The Spiritual Conquest of the PlanetOur Response to Plans
Part of the Word of God series. Designed to draw the student into a study of the profound concepts found in the Bahá’í Revelation.
Melanie Smith and Paul Lample7.25" x 10"
Please join us for an evening co-sponsored by Columbia University’s Center for the Study of Human Rights and the Bahá’ís of NYC in commemoration of the second year anniversary of the imprisonment of the seven Baha’i leaders.
Featuring a special presentation by Oscar-nominated Shohreh Aghdashloo and actor, playwright Houshang Touzie, Anthony Azizi (Actor, Lost, 24, Flash Forward), Manoochehr Vahman (Classical Persian Violinist) and an ensemble cast directed by Shidan Majidi (Director, Miss Saigon).
Featured Guest Speakers:
Rudi Bakhtiar: Former CNN & Fox News Anchor, Current Communications Director for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
Bani Dugal: Principal Representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations.
Roxana Saberi: Iranian-American Journalist who was recently released from Evin prison where she was prison mates with Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi, two of the seven Baha’i leaders.
Sarah Leah Whitson: Director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East and North Africa division.
THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO ALL
I also noticed that weeds had grown tall. Besides Kit himself, sitting on the wheelchair, who could only reach out to the wild plants right in front of him, nobody else had helped him in weeding. So I picked up again my old job as an assistant gardener. My appointment at CCH had been postponed to 7pm. So I took my time to pull out unwanted grass with its roots. People of the Baha'i faith dressed in their new clothes began to come into the centre for the preparations of the event. I suddenly felt compassion for Kit who was staying alone in his messy room which was just next to the beautifully decorated hall where the Baha'is gathered for functions. Some people were curious to see me squatting among the plants. Kit told them my identity as Saratha's former colleague and as a Christian. When they complimented me on my act, I simply smiled in return. And I prayed in my heart that one day they would know the truth of the salvation through Jesus.
I just discovered that if I search for "Abraham" on flickr, there is more than one. -gwIsis:
And there are four Abrahamic faiths, not three.
sorry to be stupid but what is the fourth?
Eh, I was being somewhat facetious, referring to Baha'i. Of course, I think I remember reading that, depending on your perspective, there are as many as seven Abrahamic religions
Bahji: After a Spring Rain
Uploaded by paul.vreeland on 30 Mar 10, 9.18AM PDT on flickr
O My friend, listen with heart and soul to the songs of the spirit, and treasure them as thine own eyes. For the heavenly wisdoms, like the clouds of spring, will not rain down on the earth of men’s hearts forever; and though the grace of the All-Bounteous One is never stilled and never ceasing, yet to each time and era a 38 portion is allotted and a bounty set apart, this in a given measure. “And no one thing is there, but with Us are its storehouses; and We send it not down but in settled measure.” 5 The cloud of the Loved One’s mercy raineth only on the garden of the spirit, and bestoweth this bounty only in the season of spring. The other seasons have no share in this greatest grace, and barren lands no portion of this favor.
Bahá'u'lláh The Seven Valleys And the Four ValleysHaifa
Uploaded by pibi53 on 28 Mar 10, 8.51AM PDT.
Hey Friends – There is a new life-sized portrait bust and bronze plaque honoring Tacoma Baha’i Nettie Asberry at South 5th Street and ML King Way. Check it out.
- T
Most 79 year-olds are fairly well set in their ways. Their mental and physical powers are diminished. They no longer have the curiosity or ambition or vitality that they once enjoyed. Whatever course they have taken in life is the course that they are on and will remain on, content or not, as they glide toward life’s nearing horizon. One’s values and practices have long since been solidified, especially for fundamentals such as religion and worship. At 79 years of age, Nettie Asberry did a remarkable thing: she changed her religion and resigned from her church. She found Bahá’u’lláh and became one of His followers. This happened in 1944 or ’45 through the friendship of two new Bahá’ís in town, Harry and Marjorie Taylor, who were members of the first Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Tacoma, which was founded in November 1943.'
In 1909, residing in Tacoma, she was described as a music teacher of rare ability who always had a large number of pupils, and was regarded as one of Tacoma’s expert pianists and a woman of great accomplishment, speaking French and German fluently. She taught piano to students of all races for more than 50 years. Very socially active and progressive, she helped found the Tacoma Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said to be the first chapter west of Kansas City.
Whensoever a mother seeth that her child hath done well, let her praise and applaud him and cheer his heart.
