MyOutSpirit.com Gay Spirituality Blog

Come to Paradise!

{by Mary Anne Flanagan, Toning the Om)

Second Annual Wild Cosmic Heart Retreat in Hawaii - November 3-9, 2013 
Anyone who registers from My Out Spirit by June 30, 2013 saves $175!

Experience the exquisite and ecstatic energy of your heart while you enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Big Island. Spend your days enjoying meditations, shamanic journeying, guided visualizations, as well as gentle yoga and nature walks. Enjoy local Hawaiian excursions to warm ponds and walk in a lava tube.

This special retreat will be held at Kalani Oceanside Retreat. Kalani is on the Big Island and is bordered by tropical jungle and the Pacific Ocean. Kalani Honua means harmony of heaven and earth and our retreat will allow you to experience this. 

The retreat includes:

-exploring heart-centered practices
-breath-work and meditation
-experiencing heart-centered rituals and ceremonies
-using rhythm & sound movement
-shamanic journeying/guided visualizations
-nature walks & quiet time
-gentle yoga classes
-a bonfire overlooking the Pacific Ocean
-Hawaiian excursions and a Hula Class! 

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:
A deposit of $300 is required to reserve your space for this retreat by June 30, 2013. To register, go to www.toningtheom.com and receive the registration form. Payment in full is requested by August 31, 2013. Registrations are gladly accepted after August 31, 2013 based on availability.

REGISTER BY JUNE 30 AND SAVE $175!! Anyone who registers from My Out Spirit by June 30, 2013 will pay $1,300 rather than $1,475 for a shared room. For more information, email Mary Anne Flanagan at maflanagan@toningtheom.com

Mahalo~ Mary Anne Flanagan, Founder, Toning the OM 

Mary Anne Flanagan is a Certified Life Coach, Shamanic Practitioner and Teacher, workshop facilitator, inspired speaker, and creator of Toning the OM™.  Mary Anne Flanagan/Toning the OM™: maflanagan@toningtheom.com or 917.238.9726.  Visit http://www.toningtheom.com  

Spiritual Wisdom from a Gay Teen Graduating High School

{Mitch Anderson, the 2013 Salutatorian at Belton High School in Belton, Texas, came out as gay for the first time during his graduation speech, and offered these words of wisdom.}

Learning how to love and celebrate yourself is one of the most crucial and difficult aspects of life. To know who you truly are is the first step to enlightenment, to happiness. It sounds so facile, yet discovering and accepting who you are meant to be requires introspection and a willingness to submerge yourself into darkness. And that is what makes the task so daunting, so terrifying, if approached with complete authenticity.

For the longest time, I was forced to live fractured, refusing to look at who I thought I was and then refusing to accept who I thought I might be. The journey into the soul is not for the faint of heart. Fear will naturally creep in, but those who use the fear to force themselves onward will succeed. After much dread and countless hours devoted to soul searching, for the first time, you will be able to love who you are.

But the task does not end there. If you know yourself, but incessantly crave an empty approval of others, you will be forever sorrowful. This is wherein the true challenge lies. As Madonna has said, “If your joy is derived from what society thinks of you, you’re always going to be disappointed.” You must be able to bare yourself to the world, and then let it be. You cannot be timid; you cannot be anxious. In a situation that seems so pyrrhic, you must evaluate what the costs and gains really are. You may think that hiding yourself is worth some superficial praise by society, or you can choose to learn that being who you are is vastly more important and rid yourself of those who cannot bring themselves to allow you to be you.

I myself am guilty of self-doubt, relying on others to give my life definition. But that time has passed, and I feel the moment has arrived for me to be publically true to my personal identity. So now, I can say, I’m gay. It is both a significant portion of who I am and an inconsequential aspect. It’s as natural and effortless to me as breathing. I couldn’t change myself even if I wanted, and believe me, I have.

I have been bullied a lot. I’ve been called unspeakable things and relegated to a place of lower class. I have been made to feel worthless, unneeded, a blight on the world. People have mocked me, said that I was virtually subhuman. So, for a while, I was in a very dark place. I had no concept of self-worth, and frequently pondered suicide. I became so dejected, that many times I thought of killing myself not just because I saw no point to life, but because I had been convinced that doing so would actually make the world better. And so, for many years, I continued the cyclical, destructive thought patterns. This happened both before and after I thought about my sexuality. And after I had realized I was gay, I hated myself. I wished and prayed endlessly that I could just go on with life normally, that I could be like everyone else. Being different felt like a curse, an unfair sentence to the life of an outcast.

There were moments when I believed I was next to nothing. But I learned that what others think of you is not nearly as meaningful as what you think of yourself. You cannot owe the quality of your existence to other people. You must evaluate your life and give it purpose. You must recognize that you are an expression of the divine, a being made perfect through celebration of your perceived imperfections.

Once you love yourself, you can be the best version of yourself. You will find success and happiness. You will find that being different is a wholly wonderful and joyous thing, because it will mark you for greatness. Wish not to be one of the million, but one in a million. Find your idiosyncrasies, find what will make you unique, and run with it. You will make far fewer mistakes if you allow your inner and truer feelings to guide you.

And when you feel like you will be abandoned, alienated, and cast out, ignore the sources of such toxicity. I believe Zachary Quinto put it best by saying, “If people don’t want to work with me because of my sexual orientation, then I have no interest in working with them to begin with.” This statement can be applied to any situation you encounter where someone is put off by your expressing yourself. Surround yourself with those who will be supportive of you, and remind yourself that you are beautiful in your own way.

The people who tear you down, who spit vitriol and ire, pity them. They lash out because they have intrinsic flaws that they refuse to face. They have unresolved deficiencies within that cause them to inflict harm on others. They have no external peace because internally there is a want of harmony.

The world could use a little bit more love. Let us all not be so quick to judge. We ought to be a bit kinder to others. Be not afraid of what you do not know, because more often than not, it’s probably incredibly similar to what you know. And when you disagree with someone, hate is not a form of love. Think for a moment about what damage your words would do before speaking.

I invite everyone to be more reflective, more meditative. I ask everyone to give themselves a good hard look and define what they like about themselves. I ask all of you to learn what it means to love yourself, if you haven’t already.

Please, embrace self-empowerment. You gain confidence, an unswerving belief that you matter and the ability of your existence to make an indelible mark on the world. You gain compassion and empathy. You will love and be loved. Most importantly, you will finally start living the life that you were always meant to live.

I would be remiss, however, if I failed to incorporate a Harry Potter reference to the theme of my speech, so I will. Be a Luna Lovegood, not a Pansy Parkinson. Be a little bit strange and off-kilter, and not so desperate to be popular. Strive for legitimacy, and skirt what makes you vapid. Find fellowship with everyone, not those you have preordained.

I have a few final, closing thoughts, before I turn over the podium. First, I find Zachary Quinto’s eyebrows very attractive. Second, I would like to be friends with Lady Gaga and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. And third, I would like everyone to remember that “Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky, Can’t stop ‘cause we’re so high, let’s do this one more time.”

 

At Home with My Emotions

{by Mary Anne Flanagan, Toning the Om)

I’m hyper-sensitive. I have come to discover that means I am an empath.

I feel other peoples’ pain as if it were my own, even if I don’t know them. My face loses all color and I turn “sheet-white” if I watch something devastating or really sad. I cry easily at Hallmark shows, Maxwell House Coffee commercials, or even melancholy song lyrics.

I have known this for many years and have been made fun of for it. People would say, “You’re too sensitive” or “Lighten up.” For a long time, I thought that it was a bad thing until I realized my sensitivity made me a better listener and a better visionary.

It’s been a huge asset as an entrepreneur, writer, leader and artist. I relate to people in ways other people are not able to do so. I often understand what they seek and aspire to. I relate to their emotions. It lets me work with clients on more of an emotional level. I see past the facades and can speak to, create, and offer inspiration for what really matters.

Being an empath has allowed me to take a deeper dive inside my own heart as well as have in-depth conversations with those around me. I am able to question more, probe deeper, and create space for expansion.

It’s also been hugely beneficial in allowing me to connect when I teach, present, and facilitate. I find that my empathetic ways allow me to feel my way through conversations on an intuitive level. It allows me to really “see” people for who they truly are.

Of course, it is not always easy. When someone else is in pain, it can be hard to distance myself from it. I tend to take on too much of what and who is around me. I want to help other people — at times to the detriment of myself.  

So, how do I navigate in the world as an empath? I know I don’t want to go down the rabbit hole when I am feeling overwhelmed and I don’t want to push people away in order to not feel. I need to be able to engage and be present and let go in order to best serve.

For me, I do my best to balance the gifts of feeling deeply with the grace of letting go. I live with vulnerability and also have very clear boundaries.

I wouldn’t change being an empath for the world. I have come to accept that to feel is to be alive.

It’s the raw emotions that allow real meaning and connection to flow into creation and inspiration.

The challenge is to understand when to let it in and when to let go. And the challenge is also when to let in just enough to allow for deep connections, compassionate experiences and extraordinary creativity.

I’ve danced with this process of letting in and letting go for as long as I can remember. It has been a driving force for some intense journal writings, channeling messages, and connections with many mentors and spiritual teachers.

A few years ago when I started Toning the OM™, for an entirely different reason, I found something else that’s helps me process life as an empath – meditation and mindfulness.

It doesn’t mean I still don’t cry easily or close my eyes when something profound is happening. It means I can allow my emotions to flow rather than consume me. What it also does is allow me to understand when I’m being drawn in and then make a more conscious effort about whether I’m going to open to empathy or detach with love. And it reminds me to breathe and not get stuck in the shallowness within my own body.

Honestly, it is not easy and it takes work. There are days I am lousy at it. And I’m still learning just how important it is to stop and take slow, deep breaths. Having awareness of my breath and being mindful has made me more awake and alive in the world.

Being of service is an honor and privilege. Recognizing what emotions bring compassion and what emotions bring exhaustion have been part of my life-long journey. Identifying the waves of emotion as they rise, acknowledging them, and pausing to breathe has empowered me to lead and serve more humbly.

I’d love to know what your experiences have been with this.

What has your journey of the heart revealed about you?

Mary Anne

Mary Anne Flanagan is a Certified Life Coach, Shamanic Practitioner and Teacher, workshop facilitator, inspired speaker, and creator of Toning the OM™.  Mary Anne Flanagan/Toning the OM™: maflanagan@toningtheom.com or 917.238.9726.  Visit http://www.toningtheom.com 

Gays are Not Three-Fifths of a Human Being

 {by Rev. Paul M. Turner, Gentle Spirit Christian Church of Atlanta}

"Marriage Equality" - those two words have become the center of the final battle for gay rights.

How far we have come and how far we have yet to travel. I remember when I was much younger and first coming to understand my sexual attraction and orientation the thought of marriage was not on my mind.

In fact, my first long term relationship didn’t consider getting married as most of who we were in fact was considered illegal.

The majority of our life was spent trying to get housing which was safe, not to be fired from our jobs and not get the crap kicked out of us for daring to live together.

The early “gay affirming” church called the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches” had a liturgy that was called a “Holy Union”. This pretty much copied the traditional church wedding ceremonies’ and changed the pronouns to fit the same gender couple.

For a hot second that was enough, that is to have a church recognize your relationship and hold it as blessed in the eyes of God.

Of course the longer we were together with our partners the more we found out that while God may love us and embrace us, no one else was and especially the law.

We had no visitation rights for our partners when hospitalized, because we weren’t married.

We had no rights to our partner’s body when they died, because we were not married. In the late 70’s and mid 80’s people were dying at an alarming rate.

We had no rights to pass on property without it being contested by family members, because we weren’t married.

If our partner had something catastrophic happen to them, we had no say in their treatment or care, because we were not married.

