Revoked

Friday, September 30, 2016

Via Lion's Roar: The Best of Thich Nhat Hanh: Life, Teachings, Quotes, and Books

by Lion's Roar Staff| July 18, 2016

Photo by Duc.

The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.
-Thich Nhat Hanh

“We gauge the greatness of spiritual teachers by the depth, breadth, and impact of their teachings, and by the example their lives set for us. By all these measures, Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the leading spiritual masters of our age,” writes Lion’s Roar editor-in-chief Melvin McLeod in his introduction to The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh. In his 89 years, Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh has made a global impact as a teacher, author, activist, and the founder of the Engaged Buddhism movement. His simple yet deeply profound teachings aim to lead students towards a life of mindfulness, joy, and peace—a life that benefits the planet, and all beings.

The Life of Thich Nhat Hanh

Early Life

Thich Nhat Hanh, (now affectionately referred to as “Thay” by his students), was born Nguyen Xuan Bao in central Vietnam in October of 1926. Interested in Buddhism from an early age, he entered the monastery at Tu Hieu Temple in Vietnam at sixteen and worked with his primary teacher, Zen master Thanh Quy Chan That. In 1949, Nhat Hanh, then 23, was ordained as a monk after receiving training in Vietnamese traditions of Mahayana Buddhism and Vietnamese Thien Buddhism.

Nhat Hanh became editor-in-chief of the periodical created by the Unified Vietnam Buddhist Association, Vietnamese Buddhism. He went on to begin his activist work, founding La Boi Press and the Van Hanh Buddhist University in Saigon. Nhat Hanh also founded the School of Youth for Social Service, a neutral corps of Buddhist peaceworkers who established schools, built healthcare clinics, and rebuilt villages in rural areas.

Dr. Martin Luther King announcing that he had nominated Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize. Image via public domain.

Dr. Martin Luther King and Thich Nhat Hanh. Image: public domain.

The Vietnam War and Engaged Buddhism

Nhat Hanh studied comparative religion at Princeton University in 1960 and was subsequently appointed a lecturer in Buddhism at Columbia University. He had become fluent in English, Japanese, Chinese, Sanskrit, Pali, and English. In 1963, he returned to Vietnam in 1963 to continue initiating nonviolent peace efforts.

The founding of the Engaged Buddhism movement was his response to the Vietnam War. Nhat Hanh’s mission was to engage with suffering caused by war and injustice and to create a new strain of Buddhism that could save his country. In the formative years of the Engaged Buddhism movement, Nhat Hanh met Cao Ngoc Phuong, who would later become Sister Chang Kong. She hoped to arise activism for the poor in the Buddhist community, working closely with Nhat Hanh to do so. She remains his closest disciple and collaborator to this day.

Three years later, Nhat Hanh returned to the U.S. to lead a symposium at Cornell University on Vietnamese Buddhism. There, he met with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and requested that King denounce the Vietnam War publicly to his large following. Dr. King granted the request in the following year with a speech that questioned America’s involvement in the war. Soon after, he nominated Nhat Hanh for a Nobel Peace Prize. “I do not personally know of anyone more worthy of [the prize] than this gentle monk from Vietnam. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity,” he wrote.

Photo by Duc.

Nhat Hanh served as the delegate for the Buddhist Peace Delegation at the Paris Peace talks in 1969, and the Paris Peace Accords were later signed in 1973. Nhat Hanh was exiled from Vietnam after these events and remained in France, a turn of events that deeply hurt the monk, and would keep him from his birthplace for many years to come.

Establishing the Order of Interbeing

Today, Nhat Hanh heads the Order of Interbeing, a monastic and lay group that he’d founded in 1966. In 1969, he founded the Unified Buddhist Church, and later in 1975, formed the Sweet Potatoes Meditation Center southeast of Paris, France. As the center grew in popularity, Nhat Hanh and Sister Chan Khong founded Plum Village, a vihara (Buddhist monastery) and Zen center, in the South of France in 1982. Both Nhat Hanh and Sister Chan Khong reside at Plum Village today. The center is open to the public for much of the year and houses retreats that see people traveling from across the globe to attend. Additionally, many dharma centers across the U.S. have been established as part the Order of Interbeing.

Returning to Vietnam

After many negotiations, the Vietnamese government allowed Nhat Hanh to return to Vietnam for a visit in 2005. He was able to teach, publish four books in Vietnamese, travel the country, and return to his root temple. Although his first trip home stirred controversy, Nhat Hanh was allowed to return again in 2007 to support new monastics in his Order, organize chanting ceremonies to help heal remaining wounds from the Vietnam War, and to lead retreats in his birth country.

Photo by Velcrow Ripper.

Thich Nhat Hanh’s Health

Nhat Hanh suffered a brain hemorrhage in November 2014. He was taken to a stroke rehabilitation clinic at Bordeaux University Hospital, where he was able to recover enough to enjoy sipping tea outdoors and listen to the sounds of the outside world. As of June 2015, Nhat Hanh continues to reside at Plum Village, where his health has made remarkable process and he is able to enjoy being “out in nature, enjoying the blossoms, listening to the birds and resting at the foot of a tree.”

Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings on meditation

Thich Nhat Hanh on How to Sit

Thich Nhat Hanh’s incredibly simple instructions for meditation.

Thich Nhat Hanh on Walking Meditation

The practice of mindful walking, says Thich Nhat Hanh, is a profound and pleasurable way to deepen our connection with our body and the earth. We breathe, take a mindful step, and come back to our true home.

Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings on love

Growing Together

Thich Nhat Hanh shows us how we can use loving relationships to cultivate the seeds of buddhahood inside us.

After the Honeymoon

Falling in love is easy, but staying in love takes work. Thich Nhat Hanh offers advice for cultivating a relationship that’s loving and strong.

Transforming Anger Into Love

Thich Nhat Hanh offers advice on using mindfulness to take care of your anger, and ultimately transform it into love and understanding.

Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings on mindfulness

Five Mindfulness Trainings

The five mindfulness trainings are an expression of the five precepts, the core of Buddhist ethics, and offer a down-to-earth method of practicing mindfulness in daily life.

Thich Nhat Hanh on The Practice of Mindfulness

It is such a simple practice, but it can transform your life. The great meditation master Thich Nhat Hanh teaches five mindfulness exercises to help you live with happiness and joy.

The Moment is Perfect

There is nothing we experience—from the simple act of eating to the complications of work and relationships—that we cannot approach with the mindfulness and compassion we develop in our meditation.

Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings on peace and happiness

5 Practices for Nurturing Happiness

A teaching from Thich Nhat Hanh’s book, No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering.

Happiness in Every Breath

When we stop feeding our cravings, says Thich Nhat Hanh, we discover that we already have everything we need to be happy.

There is no path to peace. The path is peace.

Thich Nhat Hanh, in his 2003 address to congress, says that only deep listening, mindfulness, and gentle communication can remove the wrong perceptions that are the foundation of violence.

Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings on Buddhist philosophy

Photo by Paul Davis.

The Practice of Sangha

Thich Nhat Hanh explains that sangha is more than a community. It’s a deep spiritual practice.

The Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism

Number one? “Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth.”

The Fullness of Emptiness

Emptiness is not something to be afraid of, says Thich Nhat Hanh. The Heart Sutra teaches us that form may be empty of self but it’s full of everything else.

The Four Layers of Consciousness

Abhidharma, Buddhism’s map of the mind, is sometimes treated as a topic of merely intellectual interest. In fact, says Thich Nhat Hanh, identifying the different elements of consciousness, and understanding how they interact, is essential to our practice of meditation.

The Practice of Looking Deeply Using Three Dharma Seals

Thich Nhat Hanh teaches that by looking deeply we develop insight into impermanence and no self. These are the keys to the door of reality.

Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings on saving the Earth

The World We Have

Only when we combine our concern for the planet with spiritual practice will we have the tools to make the profound personal transformations necessary to address the coming environmental crisis. Thich Nhat Hanh offers us the guiding principles for a new ecospirituality of mindful living.

Earth Gathas

Gathas help us to practice mindfulness in our daily lives and to look deeply. Reciting these short verses will bring awareness, peace, and joy to simple activities. Thich Nhat Hanh offers gathas for recycling, touching the earth, and more.

Wake Up to the Revolution

Only when we recognize our connectedness to the earth, says Thich Nhat Hanh, can real change begin.

Thich Nhat Hanh interviews and profiles

Photo by David Nelson.

Profile: The Plum Village Tradition in America

A 2011 Buddhadharma: The Practioner’s Quarterly community profile.

In Engaged Buddhism, Peace Begins with You

Thich Nhat Hanh, who originated Engaged Buddhism, in an interview with John Malkin.

Peace in Every Step

Thich Nhat Hanh’s life of courage and compassion.

You Don’t Need to Be Buddhist

Thich Nhat Hanh explains how anyone can use the five mindfulness trainings to lead a life of understanding and compassion.

Be Beautiful, Be Yourself

Andrea Miller’s exclusive interview with Thich Nhat Hanh.

Thich Nhat Hanh quotes

The ocean of suffering is immense, but if you turn around, you can see the land.

We have to walk in a way that we only print peace and serenity on the Earth. Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves — slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.

We really have to understand the person we want to love. If our love is only a will to possess, it is not love. If we only think of ourselves, if we know only our own needs and ignore the needs of the other person, we cannot love.

The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms.

Thich Nhat Hanh’s calligraphy

Thich Nhat Hanh began creating calligraphy in 1994 and views his work as a meditative practice. It is estimated that he has created around 10,000 works of calligraphy. Much of his mindful art has been sold to raise funds for his many global humanitarian projects.
In this video from Blue Cliff Monastery, Thich Nhat Hanh describes his “calligraphic meditation” process. Below, you’ll find some of his most loved calligraphies.

Prints of Thich Nhat Hanh’s calligraphy can be purchased in the Lion’s Roar online store.

Books by Thich Nhat Hanh

Peace is Every Breath: A Practice for Our Busy Lives

HarperOne
“You have lots of work to do, and you like doing it,” says Thich Nhat Hanh at the beginning of Peace Is Every Breath. “But working too much, taking care of so many things, tires you out. You want to practice meditation, so you can be more relaxed and have more peace, happiness, and joy in your life. But you don’t have time for daily mediation practice.” If this describes your situation, Peace Is Every Breath will be an excel- lent resource. It offers anecdotes, meditations, and advice on connecting with your present experience without putting your life on hold. Thich Nhat Hanh explains: “It isn’t necessary to set aside a certain period exclusively for ‘Spiritual Practice’ with a capital S and a capital P. Our spiritual practice can be there at any moment, as we cultivate the energy of mindfulness and concentration.”

FEAR: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm

HarperOne
In Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm, Thich Nhat Hanh addresses the role mindfulness can play in letting go of our fears. We are afraid of being powerless, he teaches. But if we live in the present moment—if we have mindfulness—we will have the power to look deeply at our fears and understand their source. At that point, fear will no longer control us and we will touch the ultimate joy. We’ll realize that right now we’re okay. Our eyes can see the beauty of the sky and our ears can hear the voices of the people we love.

Making Space: Creating a Home Meditation Practice

Parallax Press
Peaceful places create peace in our minds and bodies. “That is the intention of sacred space,” it says in the introduction of this new release. “But we don’t need to wait until we can find a church, temple, mosque, synagogue, or other space designed for sacred contemplation… If we make a space for contemplation and meditation right in our own homes, then peace and joy are always available to us.” In Making Space, Thich Nhat Hanh begins with the how-tos of stopping, breathing, and sitting. Then he delves into the importance of creating a “breathing room” or “breathing corner,” a calm place at home that you can go to when you’re feeling uneasy, sad, or angry, and thereby come back to yourself. Later chapters explore topics such as how to invite the bell, how to make an altar, and how to make your bed a real place of rest and relaxation.

Love Letter to the Earth

Parallax Press
Environmental activists get a bad rap for being dour. Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, however, is anything but. Instead of finger-pointing and calling for austerity, his solution to our environmental crisis is mindfulness. Through mindfulness, he says, we realize that the Earth is not simply the ground beneath our feet—we are the Earth. Every cell in our body comes from the Earth and is part of it. “We are a living, breathing manifestation of this beautiful and generous planet,” he says. When we know this, we fall completely in love with the Earth, and as with anything we love, we naturally do whatever we can to take care of it. I particularly appreciate Thich Nhat Hanh’s heartfelt description of seeing for the first time photos of the Earth taken from space. He saw a glowing jewel and recognized the Earth’s fragility. “Dear Earth,” he thought, “I didn’t know that you are so beautiful. I see you in me. I see me myself in you.”

The Blooming of a Lotus

Beacon Press
Thich Nhat Hanh offers guided exercises to bring practitioners into greater harmony with themselves and their world. The text includes music to aid our memories in helping us learn simple principles. The many meditations focus on guiding sentences that glide along with the breath.This revised edition includes five new meditations: They show us how mindful consumption and mindful actions can help prevent suffering and water the seeds of compassion; how to be in touch with our Buddha nature; and how to see our parents more deeply. These meditations will deepen the practice of advanced practitioners, as well as start beginners on the path.

