Thursday, October 28, 2021

[GBF] new GBF talks








 

Via White Crane Institute // Frank Ocean

 


FRANK OCEAN, born on this date, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, rapper, photographer, and visual artist. He is recognized for his idiosyncratic musical style, introspective and elliptical songwriting, and wide vocal range. Music critics have credited him with  revitalizing jazz and funk  influenced R&B, as well as advancing the genre through his experimental approach.He is considered a representative artist of alternative R&B.

Ocean began his musical career as a ghostwriter, prior to joining the hip hop collective Odd Future in 2010. In 2011, Ocean released his critically successful debut mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra and subsequently secured a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings. Drawing on electro-funk, pop-soul, jazz-funk, and psychedelia, Ocean's debut studio album Channel Orange  was one of the most acclaimed albums of 2012. It was nominated for Album of the Year and won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards, while the album's hit single "Thinkin Bout You" garnered Ocean a nomination for Record of the Year.

Ocean wrote an open letter, initially intended for the liner notes on Channel Orange, that preemptively addressed speculation about his attraction in the past to another man. Instead, on July 4, 2012, he published the open letter on his Tumblr blog recounting unrequited feelings he had for another young man when he was 19 years old, citing it as his first true love. He used the blog to thank the man for his influence, and also thanked his mother and other friends, saying, "I don't know what happens now, and that's alright. I don't have any secrets I need kept anymore... I feel like a free man." Numerous celebrities publicly voiced their support for Ocean following his announcement, including Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Members of the hip hop industry generally responded positively to the announcement. Tyler, the Creator and other members of OFWGKTA tweeted their support for Ocean. Russell Simmons wrote a congratulatory article in Global Grind in which he said, "Today is a big day for hip-hop. It is a day that will define who we really are. How compassionate will we be? How loving can we be? How inclusive are we? [...] Your decision to go public about your sexual orientation gives hope and light to so many young people still living in fear." When asked if he considers himself bisexual in a 2012 interview, Ocean stated: "I'll respectfully say that life is dynamic and comes along with dynamic experiences, and the same sentiment that I have towards genres of music, I have towards a lot of labels and boxes and shit."

In June 2016, following the Orlando nightclub shooting that killed 49 people, Ocean published an essay expressing his sadness and frustration. He mentioned that his first experience with homophobia and transphobia was with his father when he was six years old, and related how many people pass on their hateful ideals to the next generation and send thousands of people down suicidal paths. In 2017, Ocean's father subsequently sued him for defamation and requested $14.5 million. In October 2017, after a hearing that saw Ocean and both of his parents taking the stand, the presiding judge ruled in favor of Ocean, stating that his father had not provided sufficient evidence of defamation.


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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute

"With the increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson

Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989!
www.whitecraneinstitute.org

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Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Via The Atlantic // The Evangelical Church Is Breaking Apart Christians must reclaim Jesus from his church.


 

Make the jump here to read the full article and more

Via Daily Dharma: Wisdom Is Right Here

 

Wisdom is not somewhere else. It’s not in someone else. It’s right here in our own bottomless heart.

—Aura Glaser, “Into the Demon’s Mouth”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - October 27, 2021 💌

 
 

See spiritual practice as one of relinquishing definitions of one’s self in order to come into the present. See the spiritual journey as one of coming into the space of love. Look at the people you don’t love and see them as an exercise for you to open your heart.

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Skillful Anger

 

Anger can be a powerful and necessary force for change. But to use it skillfully, we need methods to transform it. This requires us to be centered and to create the change within ourselves that will lead to wise action in the world.

—Lama Tsultrim Allione, “Nasty Woman Meditation”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Monday, October 25, 2021

Via Daily Dharma: Genuine Compassion

Genuine compassion is uncomfortable. It’s difficult. It’s maybe even a little bit scary. But this is why it is so important, and why it has the potential to be so powerful.

—Constance Kassor, “The Discomfort of Compassion”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

 

Sunday, October 24, 2021

Shared during Gay Buddhist Fellowship today

 

Clearing – Martha Postlewaite

 

Do not try to save

the whole world

or do anything grandiose.

Instead, create

a clearing

in the dense forest

of your life

and wait there

patiently,

until the song

that is your life

falls into your own cupped hands

and you recognize and greet it.

Only then will you know

how to give yourself

to this world

so worth of rescue.

Via Tricycle \\ What Do You Believe Now?

 


What Do You Believe Now?
Directed by Sarah Feinbloom
Six millennials from across the religious spectrum share their struggles, aspirations, and beliefs as teenagers and again in their 30s.
Watch now »

Via Daily Dharma: Keep Faith

 

Faith is a necessary element of the spiritual path. Faith, practice, and study are the essential building blocks for the development of a fully realized life.

—Myokei Caine-Barrett, Shonin, “Chanting as the Whole of Life”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation \\ Words of Wisdom - October 24, 2021 💌

 
 

My own strategy is to keep cultivating the witness, that part of me that notices how I’m doing it — to cultivate the quiet place in me that watches the process of needing approval, of the smile on the face, of the false humility, of all the horrible creepy little psychological things that are just my humanity. And watching them occur again and again and again. 

- Ram Dass -

Via Tumblr

 


Saturday, October 23, 2021

Via Tricycle \\ Ten Teachings by Thich Nhat Hanh for His 95th Birthday

 

Ten Teachings by Thich Nhat Hanh for His 95th Birthday
By Tricycle
Happy Continuation Day, Thich Nhat Hanh! To celebrate, we’re sharing some perennial wisdom and popular practices from the beloved Vietnamese Zen Buddhist teacher and peace activist.
Read more »

Via Daily Dharma: Taking Teachings to Heart

Even the shortest teaching—maybe just a phrase—once it’s written on your heart, will spring up to offer help when you need it.

—Kaia Fischer, “How to Read the Sutras (and Enjoy Yourself)”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

 

Via Be Here Now Network / Robert Svoboda

 

On this special episode of Living with Reality, Dr. Robert Svoboda shares advice to students of Ayurveda based on his 40 years of wisdom and experience.

Learn more about Ayurveda at Dr. Svoboda’s brand new website, which includes courses such as the Foundations of Ayurveda.
Advice to Students of Ayurveda

Drawing on his 40 years of wisdom and experience, Dr. Svoboda offers some advice for students of Ayurveda. He talks about taking on the attitude of always being a student of Ayurveda, the difference between modern knowledge and ancient knowledge, and the importance of integrating one’s own experience into the Ayurvedic energy of healing.

“The way of modern knowledge is to accumulate various facts and pray that somehow they will cohere together in one’s conscious mind, so that they can be employed when required. This is a process of accumulation. Ayurveda is, in many ways, the opposite.” – Dr. Robert Svoboda

Learn about Dr. Robert Svoboda’s journey to finding Ayurveda on Living with Reality Ep. 21
make the jump here to see the full post and more

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Friday, October 22, 2021

Via Daily Dharma: You Create Your World

 

The present moment is not defined solely by letting go of past and future, nor by accepting and appreciating what arises right now, but by choosing in this very moment how we make sense of the world.

—Jack Petranker, “The Present Moment”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE