In Honor of N's Birthday

Sonnet on the Author’s Birthday
-Robert Burns

SING on, sweet thrush, upon the leafless bough,
Sing on, sweet bird, I listen to thy strain,
See aged Winter, ’mid his surly reign,
At thy blythe carol, clears his furrowed brow.

So in lone Poverty’s dominion drear,
Sits meek Content with light, unanxious heart;
Welcomes the rapid moments, bids them part,
Nor asks if they bring ought to hope or fear.

I thank thee, Author of this opening day!
Thou whose bright sun now gilds yon orient skies!
Riches denied, thy boon was purer joys—
What wealth could never give nor take away!

Yet come, thou child of poverty and care,
The mite high heav’n bestow’d, that mite with thee I’ll share.

Finding Peace

"When you find that the source of your happiness and joy is inside of you, you will also find peace."
- John-Roger

Thought for the Day

When doing some spring cleaning this evening, I came across this passage.

"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11:36)

Prayers for Baby Wa

"O Thou peerless Lord! Let this suckling babe be nursed from the breast of Thy loving-kindness, guard [her] within the cradle of Thy safety and protection and grant that [she] be reared in the arms of Thy tender affection."
‘Abdu’l-Bahá

"Thou art He, O my God, through Whose names the sick are healed and the ailing are restored...
I implore Thee, therefore, by Thy name through which Thou didst manifest Thy Godhead, and didst exalt Thy Cause above all creation, and by each of Thy most excellent titles and most august attributes, and by all the virtues wherewith Thy transcendent and most exalted Being is extolled, to send down this night from the clouds of Thy mercy the rains of Thy healing upon this suckling, whom Thou hast related unto Thine all-glorious Self in the kingdom of Thy creation. Clothe [her], then, O my God, by Thy grace, with the robe of well-being and health, and guard [her], O my Beloved, from every affliction and disorder, and from whatever is obnoxious unto Thee. Thy might, verily, is equal to all things. Thou, in truth, art the Most Powerful, the Self-Subsisting. Send down, moreover, upon [her], O my God, the good of this world and of the next, and the good of the former and latter generations. Thy might and Thy wisdom are, verily, equal unto this."
-Bahá'u'lláh

A New Meaning to Obedience

"Whatsoever the Creator commandeth His creatures to observe, the same must they diligently, and with the utmost joy and eagerness, arise and fulfill." -Bahá'u'lláh

As the period of the Bahá'í Fast nears a close, this quote struck me in a profound way. The idea of observing the prescribed fast with "utmost joy and eagerness" puts it in a whole new light for me. There's always tomorrow, and the years to come...
What would it take to do this with respect to the fast? Not complaining. Eagerly getting up in the morning to eat before dawn. Joyfully saying the fast prayers. Eagerly anticipating the coming of the fast (rather than fearing or dreading it). What else?

Prayer for Fasting

"O Divine Providence! As I am abstaining from bodily desires and not occupied with eating and drinking, even so purify and sanctify my heart from the love of anyone save Thyself, and shield and protect my soul from corrupt desires and satanic qualities so that my spirit may commune with the breaths of holiness, and fast from the mention of all else besides Thee."
-Abdu'l-Bahá

Thanks, L, for sending this newly translated fast prayer.

Reflections on Fasting

"...prayer and fasting is the cause of awakening and mindfulness and conducive to protection and preservation from tests."

- Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 368

Throughout this period of fasting, I have wondered what it means to fast spiritually. Fasting from one’s lower nature seems like the simplest (though still far from easy) definition of a spiritual fast. Despite not wanting to develop expectations about this experience, I may have had some preconception that a "spiritual fast" ought to involve spiritual epiphany, a sense of increased closeness to and trust in God, some mystical experience of transcendence... and for this reason I felt somewhat concerned that I was not fulfilling the spiritual aspect of the fast.

A friend sent me this quote by Abdu’l-Baha towards the beginning of the fast, but as I read it again today, it takes on new meaning for me. What if spiritual fast implies mindfulness and awakening?

Regarding Tests of the Body. Fasting has certainly awakened me to a deeper sense of the capacities of my body. Firstly, it has become abundantly clear that my body can manage on less food and water than I normally intake. Secondly, I am in awe of how flexible my body has been to adapting to a new daily rhythm--rising earlier, digesting larger quantities of food before sunrise and after sunset, and going 12 hours with no food or water. Of all of these things, and probably much more, my body is capable. What a blessing to know this--I pray that I can keep this awareness with me in the future when I am hungry and must wait a bit to fill my belly.

