Saturday, March 21, 2015
Via JMG: Gallup Survey On LGBT Populations
The San Francisco metropolitan area has the highest percentage of the adult population who identify as LGBT of any of the top 50 U.S. metropolitan areas, followed by Portland, Oregon, and Austin, Texas. Variation in the percentage who identify as LGBT across the largest metro areas is relatively narrow, with San Francisco's percentage just 2.6 percentage points higher than the national average of 3.6%, and the lowest-ranked metro area -- Birmingham, Alabama -- one point below the national average.Hit the link for the full list.
The top 10 includes metro areas from every region of the country except the Midwest. Given the long history of a visible and politically active LGBT community in San Francisco, the city's ranking at the top of this list is not surprising. Similar to San Francisco, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) like Portland, Seattle and Los Angeles in the West, and Boston in the Northeast, are known for their progressive social and political climates and active LGBT communities. Hartford is the capital of Connecticut, which has permitted same-sex couples to legally marry longer than every state except Massachusetts.
MSAs like Austin and New Orleans in the South, and Denver in the Rocky Mountain region, all have reputations as socially progressive cities within states and regions that are much more conservative, perhaps making them regional hubs for the LGBT population.
Via the Wasington Post: The improbable, 200-year-old story of one of America’s first same-sex ‘marriages’
The shared tombstone of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake, a 19th-century lesbian couple. (Rachel Hope Cleves)
Charity Bryant only intended to stay a few days in Weybridge, Vt., a tiny rural town with little to hold her attention. But then she met Sylvia Drake.
Drake was 22 — a talented, literary-minded woman in search of a kindred spirit. Bryant, seven years her senior, was brilliant, charismatic and exactly the kind of partner Drake had been looking for. The two fell swiftly, madly in love. Within months, Bryant rented a one-room apartment and asked Drake to become her roommate and wife.
It may sound like something from a 21st-century vows column, but this romance predates most newspapers’ style sections — by about two centuries.
Via Tricycle: May All Beings Be Happy
March 20, 2015
May All Beings Be Happy
A lovingkindness meditation
Metta
(lovingkindness) is that sense of openness when we feel connected to
everyone and everything in the world. In some ways, it's a natural
outgrowth of mindfulness practice and just the general cultivation of
happiness in our lives. When the Buddha talks about lovingkindness, he's
clearly pointing to something different from what we usually call
"love." In fact, his teachings point to the problems with selective
love, and how that leads to clinging and ultimately suffering as things
change. The Metta Sutta tells us to spread love over the entire
world to everyone, no matter what we think or feel about them. This is
unconditional love, love that doesn't expect or need a return, love that
sees past the petty differences and disputes in life to the universal
longings for happiness that we all share. In practicing lovingkindness,
we are faced with our clinging, our judgments, and our selective caring.
We see that what we usually call love may have a lot of conditions tied
up with it: "I'll love you as long as you love me" or " as long as you
give me what I want." And, further, we see that the love we have for our
dear ones makes us vulnerable to grief and loss.
Traditionally, metta practice focuses on three categories:
those we love, those we are neutral or have no strong feelings about,
and those we have difficulties with. Before we work with these
categories, the practice suggests we first focus on a benefactor or
beloved person (or even a pet). When we spend time sending
lovingkindness to this beloved, we accomplish a couple of things: first,
we soften ourselves up a bit, so that we are ready to send love to
others; and second, we get a clear sense of what love feels like so that
we establish that kind of baseline.
After connecting with the beloved, we then try to send
love to ourselves. Many people find this to be one of the most difficult
aspects of the metta practice. At least in our culture, many of us have
complicated, and often negative, feelings about ourselves. To see
ourselves as just another person deserving love is a valuable exercise.
Here we start to disidentify with ourselves, see ourselves in more
objective terms. When we can see ourselves as just another imperfect
human, equally deserving of love as anyone else, it becomes easier to
offer love to ourselves.
Moving from focus on ourselves to focus on all the rest of
the people we care about—family, friends, intimates, and partner—the
heart tends to open more easily. Now we might feel ourselves getting
into the flow of lovingkindness. Without obstruction, and using the
phrases, feelings, and visualizations of the practice, the mind can
become quite focused and concentrated, so that, not only do we enjoy the
pleasant feeling of love, but also the powerful feeling of
concentration, called samadhi, that comes with deeper meditation practices.
We then try to carry these two qualities, the
openheartedness and the focus, into giving metta to a neutral person or
persons. For many people, this seems to be an awkward practice at first,
but I think it has great potential in terms of growing a broad sense of
lovingkindness for all beings.
A neutral person is someone we don't have strong feelings
about, either positive or negative. I've used people like the clerk in
the video store and the security guard at the bank. These are people I
can visualize pretty easily because I've seen them many times, but I
certainly don't like or dislike them in any meaningful way.
At first, and naturally enough, it might be hard to feel
much about these people, but the practice gives us a form we can simply
follow without worrying about the results. You see the person in your
mind, you say the lovingkindness phrases to yourself, and you try to
connect in your heart. What helps me in doing this practice is
contemplating the universal desire for happiness and freedom from
suffering.
Even though I don't really know this neutral person, I know
that, just like me, they want happiness.
So, in a sense, I'm connecting
with my own wish for happiness and just projecting it onto them.
