Liberation from Within

"No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path." ~ Buddha ~ "…let me emphasize that I did not come to the study and practice of Buddhism to become a Buddhist. In fact, I am not a Buddhist. And the Buddha would not have minded this in the least. He would have been happy to hear it. He was not, himself, a Buddhist. He was the thing Itself: an enlightened being..." ~ Alice Walker ~ "The revolution begins with the self, in the self." ~ Toni Cade Bambara ~ "We are the ones we've been waiting for." ~ June Jordan~

[liberationfromwithin-blog]

Having empathy and compassion for others shouldn't be contingent upon if they have empathy and compassion for you. Too often people are so caught up in and sharing their own suffering/misery that they are most often unaware of the harm that they're causing themselves and others. Of course we do our best to not be the object (not to be confused with cause) of the root of their suffering/misery, which may mean keeping tremendous distance. This work can definitely be done from afar. We strive to have empathy and compassion that we all come out of our suffering and misery. This work should be done without expecting anything in return because when we expect something in return we create misery and suffering if/when we don't receive what we want. Non-attachment is very difficult and simultaneously powerful healing work.

[liberationfromwithin-blog]

Deep bows to the finger while moving forward on the path.

[liberationfromwithin-blog]

How do you refrain from harming yourself AND others while striving to equanimously AND compassionately swim with unavoidable sharks in the ocean of of life?

Aishah Shahidah Simmons

[liberationfromwithin-blog]

I wish we could be as passionate about ending rape & rape culture as so many of us are about protecting those who rape or those who promote rape. In the specific instances of people of color and anti-racist white people, it's uncanny how so many us are absolutely clear and razor sharp with our analyses about the horrid impact of racism and white supremacy upon our communities. And yet, when it comes to sexism, misogyny, and gender-based violence perpetrated against cis/trans women and all gender non-conforming people, the response is too often a combination of crickets, a rush to blame the victim/survivors, and/or a rush to protect/contexualize the behavior of perpetrators.

Aishah Shahidah Simmons

[liberationfromwithin-blog]

“I awakened thinking about and holding deep compassion for all of the victim/survivors AND perpetrators of various forms of (emotional, psychological, psychic, spiritual, mental, religious, verbal, physical, sexual, armed) violence. What this would this world look like if each one of us believed and did everything in our power to ensure that all beings everywhere, and without exception, had the right to be free from enmity and danger, hatred, ill-will, evil, and live with peace, compassion, and infinite *non-attached* *selfless* love? HARD and at times SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE WORK that beigins with ourselves and then outward. It’s quite feasible that this world in which we all inhabit would be humane.”

Aishah Shahidah Simmons

[liberationfromwithin-blog]

My heart deeply mourns for the children in Connecticut who were murdered and their surviving parents. My Goddess. I also deeply mourn for ALL children who are senselessly murdered at the hands of our tax dollars #DRONES #WARS #CollateralDamage and our #GREED, which results in children around the world working in this most inhumane and wretched conditions. Are my hands clean?

Aishah Shahidah Simmons

[liberationfromwithin-blog]

Every year I grapple with how I will spend this holiday, which I view as Indigenous Peoples REMEMBRANCE DAY. Since being an adult, I’ve spent it both with my family of origin and my chosen family. I’ve also spent it in deep meditative silence. It’s a complicated holiday because I know it is a time of the year when many are able to come together to spend time with their loved ones. And yet many are not able to enjoy the full day and evening, especially if they’re working for retail stores. This year, I am intentionally spending it alone to fast in solidarity with the women, children, and men in Gaza. I also fast in honor of Indigenous peoples on this land mass known as North America and everywhere in the world whose land has been confiscated and lives have been murdered for the sake of greed. I also refuse to do ANY shopping for material goods over this frenzied period known as “The Super Bowl of Retail” aka “Black Friday.” It’s one (very small) way to RESIST this vicious and inhumane capitalist carnival

Aishah Shahidah Simmons

[liberationfromwithin-blog]

H/T Frankie Rivera “National Day of Mourning”

Un-Thanksgiving Day National Day of Mourning (United States protest) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://bit.ly/wL6fm The National Day of Mourningis an annual protest organized since 1970 byAmerican IndiansofNew Englandon the fourth Thursday of November, the same day as Thanksgiving in the United States. It coincides with an unrelated but similar protest,Unthanksgiving Day, held on theWest Coast. The organizers consider the national holiday of Thanksgiving Day as a reminder of the democide and continued suffering of the Native American peoples. Participants in the National Day of Mourning honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native peoples to survive today. They want to educate Americans about history. The event was organized in a period of Native American activism and general cultural protests. The protest is organized by the United American Indians of New England (UAINE). Since it was first organized, social changes have resulted in major revisions to the portrayal of United States history, the government’s and settlers’ relations with Native American peoples, and renewed appreciation for Native American culture.”

[liberationfromwithin-blog]

YES to the full video of Alice Walker and Pearl Cleage in a moderated conversation with author (Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston) and journalist Valerie Boyd.  "Filmed October 2, 2012. Atlanta-based novelist and playwright Pearl Cleage joins writer Alice Walker for a conversation that focuses on their creative influences, the writers they read, and how they've been inspired by each other's work. The conversation, hosted by Rosemary Magee, is moderated by University of Georgia journalism professor and author Valerie Boyd."

[liberationfromwithin-blog]

Buddhas are rare. They are so radiant, inspiring and exemplary that they lead millions of people for thousands of years. The further we follow the path they have walked, the closer we will get to the fruits that they have won. But in this lifetime we are likely to lack some strengths and have many common frailties. Vipassana meditation blossoms when we have realistic acceptance of ourselves. In every setback, whenever we are knocked down, there is no better time to activate what we have developed so far. Every moment is new, and an opportunity from which we can benefit no matter how long a chain of problems we have yet to solve. Vipassana is like walking through a series of doors in the house of your own kamma (karma). Door after door must be patiently opened, in room after room. Maybe one of these rooms with its slippery marble floors may take you lifetimes to cross. But if you keep going you will at last step out onto the back porch and beyond the house of yourself, beyond all doors at last. Someone may be singing the famous song burst that the Buddha sang at the moment he became fully enlightened, about how he had broken through all walls of himself. It may be you who is singing.

Paul R. Fleischman, M.D., Author, Karma and Chaos 

[liberationfromwithin-blog]

"Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation and that is act of political warfare."  ~Audre Lorde ~

[liberationfromwithin-blog]

July 1, 2012 ~ I'm going off of the grid to go deeper with my 10-year practice of vipassana meditation as taught by SN Goenka.

The above image, which I photographed in January 2010, is of the pagoda at Dhamma Giri in Igatpuri, India.

May we all dig deep within our selves and come up equanimous and metta-full! ~ Aishah Shahidah Simmons 

[liberationfromwithin-blog]

One Night Only (April 2011) at the Brecht Forum in New York City - Grace Lee Boggs, Ruby Dee, Scott Kurashige, Amy Goodman... does it get any better?

[liberationfromwithin-blog]

[…]“When you look at a human being to separate their mind/body/spirit... There’s no separation. Then we’re taught to separate the parts of our being and then move through the world in a sane way. Well, that’s insane….When I was in prison, especially in solitary confinement, I meditated every day. That was how I remained sane….The only way I could remain sane is to focus my attention on something beyond my physical circumstances that helped me to include my physical circumstances. It wasn’t like I wanted to escape from it. I could not. I was there. I was in solitary confinement…” ~ Ericka Huggins (http://www.erickahuggins.com/bio_contd.html) POWERFUL! Tavis Smiley and Cornel West interview Activist/Writer/Teacher Ericka Huggins' about her radically compassionate Social Justice Work and Spiritual Practice. Please find the time to listen to this 24-minute radio interview ---> http://www.smileyandwest.com/uncategorized/the-conversation-ericka-huggins/

[liberationfromwithin-blog]

The Only Way Out Is (Meditatively) Within...

Photo from Her Wilderness Retreats Facebook Page --> http://www.facebook.com/herwilderness

As a 10-year practitioner of vipassana meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka, this picture resonates with me most deeply...

Consciously, Consistently, and SILENTLY go within to equanimously, compassionately, and metta-fully dig deep and ultimately (after swimming the ocean of misery) come up shining. 

[afrolez-blog]

[…]”If you really want to protect your privacy rights, there is a much better way to take action. From now until June 8 (at 9 a.m. PDT), Facebook has invited its 901-million-strong* user base to vote on the latest round of privacy policy revisions, which were formulated before the company went public.

But there’s a caveat: “If more than 30% of all active registered users vote, the results will be binding. If turnout is less than 30%, the vote will be advisory,” Vice President Elliot Schrage said in a post in the Facebook Newsroom…” ~ David Sydiongco

READ IN ITS ENTIRETY AND VOTE —> slate.me/LzUiw7

[afrolez-blog]

“We’re white feminists. We aren’t white just because our ancestors were mostly European. We are white because we regularly experience being identified as such by individuals and institutions that systematically favor those who appear white over those who don’t. We aren’t feminists just because we have degrees and teach in Gender and Women’s Studies. We are feminists because we are committed to dismantling the structures that systematically favor men over women, heterosexuals over non-heterosexuals, the rich over the poor, and, amongst many other oppressions, white people over people of color…” ~ By Theresa Warburton and Joshua Cerretti for The Feminist Wire