A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Via JMG: ARGENTINA: Gay Activists To Stage Kiss-In During Visit By Vladimir Putin
Via JMG: Updated Marriage Map
I think the reason that Nebraska and Mississippi
are lacking the ticking clock is because the lawsuits there only ask
for recognition of out-of-state marriages. According to the linked
recaps at Freedom To Marry, both those cases have been dismissed but the
plaintiffs plan to appeal. I'm sure some of you folks can fill us in.
Is anybody else starting to lose track of all this? It's a good thing,
right? I really do like this guy's maps.
Ewposted from Joe Jervis
Flower of the Day: 07/10/14
“Laziness
is a psychological matrix created by blocked feelings and repressed
energy. Laziness can manifest in the form of paralysis, or even as
compulsive action. But in this case, the compulsion to do is a
distraction that prevents you from doing what really needs to be done.
There is something stopping you from accomplishing precisely that which
is most important to you. So you are overcome with guilt about not doing
what your consciousness demands. When this happens, it is important to
open yourself up to understanding what is paralyzing you. In this way
you begin a healing work that will lead you to confront the points of
blockage that are robbing you of your energy and willpower.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daiy Dharma
Liberation through Insight | July 10, 2014
The whole point of Buddha-dharma is
that liberation comes not by believing in the right set of tenets or of
dogmatic assertions, or even necessarily by behaving in the right way.
It’s insight, it’s wisdom, it’s knowing the nature of reality. It is
only truth that will make us free.
—B. Alan Wallace, "What is True Happiness?"
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Flower of the Day: 07/09/14
“Anxiety,
sadness, depression and a constant anguish are all symptoms of that
aspect of pride known as perfectionism. This is an aspect of the
idealized self that is addicted to self-criticism and is always
condemning and judging. The idealized self is a cruel tyrant who does
not accept mistakes. We have to be the best of the best; the most
precious stone. Thus, we begin to compulsively do things, and put
pressure on ourselves demanding all sorts of things, as a constant form
of self-punishment. This prevents us from relaxing enough to notice that
we are already a diamond. We already are the most precious stone there
is, and it is precisely this compulsion to prove something to the world
that prevents us from truly shining.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Flower of the Day: 07/08/14
“Do
not feed your sadness – this is unnecessary suffering created by the
victim trying to sneak in through the back door. True pain doesn’t last
long. You get in touch with it, and soon after it passes. Oftentimes,
sadness is a messenger that prepares you for getting in touch with the
deep-rooted pain that leads to your healing. This is a healthy sadness,
while an unhealthy sadness is always linked to an accusation. It is born
out of anger; and although anger’s role in the divine game is to take
you somewhere, anger can also be a major distraction. In most cases,
anger is merely an escape from this sadness that could get you in touch
with the primordial pain.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Complete Engagement | July 8, 2014
Ultimately, from the point of view of
the dharma—at least, my understanding of it—cultivating your mind
through meditation is also social radicalism. Because if the goal is to
produce more people who are manifesting the attributes of
enlightenment—namely, wisdom and compassion—then that, by necessity, is a
transformation of the social situation as well.
—Richard Reoch, "The Path of Complete Engagement"
Monday, July 7, 2014
Via JMG: Russian Priest: The World Cup Is A Homosexual Abomination Because Shoes
Via the Moscow Times:
While thousands of Russian fans were left devastated by their team's early exit from the World Cup tournament, one Orthodox priest has openly rejoiced at their failure, denouncing the contest as a "homosexual abomination." Priest Alexander Shumsky seems to have taken particular exception to the brightly colored footwear on display in Brazil, writing in his column on Christian website Russian People's Line that players who wear green, yellow, pink or blue shoes helped promote the "gay rainbow." "Wearing pink or blue shoes, [the players] might as well wear women's panties or a bra," Shumsky wrote, adding that he was also offended by the "unthinkable" hairstyles of some of the players in Brazil.(Tipped by JMG reader Kevin)
George Takei: Why I love a country that once betrayed me
Publicado em 04/07/2014
When he was a child, George Takei
and his family were forced into an internment camp for
Japanese-Americans, as a "security" measure during World War II. 70
years later, Takei looks back at how the camp shaped his surprising,
personal definition of patriotism and democracy.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.
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Follow TED news on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tednews
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Subscribe to our channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TEDtalksD...
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.
Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at http://www.ted.com/translate
Follow TED news on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/tednews
Like TED on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TED
Subscribe to our channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/TEDtalksD...
Via Daily Dharma
Thinking Like a Mountain | July 7, 2014
How do you watch a mountain? Nothing’s
going to happen in any time frame that you can consider—except the light
changes on it. And so that was my mountain watching. The changing light
on the mountain was like the changing thoughts in my mind, just these
little shifting shadows, that’s all that it is.
—Gary Snyder, “Thinking Like a Mountain”
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
The Everyday Sublime | July 6, 2014
To experience the everyday sublime one
needs to dismantle piece by piece the perceptual conditioning that
insists on seeing oneself and the world as essentially comfortable,
permanent, solid, and mine. It means to embrace suffering and conflict,
rather than to shy away from them, to cultivate the radical attention
(yonisomanasikara) that contemplates the tragic, changing, empty, and
impersonal dimensions of life, rather than succumbing to fantasies of
self-glorification or self-loathing.
—Stephen Batchelor, “The Everyday Sublime”
Flower of the Day: 07/06/14
“Gratitude
opens the portals to ascension. It has the great power of illuminating
your life. When gratitude blossoms, the idea of the victim disappears
from one’s system. All complaints, all self-criticisms, and all the
games of accusation fall away. Gratitude is an immunizing agent that
protects you against evil. It increases trust and opens the paths
towards the Infinite. One can seek gratitude, but one cannot create it
with the mind. Gratitude blooms when you are mature enough for it.”
Sri Prem Baba
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Via AUSTRALIA: New Study Says Kids Of Gay Parents FB:
Via ABC News Australia:
Children of same-sex parents enjoy better levels of health and wellbeing than their peers from traditional family units, new Australian research suggests. In what they described as the largest study of its type in the world, University of Melbourne researchers surveyed 315 same-sex parents and 500 children about their physical health and social wellbeing. Lead researcher Doctor Simon Crouch said children raised by same-sex partners scored an average of 6 per cent higher than the general population on measures of general health and family cohesion. "That's really a measure that looks at how well families get along, and it seems that same-sex-parent families and the children in them are getting along well, and this has positive impacts on child health," Dr Crouch said.Read the full study. (Tipped by JMG readers Alan and Str8 Grandmother)
Via Daily Dharma
Forget the Self | July 5, 2014
To forget the self is to be enlightened
by all things. Buddhist teaching suggests that the Self is an illusion,
and identity is an ongoing confluence of forces. That means that, very
literally, our sense of self is shaped by the world around us.
—Richard Eskow, "DNA Sutra"
Flower of the Day: 07/05/14
“Mental
equanimity means placing one’s mind on God. Setting one’s mind on God
is like putting down your baggage on the train’s luggage rack and
relaxing along the journey. But the mind prefers to carry the burden of
the baggage because leaving it on the rack requires trust. At the
nucleus of the conditioned mind is fear, and one of the main aspects of
fear is control. The ways of God are mysterious, and it’s not always
possible to understand what God has planned for you. So one creates many
expectations about one’s life and hopes that God will meet them. Yet
only God understands our hearts and knows what we really need. This is
why we must become aware of our lack of trust that has caused us to
carry such a heavy burden.”
Sri Prem Baba
Friday, July 4, 2014
Via Pink News: United Nations to recognise same-sex marriage everywhere
The United Nations has announced that it will globally
extend its employee benefits to workers in same-sex marriages or other
unions.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced the change yesterday, stating: “Human rights are at the core of the mission of the United Nations.
“I am proud to stand for greater equality for all staff, and I call on all members of our UN family to unite in rejecting homophobia as discrimination that can never be tolerated at our workplace.”
The move will impact the UN’s over 44,000 staff across the globe.
Hyung Hak Nam, of LGBTI group UN-GLOBE, said: “It is with great pleasure that I would like to inform you that, at long last, the UN will begin recognizing staff members’ legal same-sex unions.
Make the jump here to read the full article
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced the change yesterday, stating: “Human rights are at the core of the mission of the United Nations.
“I am proud to stand for greater equality for all staff, and I call on all members of our UN family to unite in rejecting homophobia as discrimination that can never be tolerated at our workplace.”
The move will impact the UN’s over 44,000 staff across the globe.
Hyung Hak Nam, of LGBTI group UN-GLOBE, said: “It is with great pleasure that I would like to inform you that, at long last, the UN will begin recognizing staff members’ legal same-sex unions.
Make the jump here to read the full article
An Open Letter to the People who Hate Obama more than they Love America
I meet you all the time. You hate Obama. You hate gay people. You
hate black people, immigrants, Muslims, labor unions, women who want the
right to make choices concerning their bodies, you hate em all. You
hate being called racist. You hate being called a bigot. Maybe if you
talked about creating jobs more than you talk about why you hate gay
people we wouldn't call you bigots. Maybe if you talked about black
people without automatically assuming they are on food stamps while
demanding their birth certificates we wouldn't call you racist. You hate
socialism and social justice. You hate regulations and taxes and
spending and the Government. You hate.
You like war. You like torture. You like Jesus. I don't know how in the hell any of that is compatible, but no one ever accused you haters of being over-committed to ideological consistency. You like people who look like you or at least hate most of the things that you hate. You hate everything else.
Now, I know you profess to love our country and the founding fathers (unless you are reminded that they believed in the separation of church and state), but I need to remind you that America is NOT what Fox News says it is. America is a melting pot, it always has been. We are a multi-cultural amalgamation of all kinds of people, and yet you still demonize everyone who is not a rich, white, heterosexual christian male or his submissive and obedient wife.
You hate liberals, moderates, hell, anyone who disagrees with Conservative dogma as espoused by Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. You hate em.
Well, here are the facts, Jack. If you hate the Government then you are unqualified to manage it. If you hate gay people more than you love America than you should take your own advice and get the hell out. There are several countries that are openly hostile to gay people, but they are full of brown people and you don't like them much either from what I understand. It looks like you are screwed, but that's not what I am here to tell you.
More rant below. . .
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/09/1053088/-An-open-letter-to-the-people-who-hate-Obama-more-than-they-love-America?detail=email#
You like war. You like torture. You like Jesus. I don't know how in the hell any of that is compatible, but no one ever accused you haters of being over-committed to ideological consistency. You like people who look like you or at least hate most of the things that you hate. You hate everything else.
Now, I know you profess to love our country and the founding fathers (unless you are reminded that they believed in the separation of church and state), but I need to remind you that America is NOT what Fox News says it is. America is a melting pot, it always has been. We are a multi-cultural amalgamation of all kinds of people, and yet you still demonize everyone who is not a rich, white, heterosexual christian male or his submissive and obedient wife.
You hate liberals, moderates, hell, anyone who disagrees with Conservative dogma as espoused by Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. You hate em.
Well, here are the facts, Jack. If you hate the Government then you are unqualified to manage it. If you hate gay people more than you love America than you should take your own advice and get the hell out. There are several countries that are openly hostile to gay people, but they are full of brown people and you don't like them much either from what I understand. It looks like you are screwed, but that's not what I am here to tell you.
More rant below. . .
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/09/1053088/-An-open-letter-to-the-people-who-hate-Obama-more-than-they-love-America?detail=email#
Via Daily Dharma
Flower of the Day: 07/04/14
“Everything
that happens in the school of life is meant to teach you how to develop
mental equanimity. If you can already be a channel of love and silence
to some degree, then it is important to share this with other people,
even if you sometimes run the risk of falling, because this fall serves
as a sacrifice as well as a lesson. This descent means that you are
still not completely immune, so if someone invites you to argue with
them, you still accept their invitation. A balanced mind can be in the
world relating to others and still refrain from accepting the invitation
to enter warfare. Regardless of what is happening, the person always
remains the same, simply observing that which is transitory and letting
it pass.”
