What a shame..

Recebi esse email de um gringo que mora na Índia!!

Posso considerá-los um tanto quanto intrometidos.. mas, acho que minha vergonha é maior. Ai Brasil...

Dear friends,

The Amazon is in serious danger. The lower house of the Brazilian congress has approved a gutting of Brazil’s forest protection laws. Unless we act now, vast tracts of our planet’s lungs could be opened up to clear-cutting devastation.

The move has sparked widespread anger and protests across the country. And tension is rising -- in the last few weeks, several prominent environmental advocates have been murdered, purportedly by armed thugs hired by illegal loggers. The timing is critical, they’re trying to silence criticism just as the law is discussed in the Senate. But President Dilma can veto the changes, if we can persuade her to overcome political pressure and step onto the global stage as a leader.

79% of Brazilians support Dilma's veto of the forest law changes, but their voices are being challenged by logger lobbies. It’s now up to all of us to raise the stakes and make Amazon protection a global issue. Let’s come together now in a giant call to stop the murders and illegal logging, and save the Amazon. Sign the petition below -- it’ll be delivered to Dilma when we reach 500,000 signers:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_amazon/97.php?cl_tta_sign=c4ba85f58ce08dbe7b0e4019af1d4a69

People love Brazil! The sun, the music, the dancing, the football, the nature -- it’s a country that inspires millions around the world. This is why Brazil is hosting the next World Cup, why Rio has the 2016 Olympics and next year’s Earth Summit, a meeting to stop the slow death of our planet.

Our love is not misplaced -- the Amazon Is vital to life on earth -- 20% of our oxygen and 60% of our freshwater comes from this magnificent rainforest. That’s why it’s so crucial that we all protect it.

But Brazil is also a rapidly developing country, battling to lift tens of millions out of poverty, and the pressure to clear-cut and mine for profit on its political leaders is intense. This is why they’re dangerously close to buckling on environmental protections. Local activists are being murdered, intimidated and silenced, it’s up to Avaaz members across the world to stand with Brazilians and urge Brazil’s politicians to be strong.

Many of us have seen in our own countries how growth often comes at the expense of our natural heritage, our waters and air get polluted, our forests die.

For Brazil, there is an alternative. Dilma’s predecessor massively reduced deforestation and cemented the country’s international reputation as an environmental leader, while also enjoying huge economic growth. Let’s come together now, and urge Dilma to follow in those footsteps -- sign the petition to save the Amazon, then forward this email to everyone:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_amazon/97.php?cl_tta_sign=c4ba85f58ce08dbe7b0e4019af1d4a69

In the last 3 years, Brazilian Avaaz members have taken massive leaps towards the world we all want: They won landmark anti-corruption legislation, and have lobbied their government to play a leadership role at the UN, protect human rights and intervene to support democracy in the Middle East, and help protect human rights in Africa and beyond.

Now, as brave Brazilian activists are being killed for protecting a critical global resource, let’s come together, and build an international movement to save the Amazon and herald Brazil as a true international leader once more. Sign the petition, then forward this email to everyone:

With hope,

Eu vejo o futuro repetir o passado

Eu vejo um museo de grandes novidades

O tempo não pára...

Razão & Coração

E quem um dia irá dizer que existe razão

nas coisas feitas pelo coração

E quem irá dizer que não existe razão...

Mas uma daquelas "modinhas" do facebook que eu não resisti em postar!!

Os cadeados do Winchell's

"Atravessamos a rua rumo ao Winchell's e compramos uma caixa de rosquinhas fritas. Perry pede as suas cobertas de chocolate, eu peço uma com confeitos coloridos. Comemos as rosquinhas no balcão, conversando. Aí, no meio de uma frase que parece interminável, ele para e pergunta para o atendente: Esse lugar funciona 24 horas?

Funciona, responde o cara.

Todos os dias da semana?

Aham.

Trezentos e sessenta e cinco dias por ano?

É.

Então por que tem essas trancas aí na porta?

Todos nós viramos para olhar. Mas que pergunta brilhante! Começo a rir tanto que quase engasgo... Nem o atendente resiste, dá um sorriso e reconhece: Cara, isso é um mistério...

Mas a vida não é bem assim?, continua Perry. Cheia de cadeados do Winchell's e de outras coisas que não tem explicação.

Isso mesmo.

Eu sempre achei que era o único que tinha percebido. Mas existe outro moleque que, além de perceber, levanta a questão."

Agassi

Autobiografia

Quem diria, eu heim?!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/karinapassos/sets/72157627009274610/with/5854374503/

The Yoguí mind is the key!!

É o que eu preciso reencontrar.. minha mente Yoguí - minha mente em equilíbrio. Não que eu precise recuperar nada que se foi, apenas quero - embora que desconhecido - algo novo dentro de mim.

Ainda com as belas frases do Teacher:

Practice makes it perfect!!

art by change

Nas minhas idas e vindas ao centro da cidade de Milano, sempre fico atenta à televisão dentro do ônibus que avisa o nome das paradas, informa meu horóscopo diário, cita algumas notícias mundiais e apresenta vídeos interessantes, que mais tarde descobri que faziam parte do "ultra short film festival" que acontece no mundo todo simultaneamente. E já que hoje é o dia dos namorados, no Brasil, o facebook não me deixa esquecer, selecionei dois destes filmes para representar no dia de hoje, o amor, ah o amor...

Interlude 5

Thank you. Praise God. I tell you, I know everybody’s in the same mess. I’m telling you. We all are. I know that, you know, and I’m just, you know, I’ll be the first to tell you, you know, I’m a mess and God is dealing with me everyday. And everyday I’m trying, you know, how I can be less of a mess. Cuz you know, he showed me, Look Lauryn, you know, You’re the problem, ok, I’m going to show you how you’re causing the problem, and now I want you to be the solution. And that’s what all of these songs are about, just, problem, cause and solution. Free your mind. It’s like, we all think that the gospel is join and church building, and that’s deception, you know. The real gospel is Repent, which means ‘let go of all that crap,’ that’s killin’ ya. Life was supposed to be a pleasurable experience, not this torment, you know. And when I realized that I was tormenting myself, it was about my lust. It wasn’t about things that I needed it was just, you know, all these security blankets. I mean, the more I acquired I became more of a prisoner. I mean, you know, forty people on staff, and you can’t do nothing, and now creativity is impossible because all you can think about is all these folks that you know, you’re supporting and carryin’ and you know, it’s not good. You know, everybody…a friend of mine says that every tub has to stand on it’s own bottom, you know. And in that respect, we all get to do what our passion is. See that’s what praisin God is all about, is doing your passion. You know, it’s not useless, worthless ritual, you know, monotonous ritual, where we just show up and can’t wait to see the game, you know. It’s doing your passion and fulfilling your passion. You know. That’s how we’re thankful. That’s how we say we appreciate the opportunity to be alive. And I’m just glad that I, you know, I don’t have to slave anymore. You know, cuz I, music was my love, and because of everything I thought had to accompany my music it became my burden. It just got stolen from me. I said, What is this? How did this thing that I love so much so easily and so quickly turn to something I loath and hate? And so now, you know, I understand that it was because I was measuring myself or trying to compare myself to a standard that wasn’t reality. It wasn’t the standard at all, you know. There’s a scripture in the Bible that we, what does it say, it says ‘We compare ourselves amongst ourselves’ you know. That’s not the standard. You already are the standard. What are you trying to fit into a standard for? We were each created to be individual standards, you know. And we’re trying to fit into a standard? It doesn’t make any sense, you know. So now I’m just, you know, after all that, I’m just ready to be me. And it’s a lot to work through, you know, because all of us have hidden in these little boxes purposely, because of parts of ourselves that we were unhappy about. And it’s because we didn’t understand, you know, because there’s all this social doctrine that says, you know, that the infinite God, with all this expression, who created every single one of us, absolutely different, on purpose, wants everybody to fit into the same suit. But like, you know, that’s deception. That’s deception.

We took…we were in, um, Florida this weekend and we took the kids to Disneyworld, and um, you know we were going, they gave us a tour. They escorted us through the back. And when they escorted us through the back, we got to see how, you know, there all these people workin all hard, and it was like, real dirty back there, and of course, in the front it was all immaculately clean. And I said, I said, you know, People need to see the reality, they need to see, you know, how these people slave to maintain this illusion. And it felt like my life. I said, If people only knew what it was. It’s like, you know, a bunch of musicians, listen, bustin’ their ‘mm’ workin all hard to make it look easy. What’s the point? You know, Oh, uh, I just threw this together, uh…(audience laughs). You know, it’s like, you know what I’m sayin? I mean, you know. Slaving. Slaving to act like, you know, I wake up like this. And none of us do, you know, none of us do. None of us do. And reality is good cuz that means everybody could just exhale, let your belly out, you know, and chill.You know. But people get mad at me when I say, Look, let’s stop frontin’. And I’m saying, you know, that’s the blessing. Now we can go around and look at each other and say, Oh, you got one too?! And be free. And we want to defend the curse. I’ll tell ya, that was not fun. Did it for a long time. Too long.

One time, it came to me, you know, I was just told very concretely. You know, it was like that voice, the right one, said to me, he said, Lauryn, You know the real you is more interesting than the fake somebody else. I just want you to know that. Because we always thought we could get, you know, we could get reality by just putting on the clothes and wearin’ the face and you know, lookin hard in the video. But, you know. Reality is..it’s like I’ve always told to my husband, it’s like, look, you know, we look at Bob Marley, you know, and we say Ok, let’s just grow locks and wear the clothes and have the band and we have no many idea how many years of struggle and pain and suffering that made that content. You see what I’m saying? You can’t get it from the outside in.Truth is from the inside out. You know, and the way we’ve been trying to heal and be healed is with these topical, surface, superficial, temporary solution. And I’m telling you, true healing is from the inside out. You know, we’ve been told to protect our outer man while our inner man is dying.

(talking about her and the husband) God gave us a brand new relationship, man, I mean, one in truth, you know. It’s like, we date people, like let’s say, you know, we’re interested in somebody and we put on the perfume and dress up and then we do things that we will never ever ever do again! You understand what I’m sayin? It’s like…And that’s why so many marriages end up in divorce. It’s because people wake up next to a stranger. They say, Who the hell are you? What are you doing in this bed? Where’s that man that used to do ‘du, dua, and du.’ And I’m sayin let’s give them reality from the door because…you’re going to attract love, and the one that really loves you. And then you don’t have to pretend and falcify, and you know, keep that posture. You know, you know, I can’t, I’m just like...I’ll never forget when I first met him I said to him, it was like, he saw me eating in front of him, and he told me, he was like, You eat like a man, you must not like me. You know, because, women, usually they keep that posture. And I said, Nah. I said it’s not even that, you know. It’s but, this is reality. This is, you know, and that’s it, man, I mean, I’m just telling you, it’s so wonderful to finally find…And trust me, it’s a work in progress, it’s not something that happens overnight. We all have to be introduced to each other. I’m telling you, I know that I’m up here and you see, Lauryn Hill, you came to see Lauryn Hill. But this is the first time y’all meet me. You see what I’m saying? Don’t think you met me before, ok. And as I grow, you’re going to meet me a little bit more. You’re gonna be exposed to the real me a little bit more. I can tell you I had to reintroduce myself to everybody I know. My mother my father. Listen, y’all never knew me. I want to introduce you to me. I’m just getting to know me.And you know what, anything that’s not growin is dead, so we better be changing. You know, people would say to me, they would hold me hostage. And they, seriously, emotionally hostage, and they’d say, Uh, she’s changing. The money’s changing her. And I’d say Listen, the money’s not changing me, God’s changing me. I’m changing, because that’s a natural part of life. We’re all supposed to change. Who wakes up and is the same way tomorrow and the day after that? Nobody is. Let the experience teach you and be real, man. And, um..there’s gonna be warfare involved. Because there’s some people who prefer deceptions, see. They say, uh, I don’t like this new expression, and I say, what, you want two-thirds of me to stay outside? I’m a whole person. You can’t say, you know, two-thirds of Lauryn, come in here. Only two-thirds is acceptable. I’m a whole person. You know. And that’s everybody. You always talk about spiritual warfare and we didn’t realize that it was in relationships. It’s emotional warfare. Being able to tell the people we love the most the truth about ourselves. And when they say, Hey that doesn’t fit into our box for you, we say, Well, I ain’t in no box. Don’t try to put me in one. I’m going to play a little bit of guitar with this one, but I might stop it’s cuz I really want you to listen to the words, so if I stop, you understand why. I want you to really hear the words…

Efeitos colaterais da...

...bondade, gentileza, benevolência e atenção:

1) Kindness makes us happier.

When we do something kind for someone else, we feel good. On a spiritual level, many people feel that this is because it is the right thing to do and so we're tapping into something deep and profound inside us that says, "This is who I am."

On a biochemical level, it is believed that the good feeling we get is due to elevated levels of the brain's natural versions of morphine and heroin, which we know as endogenous opioids. They cause elevated levels of dopamine in the brain, so we get a natural high, often referred to as "Helper's High."

2) Kindness gives us healthier hearts.

Acts of kindness are often accompanied by emotional warmth. Emotional warmth produces the hormoneoxytocin in the brain and throughout the body. Of much recent interest is its significant role in the cardiovascular system.

Oxytocin causes the release of a chemical called nitric oxide in blood vessels, which dilates (expands) the blood vessels. This reduces blood pressure, and therefore oxytocin is known as a "cardio-protective" hormone because it protects the heart (by lowering blood pressure). The key is that acts kindness can produce oxytocin, and therefore kindness can be said to be cardio-protective.

3) Kindness slows aging.

Aging on a biochemical level is a combination of many things, but two culprits that speed the process arefree radicals and inflammation, both of which result from making unhealthy lifestyle choices.

But remarkable research now shows that oxytocin (which we produce through emotional warmth) reduces levels of free radicals and inflammation in the cardiovascular system and thus slows aging at its source. Incidentally these two culprits also play a major role in heart disease, so this is also another reason why kindness is good for the heart.

There have also been suggestions in the scientific journals of the strong link between compassion and the activity of the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve, in addition to regulating heart rate, also controls inflammation levels in the body in what is known as the inflammatory reflex. One study that used the Tibetan Buddhist lovingkindness meditation found that kindness and compassion did, in fact, reduce inflammation in the body, mostly likely due to its effects on the vagus nerve.

4) Kindness makes for better relationships.

This is one of the most obvious points. We all know that we like people who show us kindness. This is because kindness reduces the emotional distance between two people, so we feel more "bonded." It's something that is so strong in us that it's actually a genetic thing. We are wired for kindness.

Our evolutionary ancestors had to learn to cooperate with one another. The stronger the emotional bonds within groups, the greater the chances of survival, so "kindness genes" were etched into the human genome.

Today, when we are kind to each other, we feel a connection, and new relationships are forged, or existing ones strengthened.

5) Kindness is contagious.

When we're kind, we inspire others to be kind, and it actually creates a ripple effect that spreads outwards to our friends' friends' friends -- to three degrees of separation. Just as a pebble creates waves when it is dropped in a pond, so acts of kindness ripple outwards, touching others' lives and inspiring kindness everywhere the wave goes.

(Reportagem do site huffingtonpost.com)

120 anos

Fui visitar seu túmulo e fiquei impressionada com a quantidade de beijos e bajulações estampadas no belo muro de pedras. Nunca havia lido nada além de suas famosas frases e seu movimento estético: o belo como antídoto para os horrores da sociedade industrial. Algumas semanas depois em um albergue holândes descontraído, encontro na sala de fumantes e mini biblioteca um volume de 'O Retrato de Dorian Gray' em uma edição bilíngue, obrigada, português e inglês. Não poderia deixar de escorregá-lo para dentro de meu quarto e mais tarde para dentro de minha mochila. Um brasileiro havia esquecido, tenho suas cartas dentro do livro, e um dia pretendo devolvê-lo. Portanto me perdoem se eu repetir tantas vezes trechos do livro nas postagens, mas eles movimentam um tanto de minha imaginação, estampam minha dualidade momentânea e atendem alguns de meus valores sociais...

"Porque influenciar alguém é dar-lhe a sua própria alma. Ele já não tem seus pensamentos naturais ou arde com suas paixões naturais. Suas virtudes não lhe são mais verdadeiras. Seus pecados, se é que há algo como pecados, são emprestados. Ele se torna o eco da música de outro alguém, um ator em um papel que não lhe foi escrito. O objetivo da vida é o autodesenvolvimento. Entender a natureza de alguém perfeitamente - eis o porquê de estarmos aqui. As pessoas temem a si mesmas, hoje em dia. Elas se esqueceram da maior de todas as tarefas, aquela que alguém deve a si mesmo. Claro que são bondosas. Elas alimentam aos famintos e vestem os mendigos. Mas a própria alma delas tem fome e está nua. A coragem se evadiu de nossa raça. Talvez nunca a tivéssemos. O terror da sociedade, que é a base da moral, o terror de Deus, que é o segredo da religião - essas são as duas coisas que nos governam. E, ainda... (...) E, ainda (...) acredito que se um homem fosse viver sua vida intensa e completamente, daria forma a qualquer sentimento, expressão a cada pensamento, realidade a todos os sonhos - acredito que o mundo ganharia tal impulso de alegria que esqueceríamos todas as tristezas do medievalismo e voltaríamos ao ideal helênico - a algo mais fino, mais rico do que o ideal helênico, talvez. Mas o homem mais corajoso entre nós teme a si mesmo. A mutilação do selvagem tem sua trágica sobrevivência na autorrecusa que desfigura nossas vidas. Somos punidos pelas nossas recusas. Cada impulso que lutamos para estrangular remói em nossas mentes e nos envenena. O corpo peca uma vez e se contenta com seu pecado, pois a ação é um modo de purificação. Nada permanece então além da lembrança do prazer ou da luxúria de um remorso. O único modo de se livrar da tentação é ceder a ela. Resista e sua alma cada vez mais adoece com o anseio pelas coisas que ela mesma se proibiu, com o desejo pelo o que suas leis monstruosas tornaram monstruosas e ilegais. Já se disse que os grandes eventos do mundo ocorrem no cérebro. É no cérebro e apenas lá, que os grandes pecados do mundo também ocorrem. Você, Senhor Gray, você mesmo, com sua juventude de rosas vermelhas e sua adolescência de rosas brancas, você teve paixões que lhe deram medo, pensamentos que lhe encheram de terror, delírios e sonhos cuja mera memória poderiam manchar seu rosto de vergonha..."

(O Retrato de Dorian Gray, 1890)

* para fins de devolução do livro, cito o nome de seu dono e quem sabe um dia o Google Search não possa nos unir através de Oscar Wilde. Obrigada, Rodrigo de Lima Horta.