Baha'i Faith

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    Bahá’í World News

  • World’s major religions present action plans on environment

    4 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am
    Leaders representing the world's major religions, including the Baha'i Faith, gathered yesterday at historic Windsor Castle to formally launch a series of action plans involving their communities in a long-term effort to protect the environment. They were joined by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and HRH The Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, in a celebratory meeting that...

  • Baha'is join global plan for "generational change" on climate change

    27 Oct 2009 | 3:00 am
    The Baha'i International Community today announced that it has become a partner in a United Nations-sponsored program to promote "generational change" to address climate change and environmental sustainability. The program, which is co-sponsored by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), seeks to promote lifestyle changes that will...

  • Trial of seven Baha'is delayed, no new date set

    18 Oct 2009 | 3:00 am
    Although the trial of seven Baha'i leaders imprisoned in Iran for more than 17 months was scheduled for today, when attorneys and families arrived at the court offices in Tehran they were told it would not take place. No new trial date was given. "The time has come for these seven innocent people to be immediately released on bail," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community's...

  • Trial of seven Baha'is in Iran scheduled for 18 October

    16 Oct 2009 | 3:00 am
    The trial of seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders in Iran is scheduled for Sunday. However, defense lawyers have not received the standard advance notification required under Iranian law. "It is unclear whether the trial will take place on Sunday, or whether it will be postponed again," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "If the...

  • Secretary general of UN releases report criticizing human rights abuses in Iran

    15 Oct 2009 | 3:00 am
    UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon yesterday expressed strong criticism of Iran's human rights record, voicing concern about the use of excessive force after the recent presidential election, the harassment of women's rights activists, the ongoing execution of juveniles, and the continued persecution of minorities, including Baha'is. In a 19-page report written specifically to address a request...
 
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    Topix: Bahai World Faith News

  • Festival of Faith opens door to religious traditions

    6 Nov 2009 | 11:56 am
    The spiritually committed and the outright curious are invited to attend the fourth annual Festival of Faith Sunday for a glimpse of the beliefs and rituals behind several faith traditions.

  • Baha'i news: World's major religions present action plans on...

    4 Nov 2009 | 11:47 am
    They were joined by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and HRH Th e Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, in a celebratory meeting that empha sized the role religion can play to inspire grassroots change and make "pea ce with the planet." "I have long believed that when governments and civil society work toward a common goal, ...

  • More

    3 Nov 2009 | 7:26 am
    On Tuesday November 3, His Royal Highness Prince Philip will host over 200 guests for lunch at Windsor Castle, the 900-year-old palace that serves as an official residence of his and Queen Elizabeth's. But this lunch will be noticeably different from the roasted quail and crA me fraA che typical to castle meals.

  • Report: Iran To Try Seven Detained Baha'is Soon

    1 Nov 2009 | 7:06 am
    Seven detained Baha'i believers accused of spying for Israel and blasphemy will soon go on trial in Iran, an official was quoted as saying.

  • On Faith: Check the scriptures for hidden words of faith

    1 Nov 2009 | 2:38 am
    Baha'is are often asked if we follow the Bible or some other Book of God. There are two simple answers to this question, and both are, 'Yes!' The Baha'i Faith is based on the knowledge that all the manifestations of God come from one source, and each brings updated teachings from that source relevant to the ages in which they appear.
 
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    Baha'i Thought

  • Good Without God

    1 Nov 2009 | 1:30 am
    The atheism ads have now arrived in my own city of Boston. Check it out:Beside ads beckoning believers to explore Islam, attend services at the Boston Chinese Evangelical Church, or learn about the healing powers of Christian Science, the walls of the city’s subway cars will make room this month for another creed: nonbelief.A group called the Boston Area Coalition of Reason has spent $11,000 to buy ads on more than 200 subway cars on the Red Line and Green Line to raise awareness about people who believe that God is a myth. Surveys suggest that they account for an increasing number of…

  • Baha'i Dad Chronicles: Busy Boy

    24 Oct 2009 | 4:09 am
    One of the fun things about being a new parent is observing which of your character traits are emerging in your kid. It seems that my son is taking after me in the sense of being a very busy boy. As I watch him, it appears that like his father, he has a long list of tasks to perform each day. The following are a few of the items I imagine are on his to-do list:1. Make sure parents get up on time.2. Make sure parents remember how to change diapers.3. Distribute toys throughout the house so they are more easily accessible.4. Drink large amounts of mommy-produced, liquid sustenance.5. Redecorate…

  • Hot Bloggin': October 2009

    14 Oct 2009 | 3:06 am
    In the spirit of my previous post, Unloose Your Keyboards Heroes of God I'd like to try and make Hot Bloggin' a monthly feature on Baha'i Thought. The mission of Hot Bloggin' is to recognize the awesomeness of long time Baha'i bloggers and also encourage new blogs on the block. Here goes:Baha'i Coherence discusses the nobility of the soulBaha'i Faith in Egypt adds an artistic touchBaha'i Perspectives is having a laughBarnabas takes on Iran's nuclear ambitions and human rightsIran Press Watch has the latest on the denial of higher education to Iranian Baha'isJeune Street is Facebookin'…

  • Baha'i Dad Chronicles: Our Son Is One

    11 Oct 2009 | 2:01 am
    Time flies when you're having a son. It is hard to believe that a year and four days ago I laid eyes on this little guy for the first time. Those of you who have been following Baha'i Dad Chronicles know that it has been a very full year. Infancy has given way to toddler-hood and baby Douglass looks like a little boy now. Though he's not quite old enough to say so, I think he knows that he's at a different stage in his journey. His wobbly-walk is now a more confident stride. He knows what he wants and goes and gets it. He is trying patiently to train us to comply with his wishes (sometimes…

  • Too Much Information

    6 Oct 2009 | 3:39 pm
    I know that we are living in the information age, but I think there are times when it's TMI (too much information). I may be a minority here but I'm really not interested in knowing about the private lives of public figures. For example, I have not been nor will I ever be interested in whether David Letterman had sex with women he works with. Call me old fashioned but I think that is between him and his wife and is none of my business.It seems to me that in the current tell-all, blog-all, tweet-all culture we have, the question of whether we should know so much about the private lives of…
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    Baha'i Perspectives

  • Safeguarding happiness

    geoffrey
    2 Nov 2009 | 4:20 pm
    Photograph by Nathan Wolfe There is a softness that often times creeps in when sitting silently. The despondent and yet comforting rain falling outside lends itself to a certain mood. OK. Take a breath. Close your eyes. The peal of the lightning and thunder somewhere up above me keeps playing on my mind. It settles in. Happiness settles in. And yet this quiet but incessant voice speaks to me — “what do you know of hardship, of persecution, of oppression?” And then a chain reaction is set off and I ask myself — how do I even suppose to know empathy? How do we communicate…

  • In a Fragmented City, Happiness: Vying in Service to the Good of All (Part II)

    leila
    29 Oct 2009 | 8:24 am
    Photo credit: Tom Dyson. The older one gets, the more one’s own mortality becomes painfully evident.  I had a dream the other night that I was on a jet.  My sister was in the lavatory, and I was outside telling her a joke, wanting to make her laugh. Suddenly, the plane began to plummet.  We both grew silent, on opposite sides of the door, and in my head, all I could think about was how much had been left undone. Maybe I had that dream because recently, I’ve witnessed people around me, young and old, be afflicted with terminal illnesses.  I spent the weekend in Northern…

  • Tilting at Windmills

    nooshin
    18 Oct 2009 | 1:04 pm
    I’ve been following with interest a debate (a long-standing one which has recently hotted up) about the effectiveness of giving aid to developing countries.  On one side is the argument that developmental aid and humanitarian assistance has been proven to save millions of lives, and it is not just effective, it is necessary.  On the other hand, some (like the author of Dead Aid Dambisa Moyo) say that aid is deterimental to those it is trying to help, bringing corruption, market distortion, further poverty and aid dependence. My personal take is that it is not that there is good aid or…

  • Food for the Body, Food for the Soul

    Baha'i Perspectives
    15 Oct 2009 | 10:20 am
    So, how do we approach food and nutrition from a spiritual angle?  While there is not a Bahá’í ‘diet,’ we do have some guidelines about where we – as a civilization – will be heading in the future. It’s a process, individually and collectively, of moving towards health, not just for ourselves, but for every living thing on the planet. Listen to this excellent podcast, entitled “Nutrition from a Bahá’í Perspective: Food for the Body, Food for the Soul”, prepared by Margaret Tash. You can view/download the transcript of this presentation here.

