Karma Yoga
by x [Subscribe] [Edit Diary]
Sun Jun 29, 2008 at 01:56:42 AM PDT

Karma = Action

Yoga = Union

Karma Yoga is compassionate action.

It is seeing suffering, and moving to alleviate it.

Filling sandbags  in a flood is karma yoga.

Giving a homeless person a dollar is karma yoga.

Pet sitting is karma yoga.

Not judging is karma yoga.

For the Soul’s Safekeeping

When, through intense propensities, we are wandering in the Sangsara,
Along the bright light-path of the simultaneously-born Wisdom,
May the heroic Knowledge-Holders lead us,
May the bands of the Mothers, the Dakinis, be our rear guard.
May we be saved from the fearful narrow passageway of the Bardo,
May we be placed in the state of the perfect Buddhahood.
May the ethereal elements not rise up as enemies;
May it come that we shall see the realm of the Blue Buddha.
May the earthy elements not rise up as enemies;
May it come that we shall see the realm of the Yellow Buddha.
May the fiery elements not rise up as enemies;
May it come that we shall see the Realm of the Red Buddha.
May the airy elements not rise up as enemies;
May it come that we shall see the Realm of the Green Buddha.
May the elements of the rainbow colors not rise up as enemies;
May it come that all the Realms of the Buddhas will be seen.
May it come that all Sounds will be known as one's own sounds;
May it come that all the Radiances will be known as one's own radiances;
May it come that the Trikaya will be realized in the Bardo.

Ya know what the Big Story last night was?  The Kidz.  The kids people always say won't turn out.  Well, they did.  And they have been this whole primary.  They mashed.

The kids are alright.

I've said it before & I'll say it again, these are the smartest kids ever to walk the face of the Earth.  

I've heard the Millennials would change the world, but I never imagined they would be this awesome.

Mother o' Mine

If I were hanged on the highest hill,  
Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!
I know whose love would follow me still,
Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!

If I were drowned in the deepest sea,

Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!
I know whose tears would come down to me,  
Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!

If I were damned of body and soul,
I know whose prayers would make me whole,
Mother o' mine, O mother o' mine!

Rudyard Kipling

A friend of mine said, "No matter how old we are when our mothers die, we feel like orphans."  And no matter how old we are, we are always our Moms' pretty, fat bebe.

x-posted from Street Prophets

He studied Ghandi and brought that discipline and vision to the American Civil Rights Movement.

When he took the stage we were a divided people, and when he left the stage, we were forever changed as a Nation.

He was our Mahatma, (Great Spirit, Saint).  He left us better than he found us.  He reached into us and drew out the justice in our hearts. Why?   What moved him in his inexhorable drive to change us?  The need for justice and freedom, the love of his country, and the deep desire to make his country stand for her principles. To make America be the America of our dreams.  To make his country better.

In his drive to free his people, he opened the floodgates of freedom for all people.

Let's look at America in his time, on the other side of the fold.

Greetings.  Welcome to the resurgent DKos Poetry Slam/Open Mic.

Find yourself a table, or sit on the floor, and hey, step up to the mic and roar!  It's almost New Year, 2008, & we have a lot of howling to do. The 50th anniversary of Howl and the Landmark court case for Free Speech is closing,  still contemplating jazz.

(Unitary Moonbat has taken the night off to attend to some important work involving his profession, actual Historian.  

Tonight's Historiorant will follow some of the Pirates of the 17th and 18th centuries in their excursions around the Caribbean Sea, during The Golden Age of Piracy.

Join me below the fold to meet these motley crews.

I've been thinking that maybe we get a little too enthusiastic with TR's here sometimes, and send some visitors to "The Netherlands" where their statements are safely out of public view.

It occurred to me that we are being unfair to ourselves and shutting them out of a two way conversation.   No non-TU, casual lurker gets to see them in their full flower, if at all.  What's left are our snarky or frustrated posts detached from the sources.    

With that in mind, I declare this a No Donut Zone.  

I am planning a trip to Portugal and Spain next year, and I need to learn some Portugese and Spanish.  So I'm calling on you'se guys to help me out here.

There are translator sites, but they don't really do the trick.  I need y'all to help me actually speak Spanish & Portugese in ways that the people I'm talking to won't think I'm a freaking idiot.

So here's what I'm proposing:

I tend to avoid diaries promoting or dissing current Democratic Primary candidates, not b/c I don't like them, but b/c I'm waiting for Gore. I like Gore. He's my number one.

I have a friend who is a HRC supporter.  We don't bash each other. She supports her candidate, hard as that is around here, & I withold support, in the hope Gore will run.

We respect each others' positions.  Ya wanna know why?

We are both Yella Dog Democrats.

Whatever our individual preferences, if a Yella Dog wins the Democratic nomination, we will vote for that Yella dawg.

I Guarantee it.

Is your idea of a good time a Archeological lecture,  astronomical slide show, 'An Inconvenient Truth' house party screening, a poetry reading,  political speech, or a panel discussion on world affairs?  Do you struggle for excuses to bow out of a Madonna concert,  dance party or a kegger?  

Oh no, luv, you're not alone.

In this opening edition of 'Talk Nerdy to Me', I will offer you some fun nerdy events to attend.  

I ask for your assistance in this endeavor.  If you know of an event, please post it in the comments so that nerds, geeks and pointy-headed dabblers near you can make plans to attend.

I just plain forgot that today is a Left Coast C&J edition.  Being a Left coaster, that's way schtoopid.  Ah well.  I've never been a freakin' genius anyways.

