Friday, October 31, 2014

Via Daily Dharma


Fearlessness | October 31, 2014

The fearlessness of the great spiritual teachers like Moses, Jesus, Saint Theresa, Buddha, and Bodhidharma was the fearlessness of the spiritual warrior. Different from stoicism, naïveté, or arrogance, this fearlessness is selfless, generous, and compassionate. Fearlessness is not a matter of ignoring fear, but of really acknowledging it and being empowered by it. 
 
- John Daido Loori Roshi, "Between Two Mountains" 
 

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Via JMG: Satan's Favorite City Wins World Series


 
UPDATE: JMG reader Kned sends us a photo from the celebration in the Castro.

 
UPDATE II: Another Kned photo, this time from the Mission.



Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Tim Cook: I'm Proud To Be Gay


 
"While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven’t publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me. Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day. It’s made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It’s been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It’s also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you’re the CEO of Apple." - Tim Cook, coming out formally at last in an essay published by Business Week.


Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Tweet Of The Day





Reposted from  Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Sen. Ted Cruz: Being Gay Is Tim Cook's Personal Choice But I Love My iPhone


The Hill reports on Sen. Ted Cruz' reaction to today's coming out by Apple CEO Tim Cook:
"Those are his personal choices. I’ll tell you, I love my iPhone," Cruz said. "Listen, Tim Cook makes his personal decisions, and that is his life. My focus is on the constitutional question of who has the authority to make decisions," he later added. Cruz said that marriage is a "question for the states" because of the country's federalist system. "This is something we’ve seen over and over again, which is the federal government and federal courts deciding they don’t trust the people," Cruz said. "They look down on the people, they don’t trust us to make judgments about our own lives, so the federal government and federal courts are going to step in and impose their own policy preferences."

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Bill Clinton Congratulates Tim Cook




Reposted from Joe Jervis

Flower of the Day: 10/30/14

“Sometimes one needs to withdraw. When we are going through a healing process and doing a self-study, we need to sustain a prayer field. If we go out into the world, we may get identified and fall, so we must allow ourselves to be alone for some time. At some point, we must also go back out into the world and relate to others. The key here is being prepared to give of ourselves and wanting others to be happy. The question is whether or not we are able to embark on a higher level of study by being a channel of generosity, sharing our silence and love with others – even if they don’t know it.”
 
Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma


The Right Pitch | October 30, 2014

Cultivating skillful effort, we learn to distinguish the 'right' amount of effort. Not too little. Not too much. Just right. In tune. When we find the right pitch, our practice flourishes. 
 
- Peter Doobinin, "Skillful Effort" 
 

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Via Dialy Dharma


Humanized Once More | October 29, 2014

We must realize that modern civilization is thoroughly oriented towards dehumanizing humanity in every possible way; that is to say, we are fast turning into robots or statues with no human souls. Our task is to get humanized once more. 
 
- D. T. Suzuki, "Humanized Once More" 
 

Flower of the Day: 10/29/14

“You can only renounce what you already have. It is not possible to give up something you don’t have. Renunciation needs to be truthful; otherwise, when you are facing the ocean you may look back and see that you still want to be a river. You don’t want to give up certain things because you are stuck in your need to be recognized and loved. You don’t want to give up your story, your name or your body. This process brings you to the source of the inner split where there are two opposing forces acting inside of you. It is precisely this tug-of-war that causes suffering.”
 
Sri Prem Baba

Via JMG: Together - We Are Stronger | Moovz

Via press release:

People from all around the world took part in the gay selfie project released by the global gay social network Moovz. This project was meant to show the faces of the global gay community, with people from different cultures, with different colors, appearance and races and that speaks different languages. From South to North America and from Europe to as far as Asia - people uploaded their pictures and agreed to be exposed in order to send a message to the world and prove how united is the global gay community. This is probably the first time that gays from all around the world did something together to send a message that empowers their whole community. Many gay influencers also took part in this project, such as Amanda Lepore, Davey Wavey, Chris Salvatore, Colby Melvin, Matthew Lush, Willam Belli and many other global and local gay leaders from different regions who are following this initiative that gathered the entire gay community into one place.