How to Eat

Parallax Press
While some monastic communities de-emphasize food in favor of focusing wholly on the spiritual, Thich Nhat Hanh’s community considers food central to practice. “In the Catholic tradition, in the Eucharist,” Thich Nhat Hanh says, “you see the piece of bread as the body of Jesus. In the Buddhist tradition, we see the piece of bread as the body of the cosmos.” When we mindfully savor each bite, we understand that in bread there’s the sun and rain, the soil and compost, the farmer and baker, because without any one of them there’d be no bread. So, when we eat mindfully, we feel nourished by and connected to the universe. We also become more aware of own bodies and emotions and, thus, naturally eat in moderation, leading to better health. Moreover, mindful eating is a powerful tool for social change. In deeply contemplating our food we find ourselves inspired to advocate for best-farming practices and/or take action on behalf of the world’s hungry. How to Eat is a concise and cheerful guide to mindful cooking, serving meals, eating, and washing the dishes.

A Handful of Quiet: Happiness in Four Pebbles

Plum Blossom Books
For many years, Thich Nhat Hanh has been teaching pebble practice to give children and their families a tangible way to return to their breath and connect with the world around them. A Handful of Quiet is a lovingly illustrated book that brings this meditation to life. All you’ll need to practice it is a quiet spot and four ordinary pebbles. Each represents a different image embodying a particular quality. You can certainly choose your own images and qualities, but in Nhat Hanh’s classic version pebble one represents the freshness and beauty of a flower, while pebble two represents the solidity of a mountain. Pebble three represents the reflectivity of calm water and pebble four, the freedom of space. Breathing in and out, you pick up each pebble in turn and in your mind’s eye see yourself as the respective image. If you’re holding the flower pebble, for instance, you see yourself as a flower in the garden of humanity. Connecting with your inner flower, you know that you are fresh, pleasant, and lovable.

Answers From the Heart

Parallax Press
Thich Nhat Hanh gives simple Buddhist advice in response to some everyday questions. The slim volume is divided into seven chapters on topics such as family and relationships, religious practice, engaged Buddhism, and illness and death. It also includes a section on children’s questions about Buddhism. The book’s questions, for the most part, are broadly posed, and the answers tend toward general affirmations of the value of compassionate listening and respect. Yet Thich Nhat Hanh does not neglect issues that often challenge other teachers, such as abortion and homosexuality (“If you are a lesbian, be a lesbian”), and his steadfast insistence that peace and mindfulness are a practical part of the response to any situation is both reassuring and convincing.

About Lion's Roar Staff

Lion's Roar is the website of Lion's Roar magazine (formerly the Shambhala Sun) and Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, with exclusive Buddhist news, teachings, art, and commentary. Sign up for the Lion's Roar weekly newsletter and follow Lion's Roar on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest.

Via Occupy Democrats / FB:

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 30/09/16

“Muitas vezes, o primeiro vislumbre de Deus é uma grande escuridão. Porque quando você bate na porta da Verdade, as máscaras começam a cair, e você inevitavelmente precisa entrar em contato com os sentimentos negados que até então estavam escondidos por trás delas. Trata-se de uma passagem difícil, mas extremamente necessária. Algumas linhas de conhecimento espiritual, tratam esses sentimentos como ilusão (e talvez seja isso mesmo), mas para que possa compreender e se libertar deles, primeiro você precisa tratá-los como algo concreto e real.”

“Muchas veces, el primer vislumbre de Dios es una gran oscuridad. Porque cuando golpeas la puerta de la Verdad, las máscaras comienzan a caerse, e inevitablemente necesitas entrar en contacto con los sentimientos negados que hasta entonces estaban escondidos por atrás de ellas.Se trata de un pasaje difícil, pero extremadamente necesario. Algunas líneas de conocimiento espiritual, tratan a estos sentimientos como ilusión (y tal vez realmente sea así), pero para que puedas comprender y liberarte de ellos, primero precisas tratarlos como algo concreto y real.”

“Often, the first glimpse of God is a great darkness. Because when we knock on the door of truth, the masks begin to fall, and we inevitably need to come into contact with denied feelings that until now were hidden behind them. It is a difficult journey, but an extremely necessary one. Some spiritual schools treat these feelings as an illusion, which maybe they are, but in order to understand and become free of them, we must first treat them as though they were concrete and real.”

Via Daily Dharma / September 30, 2016: Zen Ethics of Circumstance

The source of ethical conduct is found in the way things are, circumstance itself: unfiltered immediate reality reveals what is needed.

—Lin Jensen, "An Ear to the Ground"

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Hillary Clinton released her plan to protect and expand rights for the LGBT community. Here’s what you need to know.

Here’s what you need to know.

Hillary is right: “Gay rights are human rights.” Period.

While Republicans are attempting to roll back LGBT rights, Hillary’s moving forward—because even though marriage equality is now the law of the land, we still have a lot of work to do to ensure that all LGBT Americans are treated equally under the law.
Hillary has a plan to strengthen LGBT rights as president. Here’s what she’ll do, and why it matters.

Hillary Clinton released her plan to protect and expand rights for the LGBT community.

In 31 states, people can get married on a Sunday—and then are at risk of being fired because of their sexual orientation on Monday. We cannot allow discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to go unchecked in this country.
Hillary has called on Congress to pass the Equality Act, and also supports efforts underway in the courts and in the federal government to clarify that discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation is a form of illegal sex discrimination. She will not stop fighting until we secure full equality for LGBT Americans.

Conversion therapy is the harmful practice of trying to “cure” LGBT and gender-questioning young people. We should be providing LGBT kids with love, support, and compassion—not trying to change their identities.
Hillary will support efforts in Congress and the states to end conversion therapy for minors.

We have to address the growing crisis of violence against transgender Americans.
This year, at least 22 transgender women—primarily, women of color—have been murdered. And that doesn’t take into account the violence that goes unreported or ignored. People should not have to live in fear because of who they are. Hillary will work with the Department of Justice and the FBI to gather better data on these hate crimes, so that we have more information about this violence—and can put a stop to it.

Being a good parent has nothing to do with sexual orientation or gender identity. Yet adoption by same-sex couples remains illegal in Mississippi, and even in states where adoption is technically legal, LGBT individuals still face discrimination.
This is not only unfair to would-be parents, but also hurts the hundreds of thousands of children in foster care, who are ready to become part of loving families. Hillary will urge Congress to pass the Every Child Deserves a Family Act, a law that would prohibit federally funded child welfare agencies from discriminating against potential foster or adoptive families because of sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.

Studies have shown that pre-exposure prophylaxis (also know as PrEP) is incredibly effective at preventing HIV infection when used as directed.
Hillary will make sure that at-risk communities—including transgender individuals and black men who have sex with men (MSM)—have access to PrEP, by increasing the government’s investment in building awareness of and access to the drug.