Regarding Mindfulness. Mindfulness has blossomed in several directions over these past weeks. I am far more in-tune with the rise and fall of the sun, with adapting my own behavior to nature's clock. It’s so lovely to watch the sunrise, and something I so seldom do otherwise. I am aware of the fact that I am eating in the morning when I am not hungry, which makes me reflect on how often I am not mindful of whether or not my body is hungry when I eat. I am mindful that I am more fatigued in the middle of the day and find it harder to focus, but it’s not a permanent state of being – my energy level tends to rise again towards the end of the work day. I am more mindful of not wasting food, and of the bounty of having enough to eat.

Regarding Awakening. This period has awakened in me periods of creativity, productivity and opportunity. The first week of the fast I was incredibly productive at work. New opportunities are opening at work. I am actually cooking myself well-balance meals again, whereas busy weeknights have oft kept me from cooking in recent months. I felt inspired to do a little bit of composing, of setting a prayer I love to music, and it has been years and years since I actually composed something – this has been a wonderful experience because it’s been the first time I’ve tried to compose something in partnership with someone. I have been reading and blogging more (further, I have been feeling detached from whether or not people comment on my posts).

In sum, perhaps spiritual fasting is not necessarily a mystical feeling of transcendence, but rather also comes in the heightened consciousness from learning to appreciate so many of the things in life we otherwise take for granted.

On Prayer

As I was looking up a quote this morning, I found this passage about prayer illuminating.

"The wisdom of prayer is this: That it causeth a connection between the servant and the True One, because in that state (i.e., prayer) man with all heart and soul turneth his face towards His Highness the Almighty, seeking His association and desiring His love and compassion. The greatest happiness for a lover is to converse with his beloved, and the greatest gift for a seeker is to become familiar with the object of his longing; that is why with every soul who is attracted to the Kingdom of God, his greatest hope is to find an opportunity to entreat and supplicate before his Beloved, appeal for His mercy and grace and be immersed in the ocean of His utterance, goodness and generosity." -Abdu'l-Baha

Sacrificing and Fasting, An Example

Throughout this, the first Bahá'í fast I have participated in, I have thought many a time about two dear friends in college, A&L. Through them I first learned about the Faith and its annual fast. At Lewis & Clark College, with its one main dining hall ("The Bon", which we pronounced like "bone") that had fairly limited hours, these friends would line up before it closed (before the sun went down), took a plate of food and some glasses of drink, sat down with their trays and patiently waited for the sun to set. I would sit before them and felt somewhat bad about eating in front of them, but they always encouraged us not to wait. They never complained. They never made us feel badly about eating. They waited patiently for their turn. Their actions made a strong impression on me. We really do teach through our actions. Throughout this fast I am doing my very best to emulate them, but I surely have a long way to go. Thank you, dear friends, for providing this model example.
.

On Sacrifice

In this month of sacrifice, I seek to understand the meaning of sacrifice and why we must sacrifice. Fortunately, answers are everywhere if one but looks.

Shoghi Effendi says the following about the meaning of self-sacrifice:
"Self-sacrifice means to subordinate this lower nature and its desires to the more godly and noble side of ourselves. Ultimately, in its highest sense, self-sacrifice means to give our will and our all to God to do with as He pleases. Then He purifies and glorifies our true self until it becomes a shining and wonderful reality."
I've also heard sacrifice described as giving up something lower for something higher. After my sister had her son (one year and one day ago) and decided to stay home with him, I recall how clearly I began to understand this deeper notion of "sacrifice" as being this notion of choosing something higher.

As to why we must sacrifice, here is some useful guidance from Abdu'l-Bahá:
"Until a being setteth his foot in the plane of sacrifice, he is bereft of every favor and grace; and this plane of sacrifice is the realm of dying to the self, that the radiance of the living God may then shine forth."

At Length There Dawns a Glorious Day

Hanneke Cassel's latest album, Calm the Raging Sea, introduced me to the following hymn, which beautifully and vividly paints a picture of a glorious day of unity. Does anyone know how to sing this?


At Length There Dawns a Glorious Day

At length there dawns the glorious day
By prophets long foretold,
At length the chorus clearer grows
That shepherds heard of old.
The day of dawning brotherhood
Breaks on our eager eyes,
And human hatreds flee before
The radiant eastern skies.

For what are sund'ring stains of blood,
Or ancient caste and creed?
One claim unites all men in God
To serve each human need.
Then here together, brother men,
We pledge the Lord anew
Our loyal love, our stalwart faith,
Our service strong and true.