As we work with the neutral person, we have the
opportunity to see what the Buddha was getting at. It might be easy to
wish happiness for your loved ones, but as you wish that, it's still
very personal for you. You have some investment in their happiness, so
it's difficult to disidentify with their happiness.
However, with the
neutral person, you have no investment, so you have to connect with
something else, this universal longing that is impersonal. That moves
you away from your self-identification into a more authentic metta. As
long as there is identification or longing or investment in someone
else's happiness, we aren't experiencing unconditional love.
I think that many people can get caught up in the idea
that metta is about feeling good and praying for people you care about.
This is something of a distortion of the teachings. Yes, being immersed
in metta is a pleasant experience, but that experience isn't the goal of
the practice.
Working with the difficult person makes this fact clear.
If we were just trying to feel good, we certainly wouldn't spend time
thinking about someone we don't like. The difficult person can be
someone you've had conflict with or toward whom you have a resentment.
Sometimes when no one in my life comes up, I just use a political figure that I disagree with. In any case, this is a place where we have to apply a strong mindfulness to our practice so that we don't lapse into aversion, anger, judgment, or resentment. As we follow through on the practice, visualizing the person and saying the phrases, it's very likely that we will not feel much that's positive, at least in our initial efforts. We need to be careful that the mind doesn't wander into negative thoughts and that we just keep with the simple task of the practice, staying with the words and the breath in the heart. Here, you may be able to get some insight into the limits of your own capacity for love. That's a valuable thing to see. It can give us some goals as well as show us where some of our own suffering comes from.
Sometimes when no one in my life comes up, I just use a political figure that I disagree with. In any case, this is a place where we have to apply a strong mindfulness to our practice so that we don't lapse into aversion, anger, judgment, or resentment. As we follow through on the practice, visualizing the person and saying the phrases, it's very likely that we will not feel much that's positive, at least in our initial efforts. We need to be careful that the mind doesn't wander into negative thoughts and that we just keep with the simple task of the practice, staying with the words and the breath in the heart. Here, you may be able to get some insight into the limits of your own capacity for love. That's a valuable thing to see. It can give us some goals as well as show us where some of our own suffering comes from.
Clearly, the great spiritual masters believe that the
capacity to love our enemies is one of the vital tasks of human
evolution. Jesus spoke of this and exemplified it when he forgave those
who crucified him; the Buddha explains this in the "Simile of the Saw,"
in which he says that even if someone were sawing off our limbs one by
one, no thought of hatred should arise. If we want to be truly loving
people, unconditionally and for all beings, we have to work with some
form of this practice. It's certainly not something that I've come
anywhere close to mastering, but I have found that with compassion
practice, I can get some sense of this.
After working with the difficult person, we can move to
the expansive part of metta practice. This is actually a complete shift
because no longer are we thinking about any individuals, but working
instead with a sense of space. This space is what the Buddha is talking
about in the Metta Sutta when he says that we are "radiating
kindness over the entire world, spreading [it] upwards to the skies and
downwards to the depths, outwards and unbounded, free from hatred and
ill will."
This is a somewhat more difficult area of practice to
describe because it doesn't have the same cognitive elements of the
earlier pieces. Instead, we are working more with a feeling, a feeling
of expansiveness and connection. Hopefully when we arrive at this part
of the practice, we've developed something of an internal sense of
lovingkindness. While focusing on that feeling, that authentic wish for
all beings to be free from dukkha, or suffering, we being a
process of imaginative expansion. We can use a visualization if that
works, while we stay connected to the feeling in the heart and imagine
that the love is growing.
First we see/feel that love filling and enveloping the
room we are in. Then we let that feeling expand out through the whole
building, the neighborhood, outward in all directions until it touches
everything on earth. This can be done slowly or quickly, depending upon
how much time you have and how into it you are. You can think of
specific groups of people you want to send love to: the sick and dying,
the oppressed, or whatever comes up for you. You can also send love to
animals, plants, and the earth itself.
At this point, you may lose the sense of boundaries with
your body, and experience a sort of floating or fluid sensation. I'm not
trying to tell you how you should feel—just know that anything in this
realm is normal and helps to support this part of the practice. When
we've spread lovingkindness over the entire planet, we then expand into
space, vast and limitless. We try to permeate the universe with
lovingkindness.
Once we've sat in this place of boundless love for a
little while, we can bring ourselves gradually back into the body and
heart, and close the period of meditation.
Practice—Metta Phrases
Practice—Metta Phrases
I've more or less outlined the practice above. Always
start by connecting with the breath, so you have some attention in your
body, preferably at the heart. As I've said, we first send metta to a
beloved person or benefactor, then ourselves, our dear ones, a netural
person, a difficult person, then radiating to all beings. A big part of
this, then, is the felt sense of lovingkindness; however, this feeling
may be stronger, weaker, or even absent at times.
Nonetheless, we continue the practice by visualizing the people we are sending metta to, maybe naming them, and repeating phrases.
You should use phrases that resonate for you and are simple and direct. Not more than four phrases. Here are some typical ones:
Nonetheless, we continue the practice by visualizing the people we are sending metta to, maybe naming them, and repeating phrases.
You should use phrases that resonate for you and are simple and direct. Not more than four phrases. Here are some typical ones:
May you be happy
May you be peaceful
May you live with ease.
Some people like to add something like, "May you be safe."