Earlier this year, Republicans in Congress failed to renew the Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act, which provided federal funding for homeless prevention resources, emergency shelters, street outreach, transitional living, and rural assistance.
A disproportionate number of homeless youth are LGBT, and many of them feel like they don’t have anywhere to turn. Hillary will work with Congress to to ensure adequate funding—and safe, welcoming shelter—for homeless youth.

The stakes for LGBT rights are high in this election.

Republican presidential candidates seem determined to undo the progress our nation has made. Every top-tier Republican presidential candidate opposes marriage equality—and Marco Rubio has even suggested he would appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn it. They’ve gone on the record against anti-discrimination protections for the LGBT community, and some even oppose LGBT couples adopting.

We’ve celebrated huge gains for the LGBT community in recent years. Now we must work together to protect our progress and make sure we have more to celebrate in the years to come—not hand over the Oval Office to someone who will turn back the clock on LGBT equality.

Check out the original and more here

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 29/09/16

“A autorrealização ou iluminação espiritual é um processo de integração e harmonização com todas as partes, dentro e fora de nós. É um desmanchar dos muros que geram a separação. Um coração puro não tem barreiras. E purificar o coração significa derrubar as barreiras e muros que criamos para nos proteger, pois estes também são os muros que nos aprisionam.”

“La autorealizacióno iluminación espiritual es un proceso de integración y armonización con todas las partes, dentro y fuera de nosotros. Es derrumbarlos murosque generan separación. Un corazón puro no tiene barreras. Y purificar el corazón significaderrumbar las barreras y muros que hemos creado para protegernos, pues tambiénestosson los muros que nos aprisionan.”

“Self-realization or spiritual enlightenment is a process of integrating and harmonizing with all parts, both within and outside of us. It is a dismantling of the walls that create separation. A pure heart has no barriers. To purify the heart means to tear down the barriers and the walls that we create in order to protect ourselves, which are the walls that imprison us, as well.”

Via Daily Dharma / September 29, 2016: The Patchwork Self

The defining teaching of the Buddhist tradition, that of non-self, is merely pointing out the limitations of this reflexive view we hold of ourselves. It’s not that the self does not exist, but that it is as cobbled-together and transient as everything else.

—Andrew Olendzki, "Self as Verb"

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Via Ram Dass

September 28, 2016

When you can learn to accept love, you can give love. You can give love to all you perceive, all the time. I am loving awareness. You can be aware of your eyes seeing, your ears hearing, your skin feeling, and your mind producing thoughts, thought after thought after thought. Thoughts are seductive, but you don’t have to identify with them. You identify not with the thoughts, but with the awareness of the thoughts. To bring loving awareness to everything you turn your awareness to is to be love. This moment is love.

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 28/09/16

“A evolução da consciência só é possível quando curamos as feridas emocionais do passado que nos impedem de manifestar nossa verdadeira identidade no momento presente. Na esfera psicoespiritual, curar significa fechar essas feridas que ainda se encontram abertas no corpo emocional, o que representa também a libertação dos sentimentos negados e a dissolução das imagens congeladas no corpo mental. Tais imagens se traduzem em rigidez de pensamento e em condicionamentos que limitam nossa capacidade de percepção. Mas, para que a cura seja possível, precisamos descer nos porões do inconsciente, ou seja, precisamos ter coragem de entrar em contato com as tristezas e sentimentos mortificantes dos quais temos tentado fugir durante a vida toda.”

“La evolución de la conciencia sólo es posible cuando curamos las heridas emocionales del pasado que nos impidenmanifestar nuestra verdadera identidad en el momento presente. En la esfera psico-espiritual, curar significa cerrar esas heridas que siguen abiertas en el cuerpo emocional, lo que representa también la liberación de sentimientos negados y la disolución de imágenes congeladas en el cuerpo mental. Tales imágenes se traducen en rigidez de pensamiento y en condicionamientosque limitan nuestra capacidad de percepción. Pero para que la cura sea posible, necesitamos descender a los sótanos del inconsciente, es decir, necesitamos tener coraje de entrar en contacto con lastristezas y sentimientos mortificantes de los cuales hemos intentado huir durante toda la vida.”

“The evolution of consciousness is only possible when we heal the emotional wounds of the past that prevent us from manifesting our true identity in the present moment. In the psycho-spiritual sphere, to heal means to close the wounds that we still find open in the emotional body, freeing denied feelings and dissolving frozen images in the mental body. These images are translated into rigidity of thought and conditionings that limit our capacity to see. However, in order to heal, we need to descend into the dungeons of the unconscious. We need to have the courage to face our sadness and the feelings of humiliation we have fled from our entire lives.”

Via Daily Dharma / September 28, 2016: Consciousness Garden

Any intentional, emotional, or cognitive impulse in us plants a seed in the storehouse that will cause a similar intention, emotion, or thought to arise in the future in the form of fruit. In each moment our experience is determined to a great extent by seeds from the past that are bearing fruit right now.

—Ben Connelly, "Cleaning Out the Storehouse"

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Katy Perry Votes Naked

OMG! NEW “Will & Grace” scene about 2016 Election.

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 27/09/16

“Trabalho para que você se liberte do passado e para que possa, então, viver no momento presente. Porém, você só se liberta do passado olhando de frente para ele, sem fingir que ele não existe. Você se liberta através da compreensão. Por isso, eu sugiro que você vá atrás das vozes inconscientes do passado ainda insistem em dizer: “Eu não vou perdoar”, “eu quero ficar isolado”, “eu quero fracassar”, “eu quero me vingar”. Ao olhar para o passado com honestidade, inevitavelmente você chega na autorresponsabilidade, que é quando você percebe que está onde se coloca.”

“Trabajo para que te liberesdel pasado y para que puedasvivir en el momento presente. Pero sólo te liberas del pasado mirándolo de frente, sin pretender que no existe. Te liberas a través de la comprensión. Por eso, sugiero que busques las voces inconscientes del pasado que todavía insisten en decir: `no voy a perdonar´, `quiero estar aislado´, `quiero fracasar´, `quiero vengarme´. Al mirar el pasado con honestidad, inevitablemente llegas a la autoresponsabilidad, que es cuando percibes que estás donde te colocas.”

“We work to free ourselves from the past so that we can live in the present moment. However, we can only become free from the past by facing it, not by trying to pretend it doesn’t exist. We become free through comprehension. For this, I suggest you go after the unconscious voices of the past that still insist to say, ‘I won’t forgive’, ‘I want to remain isolated’, ‘I want to fail’, ‘I want revenge’. When we look atour past with honesty, inevitably we arrive at self-responsibility, which is when we understand that we are exactly where we place ourselves.”