  • Having a Laugh

    nadim
    4 Oct 2009 | 1:44 pm
    I’ve had good cheer on the brain recently. An unexpected sunny spell in the UK will surely have contributed, it may also have to do with my recent posts being of a quite solemn nature! We all love those stories of the Central Figures of the Baha’i Faith, who against the grain of expectation, will suddenly infuse a situation with a touch of humour – an unexpected twist that leaves the recipient in a state of numbed delight. One might suggest, then, that humour was the ideal response to the given situation! We all have questions about the nature of humour.  What is the…
 
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    Google Blog Search: Bahai Faith

  • Theft at the Baha'i cemetery in Sangsar - Iran Press Watch

    admin
    4 Nov 2009 | 7:06 am
    Is the “Baha'i Committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran” affiliated within the administration Baha'i Faith or are they a spin-off group not sanctioned by the Baha'i Administration? Is the Committee appointed by the Universal House of ...

  • Baha'i Faith in Egypt: A Trick of Nature

    Bilo
    1 Nov 2009 | 3:31 pm
    Baha'i Faith in Egypt. The Baha'is of Egypt have been subjected to persecution and systematic oppression. While their case has been evolving recently, with hopeful resolution on the horizon, the human rights of the Baha'is of Iran are ...

  • Teaching the Baha'i Faith: On Peaceful and Productive Baha'is ...

    George Wesley Dannells
    30 Oct 2009 | 11:07 am
    Some folks put the Baha'i Faith in a category of "Modern Cults & Religions ... that deny the biblical Jesus alone is the complete atonement and only Savior for mankind, add works to grace, and extra-Biblical rituals to worship, ...

  • Teaching the Baha'i Faith: On Practice Teaching: Baha'is learn to ...

    George Wesley Dannells
    30 Oct 2009 | 10:10 am
    To be a Baha'i is to offer one's life in service to others. The following is an excerpt from one of the workbooks that structures a study circle, a core activity of Baha'i community life. Baha'is learn to teach the Faith through actual ...

  • Teaching the Baha'i Faith: On the Passing of a Former ...

    George Wesley Dannells
    29 Oct 2009 | 11:42 pm
    In 1989 he converted to the Baha'i faith, moving to Israel in 1994 with his wife, Miette Smith, who took up the Baha'i faith some years before he did and volunteered at the Baha'i center in Haifa as a librarian. ...
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    Baha'i Words

  • November 7

    Words
    6 Nov 2009 | 9:01 pm
    O SON OF MAN! Thou art My dominion and My dominion perisheth not; wherefore fearest thou thy perishing? Thou art My light and My light shall never be extinguished; why dost thou dread extinction? Thou art My glory and My glory fadeth not; thou art My robe and My robe shall never be outworn. Abide then in thy love for Me, that thou mayest find Me in the realm of glory. ~ Bahá’u’lláh

  • November 6

    Words
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:01 pm
    O God, Almighty Protector! O Thou Who art the confirmer of every just power and equitable empire in eternal glory, everlasting power, continuance and greatness! Strengthen with the abundance of Thy mercy every government which acts with equity towards its subjects, and every dominion under whose flag the poor and weak find protection. We ask Thee by Thy holiness and bounty to pour out Thy blessing upon this government which has stretched its tent over citizens from every land, that its inhabitants, its industries, its territories may be penetrated by justice. O God! Strengthen its executives,…

  • November 5

    Words
    4 Nov 2009 | 9:01 pm
    O ye that stand fast in the Covenant! When the hour cometh that this wronged and broken-winged bird will have … hastened to the Realm of the Unseen …, it is incumbent upon … all the friends and loved ones, one and all to bestir themselves and arise … to diffuse the sweet savors of God, to teach His Cause and to promote His faith. ~ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

  • November 4

    Words
    3 Nov 2009 | 9:01 pm
    O SON OF SPIRIT! The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.  ~ Bahá’u’lláh

  • November 3

    Words
    2 Nov 2009 | 9:01 pm
    The believers of God throughout all the republics of America, through the divine power, must become the cause of the promotion of heavenly teachings and the establishment of the oneness of humanity. ~ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
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    Baha'is of Tacoma, Washington

  • Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF

    Admin
    31 Oct 2009 | 11:21 am
    The children of Mom village in Papua New Guinea, photographed here, will be among the main beneficiaries of the establishment of the medical aid post they are standing in front of.  Reproduced with permission of the Bahá’í International Community at http://media.bahai.org/. The Bahá’ís of the United States, through their National Spiritual Assembly, have for many years supported the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, and our support continues this year. The Trick-or Treat for UNICEF initiative, along with others, contributes to the realization of UNICEF’s mission to ensure that all…

  • Thanksgiving Interfaith Service

    Admin
    30 Oct 2009 | 9:25 pm
    Tuesday, November 24th, 7 p.m. Urban Grace Downtown Church South 9th and St. Helens, Tacoma The annual interfaith service this year will be quite extraordinary!  Along with representatives of the Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Sufi, Unitarian, several denominations of the Christian, and Native American spiritual traditions, this years program will feature several spiritual themes of Thanksgiving including “Forgiveness and Come-Unity.”  The Bahá’í Children’s Choir of Gig Harbor, Leaves of One Tree, will be featured in the service, along with the traditional lighting of…

  • The Gift of Faith – Day 9 – October 25th

    Admin
    24 Oct 2009 | 9:08 pm
    ‘Artworks’, Bahá’í Youth Dance/Theatre Performing Arts Group in Perth, Australia 2002. Reproduced with permission of the Bahá’í International Community at http://media.bahai.org. Any person desiring to be surrounded by the confirmation of the Blessed Perfection, must arise and teach the Cause.               ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Thou beholdest, O my God, the Day-Star of Thy Word shining above the horizon of Thy prison-city, inasmuch as within its walls He who is the Manifestation of Thy Self and the Day-Spring of the light of Thy unity hath raised…

  • The Gift of Faith – Day 8 – October 24th

    Admin
    23 Oct 2009 | 8:15 pm
       A view of the construction at the Bahá’í World Centre in June 1993. Courtesy of Carl & Tim Horn. The very act of teaching the Cause will help them to realize their own worth and enable them to fulfil their individual spiritual responsibilities.”  Universal House of Justice Lauded be Thy name, O my God! I testify that no thought of Thee, howsoever wondrous, can ever ascend into the heaven of Thy knowledge, and no praise of Thee, no matter how transcendent, can soar up to the atmosphere of Thy wisdom. From eternity Thou hast been removed far above the reach and the ken…

  • The Gift of Faith – Day 7 – October 23rd

    Admin
    22 Oct 2009 | 6:24 pm
    Participants at the national Bahá’í youth conference in N’Zerekore, Guinea in August 2004. Reproduced with the permission of the Bahá’í International Community at http://media.bahai.org. O God, my God! Fill up for me the cup of detachment from all things, and in the assembly of Thy splendors and bestowals, rejoice me with the wine of loving Thee. Free me from the assaults of passion and desire, break off from me the shackles of this nether world, draw me with rapture unto Thy supernal realm, and refresh me amongst the handmaids with the breathings of Thy holiness. O…
 
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    The Baha'i Community of Arlington, VA

  • Bahá’ís to Celebrate Holy Day, October 20

    David
    18 Oct 2009 | 10:03 am
    A picnic-gathering of Bahá’ís in northern Virginia to celebrate the Birth of the Báb, the Herald Prophet of the Bahá’í Faith, will be held on Tuesday, October 20, from 12:00 noon to 4:30 pm at the Cherry Hill Park in Falls Church, VA (map URL). The Holy Day program will begin at 2:00 pm. Hot dogs will be provided; bring food for all to enjoy. Please join us, families and children, one and all! Click here for a Google map.

  • Bahá’í Electoral Unit Convention

    David
    28 Sep 2009 | 5:28 pm
    Please join us at the annual Unit Convention to elect a delegate to the 2010 National Convention, to consult on activities in our respective communities, and to enjoy the company of the Friends in our Electoral Unit. Sunday, October 4, 2009 – 2 – 5 p.m. Please bring your Bahá’í ID card with you for registration! Should you not be able to attend, please send your ballot to the Spiritual Assembly of Arlington, PO Box 100936, Arlington, VA 22210-3936 For further information about Unit Convention, please visit http://unitconvention.usbnc.org/. The location is: Kay Spiritual…

  • Special Event Focuses on Human Rights in Iran

    Alissa
    30 Aug 2009 | 6:43 pm
    On Saturday, September 12th the Arlington Bahá’í community will join with others in the DC metropolitan area for an evening dedicated to supporting religious freedom and human rights in Iran. The event will take place at 7:00pm at the Lisner Auditorium of George Washington University. In May 2008, the entire national leadership of the Bahá’í Faith in Iran was arrested and imprisoned in Tehran under false charges. Although the charges against these individuals are baseless, the charges carry the punishment of death. While dedicated to supporting all human rights and religious freedom…

  • Meet Local Baha’is at the Arlington County Fair!

    Alissa
    16 Aug 2009 | 12:19 pm
    Arlington County in Virginia has had a Baha’i community since the early 1950’s and for over the past 25 years members of that community have actively participated in the annual Arlington County Fair. Come meet representatives of out community at the Baha’i booth at the Arlington County Fair and let us share our love and desire to serve the Arlington community: “In every dispensation, there hath been the commandment of fellowship and love, but it was a commandment limited to the community of those in mutual agreement, not to the dissident foe. In this wondrous age, however,…

  • Support Baha’i Rights Day!

    Alissa
    11 Jul 2009 | 8:30 am
    Today the seven Baha’i leaders who have been held for more than a year in Iran without access to their lawyers are scheduled to be tried before a revolutionary court. Their charges are baseless, but they are punishable by death. You can help. Iran Press Watch and The Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights have named today, July 11, Baha’i Right Day, and are calling on human rights supporters around the world to take a stand on behalf of basic rights for the Baha’is in Iran. Here is what you can do: Please inform your friends, family and colleagues that on July 11 they should Tweet, blog,…
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    Baha'i Faith in Egypt

  • Freedom!

    Bilo
    3 Nov 2009 | 2:27 pm
    A walking grasshopper...free to enjoy living! [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • A Trick of Nature

    Bilo
    1 Nov 2009 | 3:31 pm
    Sunset reflection on a high cloud. Northern New Mexico, USA, late October. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Trial of Iran's Baha'i Leaders Delayed Again

    Bilo
    18 Oct 2009 | 8:40 am
    According to the Baha'i World News Service, the trial of the dissolved ad hoc group of Baha'i leaders in Iran, scheduled for today, has been delayed again. The full story is posted below: Trial of seven Baha'is delayed, no new date set 18 October 2009 GENEVA — Although the trial of seven Baha'i leaders imprisoned in Iran for more than 17 months was scheduled for today, when attorneys and families arrived at the court offices in Tehran they were told it would not take place. No new trial date... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Upcoming Trial of Baha'i Leaders in Iran

    Bilo
    13 Oct 2009 | 3:15 pm
    The following comment was just left on a previous post regarding the trial of Baha'i leaders in Iran. It is posted again below because of its relevance: Cynthia has left a new comment on your post "Iran: Trial of Baha'i Leaders Postponed": The USC Office of Religious Life, USC Levan Institute for Humanities and Ethics and the Los Angeles Baha'i Center are hosting a concert event on Wednesday, October 14th at 7:30 PM at the Bovard Auditorium for a call for human rights and religious freedom in... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

  • Happy Birthday!

    Bilo
    12 Oct 2009 | 9:29 am
    Martha turns one-year-old today! [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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    Persecution of Baha’is in Iran

  • Rep. Mark Kirk includes Baha’is in call for human rights in Iran

    OEA
    4 Nov 2009 | 10:12 am
    U.S. Representative Mark Kirk mentioned the Baha’is of Iran during remarks at the U.S. Institute of Peace on November 4. After reading the names of 10 Iranian Baha’is currently imprisoned for their beliefs, Rep. Kirk said, I say their names out loud today because no matter how hard the Iranian regime tries to silence these voices, [...]

  • Voice of America: Religious Liberty Violated in Iran

    OEA
    31 Oct 2009 | 12:12 pm
    On October 30, Voice of America published the following editorial about religious freedom in Iran: The continuing imprisonment of 7 leaders of Iran’s Baha’i community falsely accused of capital crimes, as well as the incarceration of 2 Iranian Christian women who also lack adequate medical care, are 2 of the many cases that contribute to Iran’s [...]

  • Baha’is included in 2009 International Religious Freedom Report on Iran

    OEA
    26 Oct 2009 | 2:32 pm
    On October 26, the U.S. Department of State released its 2009 International Religious Freedom Report on Iran, which includes several mentions of the persecution of Iran’s Baha’i minority. For example, Adherents of religious groups not recognized by the Constitution, such as the Baha’is, do not have freedom to practice their beliefs. The Government prohibits Baha’is from [...]

  • Radio program highlights persecution of Baha’is in Iran

    OEA
    26 Oct 2009 | 2:24 pm
    Welton Gaddy, host of the radio program “State of Belief,” interviewed Los Angeles Baha’i Randolph Dobbs about the situation of the Baha’is in Iran in a segment that aired over the weekend, October 24-25. The program’s website also includes information about the pending resolution in the U.S. Senate, condemning the ongoing persecution of Iran’s Baha’i [...]

  • U.S. House of Representatives Passes 11th Resolution Condemning the Persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran

    OEA
    22 Oct 2009 | 1:43 pm
    On October 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, by a vote of 407-2, a resolution condemning the government of Iran for “state-sponsored persecution of its Bahá’í minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights.” H.Res.175 is the eleventh congressional resolution since 1982 to address the religious oppression of the Bahá’ís [...]
 
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    Befriended Stranger

  • Prayer Station Invitation: The Glory Of God

    Mitko
    6 Nov 2009 | 10:44 am
    The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. (Judaism / Christianity, Holy Bible, Psalms, 19:1) Behold how the manifold grace of God, which is being showered from the clouds of Divine glory, hath, in this day, encompassed the world. For whereas in days past every lover besought and searched after his Beloved, it is the Beloved Himself Who now is calling His lovers and is inviting them to attain His presence. (Baha’i Faith, Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 320) Dear friends! What nurtures your soul? What makes your…

  • Ruhi 3 ideas

    Mitko
    4 Nov 2009 | 4:21 pm
    As I am preparing for the Ruhi 3 study circle tomorrow, I wanted to share a few ideas for slowing down (hurried) kids of all ages that in my experience work well. And slowing down to the pace of life is a key skill for life, particularly for prayerful life. When I have my daughters over, before saying prayers we often start by reading a book or two on mindful meditation — that helps slow them down and seems to make the prayers particularly meaningful. The girls seem to connect especially to “Each Breath A Smile“. Another one that has been helpful is “Peaceful Piggy…

  • Find thirst

    Mitko
    3 Nov 2009 | 7:00 pm
    Another of the most inspiring quotes I have come across over the years: Make no search for water. But find thirst, And water from the very ground will burst. (Rumi, a Persian mystic poet, quoted in Delight of Hearts, p. 77)

  • Prayer Station: One Soul

    Mitko
    2 Nov 2009 | 8:56 pm
    I feel blessed when I am able to share a meal and prayers with those seeking God: And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. (Christianity, Holy Bible, Acts, 4:31-32) Tonight, four souls from four different countries (Peru, Bolivia, Serbia and Bulgaria) came to the Prayer…

  • The way he can follow grows narrower

    Mitko
    1 Nov 2009 | 5:36 pm
    From one of the books that was most influential in my life before I was introduced to the Baha’i Faith: As a man’s real power grows and his knowledge widens, ever the way he can follow grows narrower:  until at last he chooses nothing, but does only and wholly what he must do. From “A Wizard of Earthsea” by Ursula Le Guin
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    teaching.bahai.us

  • "I would like to clone her"

    Teaching blog
    4 Nov 2009 | 10:26 am
    When an individual contacts the Bahá’í community via the 800-22UNITE phone line or the public Web site www.bahai.us, the Seeker Response System regional specialist works with local believers to quickly respond to the seeker’s interest and connect them to Bahá’ís and core activities near them, according to their interest. The regional specialist, through accompaniment and encouragement, builds the capacity of the friends at the cluster level to more systematically respond to seeker inquiries. And in some clusters, this capacity is showing itself in beautiful and practical ways. Here…

  • Empowering new protagonists through devotional gatherings

    Teaching blog
    2 Nov 2009 | 2:48 pm
    These two reports of devotional gatherings in Phoenix, AZ (A) are nothing short of stunning. As you read, you will see the beautiful coherence between all the core activities. You will see descriptions of gatherings that superlatively implement the ideal of unity in diversity. You will see teaching teams lovingingly accompanying the hosts, who are both doing this for the first time. And you will see that these gatherings are being organized and hosted by members of the community of interest. Now, what do we mean by “community of interest”? It is someone who is not a declared Bahá’í…

  • "Are these not wonderful problems to have?"

    Teaching blog
    2 Nov 2009 | 1:14 pm
    I guess we “spoke too soon” with last week’s story on the devotional gatherings at the Great Lakes Naval Station in the Waukegan, IL (*C) cluster. Here is an exciting update—these regular devotional gatherings at the naval base have led to some recent declarations! It shows the power of a core activity combined with a receptive population combined with systematic service of a dedicated group of friends.Dear N,You asked for a Great Lakes Naval Station update regarding the 4 recent declarations.Last week, one young man, __, man declared his today after his second visit to the devotional…

  • Great Lakes Naval Station devotions

    Teaching blog
    29 Oct 2009 | 3:10 pm
    Devotional gatherings are being established all over the country in all kinds of places. Here is a report about a particularly unique venue: a naval boot camp! For over a decade, a regular devotional meeting has been conducted at the Recruit Training Center of the Great Lakes Naval Station in the Waukegan, IL (*C) cluster. Through the dedicated efforts of several local believers, this core activity is now reaching and benefiting a receptive (and mobile) population. One of the current organizers provides a description of this initiative.Dear B,A group of us gives devotions for the recruit side…

  • Is this not what we have been praying for?

    Teaching blog
    29 Oct 2009 | 12:51 pm
    With awe, we share with you this story from Phoenix, AZ (A). In less than 2 years since the friends there launched their IPG, they have been through 7 incredible cycles. What follows is a report of the expansion phase activities of a teaching team, the “Lean on Me Team”, composed entirely of new believers. Just read it. You will cry with happiness.Dearest Friends,Today Bahá’u’lláh showered His blessings upon the Bahá’í community. What an honor and joy it was to witness!First, let me remind you that during the cluster reflection meeting, the “Lean on Me Team”, the first…
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    doberman pizza. a baha'i blog.

  • #SNOW!

    dan
    5 Nov 2009 | 2:41 pm
    #SNOW! share this page! »

  • I love my Vietnamese family. O…

    dan
    4 Nov 2009 | 11:22 am
    I love my Vietnamese family. Oh and my Canadian family. I guess I love my human family, really. Animals too… hmm, I guess I love everyone. share this page! »

  • wow, #iranelection is back on …

    dan
    4 Nov 2009 | 6:43 am
    wow, #iranelection is back on Twitter’s trending topics… God bless the Internet. stay safe, everyone. share this page! »

  • It’s a good morning—a nice, …

    dan
    3 Nov 2009 | 7:05 am
    It’s a good morning—a nice, mild day outside with a blue sky. Q is busy in the Mekong Delta, serving humanity. I’m busy doing timesheets :P share this page! »

  • “A strange game. The only winn…

    dan
    2 Nov 2009 | 6:48 am
    “A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.” share this page! »
 
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    Barnabas quotidianus

  • Faith communities should unite to combat religious persecution

    Barney
    7 Nov 2009 | 1:12 am
    Human dignity is indivisible By David Kilgour, Citizen SpecialNovember 6, 2009Be the first to post a comment One dismaying estimate of the number of people who died violently because of their religion between 1900 and 2000 includes 70 million Muslims; 35 million Christians; 11 million Hindus; nine million Jews; four million Buddhists; two million Sikhs and one million Baha’is. What can be done to reduce the persecution of religions globally? A first step is universal recognition that human dignity is ultimately indivisible in today’s shrunken world and all groups must thus stand…

  • Climate change debate spurs warm feelings amongst religious leaders

    Barney
    30 Oct 2009 | 2:04 am
    It is rare that religion and science find agreement, but that is what happened when Britain’s Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks spoke at a meeting on saving the earth from climate change. “The great Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson published a book in 2007 called “Creation”, subtitled An Appeal to Save Life on Earth,” Sacks told leaders of all the major faiths meeting at Lambeth Palace in London on Thursday. (Photo: A partially dried reservoir in Yingtan, Jiangxi province, China, 29 Oct 2009/stringer) “I thought that was a very good book. E.O. Wilson is known not to be religious, but what…

  • US House of Representatives condemns the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran

    Barney
    23 Oct 2009 | 1:56 am
    Oct22 U.S. House of Representatives Passes 11th Resolution Condemning the Persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran 04:43 pm on Oct 22nd 2009 OEA Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, by a vote of 407-2, a resolution condemning the government of Iran for “state-sponsored persecution of its Bahá’í minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights.” H.Res.175 is the eleventh congressional resolution since 1982 to address the religious oppression of the Bahá’ís in Iran. “Given current human rights violations against the Iranian citizens, we…

  • Doesn’t God want us to create the “God particle”?

    Barney
    20 Oct 2009 | 2:16 am
    A gateway to God? A particle God doesn’t want us to discover Could the Large Hadron Collider be sabotaging itself from the future, as some physicists say Jonathan Leake –> Explosions, scientists arrested for alleged terrorism, mysterious breakdowns — recently Cern’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has begun to look like the world’s most ill-fated experiment. Is it really nothing more than bad luck or is there something weirder at work? Such speculation generally belongs to the lunatic fringe, but serious scientists have begun to suggest that the frequency of Cern’s accidents…

  • Human rights, religious freedom and Iran’s nuclear crisis

    Barney
    26 Sep 2009 | 1:37 am
    Speaking at the UN General Assembly during the past week, Iran’s President Ahmadinejad professed concern for justice, freedom and human rights. He claimed that Iran is “one big and unified family” with full legal rights for religious minorities. How interesting that Mr Ahmadinejad should decide that it was time to try to sweet-talk world leaders with the most egregious lie about religious minorities, a time when the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran is being stepped up in a highly systematic fashion. Of course, in the Iranian regime’s calculus Baha’is are…
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    Savvybeliever's Weblog

  • “Barbarian Princess” Movie Premier

    savvybeliever
    17 Oct 2009 | 10:13 am
    Last night was the world premier of the movie “Barbarian Princess”–the final, much-debated title of a feature-length film about Princess Ka’iulani (kah-EE-OO-lah-nee, “Gift from Heaven).  Director/writer Marc Forby was there but his wife Leilani, a Hawaiian, was unable to attend the Honolulu event. The theater was sold out and a second showing, also sold out,  has been added Sunday, Oct. 25, midday.  Tickets will be sold thru Hawaii Theatre. http://www.hiff.org/ It was definitely Hawaii’s acting community’s chance to shine, and not only did almost…

  • Anti-Underage Drinking PSA in Honolulu

    savvybeliever
    20 Sep 2009 | 8:11 pm
    Our wonderful agent, Ruth Woodhall, phoned us about an acting opportunity for son John, aged 15.  He and his friends were invited to be in a Public Service Announcement exposing the actual, rather low, number of underage drinkers.  John was stoked to bring five of his friends along on this one-day shoot at McKinley High School yesterday.  I was stoked to support a reduction of drinking (the Baha’i Faith forbids using alcohol except for medicinal purposes). The shoot was really top-notch!  The director, Oz, was fantastic.  He brought such a good energy to the set:  professional,…

  • Today’s Parelli Level 3 Discoveries

    savvybeliever
    5 Sep 2009 | 11:35 pm
    The cool thing about being in Level 3 is that the horses really do start to be your instructor.  Trace has been laying his ears back a little bit with a lot of different cues I’ve been giving him.  This is one of the factors that caused me to miss my Level 3 Freestyle.  He has to have happier ears. So I’ve been working thru the issues to tell what is going on.  It could be confidence issues, as in, Friendly Game is broken and he’s unconfident.  In that case, slowing down, repeating, rewarding, hanging out would work.  I tried those today at the various times that his…

  • Extreme Cowboy Race

    savvybeliever
    3 Aug 2009 | 12:06 pm
    A small but determined crowd (that describes all horse-related gatherings in Hawaii, actually) has decided to get in to the Extreme Cowboy Race contests on Oahu.  They have been having practices on Dillingham Ranch, and I went to one yesterday.  Jessica had set up about 20 tasks or obstacles, and my hunch was confirmed:  Extreme Cowboy tasks are right up a Parelli person’s alley.  Some of the tasks are identical to Parelli tasks, including from past study kits. Some of the obstacles we practiced on and then some folks competed on were: sideways over poles set at right angles; stand…

  • Circus Horses

    savvybeliever
    29 Jul 2009 | 5:09 pm
    I’ve been re-watching the Parelli DVD set, “Liberty and Horse Behavior.”  I got it and watched it when it first came out…was it in 2006?  So now, 3 years later, I’m watching it for the second time–something I often find great value in with the Parelli video products. Wow, am I enjoying it and getting a lot out of it this time!!  The funnything is, the more I’ve tried and accomplished, the more what they say makes sense, especially Pat.  He is always trying to give us the principles behind the action, and this is sometimes not at the very simple…
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    borna's own blog

  • moments of epiphany

    7 Nov 2009 | 4:23 am
    I recently read the book Art & Fear, and here's an extract from it: The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of work they had produced, all those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his

  • light upon light

    11 Oct 2009 | 4:29 am
    here's what we did for youth presents a while ago. the theme was light upon light:

  • true story

    5 Jul 2009 | 6:50 am
    this just happened, after some time of silence and work... me: wow, I suddenly feel like an idiot! officemate: any reason in particular? me: no. needless to say, we both laughed quite a lot... :)

  • prayer

    3 Jul 2009 | 4:00 am
    this is one of my favorite prayers at the moment: O seeker of Truth! If thou desirest that God my open thine eye, thou must supplicate unto God, pray to and commune with Him at midnight, saying: O Lord, I have turned my face unto Thy kingdom of oneness and am immersed in the sea of Thy mercy. O Lord, enlighten my sight by beholding Thy lights in this dark night, and make me happy by the wine of

  • one word for everything

    25 Jun 2009 | 1:37 am
    this is just a good summary:
 
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    Fewness of Words, Abundance of Deeds

  • Faith & Environment seminar hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury

    inekeg
    3 Nov 2009 | 10:16 am
    Last Thursday (29 October 2009) I was at: Lambeth Palace (the London residency of the Archbishop of Canterbury) to represent the UK Baha’i community at a seminar on Faith & the Environment. This seminar, hosted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, was attended by 24 representatives of UK faith communities, 4 from CofE Diocesans, 15 from NGOs, 2 from the government, 5 from the British Council, and 5 from Lambeth Palace.  Women clearly in the minority (what did I expect?). The seminar was opened by the Archbishop of Canterbury and a short BBC documentary on climate…

  • Ethical dimensions of climate change /de ethische kant van klimaatsverandering

    inekeg
    16 Oct 2009 | 11:22 am
    Blog Action Day 2009 on Climate Change was yesterday. So, yes, I know I’m late. I’m just going to share a few thoughts from the Baha’i International Community (BIC) and the International Environment Forum (IEF) on the ethical dimensions of climate change. In May I attended a workshop organised by the BIC and we were asked to look at several case studies of vulnerable countries such as Fiji, Niger, and Bangladesh. We were asked to identify what we considered to be the ethical issues embedded in the case study. I found the following questions very thought-provoking: Who or…

  • Ethical dimensions of climate change /de ethische kant van klimaatsverandering

    inekeg
    22 Sep 2009 | 9:59 am
    The Baha’i International Community launched its appeal to the world leaders on the moral and ethical implications of climate change. This appeal is supported by 23 other organizations and its launch date coincided with a High Level meeting at the UN in New York. This is the text of the appeal: We, the undersigned non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council, leaders of the world’s religions, and other members of civil society, urge the governments of the world to participate in the UN High Level Event on Climate Change through…

  • International Day of Peace / Internationale Dag van de Vrede

    inekeg
    20 Sep 2009 | 12:57 pm
    When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love. Thoughts of war bring destruction to all harmony, well-being, restfulness and content. Thoughts of love are constructive of brotherhood, peace, friendship, and happiness. These wise words are from Abdu’l-Baha in ‘Paris Talks’. He also says: If you desire with all your heart, friendship with every race on earth, your thought, spiritual and   positive, will spread; it will become the desire of others, growing stronger and stronger,…

  • Update

    inekeg
    15 Sep 2009 | 1:48 pm
    An update of my activities seems long overdue. So, what’s kept me busy the last few weeks? First of all a very successful (1st ever in England) residential cluster school near Durham over the August Bank holiday weekend. I still need to pull together a final report, but that’ll happen soon. Last week, with a UN nomination deadline looming, I managed to sort out nominations for 4 women to attend different Regional Implementation Meetings (RIMs). These women will get their trips funded by the UN. RIMs are preparation meetings for next year’s 18th session of the Commission on…
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    Luminous Realities

  • Blog Talk Radio Interview

    27 Oct 2009 | 8:42 am
    A few months ago Francine Silverman, author and creator of the Book Promotion Newsletter – one of my favorites – connected me with Anjuelle Floyd on BlogTalkRadio. Anjuelle is a fiction author (and therapist) on the west coast, who also interviews authors on her radio show Book Talk, Creativity & Family Matters. The great thing about the net is you can listen to these interviews anytime. Listen here to my October 3rd interview with Anjuelle.Let me share a few highlights and generally where they come up in the interview. First let me say that I appreciated Anjuelle’s approach. She…

  • The Bab: 'Gate' to an Era of Maturity

    19 Oct 2009 | 1:27 pm
    Upper terraces of the Baha' gardesn and the golden-domed Shrine of the Bab in Haifa, Israel. [With permission of Baha'i Media, Baha'i International Community] View Slideshow for more on the Shrine of the Bab. View Video of the Bab's role in the early history of the Baha'i Faith. (begins at 5 minutes in) - on new U.S. Baha'i Video LibraryThis evening begins the Birth of the Bab, a Baha'i holy day. The life of the Bab is a compelling story, which you can read in Part One of my bookThe Story of Baha’u’llah: Promised One of All Religions. The excerpt below is from my short essay for the holy…

  • Blog Action Day Follow-Up

    16 Oct 2009 | 10:08 am
    If you missed it, do watch this cool video (2 minutes) for Blog Action Day ‘09 Climate Change – which claims to be the “largest social change event on the web EVER.”Here are the numbers from their wrap-up page. By the end of yesterday Blog Action Day had 27,000 posts on 13,231 blogs from bloggers in 155 countries – with posts from the UK’s Prime Minister, the government of Spain, and The White House blog.In one day over 17 million readers read about climate change. Whether they gained new knowledge, were inspired to take action, or connected via blog with a real-world project, all…

  • Blog Action Day | Climate Change: Thinking at a Much Higher Level

    15 Oct 2009 | 1:22 pm
    In 1860 the first ever aerial image of a city was photographed from a hot-air balloon over Boston and published a few days later in the Boston Herald. Just over a century later, in 1968, Apollo 8 gave us Earthrise, the photo of Earth from the moon that “began to bend human consciousness.”**Even before that first aerial image Baha’u’llah was born in Tehran in 1817; and long before we could begin to wrap our minds around the image of a planet with no political boundaries, Baha'u'llah had called the peoples and nations of the world to the next step in our collective life: to establish…

