On Some Advice for a "Wayward" Relative: No one will ever come to the Father except through Me

 

I have a relative who says she just can’t find a Christian Church where she feels comfortable.

“I feel as though I don’t fit anywhere.”

It doesn’t occur to her that the search for truth does not begin with the assumption that one is already in possession of the truth.
It doesn’t occur to her that she will never fit in a Christian Church when what she believes to be true is diametrically opposed to what Jesus the Christ taught.

For example, Jesus taught:
I Am the Way,
I Am Truth,
Real Life and Real Living are found in no One but Me
No one will ever come to the Father except through Me.

This woman believes that any and all religions will lead to acceptance with God as long as one is sincere in h/her believes. If Jesus taught the former while she believes the latter, of course she is not going to find a “fit” in a Christian congregation.

Her solution? She’s going to take a class in Comparative Religions. Translation: “I’m going to pay someone to teach me what I already believe, i.e., no one religion has a corner on truth.” It would be far cheaper if she just joined a Baha’i congregation. She’ll eventually reach that point. Why put it off?

This blogger sees a community for his wayward relative to feel at home. -gw

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On Martin Luther King Day: Celebrated at the Dome and at home

 

I just know that Jamie is going to put all his pictures of the Martin Luther King Day celebration at the Tacoma Dome in a set for posting, but for now here is just one photo. Check out the incredibly sharp images! Must be the new camera and lens. Jamie was teaching me about "circles of confusion," photography talk regarding depth of field. I'd like to say, I'm less confused now about how to take a good photo. Suffice it to say, there are people who take photographs (and that's just about everybody today), and there are those who take photographs with a truly professional eye.

 

The Tacoma Baha'is celebrated another MLK Day with their traditional potluck at Deb and Tim's.

 

 

The high point was the singing. Robert and El Rico each sang a lullaby to a new baby Baha'i. Gwen had a Baha'i song from South Carolina. Yup, you could say the high points of the day were the high notes.

 

 

 

 

Alex passed on word about another entry by a Baha'i blogger on Huffington Post. -gw

 

Dr. King's Dream and a Prisoner in Baghdad 150 Years Ago

 

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On Race and Religion, 1941: On my mind this MLK Day in 2011

Spencer Williams, Jr. was the only black director who received frequent commissions from white moguls to make films during the race movie era. Williams was a big, boisterous actor-singer best known for playing Andy Brown in the early-50s TV series Amos 'n' Andy. In early-talkies Hollywood he had worked as an actor, a sound technician and a screenwriter on low-budget or indie films. In 1940 he was hired by Dallas exhibitor Al Sack to write and direct films, apparently with a minimum of front-office interference. He made nine or ten of them: oddball melodramas (Girl in Room 20), low-octane jive musicals (Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A., Juke Joint) and a trio of religious epics: The Blood of Jesus, Go Down, Death and Of One Blood.

 

... 1941's The Blood of Jesus, has a naive grandeur to match its subject. A morality play about an angel and a devil fighting for a woman's soul, it begins with a baptism and ends in bloody death near a cross — all scored to rousing gospel music. Told in a spare style with no hokum, the movie has the feeling of an honest, unmediated religious experience. For decades, this and other Williams films were thought lost, but in the mid-80s prints were discovered in a Tyler, Texas warehouse. And so 50 years after its making, Jesus was selected for inclusion in the Library of Congress' National Registry of Films.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1709148_1709143_1709645,00.html #ixzz1BM9V2py4

 

Rocky gifted me with a video of this important American film which we viewed before devotions last Thursday. Here are a few images taken while it was bein shown on our TV, complete with commentary by the "audience," to convey it's flavor. -gw

 

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On With a Little Help From Our Friends: It takes a draught of divine love to unify a neighborhood and a village to raise a child

Corinne is a radiant soul who participated on a Baha'i teaching team visiting the homes of Lakewood residents on Saturday, then joining the prayer team on Sunday. We are so grateful for her service.

 

 

Before being whisked off to a visit to Tacoma's Glass Museum with "Auntie" Martha and "Uncle" Norm, while the rest of us girded up our loins for Day Two of our intensive on Sunday, Liam occupied himself by practicing his eye-hand coordination at his mother Lisa's feet. -gw

 

 

More photos from Day Two of Lakewood's IPG are here. gw

 

When any souls grow to be true believers, they will attain a spiritual relationship with one another, and show forth a tenderness which is not of this world. They will, all of them, become elated from a draught of divine love, and that union of theirs, that connection, will also abide forever. Souls, that is, who will consign their own selves to oblivion, strip from themselves the defects of humankind, and unchain themselves from human bondage, will beyond any doubt be illumined with the heavenly splendours of oneness, and will all attain unto real union in the world that dieth not.