One common faith unites us all,
We seek one common goal;
One tender comfort broods upon
The struggling human soul.
To this clear call of brotherhood
Our hearts responsive ring
We join the glorious new crusade
Of our great Lord and King.

The Importance of Action!

Rain Wilson quotes part of this in the talk cited in my last post. I looked up the reference, and feel blown away by how beautifully Abdu'l-Baha has written here about the importance of action. There are so many quotable lines in the passage below. Abdu'l-Baha says that to the extent that all of us strive to do service and to be followers of the Light we are all "Baha'is", which is exactly what I believe. It is not the label, but our actions that define us. Let us all strive today and each day that our actions may be beautiful prayers.

GOOD IDEAS MUST BE CARRIED INTO ACTION
November 8th
"All over the world one hears beautiful sayings extolled and noble precepts admired. All men say they love what is good, and hate everything that is evil! Sincerity is to be admired, whilst lying is despicable. Faith is a virtue, and treachery is a disgrace to humanity. It is a blessed thing to gladden the hearts of men, and wrong to be the cause of pain. To be kind and merciful is right, while to hate is sinful. Justice is a noble quality and injustice an iniquity. That it is one’s duty to be pitiful and harm no one, and to avoid jealousy and malice at all costs. Wisdom is the glory of man, not ignorance; light, not darkness! It is a good thing to turn one’s face toward God, and 80 foolishness to ignore Him. That it is our duty to guide man upward, and not to mislead him and be the cause of his downfall. There are many more examples like unto these.
But all these sayings are but words and we see very few of them carried into the world of action. On the contrary, we perceive that men are carried away by passion and selfishness, each man thinking only of what will benefit himself even if it means the ruin of his brother. They are all anxious to make their fortune and care little or nothing for the welfare of others. They are concerned about their own peace and comfort, while the condition of their fellows troubles them not at all.
Unhappily this is the road most men tread.
But Bahá’ís must not be thus; they must rise above this condition. Actions must be more to them than words. By their actions they must be merciful and not merely by their words. They must on all occasions confirm by their actions what they proclaim in words. Their deeds must prove their fidelity, and their actions must show forth Divine light.
Let your actions cry aloud to the world that you are indeed Bahá’ís, for it is actions that speak to the world and are the cause of the progress of humanity.
If we are true Bahá’ís speech is not needed. Our actions will help on the world, will spread civilization, will help the progress of science, and cause the arts to develop. Without action nothing in the material world can be accomplished, neither can words unaided advance a man in the spiritual Kingdom. It is not through lip-service only that the elect of God have attained to holiness, but by patient lives of active service they have brought light into the world.
Therefore strive that your actions day by day may be beautiful prayers. Turn towards God, and seek always to do that which is right and noble. Enrich the poor, raise the fallen, comfort the sorrowful, bring healing to the sick, reassure the fearful, rescue the oppressed, bring hope to the hopeless, shelter the destitute!
This is the work of a true Bahá’í, and this is what is expected of him. If we strive to do all this, then are we true Bahá’ís, but if we neglect it, we are not followers of the Light, and we have no right to the name.
God, who sees all hearts, knows how far our lives are the fulfilment of our words."
-Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks

Rainn Wilson on Oprah's Soul Series

Check out this interview of Rainn Wilson (Dwight from The Office) on Oprah's Soul Series radio program, talking about his conceptions of God and faith as a Bahá'í. You can watch the video or listen online.

Also check out the website Rainn started, soulpancake.com, which he talks about in the interview with Oprah. It's a place to explore life's big questions on the web and seeks to make discussions about spirituality "cool" again.

On the Path of Faith

Thanks to L for sending me this quote related to certitude. It provides some clear guidance about the importance of detachment for developing certitude and faith.

"…they that tread the path of faith, they that thirst for the wine of certitude, must cleanse themselves of all that is earthly - their ears from idle talk, their minds from vain imaginings, their hearts from worldly affections, their eyes from that which perisheth."
- Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 1

The Fast (a poem)

Thanks to my dear friend A, for sending me this poem.

The Fast

O My loving companions on the path
Think ye that the fast is a burden?
Even should you waste into nothingness,
This would be a joy beyond compare.
For those that enjoy this mystic meal,
The True Fast begins at sunset.
If it be that thy stomach groans
And thy tongue is a desert,
Eat and drink thoughts of thy Beloved
Whose sweet fresh water cleanses
And heavenly food strengthens.

