Back in the ‘80s, James Bean was frustrated at how few religious voices there were on the radio.

“If the religion section in a bookstore looked like religion on the radio, there would have been only one book,” says Mr. Bean, producer and host of Spiritual Awakening Radio, which he launched in the late 1980s to put at least a second book on that imaginary shelf.


James Bean Spiritual Awakening Radio explores the world of spirituality, comparative religion, meditation, mysticism, and spiritual websites and books -- all lifelong interests of Mr. Bean’s.

For the last three weeks, he has been featuring Baha'is talking about their Faith. His first guest, William Johns, has a special interest in the mystical writings of Baha'u'llah. Druzelle Cederquist, author of The Story of Baha'u'llah, was his second guest and John Hatcher, author of The Purpose of Physical Reality, Close Connections and the soon-to-be-released Adam's Wish, was his guest for the final two programs.

The fourth and last in the Baha'i series is to be broadcast on Friday through HealthyLife.net, an online talk radio station, at 1 p.m. EST. (See the full broacast schedule for other air times.)  Past programs can be heard on the archive section through January 2009.

“I especially enjoyed listening to Baha'is talking about the mystical aspects of the Faith,” Mr. Bean says, referring to their mention of The Hidden Words and The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys, both by Baha'u'llah.

Mr. Bean, who operates out of Maine, says he has noticed a surge in spirituality in the last five years, particularly by people in their 20s and 30s.

“There are more spiritual seekers and openness to spiritual things than at any time in the last 50 years,” he says, “and that includes the ‘60s. People want more than material things.

“My listeners come from everywhere in the world -- well, everywhere except Antarctica,” Mr. Bean says, and you can bet he’s working on that one.