Stay in touch with your breath; notice feelings of
happiness or resistance that come up at various stages; let the phrases
flow with the breath and stay connected to the heart.
Kevin Griffin is the cofounder of the Buddhist Recovery Network. He lives in Berkeley, California.
Kevin Griffin is the cofounder of the Buddhist Recovery Network. He lives in Berkeley, California.
Adapted from Recovering Joy: A Mindful Life After Addiction by Kevin Griffin. Copyright © 2015 by Kevin Griffin. To be published by Sounds True in June, 2015.
Via Portal Brasil / FB:
Ministra do Supremo Tribunal Federal
(STF), Cármem Lúcia, manteve decisão que autorizou a adoção de crianças
por um casal homoafetivo do Paraná. Para a ministra o conceito de
família não pode ser restrito por se tratar de casais homoafetivos. Leia
aqui: http://goo.gl/896ZEb
Rough Trans: "The Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Carmen Lucia, kept the decision authorizing the adoption of children by a homosexual couple in Paraná. The minister said the concept of family can not be restricted to not includehomosexual couples."
Rough Trans: "The Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Carmen Lucia, kept the decision authorizing the adoption of children by a homosexual couple in Paraná. The minister said the concept of family can not be restricted to not includehomosexual couples."
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 21/03/2015
“O ser humano às vezes demora muito tempo para amadurecer até que possa
pedir e experienciar o perdão. O perdão nasce de um aspecto específico
da consciência, a compreensão. Ele é um florescimento da compreensão. E
essa compreensão envolve arrependimento. Quando o arrependimento é
sincero, ele te liberta de qualquer culpa. As suas lágrimas caem, lavam
as marcas da culpa e iluminam o perdão; e somente o perdão te liberta dos fardos do passado.”
“El ser humano a veces tarda mucho tiempo para madurar hasta que pueda
pedir y experimentar el perdón. El perdón nace de un aspecto específico
de la conciencia, la comprensión. Es un florecimiento de la comprensión.
Y esa comprensión involucra arrepentimiento. Cuando el arrepentimiento
es sincero, te libera de cualquier culpa. Tus lágrimas caen, lavan las
marcas de la culpa e iluminan el perdón; y solamente el perdón te libera
de las cargas del pasado.”
"Human beings sometimes take a long time to mature to the point of being able to ask for forgiveness and to experience forgiveness. Forgiveness is born from a specific aspect of consciousness: comprehension. It is a blossoming of understanding, and this comprehension involves remorse. When repentance is sincere, it frees us from all guilt. When tears fall, they wash away the imprints of guilt and illuminate our forgiveness. Only forgiveness can set us free from the burdens of the past."
"Human beings sometimes take a long time to mature to the point of being able to ask for forgiveness and to experience forgiveness. Forgiveness is born from a specific aspect of consciousness: comprehension. It is a blossoming of understanding, and this comprehension involves remorse. When repentance is sincere, it frees us from all guilt. When tears fall, they wash away the imprints of guilt and illuminate our forgiveness. Only forgiveness can set us free from the burdens of the past."
Via Dialy Dharma
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Friday, March 20, 2015
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 20/03/2015
“Uma pessoa preguiçosa pode fazer muitas coisas, mas esse fazer (que
pode ser até compulsivo) é uma reação, ou seja, é uma fuga da verdadeira
ação. Porque a ação inevitavelmente te leva a entrar em contato com
aqueles sentimentos que foram suprimidos e congelados no seu sistema,
justamente por ser difícil de lidar com eles. A preguiça é mais
conhecida na sua forma passiva, na qual a pessoa se vê completamente
paralisada diante do que precisa ser
feito. Às vezes ela tem um tremendo talento, uma capacidade genial, mas
não consegue colocar isso em movimento a favor dela e dos outros. Porém,
existe a preguiça ativa que se manifesta através de um fazer compulsivo
que te desvia daquilo que realmente precisa ser feito.”
“Una persona perezosa puede hacer muchas cosas, pero este hacer (que
puede hasta ser compulsivo) es una reacción, es decir, es un escape de
la verdadera acción. Porque la acción inevitablemente te lleva a entrar
en contacto con aquellos sentimientos que fueron suprimidos y congelados
en tu sistema, justamente porque es difícil lidiar con ellos. La pereza
es más conocida en su forma pasiva, en la cual la persona se ve
completamente paralizada delante de lo que necesita ser hecho. A veces
ella tiene un tremendo talento, una capacidad genial, pero no consigue
ponerlo en movimiento a favor de ella y de los demás. Sin embargo existe
la pereza activa que se manifiesta a través de un hacer compulsivo que
te desvía de lo que realmente precisa ser hecho.”
"A lazy person may do many things, but this doing, which can even be compulsive, is only a reaction. In other words, it is an escape from true action. Real action inevitably leads us to get in touch with the feelings that were suppressed and frozen in our systems because they were so difficult to deal with. Laziness is best known in its passive form where we find ourselves completely paralyzed in the face of what needs to be done. Sometimes we can have a tremendous talent, a brilliant ability, but we’re unable to put it into motion for ourselves and for others. In contrast, the active form of laziness manifests itself through compulsive doing and distracts us from what really has to get done."
