Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 18/02/2015

“A desconstrução do falso eu não é fácil devido ao apego que desenvolvemos por aquilo que foi construído. Quanto maior o apego, maior o sofrimento. Quando você está consciente do processo da desconstrução, e do quanto ela é positiva e necessária, a travessia se torna um pouco mais fácil. Mas, não estando consciente, você acha que está simplesmente perdendo tudo o que construiu, e sente isso como algo muito negativo. Assim o processo pode ser bastante desafiador, pois a desconstrução é permeada pelo medo: da escassez, de ficar sozinho, de não conseguir completar a travessia, de morrer, de não ver nada no lugar daquilo que está indo embora... Medo de tudo. E o medo abre portas para todos os tipos de ‘demônios’. Por isso, a compreensão a respeito desse processo é de grande valia.”

“La deconstrucción del falso yo no es fácil debido al apego que desarrollamos por aquello que fue construido. Cuanto mayor es el apego, mayor es el sufrimiento. Cuando estás consciente del proceso de deconstrucción, y de cuán positivo y necesario es, la travesía se vuelve un poco más fácil. Pero no estando consciente, crees que estás simplemente perdiendo todo lo que construiste, y sientes esto como algo muy negativo. Así el proceso puede ser bastante desafiante, porque la deconstrucción es permeada por el miedo: a la escasez, a quedarse solo, a no conseguir completar la travesía, a morir, a no ver nada en el lugar de aquello que se está yendo... Miedo de todo. Y el miedo abre las puertas a todo tipo de "demonios". Por eso, la comprensión acerca de este proceso es de gran valor.”

"Deconstructing the false self is difficult due to the attachment we develop to what this false self has created. The greater the attachment, the greater we suffer. When we are aware of the deconstruction process and that it is both positive and necessary, this passage becomes a little easier. However, when we are not aware of this process, and we think we’re simply losing everything we have built, this feels like something very negative. Consequently, the process can be quite challenging because the deconstruction is permeated by fear: the fear of scarcity, of being alone, of not completing the journey, of death, of nothing coming to replace what is going away... There is the fear of everything. This fear opens the door to all types of ‘demons.’ Therefore, comprehending this process is of great value."

Via Daily Dharma


A Feast of Dharma | February 18, 2015


All the teachings, all the words, all the sutras, are skillful means for liberating the mind, rather than statements of absolute truth. When we take words to be statements of ultimate truth, then differences of opinion will inevitably result in conflict. This is where ideological wars come from, and we see in the history of the world an endless amount of suffering because of it. But if we see the words and the teachings as different skillful means for liberating the mind, then they all become part of a great dharma feast.

- Joseph Goldstein, "One Dharma"

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Via Baha'i Inspired Clinical Counselling Services: Short Prayer for Decision

The prayer is to be recited 19 times, followed by (1) meditation on the problem, (2) the formulation of a solution, and (3) the implementation of the conceived solution:

"O my God! Thou seest me detached from everything save Thee and clinging to Thee.
Guide me then, in my doings, in a manner which profiteth me for the glory of Thy Cause and the loftiness of the state of Thy servants."
~ Baha'u'llah

"The Research Department of the Universal House of Justice has advised that the prayer... was revealed by Bahá’u’lláh to Jináb-i-Samandar [Shaykh Kázim Samandar], the father of the Hand of the Cause of God, Tarázu’lláh Samandarí, to assist him in making a difficult decision." ~ From a letter dated August 21, 2001 from the Department of the Secretariat
Short Prayer for Decision

The prayer is to be recited 19 times, followed by (1) meditation on the problem, (2) the formulation of a solution, and (3) the implementation of the conceived solution:

"O my God! Thou seest me detached from everything save Thee and clinging to Thee. 

Guide me then, in my doings, in a manner which profiteth me for the glory of Thy Cause and the loftiness of the state of Thy servants." 

~ Baha'u'llah

"The Research Department of the Universal House of Justice has advised that the prayer... was revealed by Bahá’u’lláh to Jináb-i-Samandar [Shaykh Kázim Samandar], the father of the Hand of the Cause of God, Tarázu’lláh Samandarí, to assist him in making a difficult decision." ~ From a letter dated August 21, 2001 from the Department of the Secretariat

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 17/02/2015

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
“Estamos aqui chamando pelo senhor Shiva. Quando chamamos com o coração, ele se manifesta; e quando ele se manifesta, precisamos dar conta. Porque Shiva é a consciência cósmica, mas também é o poder de transformação. Antes que a consciência cósmica possa se manifestar, é preciso transformar o que precisa ser transformado. Isso implica em um processo de desconstrução do sistema de condicionamentos e crenças, e de todas as estruturas criadas pelo falso eu - inclusive ele próprio.” 
20.01.15
OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
“Estamos aquí llamando al señor Shiva. Cuando llamamos con el corazón, él se manifiesta; y cuando él se manifiesta, precisamos percibirlo. Porque Shiva es la conciencia cósmica, pero también es el poder de transformación. Antes de que la conciencia cósmica pueda manifestarse, es necesario transformar lo que precisa ser transformado. Esto implica un proceso de deconstrucción del sistema de condicionamientos y creencias, y de todas las estructuras creadas por el falso yo - incluido él mismo.”
20.01.15


OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
“We are here calling for Lord Shiva. When we call him with our hearts, he manifests himself, and we must take account when he does so. Not only is Shiva the symbol of cosmic consciousness, but he is also the power of transformation. Before cosmic consciousness can manifest, it’s necessary to transform that which needs to be transformed. This implies a process of deconstructing our conditionings and belief systems, and all the structures created by the false ‘I’ – including the false ‘I’ itself.”

Via Daily Dharma


What Our World Needs | February 17, 2015


The path of personal transformation and the path of social transformation are not really separate from each other. We must reclaim the concept of awakening from an exclusively individualistic therapeutic model and focus on how individual liberation also requires social transformation. Engagement in the world is how our personal awakening blossoms.

- David Loy, "Awakening in the Age of Climate Change"

Monday, February 16, 2015

Via Believe Out Loud / FB:




WOOHOO! GAY COUPLE MAKES HISTORY WITH NAVY'S FIRST MAN-ON-MAN HOMECOMING KISS!!

"After a seven-month WestPac deployment, the USS San Francisco (SSN 711) submarine warship returned home to Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego yesterday. With every return comes the ceremonial "first kiss" of sailors disembarking from the vessel, and Monday's kiss was particularly notable as it was the first time ever a male same-sex couple was chosen" smile emoticon heart emoticon

Read more: http://ow.ly/J2dhk

Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 15/02/2015

“Em ambientes de crueldade, onde as forças contrárias ao Amor atuam livremente, é muito difícil sustentar a conexão. Sustentar a conexão, em outras palavras, significa sustentar a presença do amor. E o que te faz sentir-se bem é justamente o amor fluindo do seu coração. Mas, o amor não pode se expressar em um ambiente de crueldade, pois essas forças restringem sua capacidade de amar - elas fecham seu coração. Isso acontece quase como uma proteção, para a sua sobrevivência. Porque ao manter-se aberto a crueldade entra e você começa a se machucar.”
Acesse ao Satsang Completo: bit.ly/16rNZe0

“En ambientes de crueldad, donde las fuerzas contrarias al Amor actúan libremente, es muy difícil sustentar la conexión. Sustentar la conexión, en otras palabras, significa sustentar la presencia del amor. Y lo que te hace sentir bien es justamente el amor fluyendo de tu corazón. Pero el amor no puede expresarse en un ambiente de crueldad, porque esas fuerzas restringen tu capacidad de amar – ellas cierran tu corazón. Eso sucede casi como una protección para tu supervivencia. Porque al mantenerte abierto, la crueldad entra y tú comienzas a lastimarte.”

"In cruel environments where the forces opposing love reign freely, it’s very difficult to maintain our connection by sustaining the presence of love. What makes us feel good is feeling love flowing from our heart. However, love cannot express itself in a cruel environment because these forces restrict our ability to love, and they close our heart. This happens almost like a protection mechanism for our own survival. If we remain open, the cruelty enters and we begin to get hurt.”

Via Daily Dharma


The Buddha's Footprint | February 16, 2015


Buddhism is generally conceived as the environmental religion par excellence. Yet, as scholars have shown over the past 20 years, the development of eco-Buddhism is a modern one. In many ways it is also an inversion of the classic orientalist paradigm whereby the West is male, active, and practical while the East is feminine, passive, and intuitive. And while this binary opposition was often utilized to explain and justify Western domination in both practice and theory, it was also the case that the dynamic of the framework could be flipped.

- Johan Elverskog, "The Buddha's Footprint"

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Via BNR LGBT / FB:


If you haven't already, sign for LGBT marriage equality! 38 down, 12 more states to go: http://actionsprout.io/C345D4


Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 15/02/2015

“Em ambientes de crueldade, onde as forças contrárias ao Amor atuam livremente, é muito difícil sustentar a conexão. Sustentar a conexão, em outras palavras, significa sustentar a presença do amor. E o que te faz sentir-se bem é justamente o amor fluindo do seu coração. Mas, o amor não pode se expressar em um ambiente de crueldade, pois essas forças restringem sua capacidade de amar - elas fecham seu coração. Isso acontece quase como uma proteção, para a sua sobrevivência. Porque ao manter-se aberto a crueldade entra e você começa a se machucar.”
Acesse ao Satsang Completo: bit.ly/16rNZe0

“En ambientes de crueldad, donde las fuerzas contrarias al Amor actúan libremente, es muy difícil sustentar la conexión. Sustentar la conexión, en otras palabras, significa sustentar la presencia del amor. Y lo que te hace sentir bien es justamente el amor fluyendo de tu corazón. Pero el amor no puede expresarse en un ambiente de crueldad, porque esas fuerzas restringen tu capacidad de amar – ellas cierran tu corazón. Eso sucede casi como una protección para tu supervivencia. Porque al mantenerte abierto, la crueldad entra y tú comienzas a lastimarte.”

"In cruel environments where the forces opposing love reign freely, it’s very difficult to maintain our connection by sustaining the presence of love. What makes us feel good is feeling love flowing from our heart. However, love cannot express itself in a cruel environment because these forces restrict our ability to love, and they close our heart. This happens almost like a protection mechanism for our own survival. If we remain open, the cruelty enters and we begin to get hurt.”
- Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma


Meditative Thinking | February 15, 2015


The work of meditative thinking is a collaboration between these two natures—the seer that remembers and the seen that always forgets. As in rowing, if you pull more on one oar than the other, you go round in circles, and, as in rowing, all I can see is what I have passed as I press forward toward a point that is hidden behind me.

- Carl Lehmann-Haupt, "The Path of Writing"

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 14/02/2015

“Quando o buscador chega, inicio um trabalho de cura para tratar das suas feridas emocionais e purificar seu coração das mazelas do passado. Esse trabalho continua até que ele possa se harmonizar com seu passado e se libertar dele, ou seja, até que ele possa olhar para trás e verdadeiramente agradecer por absolutamente tudo que aconteceu na sua vida. Nesse momento, ele estará pronto para renascer no espírito. Na verdade, é nesse ponto que a jornada espiritual realmente inicia. Porque até então era um trabalho psicoespiritual de cura e transformação da natureza inferior.”
“Cuando el buscador llega, inicio un trabajo de cura para tratar sus heridas emocionales y purificar su corazón de los males del pasado. Ese trabajo continúa hasta que pueda armonizarse con su pasado y se libere de él, o sea, hasta que pueda mirar para atrás y verdaderamente agradecer por absolutamente todo lo que sucedió en su vida. En ese momento, estará listo para renacer en el espíritu. En verdad, es en ese punto que el camino espiritual realmente inicia. Porque hasta entonces era un trabajo psicoespiritual de cura y transformación de la naturaleza inferior.”

"When the seeker arrives, a healing work begins to address one’s emotional wounds and to purify the heart’s ailments from the past. This work continues until one can be in harmony with one’s past and be liberated from it; until one can look back and truly be thankful for absolutely everything that has happened in one’s life. At this moment, one is ready to be reborn in spirit. In fact, this is when the spiritual journey actually begins. Everything up until this point was merely a psychospiritual work of healing and transforming one’s lower nature."
- Sri Prem Baba

Via JMG: From Alabama's Largest Newspaper


 
The Birmingham News has been absolutely relentless in their supportive coverage of Alabama's marriage battle and one of the stars of that coverage has been cartoonist JD Crowe. Hit the link for a slideshow of Crowe's work about Judge Roy Moore.


Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Antonin Scalia: Don't Paint Me As Anti-Gay



 
"The issue of gay rights, on abortion, on many of the issues in which Ruth’s opinions and mine differ does not pertain to the substance. It doesn’t pertain to whether gay people ought to have those rights or whether there ought to be a constitutional right or a right to an abortion. That isn’t the issue. The issue is who decides. That’s all. I don’t have any public views on any of those things. The point is who decides? Should these decisions be made by the Supreme Court without any text in the Constitution or any history in the Constitution to support imposing on the whole country or is it a matter left to the people? But don’t paint me as anti-gay or anti-abortion or anything else. All I’m doing on the Supreme Court is opining about who should decide."  
 
- Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, speaking last night at the George Washington University event where Ruth Bader Ginsburg made her "not 100% sober" comment.


Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: March Issue Of Texas Monthly




Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: OREGON: Democratic Gov. John Kizhaber Resigns In Scandal Over His Fiance, Successor Kate Brown Is Openly Bisexual



 
Via Bloomberg:
Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber’s almost four-decade political career fell apart Friday, as he heeded calls from fellow Democrats to resign after a scandal involving his fiancee’s use of his office to generate business for her energy-consulting firm. Kitzhaber, a 67-year-old re-elected to a fourth term in November, announced his departure in a news release. Secretary of State Kate Brown, also a Democrat, will assume the office until 2016.
Oregon's now governor-to-be Kate Brown is married to a man and is openly bisexual, which will make her the first openly LGBT governor in American history. Unless you count former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevy, which you shouldn't.



Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Daily Dharma


Dharma Dating | February 14, 2015


As human beings, we’re hardwired for connection. Of course, our practice helps us dissolve the illusion of a separate self and know that we are supported in every breath by the whole universe. But at the same time, it’s also good to feel supported by a real live person who actually cares that we had a bad day, that the kids were brats, that the boss was a tyrant, that the computer kept crashing, that we failed to solve our koan.

- Anne Cushman, "Fifteen Weeks of Dharma Dating"

Friday, February 13, 2015

Flor do Dia - Flor del Día - Flower of the Day - 13/02/2015

“Ao praticar técnicas sexuais com várias pessoas diferentes você acaba criando situações perigosas. Isso porque você amplia seu poder e magnetismo, o que deixa seu ego mais robusto e astuto. E o principal poder que você desenvolve é o poder de manipulação. Mas porque você quer ter esse poder? Você quer manipular o outro para ter domínio sobre ele e para fugir de si mesmo. Ter domínio sobre uma pessoa não é diferente de ter um carro novo ou de ter bastante dinheiro na conta bancária – tudo agrega valor à falsa ideia de quem é você. No mais profundo, você está em busca de uma identidade; está tentando suprir uma carência.” 
Acesse ao Satsang Completo: bit.ly/prembaba01
“Al practicar técnicas sexuales con varias personas diferentes terminas creando situaciones peligrosas. Porque amplías tu poder y magnetismo, lo que deja a tu ego más robusto y astuto. Y el principal poder que desarrollas es el poder de manipulación. ¿Pero porqué quieres tener ese poder? Quieres manipular al otro para tener dominio sobre él y para huir de ti mismo. Tener dominio sobre una persona no es distinto de tener un auto nuevo o de tener bastante dinero en la cuenta bancaria – todo agrega valor a la falsa idea de quien eres tú. En lo más profundo, estás en búsqueda de una identidad, estás intentando suplir una carencia.”

"Practicing sexual techniques with many different people can end up creating dangerous situations. One may increase one’s power and allure, which makes the ego more robust and cunning, but the main power that develops is manipulation. Why would one want to have this power? In order to manipulate the other and dominate them, while avoiding looking at oneself. Having dominion over the other is no different than having a new car, or having a lot of money in one’s bank account. Everything adds value to the false idea of who we are. On a deeper level, one is seeking an identity, and this is an attempt to compensate for a neediness."
- Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma


Tasting Buddhanature | February 13, 2015


Being told about buddhanature but never really making it our personal experience will not help anything. It's like staying hungry. Once we put the food in our mouth, we discover what the food tastes like.

- Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, "As the Clouds Vanish"