Blogs

 PupaKat Egyptians Face Trial for Incitement Against Baha’is, http://bit.ly/ApaGR44 minutes ago from TweetDeck

 egyptbahai Instigator and perpetrator summoned to court for incitement against the Baha’is: http://tinyurl.com/deojdu about 1 hour ago from web

 barmak9This should be interesting to follow: “Egyptians Face Trial for Incitement Against Baha’is” http://is.gd/r1Sp about 1 hour ago from web

The disturbing news on the latest incident involving Baha’is in Egypt, the firebombing of Baha’i homes from in a village in the Southern part of the country,  continues to unfold. I’m checking Twitter and Baha’is in Egypt.  -gw

When I read the following paragraph in the current post on Iran Press Watch, the song title to one of my a favorite songs comes to mind, “Chill Out (Things Gonna Change)” by John Lee Hooker. My advice to the government of Iran is … “Chill Out.” My prediction for that country which I dearly love is … “Things Gonna Change.” -gw

…times have changed.  In the 1980s, when these crimes [the putting to death of Baha'is] were committed against a defenseless community, there was no internet and no social networking sites.  Thus, the infrastructure for grassroots movements was not nearly as robust as it is today.  Therefore, while the Islamic Republic could come out of those unjustified killings relatively unscathed, it is now becoming virtually impossible for them to continue that practice.  Every time a Baha’i or any other Iranian is arrested on unfounded charges, the news is global within hours. Thousands of concerned citizens from all walks of life and different corners of the earth stand up and demand justice in a wide variety of forums and blogs.  Thus, the cost of administering injustice is becoming prohibitive.  Regarding the Baha’i “dilemma”: while the official policy of the Islamic Republic has been to “fight their cultural influence” both inside and outside Iran, in reality this is proving to be a losing battle.  The clerical establishment began its anti-Babi, anti-Baha’i activities over 160 years ago.  If the most brutal and inhumane killings of thousands of members of a relatively small population of Babis and Baha’is across Persia in the 1800s and early 1900s could not “solve” this “dilemma”, then where does the optimism to wipe out a now global community of 5-6 million people come from?

http://www.iranpresswatch.org/2009/04/trial-no-win/

A vignette from Arlene’s blog, which is a great site to visit for news from Cluster 19 WA from her uniquely personal angle.-gw 

This morning it was sunny and warm, and Enayat had some involved work he was trying to lead at the barn he is renovating, and it was hard to leave to spend the afternoon indoors. Yet, once we were there, I felt warmed by being with the Baha’is.

I remember the first year I found out what Baha’i love feels like. It was 1974/1975 and I was with the community in Pullman celebrating a holy day in the middle of the night. Candles were lit and people were singing Arabic words signifying “God is Most Glorious.” I felt this warmth and closeness I’d never experienced quite that way before. This was the same year I met William Sears, Hand of the Cause of God.

http://wienerpigs.blogspot.com/2009/04/william-sears-part-1.html

The Baha’i Writings show up on a billboard on the streets of Isfahan, not likely placed there by Baha’is, and the post about it on IranPress Watch draws 25 comments, including the following. -gw

Since they disolved your adminstration, they don’t even know who the Baha’is are any more. There are many people in Iran who were Baha’is and didn’t want to identify themselves because you had requirements for them to sign your rolls. Now that there is no administration, these Mollahs don’t know what to do. Even their assistants are downloading your writings and Roohi books. They’ve lost control. People use filtershekan and by pass their internet censors. It’s all over. You should have no administration there even if they beg you. Your ranks have increased and as you see your writings are showing up at the hands of “trusted” government people. Iranians aren’t dumb. We just have dumb rulers. Cheers!

http://www.iranpresswatch.org/2009/04/hw-billboards/#comment-1403

Photo: http://www.iranpresswatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/hidden-words-at-isfahan-street-1.jpg

In light of the conspiracy theories that have been leveled at the Baha’i Faith and included even in 3rd grade textbooks in Iran, it is interesting to note that even Shi’a Islam was subject to such theories. -gw

The history of religion is filled with clashes between established and central religions and those on the periphery:  This is the case with religions before Islam in Iran, as well as with Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  Each one in their own time had to face such slander and vilification.

Even Shi’ism, which today in Iran is considered the  official and legal state religion, at the beginning of its formation was accused of being created by Jews for the destruction of Islam (Sunni religion).  Many among the followers of Sunni Islam consider a certain ‘Abdu’llah ibn Saba (who was a Jew and a resident of Kufih) as the one who formed the Shi’ite sect – a charge that Shi’ites reject.

Conspiracy theory is the easiest way to construe the emergence of any new entity.  However, from a historical point of view, it is not an effective way to confront and defend against such emerging faiths. 

http://www.iranpresswatch.org/2009/03/contact-foreign/

Image: http://bigpurpleworld.blogspot.com/2008/05/differences-between-shia-and-sunni.html

 dragfyre reading and re-reading a Baha’i pioneering doc about culture shock; all the symptoms seem to apply. praying for serenity while i adjust. 7 minutes ago from web

 dragfyre the noise here is amazing. from 7 AM to 10 PM it’s kids, roosters, motorcycles, street vendors, TVs, radios, pretty much anything 10 minutes ago from web

Dan has arrived in Vietnam. His blog has come alive with posts of the preprations and the travel experiences along the way. This what he posted before he left. Can’t wait for the pics. He said they would be coming on the morrow. -gw

 I can’t wait to get on the plane and go, to end up in a completely different place. There’s just something about travel that’s given me a sort of permanent wanderlust ever since I was young. Not just the act of travelling, either—the anticipation. The sweet knowledge that you’re about to embark upon the journey of a lifetime, one that will lead you across to the other side of the planet for five whole months. Wondering aloud and quietly, what will this bright, bold and beautiful future bring?

With all these thoughts about the future, I have to pray just to keep myself grounded in the present. Thinking ahead is fun, but right now is where everything happens. So that’s where I am—right here at home (at the mall again, actually—hah), doing the most I can right now as my efforts and God’s confirmations will allow. As a closing note, I feel as though I’m starting to understand this concept of “confirmation”—you take the first step and God gets you running. Seeing this trip across the world come together piece by piece has helped show me what it means.

http://pizza.sandwich.net/2009/03/preparations.shtml

Photo: Uploaded on March 28, 2009 by dragfyre on flickr

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

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.

Space is … a deep, even for cats. -gw

Each month, a long-time member of the Milwaukie Baha’i community hosts Star Trek Night at her house. The premise is this:

In the Star Trek Universe, every episode contains a discussion or treatment of a theme or principle central to the Baha’i Faith. Star Trek night is a raucous family-oriented evening in which Baha’is and non-Baha’is gather to socialize, and deepen on the faith by way of Star Trek episodes.

Original series, Next Generation, and even some Deep Space Nine episodes will make appearances. During any given Star Trek evening, there is usually time for two episodes. It’s not uncommon for upwards of thirty people to be present in this typical Portland bungalow — family members stack themselves like cordwood on the sofas; others watch from the adjoining dining room. Buster, the Beagle, sneaks off with stuffed animals and hides them in the bedroom.

http://typhoonjohnson.blogspot.com/2009/03/star-trek-nights.html

Photo: Uploaded on September 2, 2006 by Kevin Steele on flickr, licensed under Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en.