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.
Friday, March 13, 2015
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day - 13/03/2015
“Colocar-se a serviço significa colocar seus dons e talentos a serviço
do amor. Quando se coloca a serviço, você se sente ocupando o seu lugar
no mundo, e percebe que tem muito para dar. Quando começa a dar, você
começa a experimentar o sabor e a fragrância da alegria. E é justamente
por isso que tenho colocado tanto foco na importância do serviço.”
“Colocarse al servicio significa colocar tus dones y talentos al servicio del amor. Cuando te colocas al servicio, te sientes ocupando tu lugar en el mundo, y percibes que tienes mucho para dar. Cuando comienzas a dar, comienzas a experimentar el sabor y la fragancia de la alegría. Y es justamente por eso que vengo colocando tanto foco en la importancia del servicio.”
“Colocarse al servicio significa colocar tus dones y talentos al servicio del amor. Cuando te colocas al servicio, te sientes ocupando tu lugar en el mundo, y percibes que tienes mucho para dar. Cuando comienzas a dar, comienzas a experimentar el sabor y la fragancia de la alegría. Y es justamente por eso que vengo colocando tanto foco en la importancia del servicio.”
“To serve
means to put your gifts and talents at the service of love. When you put
yourself at service, you feel that you are assuming your place in the
world and realize that you have a lot to give. When you start to give,
you begin to taste the flavor and smell the fragrance of joy. That is
why I have focused so much on the importance of service.”
Via Daily Dharma
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Thursday, March 12, 2015
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 12/03/2015
“O desejar é um poço sem fundo. Ele absorve tudo e nada satisfaz. É
como um buraco que drena toda a energia que se aproxima de você, o que
faz com que poucas pessoas queiram ficar perto. Porque ao ser tomado
pelo desejar compulsivo, você se torna um mendigo, um ladrão de energia,
que sem querer (sem ter consciência disso) rouba a energia do outro.
Mesmo sem ter consciência, você se torna um especialista nisso, e
descobre que a melhor maneira de roubar energia do outro é fazendo com que ele se sinta inferior e inseguro."
“El desear es un pozo sin fondo. Él absorbe todo y nada satisface. Es
como un agujero que drena toda la energía que se aproxima a ti, lo que
hace que pocas personas quieran estar cerca. Porque al ser tomado por el
desear compulsivo, te tornas un mendigo, un ladrón de energía, que sin
querer (sin tener consciencia de eso) roba energía del otro. Mismo sin
tener consciencia, te vuelves un especialista en eso, y descubres que la
mejor manera de robar energía del otro es haciendo que él se sienta
inferior e inseguro.”
“Desire is a bottomless pit. It absorbs everything, and nothing satisfies it. It’s like a hole that drains all the energy that comes near us, which makes most people want to stay away from us. When we are consumed by compulsive desire, we become a beggar; an energy thief. Without trying to, we unconsciously rob the other’s energy. Even without knowing it, we become an expert in this area. We discover that the best way to rob the other’s energy is to make them feel inferior and insecure.”
“Desire is a bottomless pit. It absorbs everything, and nothing satisfies it. It’s like a hole that drains all the energy that comes near us, which makes most people want to stay away from us. When we are consumed by compulsive desire, we become a beggar; an energy thief. Without trying to, we unconsciously rob the other’s energy. Even without knowing it, we become an expert in this area. We discover that the best way to rob the other’s energy is to make them feel inferior and insecure.”
Via Daily Dharma
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Via John Pavlovitz: Sorry To Rainbow On Your Parade (A Pastor Sets The Record “Straight” On The Gay Agenda)
Brace yourselves and gird your loins, true believers; I have some earth-shattering news.
As you may or may not know, I’ve been a pastor in the local church for the past 18 years; listening, counseling, observing. I’ve served at house churches and mega churches; at ones with pipe organs and ones with Marshall stacks; ones with wooden pews and ones with free WiFi. This vast and lengthy resume has given me unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the hidden lives of tens of thousands of unsuspecting families. During that time, I’ve done some covert reconnaissance on our behalf, and the raw, naked truth I’ve uncovered? Well, it’s a game-changer, to say the least.
My friends, sadly I’m afraid that the horror stories you’ve heard on the radio shows, and in the blogs, and in the Sunday sermons are all-too true: The Gay Agenda is very, very real.
I feel a responsibility to expose this grave reality now; not to frighten you, (though it certainly will), but to help arm you with the best plan of attack in the face of it. This list is by no means exhaustive, mind you, but it will give you a good working understanding of the imminent, horrible menace threatening our cozy heterosexual existence; even as you read these very words.
As much as I’ve been able to ascertain based on my research, the Gay Agenda is this:
Agenda Number 1: Gay people want to work. They seem to enjoy careers; searching to discover them, studying to prepare for them, honing their craft to develop them, using their gifts and talents to nurture and expand them. In related matters, as unbelievable as it seems, they also apparently appear to get personal satisfaction from being employed, from working hard, from supporting their families financially, and from contributing to the global economy.
Agenda Number 2: Gay people want to buy stuff. Taking part in said global economy, they have a love for commerce and material goods that appears quite similar to our own. They like to purchase things; things like cars, and lawnmowers, and patio furniture, and Mac products, and even homes; and then they enjoy going out to shop for stuff to put in those homes. They do so, both in person and online. Gay people currently use all the same stores we straight people do (though they rarely admit to shopping at Wal-Mart, either).
Agenda Number 3: Gay people want to eat. They seem to enjoy shopping for, preparing, and consuming food of all varieties; gay and otherwise. While they sometimes conveniently and mercifully do this in the privacy of their own homes, they will at times, venture out to local public eating establishments where they can order and pay for food that someone else made. They seem to be quite fine with straight people doing this. Currently, there aren’t a lot of “gay restaurants”, though people have speculated about Hooters for years. (Overcompensating, much?).
Agenda Number 4: Gay people want to go to church and worship God. Well, some of them, anyway. Contrary to popular belief, just like us straight folk; many of them would also prefer to stay home all Sunday morning in their underwear; eating cold pizza and watching football pre game shows. Others though, believe in God, and as a result, feel compelled to attend local area houses of worship. While there, they brazenly insist on doing all the “straight” stuff: praying, singing, tithing, reflecting, playing Bejewled 3 during the longer sermons. They apparently somehow feel as though worshiping God is a queer community option.
Agenda Number 5: Gay people want families. They don’t just want families, (as frightening as that in itself, is), they actually have them; siblings, parents, children, cousins, weird uncles who smell like Cheetos and tell the same story every holiday, about the time they thought they saw Bill Murray at the dog show. (It wasn’t incidentally, it was just an oversized labradoodle that resembled Murray). They insist on doing lots of “straight family” things, like going on vacations, to high school basketball games, to movies, to the park, to non-Bill Murray-attending dog shows. They invite other families over to grill food, play in their backyards, sit on the front porch, and watch UFC (Well, that one’s a little dicey anyway, I’ll admit; what with the “grappling” and all).
Agenda Number 6: Gay people want to create. Apparently queer folks have Muses too. They write songs, (even non-show tunes, songs), they paint and draw, they design bridges and buildings, and write novels, and scrapbook, and microbrew beer. They try to bake bread, and try to cure cancer, and try to get the hallway pictures to hang straight (As-if). They do all sorts of stuff that heterosexual people do with their hands, minds, hearts, and voices, as they are inspired to; and they seem to believe that somehow all this “gay creativity” actually enriches the world. The gall.
Agenda Number 7: Gay people want to feel, fully. Shockingly, they “claim” to crave the same human interaction that we do, which hardly seems probable. They aspire to tell stories, to tell jokes, (to laugh at the good ones), to remember, and dream, and show affection, and fall in love, and break-up, and grieve a loved one’s passing, and share life-giving conversation with a friend over coffee. They dare to visit sick people in the hospital, and reconnect with a childhood BFF on Facebook, and get really pissed at that guy who cuts into their lane at the last second, even though he totally saw everybody merging over, three miles ago. They would argue at having the full complement of human emotions—not only lust.