Via Daily Dharma / September 27, 2016: The Mahayana’s Moral Economy

All happiness comes from altruism and all suffering from selfishness. Altruistic attitudes and bodhicitta, their greatest expression, bring such benefits because they are related to the true nature of the mind, whereas selfishness does not because it is the expression of an illusion.

—Karma Trinlay Rinpoche, "What We’ve Been All Along"

Monday, September 26, 2016

Tina Turner spiritual message

Via FB:

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 26/09/16

“O valor mais urgente para o desenvolvimento da consciência humana é a honestidade. Em primeiro lugar, honestidade consigo mesmo - com seus sentimentos mais profundos, com o seu coração. Por isso, quero sugerir um exercício: identifique suas insatisfações - pergunte a si mesmo: você está aonde gostaria de estar? Você está trabalhando com o que gostaria de trabalhar? Você está se relacionando com quem gostaria de se relacionar? O que você gostaria que fosse diferente na sua vida? As suas insatisfações são expressões do seu auto-ódio. E, na medida em que se aprofunda no autoconhecimento, você descobre porque esse ódio se voltou contra si mesmo. Mas, para isso, é preciso ter coragem de olhar para o passado e fazer relações de causa e efeito.”

“El valor más urgente para el desarrollo de la conciencia humana es la honestidad. En primer lugar, honestidad contigo mismo, con tus sentimientos más profundos, con tu corazón. Por eso, quiero sugerir un ejercicio: identifica tus insatisfacciones, pregúntate: ¿Estás dónde te gustaría estar? ¿Estás trabajando con lo que te gustaría trabajar? ¿Te estás relacionando con quien te gustaría relacionarte? ¿Qué te gustaría que fuera diferente en tu vida? Tus insatisfacciones son expresiones de tu auto-odio. Y en la medida que profundizas en el autoconocimiento, descubres porqué ese odio se volvió contra ti mismo. Pero para eso, es necesario tener corajepara mirar al pasado y hacer las relaciones de causa y efecto.”

“The most urgently needed value for the development of human consciousness is honesty; primarily, honesty with ourselves, with our deepest feelings within our hearts. For this, I would like to suggest an exercise; identify your dissatisfactions. Ask yourself, ‘Are you where you would like to be? Are you working in the area of work you would like? Are you in a relationship with whom you want to be with? What do you wish was different in your life? Our dissatisfactions are expressions of self-hatred. And to the extent that we dive into our own self-awareness, we discover why this hatred turned against ourselves. But in order for this to happen, we have to have the courage to face our past and make the necessary cause and effect relationships.”

Via Daily Dharma / September 26, 2016: Seeing Clearly

By opening, by dropping our self-conscious grasping, we see not only the surface of an object, but we see the whole way through.

—Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, "Love Story"

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Via Ram Dass: Ram Dass, love everybody

September 25, 2016

Maharajji said to me, “Ram Dass, love everybody.” And I said, “ I can’t do it.” And then he said again, love everybody, but then I realized it had to do with the soul, and not the ego, because the ego judges, but the soul love everybody, because everybody is a soul and a soul loves another soul. Its not that the small, limited, ego “I” loves you, but it’s unconditional love, it comes from the ocean of infinite love.

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 25/09/16

“O verdadeiro Amor é um fenômeno, um poder que a mente não pode compreender – ele é um mistério a ser desvendado com o coração. O Amor se manifesta em diferentes dimensões como empatia, perdão, compaixão e gratidão. Mas, em todas as suas manifestações, o Amor real ou o Amor maduro, é a fragrância da comunhão com o Ser. Esse amor é desinteressado, ou seja, você quer ver o outro feliz; quer ver o outro brilhar, sem querer nem mesmo um olhar em troca. E essa capacidade de doação sincera e desinteressada é, sem dúvida, sinônimo de iluminação espiritual.”

“El verdadero Amor es un fenómeno, un poder que la mente no puede comprender; es un misterio a desvelar con el corazón. El Amor se manifiesta en diferentes dimensiones como empatía, perdón, compasión y gratitud. Pero, en todas sus manifestaciones, el Amor real o Amor maduro, es la fragancia de comunión con el Ser. Este amor es desinteresado, es decir, quieres ver al otrofeliz; quieres ver al otro brillar, sin querer siquiera una mirada a cambio. Y esta capacidad de donación sincera y desinteresada es, sin duda, sinónimo de iluminación espiritual.”

“True love is a phenomenon, a power that the mind can not comprehend. It is a mystery to be unveiled by the heart. Love manifests itself in different dimensions as empathy, forgiveness, compassion and gratitude. But in all of its manifestations, true love or mature love, is the scent of communion with the being. This love is selfless. It is a love that wants to see the other happy; wants to see the other shine, without even wanting a glance in return. It is the capacity of true and selfless giving which is, without doubt, synonymous with spiritual illumination.”

Via Daily Dharam / September 25, 2016: Fluid Mind, Fluid Views

Our minds are potentially fully fluid, but we often think of them as not fluid because our bodies are not. What one would hope is that realizing how truly fluid everyone is would make it a little harder to have firm ideas about one’s enemies.

—Jaron Lanier, "Comparative Illusions"

Friday, September 23, 2016

Via JMG: Trump Taps Frothy Mix For Catholic Advisory Group, Vows To Legalize Anti-LGBT Business Discrimination

September 23, 2016 Civil Rights, LGBT News, Religion

Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade:

In one fell swoop, Donald Trump has fortified the anti-LGBT positions he expressed over his campaign and tapped as an adviser former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, a two-time presidential candidate with a notoriously anti-LGBT history.

The actions are the result of Trump’s creation of a 35-member Catholic Advisory Council, which includes, in addition to Santorum, other individuals with anti-LGBT histories.

Accompanying the creation of the council is a new statement from Trump outlining “Issues of Importance to Catholics” and reiterating his support for the First Amendment Defense Act, a federal “religious freedom” bill seen to enable anti-LGBT discrimination.

Emphasizing his commitment to “religious liberty,” Trump hints at opposition to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in favor of same-sex marriage and President Obama’s executive order barring anti-LGBT discrimination among federal contractors.

“Religious liberty is enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution,” Trump said. “It is our first liberty and provides the most important protection in that it protects our right of conscience. Activist judges and executive orders issued by presidents who have no regard for the Constitution have put these protections in jeopardy. If I am elected president and Congress passes the First Amendment Defense Act, I will sign it to protect the deeply held religious beliefs of Catholics and the beliefs of Americans of all faiths.”

