There is a grieving process that is required when you change—you grieve the shifts in your identity, you put the dream to rest before you can go on. You have to deal with your past before you can come into the moment. You don’t deny it. It’s not not there. It’s just not compelling you. It’s not busy holding onto you.
- Ram Dass -
We
have to return to the root of the problem, which is the mistaken belief
that joy can be hoarded, seized, or commodified when the fact is that
real joy is contagious.
Scott Tusa, “Joy Is a Radical Act”
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Forgiveness
is really not about someone’s harmful behavior; it’s about our own
relationship with our past. When we begin the work of forgiveness, it is
primarily a practice for ourselves.
-Gina Sharpe, “The Power of Forgiveness”
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Christian
mystic Meister Eckhart wrote: “Be willing to be a beginner every single
morning.” Beginners are comfortable with not-knowing and the
impossibility of knowing. It is this admission that allows you to relax
and think clearly and creatively.
Fabrice Desmarescaux, “The Power of Not-Knowing”
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I
intentionally ask myself the question, “What would I gain from this
person’s loss?” and it is quite clear to me that I don’t benefit at all.
The true benefit is in stepping off of center stage, and experiencing
the kindness of delighting in someone else’s good experience.
Sharon Salzberg, “A More Complete Attention”
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TROY PERRY, Metropolitan Community Church founder born; Happy Birthday Troy! The Reverend Elder Troy Deroy Perry is the founder of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, a Protestant denomination devoted to ministering to the spiritual needs of GLBTQ people.
A charismatic preacher and leader, Perry has built the religious organization into one of the fastest growing denominations in the world, with over 300 churches in some 18 countries. Perry obtained a GED and enrolled at a Bible college in Illinois, at the same time serving as pastor of a congregation of the Church of God.Perry was excommunicated from the Church of God after church officials learned that he had had a consensual sexual relationship with a man.
After reading Donald Webster Cory's The Homosexual in America (1951), Perry decided that he could no longer live as a "pseudo-heterosexual." He revealed his sexual orientation to a church official. Shortly thereafter he was dismissed by his bishop. Perry's wife left him, taking their sons with her. She eventually divorced Perry and remarried. She kept the boys from having any contact with Perry until 1985, when the younger son, James Michael Perry, sought out his father and was happily reunited with that side of his family. Perry soon began to discover the Gay community in Los Angeles and to become acquainted with other Gay men, whom he viewed "as part of [his] extended family."
When Perry was drafted into the United States Army in 1965, he acknowledged that he was Gay, but the Army inducted him anyway. He was stationed in Germany, where he worked as a cryptographer, a job requiring a high-level security clearance. Eventually, Perry felt called to start a new church. He spoke to members of the Gay community and took out an advertisement in a newspaper announcing a worship service.
Twelve people attended the first meeting of the Metropolitan Community Church, which was held in Perry's living room. Perry preached a sermon entitled "Be True to You," enunciating three important tenets of his faith: 1) salvation--which comes through Jesus Christ and is unconditional; 2) community--which the church should provide, especially to those without caring family and friends; and 3) Christian social action--a commitment to fight oppression at all levels. These principles have guided the Church as it has matured from an evangelical, Pentecostal organization into a more liturgical and ecumenical denomination that welcomes heterosexuals as well as homosexuals and that empowers women and minority groups.
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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute
"With the increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson
Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989!
www.whitecraneinstitute.org
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What is the best way you can prepare to be in a situation of illness or loss? You learn the best way to deal with a situation is to be fully present in the moment, hear it all, and then do whatever you do. Since that’s what you want to be when you’re dying, and it’s what you want to be in all the moments up to then—the best way to practice it is to start doing it now.
- Ram Dass -
Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center February 15-16th 1997
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The
more the ego diminishes, the more love can come from the heart. When
other people are taken into the heart, the self has to step aside to
make room.
Ayya Khema, “Love Is a Skill”
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Practice
needs to be weaved into the fabric of our lives so that every moment
and place is an opportunity for practice and progression.
Grace Song, “Zen All Day”
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