We’re all just walking each other home.
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 21/09/16
“É dando que se recebe”. Essa é uma lei básica neste plano, que é muito
simples de entender, mas muito difícil de viver. Nós estamos aqui
justamente para ativar ou despertar nossa capacidade natural de doar,
pois ela se encontra adormecida. Todo o ser humano tem essa capacidade,
pois o Amor é a nossa essência; é a fragrância do Ser que nos habita.
Ele está e sempre esteve dentro de cada um de nós, mas encontra-se encoberto por camadas de medo e ódio. Portanto, precisamos trabalhar para remover essas camadas, até que possamos desvendar o Amor.”
“Es dando que se recibe'. Esta es una ley básica en este plano, que es
muy simple de entender, pero muy difícil de vivir. Nosotros estamos acá
justamente para activar o despertar nuestra capacidad natural
dedar,pues se encuentra dormida. Todo ser humano tiene esta capacidad,
porque el Amor es nuestra esencia; es la fragancia del Ser que nos
habita. Él está y siempre estuvo adentro de cada uno de nosotros, pero
se halla encubierto por capas de miedo y odio. Por lo tanto,
necesitamostrabajar para remover esas capas, hasta que podamos desvendar
el amor.”
“It is in giving that we receive. This is a basic law on this plane that is very simple to understand but very difficult to live. We are here precisely to activate or awaken our natural capacity to give which is lying dormant within us. Every human being has this capacity, because love is our essence. It is the fragrance of the being that inhabits us. It is, and has always been, in each and every one of us, only it remains covered by layers of fear and hate. We must, therefore, work to remove these layers until we area able to unveil love.”
“It is in giving that we receive. This is a basic law on this plane that is very simple to understand but very difficult to live. We are here precisely to activate or awaken our natural capacity to give which is lying dormant within us. Every human being has this capacity, because love is our essence. It is the fragrance of the being that inhabits us. It is, and has always been, in each and every one of us, only it remains covered by layers of fear and hate. We must, therefore, work to remove these layers until we area able to unveil love.”
Via Daily Dharma / September 21, 2016: On Generosity
If
we keep our own light selfishly hidden, it will only provide a limited
amount of illumination. But when we share our light with others, we do
not diminish our own light. Rather, we increase the amount of light
available to all.
—Master Sheng-Yen, "Rich Generosity"
—Master Sheng-Yen, "Rich Generosity"
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Via Sri Prem Baba / Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 20/09/16
“Em algum momento nós, seres humanos, nos desconectamos da nossa
própria essência e nos esquecemos que o amor que tanto buscamos no mundo
lá fora, está dentro de nós. Essa desconexão fez com que acreditássemos
ser carentes daquilo que, na verdade, temos em abundância. E, com isso,
passamos a usar toda nossa energia e inteligência para forçar o outro a
nos reconhecer e considerar, ou seja, a nos amar. Mas, em algum momento
amadurecemos e percebemos que, somente quando reconhecemos somos
reconhecidos; somente quando consideramos somos considerados - somente
quando amamos, somos amados.”
“En algún momento nosotros, los seres humanos, nos desconectamos de
nuestra propia esencia y nos olvidamos que el amor que tanto buscamos en
el mundo allá afuera, está dentro nuestro. Esta desconexión hizo que
creyéramos ser carentes de aquello que,realmente, tenemos en abundancia.
Y con esto, pasamos a utilizar toda nuestra energía e inteligencia
enforzar el otro a reconocernos y considerarnos, es decir, aamarnos.
Pero en algún momento maduramos y percibimos que, solamente cuando
reconocemos somos reconocidos; solamentecuando consideramos somos
considerado;solamente cuando amamos, somos amados.”
“At some point in time, we humans have become disconnected from our own essence and have forgotten that the love we seek so much from the outside world, is actually within us. This disconnection caused us to believe we were needy for that which, in truth, we have in abundance. Thus, we began to spend our time using all our energy and intelligence to force the other to recognize and consider us, or ‘love’ us. Eventually, we mature and realize that it is only by recognizing that we are recognized; it is only through considering that we are considered; and it is only when we love thatwe are loved.”