 

'Abdu'l-Baha

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On Celebrating World Religion Day: Visiting friends of Washat, Shaker, and Medicine Dance to share our respect with them

Found on Facebook ...

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Found on the 'net... -gw

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On Hiking Illahee in Winter: It's winter

 

In case you are wondering, it's winter in the Northern Hemisphere. But still good hiking in the Ilahee Preserve. -gw

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On Aethists Ain't Got No Music: 1,177,024 YouTube viewers (so far) are onto something

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On the First Pressing: Pictures from Lakewood's IPG

The "first pressing" from our 22nd intensive Baha'i expansion campaign, in pictures. -gw

 

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On How To Make Money At Music: Now touring is the cornerstone

 

What music are you listening to there days? How many of the musicians producing the music are Baha'i? Are those musicians still producing music for sale? Do you ever wonder in the case of an artist, will there ever be another album to enjoy?  

 

If the musician is a Baha'i, there is an immediate advantage. The Baha'i community.

 

http://www.facebook.com/katkeymusic

 

Last week I listened to Steve Shere on KUOW FM, the Seattle NPR affiliate, in a discussion about "How To Make Money At Music" The programis up on the KUOW website and available as a podcast. -gw

 

Industry analysts and executives have bemoaned the imminent death of the music industry ever since the birth of the Internet. In reality it's only the record business that's in peril. Album sales once built musical empires. Now touring is the cornerstone of an artist's financial success. Bands who make the road their home are not just insulated from the drop in record sales — they can be profitable! How can you succeed in the modern music industry? Tune in to find out.

 

http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=22300

 

 

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On the Baha'i Intensive Campaign Starting Today: What are our goals?

These are our goals. -gw

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On Old and New: There's room for both in Baha'i community life

As we were leaving our Book 8 session last time Mrs. J was saying how she wants to keep her Wednesday night fireside, held since 1967, going after she dies and somebody was saying how the LSA is looking into that and I was thinking how nobody, not if there were a million applicants could ever fill this woman's shoes in our lifetime and I was thinking what somebody should do, somebody with a camcorder that is, is to record what she has to say and put her on YouTube so that her beloved fireside could continue on forever in Cyberspace and then maybe somebody will run across the Baha'i Faith through her unique testimony the same way I ran across Odetta who showed me what a blues singer can do with House of the Rising Sun. In my dreams ...

 

http://badiblog.blogspot.com/

 

John has a story to tell here. Book 8, Baha'i firesides, YouTube, Odetta. Old and new.

 

The term "Baha'i fireside" is not new, has been in use for decades.

 

Letter on behalf of Shoghi Effendi

 

http://www.bahaiviews.net/?s=fireside

 

A reference to attending a Book 8, the latest workbook in the Ruhi Institute series, now that's new.

 

 

Old and new, there's room for both. -gw

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On Feed Tacoma: Hungry for photos

Look what's showing up on Feed Tacoma, photos of our very own Stadium District Baha'i devotional. -gw

 

http://feedtacoma.com/photos.php

http://feedtacoma.com/home.php

 

FeedTacoma.com is a free community focused and supported resource for those that live in and/or love Tacoma.

This website combines the thoughtful commentary and insight of a handful of Tacomans who want to spread the good word about this great town. Life here can be rich and fulfilling so we encourage living it through group meet-ups and info about things to see, eat, and do in Tacoma.

What's with the name?
Currently, the site's content is based on snippets or "feeds" from contributing websites. These feeds are pulling Tacoma-related stuff only and, while we were messing around testing, was a working title that stuck. It also represents the action of "feeding" folks info about this area and why it's a vibrant and comfortable place to live, work, and play.

http://feedtacoma.com/about.php

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On Yoga and Baha'i: My relationship with the Faith helps me to understand how I can practice bringing spiritual truths to our global society

Samudra Yoga’s Manifesto

We believe yoga is for everyone. Every size, every age, every mood, every degree of flexibility.

We believe in a practice that does not stop at the physical level, but one that reaches deep to affect your spirit, your soul.

We believe in Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, TKV Desikachar and feel grateful for all the other teachers that have shared their yoga with us.

We believe in carbohydrates.

We believe in living Green. Our paints are lead/VOC free, our insulation is made from recycled blue jeans, our yoga props are eco-friendly, we have used repurposed fixtures where possible, our coffee shop uses compostable cups, lids, straws and utensils---you get the idea.

We believe that you should put down your Blackberry and go pick some actual blackberries.

We believe that when given the chance to practice yoga while looking out over a park and saltwater inlet, while cookies bake below you, you should take that chance.

We believe in Bremerton.

We believe that when you try to bring peace into your body, you can find peace in your soul.

We believe in OM.

Lokah Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu. (May all beings in all worlds become happy and free.)

We can’t wait to meet you!

Above is the "manifesto":of a local Yoga studio in the town I work in. They got the spirit. Below is recent chatter on a yoga forum. -gw

 

 

I found this site by looking up yoga and Baha'i. I am a practicing Baha'i and also a yoga teacher, yoga therapist, yoga teacher trainer and director of Yoga Impact. The physical practices of yoga help me to access meditation, my meditation practice clears my head, my study of yoga philosophy is educational and my relationship with the Baha'i Faith helps me to understand how I can practice bringing spiritual truths to our global society.

 

http://www.yogaforums.com/forums/f33/since-we-re-already-talking-about-6941.html

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On Fit, Baha'i and Raw: Nice company

http://twitter.com/#!/rawvegandreams/status/25661672899223552

 

If she connects with those people, she'll be in nice company. -gw

 

http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/o/BNE/bne-83-printable.html

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On Cornelia Did Not Sing Last Night at Baha'i Devotions: But she could have

 

Cornelia did not sing last night at the Baha'i devotional in her home, but she could have.

 

What a great turn-out there was for this monthly gathering put on by Stadium District neighbors Kim and Cornelia in only its second incarnation! -gw

 

 

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On Excused From Baha'i Childen's Class: If you don't like the virtue

When inviting parents to bring their children to neighborhood children's classes, we show them Ruhi Book 3 and list the virtues covered, such as truthfulness, obedience, and justice. We then tell the parents that their children will be excused from classes any week that we cover a virtue that the parents do not want their children to learn. No parent has objected to a virtue yet.

 

New Facebook friend John L had this story to tell. It deserves retelling. 

 

My favorite Baha'i children's class memories are wrapped up in this photo set. -gw

 

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On Inspired By Baha'i Yuut: The puzzled look on his face was part of his realizing that he's starting to make his own decisions

...this is the most ideal junior youth group I've started. For the first time I'm beginning with actual 11 year olds, as opposed to a mix of ages (my first group) or starting with mostly the same age but starting in either 7th grade (second group) or 8th grade (third group). That means for the first time, I could potentially study through all of the available curriculum with them, and it means I can start at an early age where they are still forming habits and attitudes.

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As with any group, there are always little moments that make it all worth it. Out of the five, two of them are from Baha'i families, and one of those announced that he had read the section of the first book before coming, even though we didn't start the book on the first night. One of the boys not from a Baha'i family asked, "What if I don't want to come?" and I said, "Then you don't have to come?" The puzzled look on his face was part of his realizing that he's starting to make his own decisions, and if he attends then he'll have to own it.

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http://bahaicoherence.blogspot.com/2011/01/first-day.html
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The second most viewed photo (out of 21,981) on my flickr site is entitled "Baha'i yuut." I was being cute with my spelling of "youth" when I put the up. It pictures some junior youth (at the time) in our cluster.
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Our cluster is really gearing up it's effort to form Junior Youth Groups. I'm inspired by the description of the JYG animator's efforts, as described above, and by Devon Gundry's video below. -gw
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On a Work in Progress: Baha'i Cluster Reflection Meeting photos, here and there (Deutschland)

 

Above is the complete photo set from our recent Baha'i Cluster Reflection Meeting. Below is a video about a recent CRM from a cluster in Germany. Different side of the world, same process. -gw

 

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On Huffington Post Covers Baha'i in Violent Times: In unity is security

From: Alexander M Zoltai

Date: Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 9:41 AM

The Huffington Post is a major online publication -- Major...

Great article with Baha'i in the title ( better for the search engines :-)

In Unity Is Our Security: Baha'i Wisdom For Violent Times

Alexander M Zoltai
Author of Notes from An Alien
Read It Online, Now !
Or, Get A Free Copy..

 

Thanks, Alex, for bringing my attention to this. -gw

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/homa-sabet-tavangar/centering-our-thoughts-an_b_807002.html

 

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On Frank and Open Consultation at the Reflection Meeting: It's so much better when everyone is in

Feeling left out is distressing. The assembled Baha'is at the Cluster Reflection Meeting were grateful for the friend who voiced feeling cut off from communications about the Intensive Programs of Growth in the cluster. By having the courage to share what has been her experience, the entire group was able to address the issue of communication and inclusion, and discuss what changes are necessary for more people to feel a part of what is happening in our Custer. Every willing soul has a place in the Institute Process.

The subject of inclusion always brings up for me a song by Incubus called "Are You In?" which I've posted about before on Baha'i Views. Here are the lyrics again.

It's so much better
When everyone is in are you in
It's so much better
When everyone is in are you in
Ooooh..............Are you in?
It's so much better
When everyone is in are you in
It's so much easier
When seafoam green is in fashion
Ooooh..............Are you in?
Are you...are you...........
Everybody in...........

Play song from MySpace Music

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