Submissions have begun for the controversial Commission of Inquiry review into Freedom of Religion in Samoa. The government says the freedom of religion has somehow posed a direct challenge to the autonomy of the village council. Karen Te’o with the Baha’i of Samoa says in their submission they are encouraging the government to continue to uphold freedom of religion. She says over the years some Christian groups as well as those in the Baha’i faith have been discriminated against by village councils.
TATAU: Samoan Tattooing and Global CultureThe contemporary significance of Samoan tattoo traditions is the focus of an insightful and provocative exhibit entitled TATAU: Samoan Tattooing and Global Culture, opening in Gallery 3 (adjacent to the Great Hall) in March. Curated by Peter Brunt, Senior Lecturer in Art History at Victoria University of Wellington, the show features over 40 photographs by distinguished New Zealand artist Mark Adams. Thanks to the Adam Art Gallery, Victoria University of Wellington, and Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, for organizing this touring exhibition.
http://www.moa.ubc.ca/exhibits/exhibits_archive.php
This would be the tattoo I would have on my body. -gw
"This tattoo–to me–symbolizes the unity of all religions and people," uploaded on August 9, 2005 by nonameplayer on flickr
INVADERS PRACTICE SAT. March 27th, 2010 11:30am and SUN. March 28th, 2010 2:30pm @ The Old Truman Middle School 6400 North. 23rd St. Tacoma, WA. Please bring your equipment we are full contact.(helmet, pads, cleats) Work outs and 7 on 7 will be held every Tuesday & Thursday @ Mason Middle School @ 3901 North 28th St Tacoma, WA 98407 @ 5:45pm
"Brian K. Diggs/AMERICAN-STATESMAN - Farzad Kasiri is a Austin shoe salesman and an Iranian refugee. As a member of the Baha'i faith, which is not recognized in Iran, he was arrested and tortured 22 years ago by Islamic government officials, he says. Several Baha'i refugees from Iran live in Austin and many are afraid to tell their stories publicly for fear that their relatives in Iran will be targeted. Behind him is the Baha'i Star. 7.3.05" Uploaded on January 30, 2008 by BetsyBahai on flickr.A remarkable senate resolution, cited below, received bi-partisan support, with two Republicans (Senators Hatch and McLain) joining 13 Democrats and one Independent in sponsoring it. American Baha'is can certainly testify to the contributions made by Iranian-Americans to society. -gw
From: Northwest BahaiLibrarySource: http://www.krsi.net/
"The U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Norooz Resolution (S.Res.463), granting official recognition for Norooz for the first time in Senate history.
In approving the resolution, the Senate joins the House, which passed a similar measure last Monday, in commemorating the Iranian New Year, celebrating Iran's rich cultural traditions, expressing appreciation to Iranian Americans for their contributions to society, and wishing Iranian Americans and the Iranian people a prosperous new year. The Senate Resolution also encourages the peaceful observance of Norooz in Iran and expresses support for the rights of all Iranians to exercise freedom of assembly, expression, and speech.
Congressional recognition of Norooz signifies not only the growing political strength of the Iranian-American community, but also demonstrates the increasingly critical role of Iranian Americans as the unofficial ambassadors of Iranian culture and heritage in the U.S. In honoring Norooz, Congress recognizes that Iran cannot be viewed merely through the prism of conflict with Iran's government, but that we can foster mutual respect and cooperation directly with the Iranian people.
The Norooz Resolution's lead sponsors, Senators Robert Menendez and John Cornyn to ensure the Norooz Resolution had broad, bipartisan support to move through the Senate. The Norooz Resolution was cosponsored by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Jim Webb (D-VA), John McCain (R-AZ), Ted Kaufman (D-DE), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Roland Burris (D-IL), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Carl Levin (D-MI), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Robert Byrd (D-WV), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Ben Cardin (D-MD).
Federal health care reform will mean huge changes across the country, but demographics in Pierce County indicate that changes here might be even more dramatic than in many other places.
Pierce County tends to be poorer and more racially diverse than most Washington counties, and for decades public health officials have struggled, with limited success, to expand health care access to minorities and the poor.
Once insurance reform kicks in, local health officials say, Pierce County could begin to see significant changes in disease and mortality statistics.
“If they can get insurance and work with medical providers, we should see overall health improvement and a decrease in the death rate,” said Dr. Anthony L-T Chen, director of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. “More people will know their health status and be able to take appropriate action to improve their health.”
According to the Health Department, about 15 percent of Pierce County adults – about 89,000 people – currently are without health insurance. Statewide, estimates of the uninsured range from 10 percent to 12 percent.
Pierce County numbers are much higher for certain racial groups. According to the Health Department, 25 percent of blacks in the county and 37 percent of Hispanics were uninsured in 2008. For whites, the rate of uninsured is just under 11 percent.
Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/03/28/1126330/county-health-will-shift.html#ixzz0jUEznvFb
From: Northwest BahaiLibrary"....That materialistic ideals have, in the light of experience, failed to satisfy the needs of mankind calls for an honest acknowledgment that a fresh effort must now be made to find the solutions to the agonizing problems of the planet. The intolerable conditions pervading society bespeak a common failure of all, a circumstance which tends to incite rather than relieve the entrenchment on every side. Clearly, a common remedial effort is urgently required. It is primarily a matter of attitude.Will humanity continue in its waywardness, holding to outworn concepts and unworkable assumptions? Or will its leaders, regardless of ideology, step forth and, with a resolute will, consult together in a united search for appropriate solutions?" The Universal House of Justice
The Promise of World Peace, 1985
____Carrie Underwood's hit song, "Temporary Home", hits the mark.
LyricsLittle boy, 6 years old
A little too used to being alone
Another new mom and dad
Another school
Another house that'll never be homeAnd when people ask him how he likes this place
He looks up and says with a smile upon his faceThis is my temporary home
Its not where i belong
Windows and rooms that i'm passing through
This is just a stop on the way to where i'm going
I'm not afraid because i know
This is my temporary homeYoung mom on her own
She needs a little help got no where to go
Shes looking for a job looking for a way out
Cause a halfway house will never be a homeAt night she whispers to her baby girl
Someday we'l find our place in this worldThis is our temporary home
Its not where we belong
Windows and rooms that we're passing through
This is just a stop on the way to where we're going
I'm not afraid because i know
This is our temporary homeOld man, hospital bed
The room is filled with people he loves
And he whispers don't cry for me
I'll see you all somedayHe looks up and says
I can see gods faceThis is my temporary home
Its not where i belong
Windows and rooms the i'm passing through
This is just a stop on the way to where i'm going
I'm not afraid because i know
This was my temporary homeThis is our temporary home
From: george wesley dannells
Date: Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 7:52 AM
Subject: Re: Your site...
To: AlexanderHi Alex,I should probably have let my http://bahaiviews.net readers know long ago that they need to change their feed to http://bahaiviews.posterous.com/rss.xml and http://bahaimusic.posterous.com/rss.xml. I have been autoposting my Baha'i Views content using two Posterous blogs since last fall to http://bahaiviews.net and http://bahaiviews.blogspot.com. Please also note that I spun off music-related content to its own separate blog on Posterous, but all content, music-related or not, continues to appear on the old (Word Press) and older (Blogger) blogs.
For some months Baha'i Views content was not appearing on the wonderful Baha'i Explorer aggregator for the same reason cited above, but is appearing again now.All the best to you, Alex. I deeply appreciate your including me in your emails of items you find of interest on the Internet.GeorgeOn Sat, Mar 27, 2010 at 10:22 AM, Alexander M Zoltai wrote:
For quite awhile now I've had a problem getting to your site from Google Reader--clicking on a post title in Reader opens the origin site but with yours all I get is a blank page.........;-(~Alex
Paulo Ribeiro de Lemos (videos). We have been watching news reporting gangs fights between Africans and Gypsies in Portugal. To solve this social calamity the use of force and discipline has been unsuccessfully applied by authorities. Hundreds millions of euros are annually granted by the government to... be used in public policies to re-establish the social order in several challenging neighborhoods. Without support of any kind, except Love and the word of GOD, amazingly beautiful African and Gypsy children, of various age, have been gathering together to learn and consult about thewritings of Bahá'u'lláh. Their happiness and joy stamped on their gorgeous smiles and expressed by their incredibly loud laughs have been responsible for unite their families and for make them understand that we all have to harmoniously participate in the process of building our common and shared destiny. To you Maryam Sanai and to the entire Baha'i Community of Portimão (Portugal) many thanks for making it possible! I'm so grateful to you all for allowed me to be a witness of this unifying movement during the celebration of Naw Ruz. I will never forget this moment ... Happy Naw Ruz to all my baha'i fellows all around the world. I invite you all to watch the following video...