We could not have children, because we were not married.

We could not adopt children, because we were not married.

We could not be considered for credit together, because we were not married.

The longer a couple was together and the everyday obligations of living life became more and more complicated because we were not married.

As a couple we suffered at the hands of the IRS and tax breaks and credits because we were not married.

Join a Global Prayer Initiative to Support Int'l Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia on May 17, 2013

{Via International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia}

Around the world, many faith communities and organizations mobilize on May 17^th to commemorate the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. These faith communities and organizations not only come together to highlight the intersections of faith and sexuality, to remember victims of homo/bi/transphobia and to stand against religiously-based homophobia and transphobia, but also, and predominantly, to raise the voices of progressive faith leaders in supporting the positive role of world religions and faith communities in shaping inclusive societies.

This year, the IDAHO Committee, together with the European Forum of LGBTQ Christian Groups, encourages individuals, organizations and faith communities to be a part of the Global Prayer Initiative - which aims to bring together different faith communities, denominations and groups to bring their voice to the IDAHO 2013 commemorations.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

One of the simplest and yet most powerful ways to be involved in the Global Prayer Initiative is to organize a vigil.  Vigils can be a powerful tool to draw attention to thoughtless acts of intolerance, and to religiously-based homophobia and transphobia. Vigils carry a certain weight that is symbolic in so many contexts, whether religious, spiritual, commemorative or memorial. Consider drawing your faith community together in commemorating the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

Sparking discussions and dialogue around homophobia and transphobia is also a great way that faith communities can bring about change in their places of worship. Interfaith communities also have the opportunity to bridge the divides between communities where homophobic and transphobic sensitivities still persist. Consider promoting a dialogue between different faith communities or religious denominations in creating a new platform - such as a workshop, conference, email list or prayer network - through which to exchange information, gather together ideas and promote collective actions.

Sending a thought or prayer on the internet is another simple and effective way to show your solidarity and to help get the message out. You could do this via facebook or twitter, perhaps by using the hashtag #IDAHOprayer. You could create a youtube video, to offer your thoughts, well wishes and prayers towards those who have faced, and continue to face, stigma and discrimination within their lives.

Disease and Pain Cannot Keep You From Joy

{by Patrick Henry Morris of Sang-gye Healing Arts}

It’s been a week since I returned from retreat in upstate New York. I’m settling into my newfound freedom of mind quite nicely. I feel so grateful to have had such a nourishing experience for my body and soul. I’m counting down the days until I can make the small train trip journey again to live with a beautiful sangha, mindfully.

I stayed for a week with the brothers and sisters of Blue Cliff Monastery. I was welcomed with smiles of joy and care upon arriving. I was just happy to be out of the concrete of New York City for a few days. I was so excited to see trees, grass, birds, and deer. The earth’s beauty was almost overwelming but I knew it was just what I needed.

If you’ve been following my story you know that the last 5 years have been anything but easy, especially the last 6 months have been extra intense on top of ongoing health issues. I’ve been living with/suffering from/learning from HS disease for about that long. Though I’ve never experienced pain quite like the kind provided by this disease, I have no regrets about my illness. It has been my greatest teacher, one I am eternally in debt to for its teachings. About two months ago, I awoke from a night of restful sleep missing my symptoms of illness I have been living with for these last few years. Fingers crossed, those symptoms still have not showed back up.

I’m not sure why the universe decided to throw me a bone but I couldn’t be more thankful. There were times where I didn’t believe I would live through this disease. There were times when I wanted to give up. There were times where I just wanted to be put out of my misery. Especially those times where It was too painful for me to get up and walk. Having these experiences in my timeline, the fact that I was able to use my legs and entire body during this retreat - to live mindfully and feel my experience at the monastery - kept bringing up a huge sense of gratitude with every step I would make. During walking meditation, just feeling the earth under my feet and breathing with each step made me tear up. I couldn’t believe I was walking, fully healed with no pain. This entire experience has been miraculous. I have no other explanation.

