken’ in this context means to increase our perception to such a degree that we are able to see that which we were formally unable to. It means to remove the lenses that distort reality so that we are able to access it. These ‘lenses’ are the systems of beliefs that were a result of our childhood wounds that make us interpret reality as we do. This is what prevents us from evolving and developing our hidden talents because we are trapped in the past. However, the nature of life is movement and expansion and inevitably there comes a moment when our beliefs are questioned and we begin to perceive life in another way. This is the beginning of awakening.”
“We are working to awaken human consciousness. ‘To awaken’ in this context means to increase our perception to such a degree that we are able to see that which we were formally unable to. It means to remove the lenses that distort reality so that we are able to access it. These ‘lenses’ are the systems of beliefs that were a result of our childhood wounds that make us interpret reality as we do. This is what prevents us from evolving and developing our hidden talents because we are trapped in the past. However, the nature of life is movement and expansion and inevitably there comes a moment when our beliefs are questioned and we begin to perceive life in another way. This is the beginning of awakening.”
Via Daily Dharma / August 27, 2016: All That Stillness Holds
Being
fully in the stillness was not about self-isolation or self-help but
about standing in radical relationship with all that stillness holds—all
the grief, all the loss, all the loneliness—and standing with it,
rather than rushing to reason it away, arrest it, or lock it in a box.
—Jasmine Syedullah, "Radicalizing Dharma Dreams"
—Jasmine Syedullah, "Radicalizing Dharma Dreams"
Friday, August 26, 2016
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 26/08/2016
“Cada ser humano traz consigo uma visão, um programa a ser realizado.
Esse programa é o propósito da alma; é o que ela veio fazer aqui. A
criança nasce tendo a clareza do propósito mas, com o tempo, ela acaba
se esquecendo, especialmente se os adultos responsáveis por ela não
alimentam essa visão por não acreditarem nela ou por projetam na criança
as suas próprias inseguranças, bloqueios e frustrações. Dessa forma, a criança
vai sendo condicionada àquilo que a sociedade determina que é melhor
para ela. Ela é desviada do seu caminho natural e essa é a maior
desgraça do ser humano.”
“Cada ser humano trae consigo una visión, un programa a ser realizado.
Este programa es el propósito del alma; es lo queella vino a hacer aquí.
El niño nace con el propósito claro pero, con el tiempo, termina por
olvidarlo, especialmente si los adultos responsables de élno alimentan
estavisión, por no creer en él o por proyectar en el niño sus propias
inseguridades, bloqueos y frustraciones. De esta forma, el niño va
siendo condicionado a lo que la sociedad determina que es mejor para él.
Es desviado de su camino natural y esta es la mayor desgracia del ser
humano.”
“Every human being brings with them a vision, a program to be realized. This program is the purpose of the soul; it is what we have come here to do. As a child, we are born with clarity of purpose, but over time, we wind up forgetting it. This happens especially when the adults responsible for raising a child don’t nourish this vision and don’t believe in him or her. This disconnect continues when parents or caretakers project onto a child their own insecurity, blocks and frustrations. In this way, a child becomes conditioned with what society determines to be best for it. The child is deviated from his or her natural path and this is the greatest disgrace for the human being.”
“Every human being brings with them a vision, a program to be realized. This program is the purpose of the soul; it is what we have come here to do. As a child, we are born with clarity of purpose, but over time, we wind up forgetting it. This happens especially when the adults responsible for raising a child don’t nourish this vision and don’t believe in him or her. This disconnect continues when parents or caretakers project onto a child their own insecurity, blocks and frustrations. In this way, a child becomes conditioned with what society determines to be best for it. The child is deviated from his or her natural path and this is the greatest disgrace for the human being.”
Via Daily Dharma / August 26, 2016: Falling Out of Habit
There
is something sacred about the moment when we fall out of the
habit-realm. So often it is precisely such a gap, a sense of wonder or
questioning at what we take for granted, that brings us to the path in
the first place.
—Noelle Oxenhandler, "Twirling a Flower"
—Noelle Oxenhandler, "Twirling a Flower"
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 25/08/2016
“Se existe medo da intimidade, existe vergonha. A vergonha é um aspecto
do orgulho que pode ser usado como um portal de acesso ao inconsciente.
Ao identificar a vergonha, estabeleça um diálogo com ela. Mas se ainda
não foi possível identificar a vergonha, dialogue então com o medo.
Converse com essas partes da sua personalidade que estão gerando o
isolamento. Pergunta a si mesmo: Do que eu tenho medo? O que eu considero
tão feio em mim que preciso esconder? O que em mim eu não consigo
aceitar? Essa é uma forma de acessar os porões do inconsciente.”
“Si existe miedo a la intimidad, existe vergüenza. La vergüenza es un
aspecto del orgullo que puede ser usado como un portal de acceso al
inconsciente. Al identificar la vergüenza, establece un diálogo con
ella. Pero si todavía no fue posible identificar la vergüenza, entonces
dialoga con el miedo. Habla con esas partes de su personalidad que están
generando aislamiento. Pregúntate a ti mismo: ¿De qué tengo miedo? ¿Qué
es lo que considero tan feo en mí que necesito esconderlo? ¿Qué en mí
no consigo aceptar? Esta es una forma de acceder a los sótanos del
inconsciente.”
“If there is fear of intimacy, there exists shame. Shame is an aspect of pride that can be used as a doorway to the unconscious. As you identify shame acting in you, develop a dialogue with it. If you have not yet been able to identify shame, have a conversation with your fear. Converse with these parts of your personality that are creating isolation. Ask yourself, ‘What do I fear? What is so ugly in me that I need to hide? What don’t I accept about myself?’ This is a way to access the dungeons of the unconscious.”
“If there is fear of intimacy, there exists shame. Shame is an aspect of pride that can be used as a doorway to the unconscious. As you identify shame acting in you, develop a dialogue with it. If you have not yet been able to identify shame, have a conversation with your fear. Converse with these parts of your personality that are creating isolation. Ask yourself, ‘What do I fear? What is so ugly in me that I need to hide? What don’t I accept about myself?’ This is a way to access the dungeons of the unconscious.”
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