So, there you have it brothers and sisters: Working, buying stuff, eating, worshiping God, not worshiping God, having families, creating, feeling. That’s the encroaching evil we’re up against here.
If I had more time, I’d go into gory detail about some other key, vile, dangerous components of the Gay Agenda: to vote, pay taxes, take their kids to the dentist, binge watch The Walking Dead, hold grudges, forgive, have health insurance, get haircuts, regret haircuts, fart and blame someone else, sing Karaoke, volunteer, throw-up on roller coasters, shop at Trader Joes, have weddings, go to weddings, avoid weddings, and watch Frozen with their toddler… again, gladly.
For now though, at the very least I’ve hopefully given you enough to know the devious, crafty, conniving enemy, and what they’re up to.
In the face of the clear horror I’ve detailed for you here, you can now pray, and reflect on, and discuss together, your next move to adequately fight the Code Level Red threat of the Gay Agenda.
To quote the old Saturday morning sages: “The more you know…”
Be strong and courageous, true believer.
Make th Jump here to read the full story
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia - Flor del Dìa - Flower of the day 11/03/201
“Todo o ser humano sem exceção traz consigo dons e talentos que são a
forma particular como o amor se expressa através de cada um. Embora na
essência sejamos um, essa essência se manifesta de maneira única em cada
um de nós. É como a sua marca digital - só você faz desse jeito. E
quando dá passagem esse jeito específico, você sente um encaixe, um
contentamento. Você sente satisfação em acordar de manhã porque sabe a
razão de estar acordando.”
“Todo ser humano sin excepción trae consigo dones y talentos que son la
forma particular como el amor se expresa a través de cada uno. Aunque
en la esencia seamos uno, esa esencia se manifiesta de manera única en
cada uno de nosotros. Es como tu huella digital – solo tú lo haces de
esa manera. Y cuando le das paso a esa forma específica, sientes un
encaje, un contentamiento. Sientes satisfacción al despertar por la
mañana porque sabes la razón de estar despertando.”
“All human beings, without exception, have gifts and talents that are the special ways love expresses itself through them. While in essence we are all one, this essence manifests itself in a unique way in each one of us. It is like your fingerprint. You’re the only one who does something in a particular way. When you allow this special way to come through you, everything fits together and you feel satisfaction. You feel content when you wake up in the morning because you know why you are getting up.”
“All human beings, without exception, have gifts and talents that are the special ways love expresses itself through them. While in essence we are all one, this essence manifests itself in a unique way in each one of us. It is like your fingerprint. You’re the only one who does something in a particular way. When you allow this special way to come through you, everything fits together and you feel satisfaction. You feel content when you wake up in the morning because you know why you are getting up.”
Via Daily Dharma
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Tuesday, March 10, 2015
JMG REPORT: ISIS Beheads Gay Men In Iraq
Via News 24:
ISIS has publicly beheaded three men in northern Iraq, two of them for allegedly engaging in homosexual acts, according to photos shared by sympathisers on social media on Tuesday. The jihadist group, which controls swathes of Iraq and neighbouring Syria, has carried out hundreds of executions as it has imposed its brutal version of Islamic law, many of them photographed or videotaped. The latest images did not show the claimed beheadings and their authenticity could not be independently verified. A series of photographs shows the blindfolded men kneeling in the centre of what appears to be a traffic circle with a crowd of people looking on as a masked, black-clad executioner stands by with a long, rusty blade. Accompanying captions said the trio were then executed, the third of them for alleged blasphemy.Some reports say all three young men were accused of homosexuality, adding that two of them may have been a couple. However ISIS is known to accuse its enemies of being gay in order to "justify" their executions.
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 10/03/2015
“A mente é um veículo que precisa ser bem conduzido. Se um veículo não é
bem conduzido, inevitavelmente haverá acidentes. E o principal acidente
de uma mente mal conduzida são as repetições negativas. Durante algum
tempo, você segue acreditando que a vida pode ser diferente, mas quando
menos espera, o drama se repete. Então, aos poucos você se torna uma
pessoa sem esperança.”