"A lazy person may do many things, but this doing, which can even be compulsive, is only a reaction. In other words, it is an escape from true action. Real action inevitably leads us to get in touch with the feelings that were suppressed and frozen in our systems because they were so difficult to deal with. Laziness is best known in its passive form where we find ourselves completely paralyzed in the face of what needs to be done. Sometimes we can have a tremendous talent, a brilliant ability, but we’re unable to put it into motion for ourselves and for others. In contrast, the active form of laziness manifests itself through compulsive doing and distracts us from what really has to get done."
Via Daily Dharma:
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Thursday, March 19, 2015
Via JMG: Barney Frank: If Aaron Schock Is Gay, He Has Forfeited His Right To The Closet
Via JMG: CALIFORNIA: Gay Death Penalty Ballot Measure Will Probably Be Advanced
Last month a Christian activist filed a 2016 California ballot measure
that calls for the death penalty for homosexuality. And it appears that
Attorney General Kamala Harris can do little to prevent the the proposed
referendum from reaching the petition signature gathering stage. The San Francisco Chronicle reports:
Reposted from Joe Jervis
The state Supreme Court has the power to keep measures off the ballot if they violate the California Constitution. It has exercised that power to disqualify measures that cover more than one subject, broadly defined, and to block last year’s attempt by legislative Democrats to seek a statewide advisory vote on a U.S. constitutional amendment that would limit corporate spending in federal elections. Presumably the justices could locate a state constitutional provision that would discourage shooting people in the head.The ballot measure briefly vanished from the AG's official website earlier this month, but soon reappeared. The proposed referendum includes this stipulation: "Any person who willingly touches another person of the same gender for purposes of sexual gratification shall be put to death by bullets to the head or by any other convenient method." Jesus is love.
But McLaughlin’s measure is currently before Harris, whose options appear to be limited. Once the sponsor has paid the required fee, state law directs the attorney general to prepare a title and a maximum 100-word summary of the initiative and forward it to the secretary of state for a 90-day period of public signature-gathering. The secretary of state’s website says Harris is scheduled to take those actions by about May 4.
Does she have the power to refuse if the measure is patently unconstitutional? Harris isn’t saying; her office did not return repeated phone calls. But some veteran practitioners of election law said they don’t think so. “The statute is clear: that the office has to prepare a summary provided the proponents have paid $200 and followed the right procedures,” said attorney Robert Stern, author of the state’s 1974 Political Reform Act. He said he’s never heard of a case in which the attorney general refused to issue a title and summary.
Labels: 2016 elections, California, Christian Love, Christianists, gay death penalty, Kamala Harris, religion
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 19/03/2015
“A água é uma manifestação da vida. A crise hídrica tem se manifestado
com mais força em alguns lugares, mas o desequilíbrio é geral. O sintoma
aparece com mais força em um continente, mas a doença é planetária. É
um desequilíbrio no ciclo da própria vida. Embora o tema seja complexo, e
envolva questões sociais, políticas e econômicas, na raiz da crise está
a negação da Verdade. A água representa nossos sentimentos mais profundos,
e a falta dela é justamente a negação desses sentimentos. Mas, no mais
profundo, esse desequilíbrio é um sintoma da esquecimento da
espiritualidade.”
“El agua
es una manifestación de la vida. La crisis hídrica se ha manifestado con
más fuerza en algunos lugares, pero el desequilibrio es general. El
síntoma aparece con más fuerza en un continente, pero la enfermedad es
planetaria. Es un desequilibrio en el ciclo de la propia vida. Aunque el
tema sea complejo, e involucre cuestiones sociales, políticas y
económicas, en la raíz de la crisis está la negación de la Verdad. El
agua representa nuestros sentimientos más profundos, y la falta de ella
es justamente la negación de estos sentimientos. Pero en lo más
profundo, este desequilibrio es un síntoma del olvido de la
espiritualidad.”
"Water is a manifestation of life. The water crisis has manifested itself more strongly in some places, but the imbalance is worldwide. The symptoms appear stronger in certain continents, but the disease is global. It is an imbalance in the cycle of life itself. Although the issue is complex and involves social, political and economic issues, the root of the crisis lies in the denial of truth. Water represents our deepest feelings, and the lack of water is precisely the denial of these feelings. On the deepest level, this imbalance is a symptom of the forgetfulness of spirituality."
"Water is a manifestation of life. The water crisis has manifested itself more strongly in some places, but the imbalance is worldwide. The symptoms appear stronger in certain continents, but the disease is global. It is an imbalance in the cycle of life itself. Although the issue is complex and involves social, political and economic issues, the root of the crisis lies in the denial of truth. Water represents our deepest feelings, and the lack of water is precisely the denial of these feelings. On the deepest level, this imbalance is a symptom of the forgetfulness of spirituality."
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Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 18/03/2015
“Quando a luz do perdão se manifesta, todas as sombras se dissipam.
Mágoas e ressentimentos se dissolvem e o passado desaparece. Você volta
para a luz do momento presente, onde não existe separação ou
distanciamento. Por isso compreenda que se existe uma barreira entre
você e outro, ela é feita de mágoas e ressentimentos - é feita de
acusação. Portanto, é feita de passado.”
“Cuando la luz del perdón se manifiesta, todas las sombras se disipan. Heridas y resentimientos se disuelven y el pasado desaparece. Vuelves a la luz del momento presente, donde no existe separación o distancia. Por eso comprende que si existe una barrera entre tú y otro, ella está hecha de heridas y resentimientos - está hecha de acusación. Por lo tanto, está hecha de pasado.”
“Cuando la luz del perdón se manifiesta, todas las sombras se disipan. Heridas y resentimientos se disuelven y el pasado desaparece. Vuelves a la luz del momento presente, donde no existe separación o distancia. Por eso comprende que si existe una barrera entre tú y otro, ella está hecha de heridas y resentimientos - está hecha de acusación. Por lo tanto, está hecha de pasado.”
"When the light of forgiveness manifests, all shadows dissipate. Hurts
and resentments dissolve, and the past disappears. We return to the
light of the present moment, where there is no separation or distance.
This is why we must understand that if there is a barrier between
ourselves and another person, it is due to hurts, resentments and
accusations. This barrier is created out of our past."
Via Daily Dharma
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Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Via The Advocate: Presbyterians Overwhelmingly Approve Marriage Equality
The largest Presbyterian denomination approved a marriage resolution on Tuesday that amends their constitution to accept same-sex marriages.
A voice vote held on Tuesday in New Jersey had 86 regional bodies approving the new resolution and 41 opposed (one local presbytery had a tie vote), reports The New York Times. The church, which claims 1.8 million members and is based in Kentucky, has been moving to the left in the past few years; they cleared the way for gay and lesbian pastors, elders, and deacons four years ago.
Their latest change in policy also means Presbyterian ministers who previously performed same-sex marriages will not be prosecuted or convicted of ecclesiastical crimes by the church.
The new policy is a measured change. Conservative ministers will not be forced to perform same-sex marriages, while the new constitution will not be altered that drastically. The church previously considered marriage as between "a man and a woman," while the new language considers marriage as a union of "two people, traditionally a man and a woman."
The Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, and the Quakers are some of the other denominations that have opened the door to same-sex marriage. The Reform and Conservative movements of Judaism have also hopped on the bandwagon.
Via GLAAD: Presbyterians latest church to affirm marriage equality
The Presbyterian Church (USA) has become the latest church to approved marriages for same-sex couples. The Presbyterian Church, USA now holds that marriage is between “two persons” rather than “a man and a woman.”
Last summer, the PC(USA) governing body voted by a 71% vote to change the description of marriage, from between “a man and a woman” to “two persons.” However, the amendment required 51% of the 171 regional bodies called presbyteries to affirm the change. That threshold was crossed as 86 presbyteries voted yes, as of today. The tipping point vote was cast by Palisades Presbytery in New Jersey. However, affirming votes came from more conservative presbyteries, including the Charleston-Atlantic and Foothills Presbyteries in South Carolina, James and Shenandoah Presbyteries in Virginia, Presbytery of the Pines in Louisiana, and North Alabama Presbytery. You can see a full tally, and which presbyteries are still yet to vote at the Covenant Network of Presbyterians website.
Make the jump here to read the full article
Via NYT: Presbyterians Give Final Approval for Same-Sex Marriage
After
three decades of debate over its stance on homosexuality, members of
the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted on Tuesday to change the
definition of marriage in the church’s constitution to include same-sex marriage.
The
final approval by a majority of the church’s 171 regional bodies, known
as presbyteries, enshrines a change recommended last year by the
church’s General Assembly.
The vote amends the church’s constitution to broaden marriage from
being between “a man and a woman” to “two people, traditionally a man
and a woman.”
The Presbytery of the Palisades
meeting in Fair Lawn, N.J., put the ratification count over the top on
Tuesday on a voice vote. With many presbyteries still left to vote, the
tally early Tuesday evening stood at 86 presbyteries in favor and 41
against and one tied.
“Finally, the church in
its constitutional documents fully recognizes that the love of gays and
lesbian couples is worth celebrating in the faith community,” said the
Rev. Brian D. Ellison, executive director of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians,
which advocates gay inclusion in the church.
“There is still
disagreement, and I don’t mean to minimize that, but I think we are
learning that we can disagree and still be church together.”
The
church, with about 1.8 million members, is the largest of the nation’s
Presbyterian denominations, but it has been losing congregations and
individual members as it has moved to the left theologically over the
past several years. There was a wave of departures in and after 2011,
when the presbyteries ratified a decision to ordain gays and lesbians as
pastors, elders and deacons, and that may have cleared the way for
Tuesday’s vote.
Via Huffington: Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Embraces LGBT-Inclusive Definition Of Marriage
The tide has turned for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples seeking to be married in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A).
Following years of debate and introspection, America’s largest Presbyterian denomination has announced a change to its constitution that allows for a more inclusive definition of marriage.
Officially called Amendment 14-F, the new wording in the denomination’s Book of Order will describe marriage as being “between two people.”
About 71 percent of PC (USA) leaders approved of the change during a general assembly meeting last June. The church had been waiting for a majority of its 172 Presbyteries, or regional bodies, to approve the measure one by one. On Tuesday, this majority was reached, with 86 Presbyteries handing in decisions to support same-sex marriage within the church.
“Today we are rejoicing!" said the Rev. Robin White, co-moderator of the LGBT advocacy group More Light Presbyterians. "So many families headed by LGBTQ couples have been waiting for decades to enter this space created for their families within their church communities.”
Make the jump here to read the full article
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 17/03/2015
“Existem muitas práticas que podem te ajudar a fortalecer a sua força
de vontade, mas é muito importante que você não se proponha a fazer algo
que não vai dar conta. Esse é um aspecto fundamental da prática da
austeridade inteligente. Se você sente que não pode se comprometer com
nada, tudo bem - talvez sua austeridade nesse momento seja não se
culpar, não exigir nada de si mesmo. Porém, procure se observar, pois
muito provavelmente você está preso na
crença de que não é capaz ou de que não tem poder. Mas, é muito
importante ir além disso, pois toda crença é limitante.”
“Existen muchas prácticas que te pueden ayudar a fortalecer tu fuerza
de voluntad, pero es muy importante que no te propongas hacer algo que
no vas a poder manejar. Este es un aspecto fundamental de la práctica de
austeridad inteligente. Si sientes que no te puedes comprometer con
nada, todo bien - tal vez tu austeridad en este momento sea no culparte,
no exigirte nada a ti mismo. Sin embargo, trata de observarte, porque
muy probablemente estés preso en la creencia de que no eres capaz o de
que no tienes poder. Pero es muy importante ir más allá de eso, porque
toda creencia es limitan.”
"There are many practices that can help to strengthen our willpower, but it’s crucial that we don’t propose a practice for ourselves that we won’t be able to do. This is a fundamental aspect of the practice of intelligent austerities. If we feel we can’t commit to anything at all, it’s okay – maybe our austerity at that moment is not to blame or demand anything of ourselves. However, we must try to observe ourselves, because it’s likely that we are stuck in the belief that we’re not capable or that we don’t have any power. It’s very important to go beyond this, because every belief is limiting."
"There are many practices that can help to strengthen our willpower, but it’s crucial that we don’t propose a practice for ourselves that we won’t be able to do. This is a fundamental aspect of the practice of intelligent austerities. If we feel we can’t commit to anything at all, it’s okay – maybe our austerity at that moment is not to blame or demand anything of ourselves. However, we must try to observe ourselves, because it’s likely that we are stuck in the belief that we’re not capable or that we don’t have any power. It’s very important to go beyond this, because every belief is limiting."
O Caminho do Meio // O Caminho do Meio
O Caminho do Meio
Apenas para registro:
Sou a favor do fim da corrupção, para um melhor trânsito e escolas e hospitais, para acabar com a miséria, para encontrar soluções para a nossa crise ambiental e para os projetos que precisam ser concluídos, como prometido! Sou a favor de ruas seguras e limpas e de um melhor planejamento e gestão para os nossos recursos e do meio ambiente.
É possível ser em favor disso e não ser rotulado de racista? Eu não sou a favor de didaturas militares ou impeachment, mas quem sente a liderança (em ambos meus países!) estão precisando de uma palmada firme. Para mim, isto parece adequado, pois é o caminho do meio.
Estou profundamente grato aos meus dois países por tudo o que eles me deram.
Estou dedicado a reembolsá-lo, tornando a vida dos meus alunos e da comunidade um lugar um pouco para todos nós.
Então vamos levar a discussão para fora dos medos e do diálogo de esquerda - direita, culpando os líderes do passado ou quaisquer fantasmas do exterior e vamos assumir a responsabilidade pessoal e o foco no caminho do meio, onde podemos encontrar uma maneira de trabalhar juntos em paz e solidariedade!
VIVA O BRASIL!
-----
The Middle Way
Just for the record:
I am for an end to corruption, for better mass-transit, schools and hospitals, for ending misery, for finding solutions to our environmental crisis... for projects that need to be finished as promised! I am for safe and clean streets, and for better planning and management or our limited resources and environment.
Is it possible to be for this and not be labeled a racist? I am not for any military solutions or impeachment but one who feels the leadership (in both my countries) are in need of a sound spanking. To me this seems appropriate, and is the middle way.
I am deeply grateful to both my countries for all that they have given me. I am dedicated to paying it forward and making the lives of my students and community a little bit better place for all of us.
So lets move the discussion away from fears and a left – right dialogue, from blaming past leaders or any ghosts from abroad, and towards taking personal responsibility and focus on the middle way where we can find a way to work together in peace and solidarity!
VIVA BRASIL!
Apenas para registro:
Sou a favor do fim da corrupção, para um melhor trânsito e escolas e hospitais, para acabar com a miséria, para encontrar soluções para a nossa crise ambiental e para os projetos que precisam ser concluídos, como prometido! Sou a favor de ruas seguras e limpas e de um melhor planejamento e gestão para os nossos recursos e do meio ambiente.
É possível ser em favor disso e não ser rotulado de racista? Eu não sou a favor de didaturas militares ou impeachment, mas quem sente a liderança (em ambos meus países!) estão precisando de uma palmada firme. Para mim, isto parece adequado, pois é o caminho do meio.
Estou profundamente grato aos meus dois países por tudo o que eles me deram.
Estou dedicado a reembolsá-lo, tornando a vida dos meus alunos e da comunidade um lugar um pouco para todos nós.
Então vamos levar a discussão para fora dos medos e do diálogo de esquerda - direita, culpando os líderes do passado ou quaisquer fantasmas do exterior e vamos assumir a responsabilidade pessoal e o foco no caminho do meio, onde podemos encontrar uma maneira de trabalhar juntos em paz e solidariedade!
VIVA O BRASIL!
