If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without blood shed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.

"All human beings, whatever their cultural or historical background, suffer when they are intimidated, imprisoned or tortured . . . We must, therefore, insist on a global consensus, not only on the need to respect human rights worldwide, but also on the definition of these rights . . . for it is the inherent nature of all human beings to yearn for freedom, equality and dignity, and they have an equal right to achieve that." -The Dalai Lama

Hillary Clinton's Groundbreaking International LGBT Rights Speech

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

Remarks in Recognition of International Human Rights Day

December 6, 2011

Palais des Nations

Geneva, Switzerland

SECRETARY CLINTON: Good evening, and let me express my deep honor and pleasure at being here.  I want to thank Director General Tokayev and Ms. Wyden along with other ministers, ambassadors, excellencies, and UN partners.  This weekend, we will celebrate Human Rights Day, the anniversary of one of the great accomplishments of the last century.

Beginning in 1947, delegates from six continents devoted themselves to drafting a declaration that would enshrine the fundamental rights and freedoms of people everywhere.  In the aftermath of World War II, many nations pressed for a statement of this kind to help ensure that we would prevent future atrocities and protect the inherent humanity and dignity of all people.  And so the delegates went to work.  They discussed, they wrote, they revisited, revised, rewrote, for thousands of hours.  And they incorporated suggestions and revisions from governments, organizations, and individuals around the world.

At three o'clock in the morning on December 10th, 1948, after nearly two years of drafting and one last long night of debate, the president of the UN General Assembly called for a vote on the final text.  Forty-eight nations voted in favor; eight abstained; none dissented.  And the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted.  It proclaims a simple, powerful idea:  All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.  And with the declaration, it was made clear that rights are not conferred by government; they are the birthright of all people.  It does not matter what country we live in, who our leaders are, or even who we are.  Because we are human, we therefore have rights.  And because we have rights, governments are bound to protect them.

In the 63 years since the declaration was adopted, many nations have made great progress in making human rights a human reality.  Step by step, barriers that once prevented people from enjoying the full measure of liberty, the full experience of dignity, and the full benefits of humanity have fallen away.  In many places, racist laws have been repealed, legal and social practices that relegated women to second-class status have been abolished, the ability of religious minorities to practice their faith freely has been secured.

In most cases, this progress was not easily won.  People fought and organized and campaigned in public squares and private spaces to change not only laws, but hearts and minds.  And thanks to that work of generations, for millions of individuals whose lives were once narrowed by injustice, they are now able to live more freely and to participate more fully in the political, economic, and social lives of their communities.

Now, there is still, as you all know, much more to be done to secure that commitment, that reality, and progress for all people.  Today, I want to talk about the work we have left to do to protect one group of people whose human rights are still denied in too many parts of the world today.  In many ways, they are an invisible minority.  They are arrested, beaten, terrorized, even executed.  Many are treated with contempt and violence by their fellow citizens while authorities empowered to protect them look the other way or, too often, even join in the abuse.  They are denied opportunities to work and learn, driven from their homes and countries, and forced to suppress or deny who they are to protect themselves from harm.

I am talking about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, human beings born free and given bestowed equality and dignity, who have a right to claim that, which is now one of the remaining human rights challenges of our time.  I speak about this subject knowing that my own country's record on human rights for gay people is far from perfect.  Until 2003, it was still a crime in parts of our country.  Many LGBT Americans have endured violence and harassment in their own lives, and for some, including many young people, bullying and exclusion are daily experiences.  So we, like all nations, have more work to do to protect human rights at home.

Now, raising this issue, I know, is sensitive for many people and that the obstacles standing in the way of protecting the human rights of LGBT people rest on deeply held personal, political, cultural, and religious beliefs.  So I come here before you with respect, understanding, and humility.  Even though progress on this front is not easy, we cannot delay acting.  So in that spirit, I want to talk about the difficult and important issues we must address together to reach a global consensus that recognizes the human rights of LGBT citizens everywhere.

The first issue goes to the heart of the matter.  Some have suggested that gay rights and human rights are separate and distinct; but, in fact, they are one and the same.  Now, of course, 60 years ago, the governments that drafted and passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were not thinking about how it applied to the LGBT community.  They also weren’t thinking about how it applied to indigenous people or children or people with disabilities or other marginalized groups.  Yet in the past 60 years, we have come to recognize that members of these groups are entitled to the full measure of dignity and rights, because, like all people, they share a common humanity.