I needed to get away from the city and reground myself in the loving energy of nature. I went on many walks through the beautiful forest, feeling each step and looking at the streams, leaves, and clouds. The earth seemed brand new, full of possibility. Finally I was waking up to my life. Finally I was realizing all that I had within me.

For a week I lived in the present moment. I needed nothing else, wanting nothing else. I had everything I needed. Health, good food, support, meditation, friends, and the outside world full of beauty. The monastics that live at the monastery were so full of joy and inspiring. They shared beautiful stories of healing and wisdom. I listened to every word as if It might be my last time to use my ears. I ate every meal as if it might be my last meal to taste. I walked every step as if It was my last on the earth. I appreciated it. It nourished my body and soul and slowly, day by day, I began to come alive.

This retreat was a celebration. A celebration of healing. A celebration of my journey here. I’m so grateful for the suffering that has been handed to me as a gift. I want to learn from it all and help others relate to their pain in a differnet manner. It doesn’t have to consume us. We can learn to smile at our pain. We can learn to except pain and joy at the same time, instead of running towards joy and away from pain. We can make space in my hearts and minds to encompass whatever may be arising.

The peace and healing I recieved from this retreat has re-inspired many areas of my life. Just by being present with myself, all my problems started to unravel themselves. I’ve returned with a new vigor for life. I’m curious about all the people I share this world with. I vow to see them as no different than myself. Everyone is my family and I can smile at them. I want to learn as much as possible about everyone I meet. I want to help them. I want them to heal. Let’s heal together.

The monastics taught me many different things but the teaching that resonated with me the most was about healing our ancestors. It is Buddhists' belief that, when you practice mindfulness in everyday life, you heal past wounds. Not only do you heal your own wounds, but you also heal your ancestors' wounds. Going back as far as time goes back. Breaking the cycle of pain and giving life. I heal myself and I heal all others in contact with me in this life. If that’s not motivation to continue to heal and practice than I don’t know what is. I love that I can provide relief from pain for my family just by healing myself. We are really all connected. We really are all in this together.

I envision a day where we can all heal. A time when all of us can look at our minds and make friends with them. I look forward to the day when we are no longer enslaved by our own minds. When we live in harmony with the world around us. With its pain, with its joy. We will smile.

Smile, there is love.
Smile, there is pain.
Smile, don’t run away.
Smile, stay here.
Smile, be here.
Smile, feel.
Smile, accept.
Smile, send love.
Smile, recieve love.
Smile, you are beautiful.
Smile, you can heal.
Smile, you are alive.
Smile, to the possibilities.
SMILE

 

A Gay Yogi Begins His Year Long Meditation Instructor Training

 

{by Patrick Henry Morris, Awakened Artistry}

Last weekend I started my year long immersion training with The Interdependence Project in New York City. Entering those doors and climbing the 200 stairs to the loving space of my Sangha I was nervous with the teeming possiblities. What would this training mean to me? How would it change me? What would I learn? Am I smart enough to complete this? Will the others understand me? Will I be a good teacher? Will I be a good student?

As we took our seats, Ethan Nichtern started by giving us some meditation instruction. At the end, he asked us to get in touch with what we feel in our bodies and to start getting comfortable with being on the spot, showing up and staying in the present, no matter how fearful we may be. At that moment, all the questions in my mind vanished. I made a commitment to be available to what the world was teaching me at that moment.

Being completely open to what was arising didn’t mean I wasn’t scared anymore. I don’t think I stopped sweating for the rest of the weekend. We went through a study session and taking turns teaching mindfulness meditation and giving feedback. I was nervous for all of it except when I was actually leading meditation. I stayed with those feelings, I felt them. And what do ya know, I didn’t die. I’m still here to relate this story to you. I always assume whatever hard task is in front of me will kill me but some how I prevail. I should start remembering that from the beginning.

As the weekend progressed, I kept feeling more inspired and grateful for the opportunity to learn from 15 different teachers during the course of this year. People from all walks of life with such vastly different experiences. Each unique in their own way, yet we have so much in common. It’s nice to share a space with so many indivuduals who are interested in learning more about themselves and their own minds.

I’m no longer nervous about being put on the spot. I know it’s exactly what I need to do to learn more about myself, become accepting, and grow. I’m inspired to continue on this journey and learn how to better relate the teachings so that others may benefit.

May I be of benefit.

---

Why You Were Born This Way

{by Shokti Lovestar}

The experience of being born gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or simply queer, on planet earth is a challenge, a threat and a gift.

We are challenged to be true to ourselves, to listen to our deepest inner drives and dare to act on them, despite the threat of condemnation from family, society and religion, and so uncover the gifts of love, friendship, creativity and gaiety that our nature bestows on us.

Of course things have changed enormously in many parts of the world. It is easier and safer to be gay than it was a few decades ago. We have developed scenes and communities where we can find each other, support each other, fall in love and create our own queer families.

In other places queer people live in fear, under threat of prosecution, imprisonment – even death. Intolerance is still a mighty demon on this planet.

Far from being the spawn of evil that some see us as, we are mostly a section of humanity that demonstrate and manifest tolerance. We are wayshowers for the rest of the human race – bringing radical acceptance of diversity, putting love and celebration at the centre of human life – helping the race to overcome centuries of sexual repression, fear of difference and brutal patriarchal control. Our out and proud existence challenges the religious to live up to their holy ideals of love and compassion – and often they fail, revealing instead a sick underbelly of fear and hatred that pollutes their purpose.

Brought up in a world still hounded by religiously justified homophobia, many of us grow up carrying a burden of shame and guilt that we must heal in order to live and love healthily. We need to overcome our own doubts and see clearly that we are beings of love, joy and freedom, then demonstrate this to the world.

Rejected by most mainstream religions, and often rejecting them back, our lack of spiritual grounding as individuals and as a community leads to the problems of addiction and disease that spoil our queertopia. Most queers who dive into the cauldron of parties, sexuality and drug use have little sense that the drive that pushes them into that is the passion of their spirit to expand, to fill with energy, to love without limit, to know itself. Our voyages into bliss are journeys of the soul, we come back from them changed, hopefully for the better, though this is a territory not without risks.

The rational, secular, atheistic tendency of our age has served us well, dismantling faith-based persecution, but it has led so many of us to believe we are nothing more than bits of meat in a random existence with no purpose. Our ecstasies are seen as chemical reactions rather than moments of divine communion with spirit. But perhaps the truth is very different.  My experience suggests we are the very people who can bring enchantment and light to life – we carry the potential to move beyond the old stories of religious dogma and conflict, to a unified understanding of life – the meeting point of the great mystery (consciousness) with physical matter. When we open our hearts, minds and bodies, magic happens, a greater story emerges.

Coming out opens a life of self-discovery, it opens the doors to love and points the way to transcendence. Our longing for love and ecstasy comes from the spirit part of us - just as our physical being needs food and water to survive, our spirits need love and bliss to thrive.

We also need an intellectual grasp of what is going on – to move into a twenty-first century vision of what it means to be alive, and what it means to be queer. Writers Toby Johnson, Mark Thompson, Andrew Ramer, Christian de la Huerta, David Nimmons, Daniel Helminiak, and Andrew Harvey are amongst the gay male pioneers who are opening up this path of understanding for us. Queer Spirit workshops and retreats are spreading, more websites appearing. Gradually our spiritual nature is moving to the centre of our story, replacing sexuality there. Our history as shamans and priests is talked about as never before. The urge to love in us is being honoured as never before as support for equal marriage spreads.

Prejudice, hatred and fear of us has not gone away. But we are at a tipping point, where our love of beauty, pleasure and joy could be revealed as sources of light, enchantment and tolerance that the world so badly needs. If there is a gay agenda for this world, it is surely that all beings should be free to live out their own dreams, without fear of attack or persecution, that love is what drives all our urges in life, and that transcendent ecstasies are a crucial part of a balanced, healthy life.

---

PHOTO: Benoit Paillé

The Dead Man on the Subway is My Mother

On just another December afternoon in New York City, my life changed forever.

It was a normal commute home from Target with my boyfriend. I felt something in the air that day. Sometimes the earth decides to open and speak to me, this day was my time to listen.

The train came to a stop at our destination but when the doors opened; I didn’t see the normal grungy tile of the subway station. Someone else was staring into my eyes. There was one differing quality of our gazes: I was looking at him, but he wasn’t looking back. His body was pinned between the train and the platform.

This man had already left the world the first time I saw him, yet I felt in my heart that I knew who was laying on the ground. The train had crushed his body between the platform and train car, taking his soul to places unknown.

I stood in shock for a moment gazing at his lifeless body with all the love I could muster. In him I witnessed the universe. I saw my mother. I saw my father. I saw my brothers. I saw my sisters. I saw all previous generations. I saw all future generations. I saw a man that had once loved, and had once again returned to that love.

As I stood there softly gazing, I noticed how peaceful his expression was. His body remained there in front of us, yet the man he once was, was free. I cried many tears of sadness for this man, but they were not in vain. He was gone and I was here suffering.

The human heart feels anguish when we lose someone. Even though I didn't know his name, I felt the pull of the universe take his love away from us. Only later would I realize the only one in pain that December day were those of us witnessing the loss of that man. That man who deep inside is the same as me. That man who has been my father. My brother, my mother, my sister, endless times.

When we see transitions, we see ourselves die a little. That day I witnessed a death, and a part of me died, too; the death of my soul as it were. Since then, I’ve been born anew in some sense. My thought patterns aren’t even the same.

When I look out into the world, I see ways to help it, and I see how we are slowly dying, all of us. Time keeps ticking away and with each breath we are closer to joining this man who died on the subway. Hatred is silenced by love. To love is to live. Cultivate love and there is no argument. That man showed me what this life means.

Usually love is expressed and it has a hook on the end. How often do we radiate love onto others like sunshine, wishing nothing in return? A free gift to ignite your soul?

This is what I offer. Unconditional love to all beings the world over. To those sick, those dying, those living, those sad, those happy, those smiling creatures that make up everything we are witness to on this earth, I offer you love.

May you accept and find love wherever you seek it. May it heal your wounds. May it be the key. May It be. Love.

---

{Patrick Henry Morris is a yoga teacher and make-up artist in New York City. In 2013, he will complete his teacher training at Buddhist center, The Interdependence Project. Follow Patrick online on TUMBLR, Twitter and Facebook.}

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A Gay Love Revolution

{by Shokti Lovestar}

The story of gay liberation is a story of love – that could ultimately lead to a REVOLUTION in human relationships and society – as freedom to love, freedom from fear and freedom of self expression becomes the right for all people on planet Earth.

For over four decades in the UK, gay relationships have had space and permission to grow and flourish. The first changes in the legal system dealt with sexual activity, and were based on a desire to halt blackmail and corruption as much as any principle of liberty and equality. In the UK, the 1967 Act that decriminalised sexual contact between two men in private was the starting point for an out and proud movement of gay liberation. Gay Pride marches, political campaigns and gradually increasing social acceptance of gay people have led to an improving situation for people of all sexualities, with equal marriage the latest manifestation of this. With the introduction of civil partnerships a few years ago, legislation entered the area of recognition of our love for each other, moving on from laws around our sexual activity, which had remained archaic and unequal for a long time after 1967. The movement spreading through western democracies to allow civil marriage on equal terms to heterosexuals is another stage towards love taking a place at the centre of human life, and is flushing out into the open the remaining prejudice, fear and ignorance around sexuality that exists in our societies.

The place of queer people in society is changing, but it has been a very long time coming. Centuries ago Michelangelo penned this verse:

“And if the vulgar and malignant crowd
misunderstand the love with which we’re blessed,
its worth is not affected in the least
our faith and honest love can still feel proud.”