So don't even expect the usual bootleg snarky goodness.  I woke up to early, waited for C&J, then realized I was way off.  I'll never get up in time for the real deal, & since I'm here, we may as well make some fun out of it.

It's more of a hot tub than a kiddie pool, so rip off the bikinis & speedos & just slosh around.  Don't be shy.  It will soothe your aching bones.  And have a Rum & Coke or some such.  The boss won't notice if you eat some salami.

Good evening.  Welcome to the dKos PSlam/Open Mic.  Sit at a table or on the floor, get
comfy and mellow.  Step up the mic and share some words, your own or those of
your s/heroes.  (In respect of fair use, please use blockquotes and provide
links when posting copyrighted material. Thanks.)

(Update by x.  Do you think the PSlam should be posted earlier?  Brahman Colorado mentioned in another diary that the time slot for PSlam cuts into most people's social lives.  What do you think? Poll added)

I was searching for a poem to open with tonight, and found a Whitman piece.  I
also found an essay, touching on all the phases of his
his life and times. It's a very good overview.

Whitman's formal public education ended when he was eleven.  He went to work at
a Law office and was given access to libraries where he taught himself history
and other subjects.  He became a printer's apprentice at fourteen, and a
journeyman printer and journalist by sixteen.  Then fires destroyed the
newspapers, and he became a teacher.

Some excerpts from the essay below:

Good evening, and welcome to the DKos PSlam/Open Mic.  Sit at a table or sit on
the floor, and please step up to the mic and share some poems, stories, whatever
you like, your own work or the works of your heroes & sheroes.

Please join me in honoring Black History Month by sharing some works by black
poets, writers and playwrights.  

The turmoil and turbulence of the '60's and '70's shook America, until Uncle Sam
grudgingly granted Equal Rights for all.  (On paper, anyway... we still aren't
there yet.)   There was Black Power, Black Pride, Black Panthers, Molotov
coctails, pipe bombs, riots, bank robberies, demonstrations, Kent State.  It was
very intense.  Muhammad Ali announced that he
was not going to Viet Nam to kill poor people, and he was stripped of his Title.  
The Last Poets released two scorchingly revolutionary albums.  

Then one day in the mid '70's, waiting for a train in a subway station in
Manhattan, I saw a poster for Ntozake Shange's for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf: a choreopoem.  I felt the tipping point had passed, and things were forever changed.  I felt calmer, safer, and liberated.

Good eveneing.  Welcome to the Dkos Poetry Slam/Open Mic.  Find a table or sit
on the floor, step up to the mic and share some words.

Today, Patriots across America marched in the streets to protest the Iraq war and the threatened escalation.  
Poets Against War marched, and hosted a reading this evening:

That evening, January 27th, from 7-9 pm DC Poets Against the War will host a reading in the Langston Room at Busboys and Poets with poets Reginald Dwayne Betts, Sarah Browning, Esther Iverem, Christi Kramer, Mike Maggio, and more. 
Join poets from across the country who are speaking out on this day of protest.

January 27 also marks the liberation of Auschwitz,
comemmorated here by Brahman Colorado .

In honor of the marchers,  let's join our voices in solidarity, and sing the songs of peace.

(In the spirit of fair use, please use blockquotes and provide links to sources when you post works that are not your own.)

Welcome to the Dk PSlam.  Find a table or sit on the floor, come up to the mic and share your own works or those of your heroes.

Tonight we join the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication of Allen Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems'  The poem itself was a groundbreaking work, and the arrest and trial of its publisher, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, resulted in a landmark decision by the Judge, throwing open the gates to free speech and free expression.   It was not the end of censorship,  Lenny Bruce was harrassed to death by the authorities, for cussing, until he died in 1966,
and students launched the Free Speech movement with massive campus protests in the 1960's.  

'Howl' also marked the birth of the Beats, who brought poetry back to the streets, blew the lid off rhyme and meter, and made poems more like Jazz.  

Let's Celebrate Howl tonight, and other poems, stories and songs!

Good evening.  Welcome to Dk Poetry Slam/Open Mic. Thank you for coming!   Pick
out a table or sit on the floor, come up to the mic & speak your piece.  

Don't be shy.

The Holiday Season is a children's wonderland, filled with lights, snow angels, Dreidls, Santas, elves, reindeer, bells, Nutcrackers, Grinches and, oh yes, presents!   Toys! Surprises! Poetry and songs!

I propose that we dedicate tonight's PSlam to the children.  Poems and stories by and for the kiddies.  Some of you have posted poems created by your own very clever koslets!  I'd love to see more.  Get them off the refrigerator & into the thread!

As always, feel free to post poems, play scenes and short short stories.  Your own work or the works of others.  Whatever strikes your fancy.

Happy Holidays!

Good evening. Welcome to Dk Poetry Slam/Open Mic. Thank you for coming! Pick out a table or sit on the floor, come up to the mic & speak your piece. Don't be shy. Last week I discovered, via KALW, a cd of poems put to music ti tled 'strange conversation', by kris delmhorst. I just got it last nite & it really rocks!

Transcendent in every sense, Strange Conversation bridges literary periods, forms, and musical genres to create an original album truly greater than the sum of its parts, a joyful collection of songs that revels in the interplay of language and melody. The poems - some many centuries old - feel immediate and accessible because they speak to what it is to be alive and human, questions addressed through poetry and song from time immemorial.

As always, feel free to post poems, play scenes and short short stories. Your own work or the works of others