-----
The Middle Way
Just for the record:
I am for an end to corruption, for better mass-transit, schools and hospitals, for ending misery, for finding solutions to our environmental crisis... for projects that need to be finished as promised! I am for safe and clean streets, and for better planning and management or our limited resources and environment.
Is it possible to be for this and not be labeled a racist? I am not for any military solutions or impeachment but one who feels the leadership (in both my countries) are in need of a sound spanking. To me this seems appropriate, and is the middle way.
I am deeply grateful to both my countries for all that they have given me. I am dedicated to paying it forward and making the lives of my students and community a little bit better place for all of us.
So lets move the discussion away from fears and a left – right dialogue, from blaming past leaders or any ghosts from abroad, and towards taking personal responsibility and focus on the middle way where we can find a way to work together in peace and solidarity!
VIVA BRASIL!
Via Daily Dharma
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Monday, March 16, 2015
Via JMG: Barney Frank: LGBT Folks Are Beating Prejudice Because They Stopped Hiding
“Well, I tell you, our reality as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people beat the prejudice. I mean, the central mechanism is that we stopped hiding. And it turns out we weren't what the stereotype was. But clearly, there was a point when the notion that I could get married to Jim while I was still in Congress would've been the most bizarre possibility. I remember the time I got married, someone said, 'Well, would it be controversial if you got married while you were still in Congress?' And the answer was, yes it was. A lot of my colleagues were mad that they didn't get invited. So our reality is that. On the other side, I think the fundamental issue, and it does go back to a Clinton campaign statement, "It's the economy, stupid."”
Reposted from Joe Jervis
Via JMG: Equality California Endorses Hillary
California, the nation's second largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender membership organization, has endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. EQCA is the first major LGBT organization in the nation to endorse the former Secretary of State for President. "We want Hillary Clinton to run and are ready to mobilize our 800,000 members to help her win," said Equality California's Executive Director Rick Zbur. "We're enthusiastic about her candidacy because she has the best record of accomplishment on LGBT issues of any potential candidate. Equality California is ready for Hillary!"
As Secretary of State, Clinton championed the rights of LGBT people around the world, making LGBT rights and acceptance a global priority. In 2011, Sec. Clinton gave a historic speech on International Human Rights Day at the United Nations in Geneva, saying: "Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights." Under Sec. Clinton's leadership, the Department of State used its full range of diplomatic and development tools to combat violence and discrimination against LGBT people worldwide. Thanks to her efforts, LGBT rights became a core principle of U.S. foreign policy in an unprecedented way.
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 16/03/2015
“Não é possível aprender a amar porque aprender implica em receber
alguma coisa de fora. E se o amor é a seiva da vida, a respiração da
alma, então não é uma questão de aprender a amar, mas sim de desaprender
a odiar. A criança nasce amando, mas logo aprende a odiar. Muito cedo
ela aprende a sentir ciúme e a barganhar, o que aciona um círculo
vicioso que faz com que ela interrompa o fluxo natural do amor, ou seja,
algumas pedras são colocadas no
caminho. Então para que o amor seja desvendado, é preciso remover essas
pedras que estão encobrindo a fonte do amor que nos habita.”
“No es posible aprender a amar porque aprender implica recibir algo de
afuera. Y si el amor es la savia de la vida, la respiración del alma,
entonces no es una cuestión de aprender a amar, sino de desaprender a
odiar. El niño nace amando, pero luego aprende a odiar. Muy pronto
aprende a sentir celos y a regatear, lo que acciona un círculo vicioso
que hace que él interrumpa el flujo natural del amor, es decir, algunas
piedras son puestas en el camino. Entonces para que el amor sea
develado, es necesario remover estas piedras que están cubriendo la
fuente del amor que nos habita.”
"It’s not possible to learn how to love, because learning implies receiving something from the outside. If love is the nectar of life, the breath of the soul, then it’s not a matter of learning how to love, but rather an unlearning of hatred. A child is born loving, but soon learns to hate. Early on, we learn to feel jealous and how to bargain, which triggers a vicious circle that makes us break with the natural flow of love. In other words, some stones are placed on our paths. In order to unveil love, we must remove these stones that are covering up the source of love that dwells in each of us."
"It’s not possible to learn how to love, because learning implies receiving something from the outside. If love is the nectar of life, the breath of the soul, then it’s not a matter of learning how to love, but rather an unlearning of hatred. A child is born loving, but soon learns to hate. Early on, we learn to feel jealous and how to bargain, which triggers a vicious circle that makes us break with the natural flow of love. In other words, some stones are placed on our paths. In order to unveil love, we must remove these stones that are covering up the source of love that dwells in each of us."
Via Daily Dharma
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Sunday, March 15, 2015
Via JMG: Cyndi Lauper: The FRC Wants Homeless LGBT Kids Excluded From Federal Act
Can you believe that there are people actively working to leave youth out in the cold? Don’t they realize it's just going to push us to work even harder to protect our kids?! The Family Research Council is one of those groups. Their target: a clause in the the Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act that would specifically protect the 40% of homeless youth who identify as identify as LGBT.You can donate to Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Fund here.
This is what they had to say about the clause: “It contains a definition of gender identity (‘actual or perceived gender-related characteristics’) and sexual orientation that would require special protections for some individuals at the expense of the safety and privacy of all youth served by providers.”
