"There’s so much more to life than finding someone who will want you, or being sad over someone who doesn’t. There’s a lot of wonderful time to be spent discovering yourself without hoping someone will fall in love with you along the way, and it doesn't need to be painful or empty. You need to fill yourself up with love. Not anyone else. Become a whole being on your own. Go on adventures, fall asleep in the woods with friends, wander around the city at night, sit in a coffee shop on your own, write on bathroom stalls, leave notes in library books, dress up for yourself, give to others, smile a lot. Do all things with love, but don't romanticize life like you can’t survive without it. Live for yourself and be happy on your own. It isn’t any less beautiful, I promise." —Emery Allen
Youngest Nobel Peace Prize Winner Asks Why Giving Guns Is Easier Than Giving Books
The Pakistani teenager who was shot in the head by Taliban militants two years ago, stood before dignitaries, celebrities, and fellow activists from around the world to accept a Nobel Peace Prize.
“This award is not just for me. It is for those forgotten children who want education,” she said in her speech.
Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian children’s rights activist with whom Yousafzai shared the prize looked on approvingly as the his fellow newly-minted Nobel Laureate gave a speech that was poignant as well as powerful — and the 17-year-old managed to be playful too.
Freedom from desires and passions is not the same as the attainment of 'liberation by mind' and 'liberation by insight' which alone can cut the root of dependent origination: ignorance. Buddhism was not conceived as a means to become liberated from desire, but as a means to become liberated.
After a year of work, I can finally reveal this! GUYS THIS IS SO EXCITING! I’ve been working on a memoir, and it’s up for pre-order today at feliciadaybook.com!
The title is “You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)”!
I will be talking about the book a TON in the coming months, so I don’t wanna throw it all out there now, but suffice it to say it’s the most soul-baring thing I’ve ever written, with lots of video game and fart jokes thrown in between. There’s tons of stuff I’ve never told anyone about (hell, stuff I even forgot about until I started digging into diaries and stuff!) and I hope that, overall, it conveys the core of what I think my whole career has been about: Embrace yourself unapologetically, and never be scared of showing it to the world.
Your pre-orders do count a LOT in persuading booksellers to order copies of my book, so if you’re interested in picking it up, please do it early, at feliciadaybook.com. That way the book can get out there more! Because I’m sure some booksellers will be like, “Who the hell is this chick?” lol.
Oh and that cover on the website is TOTALLY temporary, yes. The real one will be revealed in a few months. NO IM NOT KEEPING THAT DUDE ON THE COVER. Jeez.
Brilliant Indian comic book turns rape victim into a kick-ass super hero
India’s rape crisis has a new female face, but it’s not what you think.
A new comic book, Priya’s Shakti, is making waves in India for its unconventional heroine: a rape victim-turned-superhero who fights gendered violence with the help of the Hindu goddess Parvati.
According to the comic’s website, the storyline focuses on Priya, a mortal woman who experienced a brutal rape and ensuing social stigma and isolation. Inspired by Parvati, Priya breaks her silence and reveals her assault, encouraging people around the world to take action against sexual violence.
Let this be the last time that a boy or a girl spends their childhood in a factory.
Let this be the last time that a girl gets forced into early child marriage.
Let this be the last time a child remains out of school.
Let us begin this ending.
Let this end with us.
Malala Yousafzai’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech is a must-watch (via micdotcom)
Thich Nhat Hanh has taught the yoga community, as well as the rest of the world some extraordinary lessons.
The great Thich Nhat Hanh, a beloved Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet, spiritual leader and peace activist, may be nearing the end of his life after suffering a severe brain hemorrhage, but his legacy will live on forever.
Nhat Hanh has published more than 100 books, has been active in the peace movement, promoting non-violent solutions to conflict and also refrains from animal products consumption as means of non-violence toward non-human animals.
7 Lessons Thich Nhat Hanh Taught Us
1. Be yourself.
“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.”
“Be yourself. Life is precious as it is. All the elements for your happiness are already here. There is no need to run, strive, search, or struggle. Just Be.”
“If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything.”
2. Being alive is a miracle.
“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child — our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
“To live in the present moment is a miracle.”
3. Be present.
“If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”
“The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.”
“When you love someone, the best thing you can offer is your presence. How can you love if you are not there?”
“I have arrived. I am home. My destination is in each step.”
“Some people live as though they are already dead. There are people moving around us who are consumed by their past, terrified of their future, and stuck in their anger and jealousy. They are not alive; they are just walking corpses.”
4. Love with every cell in your body.
“You must LOVE in such a way that the person you love feels FREE.”
“Inhale love, exhale gratitude.”
5. Just breathe.
“Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment.”
“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”
“Smile, breathe and go slowly.”
“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts.”
6. Surrender.
“Letting go gives us the freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything — anger, anxiety, or possessions — we cannot be free.”
“People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.”
“I vow to let go of all worries and anxiety in order to be light and free.”
7. Find peace.
“There is no path to peace. The path is peace.”
“Root down the violence in your life, and learn to live compassionately and mindfully. Seek peace. When you have peace within, real peace with others is possible.”
“We are peaceful, if we are happy. We can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.”
- See more at: http://yoganonymous.com/7-lessons-thich-nhat-hanh-taught-us/#sthash.VvWGS4QW.dpuf
There is a saying in the Tibetan scriptures: ‘Knowledge must be burned, hammered and beaten like pure gold. Then one can wear it as an ornament.’ So when you receive spiritual instruction from the hands of another, you do not take it uncritically, but you burn it, you hammer it, you beat it, until the bright dignified color of gold appears. Then you craft it into an ornament, whatever design you like, and you put it on. Therefore, dharma is applicable to every age, to every person; it has a living quality. It is not enough to imitate your master or guru; you are not trying to become a replica of your teacher. The teachings are an individual personal experience, right down to the present holder of the doctrine.
from Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism by Chögyam Trungpa (via opiraticentranced)
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