The First Amendment Defense Act (FADA) would legalize business discrimination against married gay couples on the basis of “deeply-held religious belief or moral conviction.” The American Family Association, the Liberty Counsel, and the Family Research Council have all withdrawn their support for FADA because recently added language also permits businesses to discriminate against straight married couples on the same grounds.

Read the original here and much more

Via FB:

Via Livre-Mente: Conscientização e Direitos Humanos / FB:

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 23/09/16

“Carl Jung chamou a natureza inferior do ser humano de ‘sombra’. A sombra representa aquilo que encontra-se no plano inconsciente, o que também é conhecido como ‘maldade’. Os aspectos inconscientes exercem um grande poder sobre nós, pois geram impulsos que agem à revelia da nossa vontade consciente, o que causa frustração e decepção. Muitas vezes, você é tomado pela inveja ou pelo desejo de vingança e não consegue controlar tais impulsos. Alguns nem mesmo chegam a ter consciência disso e acabam machucando aos outros e a si mesmo. Outros até têm consciência e sentem raiva de si mesmos por isso, mas não conseguem fazer diferente. Quanto mais inconsciente a respeito dos aspectos inconscientes, mais escura é a sombra. O que ilumina a sombra é a consciência.”

“Carl Jung llamó a la naturaleza inferior del ser humano 'sombra'. La sombra representa aquello que se encuentra en el plano inconsciente, o que también se conoce como ‘maldad’. Los aspectos inconscientes ejercen un gran poder sobre nosotros, ya que generan impulsos que actúan en contra de nuestra voluntad consciente, lo que causa frustración y decepción. Muchas veces, eres tomado por la envidia o por el deseo de venganza y no consigues controlar tales impulsos. Algunos ni siquiera llegan a ser conscientes de eso y terminan lastimando a los demás ya sí mismos. Otros hasta son conscientes y por esos ienten rabia de sí mismos, pero no consiguen actuar diferente. Cuanto más inconsciente respecto de los aspectos inconscientes, más oscura es la sombra. Lo que ilumina la sombra es la conciencia.”

“Carl Jung referred to the lower nature of the human being as the ‘shadow’. The shadow represents what we find in the unconscious, and has also been referred to as ‘evil’. These unconscious aspects exert a great power over us and generate impulses that act against our conscious will that causes frustration and disillusionment. Often, we are taken by jealousy or the desire for revenge and we are unable to control these impulses. Some may become aware of this yet continue to hurt others and themselves. Others may be conscious of this and feel angry with them selves because they are unable to act differently. The more hidden these unconscious aspects, the darker the shadow is. What illuminates the shadow is awareness.”

Via Daily Dharma / September 23, 2016: The Judgment of Others

When you internalize the gaze of others, you’re a prisoner of what, in reality, you’re reading into their gaze—an uncertain process at best.

—Thanissaro Bhikkhu, "Under Your Skin"

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Via Huffington QUEER VOICES : If You’re Gay And Support Trump, You Don’t Care About The Rest Of Us It’s that simple.

Sara D. Davis via Getty Images

Dumb and dumber.

While gay conservatives have been around for decades, the number of self-identified gay men who have recently come out in support of Trump is, at the very least, unsettling.

It’s time we have a candid conversation with one another: if you identify as gay, you are part of a community of marginalized people whose rights and very survival are threatened by the prospect of a Trump presidency.

And while Trump may have thrown around the acronym “LGBTQ” as a loose statement of unsubstantiated queer empathy, he certainly is not pro-LGBT. But beyond this, part of being queer means aligning our struggles with all minority groups and understanding that our oppression is intersectional and, for many of us, not easily compartmentalized. This includes caring about and fighting for the rights of people of color, women, disabled people, people of other nationalities and people of different classes, in addition to sexual and gender minorities, just to name a few.

So, if you’re a white, cis gay man who is privileged in every way ― except for who you go to bed with at night ― the message that your statement of support for Trump sends to all other minority groups is that you don’t give a shit about them.

Let’s take a look at Trump’s and Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence’s track record, shall we?

People of Color: Not only has discrimination against black people been a pattern in Trump’s career, but he has actively refused to condemn the white supremacists supporting his campaign. Here is a timeline of what Vox calls his “long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2016, explained.”

Women: I literally don’t even know where to begin with this one. Just take a look at this list of horribly offensive things Trump has said about women.

Disabled People: In the past, Trump openly mocked a reporter with a disability. He has a sordid history of this type of behavior.

Classism: Trump’s “working class support” is inherently mythological and his policies have the potential to trigger what many experts think could be the longest recession since the great depression.

Xenophobia: Trump loves to refer to groups of people monolithically by their nationality or religious affiliation. He has famously pledged to build a wall between America and Mexico and vowed to ban all Muslims ― 1.6 billion members of an entire religion ― from entering the U.S.

Transgender People: Trump agreed with North Carolina’s decision to enact anti-trans House Bill 2 and has actively misgendered high-profile transgender people like Caitlyn Jenner.

Gay People: Trump has also said he would “strongly consider” appointing judges that would overturn SCOTUS’ same-sex marriage ruling. In June, he had a private meeting with over 400 of the most homophobic, bigoted and powerful anti-LGBT leaders in the country and has been a champion of “religious freedom” rhetoric used to discriminate against LGBT people. In addition, Pence has a long history of LGBT intolerance, including opposing foreign governments’ efforts to decriminalize homosexuality, opposing repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and leading a crusade against LGBT rights as governor of Indiana.

Trump is not a presidential candidate who cares about marginalized groups, or people who have to navigate this world on a very different, more difficult path than the one he has walked. And it’s time that we as queer people ― especially white, gay-identifying men with access to capital ― care about the most vulnerable members of our community enough to let their voices and experiences shape our actions, ideologies and policies.

If you want to do the daily mental gymnastics it must take to justify supporting Trump, by all means! No one is saying that you don’t have the right to do that, or that you have to embody a certain set of ideals because of your sexuality.

But at least admit that you literally couldn’t care less about what happens to the most vulnerable members of your community.

Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims ― 1.6 billion members of an entire religion ― from entering the U.S.

Make the jump here to read the original and more

'American Male' Short Film | Look Different | MTV

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 22/09/16

“As doenças têm sua origem no nível da alma. Quando a matriz corpórea (que envolve os corpos energético, emocional e mental) está muito danificada, presa em condicionamentos e marcada por traumas e feridas, a alma se torna cética em relação à possibilidade da cura, então ela começa a programar a sua partida. A alma começa a se desligar do corpo através da ativação de conexões genéticas e programações karmicas que possibilitam e aceleram a morte. Esse é o mistério que está por trás das doenças incuráveis e das mortes súbitas.”

