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By Joyce Litoff 2012—The end of an old calendar When my husband and I first planned to take a Caribbean cruise to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, we didn’t realize that our vacation date and destination were going to get so much attention from the popular media. One of our ship’s ports of call was [...]
By Christina Wright You may often think to yourself, “That happens to other people’s kids, but not mine.” But bullying isn’t just something that happens to some kids you don’t know in some small corner pocket of where you live. Bullying is happening to 60 to 80 percent of our children all over the country [...]
By. Margaret Tash As both new and not-so-new Baha’is in our cluster prepare for the Fast, I feel moved to offer my personal reflections on this sacred time. Over the years, many of the friends – myself included – seem to place a disproportionate amount of emphasis on the physical aspects of the Fast. I [...]
While in Baghdad, Baha’u’llah wrote The Four Valleys (around 1857) and The Seven Valleys (around 1860). Both works were in response to questions posed to him by a Sufi leader and written in a poetic, mystical style. In The Four Valleys, Baha’u’llah describes the qualities and grades of four types of mystical wayfarers. The Seven Valleys follows the soul on [...]
Bill and Jean Harley have been married for 40 years. Here is some advice they have learned over the years in what to look for in a companion.
“It was a celebration of peace,” shares W. Imara Canady about the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial dedication held in Washington, DC on October 16, 2011. A lifelong friend of the King family, Canady was among the thousands of people in attendance, including President Barack Obama. “This gathering was a special moment in time where [...]
Stories of reconciliation, ideas for action at Race Amity Conference
Conference participant learns ways to interact in deeper ways with people from other cultures
Dalai Lama, Baha’is agree
As the Dalai Lama comes to Chicago this weekend for a visit, Robert Stockman, Director of The Wilmette Institute, shares in the Chicago Tribune blog, The Seeker, what the Baha’i perspective is on the relationship of religion to important issues of the day. “… a major issue to consider would be combating religious fanaticism worldwide.” [...]
Guest contributor Candace Hill shares her experiences interacting with friends on Facebook during the Baha’i Fasting period in the blog Krista Tippett on Being. “If you are a Baha’i on Facebook, then you have the bounty of an in-gathering of friends from around the world. Baha’is tend to love conferences, summer schools, study circles, and potlucks. It’s [...]
From March 2-20, Baha’is worldwide observe the annual 19-Day Fast by refraining from eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset.
Fifty years ago, after a two year court battle, the University of Georgia was integrated by two students, Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Hamilton “Hamp” Earl Holmes. It made national news and I might have seen it on TV but don’t remember. At age eight watching the news was a peripheral event. More likely I was reading [...]
Dr. King’s Dream and a Prisoner in Baghdad 150 Years Ago
In The Huffington Post, Homa Sabet Tavangar notes the parallels between the messages of Baha’u’llah, prophet Founder of the Baha’i Faith and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Though little known, the parallels between the message of that 19th Century Prophet who died as a prisoner in Palestine (today’s Israel), and the 20th Century’s Dr. King in [...]
Baha’i World Religion Day: A Celebration of Oneness
Rothwell Polk shares in this editorial in The Huffington Post how World Religion Day is like a family reunion. “…on World Religion Day, we affirm the beauty, love and peace of all the world religions. We affirm their divine origin and their essential oneness. We affirm our respect for and our solidarity with them, “religion should [...]
In Unity Is Our Security: Baha’i Wisdom For Violent Times
In the aftermath of the recent shootings of political figures in Pakistan and Arizona, Homa Sabet Tavangar writes in The Huffington Post about the need to embrace oneness and shares a quote from Baha’u’llah, the Founder of the Baha’i Faith, who stated, “The well-being of mankind, its peace and security are unattainable unless and until [...]
Embracing the December Holiday Season
‘Tis the season to be jolly…the streets are lit up, the sound of Jingle Bells and Frosty the Snowman can be heard from department stores and the smell of potato pancakes are wafting from the bakeries…the December holidays are upon us. For Baha’is, it is an opportunity to enjoy the feeling of goodwill, the yearning [...]
Editor’s note: We hope you have seen the video on the two neighborhood children’s classes in Fort Collins, Colorado, that youths attending a spiritual retreat arose to serve. Stories in The American Baha’i over the past couple of years also have spotlighted children’s classes and a junior youth group in Fort Collins. This essay puts those developments in the context of a process of capacity building, accompaniment and ongoing learning.
Once upon a time, there was neighborhood.
The Baha’i Faith has some lofty goals. To name just a few: developing a consciousness of world citizenship, the establishment of full equality between men and women, the elimination of all forms of prejudice and the development of an economy informed by spiritual principles. Many people might think of these ideas as utopian, and rightly [...]
The heartbreaking tragedy that has befallen the nation of Haiti has stirred the world with compassion and prompted an outpouring of support.
As Christmas season went into full swing this year, Glen Fullmer’s 7-year-old son came home from school with an assignment: Make a poster illustrating his family holiday traditions.
I never dreamed, when I first encountered the Baha’i Faith as a young adult, that one day I would write a book about its Founder, Baha’u'llah, whose birthday Baha’is around the world celebrate November 12.
Last night, Rainn Wilson, "a mostly comic character actor from a beloved TV sitcom" and active member of the Baha’i Faith, was interviewed on ABC’s Nightline television news program about the Baha’i Faith and his website, "Soul Pancake."
Take a closer look into the Baha’i Faith through the eyes of a youth, Ms. Nava Ghalili, a life-long Baha’i, who was interviewed for the documentary series, "One-on-one: An Interfaith Dialogue."
In the University of Washington’s The Daily, Wade Caves, a Baha’i, explains why Baha’is vote in general elections, but keep their noses out of politics.
Something magical happens to many Baha’is when they turn 15. They become more responsible. Everything they’ve learned from growing up in the Faith kicks in, and, although they aren’t yet adults, they grow the mental equivalent of three inches.
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