Friday, May 31, 2013

JMG Quote Of The Day - Dan Savage


"I tell this story in the book of being at this park in Seattle many years ago, where a limo pulls up and a bride and a groom tumble out to get their portraits at this very famous park with a beautiful view of downtown Seattle. And as they're walking back to the limo everyone starts to applaud, and rightly so. Everyone takes delight when two people find each other and make that commitment. I was standing there clapping next to these two older gentlemen with two big dogs. It was clear that they were gay and I was gay. And as they get into their car, the one closest to me looks at me and says, `We are always happy for them. Would it kill them to be happy for us?' We've reached that tipping point, where they are happy for us. Now you see straight people looking at gay people and recognizing something about themselves in us." - Dan Savage, speaking to the Associated Press.


Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Obama Issues Pride 2013 Proclamation

Friday, May 31, 2013


Obama Issues Pride 2013 Proclamation


This afternoon the White House issued President Obama's proclamation in recognition of LGBT Pride Month.  The message cites the president's support for ENDA, the federal bill to overturn DOMA, and HIV reduction campaigns 
For more than two centuries, our Nation has struggled to transform the ideals of liberty and equality from founding promise into lasting reality. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans and their allies have been hard at work on the next great chapter of that history -- from the patrons of The Stonewall Inn who sparked a movement to service members who can finally be honest about who they love to brave young people who come out and speak out every day. This year, we celebrate LGBT Pride Month at a moment of great hope and progress, recognizing that more needs to be done. 
Support for LGBT equality is growing, led by a generation which understands that, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." In the past year, for the first time, voters in multiple States affirmed marriage equality for same-sex couples. State and local governments have taken important steps to provide much-needed protections for transgender Americans. 
My Administration is a proud partner in the journey toward LGBT equality. We extended hate crimes protections to include attacks based on sexual orientation or gender identity and repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." We lifted the HIV entry ban and ensured hospital visitation rights for LGBT patients. Together, we have investigated and addressed pervasive bullying faced by LGBT students, prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in Federal housing, and extended benefits for same-sex domestic partners. Earlier this year, I signed a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in the implementation of any VAWA-funded program. 
And because LGBT rights are human rights, my Administration is implementing the first-ever Federal strategy to advance equality for LGBT people around the world. We have witnessed real and lasting change, but our work is not complete. I continue to support a fully inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act, as well as the Respect for Marriage Act. My Administration continues to implement the Affordable Care Act, which beginning in 2014, prohibits insurers from denying coverage to consumers based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which addresses the disparate impact of the HIV epidemic among certain LGBT sub-communities. 
We have a long way to go, but if we continue on this path together, I am confident that one day soon, from coast to coast, all of our young people will look to the future with the same sense of promise and possibility. I am confident because I have seen the talent, passion, and commitment of LGBT advocates and their allies, and I know that when voices are joined in common purpose, they cannot be stopped. 
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2013 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people. 
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh. - Barack Obama.

Reposted from Joe

Via Gay Politics Report

Politics and Policy

Nigerian lawmakers pass sweeping anti-gay measure


Same-sex couples who marry could each face as much as 14 years in prison under a law awaiting the signature of Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan. The bill, which was previously passed in the Senate, was approved Thursday in the House unanimously and without discussion. The new law also criminalizes participation in LGBT rights groups, as well as public displays of affection, which could bring sentences of as many as 10 years behind bars. The Washington Post/The Associated Press (5/30)

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:


Daily Buddhist Wisdom






Every time a problem arises, the essential thing is to immediately become aware that the problem comes from our selfish mind, that it is created by self-cherishing thoughts. As long as you put the blame outside yourself, there can be no happiness.
- Lama Zopa Rinpoche, "Transforming Problems Into Happiness"

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma May 31, 2013

What is Happiness?

Whatever realization may come by way of silence, our happiness is never won that way. Happiness is not happiness unless it is shared. For happiness is the one thing in all the world that comes to us only at the moment we give it, and is likewise increased by being given away.
- Clark Strand, “The Wisdom of Frogs”
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Thursday, May 30, 2013

VIa Buddhism on Beliefnet

Daily Buddhist Wisdom






Contrary to what some people might believe, there is nothing wrong with having pleasures and enjoyments. What is wrong is the confused way we grasp onto these pleasures, turning them from a source of happiness into a source of pain and dissatisfaction.
- Lama Thubten Yeshe, "Introdu

Via JMG: Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma May 30, 2013

A Sense of Closeness

It is not sufficient merely to see that sentient beings are suffering. You must also develop a sense of closeness with them, a sense that they are dear. With that combination‚ you can develop compassion.
- Jeffrey Hopkins, "Everyone as a Friend"
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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

We can dance - Hollywood Movie Dance Tribute




Via JMG: The Three-Pronged Pitchfork Of Bigotry


"The first prong is political. When a politician like Marco Rubio is willing to sacrifice his career defining immigration reform legislation solely to insure that gays and lesbians are denied equal protection under the law, we have to admit that we're under attack. This is not pragmatic politics at work. These are the policies of bias, exclusion and unfairness.