“Las enfermedades tienen su origen en el nivel del alma. Cuando la matriz corpórea (que involucra a los cuerpos energético, emocional y mental) está muy dañada, presa en condicionamientos y marcada por traumas y heridas, el alma se vuelve escéptica sobre la posibilidad de la cura, entonces comienza a programar su partida. El alma comienza a desligarse del cuerpo mediante la activación de conexiones genéticas y programaciones karmicas que posibilitan y aceleran la muerte. Este es el misterio por detrás de las enfermedades incurables y de las muertes súbitas.”

"Disease begins at the level of the soul. When the matrix of the corporal body that includes the emotional and mental bodies, are very damaged, locked in conditioning and marred by traumas and wounds, the soul turns skeptical. It doesn't believe in the possibility of being healed. The soul begins to program its departure. The soul starts to disconnect from the body through the activation of genetics and karmic programming that allow and accelerate the process of death. This is the mystery that lies behind incurable diseases and sudden deaths."

Via Dialy Dharma / September 22, 2016: Removing our Blinders

Craving creates tunnel vision: we see only what we yearn for. Mindfulness allows us to see that and much more, giving us the choice not to act on our desires.

—Joan Duncan Oliver, "Drink and a Man"

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Via PinkNews: The US has had openly gay soldiers for five years, world hasn’t ended yet

This week marks the fifth anniversary of openly gay soldiers being allowed in the US military, after the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994 as part of a compromise deal with conservatives, banning military authorities from carrying out gay ‘witch hunts’ while maintaining a ban on gay soldiers.

For nearly two decades under the policy, gay people were dismissed for speaking about any their sexuality while serving in the United States armed forces, while officials were prohibited from ‘investigating’ service members they suspected of homosexuality.

The policy came to an end on September 20, 2011, after Barack Obama signed a law repealing the instruction – allowing gay, bisexual and lesbian soldiers to serve openly in the military for the first time.

Transgender soldiers followed earlier this year, when the armed forces amended its medical code to remove ‘transgenderism’ as a disqualifying condition.

At the time, evangelicals and senior Republicans claimed that allowing gay people into the military would lead to the destruction of US armed forces.

Former Presidential hopeful Rick Perry famously played off it in 2012, releasing a TV ad complaining there’s “something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas”.

Mike Pence, Donald Trump’s Vice Presidential pick, also bitterly opposed reform on the issue. Pence fumed at the time: “Homosexuality is incompatible with military service because the presence of homosexuals in the ranks weakens unit cohesion.”

The Democratic National Committee’s LGBT Caucus Chair Earl Fowlkes hailed the anniversary. He said: “In the five years since Congress repealed the discriminatory Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, we’ve made great strides in expanding and protecting the rights of the LGBT community in the United States, but we still have further to go.

“More than 13,000 service members were discharged under DADT, denying those men and women the opportunity to serve our nation, and diminishing the strength of our armed forces in the process. “By repealing the policy, we no longer treat members of the LGBT community as second-class citizens in our armed forces, and we are a stronger nation for it – both militarily and morally.

“Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine want to build on that progress. They believe in standing up for the LGBT community, ending discrimination, and fighting for our full rights. Donald Trump and his running mate, Mike Pence, would only drag us backwards on LGBT rights.

“They both support North Carolina’s discriminatory HB2 ‘bathroom bill,’ and as governor, Pence signed a so-called ‘religious freedom’ bill into law, which threatened to allow businesses to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.

“We need to elect a president and vice president who will treat members of the LGBT community as full citizens, and who will fight to protect the civil rights of all Americans.”

Read the original and more here

Via Ram Dass / September 21, 2016:

We’re all just walking each other home.

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 21/09/16

“É dando que se recebe”. Essa é uma lei básica neste plano, que é muito simples de entender, mas muito difícil de viver. Nós estamos aqui justamente para ativar ou despertar nossa capacidade natural de doar, pois ela se encontra adormecida. Todo o ser humano tem essa capacidade, pois o Amor é a nossa essência; é a fragrância do Ser que nos habita. Ele está e sempre esteve dentro de cada um de nós, mas encontra-se encoberto por camadas de medo e ódio. Portanto, precisamos trabalhar para remover essas camadas, até que possamos desvendar o Amor.”

“Es dando que se recibe'. Esta es una ley básica en este plano, que es muy simple de entender, pero muy difícil de vivir. Nosotros estamos acá justamente para activar o despertar nuestra capacidad natural dedar,pues se encuentra dormida. Todo ser humano tiene esta capacidad, porque el Amor es nuestra esencia; es la fragancia del Ser que nos habita. Él está y siempre estuvo adentro de cada uno de nosotros, pero se halla encubierto por capas de miedo y odio. Por lo tanto, necesitamostrabajar para remover esas capas, hasta que podamos desvendar el amor.”

“It is in giving that we receive. This is a basic law on this plane that is very simple to understand but very difficult to live. We are here precisely to activate or awaken our natural capacity to give which is lying dormant within us. Every human being has this capacity, because love is our essence. It is the fragrance of the being that inhabits us. It is, and has always been, in each and every one of us, only it remains covered by layers of fear and hate. We must, therefore, work to remove these layers until we area able to unveil love.”

Via Daily Dharma / September 21, 2016: On Generosity

If we keep our own light selfishly hidden, it will only provide a limited amount of illumination. But when we share our light with others, we do not diminish our own light. Rather, we increase the amount of light available to all.

—Master Sheng-Yen, "Rich Generosity"

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Via The ManKind Project / FB:

Via Sri Prem Baba / Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 20/09/16

“Em algum momento nós, seres humanos, nos desconectamos da nossa própria essência e nos esquecemos que o amor que tanto buscamos no mundo lá fora, está dentro de nós. Essa desconexão fez com que acreditássemos ser carentes daquilo que, na verdade, temos em abundância. E, com isso, passamos a usar toda nossa energia e inteligência para forçar o outro a nos reconhecer e considerar, ou seja, a nos amar. Mas, em algum momento amadurecemos e percebemos que, somente quando reconhecemos somos reconhecidos; somente quando consideramos somos considerados - somente quando amamos, somos amados.”

“En algún momento nosotros, los seres humanos, nos desconectamos de nuestra propia esencia y nos olvidamos que el amor que tanto buscamos en el mundo allá afuera, está dentro nuestro. Esta desconexión hizo que creyéramos ser carentes de aquello que,realmente, tenemos en abundancia. Y con esto, pasamos a utilizar toda nuestra energía e inteligencia enforzar el otro a reconocernos y considerarnos, es decir, aamarnos. Pero en algún momento maduramos y percibimos que, solamente cuando reconocemos somos reconocidos; solamentecuando consideramos somos considerado;solamente cuando amamos, somos amados.”