“At some point in time, we humans have become disconnected from our own essence and have forgotten that the love we seek so much from the outside world, is actually within us. This disconnection caused us to believe we were needy for that which, in truth, we have in abundance. Thus, we began to spend our time using all our energy and intelligence to force the other to recognize and consider us, or ‘love’ us. Eventually, we mature and realize that it is only by recognizing that we are recognized; it is only through considering that we are considered; and it is only when we love thatwe are loved.”
Via Daily Dharma / September 20, 2016: At Ease in Goodness
A
noble person does not do good because of willpower. She does it through
a combination of, on the one hand, modesty about self, and, on the
other hand, faith in a higher purpose, a higher meaning, in powers more
potent than self-will. Such a person is not moral through gritted teeth.
She is at ease in goodness.
—David Brazier, "Other Power"
—David Brazier, "Other Power"
Monday, September 19, 2016
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Via Ram Dass / September 18, 2016:
This love is actually part of you; it is always flowing through you. It’s like the subatomic texture of the universe, the dark matter that connects everything. When you tune into that flow, you will feel it in your own heart—not your physical heart or your emotional heart, but your spiritual heart, the place you point to in your chest when you say, "I am."
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 18/09/16
“Antigamente, as práticas de yoga eram apenas para aqueles que estavam
em processo de desligamento do mundo, vivendo em monastérios ou em
cavernas. Hoje em dia, elas estão acessíveis e podem ser praticadas por
todos, mesmo por aqueles que vivem nos grandes centros urbanos. Não é
preciso deixar o trabalho e a família para ser uma pessoa espiritual.
Você pode, em algum momento, fazer um retiro, mas a sua prática deve ser sustentar a presença enquanto se relaciona com o outro e manter a equanimidade mental diante dos desafios do relacionamento.”
“Antiguamente, las prácticas de yoga eran solo para los que estaban en
proceso de desconectarse del mundo, viviendo en monasterios o en cuevas.
Hoy en día, son accesibles y pueden ser practicadas por todos, incluso
por aquellos que viven en los grandes centros urbanos. No hacefalta
dejar el trabajo y la familia para ser una persona espiritual. En algún
momento, puedes hacer un retiro, pero tu práctica debe ser sostener la
presencia mientras te relacionas con el otro y mantener la ecuanimidad
mental ante los desafíos del relacionarse.”
“In the past, yoga practices were only for those who were in the process of disconnecting from the world, living in monasteries and caves. Today, yoga is more accessible and can be practiced by all, even those living in large urban cities. It isn’t necessary to quit our jobs or leave our families in order to follow a spiritual path. Perhaps, at some point, we may decide to participate in a retreat. However, our practice should allow us to sustain presence and mental equanimity while facing the challenges of relationship.”
“In the past, yoga practices were only for those who were in the process of disconnecting from the world, living in monasteries and caves. Today, yoga is more accessible and can be practiced by all, even those living in large urban cities. It isn’t necessary to quit our jobs or leave our families in order to follow a spiritual path. Perhaps, at some point, we may decide to participate in a retreat. However, our practice should allow us to sustain presence and mental equanimity while facing the challenges of relationship.”
Via Daily Dharma / September 18, 2016: A Life of Awareness
Many
things help you with concentration, like chanting or bowing, so they
can be useful parts of practice. But finally, there is no substitute for
insightful seeing or for understanding how you create suffering for
yourself; and in the process—in seeing into and through it—how to let go
of it. It’s a life of awareness.
—Larry Rosenberg, "The Art of Doing Nothing"
—Larry Rosenberg, "The Art of Doing Nothing"
Via JMG: Math Quiz: If 70% Of Men Are Married To A Woman As God Intended, What Are The Odds Teacher’s A Jerk?
