Kundalini Yoga Stay Healthy, Strong & Immune: [Kundalini-Yoga] Re: Gay marraige

Sat Nam, Tho I've always thought civil unions should be a first step--this would not have allowed Karl Rove to outlaw gay marriages and civil unions in 20 plus states. No country in the world has adopted gay marriage without first adopting civil unions. That said I thni 3HO could take a lesson from the Unitarians and United Church of Christ and other local congregations of many faiths to be openly "welcoming and affirming" to all. And this means welcoming and affirming, not just tolerating. After all, who knows who in their next lifetime might be gay?

Peace to all, love to all, John Iversen (ram Das Singh)
>
> Thank you, Sunderta Kaur, for sharing your experiences and
> observations so thoughtfully. My wish is that 3HO would make it
> clear that all are welcome, regardless of race, sexual orientation,
> religious affiliation, etc. This would help to alleviate some of the
> questions that LGBT members and others may have about whether they
> are truly welcome.
> Simran
>
>
> > Hi Hannah,
> > I am glad you raised this question of the 3HO stance on Gays. I
> > wonder if anyone responded to it? I went through teacher training a
> > few years ago and have immersed myself into the 3HO community. I
> > took Sikh vows last summer at Summer Solstice and am considering
> > taking Amrit, the full Sikh baptism. I wear bana and a turban in
> > public and am living as a Sikh. I am also an out Lesbian and have
> > been for 25 years. Did you know that there is a group of GLBT
> > people associated with 3HO who have formed to support one another
> > around questions such as yours? We are called the Rainbow Sangat
> > and I can give you the information for our Yahoo group if you don't
> > already have it.
> >
> > I have heard that Yogiji said a lot of different things about
> > homosexuality. Some of it was positive and some of it negative. I
> > don't know that Yogi Bhajan was clear, himself, on where he stood
> > on homosexuality. I wonder if some of his cultural biases didn't
> > influence his position. It appears to me that his ideas were
> > evolving over time. Quite frankly, I just think he didn't quite
> > know what to do with us. And I believe that he also knew that
> > homosexuality was a problematic social issue that had the potential
> > of being divisive but would ultimately become less and less of an
> > issue. I choose to believe that he knew that homophobic beliefs
> > would not be sustainable in The Aquarian Age and so he did not take
> > a stand on homosexuality, but instead left it up to us to figure
> > out. After all, many problems, when left alone, just fall away. So
> > he left it up to the shifting consciousness of the Aquarian Age to
> > take care of this issue and for us to figure out.
> >
> > As for the Humanology teachings, they are definitely very
> > heterosexist. And I have found that the 3HO community in general is
> > very heterosexist. At Solstice there is very much a "Don't ask,
> > don't tell" feel unlike anything I have experienced before. The
> > feeling of invisibility is stifling. But I managed to find other
> > glbt people and have not tried to hide my sexuality in any way. In
> > the innocence of many of the heterosexual members of the community,
> > they are oblivious to this fact. Most people I have encountered
> > honestly believe that it is a supportive community where everyone
> > is welcome and they don't understand why anyone would feel
> > insecure. Especially since they, themselves, don't have any issues
> > personally with glbt people and like to think of themselves as
> > supportive. For many of them, it is simply a non-issue. But for
> > those of us coming in to such a community it can feel very unsafe,
> > especially when we have a long history of being welcomed into
> > communities that then try to change us or exile us. For what it's
> > worth, I personally have not experienced any outward hostility,
> > verbal or otherwise from anyone in 3HO or Sikh Dharma. And I think
> > that is something these organizations should be proud of. There are
> > some who have presented some ridiculously ignorant ideas. But you
> > get that everywhere.
> > One thing I will say about this community is that if you have
> > issues that you are struggling with around your sexuality people
> > are not likely to rush in to save you from such a gift. This is
> > true about other issues you may be struggling with as well. This
> > may be part of why the community can seem unwelcoming at first.
> > People will sympathize, but they don't tend to interfere in your
> > process. I think this is a good thing.
> >
> > What I have come to with the Humanology teachings is that I take
> > them for what they are worth, a heterosexual teacher, teaching to
> > heterosexuals about heterosexuality. I love the teachings, but I
> > don't look to them for any kind of approval or recognition of my
> > existence or identity. It is such a primal thing to come to this
> > community and technology with a longing to belong. I think everyone
> > brings that with them. But as a lesbian I need to be realistic. Who
> > is really qualified to teach me about being a Lesbian? The answer
> > is other Lesbians. So I take our obvious omissions and the
> > unanswered questions with a grain of salt.
> >
> > One thing Yogi Bhajan was clear on is that to be a KY teacher or to
> > be a Sikh it was up to the individual to initiate themselves.
> > There's this way in which as glbt people we have learned to somehow
> > ask for the permission of heterosexual people to be who we are. And
> > then if we don't get that, we feel hurt, angry and abused. But in a
> > way we set ourselves up for it. I am grateful that I get to
> > initiate myself. Because it means that I don't have to ask anyone
> > else's permission. I believe that my soul doesn't have a sexuality
> > or a sexual orientation. And my sexual orientation is not WHO I
> > truly am anyways. The course my soul charts is between me and God,
> > and no one else can either give me permission or approval any more
> > than they can stand in my way, although some people may certainly try.
> >
> > I hope this helps. I thought your questions deserved a response.
> > And yet, I don't know that anyone really feels qualified to
> > respond. It may be that there are no simple or blanket answers.
> > Perhaps the answers need to be lived instead. I have tried to speak
> > on behalf of myself and my experiences and not on behalf of anyone
> > else or the communities in general. I hope what I have said is
> > taken in that spirit.
> >
> > Sat Nam,
> > Sunderta Kaur
>