“At some point in time, we humans have become disconnected from our own essence and have forgotten that the love we seek so much from the outside world, is actually within us. This disconnection caused us to believe we were needy for that which, in truth, we have in abundance. Thus, we began to spend our time using all our energy and intelligence to force the other to recognize and consider us, or ‘love’ us. Eventually, we mature and realize that it is only by recognizing that we are recognized; it is only through considering that we are considered; and it is only when we love thatwe are loved.”

Via Daily Dharma / September 20, 2016: At Ease in Goodness

A noble person does not do good because of willpower. She does it through a combination of, on the one hand, modesty about self, and, on the other hand, faith in a higher purpose, a higher meaning, in powers more potent than self-will. Such a person is not moral through gritted teeth. She is at ease in goodness.

—David Brazier, "Other Power"

Monday, September 19, 2016

Via The ManKind Project / FB:

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Via Ram Dass / September 18, 2016:

This love is actually part of you; it is always flowing through you. It’s like the subatomic texture of the universe, the dark matter that connects everything. When you tune into that flow, you will feel it in your own heart—not your physical heart or your emotional heart, but your spiritual heart, the place you point to in your chest when you say, "I am."

Rainbow Buddha

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 18/09/16

“Antigamente, as práticas de yoga eram apenas para aqueles que estavam em processo de desligamento do mundo, vivendo em monastérios ou em cavernas. Hoje em dia, elas estão acessíveis e podem ser praticadas por todos, mesmo por aqueles que vivem nos grandes centros urbanos. Não é preciso deixar o trabalho e a família para ser uma pessoa espiritual. Você pode, em algum momento, fazer um retiro, mas a sua prática deve ser sustentar a presença enquanto se relaciona com o outro e manter a equanimidade mental diante dos desafios do relacionamento.”

“Antiguamente, las prácticas de yoga eran solo para los que estaban en proceso de desconectarse del mundo, viviendo en monasterios o en cuevas. Hoy en día, son accesibles y pueden ser practicadas por todos, incluso por aquellos que viven en los grandes centros urbanos. No hacefalta dejar el trabajo y la familia para ser una persona espiritual. En algún momento, puedes hacer un retiro, pero tu práctica debe ser sostener la presencia mientras te relacionas con el otro y mantener la ecuanimidad mental ante los desafíos del relacionarse.”

“In the past, yoga practices were only for those who were in the process of disconnecting from the world, living in monasteries and caves. Today, yoga is more accessible and can be practiced by all, even those living in large urban cities. It isn’t necessary to quit our jobs or leave our families in order to follow a spiritual path. Perhaps, at some point, we may decide to participate in a retreat. However, our practice should allow us to sustain presence and mental equanimity while facing the challenges of relationship.”

Via Daily Dharma / September 18, 2016: A Life of Awareness

Many things help you with concentration, like chanting or bowing, so they can be useful parts of practice. But finally, there is no substitute for insightful seeing or for understanding how you create suffering for yourself; and in the process—in seeing into and through it—how to let go of it. It’s a life of awareness.

—Larry Rosenberg, "The Art of Doing Nothing"

Via JMG: Math Quiz: If 70% Of Men Are Married To A Woman As God Intended, What Are The Odds Teacher’s A Jerk?

Britain’s Bucks Free Press reports:

A grammar school has been accused of handing out ‘homophobic’ work after a maths question sparked fury amongst parents and students. The shocking question, handed out by a school volunteer to a group of students at the all-boys Royal Grammar School, in High Wycombe, suggests only men and woman should get married “as God intended”.

The questions reads: “If in a town 70 per cent of the men are married to 90 per cent of the women (and each marriage is between one man and woman, as God intended when he made humans male and female) what percentage of the adult population are married?”

The optional math test “posers” could have been picked up by all the school’s 1,300 students, including children as young as 11. One parent, who did not want to be named, slammed the homework as being “homophobic” and having an “anti-LGBT bias”.

Speaking to the Bucks Free Press this morning, headmaster Philip Wayne said: “I’m sorry on behalf of the whole school community of governors, staff and boys for any offence this has caused.” LGBT rights charity Stonewall has highlighted the importance of tackling discrimination within school, while praising RGS for dealing with concerns quickly.

What’s the correct answer, anyway? I hated these questions. (Via Christian Nightmares)

Make the jump here to read the original and more on JMG

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Shields and Brooks on Trump’s ‘birther’ lie, Clinton’s ‘deplorables’ effect

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 17/09/16

“A meditação envolve diversos estágios ou estados de consciência. Às vezes, você tem acesso a lugares de dor onde entra em contato com sentimentos difíceis como medo, raiva e insegurança. São infernos internos que precisam ser atravessados, pois ali tem algum aprendizado para você. Às vezes, você entra em uma zona neutra, na qual não sente raiva nem medo, mas também não sente amor - você não sente nada. E, às vezes, você vai para o céu e experimenta um amor infinito; uma alegria sem causa; paz e unidade. Você expande e contrai até que, em algum momento, aprende a sustentar o coração aberto e a comunhão com o Divino.”

“La meditación involucra varias etapas o estados de consciencia. A veces, tienes acceso a lugares de dolor, donde entras en contacto con sentimientos difíciles como miedo, rabia e inseguridad. Son infiernos internos que necesitanser atravesados, porque hay ahíalgún aprendizaje para ti. Otras veces, entras en una zona neutra, en la cual no sientesrabiani miedo, pero tampoco sientes amor,no sientes nada. Y, a veces, vas al cielo y experimentas un amor infinito; una alegría sin causa; paz y unidad. Expandes y contraes hasta que, en algún momento, aprendes a sostener el corazón abierto y la comunión con lo Divino.”

“Meditation involves different stages or states of consciousness. Sometimes, we access places of pain and we come into contact with difficult feelings like fear, anger and insecurity. They are like an internal hell that needs to be crossed, because through this passage, there lies a lesson for us. Sometimes, we enter into a neutral zone in which we don’t feel anger or fear, but we don’t feel love either. We feel nothing. Other times, we soar to the heavens and experience an infinite love, a joy without reason, peace and unity. We expand and contract until the moment comes when we learn to sustain an open heart and communion with the divine.”

Via Daily Dharma / September 17, 2016: Speaking Truth

No separation between speaker, speaking, and the reality spoken about. This is the precept of non-lying.

—Roshi Nancy Mujo Baker, "Non-lying"

Friday, September 16, 2016

Via Daily Dharma / September 16, 2016: A Tulku’s Take on Nirvana

The essence of our consciousness is already love and wisdom. Karma, concepts, and emotional patterns are only temporarily preventing our consciousness from unfolding its enlightened nature.

—Tulku Thubten Rinpoche, "Nirvana: Three Takes"