"The second wave is the steady barrage coming from those who would call themselves moral leaders. Shielded behind lecterns, they assign condemnation with impunity. Claiming to be brimming with the love of their creator, they spew forth the cowardice of the mob. Fundamentalism, whether raining down terror abroad or in homilies from our home parishes, is the enemy. It is the death knell of tolerance, progress and compromise. Fundamentalism is, in all practicality, nothing but an invitation to bigotry.

"And thirdly, when we excuse homophobia as a matter of opinion instead of treating it as a destructive social illness, we invite fear to explode into violence. How often are the perpetrators of hate-crimes discovered to be self-loathing? Valued individuals do not strike out against strangers." - Harvey Fierstein, writing for the Huffington Post.

Read the full essay.


Reposted from Joe

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:



Daily Buddhist Wisdom






Without love we could not survive. Human beings are social creatures, and a concern for each other is the very basis of our life together.
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma May 29, 2013

Fostering a Meditative Life

Don’t be a slave to style. Don’t take more from the world than you’re willing to give back. And learn to undo the perceptions—so heavily promoted by the media—that shopping is a form of therapy and that a purchase is nothing but a victory or a gain.
- Thanissaro Bhikkhu, "Skillful Shelter"
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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Via JMG: European Court Rules Against Refusing Service To Gays On Religious Grounds


The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that it is legal to discipline employees for refusing to provide services to same-sex couples on the basis of religious objections. The ruling came in the cases of three British Christians who had refused to perform relationship counseling or conduct civil partnership ceremonies.
Tuesday's decision was welcomed by the National Secular Society. The group's executive director, Keith Porteous Wood, said: "Fortunately, Europe's highest court has now wisely followed numerous lower courts and rejected the applicants' attempts for religious conscience to trump equality law. "The UK has the world's most comprehensive equality laws which already include strong protection for religious believers and they would have been fatally compromised, particularly for LGBT people, had the Grand Chamber overturned any of these judgments. "We hope that this will now draw a line under the attempts by a small coterie of Christian activists to obtain special privileges for themselves which would invariably come at the expense of other people's rights."
The Court is based in Strasbourg, France. (Tipped by JMG reader Julian)


Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Frank Rich On LGBT History


"As we just learned, a man can still be murdered for being gay a few blocks away from the Stonewall Inn. But the rapidity of change has been stunning. The world only spins forward, as Tony Kushner wrote. And yet as we celebrate the forward velocity of gay rights, I think we must glance backward as well. History is being lost in this shuffle—that of those gay men and women who experienced little or none of today’s freedoms. Whatever the other distinctions between the struggles of black Americans and gay Americans for equality under the law—starting with the overarching horror of slavery—one difference is intrinsic. Black people couldn’t (for the most part) hide their identity in an America that treated them cruelly. Gay people could hide and, out of self-protection, often did. That’s why their stories were cloaked in silence and are at risk of being forgotten."- Frank Rich, opening his New York Magazine article on LGBT history and his surrogate gay father.

Read the full essay.


Reposted from Joe

Via Gay Poltics Report:

Will recent marriage legislation affect Supreme Court cases?

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule in June on two marriage-equality cases, but those opinions could change between now and then depending on how the justices view recent legislative victories for marriage-equality proponents, according to this analysis. Current events have affected written decisions in the past, and the court has likely noticed that three states enacted marriage-equality laws in a 10-day span in May alone.  