This recognition did not occur all at once.  It evolved over time.  And as it did, we understood that we were honoring rights that people always had, rather than creating new or special rights for them.  Like being a woman, like being a racial, religious, tribal, or ethnic minority, being LGBT does not make you less human.  And that is why gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.

It is violation of human rights when people are beaten or killed because of their sexual orientation, or because they do not conform to cultural norms about how men and women should look or behave.  It is a violation of human rights when governments declare it illegal to be gay, or allow those who harm gay people to go unpunished.  It is a violation of human rights when lesbian or transgendered women are subjected to so-called corrective rape, or forcibly subjected to hormone treatments, or when people are murdered after public calls for violence toward gays, or when they are forced to flee their nations and seek asylum in other lands to save their lives.  And it is a violation of human rights when life-saving care is withheld from people because they are gay, or equal access to justice is denied to people because they are gay, or public spaces are out of bounds to people because they are gay.  No matter what we look like, where we come from, or who we are, we are all equally entitled to our human rights and dignity.

The second issue is a question of whether homosexuality arises from a particular part of the world.  Some seem to believe it is a Western phenomenon, and therefore people outside the West have grounds to reject it.  Well, in reality, gay people are born into and belong to every society in the world.  They are all ages, all races, all faiths; they are doctors and teachers, farmers and bankers, soldiers and athletes; and whether we know it, or whether we acknowledge it, they are our family, our friends, and our neighbors.

Being gay is not a Western invention; it is a human reality.  And protecting the human rights of all people, gay or straight, is not something that only Western governments do.  South Africa’s constitution, written in the aftermath of Apartheid, protects the equality of all citizens, including gay people.  In Colombia and Argentina, the rights of gays are also legally protected.  In Nepal, the supreme court has ruled that equal rights apply to LGBT citizens.  The Government of Mongolia has committed to pursue new legislation that will tackle anti-gay discrimination.

Now, some worry that protecting the human rights of the LGBT community is a luxury that only wealthy nations can afford.  But in fact, in all countries, there are costs to not protecting these rights, in both gay and straight lives lost to disease and violence, and the silencing of voices and views that would strengthen communities, in ideas never pursued by entrepreneurs who happen to be gay.  Costs are incurred whenever any group is treated as lesser or the other, whether they are women, racial, or religious minorities, or the LGBT.  Former President Mogae of Botswana pointed out recently that for as long as LGBT people are kept in the shadows, there cannot be an effective public health program to tackle HIV and AIDS.  Well, that holds true for other challenges as well.

The third, and perhaps most challenging, issue arises when people cite religious or cultural values as a reason to violate or not to protect the human rights of LGBT citizens.  This is not unlike the justification offered for violent practices towards women like honor killings, widow burning, or female genital mutilation.  Some people still defend those practices as part of a cultural tradition.  But violence toward women isn't cultural; it's criminal.  Likewise with slavery, what was once justified as sanctioned by God is now properly reviled as an unconscionable violation of human rights.

In each of these cases, we came to learn that no practice or tradition trumps the human rights that belong to all of us.  And this holds true for inflicting violence on LGBT people, criminalizing their status or behavior, expelling them from their families and communities, or tacitly or explicitly accepting their killing.

Of course, it bears noting that rarely are cultural and religious traditions and teachings actually in conflict with the protection of human rights.  Indeed, our religion and our culture are sources of compassion and inspiration toward our fellow human beings.  It was not only those who’ve justified slavery who leaned on religion, it was also those who sought to abolish it.  And let us keep in mind that our commitments to protect the freedom of religion and to defend the dignity of LGBT people emanate from a common source.  For many of us, religious belief and practice is a vital source of meaning and identity, and fundamental to who we are as people.  And likewise, for most of us, the bonds of love and family that we forge are also vital sources of meaning and identity.  And caring for others is an expression of what it means to be fully human.  It is because the human experience is universal that human rights are universal and cut across all religions and cultures.

The fourth issue is what history teaches us about how we make progress towards rights for all.  Progress starts with honest discussion.  Now, there are some who say and believe that all gay people are pedophiles, that homosexuality is a disease that can be caught or cured, or that gays recruit others to become gay.  Well, these notions are simply not true.  They are also unlikely to disappear if those who promote or accept them are dismissed out of hand rather than invited to share their fears and concerns.  No one has ever abandoned a belief because he was forced to do so.

Universal human rights include freedom of expression and freedom of belief, even if our words or beliefs denigrate the humanity of others.  Yet, while we are each free to believe whatever we choose, we cannot do whatever we choose, not in a world where we protect the human rights of all.

Reaching understanding of these issues takes more than speech.  It does take a conversation.  In fact, it takes a constellation of conversations in places big and small.  And it takes a willingness to see stark differences in belief as a reason to begin the conversation, not to avoid it.

But progress comes from changes in laws.  In many places, including my own country, legal protections have preceded, not followed, broader recognition of rights.  Laws have a teaching effect.  Laws that discriminate validate other kinds of discrimination.  Laws that require equal protections reinforce the moral imperative of equality.  And practically speaking, it is often the case that laws must change before fears about change dissipate.

Many in my country thought that President Truman was making a grave error when he ordered the racial desegregation of our military.  They argued that it would undermine unit cohesion.  And it wasn't until he went ahead and did it that we saw how it strengthened our social fabric in ways even the supporters of the policy could not foresee.  Likewise, some worried in my country that the repeal of “Don't Ask, Don’t Tell” would have a negative effect on our armed forces.  Now, the Marine Corps Commandant, who was one of the strongest voices against the repeal, says that his concerns were unfounded and that the Marines have embraced the change.

Finally, progress comes from being willing to walk a mile in someone else's shoes.  We need to ask ourselves, "How would it feel if it were a crime to love the person I love?  How would it feel to be discriminated against for something about myself that I cannot change?"  This challenge applies to all of us as we reflect upon deeply held beliefs, as we work to embrace tolerance and respect for the dignity of all persons, and as we engage humbly with those with whom we disagree in the hope of creating greater understanding.

A fifth and final question is how we do our part to bring the world to embrace human rights for all people including LGBT people.  Yes, LGBT people must help lead this effort, as so many of you are.  Their knowledge and experiences are invaluable and their courage inspirational.  We know the names of brave LGBT activists who have literally given their lives for this cause, and there are many more whose names we will never know.  But often those who are denied rights are least empowered to bring about the changes they seek.  Acting alone, minorities can never achieve the majorities necessary for political change.

So when any part of humanity is sidelined, the rest of us cannot sit on the sidelines.  Every time a barrier to progress has fallen, it has taken a cooperative effort from those on both sides of the barrier.  In the fight for women’s rights, the support of men remains crucial.  The fight for racial equality has relied on contributions from people of all races.  Combating Islamaphobia or anti-Semitism is a task for people of all faiths.  And the same is true with this struggle for equality.

Conversely, when we see denials and abuses of human rights and fail to act, that sends the message to those deniers and abusers that they won’t suffer any consequences for their actions, and so they carry on.  But when we do act, we send a powerful moral message.  Right here in Geneva, the international community acted this year to strengthen a global consensus around the human rights of LGBT people.  At the Human Rights Council in March, 85 countries from all regions supported a statement calling for an end to criminalization and violence against people because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

At the following session of the Council in June, South Africa took the lead on a resolution about violence against LGBT people.  The delegation from South Africa spoke eloquently about their own experience and struggle for human equality and its indivisibility.  When the measure passed, it became the first-ever UN resolution recognizing the human rights of gay people worldwide.  In the Organization of American States this year, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights created a unit on the rights of LGBT people, a step toward what we hope will be the creation of a special rapporteur.

Now, we must go further and work here and in every region of the world to galvanize more support for the human rights of the LGBT community.  To the leaders of those countries where people are jailed, beaten, or executed for being gay, I ask you to consider this:  Leadership, by definition, means being out in front of your people when it is called for.  It means standing up for the dignity of all your citizens and persuading your people to do the same.  It also means ensuring that all citizens are treated as equals under your laws, because let me be clear – I am not saying that gay people can’t or don’t commit crimes.  They can and they do, just like straight people.  And when they do, they should be held accountable, but it should never be a crime to be gay.

And to people of all nations, I say supporting human rights is your responsibility too.  The lives of gay people are shaped not only by laws, but by the treatment they receive every day from their families, from their neighbors.  Eleanor Roosevelt, who did so much to advance human rights worldwide, said that these rights begin in the small places close to home – the streets where people live, the schools they attend, the factories, farms, and offices where they work.  These places are your domain.  The actions you take, the ideals that you advocate, can determine whether human rights flourish where you are.

