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Via bipartisanreport: Before European Christians Forced Gender Roles, Native Americans Acknowledged 5 Genders

By Pearson McKinney

It wasn’t until Europeans took over North America that natives adopted the ideas of gender roles. For Native Americans, there was no set of rules that men and women had to abide by in order to be considered a “normal” member of their tribe.

In fact, people who had both female and male characteristics were viewed as gifted by nature, and therefore, able to see both sides of everything. According to Indian Country Today, all native communities acknowledged the following gender roles: “Female, male, Two Spirit female, Two Spirit male and Transgendered.”

“Each tribe has their own specific term, but there was a need for a universal term that the general population could understand. The Navajo refer to Two Spirits as Nádleehí (one who is transformed), among the Lakota is Winkté (indicative of a male who has a compulsion to behave as a female), Niizh Manidoowag (two spirit) in Ojibwe, Hemaneh (half man, half woman) in Cheyenne, to name a few. As the purpose of “Two Spirit” is to be used as a universal term in the English language, it is not always translatable with the same meaning in Native languages. For example, in the Iroquois Cherokee language, there is no way to translate the term, but the Cherokee do have gender variance terms for ‘women who feel like men’ and vice versa.”

The “Two Spirit” culture of Native Americans was one of the first things that Europeans worked to destroy and cover up. According to people like American artist George Catlin, the Two Spirit tradition had to be eradicated before it could go into history books. Catlin said the tradition:

“..Must be extinguished before it can be more fully recorded.”

However, it wasn’t only white Europeans that tried to hide any trace of native gender bending. According to Indian Country Today, “Spanish Catholic monks destroyed most of the Aztec codices to eradicate traditional Native beliefs and history, including those that told of the Two Spirit tradition.” Throughout these efforts by Christians, Native Americans were forced to dress and act according to newly designated gender roles.

One of the most celebrated Two Spirits in recorded history was a Lakota warrior aptly named Finds Them And Kills Them. Osh-Tisch was born a male and married a female, but adorned himself in women’s clothing and lived daily life as a female. On June 17 1876, Finds Them And Kills Them gained his reputation when he rescued a fellow tribesman during the Battle of Rosebud Creek. An act of fearless bravery. Below is a picture of Osh-Tisch and his wife.

Osh-Tisch (Left) and his wife (Right)

In Native American cultures, people were valued for their contributions to the tribe, rather than for masculinity or femininity. Parents did not assign gender roles to children either, and even children’s clothing tended to be gender neutral. There were no ideas or ideals about how a person should love; it was simply a natural act that occurred without judgement or hesitation.

Without a negative stigma attached to being a Two Spirit, there were no inner-tribal incidents of retaliation or violence toward the chosen people simply due to the fact that individuals identified as the opposite or both genders.

“The Two Spirit people in pre-contact Native America were highly revered and families that included them were considered lucky. Indians believed that a person who was able to see the world through the eyes of both genders at the same time was a gift from The Creator.”

Religious influences soon brought serious prejudice against “gender diversity,” and so this forced once openly alternative or androgynous people to one of two choices. They could either live in hiding, and in fear of being found out, or they could end their lives. Many of whom did just that.

Imagine a world where people allowed others to live freely as the people nature intended them to be..without harm..without persecution..without shame. Imagine a world where we are truly free.

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Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 02/09/2016

“A submissão é uma distorção da virtude da amorosidade. Trata-se de uma máscara, de um fingir ser. O submisso finge ser humilde e amoroso para conseguir aquilo que quer, mas basta cutucá-lo um pouco para ver o que está por trás da sua máscara: o orgulho e a ira.”

“La sumisión es una distorsión de la virtud de la amorosidad. Se trata de una máscara, unfingir ser. El sumiso finge ser humilde y amoroso para conseguir aquello que quiere, pero basta provocarlo un poco para ver lo que hay detrás de la máscara:orgullo e ira.”

"Submission is a distortion of the virtue of being loving. It acts as a mask, pretending to be something it is not. The submissive one pretends to be humble and loving in order to get something it wants. All that is needed is just a little nudge and it is easy to see that behind this mask lies pride and anger."

Via Daily Dharma / September 2, 2016: Rethinking Freedom

We haven’t thought about the idea of freedom enough. It needs to be internalized as an inner freedom from “demand” itself: the kind of freedom that comes when you’re free from those compulsions to have and to own and to be someone.

—James Hillman, "Brief Teachings Fall 2016"

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Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 01/09/2016

“Estando alinhado com o dharma, que é o caminho do coração ou o propósito maior da existência, você se harmoniza com a lei do mínimo esforço: com o pouco que faz, você realiza muitas coisas. Não estando alinhado com o dharma, você precisa fazer um grande esforço para realizar pouca coisa ou, às vezes, para não realizar nada.”

“Estando alineado con el dharma, que es el camino del corazón o el propósito mayor de la existencia, te armonizas con la ley del mínimo esfuerzo: con lo poco que haces, realizasmuchas cosas. No estando alineado con el dharma, necesitas hacer un gran esfuerzo para realizar poco o, a veces,para no realizar nada.”

"Aligning with dharma, which is the path of the heart or the greater purpose of existence, we attune to the law of minimum effort. With very little effort, we accomplish many things. When we are not in alignment with dharma, much effort is needed to create hardly anything, and sometimes, nothing at all."

Via Daily Dharma / September 1, 2016: The Diamond Vehicle

In the Vajrayana, we see that our difficulties with relative reality stem from our attitudes and beliefs, rather than from relativity itself. We are called to see each arising of our day not as a threat, but as an opportunity—a chance to open our arms, lay down our weapons, and surrender to this exact moment of our life.

