Transformed by Prayer

This anecdote comes from a post shared on the blog, http://teaching.bahai.us/.

We visited him at his apartment. He graciously received us and shared a lot about his life history as well as the journey towards the Faith. He stated that he realized that after reading the Bahá’í Prayers, the very same neighbors that he was previously indifferent towards started to look wonderful to him. . . .

I think this is a great example of spiritual and social transformation going hand in hand. His soul is transformed. And in so doing, the character of his relationships with others is changed as well. He has tapped into a source of joy that can aid him immensely in advancing the material and spiritual prosperity of his neighborhood.

In my own life I've found that in prayer I discover the love of God. And when I discover the love of God, I discover other people. Prayer breaks me out of indifference to others and awakens a desire to take action.

Governing Decentralized Innovation

Owen Barder, a development practitioner based in Ethiopia, has some illuminating thoughts on the need for more effective coordination and governance in the field of development. He starts the conversation by questioning why it is necessary.

Why do we need any kind of governance for development cooperation?  It is reasonable to be sceptical about any kind of authority...My inner anarchist would really like development cooperation to be like the internet.  Could development programmes be best left with as little interference as possible?  Why not leave the people and organisations involved, donors and recipients, to solve their own problems, leaving them freedom to innovate, adapt and grow?   Let people form their own networks and own arrangements that work for them?  Given that aid consists of arrangements freely entered into between consenting adults, and between sovereign nation states, why do we need any kind of interference in those relationships?

He then goes on to outline 9 reasons for developmental coordination

Chronic Unemployment and the Oneness of Humanity

As the chart to the left shows, the number of workers in the US who have been unemployed for six months or longer has risen drastically in the past two years. Not only is it hard to make ends meet when a paycheck hasn't come in for so long, chronic unemployment has long-term effects on a person't ability to lead a happy fulfilling life.  Here are two links related to the situation. The first is an issue brief  put out by the Economic Policy Institute in 2004. The second is a link to an article in the New York Times on the mounting crisis of long-term unemployment in today’s economic downturn.

This is from the Economic Policy Institute. 

The long-term unemployed face a particularly daunting array of hardships: after six months of unemployment, many workers have eroded their savings, increased their levels of family stress, and even been forced to move out of their homes. Simply put, unemployment lasting six months or more is a prolonged burden on job seekers that detrimentally affects all areas of life, even more so than short spells of joblessness. While the prospect of any period of unemployment is disconcerting for many workers, the threat of long-term unemployment during the current economy's failure to generate the necessary number of jobs has elevated anxiety levels among U.S. workers.

Baha'i Faith as Derivative?

Mavaddat wrote: "Dr. Shelly Kagan energetically refutes the idea of an eternal or metaphysical soul that lives beyond the body through a series of lectures to his undergraduate class.

Since 'Abdu'l-Bahá was working within an Islamic neo-Platonic framework, he wouldn't have been familiar with the philosophical objections to the idea of the soul, and this is reflected in his writings and lectures."

A popular movement in academics is to outline the historical context and possible influences of charismatic leaders of sorts, political movements, and religious movements. By giving this explanation, and leaving it at that, the implicit message is that each of these phenomena can be reducible (and seen to have been caused) by this historical context.

Each revelation does speak in a language that takes on certain signs and symbols of historical contexts to communicate its message. 'Abdu'l-Baha did use the motifs of light and illumination to explain many metaphysics; Baha'u'llah's assertions did have certain, at-least outwardly, resemblances to some European Enlightenment philosophers as well as Islamic philosophers. Baha'u'llah also did use a number of Sufi writings and forms of thought in His writings, esp. such as the Seven Valleys and Gems of Divine Mysteries. Yet each one often re-defines these traditional terms within the context of their own writings to instill in them fresh meanings.
And so, instead of historical context, Baha'is see the main derivation of each one's writings as Divine Revelation and inspiration.

On this, I have a number of questions:
1) What are the intellectual presumptions that makes the above-described mode of research so popular right now?
2) What is a productive way for Baha'is to approach such claims of mere historical/contextual production?
3) Do Baha'is have a role in contributing to such research, not merely responding to claims we don't agree with?
3.a.) How can this be done in a way that combines in balance the claims of the Baha'i Faith and its epistemologies of Revelation and Reason?

Dishes in the Eye of the Storm

Cutting through the tomato and hamburger infusion of grease and gristle. Hands scrubbing not fast enough, but content, slopping around the sink full of brown-water mystery chunk. It's disgusting, that is true. But I am happy.

I remember the first times, I would cry and whine as my mom insisted with the horrible yellow gloves locked and loaded. It all seemed so cruel, so unnatural then, when so many things were on TV or alive in my closet ready colonize the floor. Sometimes my step-dad would offer to help after about 20 minutes of melodrama. Clever as I was, I would suggest that the best way to get done would be to hide some of the dirty cups and dinnerware among the mess of junk and appliances that always seemed to accumulate in every corner of the house.

The New Realism

For some time, our world has been dominated by ideologies of nation, race, religion, class, and gender that represent clashes and competition as natural parts of life and cooperation and accord as artificial deviations from human nature. However, their grip on collective conscious is giving way to new ways of thinking and being in the world. Agency and Change is a blog by Michael Karlberg, author of the book Beyond the Culture of Contest. In his most recent post, Karlberg raises the possibility that humanity's increasing social and economic interdependence will drive a re-evaluation of what constitutes a "realistic" approach to addressing social issues.

the Atmosphere of Joy

Words of 'Abdu'l-Baha

You are all exceedingly welcome. Do you realize how much you should thank God for His blessings? If you should thank Him a thousand times with each breath, it would not be sufficient because God has created and trained you. He has protected you from every affliction and prepared every gift and bestowal. Consider what a kind Father He is. He bestows His gift before you ask. We were not in the world of existence, but as soon as we were born, we found everything prepared for our needs and comfort without question on our part. He has given us a kind father and compassionate mother, provided for us two springs of salubrious milk, pure atmosphere, refreshing water, gentle breezes and the sun shining above our heads. In brief, He has supplied all the necessities of life although we did not ask for any of these great gifts. With pure mercy and bounty He has prepared this great table. It is a mercy which precedes asking.

Learning in Action is a Process of Forgiveness

In the past decade enormous changes have swept through the Baha'i community. A curriculum and a systematic process for its study have changed the way Baha'is relate to the Baha'i writings, to each other, and the world at large. Activities for the spiritual education of children and the empowerment of early adolescents are playing a more central role in Baha'i life. Furthermore, these activities take place less and less in Baha'i centers and more and more in neighborhoods dispersed throughout a community. In the past most Baha'i activities were primarily for Baha'is. But now the center of gravity has shifted as members of the broader community participate in greater numbers and take on greater responsibility. The changes have been as dramatic as they have been swift. Baha'is have done a relatively good job at maintaining unity throughout this process. But we have inflicted our share of wounds upon each other. Many complain that patterns of community life are changing to quickly; others that they are changing too slowly. Many wonder whether such changes are even desirable or what was such a problem with existing ways of doing things. Others have pursued change at the expense of tact and mutual respect. Throughout all of this, we have learned what it means to forgive.

It seems to me that forgiveness is not just an individual spiritual act that is essential to Baha'i life. In addition, it is inscribed into the structure of the framework for action the Baha'i world has been building since 1996. It is at the heart of what is meant by the expression learning in action.

Some Thoughts on how Baha'is Approach Moral and Social Questions

The Baha'i approach to moral and social questions is distinctive inasmuch as it combines obedience to laws purportedly revealed by God with the cultivation of independent thinking. It is common for these two aspects to be considered mutually exclusive. Extreme examples privileging one side would be the English Puritans or the Taliban. While extreme examples priviliging the other would be the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche or Jean-Paul Sartre. But I don't think the Baha'i faith is taking a "moderate" course, mixing together two things as different as oil and water. Rather, I think, in the Baha'i approach obedience and independence are mutually reinforcing. Each is the key to the other. For many this seems contradictory. And certainly, such a position does not match the shared sense of things in our society. But as I think through this matter's difficulties I find it more and more persuasive all the time.

The Manifest Evil of Homophobia

 The Economist magazine has an article about the violent and oppressive repercussions of homophobia, especially in developing countries. Here are a few excerpts:

Some 80 countries criminalise consensual homosexual sex. Over half rely on “sodomy” laws left over from British colonialism. But many are trying to make their laws even more repressive. Last year, Burundi’s president, Pierre Nkurunziza, signed a law criminalising consensual gay sex, despite the Senate’s overwhelming rejection of the bill. A draconian bill proposed in Uganda would dole out jail sentences for failing to report gay people to the police and could impose the death penalty for gay sex if one of the participants is HIV-positive. In March Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe, who once described gay people as worse than dogs or pigs, ruled out constitutional changes outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Mourning of an Intellectual

My grandmother passed away last week. Since then, I have been home to pay my last respects and to support my family. Being with friends and family has helped me appreciate the interdependency of our world. Every life is caught up in another. Living is sharing; Living is sharing joys and sorrows, meals, possessions, conversations, a community. All are interconnected. And when one life ends those who remain must reconfigure themselves and their world in light of that absence. The challenge of another's death is to summon up one's own creative power for life; to renew oneself and renew one's world in light of changed conditions.

Disjoint

Mindful of the loneliness, Everything I love is so fleeting.


Who are you? So you are happy huh, sitting there in grave confidence, creating the stage for which people laugh in giddy relief? And you, always smiling, always playing the shallow yet lovable narcissist? You are excused, for now. And I, never making much of an impression, always distant (I am painfully aware), holding onto the moment with a white knuckle, too often sinking into a third reflection, cycling loneliness, love, contempt, respect, and despair.

The only language I speak in is salvation and tears. That is, when I am awake!

Too easy to shrivel up and release the form always being projected. Every comforting morsel is a mockery, an illusory attempt. Even writing these horrible words...A despicable mockery!


How can words capture a human being? Why do we feel that we are the only ones who are bewildered by the sheer enormity. All I want is to wipe away all defenses and be taken, with everyone.

Most aspiration is smitten with form, a resource for the spirit and a hologram otherwise.

Positive Playlist: Sharpening Spiritual Perception

As I was looking through the playlist of positive songs Kat posted, it occured to me just how much stronger the junior youth empowerment program is for including a media awareness component. There are many songs with messages that can raise the consciousness of young people. And they can play a powerful role in one's personal development. However, as Jason pointed out with the example of Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, and Pink Floyd, some of that music also promotes unhealthy attitudes and lifestyles. This could be an obstacle. But once a group has reached a certain stage in its progress, such ambiguity can easily be changed into opportunities for critical thinking and in-depth consultation.

of Power and Policy

Here's a post to check out. It's written from the perspective of a committed supporter of the Democratic Party, but it contains some ideas that can be translated into the terminology used in the Baha'i writings and by the Universal House of Justice. You should read it for yourself, of course. But here's my translation.

When we think of governance as as the pursuit of personal power, we fall into a false dichotomy between personal and collective interest, or into a Hobbesian view of the struggle of all against all. But if we think of governance as the pursuit of good policies that benefit society, these oppositions melt away, and cooperation arises naturally.

It seems to me that for the latter approach to prevail over the former requires a spiritual transformation. Individuals can't continue approaching positions of authority as a means  for serving the promptings of self and passion. Rather, they should be filled with a desire to promote the interests of the broader society. This is something that can only happen in the heart. No technical prescription or cleverness at statecraft can bring about this change. It requires going person to person and assisting them to see the folly of the first and the benefits of the second.

Physical Resurrection: Linchpin of Christianity?

Andrew Sullivan, well know blogger and Catholic, reflects upon his faith.