And finally, to LGBT men and women worldwide, let me say this:  Wherever you live and whatever the circumstances of your life, whether you are connected to a network of support or feel isolated and vulnerable, please know that you are not alone.  People around the globe are working hard to support you and to bring an end to the injustices and dangers you face.  That is certainly true for my country.  And you have an ally in the United States of America and you have millions of friends among the American people.

The Obama Administration defends the human rights of LGBT people as part of our comprehensive human rights policy and as a priority of our foreign policy.  In our embassies, our diplomats are raising concerns about specific cases and laws, and working with a range of partners to strengthen human rights protections for all.  In Washington, we have created a task force at the State Department to support and coordinate this work.  And in the coming months, we will provide every embassy with a toolkit to help improve their efforts.  And we have created a program that offers emergency support to defenders of human rights for LGBT people.

This morning, back in Washington, President Obama put into place the first U.S. Government strategy dedicated to combating human rights abuses against LGBT persons abroad.  Building on efforts already underway at the State Department and across the government, the President has directed all U.S. Government agencies engaged overseas to combat the criminalization of LGBT status and conduct, to enhance efforts to protect vulnerable LGBT refugees and asylum seekers, to ensure that our foreign assistance promotes the protection of LGBT rights, to enlist international organizations in the fight against discrimination, and to respond swiftly to abuses against LGBT persons.

I am also pleased to announce that we are launching a new Global Equality Fund that will support the work of civil society organizations working on these issues around the world.  This fund will help them record facts so they can target their advocacy, learn how to use the law as a tool, manage their budgets, train their staffs, and forge partnerships with women’s organizations and other human rights groups.  We have committed more than $3 million to start this fund, and we have hope that others will join us in supporting it.

The women and men who advocate for human rights for the LGBT community in hostile places, some of whom are here today with us, are brave and dedicated, and deserve all the help we can give them.  We know the road ahead will not be easy.  A great deal of work lies before us.  But many of us have seen firsthand how quickly change can come.  In our lifetimes, attitudes toward gay people in many places have been transformed.  Many people, including myself, have experienced a deepening of our own convictions on this topic over the years, as we have devoted more thought to it, engaged in dialogues and debates, and established personal and professional relationships with people who are gay.

This evolution is evident in many places.  To highlight one example, the Delhi High Court decriminalized homosexuality in India two years ago, writing, and I quote, “If there is one tenet that can be said to be an underlying theme of the Indian constitution, it is inclusiveness.”  There is little doubt in my mind that support for LGBT human rights will continue to climb.  Because for many young people, this is simple:  All people deserve to be treated with dignity and have their human rights respected, no matter who they are or whom they love.

There is a phrase that people in the United States invoke when urging others to support human rights:  “Be on the right side of history.”  The story of the United States is the story of a nation that has repeatedly grappled with intolerance and inequality.  We fought a brutal civil war over slavery.  People from coast to coast joined in campaigns to recognize the rights of women, indigenous peoples, racial minorities, children, people with disabilities, immigrants, workers, and on and on.  And the march toward equality and justice has continued.  Those who advocate for expanding the circle of human rights were and are on the right side of history, and history honors them.  Those who tried to constrict human rights were wrong, and history reflects that as well.

I know that the thoughts I’ve shared today involve questions on which opinions are still evolving.  As it has happened so many times before, opinion will converge once again with the truth, the immutable truth, that all persons are created free and equal in dignity and rights.  We are called once more to make real the words of the Universal Declaration.  Let us answer that call.  Let us be on the right side of history, for our people, our nations, and future generations, whose lives will be shaped by the work we do today.  I come before you with great hope and confidence that no matter how long the road ahead, we will travel it successfully together.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)

Don't seek to gain anything for yourself that forces you to break your word or lose self-respect; to hate, suspect, or curse another; or to be insincere or to desire something that needs to remain secret. Look to the people whose main desire is to nurture their minds and their inner spirits. They do not fuss, complain, or crave either solitude or a crowd. And, most important of all, they will live without either striving or avoiding, and will not care whether their lives are long or short.

“If others tell us something we make assumptions, and if they don't tell us something we make assumptions to fulfill our need to know and to replace the need to communicate. Even if we hear something and we don't understand we make assumptions about what it means and then believe the assumptions. We make all sorts of assumptions because we don't have the courage to ask questions.” Miguel Ruiz

If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another. If you wish to know that you are safe, cause another to know that they are safe. If you wish to better understand seemingly incomprehensible things, help another to better understand. If you wish to heal your own sadness or anger, seek to heal the sadness or anger of another.