Even if YOU don't know what faith you are, Belief-O-MaticTM knows. Answer 20 questions about your concept of God, the afterlife, human nature, and more, and Belief-O-Matic™ will tell you what religion (if any) you practice...or ought to consider practicing.
quiz? -gwhttp://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Quizzes/BeliefOMatic.aspx
You should try the "beliefomatic" site. Your conception of God is one of an educator, which is compatible with Baha'i belief. To Baha'is, God is an unknowable essence of love which reveals his loving education to us through successive Divine messangers who reveal never ending chapters of the same revelation. God does care and provide for us, but doesnt need us. We are in need of His guidance. Heaven and hell are educative concepts. Being "good" or "bad" and "heaven" and "hell" are concepts for kindergarten children who need the teacher's encouragement. When we grow, we are no longer concerned with how people might judge us, but with the success we have in our enterprises. Hell is straying away from the path of a useful, as determined by God's messangers and wasting our precious moments in this short earthly life, and heaven is a life accomplished in the service of humanity, i.e. God's creation, the purpose of our lives being the advancement of civilisation. We then move on to other spiritual realms and the virtues we have acquired in this world will be of use to us in the next world, just as the organs we developed n the womb are useful to us now.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100325234930AArF7RU
Religion is something totally beyond a stream of consciousness or fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants "Han Solo" approach. We are talking about your eternal, everlasting relationship with the Almighty here AND, hopefully, building of a community that can sustain you through not just your adolescent or young adult inquiries into existence but also through births, deaths, marriage, support during those later times in your life when you won't be so sure of what it is you know for sure right now, all of it. In that regard the Baha'i Faith is light years beyond my experience with other Faith communities - I do not name them here because unlike many on the internet who cannot behave themselves, I am not interested in criticising or negativity towards anything, I am only interested in promoting what I think is by far the best thing ever.
| Baha'i World Faith--Selected Writings of Baha'u'llah and `Abdu'l-Baha, Pages 350-351: gr4 |
| Rejoice, then, O ye beloved of the Lord and His chosen ones, and ye the children of God and His people, raise your voice and laud and magnify the Lord, the Most High; for His light hath beamed forth, His signs have appeared, and the billows of His rising ocean have scattered on every shore many a precious pearl. ... |
A couple of weeks ago I was privileged to attend a party in celebration of the Baha’i ‘intercalary days’. These are the ‘leftover’ days at the end of the Baha’i calendar and are celebrated much the same as we celebrate the New Year, but with ... no alcohol… The celebration was a real family event, and all the kids had a ball playing in the pool while the adults sat around eating all the wonderful food which was provided by the hosts and some of the guests; chatting and generally enjoying each others company and a pleasantly warm afternoon. These are genuinely very friendly people and I had some very pleasant conversations with people I’d never even met before. ... All in all, a good time was had by all and I must say that Baha’i parties are undoubtedly the most peaceful ones I’ve ever attended!
Check out my Rio De Janeiro Carnival slideshow, complete with samba music:
Thou, truly, art the King of all men. There is no God but Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous.
pedraum A late Naw-Ruz gift for my music-loving friends: well-shot concert video of Thom Yorke playing solo. http://bit.ly/biN3RB #fb 5 minutes ago reply
ashiyan Wonderful Naw Ruz party for Berkshire just finished. Work tomorrow and study circle in the evening in my new neighborhood in Reading. 6 hours ago reply 
fiveplusfour My first photo of the new year was (Naw Ruz) was of a fig tree and my first meal of the year was at Fig Restaurant at the Fairmony in SM. 
robinmelin Busy family day with pancake breakfast, tennis, swimming,a bowling birthday bash and Naw-Ruz celebration in Lund. 9 hours ago reply 
haikudiaries As the sun rises, a new year greets us with a smile. Happy Naw-Ruz! #haiku 9 hours ago reply 
indigginus HAPPY NAW RUZ (new year) TO ALL!!! http://www.bahai.us/with... #nawruz 10 hours ago reply 
spitkitten Happy Naw-Ruz everybody (the Baha'i new year)! http://bahai-library.com... 11 hours ago reply 
mad_alchemist Happy Naw-Rúz! Tadiq, Persian dancing, and good time was had by all. 12 hours ago reply 
Libbyjoon Happy Naw Ruz! Let's start this year with energy and much more love than last one!!! 12 hours ago reply 
LauraHarley Very Happy Naw Ruz (Baha'i New Year) to all my Baha'i friends! Wishing you a year filled with joy, learning and growth! 
Taxicr Great Naw-Ruz party tonight! Saw a hall director and Parviz had my favorite comment for the night: If you don't eat, Caitlin... We mind! Lol 3 hours ago reply 
theninestarshop Happy New Year! Happy Naw Ruz ! Happy Vernal Equinox. Our kids had an exciting morning hunting for hidden chocolate "Naw Ruz Eggs" Peace All 6 hours ago reply 
CoachBahieh blessing of the day: celebrating the persian and bahai New Year (Naw Ruz) with my family. my heart is full, I am happy. #blessings 7 hours ago reply 
mizzphashion i just got $20 bucks from my grandma for persian new year! (naw ruz) yeah!!! 7 hours ago reply 
