other writing

let it sink in…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment
contemplating the heavy irony of a day where people marched “for life” and a supportive President then turned his back and slammed the door on millions of lives.  a day where we remember the Holocaust, where Jews were turned away from the safe shores of foreign land, returned to pain, suffering and for many – so many, death. and now we do the same.
our Muslim sisters and brothers have been the greatest sufferers at the hands of extremists, of radicals, and fundamentalists.  my heart breaks for the dear Syrian brothers and sisters, who have been victimized by their leader, victimized by Daesh, victimized by Russian bombings, ignored by the West, and now turned from our shores victimized once again.
nearly 500,000 Syrians have died in the Syrian war. let that sink in.
 
to turn our backs on some people is to turn our backs on all people. it is a delusion to think that we are separate and that we can move forward in such ignorance and darkness.  there is no Christ in this, not one that I recognize.
 
please join me in supporting International Rescue Committee and other refugee support groups.  let’s put our voices, feet, and money (small or big) to work where our leadership has failed.
 
my hope is in life itself, the ground of being, the love that underlies even the most fearful, angry, dark, and chaotic of places.
 
may all beings be free from suffering.
~j
 
#Resist #StayWoke #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #LoveWins #Bodhisattva #OffTheCushionIntoTheWorld #FierceCompassion

Women’s March 01.21.17…

~ jaysen ~ 1 Comment


today i walked in solidarity with women, men, children, all ages and ethnicities, LGBTQ, along with people of diverse religious or non-religious belief.
we marched for the values we hold dear and the rights we think all people deserve. most people had a message of love, of kindness, of openness, but also a steely resolution that said, “we won’t go back, we won’t normalize the indecency and hate we’ve seen.”

it was a diverse and energized populace fully engaging in our civic duty and our right to peacefully assemble.

we marched for those there and those who could not make it. we marched in solidarity with others who were marching in 200 US cities, and 50 countries. and we marched for those who disagree and those who don’t think we should be marching, because women’s rights are human rights, and human rights are for all.

most cities had double or more of the attendance they had expected. some cities had astounding attendance (DC: near 500,000, LA: near 750,000, NY near 500,000, and other cities in the hundreds of thousand and tens of thousands).

as of now San Diego is estimated to have had 40,000. i think it may be more once they finish tallying.

it was a completely peaceful rally, yet so energized. it couldn’t have felt any safer, either, and that is due to the amazing San Diego Police Department. we thanked individual officers as we saw them, but i wanted to give a shout out here, because from what i understand they worked with the organizers in a great way, all of it beneficial and smooth. i appreciate them immensely.

the road ahead may be long and not easy, but it is one we must forge with inclusivity, open hearts, fierce compassion, wisdom, kindness, and love without letting up.
may this day be remembered.
~j

01.21.17

#womensmarch #sdwomensmarch #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #ForwardTogether #YesWeCan #LoveWins #EngagedBuddhist #EngagedBuddhism

Answering the cries of the world…

~ jaysen ~ 1 Comment


For those of us in the LGBTQ community, for people of color, for Muslims, for the differently abled, for women, for the immigrant, and for anyone else who feels a sense of being the “other” or oppressed, the results of this election may feel frightening and concerning. Our hearts broken, vulnerable, and tender.
Stay with this. 
STAY with this. Do not cover it up, do not hide from it, do not run from it. There is no need to pretend.
This brokenness, this vulnerability, this tenderness of heart, IS our strength and our power.
It is the same strength and power imbued and made manifest throughout history by artists, peacemakers, spiritual warriors, and lovers. This is what the world needs right now. Perhaps, more than ever.
For those of us who are LGBTQ – I love you, you are valued, you are loved.
For those who are people of color – I love you, you are valued, you are loved.
For those who are Muslim – I love you, you are valued, you are loved.
For those who are women – I love you, you are valued, you are loved.
For those who are immigrants – I love you, you are valued, you are loved.
For those who are differently abled – I love you, you are valued, you are loved.
For those whom I may not understand, who may hold opposite views (even views I consider harmful), who also seem to be feeling frightened, disenfranchised, and angry – I love you, you are valued, you are loved.
The road ahead will surely be work. Perhaps, very difficult to work. But I vow to continue to work in service of the values and principles that define my life, my art, my writing, my spiritual practice.
I vow to continue to work in service of the same values and principles that moved me to vote for whom I continue to believe is the most qualified and representative candidate. 
I vow to continue to work in service of all that speaks to the best of who we are and can be. 
I vow to continue to work in service of all that opens hearts, nurtures kindness, motivates fierce compassion, elevates the “other”, and opens doors to the immigrant – the hungry -the poor. 
I vow to continue to work in service of all that produces dialogue, civility, nonaggression and nonviolence.
This is what I can do, what WE can do, no matter who is President or who is in Congress or who is on the Supreme Court.
This world desperately needs healers, lovers, peacemakers – bodhisattvas.
Will we hear the cries of the world and answer the call?

~j
11.09.16

it has a name, and that name is assault…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

Let us be clear about this. 
The uproar and controversy is not about Donald Trump using the word “pussy” and then simply needing to apologize for that. 
If this is not clear, I have an exercise that I would like you to try to assist in illuminating the real issue:
Picture a female person in your life. It could be your mom, an aunt, your daughter, your niece, a cousin, or a friend. The key is to start with someone that you care about, someone whose well-being is something that you care about. Now picture that person, this female relative or friend, standing in front of you. Now picture a man whom you may or may not know walking up, kissing her without her permission, and then taking his hand and putting it on her genitals. She has not asked for this, she has not given permission.
This is what Donald Trump says he can, and does do, because he is a star.
This is called assault. period.
Unless this is something that you want done to your daughter, your niece, or any other relative, or friend whom you care about, unless this is something you want done to any other female human being that someone else cares about, then I would think you would want to stand up against this type of behavior and language, with a raised voice and firm resolution, from the deepest place within your heart and bones.
~j

10.08.16

the next step…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment


my reading preparation…”Start Here Now: An Open-Hearted Guide to the Path and Practice of Meditation” by Susan Piver

“Turning the Mind Into an Ally” by Sakyong Mipham

“Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, & Wisdom” by Rick Hanson, PH.D. with Richard Mendius, MD
…after 8 years of a personal meditation practice and seeing the benefit, in two weeks I begin a nine week course through The Open Heart Project in Shamatha (Sanskrit for “peacefully abiding”) meditation to both strengthen and grow my own practice and to become a certified meditation instructor. grateful for this opportunity and next step on the journey.
~j

09.13.16
#Shamatha #meditation #practice #Shambhala #Buddhism #TheOpenHeartProject #gratitude

may we be free…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment


may all beings and all life

in every realm, in every direction

be happy, be peaceful, and at ease
may we be free from fear and anxiety

may we be free from anger

and may we be free from greed
may we be free from delusion

may we be free from attachment

and may we be free from all suffering
~j

#metta #lovingkindness #meditation #mantra #interdependence #sangha #community #bodhicitta #bodhisattva

out of balance…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

out of balance…
after hearing the disappointing, though not surprising news that the Senate Republicans wouldn’t pass gun legislation that bans persons on the terrorist watchlist from buying weapons and expands background checks, even though the majority of their constituents are in favor of this commonsense legislation, i decided to take a brisk walk in 99° weather. 
is brisk the right adjective? 
just think if i had heard the news earlier in the day when it was 106°. looks like i dodged a…
the thing is, i have been reading articles and essays all week long both pro and con. i’ve sat with this all week long, really trying to be open and listen, meditating with it. i’m not one of those people that wants to force his views on other people. if that were the case, none of you would be eating meat and you would take time out of your day to hug a tree every once in a while. and although i don’t personally like guns, i understand that they have a use at times in the world that we live in. i do understand that some people still enjoy hunting, even if they need not do it. i understand that some people want to have a weapon to defend their home and their loved ones. i respect and defend that “right” even as i think the Second Amendment is poorly interpreted (where is this well regulated militia with their guns they have the right to bear?).
here’s the thing, though. no “right” is absolute. although i have the “right” to free speech i cannot defame someone or incite violence. and when a “right” falls out of balance, infringing upon the rights of others to a degree that is gross and negligent, and causing irrevocable harm or death – then things are out of balance. we are out of balance. and when we aren’t speaking about taking guns away, but simply asking that we keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them, but we cannot even come together on that and agree – then things are out of balance. we are out of balance.
there will always be people who are mentally ill, or who are hateful, or angry, or a terrorist. we cannot possibly stop, or heal every possible person who may commit such an act is what we have seen. but we can make it more difficult and we can withhold weapons that can do mass destruction, and cause mass casualties. my intelligence is insulted every time someone brings up the car analogy. cars were not built to kill. with proper training I could probably kill someone with the phone that I have in my hand (can someone show me how to do that? just kidding) but, the phone was not designed or created so that I can kill someone…thankfully, because i’d hate to break my vow of non-harming. you have no idea how many spiders i’ve caught and released.
some people say that none of this is the point. they claim it is a matter of principle. But if it is a matter of principle, even then, some principles outweigh others… how much do 49 lives weigh? or 26? or 14? Or the many others who will carry both physical and emotional scars for the rest of their lives? 
we can’t even find out the weight, because Congress bowing to NRA pressure will not allow the CDC to study gun violence or gun death. i’m too lazy to study, let them study for me.
at some point we have to drop all of what we have created and remember what was here before us, before what we created. Life. that’s the principle that i intend to stand with. and fight for. out of love, with fierce compassion, i vow to promote life.
silly Buddhist. 
~j

06.20.16
#GunViolence #GunLegislation #CommonSense #Orlando #Newtown #SanBernadino