(May 16, 2001):
Some days are better than others for me. I have been struggling lately, but that is good. All this suffering has been forcing me to turn to God for comfort. This mortal, transient world provides only superficial happiness, and it is usually followed by woe. The wise man does not attach himself to this world. But alas, we live in cultures permeated by materialism, and we find ourselves craving the things of the world, and forgetful of our God, who created us. He will supply us our needs, and we should rely upon Him. But we must learn to commune with Him, and work to build a world founded on eternal principles. This is the New World Order which we have been called to create, amidst the chaos and siren voices of this crumbling old world. What a daunting task for all of us! Many of us slip into illusion, become caught in the undertow of materialism, and forget who we truly are and what we have been called to do. It is so difficult to rise above the worldly attachments we have been conditioned into, and follow that inner guidance beyond the voices of the world. Baha'u'llah has revealed His Word and His guidance. But we must filter through the worldly desires and promptings, and focus on the spiritual worlds, and let the healing power of the Holy Spirit into our minds, hearts and lives, and begin to truly transform ourselves. Let's hope we can support one another in this monumental and oh-so-urgent task.
"Whenever you see tremendous personal problems in your private lives...according to our teachings one of their wisdoms is to teach us the impermanence of this world and the permanence of the spiritual bonds that we establish with God, His Prophet, and those who are alive in the faith of God."
"O thou servant of God! Do not grieve at the afflictions and calamities that have befallen thee. All calamities and afflictions have been created for man so that he may spurn this mortal world--a world to which he is much attached. When he experienceth severe trials and hardships, then his nature will recoil and he will desire the eternal realm--a realm which is sanctified from all afflictions and calamities. Such is the case with the man who is wise. He shall never drink from a cup which is at the end distasteful, but, on the contrary, he will seek the cup of pure and limpid water. He will not taste of the honey that is mixed with poison."
In Baha'i love,
Bob
(May 24, 2001):
It's all about catching the spark and spreading the fire. We need to be attracted to God, develop a spiritual awareness, sustain and maintain that awareness, and then apply it to our material tasks in creating the New World Order. We need to be continually fed by the Spirit of Baha'u'llah, through prayer and reading the Writings. We need to create a momentum, and begin to influence others, and draw them in with love and knowledge, to the realm of transcendent reality, and create patterns of thought, behavior, relationships, work and progress based on this higher awareness, knowledge, and love. Of course, since this Reality is ever-present, and always accessible, it should be easy! But no, it is not, because the gravity of our worldly conditioning and ego impulses are constantly pulling us away from our real work. And we are working in a society created in the style of the old world order. In this society, we really need to stay aware of how we are being influenced by the materialism around us. (Read Peter Khan's talk on mental tests: http://www.bahai-library.org/talks/nature.of.tests.html.)
And we need to quickly build support systems to help us stay above water (the sea of materialism), so we can maintain and sustain the spiritual awareness of God's love, comfort, hope, wisdom, and strength. We need to learn and teach the process of change and growth. Many people are working only on the surface level, but that will not inspire entry by troops. We must be brave and truly consecrate our lives to this Revelation, and surrender ourselves, and throw ourselves into the fire of His Love. Yes, we need to access that love, and I know that is a struggle for all of us today. It will come--God will help us.
From Ridvan message 2001: "May He Who keeps watch over the destiny of His divine System guide and direct and confirm every effort you make towards the realization of the urgent tasks set before you."
(May 25, 2001):
Yes, we are influenced by the world from every direction. I have been calling on God to help me, to keep me above water. It is very lonely, even amongst Baha'is. If we could only really create a powerful force for good, that was different, that was rooted in the Spirit, and in authenticity, and honesty. We would have to be honest with ourselves, and with each other. This society teaches you to put on an act, to play a role, to deny your true feelings, to be superficial, or to follow the desires of the lower self, in order to fit into the old world order. Yet as Baha'is, we are supposed to be different. Yet, many of us don't know what to do, how to be, since all we know is what we have acquired from the world. We do need a revolutionary consciousness, as drastic as that sounds. But that is what the Word of God implies. We must re-create society. Shoghi Effendi says this in Messages to America. So we must innovate and pioneer new roles for ourselves and for the people. We have all the arts and sciences at our disposal, and all the creative energy and power of Baha'u'llah's Spirit! We have only to call upon our Lord, with fervency and urgency, and he will come to our aid!!
