In
this virtual journey through 1970s India, Raghu, Krishna Das, Daniel
Goleman, and Rameshwar Das compare roadmaps and share stories of Ram
Dass...
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.
Saturday, May 15, 2021
Mindrolling – Raghu Markus – Ep. 392 – We’re All Still Here with Krishna Das, Daniel Goleman, & Rameshwar Das
Friday, May 14, 2021
Via White Crane Institute // This Day in Gay History May 14 Born
The great German physician, sexologist, and Gay Rights advocate MAGNUS HIRSHFELD was both born and died on this day (1868-1935). Known as "the Einstein of Sex" he is credited with developing the theory of a third, "intermediate sex" between men and women. In 1897, Hirschfeld founded the Scientific Humanitarian Committee, which gathered over 5000 signatures from prominent Germans for a petition to overturn Paragraph 175, the section of the German penal code that criminalized homosexuality (founded on this date as well -- see below). In 1921 He organized the First Congress for Sexual Reform, which led to the formation of the World League for Sexual Reform.
Hirschfeld co-wrote and acted in the 1919 film "Anders als die Andern" ("Different From the Others"), which featured the first homosexual character ever written for cinema. It was released a few years ago on DVD and still offers a fascinating view from the time. He also founded the Institute for Sexual Research which featured an immense library on sex and provided educational services and medical consultations.
The writers Christopher Isherwood & W.H. Auden both visited the institute while in Germany. When the Nazis took power, one of their first actions was to destroy the Institute and burn the library. At that time Hirschfeld was away from Germany on a speaking tour. He died in Nice on his 67th birthday in 1935, while in exile from his native Germany in Nice, France.
The word "transsexual" was coined by Dr. Hirschfeld to describe the phenomenon that he argued was a natural extension of human sexuality. His philosophy centered on the contention that there was a third sex, called the Uranian, which was neither male nor female, but a combination of both that was manifested in homosexuality, which was not to be considered an impure deviation, or even as an illness, but as a natural and phenomenal component of human nature.
For his work, the Nazis targeted Dr. Hirschfeld as an example of Jewish influence infecting the purity of the German people, luring the Aryan race into impure and destructive perversity. He was ultimately driven into exile and burned in effigy as an emblem of evil. The slogan with which he began his speeches, "Uranians of the World, Unite!" was not to be realized until our own time.
Via Daily Dharma: Breathing In and Breathing Out
—Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, “Three Kinds of Laziness”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Thursday, May 13, 2021
Via White Crane Institute // ARMISTEAD MAUPIN
Today is the birthday of writer, serialist and national treasure ARMISTEAD MAUPIN (1944). Maupin is most famous for his six book "Tales of the City" series of books. The first were originally published in serial forms in Bay Area newspapers. His later novels include "The Night Listener" and "Maybe The Moon" and 2009's "Michael Tolliver Lives." His name, coincidentally, is an anagram of "is a man I dreamt up."
It’s a busy life for The Wonderful Mr. Maupin with a brand spanking new musical based on Tales of the City. And PBS just featured a delightful documentary, The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin, He is married to Christopher Turner. His most recent book revisits his beloved characters from Tales, The Days of Anna Madrigal. New York: Harper. 2014. ISBN 978-0062196248.
For more on Armistead Maupin, and maybe to send him a birthday greeting, visit his website at http://www.armisteadmaupin.
Happy Birthday Armistead. Long may you wave!
Via Daily Dharma: Conjuring Love
When we are able to arouse love in our hearts without any cause, just because love is the heart’s quality, we feel secure.
—Ayya Khema, “What Love Is”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Via Lion's Roar // DIY Dharma: You Have Everything You Need
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| DIY Dharma: You Have Everything You Need | ||
| Interested
in beginning a meditation practice but don’t know where to begin? You
have a mind, body, thoughts, and a natural bent toward awakening. |
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Via Lion's Roar // What Is Sangha?
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| What Is Sangha? | ||
Thich Nhat Hanh explains that sangha is more than a community, it’s a deep spiritual practice. |
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Via Tricycle // Dream Yoga
With Andrew Holecek
Now available for self-study
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Via Daily Dharma: Free from Like and Dislike
In
a moment of real struggle not to give in to the body’s desire, a new
awareness can appear—an awareness that is neither attracted nor
repulsed, that is separate and free from the forces of like and dislike.
—Stuart Smithers, “Losing Our Bodies, Losing Our Minds”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE


