Via Ram Dass / Be Here Now Network

August 17, 2016

We’re all just walking each other home.

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Via Sri Prem Baba:Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 17/08/2016

“Tenho visto que muitos buscadores, em momentos de crise, sentem vontade de tornar-se terapeutas ou professores de yoga. Eles visualizam uma vida mais tranquila e acreditam que isso resolverá todos os seus problemas. Isso até pode acontecer mas, na maioria dos casos, esse desejo é a expressão de uma profunda angústia em relação ao propósito da vida, e mudar de atividade seria apenas transferir o problema. Você pode vir a ser um professor de yoga, mas é importante não alimentar falsas esperanças para evitar frustrações. Em momentos como esse, é importante não deixar-se limitar por expectativas. Mantenha-se aberto e trabalhe para ampliar a percepção. A sua alma está em busca de algo; ela busca uma visão. E essa visão indicará o caminho.”

“He visto que muchos buscadores, en momentos de crisis, sienten ganas de convertirse en terapeutas o profesores de yoga. Ellos visualizan una vida más tranquila y creen que esto va a resolver todos sus problemas. Puede que esto suceda pero, en la mayoría de los casos, este deseo es la expresión de una profunda angustia al propósito de vida, y cambiar de actividad sería solamente transferir el problema. Puedes llegar a ser un profesor de yoga, pero es importante no alimentar falsas esperanzas para evitar frustraciones. En momentos como este, es importante no dejarse limitar por expectativas. Permanece abierto y trabaja para ampliar la percepción. Tu alma está en la búsqueda de algo; ella busca una visión. Y esta visión señalará el camino.”

“In moments of crisis, I have seen many seekers wanting to become therapists, or yoga teachers. They imagine this to be a more peaceful way of life and believe it will solve all their problems. Even though this may actually occur, in the majority of cases, this desire to change is the expression of a deep anxiety in relationship to life’s greater purpose. To believe a new job or profession will make a difference is just escaping the problem. You may become a yoga teacher, but it is important not to limit yourself by creating expectations. Keep yourself open and work to increase your perception. Your soul is in search of something; it is seeking a vision. This vision will show you the path.”

Via Daily Dharma / August 17, 2016: Abandoning What Arises

Unwholesome states have already arisen and the work is to abandon them now, rather than to regret that they have arisen at all. To acknowledge deeply held beliefs, passing fantasies, unwholesome thoughts—and to abandon them.

—Leora Fridman, "Notes on Abandon"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 16/08/2016

“Quem sou eu? Por que estou aqui? Sidarta Gautama, o Buda, dedicou toda sua vida à busca das respostas para essas questões. Ele não poupou esforços; fez tudo que o seu coração determinou que fizesse. Se, ao ouvir os comandos do seu coração, você chegou onde está, esse é o lugar certo, pois somente o coração sabe o caminho. O coração nos leva a diferentes lugares e experiências para nos purificar, até que estejamos prontos para revelar o Buda que nos habita. Ele nos leva à Verdade de quem somos. Mas, para podermos lembrar de quem verdadeiramente somos, precisamos remover as capas que constituem a falsa identidade.”

“¿Quién soy yo? ¿Por qué estoy aquí? Sidarta Gautama, o Buda, dedicó toda su vida a la búsqueda de respuestas a estas cuestiones. No escatimó esfuerzos; hizo todo lo que su corazón determinó que hiciera. Si, al oír a los comandos de tu corazón, llegaste donde estás, este es el lugar correcto, porque solamente el corazón sabe el camino. El corazón nos lleva a diferentes lugares y experiencias para purificarnos, hasta que estemos listos para revelar al Buda que nos habita. Él nos lleva a la Verdad de quienes somos. Pero para poder recordar lo que verdaderamente somos, necesitamos remover las capas que constituyen la falsa identidad.”

“Who am I? Why am I here? Siddartha Gautama, the Buddha,dedicated his entire life to searching for the answers to these questions. He spared no effort and performed everything his heart commanded him to do. If you have arrived to the point where you are in your life by listening to the commands of your heart, then rest assured it is exactly where you need to be because only the heart knows the way. The heart takes us to different places and experiences so that we may purify ourselves until we are ready to reveal the Buddha that inhabits us. The Buddha within leads us to the truth of who we are. In order to remember who we truly are,we need to remove the layers that make up our false identity.”

Via Daily Dharma / August 16, 2016: No Meditation Without Aspiration

Without prayers of aspiration, expressing one’s noble wishes, our meditation lacks something important, a certain vital richness. Your aspirations must be inspired by the altruistic spirit of bodhicitta, awakened heart-mind.

—Tsoknyi Rinpoche, "Noble Wishes"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 15/08/2016

“Sempre digo que a última prova da universidade dos relacionamentos é poder amar, mesmo quando o outro não te ama. O sol te ilumina, independentemente do que você pensa sobre ele. A água sacia a sua sede, independentemente do que você pensa sobre ela. Em algum momento, o ser humano desenvolve essa qualidade e se torna o amor, pois esse é o seu destino. Tornar-se o amor significa ter essa qualidade do sol e da água - significa amar desinteressadamente.”

“Siempre digo que la última prueba de la universidad de las relaciones es poder amar, incluso cuando el otro no te ama. El sol te ilumina, independientemente de lo que piensas sobre él. El agua sacia tu sed, independientemente de lo que piensas sobre ella. En algún momento, el ser humano desarrolla esa cualidad y se vuelve el amor, porque ese es tu destino. Volverte el amor significa tener esa cualidad del sol y del agua – significa amar desinteresadamente.”

“The last exam in the University of Relationships is to be able to love, even when the other does not love you in return. The sun shines on everyone, regardless of what they think about it. Similarly, water quenches everyone’s thirst, independently of what they think about it. At a certain moment, the human being develops this quality and becomes love itself, because love is our destiny. To become love means to have the same qualities of the sun and water- it means to love selflessly.”

Via Daily Dharma / August 15, 2016: Happiness Is the Path

Happiness means feeling you are on the right path every moment. You don’t need to arrive at the end of the path in order to be happy.

—Thich Nhat Hanh, "The Heart of the Matter"

Via Ram Dass

August 14, 2016

The way we deal with grief has a lot to do with whether or not the grief heals and strengthens us, or ends up depriving and starving us. We’ve learned a lot of things about grief over the years, like that strong “grin and bear it,” stiff upper lip response to grief which involves denial, and is not an optimum strategy for dealing with a mourning period.

My own reaction to people that are grieving is to really give them a lot of support in grieving, and letting the process run its course. That means not just the grief of the loss of the person, but the grief of the loss of any dream in life, of anything that you’ve invested that was lost. There is a reaction to a loss that is a grieving process, and if you don’t deal with the grieving in a way that is true to your being, it’s untrue. It’s just as untrue to grieve when you’re not feeling it, as to not grieve when you’re feeling it.

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 14/08/2016

“Espiritualidade significa desapegar dos pensamentos e perceber a natureza do Ser. Quando a mente silencia, o Ser brilha. Quando isso acontece, nos percebemos como fragmentos de luz. E essa luz que somos, se divide em diferentes raios, que são expressões dela mesma. Entre eles, costumo salientar o perdão, a gratidão e amor desinteressado. Essa é a verdadeira natureza do Ser.”

“Espiritualidad significa desapegarse de los pensamientos y percibir la naturaleza del Ser. Cuando la mente se silencia, el Ser brilla. Cuando eso sucede, nos percibimos como fragmentos de luz. Y esa luz que somos, se divide en diferentes rayos, que son expresiones de ella misma. Entre ellos, acostumbro resaltar el perdón, la gratitud y el amor desinteresado. Esa es la verdadera naturaleza del Ser.”

“Spirituality means to detach from thoughts so that we may perceive the nature of the being. When the mind silences, the being shines. As this occurs, we see ourselves as fragments of light. This light that we are divides into different rays that are expressions of the self. Within these rays, we naturally find the essence of forgiveness, gratitude and selfless love. This is the true nature of the self.”

Via Daily Dharma / August 14, 2016: Ask with Your Bones

In Zen they say that you have to ask with the pores of your skin and the marrow of your bones. A Zen saying points out: Great questioning, great awakening; little questioning, little awakening; no questioning, no awakening.

—Martine Batchelor, "What is This?"

Via JMG: Obama Names Gay US Army Secretary Eric Fanning To Rio Olympics Closing Ceremony Delegation

August 12, 2016 LGBT News, Sports

Via White House press release:

President Barack Obama today announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to attend the Closing Ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Federative Republic of Brazil. The Closing Ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Federative Republic of Brazil will be held on August 21, 2016.

The delegation will attend athletic events, meet with U.S. athletes, and attend the Closing Ceremony. The Honorable Gina McCarthy, Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, will lead the delegation.

Members of the Presidential Delegation

The Honorable Liliana Ayalde, U.S. Ambassador to the Federative Republic of Brazil, Department of State

The Honorable Eric Fanning, Secretary of the Army, Department of Defense

Ms. Bess Evans, Senior Associate Director and Senior Policy Advisor, White House Office of Public Engagement and Domestic Policy Council

Ms. Lauren Kelly, Deputy Director and Deputy Social Secretary, Office of the First Lady

Mr. Jason Collins, Retired NBA Player and Member of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition

Ms. Jackie Joyner-Kersee, three-time Olympic gold medalist, one-time Olympic silver medalist, two-time Olympic bronze medalist, women’s heptathlon and long-jump, and Founder of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation

You’ll note that openly gay former NBA player Jason Collins is also a member of the delegation. Billie Jean King was named a delegation member for the 2014 Olympics, which were held in the far less gay-friendly Sochi, Russia. King’s selection was considered a message to Putin about LGBT rights.

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

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Via Daily Dharma / August 13, 2016: Cultivating Openness

When we open our hearts and our minds completely, we are in a place where we can experience something new, a new truth, a new reality, a miracle that we haven’t experienced in the past.

—Anam Thubten, "How a Tomato Opened My Mind"

Via Daily Dharma / August 11, 2016: Heedfulness as a Virtue

The Buddha identified the basis for all our good and skillful qualities as heedfulness—not innate goodness or compassion: heedfulness.

—Thanissaro Bhikkhu, "What Is True Safety?"

Via John Ibbitson at The Globe and Mail: Justin Trudeau to apologize for historic persecution of gay Canadians

As early as this autumn, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will apologize on behalf of all Canadians to those who were imprisoned, fired from their jobs or otherwise persecuted in the past because of their sexuality.

That apology is a key element in a broad range of reforms that will collectively represent one of the greatest advances for sexual minorities in Canada’s history.

John Ibbitson explains The Globe's focus on Everett Klippert's pardon (The Globe and Mail)

“This is a long-awaited moment and a very emotional moment, to be honest,” said Helen Kennedy, executive director of Egale, a national organization that advocates for the rights of sexual minorities. 

“For the government to recognize the damage that it caused, the harm that it caused, to thousands and thousands of Canadians is a historic moment for our communities.”

The Globe and Mail has learned of the planned reforms from numerous sources within and outside the government.

In essence, the Liberals have decided to act on most or all of the recommendations of The Just Society, a report submitted to the government in June by Egale. The title refers to former prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s program for rights protection and social reform.

Those recommendations include:

• Apologizing to people who were convicted of gross indecency for committing homosexual acts in the years before 1969, when same-sex acts between consensual adults were decriminalized. Those convictions will be pardoned, expunged or in some other fashion stricken from the records of those convicted;
• Apologizing to those who were dismissed from the public service, discharged from the military or otherwise discriminated against in government work because they were homosexual. It was only in the 1990s that the federal government ceased efforts to identify and expel homosexuals in the military;
• Eliminating the difference in the age of consent for sexual acts. The current age of consent is 16, but it is 18 for anal intercourse, which discriminates against and stigmatizes young homosexuals.
• Examining whether and how to compensate those who suffered past discrimination because of who they were or whom they loved. This could involve individual compensation and/or funding for programs or services;
• Requiring all police officers or others who work in the justice system to receive human-rights training, with an emphasis on the historic wrong of treating members of sexual minorities as criminals and on the current bias that all too often still exists;
• Providing similar training to Customs officials, who still are more likely to ban homosexual materials from crossing the border, while permitting their heterosexual equivalents;
• Implementing procedures to protect the dignity of transgender or intersex persons in prisons or jails;
• Eliminating laws, such as keeping a bawdy house, that can be used to criminally charge those who visit a bathhouse or who practise group sex.

Make the jump here to read the full article here

 

Follow John Ibbitson on Twitter: @JohnIbbitson

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 12/08/2016

“O que podemos considerar como êxito para o ser humano é a capacidade de identificar suas contradições ou insanidades, pois esse é o início da sanidade. A identificação da doença é o início da cura. Mas, entre a identificação e a cura da doença, existe um caminho e, às vezes, é um longo caminho. Às vezes, são necessários muitos procedimentos; às vezes é necessário mudar hábitos e reeducar muita coisa na sua vida. Esse é um processo atemporal, porque a cura depende de muitos fatores. Então, não se preocupe com o tempo, apenas trabalhe para identificar suas contradições.”

“Lo que podemos considerar como éxito para el ser humano es la capacidad de identificar sus contradicciones o insanidades, porque ese es el inicio de la sanidad. La identificación de la enfermedad es el inicio de la cura. Pero entre la identificación y la cura de la enfermedad existe un camino y, a veces, es un largo camino. A veces, son necesarios muchos procedimientos; a veces es necesario cambiar hábitos y reeducar muchas cosas en tu vida. Este es un proceso atemporal, porque la cura depende de muchos factores. Entonces, no te preocupes con el tiempo, solo trabaja en identificar tus contradicciones.”

“What we can consider a success for human beings is our capacity to identify our contradictions and our insanity. This marks the beginning of sanity. The identification of the disease heralds the beginning of the healing process. However, between the diagnosis and the cure, there is a path we must travel, often a very long one. Sometimes we must undergo many procedures. It may be necessary to change our habits or to re-educate ourselves about various things in life. We don’t know how long this process will take because healing depends on many factors. So, we do not need to be concerned about time. We simply work to be able to identify our contradictions.”

Via Daily Dharma / August 12, 2016: Dream Before You Wake

In the beginning, our illusions are important. In some ways, those illusions bring us to practice. Hopefully, in the process of practicing, we wake up to how things really are. But it’s not bad to have some dreams at the beginning.

—Natalie Goldberg, "Beyond Betrayal"

Hillary's America: Loved Ones

Via Ram Dass

August 10, 2016

As long as you have certain desires about how it ought to be you can’t see how it is.

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 10/08/2016

“A mente é um fluxo de pensamentos que nasce a partir da ideia de eu. O ego, ao encarnar em um corpo, cria um eu para poder sobreviver; e a partir dessa ideia de eu, pensamentos são criados. A ideia de eu gera a ideia de meu, e a partir desse binômio eu-meu, nascem todas as outras formas de pensamento. Um mundo inteiro é criado para sustentar essa falsa identidade. Por isso, no universo do yoga, costuma-se dizer que é preciso acessar o estado de ‘não-mente’; pois a mente está identificada com esse mundo ilusório criado pelo falso eu.”

“La mente es un flujo de pensamientos que nace a partir de la idea del yo. El ego, al encarnar en un cuerpo, crea un yo para poder sobrevivir, y a partir de esa idea de yo, son creados pensamientos. La idea de yo genera la idea de mío, y a partir de ese binomio yo-mío, nacen todas las otras formas de pensamiento. Un mundo entero es creado para sustentar esa falsa identidad. Por eso, en el universo del yoga, se acostumbra decir que es necesario acceder al estado de ‘no-mente’, porque la mente está identificada con ese mundo ilusorio creado por el falso yo.”

“The mind is a flow of thoughts that is born from the idea of self. The ego, when it incarnates in a body, creates this ‘I’ to survive. From this idea of self, thoughts are created. The idea of ‘me’ creates the idea of ‘mine’ and from this dual role of ‘me’ and ‘mine’, all other forms of thought are born. A whole world is created to sustain this false identity. Therefore, in the world of yoga, it is said that we need to access the state of ‘no-mind’, because the mind is identified with the illusory world created by this false self.”

Via Daily Dharma / August 10, 2016: The Virtue of Impatience

As a writer and Zen practitioner I hear myself extolling the virtues of patience when I realize that while patience is absolutely necessary, impatience is also necessary . . . The tension that exists between patience and impatience is so fertile. That’s where the energy comes from.

—Ruth Ozeki, "Memories in the Mirror"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 09/08/2016

“Estamos lutando para vencer nossos inimigos, que são os nossos próprios pensamentos. Nessa batalha, nos tornamos vitoriosos quando podemos flechar o inimigo antes mesmo dele apontar sua flecha para nós, ou seja, quando podemos deter o pensamento antes que ele se exteriorize. Para isso, precisamos manter nossa flecha sempre apontada na direção do coração do inimigo, o que significa que nossa atenção precisa estar sempre voltada para o apego, pois ele é que sustenta o pensar compulsivo.”

“Estamos luchando para vencer a nuestros enemigos, que son nuestros propios pensamientos. En esta batalla, nos volvemos victoriosos cuando podemos flechar al enemigo antes de que él apunte su flecha hacia nosotros, es decir, cuando podemos detener el pensamiento antes que se exteriorice. Para esto, necesitamos mantener apuntada nuestra flecha siempre en dirección al corazón del enemigo, esto significa que nuestra atención necesita estar siempre puesta en el apego, porque es lo que sustenta el pensar compulsivo.”

“We are fighting to overcome our enemies, which are our own thoughts. In this battle, we are victorious when we're able to take down our 'enemy' before he is even able to aim his arrow. This analogy refers to us being able to stop our thoughts before they become externalized. In order to do so, we must always have our arrows aimed at the 'enemy' — our attachments — as they sustain our compulsive thinking.”

Via Daily Dharma / August 9, 2016: The Dharma of Deep Welcome

If you can create an opportunity for people to show up exactly as they are and for others to welcome that, I think that’s the dharma right there.

—Sebene Selassie, "Buddhism in the Next Generation"

Via Tricycle: Brief Teachings Spring 2016 Select wisdom from sources old and new

This impulse to record and create meaning of the little details and moments of life—as [Georgia] O’Keeffe said, “to paint what I see”—is arguably the birthplace of art, and it starts with being awake to the moments of our lives as they are passing. It begins, in other words, with mindfulness.

—Scott Barry Kaufman and Carolyn Gregoire, "Brief Teachings Spring 2016"

 Make the jump here to read the full article!

Via Daily Dharma / August 7, 2016: Art Begins with Mindfulness

This impulse to record and create meaning of the little details and moments of life—as [Georgia] O’Keeffe said, 
“to paint what I see”—is arguably the birthplace of art, and it starts with being awake to the moments of our lives as they are passing. It begins, in other words, with mindfulness.

—Scott Barry Kaufman and Carolyn Gregoire, "Brief Teachings Spring 2016"

Via Ram Dass

August 7, 2016

If I go into the place in myself that is love, and you go into the place in yourself that is love, we are together in love. Then you and I are truly in love, the state of being love. That’s the entrance to Oneness. That’s the space I entered when I met my guru.

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 08/08/2016

“Quando pode observar os pensamentos, as emoções e as sensações que passam por você sem criticar ou julgar, você está obtendo uma grande vitória sobre a mente. Em outras palavras, você está se tornando senhor da própria mente. Dessa maneira, você começa a acessar o nível da alma e a empoderar o espírito. Você começa a se perceber como um fragmento do Divino. Mas esse fragmento não se divide, ele é eterno, pois ele é o próprio Divino. Você tem um vislumbre da Unidade.”

“Cuándo puedes observar los pensamientos, emociones y sensaciones que pasan por ti sin criticar o juzgar, estás obteniendo una gran victoria sobre la mente. En otras palabras, te estás convirtiendo en señor de tu propia mente. De esta manera, comienzas a acceder al nivel del alma y empoderar al espíritu. Empiezas a percibirte como un fragmento de lo Divino. Pero este fragmento no se divide, es eterno, porque es la propia Divinidad. Tienes una vislumbre de la Unidad.”

“When we can observe our thoughts, emotions and sensations that pass through us without criticizing or judging them, we gain a great victory over the mind. We become sovereign over the mind. As such, we begin to have access to the level of the soul that empowers the spirit. We begin to perceive ourselves as a piece of the divine. This fragment is not divided. It is eternal because it is divinity itself. We are given a glimpse of unity.”

Via Daily Dharma / August 8, 2016: A Child’s View of Buddha

I think Buddha is light. In this light is a triangle of all-colored light, and inside the light is a human-animal-sea-creature-bird-Being.

—Caroline Kornfield, "Children Talking about ‘Buddha’"

Via Daily Dharma / August 6, 2016: Meeting Every Moment Completely

What is essential in the practice [of kyosaku, the “encouragement stick”] is to meet each moment completely, to be whole, to meet each back, each shoulder, each need as required. To be nothing but the stick and the blow.

—Sallie Jiko Tisdale, "The Encouragement Stick: 7 Views"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 05/08/2016

“A meditação em si não é uma técnica e não requer esforço. Porém, para que a meditação possa acontecer, se faz necessário dedicar-se a uma técnica específica, a fim de desenvolver a disciplina e a concentração necessárias para essa experiência. Mas esse é um processo que tem suas fases: às vezes você se sente muito bem e realiza sua prática com grande facilidade, mas, às vezes, quando se depara com camadas muito profundas de resistência e apego, você precisa fazer um grande esforço para ficar quieto. Nesse caso, eu sugiro que você temporariamente faça outra coisa, de preferência alguma atividade física.”

“La meditación en sí misma no es una técnica y no requiere esfuerzo. Sin embargo, para que la meditación suceda, es necesario dedicarse a una técnica específica, con el fin de desarrollar la disciplina y la concentración necesaria para esta experiencia. Pero este es un proceso que tiene sus fases: a veces te sientes muy bien y realizastu práctica con gran facilidad, pero a veces, cuando te enfrentascon capas muy profundas de resistencia y apego, necesitas hacer un gran esfuerzo para quedarte quieto. En este caso, te sugiero que temporalmente que hagasotra cosa, de preferencia alguna actividad física.”

“Meditation itself is not a technique and doesn’t require effort. However, in order for meditation to happen, it is necessary to dedicate ourselves to a specific technique through which we can develop the discipline and concentration needed to set the stage for this experience to flourish. However, this is a process that has certain phases. Sometimes, we feel very good and we can perform our practice with great ease. Other times, when we are faced with very deep layers of resistance and attachment, we need to make great effort to stay quiet. In this case, I suggest you temporarily do something else, preferably some physical activity.”

Via Daily Dharma / August 5, 2016: Study Deepens Faith

Faith is a quality that grows as you question, explore, and really put teachings into practice. The more you study, the less dogmatic you get.

—Sharon Salzberg, "Then & Now"

Via Science and Metaphysics / FB:

Via Daily Dharma / August 4, 2016: Overcoming Hatred

Hatred is worse than anger. Anger, irritation, is not that bad. But it will definitely become hatred if you don’t take care of it.

—Ngawang Gelek Demo Rinpoche, "What to Do When the Anger Gets Hot"

Via Ram Dass

August 3, 2016

This is the path of love. The path of the heart. Like all paths, it is fraught with pitfalls and traps, and most of our emotions are either in the service of our minds or our frightening things that overwhelm us and make us afraid so we protect ourselves from them.

So we come through life a little bit like hungry ghosts. We are beings that have huge needs for love, but seemingly it’s like we have some kind of amoeba that doesn’t allow us to digest our food. So, though we get love, it goes through us and then we need love all over again. This conception is so deep within all of us that we’ve built an entire reality around it, and we think that’s the way it is; that everybody needs love and that if you don’t get it you are deprived, and that the more of it the better, and you need it every day from everything. In that sense it’s like an achievement; you see people that are achievers. The minute they achieve something it becomes irrelevant, and their awareness turns to the next achievement because they are addicted to the practice, not to the goal.

Via Daily Dharma / August 3, 2016: On Art-making

When you sit down, all that you’re exposed to is your own mind, there is nothing else... Just to remain in that space and to let things arise and fade without having to grasp at them makes one realize that everything is already here, that no higher teaching is needed or to be grasped at.

—Robert Beer, "Art Making the Artist"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 02/08/2016

“O ódio é um mecanismo de defesa que se manifesta como destrutividade, tanto em relação ao outro como a si mesmo. Mas a destrutividade só se mantém porque existe uma ligação entre a energia sexual e o sofrimento, ou seja, existe um certo prazer envolvido nesse processo. Em algum momento da sua biografia, você teve que usar a sua energia vital, que é a mesma energia sexual, para anestesiar a dor, e isso estabeleceu uma conexão entre o prazer e o sofrimento. Por trás do ódio sempre existe dor. E por trás da dor está o verdadeiro Eu.”

“El odio es un mecanismo de defensa que se manifiesta como destructividad, tanto hacia el otro como hacia ti mismo. Pero la destructividad solo se mantiene porque existe una unión entre la energía sexual y el sufrimiento, es decir, hay cierto placer involucrado en este proceso. En algún momento de tu biografía, tuviste que utilizar tu energía vital, que es la misma energía sexual, para anestesiar el dolor, y esto estableció una conexión entre el placer y el sufrimiento. Por detrás del odio siempre hay dolor. Y por detrás del dolor está el verdadero Yo.”

“Hatred is a self defense mechanism that manifests as destruction both to ourselves as well as to the other. Destructivity continues because there exists a connection between our sexual energy and suffering. There is a certain pleasure that is involved in this process. At one point in our personal story, we had to use our vital energy, our sexual energy, to numb the pain. In doing so, a connection was made between pleasure and suffering. Behind hatred, there is always pain. Beyond this pain is the true self.”

Via Daily Dharma / August 2, 2016: Alternative Meditation

No matter who you are, you can’t sit still all the time. And some people just find it virtually impossible to stay seated and mindful with the levels of pain and agitation and anger they feel. But they can walk with it.

—Jon Kabat-Zinn, "Walking: Meditation on the Move"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día- Flower of the day - 1/08/2016

“Nossa ideia de 'eu' é muito limitada. Ela nasce da relação entre o pensamento e a forma. Nós acreditamos ser um corpo, um nome, uma história, e nossos pensamentos são criados a partir dessa crença. Nós acreditamos ser algo que precisa ser traduzido em palavras e ter um determinado valor. Dessa ideia limitada de 'eu', nasce a ideia de 'meu' - 'eu' e 'meu' formam nossa referência de identidade. E é essa identificação com a forma que nos impede de perceber a profundidade da vida.”

“Nuestra idea de' yo' es muy limitada. Nace de la relación entre el pensamiento y la forma. Creemos ser un cuerpo, un nombre, una historia, y nuestros pensamientos son creados a partir de esta creencia. Creemos ser algo que necesita ser traducido en palabras y tener un determinado valor. De esta idea limitada de' yo', nace la idea de 'mío' - 'yo' y 'mío' forman nuestra referencia de identidad. Y es esta identificación con la forma que nos impide percibir la profundidad de la vida.”

“Our idea of self is very limited. It is born out of our relationship from thought to form. We believe we are a body, a name, a certain story, and our thoughts are created from these beliefs. We think we are something that can be translated into words and that has a specific value. From this limited idea of ‘me’, the idea of ‘mine’ is born. ‘Me’ and ‘mine’ form our reference points to our identity. This identification with form is what prevents us from experiencing the profoundness of life.”

Via Daily Dharma / August 1, 2016: Sky Mind, Cloud Thoughts

We cannot push the clouds away, but we can allow the clouds of thought to gradually dissolve until finally all the clouds have vanished. Ultimate realization occurs when there is no trace of the cloud layers whatsoever.

—Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, "As the Clouds Vanish"