Christianity is in crisis - and in a deeper crisis, in my view, than many Christians are allowing themselves to believe. I start from a simple premise. There can be no conflict between faith and truth. If what we believe in is not true, it is worth nothing. The idea that one should insincerely support religious faith because it is good for others or for society is, for me, a profound blasphemy if you do not share the faith yourself. I respect atheists and agnostics who reject faith; I find it harder to respect fundamentalists - of total papal or Biblical authority - because of the blindness of their sincerity; but I have no respect for those who cynically praise religion for its social uses, while believing in none of it themselves. Sadly, a critical faction of the Straussian right has been engaged in exactly that kind of cynicism for a while now.

But if religion and truth cannot be in conflict, Christians who believe in a God of logos have an obligation to make sense of those moments when modern learning disproves certain religious preconceptions. No modern Christian, it seems to me, can claim the literal inerrancy of the Bible without abandoning logos.

Positive Playlist: enlisting our culture in spiritual empowerment

The third unit of Ruhi Book 7 is called "Promoting the Arts at the Grassroots." On the subject of music, two major themes for consultation arise. One is the effectiveness of music in addressing the spiritual needs of the community. 'Abdu'l-Baha's reassurance that "... in this new age the Manifest Light hath, in His holy Tablets, specifically proclaimed that music, sung or played, is spiritual food for the soul and heart" lets us know that music does indeed have a place, leaving us to focus on details such as form and venue.

Choosing One's Choices

One of the most potent forms of social control is to conceal from an individual her own power of choice. This is not to say that she ceases to choose. But rather, that she has a strong tendency to make choices in conformity with the expectations of her peers simply by assuming there are no alternatives. A stranger attacks a young man's family. He feels he has no choice but to seek revenge. An employer insists that an employee perform a task that is neither legal nor ethical. The employee performs the task and consoles himself in thinking that the decision wasn't his to make. A woman is on her deathbed. She can't imagine feeling anything but despair. All are expressions of one condition: the concealment of the individual's inherent freedom.

I Don't Wanna Talk Anymore: An Analysis of Lady Gaga's "Telephone" Video

link to telephone video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ95z6ywcBY


Lady Gaga has said that the Telephone video is about America. The Director of the video explained that the video is a continuation of the Paparazzi video. In the Paparazzi video Lady Gaga is thrown off her balcony by her boyfriend and is temporarily crippled. She is famous and even in her crippled state she clings to glamour and fame. At the end of the video, after she has recovered from her injury, she poisons her lover and is arrested for murder. The video ends with her mug shots. Interestingly, the lyrics of Paparazzi are the polar opposite of Telephone’s. We move from fervent adoration to cold apathy. “I’m your biggest fan I’ll follow you until you love me” to “Stop calling stop calling I don’t wanna talk anymore.” Together, the songs form a sort of Act One and Act Two of the popularized, modern day romance. It’s not about love or hate, but rather, a life-sucking worship of another person.

At the beginning of Telephone, Gaga is being brought into a women’s prison. Female inmates are behaving in an overtly sexual and violent manner.

The Role of Science in a Baha'i Development Context

As someone who aspires to work in the field of international development, I am excited by the increasing reliance of empirical and experimental approaches to discerning the most effective poverty interventions. One of the most trenchant criticisms of international development efforts has been that they are effete at best and often counterproductive. Often good intentions in the form of aid money are wasted away or embezzled by the governments that are supposed to utilize them.

Esther Duflo, co-founder of the Poverty Action Lab, argues in her recent TED talk...

...that we can utilize randomized controlled trials, which have revolutionized the field of medicine, to quantify which policy interventions are most effective in targeting poverty.

Drawing Closer and Setting Apart

I was just having a conversation with a friend about the progress of the Baha'i world right now. It got us thinking that there are two dynamics of the emerging pattern of Baha'i life that can easily contradict each other. One is the desire to reach out to new contacts, share Baha'u'llah's teachings with others, and work with them to improve the life of our communities. The other is the desire to exemplify a lifestyle of devotion to God, detachment from instant gratification, and consecrated service to the plans set out by the Universal House of Justice. Baha'is are called to engage the broader society, while living lifestyles that are very different, often incomprehensible at first, to individuals unfamiliar with the Baha'i Faith.

