Category Archives: Acceptance

As an introvert, we may not be able to appear as spiritual as an extrovert. It’s not in our DNA. Greeting someone in church next to you because the pastor is asking you to can be uncomfortable. Asking to be evangelical about your faith can be an overwhelming anxiety. We’re just not cut out for that. Introverts get their energy from being alone and looking inside, not necessarily projecting it outwardly. If you’re an extrovert, please don’t think that if someone is not “friendly” that it means there’s some ulterior meaning – it could be that person is an introvert and situations that an extrovert may handle with ease (and … Continue reading →

“If we want to succeed in life and bring about a more peaceful world, we must learn to control our emotions and not to be affected by a moment of anger.” — —Master Hsing Yun, “Don’t Get Mad, Don’t Get Even” http://www.tricycle.com/meditation-buddhist-practices/calm-abiding-shamatha/dont-get-mad-dont-get-even I know that when I get provoked, I find it very hard to not want to “get back” at that person.  Lately, I’ve tried to just not send that note with the scathing remark. Let it sit, then go back to it and remove it.  Granted, the angry energy was within me, but I did not transmit it out into the universe to to other people.  Maybe that’s … Continue reading →

Another great gesture. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/09/04/irans-president-just-wished-all-jews-a-happy-rosh-hashanah-on-twitter/  

I am sure that the Pope’s decision on “who am I to judge” about homosexuality took great courage.  I admire his decision and hope that with this wall having been breached, that others too, will follow suit. I respect the priest celibacy angle, since it’s truly an accepting position.  I also can accept, within the confines of Catholicism that the acts themselves are not acceptable – meaning sex is intended to pro-create, as I understand this, having never been a Catholic myself. They key, though, was his “who am I to judge” stance and I see this a truly a great step to be taken by a Pope.  Thank you!

Usually we are in a stalemate with our world: “Is he going to say he is sorry to me first, or am I going to apologize to him first?” But in becoming a bodhisattva we break that barrier: we do not wait for the
other person to make the first move; we have decided to do it ourselves. -Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, “The Bodhisattva Vow: Eight Views”  http://www.tricycle.com/dharma-talk/the-bodhisattva-vow-eight-views

“There is no denying that consideration of others is worthwhile. There is no denying that our happiness is inextricably bound up with the happiness of others. There is no denying that if society suffers, we ourselves suffer. Nor is there any denying that the more our hearts and minds are afflicted with ill-will, the more miserable we become.”

When you get angry at someone else, that means you’re judging them. If we’re not supposed to judge others, then we should not get angry.  Hard to do, but something to idealize.

“Discard evil friends, but call near virtuous enemies.”  – Parabola, Summer 2012 issue

I LOVE Friends Family Neighbors Coworkers Boss Business Community & Officials City & Officials State & Officials Region Country & Leaders Continent Hemisphere World & Leaders Milky Way Universe Energy throughout BEING PEACEFUL I am peaceful These people are peaceful My community My country Our leaders Other countries Other country leaders I ACCEPT Me Others Religions Politics Lifestyles All Sexes Those brought up differently than me All intellects All attitudes & demeanors All professions All ages All social statuses

From a story in Parabola, I read yet another metaphor – about Tara, the Nomad Girl, who nurtured an injured man back from near death.  Similarly, the parable of the Good Samaritan came to mind. These are not stories, in my opinion, designed to sustain and justify a religion (Tara was Buddhism and the Good Samaritan Christianity), but to indicate how we should treat mankind. As noted in comments before, I don’t think Jesus’s intent was to start a religion, nor was Buddha’s.  To me, that’s the direction we should take – no religion, but kindness to mankind. http://www.parabola.org/

Similar to our paradigms on who has the better religion, the better state, the better race, or the better intellect – we also are in the midst of our own self-consuming “Made in America” moniker.  But, isn’t that judgmental as well?  Or, even “Made in this World,” if you’re among those that believe in life not like ours from outer space (although, I guess, my hope is that they are human)?  Why must we compare by geography?  Let’s accept these differences, find our own niche, and make the most of what we can do.  We call contribute to this world

Lately, I’ve been wondering about what makes heritage such a sacred, passionate and provoking division among us. We have African-Americans, Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans, Puerto Rican-Americans, Native Americans, Gay American.  And, we defend those and are proud of those designations.   Additionally, there are larger dichotomy thoughts about just being an American, or whatever country from which you came. These thoughts, to me, seem to create even more division in our world. What makes us proud of this?  What is it that is driving us to create division?  What is our goal by creating this division? We are saying, in some ways, that we are better than another by taking our heritage … Continue reading →

Most people think of being judgmental in the confines of race, religion and sexual orientation.  But, it’s deeper than that, and it has more bands. For instance, think of blue collar and white collar. Think of managers and reports. Think of Exempt and non-exempt.  Then, go even deeper – what about Executives, Directors and Managers, or veterans, supervisors and newbies. By breaking down those stigmas, we can begin to see real people and not what they do.

Although I’m not gay (not sure why I have to say that), it is apparent to me that judgmental interpretations (of the Bible and other religious documents) about this are directly opposed to what those documents teach. What’s up with that? If the lessons are – peace, love and acceptance, then how can churches exclude based on comments like “the bible says”? A church that accepts gays, to me, is a church I want to belong to – because that means they’ll accept me, even if I’m not gay. I won’t be judged.  Of course, I’m also in the Cycle of Hypocrisy myself – judging those churches that judge. Egad, … Continue reading →

Growing up, there was something about church that didn’t feel right to me.  As I grew older, I began to judge those people as hypocrites. They were not true Christians, but they were judging others. How many times did I hear that you would “go to hell” if you sinned, or that someone was bad because they did something wrong. It was a big gossip factory. So, I quit going. Ah, but what was I doing?  I was judging; I was not accepting. I was doing just the same as they were doing. I have concluded, we’re all hypocrites until we can accept everyone for who they are and what … Continue reading →