The Boston Globe (tiered subscription model)/The Associated Press (5/28)

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma May 28, 2013

Supreme Optimism

Buddhism is a path of supreme optimism, for one of its basic tenets is that no human life or experience is to be wasted or forgotten, but all should be transformed into a source of wisdom and compassionate living.
- Taitetsu Unno, "Number One Fool"
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Monday, May 27, 2013

Dan Savage on his new book American Savage


Via JMG: BRAZIL: 100,000 Evangelicals Rally Against Same-Sex Marriage In Rio



An estimated 100,000 evangelicals staged an anti-gay march in Rio de Janeiro yesterday in protest of the recent ruling that effectively legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. Via On Top Magazine:

According to the AFP, the demonstrators ended their march at the Cinelandia square, where pastors spoke out against such unions and the faithful prayed. Gospel singers such as Marcelo Aguiar and Bruna Karla and the rap group Ao Cubo were among those who performed at the annual March for Jesus (Marcha para Jesus). Several elected officials appeared at the event, including Mayor Eduardo Paes. “We say no to sin, no to corruption, no to homosexuality,” a participant was quoted as saying. “We say yes to Jesus.” The ruling, handed down earlier this month by the National Council of Justice, says notary publics cannot deny a gay couple's request for a marriage license.

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Robbie Rogers Takes Soccer Field As First Out Male Professional Sports Player


 
Via the Advocate:
Robbie Rogers made history on Sunday as the first openly gay man to play in a game in U.S. professional sports. If there was any concern about whether fans would be supportive, it was eased as the crowd stood and cheered wildly when Rogers took the field during the second half of the L.A. Galaxy's 4-0 win over the Seattle Sounders.  This might forever become a tricky piece of sports trivia. The NFL's Jason Collins is the first male pro athlete to come out while still an active player, but Collins' season was already over.
The New York Times has more:
The crowd was typical — close to capacity, but still with room to seat several thousand more. The news media turnout was nearly normal — no local columnists and scant national presence. Only the presence of the celebrity and gossip Web site OMG appeared out of place at a soccer match. There were no discernible signs of support (or dissent) for Rogers until he stepped on the field. To some, an M.L.S. public service announcement that flashed along the stadium signage boards may have carried more resonance on this night: “Unity. Equality. Acceptance. Respect for Fair Play. Don’t Cross the Line.” “We were talking about it earlier: this is a historic night, kind of like Jackie Robinson,” Vince Grant, a Galaxy fan, said as he enjoyed a pregame beer and meal with his uncle Mike Callahan and a friend, Aaron Rice. But for a number of Galaxy fans, there seems to be less concern with the historical implications than how the acquisition of Rogers cost Los Angeles its leading scorer, Mike Magee.
VIDEO: Rogers takes the field about one minute in.  The clip ends with a post-game interview.
 
 

Reposted from Joe

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:


Daily Buddhist Wisdom






That which has form emerges from that which has no form; that which has no form emerges from that which has form. Therefore the path of supreme spirituality cannot be sought in being and cannot be fathomed in nonbeing; it cannot be lost through movement and cannot be gained through stillness.
- Ming-Chiao, "Five Houses of Zen"

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma May 27, 2013

In the World

Meditation is not just a rest or retreat from the turmoil of the stream or the impurity of the world. It is a way of being the stream, so that one can be at home in both the white water and the eddies. Meditation may take one out of the world, but it also puts one totally into it.
- Gary Snyder, "Just One Breath"
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Sunday, May 26, 2013

Via Thich Nhat Hanh Gems / FB:

Imagine a boat crossing the ocean, a boat of refugees, and the boat is caught in a storm and everyone panics. You know that if everyone panics they will do the wrong things and the boat will turn over. If there is one person who is calm, who can inspire calm, and with his tranquility say, “Dear friends, stay where you are quietly,” that person doesn’t do anything. He just sits very calmly and his calmness inspires confidence and everyone follows, and he can save the whole boatload. That is not action; that is non-action. That is being. That is the ground of all good actions.

~Thich Nhat Hanh
imagine a boat crossing the ocean, a boat of refugees, and the boat is caught in a storm and everyone panics. 
You know that if everyone panics they will do the wrong things and the boat will turn over. If there is one person who is calm, who can inspire calm, and with his tranquility say, “Dear friends, stay where you are quietly,” that person doesn’t do anything. He just sits very calmly and his calmness inspires confidence and everyone follows, and he can save the whole boatload. 
That is not action; that is non-action. That is being. That is the ground of all good actions.

~Thich Nhat Hanh

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma May 26, 2013

Gradual Practice


Through such gradual practices, lamas of the past gave birth to realization in their mental continuum and discovered primordial wisdom. All the qualities that the great masters found, we can attain as well. It all depends on our own efforts, our diligence, our deeper knowing, and our correct motivation.

