Baha'i Thought Gets Social

The mission of Baha'i Thought is to promote the creation of a new civilization through the use of new media. In light of being honored with an Award of Excellence in Internet Communication recently, I decided it was time to take this blog to the next level. How? Through more effectively tapping into that taking-the-world-by-storm phenomenon of social networking. You'll now find Baha'i Thought doin' its thing on Facebook and Twitter. How cool is that?

"... The Powers released by Bahá'u'lláh match the needs of the times. We may therefore be utterly confident that the new throb of energy now vibrating throughout the Cause will empower it to meet the oncoming challenges of assisting, as maturity and resources allow, the development of the social and economic life of peoples, of collaborating with the forces leading towards the establishment of order in the world, of influencing the exploitation and constructive uses of modern technology, and in all these ways enhancing the prestige and progress of the Faith and uplifting the conditions of the generality of mankind." (From the Message of the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá'ís of the World, Ridvan 1983)

Fast Bloggin' Day 16

I ended the day feeling very good, even energized. One of the things I do is serve as a field instructor for one of the local graduate schools of social work. I was able to help the intern I supervise navigate a challenging issue around alleged theft by one of the clients where we work. I was working with her shoulder to shoulder, in the heat of the action which I where I enjoy being. These days I spend more time doing administrative work, but I'm a clinician at heart. I left work with a buzz for the first time in a long time.

There was something else that I noticed when I went to the store. I don't know if you've ever went shopping during that last hour before the sun sets but it's wild. When I'm at the store, I seem to have super-powers of smell. I swore that today I could actually smell olives through a glass jar. It's like I'm one of those comic characters. In this case I would be called Fast Man or something like that.

I'm prepping for a lecture that I'm doing on critical thinking tomorrow. I'm a little nervous but I think I'm well prepared. You never know what can happen in a classroom. Hopefully I won't totally screw up. I'm curious what affect the Fast will have. Anybody with stories about classroom teaching during the Fast, let me know.

I broke the Fast with some left over spaghetti that just didn't get the job done. Oh well, a little sweet potato pie hit the spot missed by the spaghetti. I also watched this movie "Armored". Not the best movie I ever saw, but it had Lawrence Fishburn in it so it couldn't be all bad.

I've been really thrown off by the time change and keep getting up too early which makes me pretty tired in the evenings. This has never happened before. Weird.

"Well is it with you, as you have followed the Law of God and arisen to observe the Fast during these blessed days, for this physical fast is a symbol of the spiritual fast. This Fast leadeth to the cleansing of the soul from all selfish desires, the acquisition of spiritual attributes, attraction to the breezes of the All-Merciful, and enkindlement with the fire of divine love."
(Compilations, The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting)

Fast Bloggin' Day 15

I'm in the home stretch of the Fast. I continue to receive lessons on a daily basis. The quote of the day was definitely this one:

"The wise are they that speak not unless they obtain a hearing, even as the cup-bearer, who proffereth not his cup till he findeth a seeker, and the lover who crieth not out from the depths of his heart until he gazeth upon the beauty of his beloved." (Baha'u'llah, The Persian Hidden Words)

I was sort of emotionally ambushed by someone today who essentially projected their own mental state onto me. There were a hundred and one things that I could have said, but I decided to observe silence because I did not sense I would get a "hearing". I've engaged in many fruitless conversations where I swiftly realized that the other person had no real interest in what I was saying to them. Silence is often misunderstood, especially in American culture, so it can be a test of faith to follow Baha'u'llah's admonitions faithfully.

"The essence of true safety is to observe silence, to look at the end of things and to renounce the world." (Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 156)


This is definitely something I need to ponder more.

Fast Bloggin' Day 14

Today was a bit of an odd Fasting day. I ended up taking a sick day (fasted anyway) and slept for most of the time, so don't have a lot of stories or anything like that. I started off with oatmeal and tea this morning. I've kind of rediscovered tea after not really drinking it for a while. My tea of choice is Perfect Peach. Here's a little something you might not know about me. I dislike eating peaches, but love anything peach flavored. Feel free to psychoanalyze that if you wish.

I had another day of fast-food, Fast-breaking. A few days ago I broke the Fast with the Colonel. Today I broke the Fast with the King, Burger King that is. It's kind of embarrassing because I feel like you should break the Fast with some kind of really special and reverent meal. Come to think of it, I've also broken the Fast with a pizza and with a couple of hot dogs during the last few days. Oh well, I've never read anywhere in the Baha'i Writings that says you can't break your Fast with a hamburger and fries so hopefully things will be O.K. Anyone who finds anti-KFC or BK references in the Baha'i Writings anywhere, let me know right away.