Quotes from the 'Dalai Lama'

Remember that not always getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.


It is positive to want to go first, provided the intention is to pave the way for others, make their path more easy, help them, or show the way. Competition is negative when we wish to defeat others, to bring them down in order to lift ourselves up.


If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another. If you wish to know that you are safe, cause another to know that they are safe. If you wish to better understand seemingly incomprehensible things, help another to better understand. If you wish to heal your own sadness or anger, seek to heal the sadness or anger of another.


Right from the moment of our birth, we are under the care and kindness of our parents, and then later on in our life when we are oppressed by sickness and become old, we are again dependent on the kindness of others. Since at the beginning and end of our lives we are so dependent on other's kindness, how can it be in the middle that we would neglect kindness towards others?


Great love and great achievements involve great risks


The deep root of failure in our lives is to think, 'Oh how useless and powerless I am.' It is essential to think strongly and forcefully, 'I can do it,' without boasting or fretting.



Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend or a meaningful day


It is time to fill the world with strong and powerful deeds. It is common knowledge that no great captain in the world has ever destroyed all of his enemies and lived with a sense of satisfaction. If one enemy is killed, two more will appear. It is important we cultivate love and compassion to all the sentient beings which is the way to bring peace to all.


There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness.


We can let the circumstances of our lives harden us
so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid,
or we can let them soften us, and make us kinder.
We always have the choice.


We don't need more money, we don't need greater success or fame, we don't need the perfect body or even the perfect mate. Right now, at this very moment, we have a mind, which is all the basic equipment we need to achieve complete happiness.



Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.

You’ve got to realize that out of all the possibilities – out of all the possible plans – out of all the things you could be doing right now in this lifetime - out of all the times you could have lived or would like to live – you choose this life and you choose to live it now. It was no accident. You’re here to do something, to share something, to express something and be something that makes the world a better place.

Human beings are a part of the whole, called by us "the universe," a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest--a kind of optical delusion of our consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our own personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and in all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life, knowing that in this world no one is all knowing and therefore all of us need both love and charity.

If human beings are perceived as potentials rather than problems, as possessing strengths instead of weaknesses, as unlimited rather that dull and unresponsive, then they thrive and grow to their capabilities.

Monet Poppies

“Don't take anything Personally Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering” 
― Miguel Ruiz

“If you live in a past dream, you don't enjoy what is happening right now because you will always wish it to be different than it is. There is no time to miss anyone or anything because you are alive. Not enjoying what is happening right now is living in the past and being only half alive. This leads to self pity, suffering and tears.” 
― Miguel Ruiz,

The Elie Wiesel Foundation For Humanity

Elie Wiesel and his wife, Marion, established The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity soon after he was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize for Peace. The Foundation's mission, rooted in the memory of the Holocaust, is to combat indifference, intolerance and injustice through international dialogue and youth-focused programs that promote acceptance, understanding and equality.

The Foundation runs multiple programs both domestically and internationally.

In the U.S., the Foundation organizes The Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics Essay Contest for college juniors and seniors and bestows The Elie Wiesel Humanitarian Award to a deserving individual.

Outside the U.S., the Foundation organizes a regular calendar of international conferences for youth in conflict-ridden countries and gatherings of Nobel Laureates.

The Foundation also runs Beit Tzipora Centers for Study & Enrichment in Israel that give Ethiopian Jewish children the opportunity to overcome early educational inequality and participate fully in Israeli society. Named in memory of Elie Wiesel's younger sister, who died in Auschwitz, the Foundation currently runs two centers, one in Ashkelon and one in Kiryat Malachi, which enroll more than 1,000 youth. The goal of these programs is to provide Ethiopian immigrants with desperately needed academic tutoring, pre-vocational training, and social and emotional support.


THE ELIE WIESEL FOUNDATION FOR HUMANITY

Miguel Ruiz, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom

“The Four Agreements
1. Be impeccable with your word.
2. Don’t take anything personally.
3. Don’t make assumptions.
4. Always do your best. ” 

“1. Be Impeccable With Your Word
Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love. 

2. Don't Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering. 

3. Don't Make Assumptions
Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life. 

4. Always Do Your Best
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.” 

"Our job as humans is to hold on to the thoughts of what we want, make it absolutely clear in our minds what we want, and from that we start to invoke one of the greatest laws in the Universe, and that's the law of attraction. You become what you think about most, but you also attract what you think about most." John Assaraf

"Accept - then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Aways work with it, not against it. Make it your friend and ally, not your enemy. This will miraculously transform your whole life." Eckhart Tolle

Let a person overcome anger by kindness, evil by good. . . . Victory breeds hatred, for the conquered is unhappy. . . Never in the world does hatred cease by hatred; hatred ceases by love.

Quotes from The Buddha

The Buddha (Gautama Siddhartha)
 "Buddha" means "the awakened one"--that is, someone who has woken up from the dream of being a separate ego in a material universe. Gautama Siddhartha, whom we affectionately, [mistakenly], call the Buddha, taught for forty-five years. In all those years, and in the hundreds of thousands of teaching words that he uttered, his message was simply this: "You are all Buddhas. There is nothing you need to achieve. Just open your eyes."

Those who experience the unity of life see their own
Selves in all beings, and all beings in their own Selves,
and look on everything with an impartial eye.


However many holy words you read, However many you speak,
What good will they do you
If you do not act on upon them?


I do not believe in a fate that falls on people however they act;
but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If one speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows that person. If one speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows that person, like a shadow that never leaves him or her. A man walking along a highroad sees a great river, its near bank dangerous and frightening, its far bank safe.  He collects sticks and foliage, makes a raft, paddles across the river, and reaches the other shore.  Now suppose that, after he reaches the other shore, he takes the raft and puts it on his head and walks with it on his head wherever he goes.  Would he be using the raft in an appropriate way?  No; a reasonable man will realize that the raft has been very useful to him in crossing the river and arriving safely on the other shore, but that once he has arrived, it is proper to leave the raft behind and walk on without it.  This is using the raft appropriately.    In the same way, all truths should be used to cross over; they should not be held on to once you have arrived.  You should let go of even the most profound insight or the most wholesome teaching; all the more so, unwholesome teachings. Be a lamp to yourself.  Be your own confidence.   Hold to the truth within yourself, as to the only truth. We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world. Believe nothing, O monks, merely because you have been told it . . . or because it is traditional, or because you yourself have imagined it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings--that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide. Happy are they who have overcome their ego; happy are they who have attained peace; happy are they who have found the Truth. Let a person overcome anger by kindness, evil by good. . . . Victory breeds hatred, for the conquered is unhappy. . . Never in the world does hatred cease by hatred; hatred ceases by love. The fault of others is easily perceived, but that of one's self is difficult to perceive; a man winnows his neighbor's faults like chaff, but his own fault he hides, as a cheat hides an unlucky cast of the die. Anger will never disappear so long as thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind. Anger will disappear just as soon as thoughts of resentment are forgotten. You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection. In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true. Teach this triple truth to all:  A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity. There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people.  It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills. Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. Once a person is caught by belief in a doctrine, one loses all one's freedom. When one becomes dogmatic, that person believes his or her doctrine is the only truth and that all other doctrines are heresy.  Disputes and conflicts all arise from narrow views. They can extend endlessly, wasting precious time and sometimes even leading to war. Attachment to views is the greatest impediment to the spiritual path. Bound to narrow views, one becomes so entangled that it is no longer possible to let the door of truth open. Everything is extraordinarily clear.  I see the whole landscape before me, I see my hands, my feet, my toes, and I smell the rich river mud.  I feel a sense of tremendous strangeness and wonder at being alive.  Wonder of wonders. As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life.

“Let the first act of every morning be to make the following resolve for the day:

- I shall not fear anyone on Earth. 
- I shall fear only God. 
- I shall not bear ill will toward anyone. 
- I shall not submit to injustice from anyone. 
- I shall conquer untruth by truth. And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering.” 
― Mahatma Gandhi

We can challenge assumptions. We can challenge the boundaries within which we think we have to work. We can challenge the ideas that dominate our thinking. We can challenge the values we use. We can challenge concepts. We can challenge the polarizations we make. We can challenge the things we normally seek and the things we normally avoid. Challenge means: 'Let's stop and think about this. Does it have to be done this way? Teach Yourself to Think

“Passion is a feeling that tells you: this is the right thing to do. Nothing can stand in my way. It doesn't matter what anyone else says. This feeling is so good that it cannot be ignored. I'm going to follow my bliss and act upon this glorious sensation of joy.”

THE BORN THIS WAY FOUNDATION

Led by Lady Gaga and her mother Cynthia Germanotta, the Born This Way Foundation was founded in 2011 to foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated. The Foundation is dedicated to creating a safe community that helps connect young people with the skills and opportunities they need to build a braver, kinder world. We believe that everyone has the right to feel safe, to be empowered and to make a difference in the world. Together, we will move towards acceptance, bravery and love. Loyal supporters like you make our work possible. Your contribution to the Born This Way Foundation will go toward empowering young people, and addressing the issues important to us: self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring and career development. We will change our culture, and create a braver and kinder world. This is our movement. We can't do it without you.

THE BORN THIS WAY FOUNDATION

Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world." Eleanor Roosevelt

gustav klimt country garden with sunflowers

Identification with your mind creates an opaque screen of concepts, labels, images, words, judgments, and definitions that blocks all true relationship. It comes between you and yourself, between you and your fellow man and woman, between you and nature, between you and God. It is this screen of thought that creates the illusion of separateness, the illusion that there is you and a totally separate "other." You then forget the essential fact that, underneath the level of physical appearances and separate forms, you are one with all that is.

Meditate

Try a little experiment for me, and more importantly for yourself! Take a moment and Breathe, let everything around you fall away and just focus on your breathing, imagine a Rose focus on it, its petals, its scent, breathe in and out a few times, then focus on the joy and love, think about how it is entering your body from head to toe, filling you up, just relax and breath it in, making it an all encompassing thing, and know that with all the love, and joy you are taking in, you wouldn't be able to sense it if you weren't all ready full of love, and joy just breathe it in and know that you are love, and joy to the core of your being, and that your gift to the Universe is your conscious choice to share that love with the world around you!

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

“Each of us is here to discover our true selves; that essentially we are spiritual beings who have taken manifestation in physical form; that we’re not human beings that have occasional spiritual experiences, that we’re spiritual beings that have occasional human experiences”

“Give up defining yourself - to yourself or to others. You won't die. You will come to life. And don't be concerned with how others define you. When they define you, they are limiting themselves, so it's their problem. Whenever you interact with people, don't be there primarily as a function or a role, but as the field of conscious Presence. You can only lose something that you have, but you cannot lose something that you are.”

Live in the present moment!

Reality is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe. What we believe is based upon our perceptions. What we perceive depends upon what we look for. What we look for depends upon what we think. What we think depends upon what we perceive. What we perceive determines what we believe. What we believe determines what we take to be true. what we take to be true is our reality. The bottom live is it is all about looking inward, cutting through the experiences of yesterday, and living completely in the present moment!

Letting Go!

Letting go can be one of the hardest things in the world to. We are afraid to let go because we are afraid of change. We are afraid of what may lie ahead for us if we don't let go. It is often very hard to see life without the problem in it. Sometimes we really want to let go, but just don't know how. Sometimes we are even afraid to admit that we feel negative about some things. Letting Go may be about letting go of a feeling, or even a person, or maybe simply about letting go of your feelings about that person. It may be letting go of a career prospect, a family member, a feeling, a project or even a way of life. Losing something of value What happens when you loose something you think you value? The chances are you miss the feelings it gave you, not the actual item lost. We loose things, possessions, jobs, friends throughout our whole life. What happened to the first picture you drew? Your first job? Your first ever friend? Change comes when we need change. Otherwise we'd never grow as people We go on and draw better pictures, get better jobs, and new friends. The thing to remember is that the things we want out of life DO change as we grow older, but we cling to what we have because we are afraid of change. Think of the friends you have NOW, and if you've ever been to a school reunion or met up with your 1st ever best friend, you'll see how different you both are now. What about your first boyfriend or girlfriend? The point is that we let go of things all the time, and this time will be NO different from all the other times so long as you go with what you truly feel. Processes To let go, first you must identify the reasons you are feeling the way that you feel. Those feelings which are arising from the 'thought' of letting go. Are you feeling angry? What aspects make you angry? (this may be more than one thing) Are you feeling disappointed? Which parts disappoint you, specify. Are you blaming yourself? What things did you do and shouldn't have done, or didn't do when you should have. Are you afraid of something? For example, giving up, failure, change - be as specific as possible. When we break everything down into bite-sized chunks, things become easier to swallow. As individual items, you can start to work out ways to bring the positive back into your life. So if you are angry, work through the anger. If you are feeling disappointment, work through why and settle each and every aspect of it. If you feel like a failure, work through what you can do to make better things in your life. All those things which you want, you can achieve elsewhere if you care to look for it.

