Talmud

Whoever destroys a single life is as guilty as though he had destroyed the entire world; and whoever rescues a single life earns as much merit as though he had rescued the entire world. - Talmud

Happy Birthday (sort of)

to me! Today is my 60 day birthday! woo hoo yipee! Seriously, sobriety is the best thing I have done. I've never been happier and more grounded. My relationships have never been stronger and I mean all my relationships including my dogs! (bitchy out on the east coast pointed out that it's not actually a birthday...whatever! ;-)

From Buddhanet

Bahiya of the Bark Garment asked the monks: "Pray, sirs, where is the Lord staying he who is a Noble One, he who is a fully awakened Buddha?"

"The Lord has gone into the town to get alms-food."

So, Bahiya quickly left the Jeta Grove, went into Savatthti, and found the Lord in quest for alms food. Handsome he was, good to look upon, with senses calmed, tranquil in mind, composed and controlled like a well trained elephant.

"Sir, let the Lord teach me Dhamma so that it will be for my welfare and happiness for a long time."

"You have come at the wrong time, Bahiya. I am getting my alms-food."

A second and a third time he asked, so the Lord answered: "This is how you must train yourself. When, in the seen there is just the seen, in the heard just the heard, in the sensed just the sensed and in the cognized just the cognized, then there will be no 'thereby', and when there is no 'thereby' there will be no 'therefore', and when there is no 'therefore', there will be no here, no there, no midway in between. That is the end of suffering."

Then and there, because of this concise Dhamma teaching, Bahiya's mind was freed from the defilements.

is faith the acceptance of hope?

(Spiritual) knowledge, like the appreciation of beauty, is not attained by a logical process of thought but by experience and feeling. -Quakers

On Plato and Human Nature

Ancient, classical, Greek philosophy also evidences cogent suggestions that human nature is complex with that complexity following the pattern set out in the teachings and texts of several World Faiths:-

Plato was a pupil and friend of the greek philosopher Socrates. Amongst the many works attributed to Plato's authorship is his "The Republic" wherein is set out a series of discourses that allegedly took place between Socrates and a number of other persons who variously arrived and departed as the discussions continued. (Plato may actually have been putting his own ideas in Socrates' mouth!!!)
It is in this record, made by Plato, of "Socrates? " philosophising that most intriguing themes are developed -

...can we possibly refuse to admit that there exist in each of us the same generic parts and characteristics as are found in the state? For I presume the state has not received them from any other source. It would be ridiculous to imagine that the presence of the spirited element in cities is not to be traced to individuals, wherever this character is imputed to the people, as it is to the natives of Thrace, and Scythia, and generally speaking, of the northern countries; or the love of knowledge, which would be chiefly attributed to our own country; or the love of riches, which people would especially connect with the Phoenicians and the Egyptians.
Certainly.
This then is a fact so far, and one which it is not difficult to apprehend.
No, it is not.
But here begins a difficulty. Are all our actions alike performed by the one predominant faculty, or are there three faculties operating severally in our different actions? Do we learn with one internal faculty, and become angry with another, and with a third feel desire for all the pleasures connected with eating and drinking, and the propagation of the species; or upon every impulse to action, do we perform these several actions with the whole soul…
Socrates à la Plato's Republic Book 4


...As there are three parts, so there appear to me to be three pleasures, one appropriate to each part; and similarly three appetites, and governing principles.
Explain yourself.
According to us, one part was the organ whereby a man learns, and another that whereby he shews spirit. The third was so multiform that we were unable to address it by a single appropriate name; so we named it after that which is its most important and strongest characteristic. We called it appetitive, on account of the violence of the appetites of hunger, thirst, and sex, and all their accompaniments; and we called it peculiarly money-loving, because money is the chief agent in the gratification of such appetites.
Yes, we were right.
Then if we were to assert that the pleasure and the affection of this third part have gain for their object, would not this be the best summary of the facts upon which we should be likely to settle by force of argument, as a means of conveying a clear idea to our own minds, whenever we spoke of this part of the soul? And shall we not be right in calling it money-loving and gain-loving?
I confess I think so, he replied.
Again, do we not maintain that the spirited part is wholly bent on winning power and victory and celebrity?
Certainly we do.
Then would the title of strife-loving and honour-loving be appropriate to it?
Yes, most appropriate?
Well, but with regard to the part by which we learn, it is obvious to everyone that its entire and constant aim is to know how the truth stands, and that this of all the elements of our nature feels the least concern for wealth and reputation.
Yes, quite the least.
Then shall we not do well to call it knowledge-loving and wisdom-loving?
Of course we shall.
Does not this last reign in the souls of some persons, while in the souls of other people one or other of the two former, according to circumstances is dominant?
You are right.
And for these reasons may we assert that men may be primarily classed as lovers of wisdom, of strife, and of gain?
Yes, certainly.
And that there are three kinds of pleasure, respectively underlying the three classes?
Exactly so.
Now are you aware, I continued, that if you choose to ask three such men each in his turn, which of these lives is pleasantest, each will extol his own beyond the others? Thus the money-making man will tell you, that compared with the pleasures of gain, the pleasures of being honoured or of acquiring knowledge are worthless, except in so far as they can produce money.
True.
But what of the honour-loving man? Does he not look upon the pleasure derived from money as a vulgar one, while, on the other hand, he regards the pleasure derived from learning as a mere vapour and absurdity unless honour be the fruit of it.
That is precisely the case.
And must we not suppose that the lover of wisdom regards all other pleasures as, by comparison, very far inferior to the pleasure of knowing how the truth stands, and of being constantly occupied with this pursuit of knowledge…
Socrates à la Plato's Republic Book 9

Thanks to Age of the Sage

Bhagavad Gita - Passion

Arjuna spoke.
But by what is a man impelled, O Varshneya! when he commits sin even against his will, as if compelled by force?

The Holy One spoke.
It is lust: it is wrath, born from the "passion" mode: know that this, all-devouring, all-defiling, is here our foe.
Bhagavad Gita 3: 36- 37

"Love suffers long, and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.... And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love". Paul of Tarsus, 1 Corinthians 13:4 - 8 (New King James Version) and an alternative "take":

going to check there good folks out - clicky click

Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Community
Unitarian Universalism is very supportive of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender (BGLT) people and their families, and has officially welcomed this community since 1970. We believe that our first principle, respecting “the inherent worth and dignity of every person,” applies equally to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

Since 1987, more than half of our congregations have completed a program to become especially welcoming to the BGLT community. These congregations are known as Welcoming Congregations, and are indicated on the congregation list with a rainbow chalice icon.

Unitarian Universalism is one of the few religions that ordains openly Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender people. We encourage our BGLT clergy to participate as fully in our faith as our heterosexual clergy.

In addition to welcoming BGLT people into our religious community, we also work to protect the civil and legal rights of BGLT people and families across the country. Unitarian Universalists have been at the forefront of the same-sex marriage debates, advocating for the right for each person to marry the partner of his or her choice.

For more information contact obgltc @ uua.org.

Last updated on Thursday, August 2, 2007.

Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, do not lie against the truth.


This wisdom is not that which comes down from Above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.


But the wisdom from Above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.

And the seed whose fruit is righteousness, is sown in peace, by those who make peace.
(James 4:13-18)

My Belief Results

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Liberal Quakers (89%)
3. Neo-Pagan (88%)
4. Mahayana Buddhism (86%)
5. New Age (84%)
6. Theravada Buddhism (79%)
7. Secular Humanism (76%)
8. Taoism (76%)
9. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (75%)
10. Scientology (70%)
11. Hinduism (65%)
12. New Thought (65%)
13. Jainism (64%)
14. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (62%)
15. Reform Judaism (58%)
16. Sikhism (55%)
17. Orthodox Quaker (51%)
18. Nontheist (46%)
19. Bahá'í Faith (46%)
20. Orthodox Judaism (30%)
21. Islam (28%)
22. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (28%)
23. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (26%)
24. Seventh Day Adventist (24%)
25. Jehovah's Witness (16%)
26. Eastern Orthodox (14%)
27. Roman Catholic (14%)

The water in a vessel is sparkling; the water in the sea is dark. The small truth has words which are clear; the great truth has great silence.
-Rabindranath Tagore

World AIDS Day Tribute - Essex Hemphill

Poet, editor, and activist Essex Hemphill was born April 16, 1957, in Chicago, Illinois. He was raised in Southeast Washington, DC, and began to write poems at the age of fourteen. He was educated at the University of Maryland.

Hemphill's first books were the self-published chapbooks Earth Life (1985) and Conditions (1986). He first gained national attention when his work appeared in the anthology In the Life (1986), a seminal collection of writings by Black gay men. In 1989, his poems were featured in the award-winning documentaries Tongues Untied and Looking for Langston.

In 1991, Hemphill edited Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men, which won a Lambda Literary Award. In 1992, he released Ceremonies: Prose and Poetry, which won the National Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual New Author Award. His poems appeared in Obsidian, Black Scholar, Callaloo, Painted Bride Quarterly, Essence, and numerous other newspapers and journals. His work also appeared in numerous anthologies including Gay and Lesbian Poetry in Our Time (1986) and Life Sentences: Writers, Artists and AIDS (1993). He was a visiting scholar at The Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities in 1993. On November 4, 1995, Hempill died from complications relating to AIDS.

From Poetry.org


Conditions XIV
Essex Hemphill


You left me begging for things
most men thought they had below their belts.
I was reaching higher.
I could throw my legs up like satellites
but I knew I was fucking fallen angels.
I made them feel like demigods.
I believed my mission
to be a war zone duty:
don't create casualties,
heal them.
But I was the wounded
almost dead.
Helping the uninjured.
Men whose lusty hearts
weakened in the middle of the night
and brought them to tears, to their knees
for their former lovers.
They could look at me and tell
they did not want to endure
what beauty love scars give me.
So touch me now --
Hannibal, Toussaint.
I am a revolution without bloodshed.
I change the order of things
to suit my desperations.
You can raise your legs,
almost touch heaven.
I can be an angel,
falling.

Godself

If I can say to somebody else, I love you, I must be able to say, I love in you everybody, I love through you, the world, I love in you, also myself. - Erich Fromm

Ubuntu

Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1999):

“

A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed. From Wikipedia

”

God is the infinite ALL. Man is only a finite manifestation of Him.
Or better yet:
God is that infinite All of which man knows himself to be a finite part.

God alone exists truly. Man manifests Him in time, space and matter. The more God's manifestation in man (life) unites with the manifestations (lives) of other beings, the more man exists. This union with the lives of other beings is accomplished through love. God is not love, but the more there is of love, the more man manifests God, and the more he truly exists...

We acknowledge God only when we are conscious of His manifestation in us. All conclusions and guidelines based on this consciousness should fully satisfy both our desire to know God as such as well as our desire to live a life based on this recognition.

* Entry in Tolstoy's Diary (1 November 1910)

Substance Dependence: Common Myths
Substance Abuse Add comments

Drug dependence is simply a failure of will or of strength of character.

Dependence is a brain disorder and people with drug dependence have altered brain structure and function. It is true that dependence is expressed in the form of compulsive behavior, but this behavior is strongly related to brain changes occurring over time, with repeated use of drugs. In recent years genetics was found to be associated with the predisposition of individuals to be more or less susceptible to develop drug dependence.

People who have drug dependence can easily move back to occasional use.

Drug dependence is difficult to control due to compulsive drug use and craving, leading to drug seeking and repetitive use, even in the face of negative health and social consequences. Once dependent, the individual often fails in his or her attempts to quit.

It’s not worthwhile to invest in treatment for individuals who have drug dependence - it is a waste of time and money.

Investing in evidence-based treatment for substance dependence decreases negative health consequences and social effects (e.g. crime, economic burden and HIV infection). For every dollar spent on treatment 7 dollars are returned in cost-savings. Treatment is proven to be cost-effective in both developed and developing countries. It costs less than imprisonment.

Adapted from What Do People Think They Know About Substance Dependence (World Health Organization, 2001).

Hello

The Invitation
Oriah Mountain Dreamer

"It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for,
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,
for your dreams,
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,
if you have been opened by life's betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
without moving to hide or fade it or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own:
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic,
or to remember the limitations of being a human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself;
if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore be trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see the beauty even when it is not pretty everyday,
and if you can source your life from ITS presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine,
and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair,
weary and bruised to the bone,
and do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn't interest me who you are, or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself,
and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments."