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.
Wednesday, January 22, 2020
Via LionsRoar / Ram Dass lives on in collaborative album with East Forest
Musician East Forest’s collaborative album with the late spiritual teacher Ram Dass encompasses his lifetime of wisdom in 14 tracks, bringing his teachings to life after death.
In 2018, musician East Forest found himself in Maui, Hawaii, sitting
in the upstairs study of spiritual teacher Ram Dass’s home — just the
two of them sat in the room with microphones set to record.
“I realized that I’d made my way into what felt like the spiritual White House, and that it was no small feat,” he says.
As East Forest hit record, Ram Dass stared at him, awaiting a
question. East Forest asked him about nature, and how we might use it to connect to ourselves in the high speed, the hyper-digitized world we live in.
Ram Dass paused, and thought for a while, staring out to the ocean and thumbing through his mala beads.
Nature embraces us, and we embrace nature
We are nature
We are the trees and the clouds and the waters
When you hug a tree, you’re hugging yourself
We are nature
We are the trees and the clouds and the waters
When you hug a tree, you’re hugging yourself
The responses became “Nature,” the first track of the East Forest’s album, Ram Dass.
Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation / Words of Wisdom - January 22, 2020 💌
The key is that God, Guru and self are one.
The quickest way to get through your stuff is to learn how to listen inside. The inner guru is always there for you once you recognize it. You must honor your own path. You must be able to trust that there is a place in you that knows what is best. There is a tendency to look to others for guidance. Only you know what is suitable for you.
Trust your intuitive heart. The Quakers call it, "The still small voice within." When it speaks, listen. If it feels "right on" do it.
The quickest way to get through your stuff is to learn how to listen inside. The inner guru is always there for you once you recognize it. You must honor your own path. You must be able to trust that there is a place in you that knows what is best. There is a tendency to look to others for guidance. Only you know what is suitable for you.
Trust your intuitive heart. The Quakers call it, "The still small voice within." When it speaks, listen. If it feels "right on" do it.
- Ram Dass -
Via Daily Dharma: How Delight Can Heal Us
Gladness and delight do not merely balance out negative tendencies, they actually heal the aversive mind.
—James Baraz, “Lighten Up!”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
—James Baraz, “Lighten Up!”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Via Daily Dharma: Grounding Yourself with Breath
The circus of rage, superiority, and judgment is just another invitation to come back home and breathe.
—Tina Lear, “I Wanted to Watch Bill Cosby Suffer”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
—Tina Lear, “I Wanted to Watch Bill Cosby Suffer”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Monday, January 20, 2020
Via Tricycle Dharma Talks: Digital Detox
Digital Detox: Reclaim Your Mind From Social Media Addiction
BodhipaksaThe Social Media Sutra
Bodhipaksa is a Buddhist author and teacher who was born in Scotland but now lives in New Hampshire. He is a member of the Triratna Buddhist Order and the author of This Difficult Thing of Being Human: The Art of Self-Compassion and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Buddha!: What Fake Buddha Quotes Can Teach Us About Buddhism. When not debunking Fake Buddha Quotes, he runs Wildmind (www.wildmind.org), a leading online meditation resource.
Make the jump here to listen to the Dharma Talk and more...
Daily Dharma: Freeing Ourselves from Ignorance
he buddhadharma is optimistic, because it says we all eventually will free ourselves from ignorance. And that liberation is very much within our creative control every minute of every day—your life is a work in progress.
—Interview with Charles Johnson by E. Ethelbert Miller, “Black Coffee Buddhism”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
—Interview with Charles Johnson by E. Ethelbert Miller, “Black Coffee Buddhism”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Via Love Serve Remember Foundation / RamDass.org
Join us LIVE on Wednesday, January 22nd, at 8 pm EST for an online Moment to Be Here Now in honor of Ram Dass.
Following his death on December 22nd, the Love Serve Remember Foundation is honoring Ram Dass with a worldwide Moment to Be Here Now.
This will not only be a celebration of Ram Dass’s enormous heart and vast teachings but also an opportunity to gather together as a global community. The live online gathering will include:
- Opening comments and a reading from Mirabai Bush
- Silent reflection and a brief “loving awareness” meditation
- Chanting from Ram Dass’s long-time friend Krishna Das
Though Ram Dass has left his physical form, his legacy reverberates louder and brighter than ever before.
We hope everyone who has been touched by Ram Dass will join us to remember together and to help cultivate loving awareness for 2020 and beyond.
P.s. - We will send out a reminder on Wednesday a few hours before the event goes live at 8 pm EST. Or you can bookmark the link below. Click here to find your local time for the event.
We hope everyone who has been touched by Ram Dass will join us to remember together and to help cultivate loving awareness for 2020 and beyond.
P.s. - We will send out a reminder on Wednesday a few hours before the event goes live at 8 pm EST. Or you can bookmark the link below. Click here to find your local time for the event.
Via Love Serve Remember Foundation / Words of Wisdom - January 19, 2020 💌
Mantra is a repeated phrase designed to keep your consciousness centered. It’s a perspective giving device. It’s adding a third component to every relationship you have with objects in the universe.
This could be OM, this could be the sun, this could be Buddha consciousness, this could be called the witness. It’s a technique of adding a third component in order to get free of the identification with either of the other two.
You can use the mantra to find a center in yourself and to keep that third component going. Which allows you to watch your own drama all day long. It’s all a vehicle, and it’s going to have to go. But mantra is a useful vehicle...
You can use the mantra to find a center in yourself and to keep that third component going. Which allows you to watch your own drama all day long. It’s all a vehicle, and it’s going to have to go. But mantra is a useful vehicle...
- Ram Dass -
Via Daily Dharma: What Is Boundless Joy?
Boundless
joy, not to be mistaken for frenzied exultation, is delight in others’
happiness. It banishes jealousy and stabilizes our capacity for
engagement.
—Anne C. Klein, “The Four Immeasurables”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
—Anne C. Klein, “The Four Immeasurables”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Via Daily Dharma: Spreading Support
Because
you recognize that people need support in order to practice the dharma,
you can aspire to provide for others the same kind of support system
that you yourself have benefited from.
—Judy Lief, “Train Your Mind: Take on the Three Principle Causes”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
—Judy Lief, “Train Your Mind: Take on the Three Principle Causes”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Friday, January 17, 2020
Via Daily Dharma: Train Your Brain
With
dedication, we can slowly build healthy mental tendencies, for awareness and wisdom, for kindness and compassion. That’s why we practice.
—Wendy Hasenkamp, “Brain Karma”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
—Wendy Hasenkamp, “Brain Karma”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Thursday, January 16, 2020
Via Tricycle / What’s in a Word? Dharma
Understanding the word dharma
can be challenging, as it means different things in different contexts.
Buddhist scholar Andrew Olendzki breaks down what you need to know.
Via Daily Dharma: Opportunities for a Fresh Start
In
a way, Buddhism is a profound study in time and time management,
because the better you manage your mind and spirit, the less hold time
has on you. Every moment can be lived fully, free and unconditioned, and
every moment holds infinite possibilities and opportunities for a fresh
start.
—Lama Surya Das, “Buddha Standard Time: Awakening to the Infinite Possibilities of Now”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
—Lama Surya Das, “Buddha Standard Time: Awakening to the Infinite Possibilities of Now”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
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