—Reginald Ray, "The Vajrayana Journey Is an Experience of Love, Power, and Freedom"

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Via Ram Dass...

August 31, 2016

Here in the West, we treat personality as absolutely real, we really think it’s real. Who you think you are is really real. For example, you were battered as a child and that seems very real, because it’s a strong mental structure in your head and it permeates you and you are carrying your history with you on your shoulders.

At some point you will start to see that each person is presenting who they think they are. It’s like they’re putting on a huge mind net, “This is who I am, this is who I am, this is who I am…” You can start to see it in the way they walk, talk, dress, present themselves; always presenting who they think they are, which has a historical thread running through it.

When you have started to awaken and see that there are other planes of reality that are equally valid to the one which presently exists, you learn how to live more or less with more and more planes simultaneously, which is what freedom is about. It’s not totally standing in one plane, it’s not standing anywhere at all.

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 31/08/2016

“O ódio da mãe, no decorrer dos milênios, tem se manifestado das mais diversas maneiras através do abuso do feminino. E o abuso sexual é uma das expressões mais agudas desse ódio. No cerne dessa problemática está a carência afetiva; e por trás dela está a repressão sexual. O sadismo, a promiscuidade, a perversão e a pornografia são filhos da repressão sexual. Isso quer dizer que, embora nossa sociedade tenha no mínimo dez mil anos de história, nós ainda não aprendemos a lidar com a sexualidade. Ela ainda é um grande tabu. E para que possamos mudar esse cenário, a sexualidade precisa fazer parte da educação, tanto dentro de casa como nas escolas. Mas, para isso, pais e educadores precisam estar preparados através do autoconhecimento.”

“El odio a la madre, a través de los milenios, se ha manifestado de las más diversas formas a través del abuso del femenino. Y el abuso sexual es una de las expresiones más agudas de este odio. En el centro de esta problemática está la carencia afectiva; y detrás de ella está la represión sexual. El sadismo, la promiscuidad, la perversión y la pornografía son hijos de la represión sexual. Esto significa que, aunque nuestra sociedad tenga por lo menos diez mil años de historia, todavía no hemos aprendido a lidiar con la sexualidad. Sigue siendo un gran tabú. Y para que podamos cambiar este escenario, la sexualidad precisa ser parte de la educación, tanto dentro de casa commo en las escuelas. Pero, para ello, padres y educadores precisan estar preparados a través del autoconocimiento.”

“Hatred of the mother, over the millennia, has manifested in various forms of female abuse. Sexual abuse is one of the most severe expressions of this hatred. At the heart of this problem, lies the need for affection, and behind this, sexual repression. Sadism, promiscuity, perversion and pornography are the results of sexual repression. Even though our society has at least ten thousand years of history, we still haven’t learned to deal with sexuality. It is still a great taboo. In order for us to change this scenario, sexuality needs to become part of our educational system, both at home and at our schools. Parents and teachers need to be prepared for this role through the process of self-knowledge.”

Via Daily Dharma / August 31, 2016: Enlightened Desire

The Buddha teaches that there are many wholesome desires: the desire to serve, the desire to give, the desire to be free, the desire to cultivate qualities of heart that ennoble our lives and lead us to connect with others. It’s desire that causes us to seek depth and understanding. It is desire that brings about wholesome social change and justice.

—Christina Feldman, "Doing, Being, and the Great In-Between"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 30/08/2016

“A solução para o problema da violência sexual não é fortalecer o sistema carcerário ou punir mais severamente os criminosos envolvidos. A solução para essa questão está no desenvolvimento da consciência amorosa. Mas, essa consciência só poderá despertar na sociedade através da educação. Precisamos refletir sobre o que estamos ensinando para as nossas crianças. Precisamos assumir responsabilidade e entender onde estamos falhando. O fato é que nós estamos criando estupradores e mulheres vulneráveis ao estupro. E não basta enclausurar o estuprador, sem oferecer a ele nenhuma possibilidade de transformação. Isso não resolve e só nos distrai da percepção sobre o causa real do problema.” 

“La solución al problema de la violencia sexual no es fortalecer el sistema penitenciario o castigar más severamente a los criminales implicados. La solución a este problema está en el desarrollo de la conciencia amorosa. Pero esta conciencia sólo podrá despertar en la sociedad a través de la educación. Necesitamos reflexionar sobre lo que estamos enseñando a nuestros niños. Precisamos asumir la responsabilidad y entender dónde estamos fallando. El hecho es que estamos criando violadores y mujeres vulnerables a la violación. Y no basta con encerrar al violador, sin ofrecerle ninguna posibilidad de transformación. Esto no resuelve y sólo nos distrae de la percepción de la causa real del problema.”

“The solution to the problem of sexual violence is not to strengthen our prison system or to punish more severely the criminals involved. The solution to this is the development of a more loving consciousness. This consciousness can only develop in society through education. We need to examine what we are teaching our children. We need to assume responsibility and understand where we are failing. The fact is that we are creating rapists and vulnerable women to be raped. It’s not enough to only incarcerate the rapist without offering any possibility of transformation. This will resolve nothing and only distracts us from understanding the real cause of the problem.”

Via Daily Dharma / August 30, 2016: How to Savor

Since each moment’s meeting of a person or even a flower is precious and fleeting, it is to be savored completely, perhaps best in silence.

—Patricia Donegan, "Silence: Stillness"

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