(May 25, 2001):
"...If a small number of people gather lovingly together, with absolute purity and sanctity, with their hearts free of the world, experiencing the emotions of the Kingdom and the powerful magnetic forces of the Divine, and being at one in their happy fellowship, that gathering will exert its influence over all the earth. The nature of that band of people, the words they speak, the deeds they do, will unleash the bestowals of Heaven, and provide a foretaste of eternal bliss. The hosts of the Company on high will defend them, and theangels of the Abha Paradise, in continuous succession, will come down to their aid."
--Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha, p 81.
This is the ideal. The perfume of this sentiment is powerful enough to cleanse us, if we let it. Let us not be afraid, though, to be honest with ourselves if we cannot live up to this ideal. Let us be authentic. This verse is sent to us by a Divine Will, Who understands that we are imperfect and weak. He wants us to acknowledge that we indeed are weak, but that He is strong, and if we surrender our lives to Him, He will make us strong, and we can accomplish His goals, through His spirit and power. But let us come out from our pride and worldly striving, and enter into the calm of His Grace, Wisdom and commanding Authority, and we can feel the fire of His warmth, and all the tools to transform this world are here awaiting us! This is the transformation--the surrendering of our will into His.
"Every single letter proceeding from Our mouth is endowed with such regenerative power as to enable it to bring into existence a new creation--a creation the magnitude of which is inscrutable to all save God. He verily hath knowledge of all things."
If we could only tap into that regenerative power! I hope these verses can inspire us to transcend our worldly impediments and follow the sweet Voice of the Creator, who is lovingly and firmly beckoning us to follow His mighty plan, and enter into a heavenly realm, while we walk with practical feet. It means keeping aware of this eternal, spiritual world, while being here on earth and implementing and building the machinery of an organized society--but while we have this old world around us--albeit, a crumbling old world! So the processes of integration and disintegration happen simultaneously.
"The divine spirit which finds expression in man is manifested to a limited degree in all creation. Indeed, according to Baha'u'llah, the entire physical world is a reflection of the spiritual one. This physical world is the place where human beings acquire knowledge of God and, through their relationship with Him, learn about their spiritual reality."
--Baha'u'llah's Teachings on Spiritual Reality, p 61-62
The two worlds are coherent--the spiritual is infused in the physical. So we need not be split personality. We can be spiritual while in a human body in this world! But let us remember the spiritual aspect is the higher, eternal reality, even though the world tries to convince us otherwise. Just ask the people who have gone on to the afterlife! So the Power of God is here, at our disposal, at any time, no matter where we are or what we are doing.
"The friends must realize the Power of the Holy Spirit which is manifest and quickening them at this time through the appearance of Baha'u'llah. There is no force of heaven or earth which can affect them if they place themselves wholly under the influence of the Holy Spirit and under its guidance."
--Shoghi Effendi, from The Power of Divine Assistance
Please feel free to share. I am struggling, but I gain strength from sharing and connecting with you.
Bob
(June 12, 2001):
The world is disintegrating, but thank God He has given us hope through the message of Baha'u'llah! I have been reading the new book prepared under the supervision of the UHJ called Century of Light. It is extremely inspiring. I believe this summer there will be some serious changes in the thinking of Baha'is. I will be working on it in my part of the world. I am struggling to find people who understand, but I know God will bless my efforts. Here in the Triangle area, NC, we are a focus point for large-scale growth in the Baha'i community. We have some real progressive thinkers. All we have to do is infuse them with the Spirit, and that is not easy--but God will cause it to happen in His time. I must be patient, and keep praying and making efforts. We must have the 'will to act, and the faith to persist.'
From Century of Light: "One only has to read, even cursorily, accounts of the lives of the early Baha'is in the West to become aware of the high degree of individuality that characterized many of them, particularly the most active and creative." "Their response arose from a level of consciousness that recognized, even if sometimes only dimly, the desperate need of the human race for spiritual enlightenment. To remain steadfast in their commitment to this insight required of these early believers--on whose sacrifice of self much of the foundation of the present-day Baha'i communities both in the West and many other lands were laid--that they resist not only family and social pressures, but also the easy rationalizations of the world-view in which they had been raised and to which everything around them insistently exposed them."
From 'Abdu'l-Baha, quoted in Century of Light: "Such was our state when a letter came to us from the American friends. They had covenanted together, so they wrote, to remain at one in all things, and ... had pledged themselves to make sacrifices in the pathway of the love of God, thus to achieve eternal life. At the very moment when this letter was read, together with the signatures at its close, 'Abdu'l-Baha experienced a joy so vehement that no pen can describe it...."
Also by 'Abdu'l- Baha from Century of Light: "Ye must become the very soul of the world, the living spirit in the body of the children of men. In this wondrous Age, at this time when the Ancient Beauty, the Most Great Name, bearing unnumbered gifts, hath risen above the horizon of the world, the Word of God hath infused such awesome power into the inmost essence of humankind that He hath stripped men's human qualities of all effect, and hath, with His all-conquering might, unified the peoples in a vast sea of oneness."
May God bless all your efforts to bring healing and light into your lives and into the lives of others!
In Baha'i love,
Bob
(March 13, 2002):
I am trying to assemble a group here in the Triangle area of North Carolina which will be an example of an authentic, spiritual and unified group. But it is hard--very hard. The world and worldliness traps people so they don't know what their authentic self is. They have conformed to the standards and behaviors of the world without knowing it, since everybody else is doing the same conforming. And most Baha'is have been caught in a pretense, projecting an idealized self-image of what a good Baha'i should be, but inside they have not truly addressed their real needs. They have spent much of their lives creating a mask, or false self, and have felt forced to uphold this image, but they are not able to be unified or spiritual, since they are not authentic. There can be no intimacy this way, and intimacy with God is limited. We need to be real with each other and with God. This usually takes suffering to break down the defenses we have built up over the years. And we have conformed to what we thought was expected of us. But it is not working. It works for the old world order illusion--but we are trying to create a new world, based on Reality, so we will have to be different. We have to expose the deception. Yes, lovingly and gently--and sometimes I am impatient. There are non-Baha'i books out there that deal with these themes: The Different Drum (M. Scott Peck), The Four Agreements (Don Miguel Ruiz), Debbie Ford's books, and many others.
We need to create safe environments so we can let down our masks and learn to be our authentic selves. We will have to feel free to show our dark side to a certain extent, and we will have to attempt to transmute our characters and spiritualize ourselves from this place of authenticity, where we will see our defects and faults, and we will see the defects and faults of others. So we will have to be loving with ourselves and to others on a new level. All this fluffiness--this plastic Baha'i niceness must give way to genuine connection and loving the person through to their authentic self, which might not be so lovely and sweet, and may be scared, guilty, hurt, angry, bitter, lonely, unhappy, or full of shame. Of course this work will be done in small groups first, since most Baha'is will not be ready for this, until more suffering comes into their lives. Then they will be forced into it. We can only keep up the charade as long as our worldly attachment life is satisfying us. When tests come, the veils fall away, and we need to reach into a deeper part of ourselves, and we search for a renewed faith, a deeper connection with people and with God. But if our worldly life is fine, rarely do we search for deeper meaning. Believe me, the searching masses want authentic love and spirit, that cares deeply, and is humble and real and compassionate. They don't want the plastic niceness, with a table full of food, and fluffy formalities and materialism. They see through that.
We Baha'is must do the work of authenticating ourselves, and spiritualizing our lives from this place of authenticity. This will take work, and creating safe environments without the usual judgments and limiting viewpoints. We want to be a love, wisdom and spirit-based community, not a material and Baha'i image-based community. We want the real thing! Shoghi says the people want not an imitation, but Truth! So we will have to search hard to see these truths, and we will have to give up old ways of thinking and being. No more old world order thinking and being. It is time for the building of the new world order on the inner plane, as well as the outer! We need to revamp, to reorient our ways! Time to transform and heal! Because of my living situation, I don't spend much time on the internet, so I am not posting often. But I believe these themes are very pertinent for now, so I will try to post more, and please feel free to respond with your thoughts.
In Baha'i service,
Bob
(Sept. 16, 2002):
Hi All! I've been feeling more hopeful lately, because I know the forces of spiritual unity are irresistibly drawing us together. As the old world crumbles, and the disintegration of society advances ever closer, the concomitant forces of integration and unity are poured out for us. As we face the brink of a possible world-wide conflict, we know that healing spiritual powers will be poured out to those who call upon God in this time. It is a time to arise and unite and exploit the suffering of humanity to bring the redemptive message of Baha'u'llah to the confused masses. If there is suffering, then there needs to be healing. And it is time to arise and call upon Baha'u'llah and His love like never before, as we confront the tribulation of the times. For those who still suffer, know that God is ever-present, and He will work with us as we make sense out of the chaos. We must strive to become spiritual, and to detach from this world of conflict, illusion, and materialism. We need to join together and help one another, and learn and teach with humility and compassion. I pray that our conversations are elevated in consciousness, and we can learn to focus more on spiritual solutions, rather than worldly strivings. I pray that the sense of self, whether it is blame or acclaim, pride or abasement, is surrendered and dissolved within the love and glory or God, so that His strength becomes our hope. Then we trust in Him, and our soul is comforted!
Love,
Bob
(Jan. 11, 2003):
Hi all! As we struggle through this difficult in-between time, let us realize that all suffering has a wisdom and a lesson. We may not always understand it right away, though. But God is aware of our pains and struggles, He knows our every thought, and He is our wise Father. In the spiritual world, there is completeness, joy, and constancy. The Kingdom is the real world, and this world is only its shadow stretching out. Let's remember our connection to the Eternal life, the spirit world, where we are free and our hearts soar in the bliss of spiritual joy and knowledge. When I am sick or in pain, I allow myself to feel the pain, and in allowing myself to feel it, with no negative judgment, I also allow myself to freely receive and feel God's loving Grace--as I remember His Words and promises. Let's all pray that we can trust again and that we find safe places to allow ourselves to feel our pain all the way to the end, where we will find God's love and knowledge waiting to guide us and lift us up on His wings. This love--feeling it and knowing it, and trusting it, will be our healing. Authenticity, courage, trust, hope, love, wisdom. May all these beautiful qualities and more be yours in the coming days and weeks. My love to you all!
Bob
(Jan. 15, 2003):
Thanks for the currents of movement occurring here. I guess it is the ocean of desire in our hearts--desire for love, connectedness, unity. We want to break out of complacency, we want to see ourselves and others emerge from the cocoons of materialism, and begin to soar on the wings of authenticity, and even more, on the wings of the Spirit. It is hard for most of us to face ourselves--how this society has deceived us, and how we have chosen the standards of this society as a measure for our lives. Now we need to go through the painful process of transmutation. The old self must fall away, and the new, spiritual creature is born in its place. Many of us are in the midst of such a transformation, but we become stuck. We feel we need help and assistance on a greater level than we have heretofore received. We have few living examples of this new creature. It is uncharted territory. We are at an evolutionary precipice. There must be a critical mass of people who want this next step of growth. There are many authenticity movements out in the world. We can learn from them. But we need to fuse this knowledge and practice with the Baha'i Spirit. I am ready to discover, to work for it, to try, to put my talents and abilities on the table of sacrifice for the good of humanity and service to the Cause. Who else is willing to surrender their lives to serve the Cause and dedicate their gifts and talents to this service? Lord, lead us to those people whom you see fit that we work with, to advance your Cause and the process of entry by troops! Assist us, make us victorious by the power of your Holy Spirit!
Love,
Bob
(Jan. 16, 2003):
Ah, there is no escape from God's irresistible unifying power of Love! Of course we can prolong it with our own selfishness! But, ah, we are in a society based on ego and competition and materialism, and it is so hard to get free of the entanglements of this world, and to soar on the wings of holiness, especially if everyone around you is also caught in the same web! Help us, God, this is not funny! Get us out of this mess! We are sorry for our sins, sorry for turning away from you, sorry for living for our egos and worldly desires! We want You, only You--we want only what You desire for us! Please help us and bring us to Your loved ones, free us from the meshes of this world and our corrupt desires. We long to hold Your holy hand, and we long for the freedom of worshiping You without restraint. We long to be transported to the precincts of Your sacred domain, and we want that world to be our world, so that we can live here in our bodies, but be living by Your grace alone, through the power of Your Holy Spirit. Transform us into Your likeness, penetrate our hearts and souls, and transmute our darkness into light, so that we may shine for all to see! Bring us companions, oh Lord, so our journey here is not so lonely and desolate. Lighten our hearts and send a breeze of holiness into our lives, please, oh Lord. We long for Your presence to be with us all the day long. Help us Lord!
Bob
No comments:
Post a Comment