  • "Resistance always has Meaning"

    12 Oct 2009 | 4:47 pm
    This nine-pointed star is a paradigm for how to develop a sustained creative process - and a writer's brain!I came home from my writer retreat disappointed. I had enjoyed peaceful surroundings, the company of other writers, and time to focus. But I did not bring home the sheaf of pages I had hoped to write. Instead I carried the same nagging question: Why did writing in these last few weeks feel like slogging through thigh-high mud? Where was the joy – and the pages?“Resistance always has meaning,” writes Henriette Klauser in Writing on Both Sides of the Brain. When my writing feels…
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    Baha'is Online

  • Baha'i Conference Promotes World Parliament

    6 Nov 2009 | 4:58 am
    On October 24, the Francophone European Association for Baha’i Studies convened its annual conference in Luxembourg. Normally, the minutes of the meetings of such a niche organization would not be newsworthy. This year, however, the group’s agenda was dominated by discussions of the anxiously awaited future of a new world order and a one-world government. The keynote presentation was delivered by Andreas Bummel, the Chairman of the Committee for a Democratic United Nations, a Berlin-based NGO that, according to its website, seeks to facilitate a cosmopolitan orientation of…

  • Baha'i Seven Year Plan of Action on Climate Change

    5 Nov 2009 | 6:22 pm
    Founded more than a century and a half ago, the Bahá'í Faith is a world religion whose five million members live in over 100,000 localities and come from nearly every nation, ethnic group, culture, profession, and social or economic background. Bahá'ís believe that the crucial need facing humanity is to find a unifying vision of the nature and purpose of human life. An understanding of humanity’s relationship to the natural environment is an integral part of this vision. The Bahá’í Writings state: “We cannot segregate the human heart from the environment outside us and…

  • Seattle's own Rainn Wilson to speak at UW

    5 Nov 2009 | 3:48 pm
    Local actor and comedian Rainn Wilson, from "The Office (http://www.nbc.com/The_Office)," is set to speak to University of Washington students this week. Wilson, who was born in Seattle and briefly studied theater at UW, will speak there Friday about his recent trip to Haiti for the Mona Foundation (http://www.monafoundation.org/), a Kirkland-based non-profit organization that promotes education through service learning and volunteerism. Wilson will also speak about his popular Web site SoulPancake.com (http://www.soulpancake.com/), a blog that claims to help people "chew on life's big…

  • One Guy's Macrocosm

    5 Nov 2009 | 11:04 am
    I just had the pleasure of reading the first volume of Guy Murchie’s Music of the Spheres, titled The Macrocosm, and I can see that a lot has been learned about Earth, the Moon, and planets since I was born. Take this sectional illustration of Earth’s crust for example: A rather outdated cross section of California And I ought to give Murchie credit for having kept his religion out of the science itself. Note the complete absence of tectonic plates. Note that the Sierra Nevada is represented as a folded range, which it’s not. Furthermore, today we don’t think…

  • Play: Everything You Wanted to Know About A Community of Interest, But Were Afraid to Ask!

    3 Nov 2009 | 6:16 pm
    Left to right: Sneakers Sally, Fraidy Fran in red, Priscilla Perseverance wearing skates, and Mr. Bear in front. Photo by Steve Pulley, USA. A wonderful play on reaching your communities of interest ! Use dolls for characters, or make puppets to add an arts and crafts element. As you know, we have the Institute process; which is like an engine of growth, to get the Bahá'í community around the world on the same page and advance the process of entry by troops. Full story...
 
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    Hadley-Ives family update

  • Walden and some thoughts.

    26 Oct 2009 | 7:32 pm
    Many years ago, probably in 1982 or 1983, my mother gave me a copy of "Walden" and "Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau. I've been re-reading it again this past week for a class I'm teaching, and I'm finding many of the interesting passages I vaguely remembered, and some ideas that were influential on my development as a young person. Here is a collection of passages I found either interesting, thought-provoking, challenging, or useful:On Luxury...Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-calledcomforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances tothe elevation of…

  • Values Survey

    21 Sep 2009 | 12:46 pm
    I have put up a survey on values, and you're welcome to take it online or download it in Microsoft Word format and score it yourself. This is a survey based on responses students in the LIS and LNT programs have given to questions posed in their learning autobiographies and goals statements. I'm not doing any research on this, but I thought I would share this scale as some people might enjoy taking it to see how they score. If you take it online and leave a legitimate e-mail address for the last item, I'll try to e-mail back your score to you if I have time.I've made a report that explains…

  • Chinese ideas about what is good.

    14 Sep 2009 | 11:04 am
    I've just finished preparing some overhead slides for a talk I gave on "ideas about what is good in Chinese culture and religion." There are 130 of these slides. On a few of them I might use a slide as a visual aid while I talk for a minute or longer, but for many of these slides I just quickly go through them, spending about 20 seconds on each visual image or idea. So, this represents a talk that might take 45 to 50 minutes. Toward the end I dispense with words and merely go with images to correspond to what I was saying.Anyway, I'll share the work with this link to the presentation. I was…

  • Getting a master's degree. The cost.

    3 Sep 2009 | 11:42 am
    This semester I'm teaching one undergraduate course and one graduate course, and I'm administering an undergraduate program as well. A student was interested in getting into our online graduate program, and he wanted to know the cost, the total cost he would have to pay. I didn't know the answer, and it had been a couple years since I last studied the tuition and fees my university charges my students, so I've taken a close look again at the figures.For an out-of-state student, like someone from California or New York who wants to get an online degree with our department, the cost per course…

  • Back to school videos

    25 Aug 2009 | 8:11 am
    Although there is still a week left in the summer, we've started classes at the university, and I'm busy with my new classes and new students and some new ideas for promoting our program. I neglected the blog this summer. I guess it was nice to get away from computer screens and keyboards for several weeks.Now that I'm back on the computers, and having been impressed by our summer visits to the Acoma, Navajo, and Hopi Nations, I've been listening to some of my American Indian music, and found that I really like Buffy Sainte-Marie. Here is an old video and a newer one to share her music with…
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    Meditations on Baha'u'llah

  • A mystical look at organic unity

    10 Oct 2009 | 2:33 pm
    This blog entry gathers together some of my recent thoughts on what organic unity means. I'm not sure where the idea of organic unity comes from. It isn't from Baha'u'llah that I'm aware; from Sen's book on Church and State (the passage on organic unity, pp 249-257), it must be the Guardian. A search on MARS brings up 45 instances of the Guardian using the word 'organic'. I don't want this to be a discussion on the Guardian's use of the term. I'm interested in the concepts from Baha'u'llah that might underpin the concept of organic unity.  The passage quoted by Sen, and the one Baha'is would…

  • Alison's Oscars

    25 Sep 2009 | 6:18 pm
    The other day, I was on Wiki looking through lists of people's favourite movies. I found that the lists didn't reflect my taste very well. Steve counselled me not to take any notice because the lists are meaningless. But I thought, damn it, my taste in movies is just as valid as the mainstream. So I decided I would take the plunge and stick up for my movies, for there must be others out there who like the movies I do. I am therefore going to hold my own Oscars and give awards to my favourite movies, just for fun. As for my taste in movies - in general, I guess I watch 'mainstream' arthouse…

  • The embodiment of deeds

    20 Sep 2009 | 9:39 pm
    I wrote last time about my new understanding that our deeds, thoughts and words create a spiritual reality and that that reality takes a form in the spiritual world, such as the form of a woman or houri. For me, I like to think of my houri as a garden, because gardens are things that you nurture (or neglect) and, over time, they develop and become fruitful (or wither and languish) and, in this way, are an everlasting source of sustenance. In this way, I now understand Baha'u'llah saying that: "The essence of wealth is love for Me; whoso loveth Me is the possessor of all things, and he that…