“La mente es un vehículo que necesita ser bien conducido. Si un vehículo no es bien conducido, inevitablemente habrá accidentes. Y el principal accidente de una mente mal conducida son las repeticiones negativas. Durante algún tiempo, sigues creyendo que la vida puede ser diferente, pero cuando menos lo esperas el drama se repite. Entonces, de a poco, te vuelves una persona sin esperanza.”
“La mente es un vehículo que necesita ser bien conducido. Si un vehículo no es bien conducido, inevitablemente habrá accidentes. Y el principal accidente de una mente mal conducida son las repeticiones negativas. Durante algún tiempo, sigues creyendo que la vida puede ser diferente, pero cuando menos lo esperas el drama se repite. Entonces, de a poco, te vuelves una persona sin esperanza.”
“The mind is a vehicle that needs to be driven well. If we do not drive
a car properly, we will unavoidably have accidents. The main accident
resulting from a poorly driven mind is negative repetitions in our
lives. For a while, we continue to believe that life can be different,
but when we least expect it, the drama repeats itself. Then, little by
little, we begin to lose hope.”
Via Daily Dharma
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Monday, March 9, 2015
On the Path with Thay A longtime student reflects on 30 years with the Vietnamese master.
From the moment that I laid eyes on Thich Nhat Hanh (known to students as “Thay,” meaning “teacher” in Vietnamese), I was struck by how quietly impassioned he was. I will always remember how he began the talk: “Dear brothers and sisters—our appointment with life is only available in the present moment.” One had the sense that this gentle yet vehement monk was offering himself as a living example of a Buddha for us to scrutinize.
Read the full article here
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 09/03/2015
"Rezar para que todos os seres sejam felizes é algo realmente
significativo. Mas, até que você possa manifestar esse amor por todos os
seres (até que possa se tornar essa oração), será preciso aprender a
amar quem está perto de você; aquele a quem você está vinculado
emocionalmente. Para que possa em algum momento amar a grande família,
você precisará amar a sua pequena família. Às vezes os obstáculos para
amar a pequena família são tão grandes
que você primeiro tem um vislumbre do amor pela grande família – mas,
somente um vislumbre, pois não é possível sustentar essa abertura sem
ter purificado o núcleo do amor. E você só completa essa purificação
quando aprende determinadas lições que dizem respeito à pequena
família.”
“Rezar para que
todos sean felices es algo realmente significativo. Pero hasta que
puedas manifestar ese amor por todos los seres (hasta que puedas
volverte esa oración), será necesario aprender a amar a quien está cerca
tuyo, aquel con quien estás vinculado emocionalmente. Para que puedas
en algún momento amar a la gran familia, necesitarás amar a tu pequeña
familia. A veces los obstáculos para amar a la pequeña familia son tan
grandes que primero tienes un vislumbre del amor por la gran familia –
pero solamente un vislumbre, porque no es posible sustentar esa apertura
sin haber purificado el núcleo de amor. Y solo completas esa
purificación cuando aprendes determinadas lecciones que dicen respecto a
la pequeña familia.”
“Praying for all beings to be happy is a truly significant thing. For you to be able to manifest this love for all beings, and to become this prayer, you will first have to learn to love those near you who you are linked to emotionally. In order for you to love the big family, you have to love your small family. Sometimes, the obstacles to loving your immediate family are so great that you get a glimpse of love for the global family first – but only a glimpse, as it’s impossible to sustain this opening if you have not purified the nucleus of love first. You only complete this purification process when you learn certain lessons related to your direct family.”
“Praying for all beings to be happy is a truly significant thing. For you to be able to manifest this love for all beings, and to become this prayer, you will first have to learn to love those near you who you are linked to emotionally. In order for you to love the big family, you have to love your small family. Sometimes, the obstacles to loving your immediate family are so great that you get a glimpse of love for the global family first – but only a glimpse, as it’s impossible to sustain this opening if you have not purified the nucleus of love first. You only complete this purification process when you learn certain lessons related to your direct family.”
Via Daily Dharma
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Sunday, March 8, 2015
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