Archive for March, 2009

Ilona watched the debate live last night on . -gw

Ottawa, Ontario, 31 March 2009 (CBNS) — After a 90 minute debate, Monday evening 30 March 2009, Canada’s House of Commons adopted a strongly worded motion condemning the persecution of Baha’is in Iran and calling on the Government of Iran to immediately release Baha’i leaders currently in prison in Tehran. The debate was moving in the eloquence and well informed nature of the contributions from Members of Parliament representing virtually all regions of Canada, and as one MP noted, all parties were united in their concern about the situation of the Baha’is of Iran.

http://bahainews.ca/en/090331-houseofcommons

59 People have participated in Direct Teaching!!!

We have had 59 people participate in direct teaching so far this cycle! This has resulted in 8 enrollments thus far, all of whom are receiving consistent follow-up home visits for the purpose of relating the deepening themes. Thanks to those of you in the field of action displaying your hard work! May blessings rain down upon you!

Ya-Baha’u’llabha!!

In news from the Triangle, teaching the Baha’i Faith directly can be surprising even to the teacher, as the following entry attests. -gw

She read along the quotes with me and was visibly moved by them and offered her understanding of what she read. During the presentation she seemed to be able to anticipate precisely the next point and offered her interpretation – it was as if she too had also learned these truths before I had a chance to say them. This alone was a very surreal experience and I have never had this happen before. I was at a loss for words and even had to take a moment to collect my thoughts as her interpretation of the quotes included the deeper meaning and were completely on target. By the time we finished the page about The Plight of Humanity, The Promise of This Day she said she said she wanted to become a member of the Baha’i Faith as she was moved to learn about the promise of this day. She signed her card and I continued to share Anna’s presentation until the end. Every time either she or I read a quote she was so physically impacted by the words that she could barely sit still and interrupted to share how confirming everything was! She was happy to learn about study classes and is eager to start this weekend.

http://triangleatc.blogspot.com/2009/03/teaching-story-from-dc.html

Alex is feeling his oats, and to celebrate is sharing a song. “All the world’s religions acclaim the spiritual power of music and our Age has a bounty of musical Power.”  Amen to that, Alex. -gw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs50uz3a_-M

Photo: “Susan at the mic,” Uploaded on February 18, 2009 by The Inadvertent Gardener on flickr, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic

Wood
by Dan Seals
 
His old hands were brown from the varnish and the stain
And I had come to talk in my youth and in my pain
I told him that I was not the man I want to be
Waited to see what he would say
 
But he just kept on working as if I wasn’t there
The sweat on his face and dust in his hair
He paused for a moment when I’d been there for a while
He wiped his brow – I thought I saw him smile
 
(Chorus)
He just said – Wood
From the earth beneath our feet there grows a tree
We can take it, shape it, to what’s it’s meant to be
The stronger the fiber, the better for the good
Son, I believe that men are just like wood

“Wood” by Dan Seals on the “On Arrival” album

My brother-in-law Frank passes on to me an email about a song by Dan Seals and a description by his son Jay as to what the song means. And through researching the son, I discover Everything2, “an extensively hyperlinked collection of facts, ideas, notes and humor to which anyone can add.” Jay Seals, aka NightShadow, was off Everything2 for three years but came on to do four posts in the past 10 days, including one about the passing of his father and another about the funeral. 

 But it was Jay’s posting of Feb 26 2004,”I now understand Wood,” that was at the heart of the email Frank was passing on. “Wood” is the name of a song that appears on Dan’s 1990 “On Arrival” album. The first few verses are above. You can hear the song here:

http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/seals_dan/78553/album.jhtml.

And here is how Jay’s piece begins, but you really gotta go over and read it in its entirety to appreciate and man Dan and his son Jay. -gw

There is a song my dad wrote quite a few years ago called “Wood.” It has the sound and feel of a ballad, but not a love song exactly. It’s the kind of legacy ballad, like the kind of thing that a father wants to convey to a son. The basic gist of it is that the father wants to impress upon his son the importance of working with wood, that there is a sort of placid peace that comes from working with the grain, the texture and sawdust. It speaks, also, of how we are all like wood, being shaped and smoothed throughout our lives by our experiences and the other lives that touch us. Listening to the song I could intrinsically rationalize the sincerity of the lyrics and their inner truth, but I couldn’t really connect with it or understand.

I got a taste of that, though, in the most unexpected way. Now I can say with utter certainty that I know what that song meant and how it fits. I’m not so foolish as to believe or think that the song was meant for me specifically, from my dad, but I took it to heart just the same.

http://everything2.com/node/1522423

Jay is a Baha’i. His testimony, also on Everything 2, is below. Paullette Trail’s recollection of Dan at the Tennessee Baha’i School follows. -gw

I have a very strong belief. My belief rests in a particular Individual Whom I never got the chance to meet because He died long, long before I was born. His Cause was the catalyst for my conception and subsequent birth, therefore I owe Him my life. It’s a long story, full of twists and turns, like a warped soap opera, but that’s the bottom line.

His name is Baha’u'llah, and I believe that He is, for lack of a better phrase, the Return of Christ. No, I do not mean Jesus; yes, I do mean Christ- the motivating Spirit of all God’s Messengers. Baha’u'llah is the Messenger for this Day and Age. At least, that’s what I believe. I also believe He brought with Him some new teachings, laws and ideas. I don’t always follow them perfectly, because I’m an imperfect human being, but I believe in them- and Him.

And if you don’t agree with me, it’s all good. We swallow the pill that tastes best.

http://everything2.com/user/NightShadow

Thom and Dan would sit out by the pool watching the “kids” at the Tennessee Bahá’í Institute at Monteagle and talk about “woodworking” – you could see them talking and laughing – what a joy!!  That first year they met, Dan played the song “Wood” for us in the library there during an off moment – it hadn’t come out on an album yet (I believe) – we were crying it was so beautiful!!   Lots of folks don’t know that Dan made bamboo fly fishing rods…..and the time and patience it takes…

Photo, top: “Mission style End Table,” uploaded on April 22, 2007 by jaromad on flickr, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic

Thumbnail, bottom: Hemlock tree taken at the Tenneessee Baha’i school, uploaded on September 4, 2007 by Ezra F on flickr

Picnics and parties aside, yesterday was a special birthday for me. It was not because of my sweet granddaughter or even the benchmark of my own 59 years on the planet but because of Dustin’s spiritual rebirth. … Last night, after our lovely day at the beach, where Dustin had the unique experience of swimming with a sea turtle, I stopped by our friend Joanne’s house at Dustin’s request. There he made his declaration of belief in Baha’u'llah and eagerly enrolled in the Baha’i Faith.

http://lizkauai.blogspot.com/2009/03/happy-birthday.html

The recognition of a soul in the source of his transformation is always cause for celebration. -gw

Whereas formerly they were as moths, they became royal falcons and whereas before they were as bubbles they became seas. Through Thy bestowal, Thy mercy and Thy most great favor, they became stars shining in the horizon of guidance, birds singing in the rose garden of immortality, lions roaring in the forest of knowledge and wisdom, and whales swimming in the oceans of life.

there is a strong anti-family strain in the Potter books

In addition to promoting sorcery and magic, Harry Potter also promotes homosexuality and anti-Christian bigotry.

Ginny continues to ask Tom for guidance, until she, under the malevolent and seductive influence of the anti-Christ figure, Harry Potter, bearing the mark …

“It is the duty of Christian parents to oppose Harry Potter,” said Murray

The congregation of the Christ Community Church in Alamogordo in southern New Mexico heard an anti-Harry Potter sermon in which Pastor Jack …

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=anti+harry+potter&aq=f&oq=

I find the responses of some Christians to Harry Potter just silly. I remember reading from the Martin Marty-edited series The Fundmentalism Project and being struck by the similarities in stances taken by different religious communities in opposite corners of the globe.  Certain Christian groups in America see Satan in the Harry Potter books series. Shi’a fundamentalists in  Iran, who are responsibile for both diatribe against “The Great Satan” and the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran,  apparently see a Jewish conspiracy in those same books. I wonder, if the Iranian government holds an international conference of condemnation of Harry Potter, will these anti-Potter Christian groups in the West be invited and come? -gw

.

.

Josef Joffe, a fellow in International Relations at the Hoover Institution, is publisher-editor of the German weekly Die Zeit and writes at Harvard’s “Middle East Strategy” blog about a recent Iranian television program that painted the book series as a “Jewish conspiracy.”

http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/03/13/iranian-tv-paints-harry-potter-as-a-jewish-conspiracy/4408/

Thanks, Barmak, for this. -gw

With international travel in our plans for the first time in our married life, Bonita and I have put our attention to lots of details. An item on our agenda is to … update our wills. What is it about flying long distances in an airplane that can bring up thoughts of our mortality? “If God had intended for me to fly, he would have given me wings” is a sentiment that more than one person has had. Whether Bonita & I  get to the actual work of updating our wills in the remaining two weeks (I have taxes yet to complete) remains to be seen, but I find very timely the posting on The Changing Times blog of A Guide to Writing your Will – More than Possessions. -gw

You think of a will as a paper containing provisions about your possessions, but you don’t really possess anything? That’s fine, because there is much more about the will: “The testator should head this document with the adornment of the Greatest Name, bear witness therein unto the oneness of God in the Dayspring of His Revelation, and make mention, as he may wish, of that which is praiseworthy, so that it may be a testimony for him in the kingdoms of Revelation and Creation and a treasure with his Lord, the Supreme Protector, the Faithful.” So first of all your will is a statement about your Faith.

http://blog.changing-times.org/2009/03/write-will/

Photo: Uploaded on February 6, 2009 by EriQ. on flickr

I’m continuing to re-load my iPod with the Songs of My Life. I went to the library three times again yesterday, getting 10 CDs each time, picking off of them old favorites.  I got 30 CDs, none of which are new releases, off of which I took 43 songs. I pride myself on the diversity of my collection. Diverse musical tastes has become the norm in the Baha’i Era.

I got Ray Kane for his Hawaiian slack key guitar songs. Among the songs, a Christian himeni or hymn, “Yield Not to Temptation.” From the liner notes: “For Ray, the song’s meaning is clear: eternal life.”

I got Basia (she’s Polish) for her “Perfect Mother” and “The Prayer of the Happy Housewife.”  I love the accordian ending to  her “She Deserves It / Rachel’s Wedding.” Marriage, children, and gratefulness … how good is that!

when i look around it makes me wonder

am I worthy of the most amazing life I have been given

did not care before but not I’m older

my grateful thoughts I raise to heaven

I got Gloria Estafan. Thank you, Gloria, for your “Abriendo Puertas (Opening Doors),” Mas Alla (Beyond),” and Nuevo Dia (New Day).” Thank you for the spiritual values of your songs and the danceable rhythms that honor the incredible musical diversity of the Circum-Carribbean. 

I got Candy Dulfer for her saxophone on “Heavenly City.”  That’s my city, your city, we’re striving to make  heavenly, are we not?

I got the Gypsy Kings for their “Love & Liberte,” a instrumental filled with emotion that I’ve played as a transition to the spiritual portion of Baha’i Feast.

I got Judy Frankel’s album Sephardic Songs of Love & Hope with its hymn “Bendigamos (Let Us Bless)” and song Avram Avinu (Abraham Our Father), the first that honors the One God and second the prophet of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baha’i Faith, Abraham.

I got Bill Miller’s Red Road. Bill is Stockbridge-Munsee, a band of the Mohicans. “The Red Road was believed to be the path through this world leading to the Higher Power.” The song “Prasies” is in  the Menominee language. This is a song I have played many times at the Spiritual Meetings we had at Wright Park back in the 90′s. -gw

Happy New Year! Again.

First, a bit of advice, (thanks Praveen) from the Times of India, I believe.

The year 2009 may have begun with “dampened enthusiasm and dented optimism,” but the year 166 of the Baha’i Era is starting with great enthusiasm and enormous optimism, if the photographic images of the Naw Ruz celebrations last weekend that have accumulated on the various photo-sharing sites are any indication.

Take Hector. His Naw Ruz 166 set on flickr includes no less than 420 photos. What fun they had in El Paso! From the pics it looks like they had a formal dance that included flamenco dancers. OMG!

Naw Ruz 3-20-09 420 photos

     

This is the final paragraph of an article in the Ideas section of The Times of India, New Delhi, by Nader Saiidi that was published on the Baha’i New Year, March 21st. Thanks, Praveen, for passing this article on. -gw

The realization of the divine in human life is not conditioned on flight from social and cultural life and avoidance of pariticipation in advancement of human civilization. It can only be realized through history, human civilization and social progress. Therefore, the spiritual challenge of humanity is to create moral, spiritual, social, economic and political cultures and institutions that make it possible for the latent sacred unity of humankind to be realized in people’s actual life and in the midst of the diversity of individuals and cultures.