Friday, May 21, 2021

Via Daily Dharma: Being Present for Our Own Pain

After recognizing our suffering, we must respond to it with love. This takes courage and commitment. It means not looking away, not seeking distractions when offered the opportunity to be present for our own pain. 

—Beth Roth, “Family Dharma: Leaning into Suffering”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Via Gay Buddhist Fellowship // Alan Watts’ lecture on The Spectrum of Love

You can listen to that lecture and more here:


Via White Crane Institute // Today's Gay Wisdom

 


2007 -

TODAY'S GAY WISDOM

From Lorraine Hansberry:

"The oppressed are by their nature ... forever in ferment and agitation against their condition and what they understand to be their oppressors. If not by overt rebellion or revolution, then in the thousand and one ways they will devise with and without consciousness to alter their condition." Lorraine Hansberry

"I wish to live because life has within it that which is good, that which is beautiful and that which is love. Therefore, since I have known all of these things, I have found them to be reason enough and—I wish to live. Moreover, because this is so, I wish others to live for generations and generations and generations."

"We only revert back to mystical ideas - which includes most contemporary orthodox religious views, in my opinion - because we simply are confronted with some things we don't yet understand."

"There is always something left to love. And if you ain't learned that, you ain't learned nothing. Have you cried for that boy today? I don't mean for yourself and for the family 'cause we lost the money. I mean for him; what he's been through and what it done to him. Child, when do you think is the time to love somebody the most; when they done good and made things easy for everybody? Well then, you ain't through learning -- because that ain't the time at all. It's when he's at his lowest and can't believe in hisself 'cause the world done whipped him so. When you starts measuring somebody, measure him right child, measure him right. Make sure you done taken into account what hills and valleys he come through before he got to wherever he is. [from Raisin in the Sun]"

Via GBF // René Rivera - HEARTS

 

HEARTS – 

 

·      Here (present and connected)

·      Expressed delight

·      Attunement

·      Rituals and routines

·      Turning towards after conflict

·      Secure attachment with self

 

Thank you, René  Rivera! 

New talks have been added to the audio archive at the GBF website:



Via Daily Dharma: Sensations that Arise and Pass Away

 If the mind labels a pain, saying, “I hurt,” you have to examine the label carefully, contemplate it until you see that it’s wrong: the pain isn’t really yours. It’s simply a sensation that arises and passes away, that’s all.

—Upasika Kee Nanayon, “Tough Teachings to Ease the Mind”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - May 19, 2021 💌

 

From the soul’s point of view, you come to appreciate that each one of us is living out his or her own karma. We interact together, and those interactions are the grist for each other’s mill of awakening. From a personality point of view, you develop judgment, but from the soul’s point of view, you develop appreciation.

This shift from judging to appreciating — to appreciating yourself and what your karmic predicament is, and who other beings are with their own karma — brings everything into a simple loving awareness. To be free means to open your heart and your being to the fullness of who you are because only when you are resting in the place of unity can you truly honor and appreciate others and the incredible diversity of the universe.

- Ram Dass -




Excerpt from Polishing the Mirror: How to Live from Your Spiritual Heart

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Via Daily Dharma: Seeing the Truth of Each Moment

 Mindfulness practice enables us to go beneath the surface level of our moment-to-moment life experiences, which are clouded with emotions and habitual thinking, and allows us to see the truth of what is happening.

—Phillip Moffitt, “The Mindfulness of the Buddha”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Monday, May 17, 2021

VIa Prefeitura de Ouro Preto // DIGA NÃO A HOMOFOBIA!


Infelizmente ainda hoje muitos ataques são realizados, sendo eles verbais ou físicos. O ex- participante do reality show Big Brother Brasil, que é conhecido por todos como Gil do Vigor, sofreu ataques homofobicos após uma visita ao estádio de futebol do seu time, Sport. 
 
Esse é apenas um dos casos que acontecem diariamente no Brasil e no mundo e, muitos deles nem são conhecidos, por serem sofridos por pessoas anônimas. 
 
Hoje, 17 de maio, é o Dia Internacional Contra a Homofobia; data esta destinada à conscientização, evolução, amor, respeito, luta e fim de todo o preconceito.
 
"Neste dia de combate à LGBTfobia que seja mais do que tudo, um dia de reflexão. O Brasil é um dos países que mais mata pessoas LGBT no mundo e estar vivo é ainda o nosso maior ato de resistência. Não deveria ser assim. Homofobia é crime!"
 
Gil do Vigor

Sunday, May 16, 2021

#344 How to Handle Anger, Uncertainty, and Self-Loathing | Mushim Patricia Ikeda



1:15:09

#344: How to Handle Anger, Uncertainty, and Self-Loathing | Mushim Patricia Ikeda

When somebody wrongs you, what is the wise way to handle your anger? Is forgiveness possible? What about friendliness? My guest today has a lot of thoughts about how to handle anger and how to respond to people who mean you harm.

It might surprise you to hear from a Buddhist teacher who actually isn’t utterly disparaging of anger. In fact, she is proud (somewhat facetiously) of having been called “the original Angry Asian Buddhist.” Her name is Mushim Patricia Ikeda, and she is my kind of Buddhist. She self-describes as “snarky,” and, as you will hear, she loves to laugh. She has doable, down-to-earth strategies, and she makes a compelling, if counterintuitive, case for the pragmatism of sending goodwill to people who want to harm you.

Mushim is a core teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center. She is a writer, activist, and diversity consultant. She has trained for decades as both a lay and monastic Buddhist. Aside from anger, we also discuss how to handle uncertainty, and what Mushim calls a “pandemic of self-loathing” in our culture. But we begin with some candid talk about the trauma of being an Asian-American during a time of rising violence against the AAPI community.

This is the second in a two-part series on the uptick in anti-Asian violence -- a trend that should be particularly worrisome for this audience, given the Asian roots of meditation and many of the other happiness-producing modalities we talk about on this show. If you missed it, go check out Monday’s episode, where we explore the history of anti-Buddhist and anti-Asian violence in America (which started decades before the pandemic), and the hurt felt by many Asian-American Buddhists about how they can be overlooked by other American Buddhists, including, sometimes, me.

Two other items of business: first, are you interested in teaching mindfulness to teens? Looking to carve your own path and share this practice in a way that feels real, authentic, and relevant in today’s world? Our friends at iBme are accepting applications for their Mindfulness Teacher Training program - catered towards working with teens and young adults. The last round of applications are due May 15th and scholarships are available. For more information and to apply, check out: https://ibme.com/mindfulness-teacher-training/.

And second, we want to recognize and deeply thank mental health professionals for all you do. For a year's FREE access to the app and hundreds of meditations and resources, visit: https://www.tenpercent.com/mentalhealth.

Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/mushim-patricia-ikeda-344

Frederick P. Lenz Foundation Distinguished Guest Lecturer: Lama Rod Owen...

Lama Rod | Love and Rage: The Path of Freedom Through Anger | Talks at G...

Via Daily Dharma: Letting Ourselves Rest

 In order to have a clearer sense of what the mind is like, we need to become comfortable letting ourselves, and our mind, rest with ease.

—Justin von Bujdoss, “Tilopa’s Six Nails”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - May 16, 2021 💌

 

When talking about awareness, most of us identify with our awareness through the ego, through the mind and senses. But the true self is in the middle of our chest, in our spiritual heart.     

So, to get from ego to the true self I said: “I am loving awareness.” Loving awareness is the soul. I am loving awareness. I am aware of everything, I’m aware of my body and my senses and my mind, I’m aware of all of it, but I notice that I’m loving all of it. I’m loving all of the world. The self that I identify with emanates from the ocean of love. The self that is the ego is the ocean of fear.       

When I am loving awareness I’m aware of everything outside, but pulling into the heart, the spiritual heart brings me to loving awareness. I’m aware of my thoughts, but loving awareness is simply witnessing them. And loving awareness is in the moment. I have thoughts about the past and future, and those are not helpful, so I dive deep into the present and the presence and in this present moment we will find loving awareness.       

Only this moment is real, this moment of loving awareness. The past and the future are all just thoughts.  

-Ram Dass -