- Ogyen Trinley Dorje, "Calm Abiding"
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Saturday, May 25, 2013

GIVE 'EM HOPE CAMPAIGN - MY NAME IS STEVE AND I'M AN EX MORMON


VIa JMG: Schlafly: Gay Rights Violate Free Speech


"The polls are very defective. If you look at the polls, most of them ask the question: Are you in favor of banning same-sex marriage? Now, we have no law that bans same-sex marriage. Any gay couple can get married— all they have to do is find a preacher or justice of the peace who will perform the ceremony. There's no law against that. What they are demanding is that we respect them as being OK, and that's an interference with our free speech rights. There's no obligation that we have to respect something we think is morally wrong." - Phyllis Schlafly, who goes on to praise her "honorable" gay son for working with her at the Eagle Forum.


Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma May 25, 2013

True Understanding

The mind and the world are opposites, and vision arises where they meet. When your mind doesn't stir inside, the world doesn't arise outside. When the world and the mind are both transparent, this is true vision. And such understanding is true understanding.
- Bodhidharma, "Teachings from the Wake Up Sermon"
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Friday, May 24, 2013

Via JMG: Mormon Church Issues Statement Backing New Inclusive Boy Scouts Policy


The Mormon Church has issued a qualified statement in support of the Boy Scouts' decision to allow openly gay members. According to the statement, the LDS has always welcomed abstinent gay boys into Mormon-sponsored troops.
For the past 100 years, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has enjoyed a strong relationship with Boy Scouts of America, based on our mutual interest in helping boys and young men understand and live their duty to God and develop upright moral behavior. As the Church moves forward in its association with the Boy Scouts of America, Church leaders will continue to seek the most effective ways to address the diverse needs of young people in the United States and throughout the world.

Sexual orientation has not previously been – and is not now – a disqualifying factor for boys who want to join Latter-day Saint Scout troops. Willingness to abide by standards of behavior continues to be our compelling interest. These standards are outlined in the booklet For the Strength of Youth and include abstinence from sexual relationships. We remain firmly committed to upholding these standards and to protecting and strengthening boys and young men.

Reposted from Joe

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:


Daily Buddhist Wisdom






Few cross over the river. Most are stranded on this side. On the riverbank they run up and down. But the wise person, following the way, Crosses over, beyond the reach of death. Free from desire, Free from possessions, Free from attachment and appetite, Following the seven lights of awakening, And rejoicing greatly in his freedom, In this world the wise person Becomes themselves a light, Pure, shining, free.
- from the Dhammapada

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma May 24, 2013

Harnessing Difficult Situations

Your practice should be strengthened by the difficult situations you encounter, just as a bonfire in a strong wind is not blown out, but blazes even brighter.
- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, "Teachings on the Nature of Mind and Practice"
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Thursday, May 23, 2013

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:


Daily Buddhist Wisdom






When other beings, especially those who hold a grudge against you, abuse and harm you out of envy, you should not abandon them, but hold them as objects of your greatest compassion and take care of them.
- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma May 23, 2013

Get the Beauty

You can spend a lot of energy being upset, or you can get with the program—it’s that right effort thing—get the beauty of the way it is.
- Jeff Bridges, "The Natural"
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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:


Daily Buddhist Wisdom






Friends, I know nothing which brings suffering as does an untamed, uncontrolled, unattended and unrestrained heart. Such a heart brings suffering.
- Anguttara Nikaya

Tricycle Daily Dharma May 22, 2013

The Greatest Foolishness

There’s no greater foolishness than to spend one’s lifetime acknowledging that one is deluded and yet doing nothing whatsoever about it.
- Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, "Renunciation"
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:


Daily Buddhist Wisdom






Body impermanent like spring mist; mind insubstantial like empty sky; thoughts unestablished like breezes in space. Think about these three points over and over.
- Adept Godrakpa, "Hermit of Go Cliffs"

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma May 21, 2013

Holding Anger

It is not easy to refrain from repressing or indulging our anger. Our challenge is to embrace it with mindfulness and genuine caring.
- Shuzen Harris, "Holding Anger"
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Monday, May 20, 2013

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:


Daily Buddhist Wisdom






One should not imagine oneself to be one with the eye or independent of it or the owner of it. The same with the ear and all the other senses, including the mind. Nor should one imagine oneself to be identical with the world or contained in it or independent of it or the owner of it. In this way, free from imagining, one no longer clings to the things of the world. When one no longer clings, there is no more agitation, insecurity, and worry. Being no longer worried, one can reach into the depths of oneself and understand that where there has been loss there is now fulfillment.
- Samyutta Nikaya

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma May 20, 2013

Accepting Uncertainty

There is no need for science to be fundamentalist any more than there is a need for religions to be fundamentalist. Fundamentalism springs from a desire for certainty, but many religious people and many scientists know that this cannot be achieved by beings with limited minds and experience such as ourselves.
- Rupert Sheldrake, "A Question of Faith"
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Sunday, May 19, 2013

Via JMG: Worse Than Watergate: Growing Scandal Brings Nation To The Brink Of Ruin


The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein points us to the ever-growing scandal that will echo through the ages:
When future generations look back on the scandals of our age, it’ll be the unchecked rise in global temperatures, not the Benghazi talking points, that infuriate them.
Yes, unchecked warming is likely to prove the greatest scandal in U.S. history.
Certainly it’s the one that will ruin the lives of the most people, far more than Watergate did if our government doesn’t act to expose what’s going on and work to put an end to it — before it puts an end to our stable climate:


Scandalous: Projected warming this century (in red, via recent literature) if humanity allows current carbon pollution trends to continue compared to the temperature change over past 11,300 years (in blue, via Science, 2013).
I know it’s not one of the scandals the major media are now obsessed with 24/7, but that is business as usual for the MSM, as Klein notes:
Things go wrong in government. Sometimes it’s just bad luck. Sometimes it’s rank incompetence. Sometimes it’s criminal wrongdoing. Most of the time you never hear about it. Or, if you do hear about it, the media eventually gets bored talking about it (see warming, global).
It was Watergate and the fame it brought Woodward and Bernstein that inspired so many journalists to enter the field. But now that post-modern cynicism reigns supreme –which is to say, much of the media acts as if their really is no objective truth or over-arching public interest — fame alone seems to drives the media.
And so this scandal goes largely unreported (see “Silence Of The Lambs 3: Media Coverage Of Climate Mixed In 2012, But Still Down Sharply From 2009“) or misreported (see “False Balance Lives“).
Fortunately for the media, having largely missed the chance to report the scandal when it might have had some positive impact on the outcome, they’ll have plenty of time to become famous reporting on its consequences (see Climate change “largely irreversible for 1000 years,” with permanent Dust Bowls in Southwest and around the globe).

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma May 18, 2013

A Glimpse at Liberation

Nirvana manifests as ease, as love, as connectedness, as generosity, as clarity, as unshakable freedom. This isn’t watering down nirvana. This is the reality of liberation that we can experience, sometimes in a moment and sometimes in transformative ways that change our entire life.
- Jack Kornfield, "The Wise Heart"
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Via JMG: Portugal Approves Gay Adoption

 UPDATE: Not So Fast

 
UPDATE: The below-linked source has edited their opening sentence to read: "Portuguese parliament has approved Friday a bill that will allow same-sex married couples to adopt their partner’s biological or adopted children."
So it's not full adoption rights. Below is my original post.

Today the Portuguese Parliament narrowly approved adoption rights for same-sex couples. The vote was 99-94 with nine abstentions.
The bills were supported by the ruling center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the progressive Socialist Party (PS). The Portuguese parliament had approved the right to same-sex marriages in 2010, but without adoption rights. The law allowed gay couples the same rights as married heterosexual couples, including taxes, inheritance and housing, but didn’t offer the right to adopt children.  Portugal is among the first 10 counties in the world to allow same-sex marriage. As recently as 1982, homosexuality was a crime in Portugal. Today, Portugal has wide-ranging anti-discrimination laws and is one of the few countries in the world to contain a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation in its Constitution.
(Tipped by JMG reader Pedro)


Reposted from Joe

What religion has contributed to the world this month - Episode 6 (April/May 2013)


Via JMG: MEXICO: President Enrique Pena Neito Issues Message Against Homophobia


 
Yesterday Mexican President Enrique Pena Neito issued the above tweets in recognition of the International Day Against Homophobia. "This May 17, International Day of the Fight Against Homophobia, I endorse my committment to a #InclusiveMexico, free of discrimination. Making Mexico a society of rights implies equality in dignity and eliminating all types of discrimination."


Reposted from Joe

Friday, May 17, 2013

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma May 17, 2013

How to Deal with Excessive Thinking

The best way to deal with excessive thinking is to just listen to it, to listen to the mind. Listening is much more effective than trying to stop thought or cut it off.
- Ajahn Amaro, "Thought Like Dreams"
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