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10 NEW Gay Movies on Netflix To Watch RIGHT NOW (2026)

 

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One AI Risk to Rule Them All with Roman Yampolskiy | TGS 233

 

Via LGBTQ Nation Newsletter \\ Dolly Parton paid for the gender-affirming care of her “good friend” & chauffeur of 30 years The singer and driver met in the 1980s and became lifelong friends. He even popped up in some of her books!

 

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation \\\ Words of Wisdom - September 9, 2026 🌅

 

“Truth is a funny thing, the truth gets you free. The truth gets you high and it gets you free. Its risky business, but it changes the whole name of the game.”

Source: Ram Dass – Here and Now – Ep. 158 – A Pledge to Social Responsibility

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Nothing Is Wasted

Nothing is wasted because nothing remains unchanged. Frank Yau, “Five Days with the Mandala at Oxo” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

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Via GBF] \\ "Becoming Ordinary: The Five Ranks of Zen Service" with Roshi David Blackwell (Jōkai)

Another dharma talk is now available on the GBF website and podcast:

Becoming Ordinary: The Five Ranks of Zen Service – Roshi David (Jōkai) 

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Despite the world around us constantly changing, we can remain grounded in the timeless stillness beneath it all.

Roshi David Blackwell walks us through what happens when we transition from years of formal spiritual training back into the texture of ordinary daily life. Reflecting on his own journey after stepping down from a Zen training center, David introduces us to an ancient Tang Dynasty framework known as the “Five Ranks of Merit” or “distinguished service”. Rather than focusing solely on mystical realization, David shows us how this time-honored system offers a practical, compassionate roadmap for leading an upright, supportive, and useful life in service of those around us.

As David breaks down these five stages, we get to see how our spiritual journey naturally matures from initial curiosity to ultimate simplicity:

1. The Shift: The initial turning of our heart toward practice when we feel a deep need to explore what is most real and important.
2. Submission: Radically accepting reality exactly as it is, letting go of our rigid, narrow ideas of self to align with life as it unfolds.
3. Achievement: The stage where dedicated practice ripens into genuine insight, wisdom, and an understanding of non-duality.
4. Collective Achievement: Expanding our perspective so realization is no longer a private trophy, asking instead how we can help sustain our sangha and serve others.
5. Absolute Achievement: Shedding even the conceptual trappings of “enlightenment” to simply return to being our ordinary selves—truly at home in our own skin.

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Buddhism

 

 ·

Not every pleasure is good for you. Some pleasures leave you feeling stronger, calmer, and more alive. Others leave you chasing the next hit, feeling restless, distracted, and strangely empty.

The difference is not simply dopamine. It is the kind of reward you are teaching your mind to seek.

DOPAMINE THAT HEALS

1. MORNING SUNLIGHT

A few minutes of natural light in the morning can help your body recognize that the day has begun. It supports your sleep-wake rhythm and encourages you to start the day with something real, rather than immediately reaching for your phone.

2. MOVING YOUR BODY

Exercise is not only about building muscle or changing your appearance. It is also a way to release tension, improve your mood, and reconnect with your body.

You do not have to train intensely every day. A walk, a workout, or simply moving more can be a meaningful investment in your mental well-being.

3. TIME IN NATURE

Nature gives your mind a break from constant stimulation. Walking among trees, sitting in a garden, or watching the sky can help you slow down and notice what is happening around you.

Sometimes, the mind does not need more information. It needs less noise.

4. COLD WATER IMMERSION

Cold water can create a strong physical sensation that some people find invigorating. But it is not a magical cure, and you do not need to force yourself into extreme cold to be healthy.

If you enjoy it, approach it gradually and safely. If you do not, a normal shower and a good walk are perfectly worthwhile.

5. DEEP SLEEP

Sleep is not wasted time. It is when your body and mind recover.

When you constantly sacrifice sleep for entertainment, work, or scrolling, you may be borrowing energy from tomorrow to satisfy today.

Protect your sleep. Your mood, focus, and ability to handle stress depend on it.

6. NOURISHING FOOD

Food should give you energy, not become a constant source of guilt or impulsive cravings.

A balanced meal, eaten mindfully, can support your body and help you feel satisfied. You do not need to fear every pleasure. You need to learn the difference between nourishment and excess.

7. REAL HUMAN CONNECTION

A genuine conversation, a shared meal, or time with someone who truly cares about you can bring a kind of satisfaction that a screen cannot replace.

You can have thousands of followers and still feel lonely. Real connection requires presence, not just attention.

8. BREATHWORK AND STILLNESS

You do not always need to react to every thought or emotion.