Sri Prem Baba
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Flower of the Day: 07/03/14
“Your
talents are at the service of humanity’s evolution, since they are the
way love expresses itself through you in order to carry out your dharma,
your life’s purpose. Your purpose and the gifts that will help you to
fulfill it are revealed to you very early on, but they are usually
forgotten. Throughout your journey the entire universe encourages you to
become aware of them. You are always being inspired to ask: What does
God want from me? What do I wake up for in the morning for? This movement
leads you towards aligning yourself with your dharma, and when you are aligned with your dharma, you reach the sacred dwelling place.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Flower of the Day: 07/02/14
“Our
mission here on Earth is not so simple. Awakening love in everyone and
everywhere demands great steadiness, determination and the constant
renewal of our vows. That's the only way to deal with the immense
opposing forces that exist in the world and that act through us.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Live From Love | July 2, 2014
Non-identification means that your
sense of who you are is not fused with or defined by any limited set of
emotions, sensations, or stories. When identification with the small
self is loosened, we begin to intuit and live from the openness and love
that express our natural awareness.
—Tara Brach, "Finding True Refuge"
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Via JMG: George Takei: Boycott Hobby Lobby
"In this case, the owners happen to be deeply Christian; one wonders
whether the case would have come out differently if a Muslim-run chain
business attempted to impose Sharia law on its employees. As many have
pointed out, Hobby Lobby is the same company that invests in Pfizer and
Teva Pharmaceuticals, makers of abortion inducing-drugs and the morning
after pill. It also buys most of its inventory from China, where forced
abortions are common. The hypocrisy is galling.
"Hobby Lobby is not a church. It’s a business — and a big one at that. Businesses must and should be required to comply with neutrally crafted laws of general applicability. Your boss should not have a say over your healthcare. Once the law starts permitting exceptions based on 'sincerely held religious beliefs' there’s no end to the mischief and discrimination that will ensue. Indeed, this is the same logic that certain restaurants and hotels have been trying to deploy to allow proprietors to refuse service to gay couples.
"While we work to overturn this decision by legislation, people of good conscious should BOYCOTT any for-profit business, including Hobby Lobby, which chooses to impose its religious beliefs on its employees. The only way such companies ever learn to treat people with decency and tolerance is to hit them where it counts–in their pocketbooks. I won’t be shopping there, and women everywhere should exercise their right of protest and refuse to shop there as well." - George Takei, writing on his personal blog.
"Hobby Lobby is not a church. It’s a business — and a big one at that. Businesses must and should be required to comply with neutrally crafted laws of general applicability. Your boss should not have a say over your healthcare. Once the law starts permitting exceptions based on 'sincerely held religious beliefs' there’s no end to the mischief and discrimination that will ensue. Indeed, this is the same logic that certain restaurants and hotels have been trying to deploy to allow proprietors to refuse service to gay couples.
"While we work to overturn this decision by legislation, people of good conscious should BOYCOTT any for-profit business, including Hobby Lobby, which chooses to impose its religious beliefs on its employees. The only way such companies ever learn to treat people with decency and tolerance is to hit them where it counts–in their pocketbooks. I won’t be shopping there, and women everywhere should exercise their right of protest and refuse to shop there as well." - George Takei, writing on his personal blog.
Labels: boycotts, Christianists, gay artists, George Takei, Hobby Lobby, insurance, Obamacare, religion, retail, SCOTUS
The Dirty 100: Meet the Companies and Institutions You Should Avoid After Hobby Lobby
It’s not just Hobby Lobby. There are one hundred
cases that have been filed for the right to discriminate against women’s
healthcare. NOW calls them the “Dirty 100″.
Here they are in all of their infamy: The following
is a list of plaintiffs in the 100 cases that have been filed in
opposition to the birth control mandate in the Affordable Care Act, as
provided by the National Organization for Women.
American Family Association
American MFG Co
American Pulverizer Co
Annex Medical
Autocam Corp
Ave Maria School of Law
Ave Maria University
Barron Industries
Beckwith Electric Co
Belmont Abbey College
Bick Holdings, Inc.
Cherry Creek Mortgage Co
CNS Ministries
Colorado Christian University
Conestoga Wood Specialities Corp
Continuum Health Partnership/Management
Criswell College
Doboszenski & Sons
Dordt College
Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk
East Texas Baptist University
Eden Foods
Encompass, Develop, Design & Construct LLC
Eternal Word Television Network Inc.
Fellowship of Catholic University
Feltl & Co., Inc.
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Freshway Foods
Gilardi
Grace College and Seminary
Grote Industries
Hart electric LLC
Hastings Automotive
Hercules Industries Inc.
Hobby Lobby
Holland Chevrolet
Infrastructure Alternatives
Johnson Welded Products
Korte & Luitjohan Contractors
Liberty University
Lindsay Rappaport and Postel LLC
Little Sisters of the Poor
Louisiana College
M&N Plastics
Mersino Management Company
Michigan Catholic Conference
MK Chambers Company
O’Brien Industrial Holdings
Ozinga
Paul Wieland
Priests for Life
QC Group Inc.
Randy Reed Automotives
Reaching Souls International
Right to Life Michigan
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis
Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont
Roman Catholic Diocese of Biloxi
Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne
Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas
Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie
Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth
Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort-Wayne – South Bend
Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville
Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh
School of the Ozarks
Seneca Hardwood
Sharpe Holdings, Inc.
Sioux Chief MFG Co
SMA LLC
Southern Nazarene University
The Most Reverend Thomas Wenski
Tonn and Blank Construction
Trijicon, Inc. (AKA Bindon)
Triune Health Group
Tyndale House
University of Notre Dame
Weingartz Supply Co
Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL)
Willis & Willis PLC
WLH Enterprises
Zumbiel
American MFG Co
American Pulverizer Co
Annex Medical
Autocam Corp
Ave Maria School of Law
Ave Maria University
Barron Industries
Beckwith Electric Co
Belmont Abbey College
Bick Holdings, Inc.
Cherry Creek Mortgage Co
CNS Ministries
Colorado Christian University
Conestoga Wood Specialities Corp
Continuum Health Partnership/Management
Criswell College
Doboszenski & Sons
Dordt College
Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk
East Texas Baptist University
Eden Foods
Encompass, Develop, Design & Construct LLC
Eternal Word Television Network Inc.
Fellowship of Catholic University
Feltl & Co., Inc.
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Freshway Foods
Gilardi
Grace College and Seminary
Grote Industries
Hart electric LLC
Hastings Automotive
Hercules Industries Inc.
Hobby Lobby
Holland Chevrolet
Infrastructure Alternatives
Johnson Welded Products
Korte & Luitjohan Contractors
Liberty University
Lindsay Rappaport and Postel LLC
Little Sisters of the Poor
Louisiana College
M&N Plastics
Mersino Management Company
Michigan Catholic Conference
MK Chambers Company
O’Brien Industrial Holdings
Ozinga
Paul Wieland
Priests for Life
QC Group Inc.
Randy Reed Automotives
Reaching Souls International
Right to Life Michigan
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis
Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont
Roman Catholic Diocese of Biloxi
Roman Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne
Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas
Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie
Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth
Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort-Wayne – South Bend
Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville
Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh
School of the Ozarks
Seneca Hardwood
Sharpe Holdings, Inc.
Sioux Chief MFG Co
SMA LLC
Southern Nazarene University
The Most Reverend Thomas Wenski
Tonn and Blank Construction
Trijicon, Inc. (AKA Bindon)
Triune Health Group
Tyndale House
University of Notre Dame
Weingartz Supply Co
Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL)
Willis & Willis PLC
WLH Enterprises
Zumbiel
Read the full article here: http://www.politicususa.com/2014/07/01/list-100-plaintiffs-filed-opposition-birth-control-mandate-obamacare.html
Via Daily Dharma
Dissolving the Conceptual Attitude | July 1, 2014
Through the training of trying to be
mindful, one becomes more aware, but to such an extent that it expands
further and further, encompassing all situations and all moments, and
finally to such an extent that trying to be more mindful and being
mindful becomes one identity of just awareness. At which point there is
no longer someone being aware of something. That is what is meant by the
dissolving of the conceptual attitude.
—Tsoknyi Rinpoche, "As the Clouds Vanish"
Flower of the Day: 07/01/14
“Anxiety,
unrest and the compulsion to do are symptoms of ambition and desire.
Since one searches for success in the paradigm of the material world,
one wants to accumulate wealth because one believes that success means
having a lot of money. But when the paradigm shifts and one begins to
move towards a spiritual life, success becomes being considered
charitable and making people happy. But how can you make others happy if
you yourself are not happy? One continues to seek out success through a
spiritual life with the same ambition as one sought success in the
material life. Compulsive action is a way of running away from oneself.
We need to understand the root cause of desire, and self-awareness is
what allows for this understanding to occur.”
Sri Prem Baba
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