It’s OK to Feel Anxiety and Grief
To rise above the disappointments, obstacles, and pain which we experience in serving the Cause is difficult enough, but to be called on, in doing so, to be happy and confident is perhaps the keenest spiritual test any of us can meet. The lives of the Founders of our...
read moreSpiritual Gravity
Just as the earth attracts everything to the centre of gravity, and every object thrown upward into space will come down, so also material ideas and worldly thoughts attract man to the centre of self. Anger, passion, ignorance, prejudice, greed, envy, covetousness,...
read moreContact with Godly People
O My Son! The company of the ungodly increaseth sorrow, whilst fellowship with the righteous cleanseth the rust from off the heart. (Bahá'u'lláh, Hidden Words, Persian 56) O Son Of Dust! Beware! Walk not with the ungodly and seek not fellowship with him, for such...
read moreWhy We Let Go of Our Tales and Stories
It is high time for you to throw away these tales, these barren stories. God is not pleased with them, humanity is not pleased with them, Your time is too costly to be expended on these trifling events. You are made in the image and likeness of God. Your birthright is...
read moreGiving Thanks from the Heart
But real thankfulness is a cordial giving of thanks from the heart. When man in response to the favors of God manifests susceptibilities of conscience, the heart is happy, the spirit is exhilarated. These spiritual susceptibilities are ideal thanksgiving. ...
read moreMoving with the Rhythm of Life
We ought not to resist the shocks and upheavals of life, nor run counter to obstacles, we ought never to be impatient, we ought to be as incapable of impatience as we would revolt, this not being so much long‑suffering as a quiet awareness of the forces that operate...
read moreHow to Transform from a Gnat into an Eagle
Be constantly attached to and seek always the confirmations of Bahá'u'lláh for these turn the drop into a sea and convert the gnat into an eagle. ('Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 103) I wasn’t sure how much I could say about this quote,...
read moreMolding the World and Being Affected By It
We cannot segregate the human heart from the environment outside us and say that once one of these is reformed everything will be improved. Man is organic with the world. His inner life molds the environment and is itself also deeply affected by it . . . Through...
read moreHow to Make Everyone Your Friend
Do not allow difference of opinion, or diversity of thought to separate you from your fellow men, or to be the cause of dispute, hatred and strife in your hearts. Rather, search diligently for the truth and make all men your friends. ('Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks, pp....
read moreBury Your Fears
Let no excessive self-criticism or any feeling of inadequacy, inability or inexperience hinder you or cause you to be afraid. Bury your fears in the assurances of Bahá'u'lláh. (Universal House of Justice, Ridván Message, April 1995) This is not a Faith for the...
read moreWhen to Postpone a Discussion
When you notice that a stage has been reached when enmity and threats are about to occur, you should immediately postpone discussion of the subject, until wranglings, disputations, and loud talk vanish, and a propitious time is at hand. (‘Abdu'l-Bahá, Lights of...
read moreWhen to Leave a Marriage
There is a case recorded where 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote to a Western believer who had sought His advice. She was told that she should remain faithful and forbearing towards her husband but, should his cruelty become unendurable, she should leave him to himself and live...
read moreGod’s Forgiveness of Sinners
It is even possible for those who have died in sin and unbelief to be transformed, that is, to become the object of divine forgiveness. This is through the grace of God and not through His justice, for grace is to bestow without desert, and justice is to give that...
read more5 Ways to Overcome Setbacks
We note that when learning accelerates, the friends grow more capable of overcoming setbacks, whether small or large – diagnosing their root causes, exploring the underlying principles, bringing to bear relevant experience, identifying remedial steps and assessing...
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