  • Garden of good deeds

    11 Sep 2009 | 9:58 pm
    In my last entry, Rendering assistance to God, I ended by saying that I'd found a way through my paralysis over the seeming pointlessness of good deeds given God's omnipotence. I had also described in earlier entries the trap in using deeds as snares to manufacture a desired outcome. I languished for months between these two positions until last week when a mixture of questions I'd had for ages all found an answer in one place. It was a great moment! One of those questions I've long been wondering about is what exactly is the houri who appeared to Baha'u'llah and spoke to him? Some years ago,…

  • Rendering assistance to God

    8 Sep 2009 | 8:00 pm
    "The defining feature for any religion is its teaching and leadership. These are the pillars that shape its growth." Vahid Ajepuh Oloro, in his article "Baha'i Administrative Institutions" Sigh ... and the rest is just as bad. But I quote this so that I can keep in mind, and alert my readers to, why I write my blog - so that I might present another interpretation of the Faith, and perhaps play a part in rescuing Baha'u'llah's revelation from that moribund, worldly, formulaic dogma that passes as an understanding of the Faith these days. All this is a perfect introduction to what I want to…
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    Sen McGlinn's blog

  • Executive and legislative

    Sen
    28 Oct 2009 | 4:02 pm
    In Abdu’l-Baha’s usage: "executive" is not a branch of government in the western sense, but rather the executive force in society, it is that which is concerned with “laws, regulations, arts and sciences” that are produced by human effort, as distinct from the inspired Law, which is the domain of religious leaders.

  • Humour at last

    Sen
    19 Oct 2009 | 3:30 am
    The continuous stream of anti-Bahai hate speech in the Iranian media continues unabated. There are perhaps 3 or 4 new items generated each day, and reproduced on dozens of sites. The stories are usually about the Bahais as servants of Russian/British colonialism, agents of zionism, spies for Israel and so forth: the usual fabrications recycled. [...]

  • The mystery of sacrifice

    Sen
    16 Oct 2009 | 2:04 pm
    "This bit of wisdom may not be from Bahai scripture, but it is no less true for that."

  • Instant, exact and complete?

    Sen
    12 Oct 2009 | 2:59 pm
    "...not everyone finds “instant, exact and complete obedience” an unproblematic ideal."

  • Church and State in Scripture

    Sen
    6 Oct 2009 | 5:47 am
    O ye ... trustees of God! Kings are the manifestations of the power, and the daysprings of the might and riches, of God. ....He hath invested them with the rulership of the earth
 
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    The Cormorant Baker

  • The purpose of core activities

    Steve
    18 Oct 2009 | 4:26 am
    Earlier, I compared Ruhi to a virus and criticised the Haifan form of Ruhi for not encouraging social awareness. …the original pre-1994 Colombian Ruhi “strain” probably had a better chance of catching on because it was more grounded in social action and economic development projects, and thus had a better chance of lifting a community — [...]

  • Pilgrims view newly restored Shrine

    Steve
    23 Sep 2009 | 4:14 pm
    In response to complaints from Baha’is that their pilgrimage has been disappointing, the Baha’i World Centre began a restoration project — the first stage of which has been completed. The results are stunning. Pilgrims and casual visitors alike are in awe of the improvements:

  • The Revelation Will Not Be Ruhi-ised

    Steve
    24 Jul 2009 | 4:54 am
    The Revelation will not Be Ruhi-ised. You will not be able to home-visit, brother. You will not be able to build a pyramid in your cluster. You will not be able to lose yourself in paths of service, Skip out for coffee during practicals, Because the revolution will not be Ruhi-ised. The Revelation will not be Ruhi-ised. The revelation will not be [...]

  • Non-adversarial decision-making

    Steve
    30 May 2009 | 2:25 am
    The way non-adversarial decision-making (a.k.a. “consultation”) seems to work within the Baha’i administration is for a Baha’i administrative body to consult privately about a problem, then to decide on an action that has maximum impact. When the New Zealand National Spiritual Assembly was deciding how to deliver the news to Alison Marshall that she had been [...]

  • The Church of Scientology

    Steve
    29 May 2009 | 1:27 am
    I hear that the Church of Scientology is in a bit of trouble in Europe. A friend passed on a Time Magazine article about it – “Scientology Trial in France: Can a Religion Be Banned?”. I’ve also noticed that the church has been doing a lot of online advertising recently. [...]
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    The Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights

  • Round-up of updates from Iran: Persecution of Baha’is continues unabated

    Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights
    6 Nov 2009 | 3:46 pm
    Reports from human rights organizations and the Baha’i International Community show that over the last month, violations of the rights of Baha’is in Iran unfortunately persisted. Several homes of Baha’is were searched across Iran. On September 27, the house of Sohail Rouhani was searched in Yazd by security forces. They confiscated his computer, cell phone and CDs. On October 17, security forces searched the home of Shahram Azadi in Khorramshahr. They took his identification papers and his mobile phone. In Mahshahr, the house of a Baha’i couple Shokrollah and Sadigheh…

  • Denial of education and work opportunities drives a Baha’i family out of Iran

    Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights
    26 Oct 2009 | 2:41 pm
    The Observer-Dispatch in Utica, NY carried a story today about a Baha’i family that immigrated to the United States. The family of four lived in Isfahan until five years ago, where the father of the family, Rouhollah Madhi (52), ran a car shop. After the Islamic Revolution he was denied the right to study at a university because of his faith, and therefore opened a business. The mother, Farangis Behinaein (51), was studying to be a nurse when she was asked to sign a document proclaiming that she is a member of one of the recognized religions in Iran. When she refused to lie, she was…

  • Twitter map tracking tweets about Baha’i human rights

    Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights
    13 Oct 2009 | 10:01 am
    Twitter is a great tool for raising awareness about all kinds of human rights violations. To help keep track of the cause we champion here at BahaiRights.org, we’ve created this app that tracks tweets about Baha’i human rights abuses in real time and displays them on a map or as a list. We hope that you would find it useful. Related posts:Contemporary art for Human RightsLatest Video: United for Baha’i Human RightsHuman rights violations against the Baha’is – Iran/2007

  • RFE/RL story about our new animated campaign

    Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights
    8 Oct 2009 | 6:29 am
    Following is a story Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty carried about The Muslim Network For Baha’i Rights: Animation In Support Of Iran’s Baha’is October 08, 2009 A new animated campaign aims to raise awareness about rights abuses against those following the Baha’i faith in Iran. The campaign, run by the Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights, was the brainchild of Esra’a al-Shafei, a 22-year-old woman from Bahrain who won a prestigious award for her Internet projects from Harvard University last year. In an interview with RFE/RL’s Radio Farda she said,…

  • Iran: Another Baha’i Student Expelled from University

    Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights
    4 Oct 2009 | 4:30 am
    Earlier this week Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI) published a letter by Mona Rezai, a 20-year-old Baha’i student. Last year, she passed the National Entrance Examinations of Universities and started studying at the Mashhad Sajad University. After completing two semesters, Rezai was summoned to the Department of Student Affairs at the university and questioned about her religion. Currently, she has been unable to register for the next semester. Upon inquiry she was told by the university that they have received new directions from the National Entrance Examinations Organization,…
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    Iran Press Watch

  • Search of the House of a Baha’i in Babol

    admin
    5 Nov 2009 | 3:33 pm
    According to HRANA [Human Rights Activists News Agency], based on reports from the Baha’i Committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran, on Wednesday the 29th of Mehr [21 Oct.], Intelligence Office agents of the city of Babol entered the home of Pejman Nikunejad, a Baha’i resident of Babol. After searching his home and seizing some of his personal belongings and religious books, they arrested him, but after two hours of interrogation he was released temporarily until further notice. [Source: http://hra-news.info/news/8337.aspx; Translation by Iran Press Watch]

  • Two Baha’is Arrested in Mashhad

    admin
    5 Nov 2009 | 3:30 pm
    Two Baha’is were arrested by Security Forces agents in Mashhad and have been detained at an unknown location. According to HRANA [Human Rights Activists News Agency], the Baha’i Committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran, around 8:00 PM on Monday, 11 of Aban [November 2, 2009], a number of agents of the Security Office of Mashhad raided a private Baha’i meeting in Mashhad. The agents instructed the people present to carry on with their meeting while the agents took video of the program and the attendees. As the meeting concluded, the agents searched the house. Eventually…

  • Theft at the Baha’i cemetery in Sangsar

    admin
    4 Nov 2009 | 7:06 am
    According to HRANA [Human Rights Activists News Agency], based on reports from the Baha’i Committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran, unidentified persons took one of the two large water tanks at the Baha’i cemetery in the city of Sangsar (near Semnan) in the past few days. This type of water tank is very large and holds a considerable volume of water. Moving it without proper equipment and a crane is impossible. It is noteworthy that the road leading to this cemetery has been closed by the Municipality of Sangsar for a while now, and access has been restricted to Municipality personnel…

  • Court order for the arrest and imprisonment of a Baha’i woman in Semnan

    admin
    4 Nov 2009 | 6:57 am
    According to HRANA [Human Rights Activists News Agency], based on reports from the Baha’i Committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran, Mrs. Manizheh Manzavian, a Baha’i in Semnan, who was arrested and detained during the month of Khordad of the current year [May-Jun 2009] and subsequently released on bail [see http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/4091], has been sentenced to three years and six months of imprisonment by the [Islamic] Revolutionary Court of the city of Semnan, presided over by Judge Zangui. The charges brought against Mrs. Manizheh Manzavian, as stated, include activities…

  • Kidnapping and Torture of a Baha’i in Shiraz

    admin
    3 Nov 2009 | 8:33 am
    A Baha’i has been kidnapped, persecuted, and tortured by unknown individuals in Shiraz. According to HRANA [Human Rights Activists News Agency], based on reports from the Baha’i Committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran, Mr. Rouh’u’llah Rezaie, a 45-year-old Baha’i in Shiraz, was stopped, kidnapped, and moved to an unknown place as he was returning home, to his wife and child, from a gas station early in the morning on 8/8/1388 [October 27,2009]. There, he was threatened, insulted, and subjected to a simulated hanging in a show-execution. He was left naked in extreme cold, and…
 
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    Inspiration for Bahá'í Teaching

  • Cycles of learning, constant teaching drive evolution of Bahá’í Community

    alexbn
    31 Oct 2009 | 3:57 pm
    Excerpts from a paper by House of Justice member Paul Lample which he adapted in giving his plenary talk given at the 32nd annual conference of the Association for Bahá’í Studies – North America, 29 August to 1 September 2008. A link to the full text is available here.  Audio of the talk can be accessed from here. Learning and the Evolution of the Bahá’í Community by Paul Lample With regard to the harmony of science and religion, the Writings of the Central Figures and the commentaries of the Guardian make abundantly clear that the task of humanity, including the Bahá’í…

  • House member: Purpose of core activities to raise capacity to serve society, promote community development

    alexbn
    30 Sep 2009 | 10:14 am
     (September 2009) Thanks go to the blessed soul who took and shared these cursory yet enlightening notes from a recent talk by member of the Universal House of Justice Dr. Payman Mohajer.      The Purpose of Core Activities . In the course of the consultations, Dr. Mohajer posed a thought-provoking question to the participants, “What is the purpose of our core activities?”   Dr Mohajer then went on to share an explanation by giving the example of a glass. He said that while it is not inaccurate to say that the glass is transparent, it is evident that transparency is not…

  • Accompaniment key to building confidence for service, teaching

    alexbn
    31 Aug 2009 | 10:07 am
     (US-DC, 27 August) A report (slightly edited) that sets out the path to and delineates the processes involved in establishing the new pattern of community life that the institute courses are seeking to build.     Bulls Eye in DC A report from Washington, DC (A-stage cluster): THIS IS WHAT THE FIVE YEAR PLAN IS ALL ABOUT—raising up and empowering human resources. Ms.__ is a new believer who declared her Faith in March of this year during a neighborhood teaching effort. She has completed Book 1 and is in the middle of studying Book 2, Arising to Serve. I have been working with her as…

  • Reflections on the RIDVÁN 2009 Message – talk by Dr. Peter Khan

    alexbn
    31 Jul 2009 | 2:59 pm
    Excerpts from a talk byDr. Peter Khan on 3 July 2009 regarding the concept of change in religion and in the Bahá’í Faith, and the importance of wholehearted obedience to the Covenant in this context, with reference to the Ridván 2009 Message(read it here). The whole of the talk is available here. Please note that this transcript may not be entirely accurate. “The solution [to meeting the challenge of change in the Faith] is no more and no less than unreserved acceptance of whatever the central authority of the Cause, in this case the Universal House of Justice decrees. If we…

  • Sincerity wins the day: efforts teach reliance upon God

    alexbn
    14 Jun 2009 | 3:20 pm
    (US-Central, 12 June) The following story highlights the truism that “Bahá’í teaching” comprises the rightly directed endeavor of the individual believer within the pale of God’s consummate Grace, and his consequent spiritual progress as a result of the promised confirmations from on High! * * * * * * “It is a bounty to be able to share the Message with those who want to hear it.” All of us have our set of experiences that shape our view of what teaching is… We may not have seen much interest or receptivity from the people we have encountered over…
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    Baha'is in Iran - persecutions

  • Shiraz: New case of abduction, torture of Baha'i

    Alex B
    4 Nov 2009 | 5:58 am
      The intensified persecutions in the wake of the Islamic Revolution in Iran (as outlined here) show little sign of abating. Kidnapping and Torture of a Baha'i in Shiraz Posted: 03 Nov 2009 A Baha'i has been kidnapped, persecuted, and tortured by unknown individuals in Shiraz. According to HRANA [Human Rights Activists News Agency], based on reports from the Baha'i Committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran, Mr. Rouh'u'llah Rezaie, a 45-year-old Baha'i in Shiraz, was stopped, kidnapped, and moved to an unknown place as he was returning home, to his wife and child, from a gas station…

  • Baha'i students still barred from university studies

    Alex B
    30 Oct 2009 | 7:43 am
      Three Baha'i students expelled from Semnan University Posted: 29 Oct 2009 Although they had only attended one week of classes at the university, Ms. Mojdeh Nourani, Ms. Farahnaz Felfeli, and Mr. Aradalan Tebianian, who had passed the national university entrance examination in 1388 (2009), were expelled from Semnan University and deprived of their right to education by order of University Protection authorities. According to HRANA, based on reports from the Higher Education Committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran, these students repeatedly appealed to various levels of authorities,…

  • After 17 months, renewed delay in trial against Baha'i leaders

    Alex B
    18 Oct 2009 | 12:52 pm
    From Baha'i World News Service. Trial of seven Baha'is delayed, no new date set 18 October 2009 GENEVA — Although the trial of seven Baha'i leaders imprisoned in Iran for more than 17 months was scheduled for today, when attorneys and families arrived at the court offices in Tehran they were told it would not take place. No new trial date was given. "The time has come for these seven innocent people to be immediately released on bail," said Diane Ala'i, the Baha'i International Community's representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "The seven, whose only 'crime' is their religious…

  • Stirring defence in Hungarian parliament of Baha'is in Iran

    Alex B
    18 Oct 2009 | 11:50 am
    A remarkably articulate and forceful condemnation of the ongoing human rights violations against the Baha'is of Iran in the Hungarian parliament.(Excerpt:)In their country, in Iran, the Baha'is are not allowed to freely practice their religion and they are exposed to constant persecutions.The religion is not against anyone or anything. The Baha'i Faith is a world religion whose aim is to unite all the people of the earth.Hungarian Parliament condemns persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran from Bahá'í Magyarország on Vimeo.Parliament Palace, Budapest, HungaryPhoto credit: Public domain…

  • Ban of Baha’i students from higher education in Iran based on Supreme Council ruling

    Alex B
    8 Oct 2009 | 1:41 am
      Baha'i Students Deprived of Higher Education Posted: 07 Oct 2009  Editor's Note:  Upon its founding over 30 years ago, the Islamic Republic of Iran adopted a policy of barring Baha'i students from universities and all institutions of higher education.  Occasionally, a few Baha'is have been allowed entrance; however, in almost all cases they were identified as being Baha'i during their first or second year of education and were then expelled without any further explanation.  Below is a letter written by a group of Baha'i students deprived of higher education with…
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