Apple CEO Tim Cook Speaks at Alabama Academy of Honor induction


Alice in WeHoLand - a public safety announcement


Via JMG: Michael Stipe On 20 Years Of Being Out

"In 1994, most people had a largely binary perception of sexuality – the message was complicated for them. I am thrilled to see how much this has changed in those 20 years. The 21st century has provided all of us, recent generations particularly, with a clearer idea of the breadth of fluidity with which sexuality and identity presents itself in each individual. Gender identification, and the panoply of sexuality and identity are now topics that are more easily and more widely discussed, debated and talked about openly. It’s thrilling to see progressive change shift perceptions so quickly.

"What I feel we have arrived at with all this, is that queerness – as I am happy to call an all-embracing, foundational tenet – is really a state of mind brought about by an understanding: it is understanding difference, accepting your own truth, desire and identity, and lovely, lovely choice. It is the final, completely obvious contemporary acceptance and understanding that this enormous world of beauty, sexuality, identity, lust, feeling, excitement, and love isn’t just black and white, or simple, at all – it is literally every shade and gradation of the rainbow. It doesn’t just lie in one of two camps. It includes accepting and supporting positions that you may not even completely understand; and to arrive at that conviction is so, so beautiful, and to quote my great friend Casey Legler: 'Fierce!'

"These 20 years of publicly speaking my truth have made me a better and easier person to be around. It helped develop the clarity of my voice and establish who I would be as an adult. I am proud to be who I am, and I am happy to have shared that with the world." 


- REM frontman Michael Stipe, in an essay for the Guardian. Next month REM will release an 11-disc vinyl box set collection of its singles, titled 7IN – 83–88, which will include reproductions of all their IRS Records singles from those years, including the original sleeve art. (Tipped by JMG reader Mike)


Reposted from Joe Jervis

Please Don't Vote - A Message From The Republican Party


Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Via Qwerty: Church Sends Terrible Letter To Gay Congregant. He Responds Like A Pro.

The Presbyterian Church in America has a clear stance on homosexuality. Basically, it’s a sin. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

But even their tired beliefs don’t explain the way one church treated a member of its congregation after they discovered he is gay.

The churchgoer — Justin — was outed by a trusted church official, and discovered a lengthy and insulting letter sitting in his mailbox one day.

“Regretfully it has come to our attention that you have been engaging in a homosexual lifestyle,” it begins, only continuing downhill from there.

He’s told he must defend himself at a special hearing. Instead, he replied with the perfect rebuttal.

“What was my crime? I loved. I was loved. I am capable of love. It is abundantly and sadly clear that you do not understand this,” he writes in his response.

Here’s the letter he got from the church, followed by his response:

jpeg
jpeg-1
jpeg-2
jpeg-3
And here’s Justin’s response:
jpeg-4
jpeg-5
jpeg-6

h/t Gay Star News

http://www.queerty.com/church-sends-terrible-letter-to-gay-congregant-he-responds-like-a-pro-20141028

Via Canal Brasil / FB:

A partir do dia 13/11, às 23h30, o jornalista e professor Jean Wyllys reforça o time do Canal Brasil!

No 'Cinema Em Outras Cores' ele propõe uma reflexão sobre a diversidade sexual e a descriminalização das drogas através do cinema, apresentando e discutindo polêmicos curta-metragens.

http://bit.ly/OutrasCores

Via Mystic Medusa / FB:


Flower of the Day: 10/28/14

“Life is cyclical. One moment you are on the crest of the wave, the next you are in the trough. Then you are up on the crest again and soon after you come back down. That’s how it is. There are warm sunny days and there are cold rainy days; there are white clouds and dark clouds, but they always pass by. If you observe the clouds without becoming identified with them, you will find the way out of the labyrinth of suffering and you won’t get caught in it anymore.”
 
Sri Prem Baba