It seems to me that this twin dynamic is set up by breaking down certain barriers with the broader society, while at the same time, throwing up others. By no means, do I think this is a self-defeating process, quite the opposite. But my friend and I certainly noticed that this change of culture is not something we can learn overnight.

What are your thoughts on this?

Questions for Neighborhoods

Who are our neighbors?
What do we believe?
What do we desire?
What do we dream of?
What do we need?

What are our capacities?
What are our strengths?

In what ways and to what degree are our needs being met and our dreams realized by using our capacities and strengths, today?

In what ways and to what degree could our needs be met and our dreams realized by using our capacities and strengths, today?

In what ways and to what degree are our capacities and strengths unable to meet our needs and realize our dreams?

What do we need to close this gap?

Do we need more …

knowledge?
skills?
encouragement?
organization?
communication?
reflection?
faith?

What tried-and-true processes are ready and waiting for us to take advantage of them in order to address these issues?

And why haven’t we already begun?

Homosexuality

Homosexuality has become the most prominent social issue of my generation, and I continually have conversations about it. To some the issue is equivalent to the civil rights movement, fighting against discrimination, injustice, and religious fanaticism. To others, the issue is a classic battle of values against an increasingly immoral civilization.

The differing opinions revolve around a few key issues that are difficult to talk about. Without good communication, people unwittingly fall into categories of pro- or anti-gay. Below are some of my thoughts on how to navigate the conversation. As you may know, the Baha'i teachings don't fall into either the pro or anti category.

"Our church is in our hearts. We take it wherever we go."

When I was first introduced to the Baha'i Faith, the Baha'is I knew conducted a devotional gathering at a nearby home. The first time I gathered with the Baha'is to pray I was struck by the simplicity and focus of their approach to communal prayer. There were no rituals. Socialization waited until after prayers were done. Participants would recite prayers individually as they felt inspired. They would sing songs even if nobody else knew the words to sing them. The devotional portion of the gathering focused entirely on prayer and meditation. And because it didn't follow a pre-established program, individuals would participate to the extent that they felt inspired. As a Catholic re-engaging with my faith tradition I found that approach to worship deeply moving. I didn't feel in any way pressured. I didn't feel like a sheep lost in my own flock. Instead, I felt united with those around me in the common purpose of worshipping our creator.

Social Action and the Love of God: 'Abdu'l-Baha at Hull House

One of the exciting features of the recorded utterances from 'Abdu'l-Baha's travels in North America and Europe is that many of the individuals and organizations he spoke before have their own distinguished history. Abdu'l-Baha met with such luminaries as Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Theodore Roosevelt, and Bertha von Suttner, a leading peace activist who influenced Alfred Nobel in establishing the peace prize. They were engaged in vigorous conversations that continues to this day on topics of humanity's social and spiritual prosperity. But since 1921 'Abdu'l-Baha's physical voice has fallen silent. So, if Baha'is want his wisdom to be taken into account today they'll have to speak up on his behalf.

Love of Others: The Light and the Lamp

More often than I think is justified, love is held up as the panacea for all the worlds problems. If only we showed more love for foreigners, we wouldn't have so many wars, if only we loved those less fortunate than us, we wouldn't have so much poverty. If only there was more love, people would feel less need for material goods. One famous artist has affirmed, "All you need is love." Perhaps, but only if we have a clear vision of what we mean by love. It seems to me, not nearly enough attention goes to fundamental questions about love and its place in society. Love is taken as something self-evident, already understood, and only in need of being spread further. I want to focus on the question of where our love should be directed, of what is most worthy of our love. And I think a very useful starting point can be found in passages from the Baha'i Writings discussing love shown towards the founders of the world's religions. I think they provide concepts with which we can rethink our approach to personal relationships, and beyond that, to the life of society.