Five Pathways to Listening to Your Inner Voice

Is your life out of sync with your priorities?
Do you feel like you're a hamster running on a wheel?
Have you forgotten who you are?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, read on. Learn to listen to your inner voice - the essence of who you are - by following these five steps:

1. Check in with your heart.
   Social conditioning teaches us to be logical and "use our heads". When you only use your head, your experience of yourself and the world is limited. You miss out on the vital information the rest of your body, heart and soul is giving you.
   
   Benefits: The same neurological tissue found in the brain is found in the heart. The heart is a second "brain" and our emotional center. Listening to your head and your heart is crucial to good decision-making about your life, your business and your relationships.
   New Focus: Put your hand over your heart and focus there - what is it telling you?
2. Connect with your body.
   Your body gives you a tremendous amount of useful information that you may not be conscious of. For example, when your mother-in-law visits, does your stomach tie up in knots? When your boss yells at you, do your shoulders turn into stone? When you feel passionate and alive, does your chest feel warm and open? When we ignore the body's message, we lose out on valuable information designed to let us what works for us and what doesn't.
   
   Benefits: For many people, fear manifests as a tightness in their chest. This is valuable information, especially if you aren't aware that you are afraid. Your body alerts you to what makes feels passionate and what doesn't. The body is a fount of wisdom designed to tell you when you're on the right path and when you aren't.
   New Focus: Notice the messages your body is giving you right now. Try a self-massage to find areas in your back, neck or shoulders that are tense or knotted. What other areas of your body feel tight? Which ones feel relaxed and loose? Use this information as another key to listening to your inner wisdom.
3. Listen to your intuition.
   Intuition is simply knowing something without knowing exactly how you know it. Connect back to a time that you had a "gut feeling" about something - the job that you knew you shouldn't take, even though it looked good on the surface or the relationship that just felt right for you. That's your intuition talking to you.
   Benefits: Gut feelings are a wealth of information. Remember, your intuition is never wrong, although your interpretation of it may be incorrect. When your intuition calls to you, trust it. Practice makes perfect when it comes to using your intuition effectively.
   New Focus: The next time you need to make a decision, check in with your intuition. Experiment with trusting it. When you follow your intuition, what happens? When you hear it and disregard it, what's the outcome?
4. Notice your self-saboteur^*.
   Each of us has our very own special saboteur. The saboteur is the voice in your head that says, "You are not good enough." "Who do you think you are?" "If you take this new job, everyone will find out what a fraud you are." The saboteur's job is to "protect" you from taking risks and making changes.
   
   Benefits: Learn to distinguish between your voice and the saboteur's mumbo-jumbo. Notice how the inner critic drives the choices and decisions you make.
   New Focus: Simply notice the negative voices playing in your head. Notice the times when they crop up. Recognize that the voices aren't you and they aren't true. Learning to separate your own voice from that of the saboteur is a powerful and life changing tool.
5. Identify limiting beliefs.
   We each carry a set of beliefs that we live by. Certain beliefs you hold consciously, while others are mainly unconscious. Beliefs develop out of past experiences and our interpretations of those experiences. Some of the conscious and unconscious beliefs that you develop limit your ability to grow and move forward in your life. For example: One of your goals as a successful entrepreneur is to make a lot of money. You discover that you have a belief - a limiting one - that it's wrong to make a lot of money. Until you begin to alter your beliefs about money, it will be more difficult for you to achieve that financial success you desire.
   
   Benefits: Learning to notice a limiting belief allows you to become conscious of it, and then change it. Releasing a belief that limits you puts you back in the driver's seat of your life. You, rather than an old belief, make the choices that are right for you and allow you to fulfill your potential
   Ways to spot a limiting belief:
   • You tell yourself that you only have one or two choices in a situation, or "no choice" at all.
   • Your inner critic expresses his or her opinion. The inner critic's opinion is generally based in a limiting belief.
   • A decision may appear to be black and white to you, or an either/or situation.
   • You have decided that "this is the way the world is."
   • You make a decision based on fear.
   • You feel constricted and notice that you lack clarity about a specific situation.
   New Focus: How does a particular belief allow you to attract what you really want in life? How does it prevent you from attaining your goals? When you reach an obstacle in your path, make sure that it's not an old belief in your way.

When important questions like "What do I want?" or "What's the right choice for me to make?" surface in your mind, consult your inner voice. You possess the answers you need to live a life that feels successful and fulfilling. Listening to your inner voice can lead you on a path that feels deeply satisfying. Your business and personal lives will flourish with this new level of trust in yourself.