A few quiet minutes of breathing, meditation, or simply sitting without distraction can help you create space between what you feel and how you respond.

This is where many Buddhist teachings become practical: you can observe the mind without obeying every craving.

9. READING

Reading gives your mind something deeper than endless stimulation. It develops attention, imagination, and the ability to stay with one idea.

Not every moment needs to be filled with short videos, notifications, or instant entertainment.

10. ACTS OF SERVICE

Helping someone, offering your time, or doing something kind without expecting a reward can create a sense of meaning that lasts longer than a momentary thrill.

The Buddha taught that a life built around generosity and compassion is a life that becomes less trapped by craving.

DOPAMINE THAT STEALS

1. ALCOHOL AND OTHER SUBSTANCES

Some substances can produce temporary pleasure or relief, but repeated use can become a cycle of craving, dependence, and harm.

If something repeatedly takes more from your life than it gives, it deserves an honest look.

2. DOOMSCROLLING

You open your phone for five minutes and suddenly an hour has disappeared.

The problem is not that every piece of content is bad. It is that endless novelty can train you to keep seeking the next thing instead of being satisfied with the present one.

3. SUGAR SPIKES AND CONSTANT SNACKING

Sweet food is not the enemy. But constantly eating for stimulation rather than hunger can turn food into an automatic response to boredom, stress, or discomfort.

Learn to enjoy food without allowing every craving to become a command.

4. GAMBLING

The excitement of winning can become more powerful than the actual reward. Over time, the chase itself can become the trap.

A healthy life should not depend on repeatedly risking your peace, money, or relationships for a temporary thrill.

5. NICOTINE

Nicotine can create a powerful cycle of craving and relief. What feels like stress relief may sometimes be relief from the withdrawal caused by the previous dose.

If you are trying to quit, seek appropriate support. You do not have to fight addiction through willpower alone.

6. BINGE-WATCHING

Watching something you enjoy is not inherently harmful. The problem begins when entertainment consistently replaces sleep, movement, responsibilities, or real relationships.

Rest should refresh you, not leave you feeling that your life passed while you were watching someone else's.

7. COMPULSIVE SHOPPING

Buying something new can feel exciting. But when shopping becomes a way to escape loneliness, stress, or dissatisfaction, the relief may disappear quickly.

You may end up with more things, less money, and the same emptiness you were trying to avoid.

8. CONSTANT NOVELTY

Notifications, short videos, endless feeds, and jumping from one thing to another can make ordinary life feel boring.

But ordinary life is where most of your happiness actually happens.

The quiet morning. The walk. The conversation. The meal. The work you are proud of. The evening when you feel at peace.

THE BUDDHIST LESSON

The Buddha did not teach that every pleasure must be rejected.

He taught us to understand craving.

There is a difference between enjoying something and becoming dependent on it for your happiness.

You can enjoy a good meal without needing to eat constantly. You can enjoy entertainment without losing control of your time. You can appreciate success without believing you are worthless without it.

The goal is not to eliminate pleasure.

The goal is to stop being controlled by it.

A SIMPLE QUESTION TO ASK YOURSELF

After this activity, do I usually feel:

More peaceful or more restless?

More energized or more drained?

More connected or more isolated?

More present or more distracted?

More in control or more dependent?

You do not need to become a monk to live with more awareness.

Start with one small change.

Get sunlight before your phone.

Move your body.

Eat with attention.

Spend time with someone you love.

Read a few pages.

Sit quietly for five minutes.

Put the phone away before bed.

And when you notice yourself reaching for another quick distraction, pause and ask:

"Am I choosing this, or am I being pulled by it?"

That small moment of awareness is where freedom begins.

#MindfulLiving #BuddhistWisdom #MentalWellbeing

Thank you Monty!

 

Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989
This Day in Gay History
September 08 Today's Gay Wisdom Jesus and the Shamanic Tradition of Same-Sex Love 2004 - From Jesus and the Shamanic Tradition of Same-Sex Love by Will Roscoe, originally in White Crane issue #63, winter 2005, Totems and Animal Wisdom: In 1979, I attended a retreat where Hay passionately presented his idea concerning subject-Subject consciousness and called on us as Gay men to foster it. At that event I discovered I was not alone in yearning to incorporate a spiritual outlook into my life. For many of us, a spiritual inclination began in childhood with a fantasy life that included talking to trees and animals, and inventing rituals. As we shared these experiences at the 1979 retreat, we realized that Gay spirituality begins with reclaiming the child-like awareness we had before the crippling and stifling influence of homophobia penetrated our lives. Whitman had a similar intuition and frequently celebrated boyhood. In “There was a Child Went Forth,” he describes the child’s awareness in terms that resonate with Hay’s concept of subject-subject: There was a child went forth every day, And the first object he look’d upon, that object he became, And that object became part of him But in 1979 adhesive love and subject-subject consciousness were ideals not realities. In those years, it was difficult to see anything redeeming in the way that Gay men were pursuing love. The activist, experimental era of Gay liberation was over. A grassroots movement of volunteer and self-help organizations was being replaced by agencies staffed with professionals. Gay marches had become Gay parades, and Gay social life was shifting from public and community-organized events to commercial venues. Discussions of Gay love gave way to a narrower focus on sexuality. Self-identified sex radicals claimed that simply having Gay sex challenged the social system, while moderates claimed that sex was the only thing that distinguished lesbians, Gay men, and bisexuals from heterosexuals, and, since it was a private act, it was an invisible difference. In either case, sex was the lynchpin of Gay identity. To be Gay or bisexual was to have sex. At the same time, many Gays, lesbians, and bisexuals were rejecting the idea advanced by earlier liberationists that they might be gender different. The assimilationist mantra took its place: “We’re no different from heterosexuals except for what we do in bed.” In the 1970s, to live up to their image as sexual athletes, Gay men began using drugs and alcohol at rates far in excess of the general population. Our sexual experiences became increasingly intense, but they occurred in contexts that attributed them with no particular significance. Gay men began referring to sex as “play”—it became a form of recreation, to be consumed much as entertainment or travel or fashion. Far from posing a challenge to the social order, it turned out that a sexual minority community whose identity was derived from what it consumed was perfectly compatible with postindustrial capitalism. All this occurred as an organized anti-Gay opposition was emerging. In 1977, Anita Bryant’s campaign in Dade County, Florida overturned legislation to protect Gays from discrimination. Soon Gay civil rights protections were being repealed throughout the country. Heterosexual Americans were not ready to see Gay lifestyles or relationships as equal to theirs in any way, nor were they willing to entertain the possibility that Gays were different in ways that might be beneficial. Indeed, Gays themselves increasingly rejected such speculations as elitist, throwbacks to a discredited model of homosexuality as inborn and essential. Lesbian and Gay intellectuals, under the influence of Michel Foucault and the theory of social constructionism, not only decried the idea of queer differences, the very desire to explore the meaning of one’s sexual identity was dismissed out of hand. In 1982, at the same time I was reading Clement of Alexandria, I decided to write an essay expressing my dismay at the role of sexual objectification in the Gay men’s community. Instead of healing the wounds inflicted on us by a homophobic society, we were perpetuating low self-esteem. And the consequences of this, I argued, could be seen in a growing range of health problems appearing among Gay men—from alcoholism to sexually transmitted diseases to recent reports of a new and mysterious illness that was taking Gay men’s lives. My essay, titled “Desperate Living” (after a popular John Waters’ film), was published about the same time that I put down Smith’s book. Our extended stay with Harry and his partner John in Los Angeles was over. Brad and I were still young, in our twenties, and life flowed in strong currents. We found ourselves back in San Francisco, immersed in new jobs and new projects. Fifteen years passed before I took up Smith’s book again. It was 1997, and I had been invited to speak at Gay Spirit Visions, an annual conference held outside Atlanta, Georgia. The theme was mentoring. As I thought about this topic, it occurred to me that Gay men needed not only mentors—teachers, guides, role models—but also some form of initiatory experience to mark their passage from the closet to community and from Gay childhood to Gay adulthood. Then I remembered the mystical rite of initiation uncovered by Morton Smith. As I began re-reading his book, I saw connections that had escaped me before. I realized how Jesus’ secret baptism drew on ideas and images with a long history, and how it was that same-sex love could be part of, indeed, give rise to, visionary experiences. I realized as well that the insights I was having now were the result of what I had experienced in the fifteen years since I last picked up Smith’s book. Those were the years when the AIDS epidemic swept through our lives like wildfire, whisking away acquaintances, friends, and lovers—and, eventually, my own life partner. Excerpt reprinted from Jesus and the Shamanic Tradition of Same-Sex Love by Will Roscoe (Suspect Thoughts Press) courtesy of the author. |8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8| 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 |8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

Via Daily Dharma: A Perfectly Realized Moment

 

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A Perfectly Realized Moment

Buddhism teaches us to be present in the present world. And in this world, the experience of one perfectly realized moment makes an entire life preciously worth living. Dick Allen, “A Buddhist’s Call for a Middle Way in Politics” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE