Via Daily Dharma: The Heroes Within You

The superheroes we need don’t come from faraway planets or live in secret hideouts on remote islands. Our heroes must be summoned from within.

—Andrew Olendzki, “Guardians of the World”

Via Ram Dass: Words of Wisdom - October 1, 2017

What love has been for me has been the whole ‘heart’ part of my journey. I have gone from having special people that I loved and others that I hated to realizing that everybody I meet is the ‘beloved’ in drag. Everybody is ‘the one’ and my job is to see through the story line their mind is caught in, not to reject the story line, not to judge it, it’s not better or worse than my storyline. It’s about not getting caught in it, and being able to see what is behind it.

It’s behind the soul, and because we can’t talk about it, touch it, smell it, taste it, we tend to think it doesn’t exist, and yet here we are - that’s the beautiful perplexity of it all.

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Why You Must Accept Who You Are

Understanding and accepting who you really are right now is as important as the commitment to become someone more open and generous.

—Dale S. Wright, “The Bodhisattva's Gift”

Via Daily Dharma: Why You Should Be Expectation-free

Whatever you might gain from your practice won’t be anything like what you imagine it will be. So just leave those ideas as they are. They’ll pass of their own accord if you let them.

—Brad Warner, “A Minty Fresh Mind”

Via Daily Dharma: Why Doubt Can Be Helpful

If seen for what it is, doubt can even be a positive force in practice. Provided we don’t get lost in the negative beliefs that arise with it, it can lead to a deepening of our quest.

—Ezra Bayda, “Breaking Through”

Via Daily Dharma: Drop the Old Stories

A powerful mental shift takes place when we stop telling ourselves why something can’t happen. When we can envision a hoped-for future, we strengthen our belief that it is possible.

—Joanna Macy, “Allegiance to Life”

Via Ram Dass: Words of Wisdom - September 27, 2017

When people say, “What should I do with my life?” the more interesting question is, “How do I cultivate the quietness of my being, where ‘what I should do with my life’ will become apparent?”

Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. The journey is constant, between listening to the inner voice and making the choice to take an action. The minute you make a decision, if you feel it is disharmonious with some other plane of existence, you must go back inside again. The art form of continually emptying to hear freshly. Imagine being in a relationship where the two people are meeting each other anew all the time. Imagine how freeing it would be for you.

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Developing Heartfelt Appreciation

By developing a more heartfelt appreciation of what we have, we also begin to see more clearly what’s missing in the lives of others.

—Andy Puddicombe, “10 Tips for Living More Mindfully”

Via FB:

Via Lion’s Roar magazine: Why Buddhism is True

Buddha photo: © Liewluck / Dreamstime. Darwin photo: Paul D Stewart / Science Photo Library.

Darwin and the Buddha agree on the problem, says evolutionary psychologist Robert Wright. The Buddha solved it. From the November 2017 Lion’s Roar magazine.

Melvin McLeod: Your new book, Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, is getting more mainstream attention than any other Buddhist-oriented book I can think of. Were you consciously trying to reach people who would normally turn their nose up at a book about Buddhism?

Robert Wright: I wanted to show people that the Buddhist diagnosis makes sense from a modern point of view. It is compatible in many ways with modern psychology and evolutionary psychology. It makes perfect sense in light of the modern understanding of the evolutionary process that created us.

There are many people who are resistant to Buddhism — perhaps because they think it’s unscientific. I hope my trying to place the practice, philosophy, and psychology of Buddhism in the context of modern science will help make it more credible in the eyes of people who are currently suspicious of it.

Tell us about your background as a Buddhist practitioner.

Since college I tried to meditate every once in a while, but I never had what I considered success. Finally, in 2003, I went to a one-week silent meditation retreat at the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts. That kind of flipped the switch. By the end of the week I felt much more appreciative of beauty, much less judgemental, and much calmer. I did another retreat in 2009, and since then I have been pretty consistent in my mindfulness practice.

So what have you discovered that Buddhism is right about?

In 1994, I wrote a book about evolutionary psychology called The Moral Animal. That project convinced me that natural selection did not design us to be lastingly happy. It did not design us to always see the world clearly. In fact, evolutionary theory predicts that if certain illusions help genes get into the next generation, then those illusions — about the nature of the self, and about other people and other things — will be favored by natural selection.

In my study of evolutionary psychology, I came to appreciate three things about the human condition: that, by its nature, happiness tends to evaporate; that in many ways we don’t see ourselves or the world clearly; and that, by nature, we are not always morally good, even though we’re good at deceiving ourselves into thinking we’re moral people.

I see Buddhist practice as, in some sense, a rebellion against natural selection.

Buddhism claims that these three things are connected. It says the reason we suffer, the reason we’re not enduringly satisfied, is that we don’t see the world clearly. That’s also the reason we sometimes fall short of moral goodness and treat other human beings badly. I was naturally interested in this proposition, given my background in evolutionary psychology.

What I’m arguing in this book is that looking at Buddhism through the lenses of modern psychology — and evolutionary psychology specifically — tends to validate Buddhism’s claims. When we look at the subtle ways natural selection has built illusion into us, that tracks the two most fundamental Buddhist claims about our illusions, namely that we fail to see the truths of not-self and emptiness.

Make the jump here to read the full article and more

Via Daily Dharma: Rule No. 1

Just do your best. This is the whole of practice, the whole of our life.

—Elihu Genmyo Smith, “Do Your Best”

Via Daily Dharma: Do What Feels Right

Find one thing that makes you feel good and put it into practice. It is through this kind of action that we learn to live in harmony.

—Nikkyo Niwano, “A Cheerful 'Good Morning'”

Via FB

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always."

- Mahatma Gandhi

Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - September 24, 2017

You and I are in a situation of very dramatic change, and the interesting question is how you respond to change, whether it’s in your own body, or it’s in the social structures you’re in. What happens when the family breaks down? What happens when the government isn’t functional? What happens? What happens when your IRA isn’t as good as it was? Feel the chills run through you.

It’s interesting to look at whether change is your friend or you enemy, and whether you can find a place in yourself from which you can see phenomena changing without being trapped in the fear that is generated by being identified with that which changes. That’s what the issue is.

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: A Practice for When You're Suffering

You can reverse the normal habit of turning to each new arising and instead turn to each new passing. Micro-relief is constantly available.

—Shinzen Young, “The Power of Gone”

Via TEDX / Theo E.J. Wilson

Via Daily Dharma: The Journey through Grief

With awareness, the journey through grief becomes a path to wholeness. Grief can lead us to a profound understanding that reaches beyond our individual loss.

—Mark Matousek, “A Splinter of Love”

Via Jim Parsons Opens Up About Marriage And Why He Didn't Hurry Into It

Via Daily Dharma: Helpful Habits

Each step may seem to take forever, but no matter how uninspired you feel, continue to follow your practice schedule precisely and consistently. This is how we can use our greatest enemy, habit, against itself.

—Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, “Tortoise Steps”

Via Daily Dharma: Defining Freedom

What is freedom? It is the moment-by-moment experience of not being run by one’s own reactive mechanisms.

—Ken McLeod, “Freedom and Choice”

Via Daily Dharma: The Fear in Love

The most wrenching fear that one experiences is the fear one feels for others. Love is like that. When one loves, one fears for the other.

—Dharmavidya David Brazier, “The Gift of Fear”

Via Ram Dass /

You and I are not only here in terms of the work we’re doing on ourselves. We are here in terms of the role we’re playing within the systems of which we are a part, if you look at the way change affects people that are unconscious.

Change generates fear, fear generates contractions, contraction generates prejudice, bigotry, and ultimately violence. You can watch the whole thing happen, and you can see it happen in society after society after society.

The antidote for that is a consciousness that does not respond to change with fear. That’s as close to the beginning of that sequence as I can get.

- Ram Dass -

Via Toni Reis‎LGBT Brasil / FB: NOTA OFICIAL PÚBLICA DE DESCONTENTAMENTO DA ALIANÇA NACIONAL LGBTI SOBRE A DECISÃO LIMIAR MONOCRÁTICA QUE ABRE BRECHA PARA A “CURA GAY” NO BRASIL

NOTA OFICIAL PÚBLICA DE DESCONTENTAMENTO DA ALIANÇA NACIONAL LGBTI SOBRE A DECISÃO LIMIAR MONOCRÁTICA QUE ABRE BRECHA PARA A “CURA GAY” NO BRASIL

A Aliança Nacional LGBTI é uma entidade que atua em rede e cuja missão é contribuir para a promoção e defesa dos direitos humanos e cidadania de Lésbicas, Gays, Bissexuais, Travestis, Transexuais e Intersexuais.