I don’t understand how ensuring welcoming, affirming, and appropriate services for all youth jeopardizes anyone’s safety or privacy. Programs and services receiving federal funding must be inclusive of 100% our youth, not just 60%. This isn’t about protecting some youth, but ALL youth.
Labels: Christian Love, Christianists, Cyndi Lauper, evil, feds, FRC, hate groups, homelessness, LGBT youth, religion, Tony Perkins
Via JMG: RUSSIA: Ikea Closes Website Over Fears About "Gay Propaganda" Laws
Ikea is to close down an online magazine in Russia over fears it could flout the country's law banning the promotion of gay values to minors. In a statement, the furniture giant said some articles in Ikea Family Live could be viewed in Russia as gay "propaganda". The controversial law was approved by President Vladimir Putin in 2013, drawing criticism from rights groups. They say it has been used to ban gay rights events, a claim Russia denies.Late in 2013, Ikea removed a story about a British lesbian couple from its Russian website, drawing protests from GLAAD.
In the statement (in Russian), Ikea said: "When we do business, we observe the legislation of the countries where we work, therefore to avoid violations, we have taken the decision to stop publishing the magazine in Russia." It said the magazine - which is published in 25 countries - "shows different aspects of people's lives at home, regardless of their age, gender, sexual orientation, nationality and religion". "The magazine reflects the values of the Ikea company, including equal rights and opportunities for all."
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 15/03/2015
“A máscara é um mecanismo de defesa que você desenvolve para evitar
entrar em contato com as suas feridas infantis. Ela é uma idealização a
respeito de si mesmo. E você idealiza porque ouve e assiste muita coisa a
respeito do que é certo ou errado, do que é bom ou ruim. Você recebe
informações sobre como ser uma pessoa aceita (ou rejeitada), e a partir
disso, usando seu repertório mental e suas qualidades de raciocínio, você começa a construir um personagem para poder agradar e receber energia de alguma maneira.”
“La máscara es un mecanismo de defensa que desarrollas para evitar
entrar en contacto con tus heridas infantiles. Ella es una idealización
al respecto de ti mismo. Y tú idealizas porque oyes y ves muchas cosas
al respecto de lo que está bien o está mal, de lo que es bueno o malo.
Recibes informaciones sobre cómo ser una persona aceptada (o rechazada),
y a partir de eso, usando tu repertorio mental y tus cualidades de
raciocinio, comienzas a construir un personaje para poder agradar y
recibir energía de alguna manera.”
“Masks are the defense mechanisms we develop to avoid getting in touch with our childhood wounds. These masks are the idealized versions of ourselves. We create these ideals because we hear and see a lot about what is right or wrong; good or bad. We receive so much information on how to get accepted or rejected. Based on these observations, our mental repertoire, and our ability to rationalize, we begin to create a personality that will please others and receive energy in some way or another.”
“Masks are the defense mechanisms we develop to avoid getting in touch with our childhood wounds. These masks are the idealized versions of ourselves. We create these ideals because we hear and see a lot about what is right or wrong; good or bad. We receive so much information on how to get accepted or rejected. Based on these observations, our mental repertoire, and our ability to rationalize, we begin to create a personality that will please others and receive energy in some way or another.”
Via Daily Dharma
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Saturday, March 14, 2015
Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor del Día- Flower of the day 14/03/2015
“Desamor é sinônimo de vingança. E a vingança é uma mescla de ira, medo
e orgulho. Uma das maneiras mais comuns de se vingar é quando você se
fecha para o outro e passa a negar o amor. Muitas vezes você faz isso de
forma passiva, simplesmente se isolando, o que pode se transformar em
um processo de autodestruição: a energia da vingança se volta contra si
mesmo na forma de doenças, fracassos, acidentes, e de uma série de
situações negativas. Isso ocorre porque
essa energia destrutiva, quando não exteriorizada por conta dos códigos
morais sociais, se transforma em auto-ódio e autopunição.”
“Desamor es sinónimo de venganza. Y la venganza es una mezcla de ira,
miedo y orgullo. Una de las maneras más comunes de vengarte es cuando te
cierras al otro y pasas a negar el amor. Muchas veces haces eso de
forma pasiva, simplemente aislándote, lo que puede transformarse en un
proceso de autodestrucción: la energía de la venganza se vuelve contra
ti mismo en la forma de enfermedades, fracasos, accidentes, y de una
serie de situaciones negativas. Esto ocurre porque esa energía
destructiva, cuando no es exteriorizada por cuenta de los códigos
morales sociales, se transforma en auto-odio y autocastigo.”
“A lack of love is synonymous with revenge. Revenge is a combination of wrath, fear and pride. One of the most common ways of taking revenge is by closing yourself off to others and beginning to deny them your love. You often do this passively by simply isolating yourself, which can set off a process of self-destruction. The energy of revenge turns against oneself in the form of illnesses, failures, accidents and a series of negative situations. When this destructive energy is not externalized due to social and moral codes, it turns into self-hatred and self-punishment”.
“A lack of love is synonymous with revenge. Revenge is a combination of wrath, fear and pride. One of the most common ways of taking revenge is by closing yourself off to others and beginning to deny them your love. You often do this passively by simply isolating yourself, which can set off a process of self-destruction. The energy of revenge turns against oneself in the form of illnesses, failures, accidents and a series of negative situations. When this destructive energy is not externalized due to social and moral codes, it turns into self-hatred and self-punishment”.
Via Daily Dharma
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