Britain’s Bucks Free Press reports:
Make the jump here to read the original and more on JMG
A grammar school has been accused of handing out ‘homophobic’ work after a maths question sparked fury amongst parents and students. The shocking question, handed out by a school volunteer to a group of students at the all-boys Royal Grammar School, in High Wycombe, suggests only men and woman should get married “as God intended”.
The questions reads: “If in a town 70 per cent of the men are married to 90 per cent of the women (and each marriage is between one man and woman, as God intended when he made humans male and female) what percentage of the adult population are married?”
The optional math test “posers” could have been picked up by all the school’s 1,300 students, including children as young as 11. One parent, who did not want to be named, slammed the homework as being “homophobic” and having an “anti-LGBT bias”.
Speaking to the Bucks Free Press this morning, headmaster Philip Wayne said: “I’m sorry on behalf of the whole school community of governors, staff and boys for any offence this has caused.” LGBT rights charity Stonewall has highlighted the importance of tackling discrimination within school, while praising RGS for dealing with concerns quickly.What’s the correct answer, anyway? I hated these questions. (Via Christian Nightmares)
Make the jump here to read the original and more on JMG
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 17/09/16
“A meditação envolve diversos estágios ou estados de consciência. Às
vezes, você tem acesso a lugares de dor onde entra em contato com
sentimentos difíceis como medo, raiva e insegurança. São infernos
internos que precisam ser atravessados, pois ali tem algum aprendizado
para você. Às vezes, você entra em uma zona neutra, na qual não sente
raiva nem medo, mas também não sente amor - você não sente nada. E, às
vezes, você vai para o céu e experimenta
um amor infinito; uma alegria sem causa; paz e unidade. Você expande e
contrai até que, em algum momento, aprende a sustentar o coração aberto e
a comunhão com o Divino.”
“La meditación involucra varias etapas o estados de consciencia. A
veces, tienes acceso a lugares de dolor, donde entras en contacto con
sentimientos difíciles como miedo, rabia e inseguridad. Son infiernos
internos que necesitanser atravesados, porque hay ahíalgún aprendizaje
para ti. Otras veces, entras en una zona neutra, en la cual no
sientesrabiani miedo, pero tampoco sientes amor,no sientes nada. Y, a
veces, vas al cielo y experimentas un amor infinito; una alegría sin
causa; paz y unidad. Expandes y contraes hasta que, en algún momento,
aprendes a sostener el corazón abierto y la comunión con lo Divino.”
“Meditation involves different stages or states of consciousness. Sometimes, we access places of pain and we come into contact with difficult feelings like fear, anger and insecurity. They are like an internal hell that needs to be crossed, because through this passage, there lies a lesson for us. Sometimes, we enter into a neutral zone in which we don’t feel anger or fear, but we don’t feel love either. We feel nothing. Other times, we soar to the heavens and experience an infinite love, a joy without reason, peace and unity. We expand and contract until the moment comes when we learn to sustain an open heart and communion with the divine.”
“Meditation involves different stages or states of consciousness. Sometimes, we access places of pain and we come into contact with difficult feelings like fear, anger and insecurity. They are like an internal hell that needs to be crossed, because through this passage, there lies a lesson for us. Sometimes, we enter into a neutral zone in which we don’t feel anger or fear, but we don’t feel love either. We feel nothing. Other times, we soar to the heavens and experience an infinite love, a joy without reason, peace and unity. We expand and contract until the moment comes when we learn to sustain an open heart and communion with the divine.”
Via Daily Dharma / September 17, 2016: Speaking Truth
No separation between speaker, speaking, and the reality spoken about. This is the precept of non-lying.
—Roshi Nancy Mujo Baker, "Non-lying"
—Roshi Nancy Mujo Baker, "Non-lying"
Friday, September 16, 2016
Via Daily Dharma / September 16, 2016: A Tulku’s Take on Nirvana
The
essence of our consciousness is already love and wisdom. Karma,
concepts, and emotional patterns are only temporarily preventing our
consciousness from unfolding its enlightened nature.
—Tulku Thubten Rinpoche, "Nirvana: Three Takes"
—Tulku Thubten Rinpoche, "Nirvana: Three Takes"
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Via The Huffingtonpost and Mormons for Equality / FB: LGBT Mormons Boldly Claim Both Their Orientation And Their Faith
More and more LGBT Mormons are stepping up to claim both their religious heritage and their identity--no longer buying into the false choice that they have to choose one over the other, and recognizing that they are exactly who we are supposed to be.
"I’m proud to walk with my LGBT Mormon brothers and sisters on this journey — as some have called it, a Hero’s Journey. And as we continue our journey, we welcome our Latter-day Saint fellows to walk by our side — gay, straight, and everywhere in between. For those who cannot yet do so, we will hold a space for you. But we will no longer believe that we are broken, suffering, or unworthy of Christ’s love and full inclusion."
----
Artist Melinda Hannah finalizing portraits of LGBT Mormons. Photo courtesy of Melinda Hannah.
“You can be gay, or you can be Mormon. But you can’t be both.”
I grew up hearing that a lot as a gay Mormon kid in Idaho. I guess in some ways it was no surprise to hear that from my Mormon friends, family and leadership since by and large, most of them didn’t understand what it actually meant to be LGBT. But as I grew up, I heard it from some of my friends in the LGBT community as well — and for a time, I actually allowed myself to believe it.
It was a
painful place to be. I felt tossed back and forth between two
communities, neither of them wanting to claim me as a whole, integrated
person. One the one hand, I had no choice over whether or not I was gay —
I’m a firm believer I was this way before I came to this life and I’ll
be this way when I get to the next. And on the other, being Mormon is
much more complicated than just an activity I practiced for a few hours
on Sunday; it is a culture deeply steeped into my identity, and it’s not
something I could turn my back on without leaving behind a core part of
who I am (not to mention my family, friends, and faith practice).
My world was
full of people who weren’t shy about telling me how to live my life —
and on any given day, I couldn’t be Mormon enough for my Latter-day
Saint family and friends, and I couldn’t be gay enough for my LGBT
community. I felt like a man with a foot in two worlds, but I didn’t
fully belong in either. No matter which one I chose, I still lost part
of myself.
But today
that’s different. Today, when someone tells me, “You can’t be both gay
and Mormon,” I gently reply, “Watch me. I do it every day.”
And I am not alone.
Today, there
are thousands — perhaps tens of thousands — of LGBT Mormons like me
throughout the world, and we claim both our religious roots and our
orientation without apology. We don’t view ourselves as “broken and
suffering,” the way many inside Mormonism see us. Instead, we have come
to realize that the only thing “broken” about us is the way we were
taught to understand ourselves in relation to God and our fellow humans;
and any “suffering” we have experienced has come largely at the hands
of our brothers and sisters inside the Mormon church — including our
leadership.
Health,
wholeness, and happiness for us comes not from choosing one side of
ourselves at the expense of the other — but instead, from integrating
them and forging our path through life as LGBT Mormons. And while it may
once have felt like we were people with a foot in two worlds that
didn’t seem to intersect, we’ve come to understand that those two worlds
do indeed intersect — and that we are that intersection point.
An art show
opening in Provo, Utah later this month features portraits of some of
these LGBT Mormons — many of them alongside their partners and spouses
of the same gender. The show runs from September 22-25 with a special
reception on Friday, September 23 at 5:30 P.M., at Writ and Vision Rare Books and Fine Art in downtown Provo.
The exhibit is
officially named “The Hero’s Journey of the LGBT Mormon,” after the book
by prominent Latter-day Saint author and LGBT ally Carol Lynn Pearson. The exhibit coincides with the annual conference of Affirmation, an organization run by and for LGBT Mormons.
Melinda Hannah is the artist and brainchild behind the event.
“I’ve long held
that art can be a unique and powerful way to capture the beauty that is
found inside authenticity, and the LGBT Mormons I’ve had the honor to
work with in this show have a genuine spirit of authenticity and
wholeness that I wanted to bring to life—and bring to others,” said
Hannah, who is based in Seattle.
Hannah has
prior experience with communities who’ve suffered trauma yet emerged
whole and healthy. Her art show in 2014 focused on women survivors of cancer and it’s her passion for ‘healing through art’ that inspired her again here.
In November of last year, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints enacted a worldwide policy
that mandates church discipline (the process that leads to
excommunication) for LGBT Mormons who choose to live authentic lives and
marry someone of their same gender and bars children with LGBT parents
from being baptized into the faith until those children turn 18 — and
only then if they openly disavow the relationship of their parents.
“When the November policy was announced in church, I sat with a gay Mormon friend of mine for several hours one Sunday. I saw her pain, her fear, and I held her as she cried. I recognized that there is healing to be done here — and I feel called to help,” added Hannah.
“When the November policy was announced in church, I sat with a gay Mormon friend of mine for several hours one Sunday. I saw her pain, her fear, and I held her as she cried. I recognized that there is healing to be done here — and I feel called to help,” added Hannah.
She continued:
“Not every LGBT Mormon is in the same place spiritually and emotionally
as the ones depicted in the show — it is my hope that their portraits
will inspire others to begin to view themselves as whole and loved by
God. Even if the Mormon Church itself is unable to welcome and love its
LGBT members right now, I have a firm testimony that God certainly does.
He always has.”
The LGBT
Mormons featured in the show agree with Hannah. A few of my fellow LGBT
Latter-day Saints featured in the exhibit shared their thoughts with me
here.
“I have
always believed that there could be a place for everyone in the Mormon
Church, and that happiness and love could be a real part for everyone in
this life, too. As a lesbian Mormon, I felt called to boldly be in the
pews; to be tolerant while creating tolerance, and hold space to help
stop so much unnecessary grief and pain. Like many that held this space
before me and those that will follow, I feel a deep honor that I have
had a chance to run my lap; to carry the baton for the team and pass it
to the next gay Mormon advocate, until I am called to run another leg
for change.”
-A. Celeste Carolin, Seattle, WA
“I’m gay
and very proud of it. I suspect I’m the first gay rights activist to
join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after the November
policy. I was baptized Dec. 5, 2015. I’m reclaiming the place I had in
our pre-mortal family council, where all of God’s LGBT children had an
honored place. If we LGBTs didn’t have an honorable place, we wouldn’t
have a body right now. We were loved and nurtured before the world
began. My Heavenly Father manages this universe. He would not send me
here only to forget about me. God is arranging all things gloriously for
his LGBT children. We only have to watch it unfold.”
-Derek Knox, Boston, MA
“Mormonism
is my home — it is my religion and the religion of my family—and through
it I have developed a firm testimony of the Gospel of Christ. It is
through Christ’s Gospel that I found the courage to come out, to be
honest about who I am as a gay man. A tenet of living the Gospel of
Christ is living an authentic life. And because I am now living an
authentic life as a follower of Christ, I have an abundance of peace and
joy that I never had while I was denying my orientation. For me, living
my truth is part of living the gospel—I cannot be a true follower of my
Savior and be dishonest about who I am.”
-Roger Sanchez, Roseburg, OR
Each of the
LGBT Mormons in the art show have written similar statements about their
journey as LGBT Mormons, and you can learn more about the show on the Facebook event page.
I’m proud to
walk with my LGBT Mormon brothers and sisters on this journey — as some
have called it, a Hero’s Journey. And as we continue our journey, we
welcome our Latter-day Saint fellows to walk by our side — gay,
straight, and everywhere in between. For those who cannot yet do so, we
will hold a space for you. But we will no longer believe that we are
broken, suffering, or unworthy of Christ’s love and full inclusion.
When you are ready, we will take your hand as equals in our family of humanity, and together we will build a better Zion.
See the orginla nd more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mitch-mayne/refusing-to-choose-lgbt-mormons_b_12011380.html
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