Neste sentido, vimos a público manifestar nosso imenso descontentamento com a decisão do Juiz Federal Waldemar Claúdio de Carvalho, da 14ª Vara Federal, que em caráter liminar, acatou parcialmente a ação popular que requeria a suspensão da Resolução 01/1999 do Conselho Federal de Psicologia, deferindo que este não impeça os psicólogos de promover estudos ou atendimento profissional, de forma reservada, pertinente à reorientação sexual, sem nenhuma possibilidade de censura ou necessidade de licença prévia.

Entendemos que o deferimento da liminar é um passo retrógrado, violador dos direitos humanos, que contraria mais de quatro décadas de decisões de órgãos cientificamente qualificados que consideram que a homossexualidade não é doença e, logo, não é passível de processos de “reorientação sexual”:

- em 1973, nos Estados Unidos a American Psychiatric Association retirou a homossexualidade da lista de desvios sexuais, reconhecendo que não se trata de um distúrbio mental;

- em nove de fevereiro de 1985, o Conselho Federal de Medicina aprovou a retirada, no Brasil, da homossexualidade do código 302.0 (desvios e transtornos sexuais) da Classificação Internacional de Doenças; sendo o Brasil o 5º país do mundo a tomar essa decisão;

- em 17 de maio de 1990, a 43ª Assembleia Mundial da Saúde adotou, por meio da sua resolução WHA43.24, a 10ª Revisão da Lista da Classificação Internacional de Doenças (CID-10), sendo que nesta versão da CID a homossexualidade foi excluída como categoria;

- em 2012 a Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde publicou um documento com a seguinte introdução: “‘CURAS’ PARA UMA DOENÇA QUE NÃO EXISTE: as supostas terapias de mudança de orientação sexual carecem de justificativa médica e são eticamente inaceitáveis”.

Assim, proferir decisão judicial que permite “estudos ou atendimento de reorientação sexual” é referendar a submissão das pessoas homossexuais à condição de cobaias, em patente contradição da Declaração de Helsinque sobre os princípios éticos que regem a pesquisa com seres humanos. É promover o crime de charlatanismo e curandeirismo.

Abre precedente para que ocorram atos que venham a ferir a Constituição da República, já que nos remete a um cenário de retrocesso, haja vista ser notória a prática de tortura e até mesmo “exorcismos” ocorridos, principalmente, em face de jovens homossexuais, onde a própria família, por inconformismo com a orientação sexual dos seus filhos, os leva a profissionais dispostos a praticar a “reversão sexual”.

Solidarizamo-nos com o Conselho Federal de Psicologia e respectivos Conselhos Regionais de Psicologia e pedimos que a Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil, a Defensoria Pública da União, o Ministério Público Federal e demais autoridades competentes se posicionem e tomem as medidas cabíveis para derrubar a referida liminar.

Recorreremos dessa decisão em todas as instâncias jurídicas nacionais e internacionais. Inclusive, através do email aliancalgbti@gmail.com gostaríamos de receber denúncias sobre psicólogos/as que estejam atuando profissionalmente na tentativa de realizar a “reversão sexual” para que possamos dar os devidos encaminhamentos éticos e jurídicos.

Curitiba, 18 de setembro de 2017

TONI REIS
Presidente da Aliança Nacional LGBTI

GISELE ALESSANDRA
Advogada
OAB/PR 74.812

Via Ivete Sangalo / FB:

É Brasilzão, a gente tentando ser forte, ser otimista, com inúmeras pendências que caberiam a uma administração decente resolver, e aí me resolvem dizer que homosexualidade é doença. Doentes são aqueles que acreditam nesse grande absurdo. Pessoas, pensem sobre o que é esse grande equívoco , absorvam a coragem e a luta dos homossexuais e apliquem às suas mofadas e inertes vidas. Tentem que vcs talvez possam ser felizes tb #respeito

Via Daily Dharma: Wisdom Is the Basis of Transformation

The goal of the Buddhist path is wisdom in service of personal and social transformation.

—David Loy, “Healing Ecology”

Via Daily Dharma: Set Your Direction

No matter what situation we find ourselves in, we can always set our compass to our highest intentions in the present moment.

—Jack Kornfield, “Set the Compass of Your Heart”

Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - September 17, 2017

You are loved just for being who you are, just for existing. You don't have to do anything to earn it. Your shortcomings, your lack of self-esteem, physical perfection, or social and economic success... none of that matters. No one can take this love away from you, and it will always be here.

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Lead by Example

When we are happy, healthy, safe, and at ease, we can model those qualities for others as well as make choices and take action from a place of sanity and lovingkindness.

—Cyndi Lee, “May I Be Happy”

Via FB

Via FB

Via Daily Dharma: The Truth about Forgiveness

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”

Kãlãma Sutta

Alan Watts

“A living body is not a fixed thing but a flowing event, like a flame or a whirlpool: the shape alone is stable, for the substance is a stream of energy going in at one end and out at the other.”

-Alan Watts

Via Awarenessact / 13 Traits of People With True Integrity

Integrity, for those who are not familiar, is quite important. It is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.

People who have a strong sense of integrity are sadly a rare breed. However, there are still some people left in this world with integrity, and usually, they share the following 13 traits.

1. They value other people’s time.

They value their own time so they also value the time of other people. They know you have plenty of other places you need to be and won’t hold you up. If you spend time with them, it is likely they will thank you for that as well.

2. They give credit where it is due.

They do not take credit for things they did not do. They will always credit those who deserve it. If you help this person with a project he or she will likely mention your name so you can take credit for your work.

3. They are authentic.

They are their truest forms. You won’t catch them in a lie or being fake.

4. They are always honest.

They are honest people that feel no need to lie as it is important for them to get to where they need to get in life honestly.

5. They never take advantage of others.

They are not the kind of people who will take advantage of someone else. They love to build people up and help them get where they need to be. Taking too much from someone else will never be an issue with someone who has a lot of integrity.

6. They do not argue over disagreements.

They will talk through things in a civil manner or not talk at all. You cannot and will not force this person into arguing over something completely ridiculous. I find this to be a very respectable trait.

7. They give most people the benefit of the doubt.

They try to see the good in everyone. I think this is because they feel like maybe there are more people in this world that also have integrity. That being said, if you take advantage of them too much they will get rid of you.

8. They know when something is bothering someone.

They have a great intuition that lets them know when something is going on. If someone is down in the dumps they will notice. Chances are they will actually do what they can to cheer you up.

9. They believe others.

They accept your word as truth until it is disproven. That being said, they do not take lying well. And once you lie to them, it is unlikely that they will ever take your word again.

10. They apologize first.

If they have done something wrong they will come to you and apologize. This is just how they are. They own up to their mistake and try to make things right.

11. They are humble.

They do not quite know their own worth. While they are very important and do so much good they don’t quite see it. You should remind them of it.

12. They do good when they can.

They are always helping other people. They love to know that they have improved someone’s life. It gives their lives meaning.

13. They are always kind to those who need it.

Giving kindness can go a long way. When someone looks like they need a little pick me up these people deliver. They can brighten up almost anyone’s day.

If you are someone who has true integrity, thank you for being who you are and thank you for all that you do. You really do actually make a difference in society, please keep up the good work. If you feel no one else is proud of you, know that I am.

Make the jump here to read the orginal and more

Via Daily Dharma: Treat Anger with Care

It is not easy to refrain from repressing or indulging our anger. Our challenge is to embrace it with mindfulness and genuine caring.

—Jules Shuzen Harris, “Holding Anger”

Via Daily Dharma: Listen to Your Thoughts

Listening is much more effective than trying to stop thought or cut it off. When we listen there is a different mode employed in the heart. Instead of trying to cut it off, we receive thought without making anything out of it.

—Ajahn Amaro, “Thoughts Like Dreams”

Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - September 13, 2017

When we're identified with awareness, we're no longer living in a world of polarities. Everything is present at the same time.

-- Ram Dass --

Via Daily Dharma: Dare to Connect

In order to authentically and securely connect with other human beings, first we must dare to connect with what has been consigned to the shadows.

—Josh Korda, “Why I Come Clean to Students about My Insomnia, Anxiety, and Sobriety”

Via JMG: Civil Rights Groups Pay Tribute To Edith Windsor

 

From the ACLU:

Today, we lost one of this country’s great civil rights pioneers, Edie Windsor. The wheels of progress turn forward because of people like Edie who are willing to stand up in the face of injustice. One simply cannot write the history of the gay rights movement without reserving immense credit and gratitude for Edie Windsor. We were proud to stand with Edie when she took her fight on behalf of same-sex couples everywhere to the Supreme Court. We mourn her today, as do all whom she touched in her incredible life. Edie always urged others not to ‘postpone joy.’ So even as we mourn this terrible loss, we also celebrate Edie, who set an example for all of us to follow.

From GLAAD:

Edie Windsor is a legend who changed the course of history for the better. She touched countless lives, and we at GLAAD are deeply saddened by her passing, but her kindness, compassion, and legacy will endure. LGBTQ advocates and organizations are planning a vigil for Edie outside of the Stonewall Inn in New York City tonight.

From PFLAG:

We’ve lost a lesbian national treasure, someone who committed to love and never stopped pushing for change and justice. Edie had such joy for life, and gave our community so much. I hope she felt our love for her, and that we gave back to her in the same way she gave to all of us.

From Lambda Legal:

Our hearts are with Edie’s wife, Judith Kasen-Windosr, their family, friends and all whose lives were changed because Edie so fearlessly stood up for herself and her community. She called for the respect and dignity denied to same-sex spouses, and the Supreme Court heard her plea. Because of Edie, we are a more perfect union. She left an indelible mark on all who knew her story, and all whose love is now recognized and protected because of the victory she helped secure for LGBT people. Thank you Edie. You will be remembered with deep respect and gratitude. We will miss you.

From the Civil And Human Rights Coalition:

Edie Windsor was unafraid to stand up when she knew she was being discriminated against, and ultimately, the Supreme Court agreed. Because of her bravery, the nation saw a significant leap forward for LGBTQ equality. While much work remains, the actions of courageous individuals like Edie have helped move us forward as we work towards a more perfect union. We extend our sympathies to her wife, Judith Kasen-Windsor, and all those who were touched by this amazing woman.

From the Human Rights Campaign:

Edie Windsor is a hero and civil rights icon who pushed our country closer to the promise of a more perfect union,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Future generations will learn how she faced down discrimination with courage and defiance, and boldly challenged the United States government to treat her marriage to Thea Spyer equally under the law — as our Constitution guarantees. After Edie Windsor succeeded in defeating the Defense of Marriage Act, she continued to push forward, galvanizing the support of hundreds of thousands of Americans in support of the Obergefell case before the United States Supreme Court in 2015. We join millions across the nation in mourning the loss of Edie Windsor, and share our deepest condolences with her wife, Judith Kasen-Windsor.

Make the jump here to read the original and more 

Via ADAM & ANDY / 08/21/17

Via Daily Dharma: Paying the Bills, Ethically

If we are embarking on a spiritual path, we need to live our lives ethically, and this means ensuring that we do as little harm as possible to anyone or anything while we’re earning our daily bread.

—Krishnan Venkatesh, “Why Right Livelihood Isn't Just About Your Day Job”

Via Daily Dharma: The Treasure of Hope

When we possess the treasure of hope, we can draw forth our inner potential and strength. A person of hope can always advance.

—Daisaku Ikeda, “On Hardship & Hope”

Via Ram Dass

The object of our love is love itself. It is the inner light in everyone and everything.

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Dealing with Delusion

Acknowledging our delusion is a very important step, but just to leave it at that will not suffice. There’s no greater foolishness than to spend one’s lifetime acknowledging that one is deluded and yet doing nothing whatsoever about it.

—Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, “Renunciation”

Via Daily Dharma: Trading Candy for Gold

In trading the pleasures of an ordinary life for a meditative life, you’re trading candy for gold.

—Thanissaro Bhikkhu, “Skillful Shelter”

Via Daily Dharma: Use Boredom to Your Advantage

Boredom is like having to deal with fear, anger, or indeed craving, or any other negative mental state. It is an opportunity to experience the energy that is usually drained away by distractions.

—Sangharakshita, “Staying with Boredom”

Via Daily Dharma: Be Yourself—It's Your Only Option

The only thing you really ever have to offer another person is your own state of being.

—Ram Dass, “Tuning”

Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - September 6, 2017

Do what you can on this plane to relieve suffering by constantly working on yourself to be an instrument for the cessation of suffering.

To me, that's what the emerging game is all about.

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: How Meditation Helps You Let Go

By creating a sense of background support through the calming and stilling of the mind, meditation makes possible the compassionate conditions that allow clinging to be released.

—Mark Epstein, “What Changes?”

Time for a Metta // Tempo para um Metta

I’d like you to be safe

I’d like you to be healthy

I’d like you to be happy

I’d like you to be at ease in the world

Eu gostaria que você estivesse seguro

Eu gostaria que você estivesse saudável

Eu gostaria que você estivesse feliz

Eu gostaria que você estivesse à vontade no mundo

Via Rick Heller / Secular Meditation