And as thy body empties itself, so too
Empty the cup of the heart of self and passion.
And in thy growing weakness
Feel thy humility before God and thy fellows.
And as the dreary hours pass along,
Think of what store of patience
Ye may gather for the coming year.
And as thy body begins to lighten,
Let thy soul float like a kite
In the breezes of the spirit
Though still attached to the form
Which is fulfilling its daily duties.

And when you desire something,
Think of the One Desired,
Who has created all of what thou hast ever desired.
And as your hunger grows,

Think of those less fortunate souls
Who cannot replenish their flesh
During the sleeping of the sun.
And when you break bread,

Think of thy fellow Baha'is
all around the world
In unity with your
actions.

-- Stephen Newbegin ,
first published in the California Regional Newsletter,
June 1975

Material and Spiritual Fasting, Another Reflection

"Fasting is of two kinds - spiritual and material. The spiritual fasting comes first, and is the soul's refusal or denial of all kinds of evil actions and habits - this is the important fasting. The bodily fasting or abstinence from food, is a sign or witness to the inward fasting, and is of no value by itself. But when both kinds of fasting go together, then the effect upon the soul is as 'light upon light.'"
- Compilations, Baha'i Prayers 9, p. 48

30 Things

A very sweet "This I believe" reflection of a 6 year old featured on NPR. Check it out (be sure to listen to the audio too). Perhaps we should all make lists of what we believe. I'm going to try.

On Greed

As I was reading from Baha'u'llah's Teachings on Spiritual Reality this morning, I found the following explanation of greed to be particularly illuminating. It deepens one example of this idea that all in creation is naturally good.

"In creation there is no evil; all is good. Certain qualities and natures innate in some men and apparently blameworthy are not so in reality. For example, from the beginning of his life you can see in a nursing child the signs of greed, of anger and of temper. Then, it may be said, good and evil are innate in the reality of man, and this is contrary to the pure goodness of nature and creation. The answer to this is that greed, which is to ask for something more, is a praiseworthy quality provided that it is used suitably. So if a man is greedy to acquire science and knowledge, or to become compassionate, generous, and just, it is most praiseworthy. If he exercises his anger and wrath against the bloodthirsty tyrants who are like ferocious beasts, it is very praiseworthy; but if he does not use these qualities in a right way, they are blameworthy."
-Abdu'l-Baha, “Some Answered Questions”, pp. 212–15

More Fasting Reflections

After my pre-dawn breakfast, I read a most beautiful prayer by Bahá'u'lláh on fasting. A few lines, in particular, struck me.

"Thou has endowed every hour of these days with a special virtue, inscrutable to all except Thee, Whose knowledge embraceth all created things."
How incredible to think that there might be something particularly powerful about these days of fasting, that each hour has been endowed with a special virtue. I suspect all who are fasting want these days to be a special period of more intense spiritual growth. I certainly desire that for myself and feel humbled by the fact that I am not fully tapping into the potency of this period every hour. I have yet to learn what it would even mean to do so, and perhaps I will not gain that realization this year, but I hope that over a lifetime of fasting it may become clearer.

Having woken sleepy today, this line made me smile: "These are they who have been so inebriated with the wine of Thy manifold wisdom that they forsake their couches in their longing to celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy virtues, and flee from sleep in their eagerness to approach Thy presence and partake of Thy bounty."

Fasting Reflection of the Day

I had a most wonderful talk this morning with a very dear friend in Haifa, who was telling me a metaphor given, I think by Baha'u'llah, with respect to fasting: that it is like a dam. What are the qualities of a dam? A dam stores up water. In the same way, a period of spiritual fasting enables us to build up our spiritual capabilities so that we can draw from these the rest of the year.

First Day of Fasting

Thanks, L, for sending me this illuminating quotation on fasting.

"[Fasting] is essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, fundamentally spiritual in character. Fasting is symbolic, and a reminder of abstinence from selfish and carnal desires."
- From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, January 10, 1936

Today is the first day of the Bahá'í Fast, which lasts for 19 days, and today was the first day of my first Bahá'í fast. As I reflected on the physical fast being a reminder of the spiritual fast, how very challenging I found that to be today as I confronted fatigue, headache, irritability, thirst, hunger, and uncertainty... all these things made it far more challenging to go about the day being nice, patient, loving, understanding, generally virtuous, with all I encountered. I suppose that is the ultimate test of the fast? To purify oneself, spiritually, while experiencing the tests that can come along with sacrificing something lower for something higher.