Racial Harmony

Now, more than ever, there’s a deep desire to experience humanity as one race, one soul, one body! People around the world want freedom from racial prejudice. They want to cast away the fallacious doctrine of white superiority, with all its misery, confusion and suffering. It is time to tear down barriers, free ourselves of this social cancer and recognize our oneness.

“The happiness of mankind lieth in the Unity and the Harmony of the Human Race”      

-‘Abdu’l-Baha

“All beings tremble before violence. All fear death, all love life. See yourself in others. Then whom can you hurt? What harm can you do?” 

-The Buddha

“The diversity in the human family should be the cause of love and harmony, as it is in music where many different notes blend together in the making of a perfect chord.  If you meet those of different race and colour from yourself, do not mistrust them and withdraw yourself into your shell of conventionality, but rather be glad and show them kindness.  Think of them as different coloured roses growing in the beautiful garden of humanity, and rejoice to be among them.      

–‘Abdu’l-Baha

“The tabernacle of unity has been raised; regard ye not one another as strangers.  Ye are the fruits of one tree and leaves of one branch.” 

-Baha’u’llah

“A white has no superiority over black nor a black any superiority over white -except by piety and good action.” 

–Prophet Mohammad

“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 

–the Bible

“Racism retards the potentiality of its victims, corrupts its perpetrators, and blights human progress. If this problem is to be overcome, the oneness of humanity must be universally upheld and protected by law and through social policies.”

-The Universal House of Justice

“For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.” 

–The Bhagavad Gita

Evolution of Spiritual Consciousness

As we face existential problems like climate change, Covid-19 and an ever-connected economy, we realize that our problems can only really be resolved at a planetary level.  But global cooperation can only be achieved if we override our instinct for a low-level tribal consciousness.  Even though each of us has moments of low consciousness, like when our ego gets in the way of treating others well, we also have moments of high consciousness, when we selflessly transcend our own personal concerns and extend ourselves in the service of others. Spirituality is what creates awareness around our choices.  It fosters the compassion we need in order to move beyond tribalism and self-centeredness.  So how do we move to higher levels of consciousness? How can we evolve spiritually?  What does 'Evolution of Spiritual Consciousness' look like? 

“Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. Deal ye one with another with the utmost love and harmony, with friendliness and fellowship.”

-Baha’u’llah

“The world doesn’t belong to leaders. The world belongs to all humanity.”

- Dalai Lama

“The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.”

-Baha’u’llah 

“It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn empathy and compassion and discover our soul.” 

- Desmond Tutu

“Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest.”

-Baha’u’llah

“Compassion is the radicalism of our time.”

- Dalai Lama

“Do not be content with showing friendship in words alone, let your heart burn with loving kindness for all who may cross your path.”

-Abdu’l-Baha

“All souls must become as one soul, and all hearts as one heart.”

-Abdu’l-Baha

“It is not about what you do. It is about how much love you put into what you do that counts.” 

- Mother Teresa 

“If you desire with all your heart, friendship with every race on earth, your thought, spiritual and positive, will spread; it will become the desire of others, growing stronger and stronger, until it reaches the minds of all men.”

-Abdu’l-Baha

“Love is the absence of judgment.”

- Dalai Lama

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”

- Mother Teresa

“Love cannot remain by itself – it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action, and that action is service.”

- Mother Teresa 

“So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth.”

-Baha’u’llah

The pathway of life is the road which leads to divine knowledge and attainment. Without training and guidance the soul could never progress beyond the conditions of its lower nature, which is ignorant and defective.

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

It is your duty to be exceedingly kind to every human being, and to wish him well; to work for the upliftment of society; to blow the breath of life into the dead; to act in accordance with the instructions of Baha’u’llah and walk His path — until ye change the world of man into the world of God.

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha

Communion with Soul

Soul…..spirit soul!

Do you hear me?

As I lay bare all that taunts and haunts me

as I wrestle with earthly tests

seemingly of Everest proportion

unrelenting cacophony!

Will you lift me from the deepest valleys

that I might summit highest peaks

amidst lofty clouds, constellations, infinity?

Freed from shackles of self

you speak to me through silence beyond silence

that I might know authentic self

know that I am not alone

that no earthly threat can obliterate my true essence

for I too am stardust!

I too am one with the light that is the source of all light!

No more      need I cling hold this material realm 

for not destination, only the path!

The journey may have its trials, 

just as the finest web withstands the fiercest gales 

still sees a new dawn sparkles in sunlit dew.

I too will transcend this mortal frame

….and just maybe sparkle a little too!

Copyright – Geraldine Norris

Communing with Our Spirit

"Dost thou reckon thyself only a puny form when within thee the universe is folded?"-Baha’u’llah


  “There is a desire deep within the soul which drives man from the seen to the unseen, to philosophy and to the divine.”-‘Abdu’l-Baha  


“If the soul identifies itself with the material world it remains dark, for in the natural world there is corruption, aggression, struggles for existence, greed, darkness, transgression and vice.  If the soul remains in this station and moves along these paths it will be the recipient of this darkness; but if it becomes the recipient of the graces of the world of mind, its darkness will be transformed into light, its tyranny into justice, its ignorance into wisdom, its aggression into loving kindness; until it reach the apex. Then there will not remain any struggle for existence. Man will become free from egotism; he will be released from the material world; he will become the personification of justice and virtue, for a sanctified soul illumines humanity and is an honor to mankind, conferring life upon the children of men and suffering all nations to attain to the station of perfect unity. Therefore, we can apply the name ‘holy soul’ to such a one.”-‘Abdu’l-Baha



And a man said, "Speak to us of Self-Knowledge."And he answered, saying:Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart's knowledge.You would know in words that which you have always know in thought.You would touch with your fingers the naked body of your dreams.And it is well you should.The hidden well-spring of your soul must needs rise and run murmuring to the sea;And the treasure of your infinite depths would be revealed to your eyes.But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasure;And seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sounding line.For self is a sea boundless and measureless.Say not, "I have found the truth," but rather, "I have found a truth."Say not, "I have found the path of the soul." Say rather, "I have met the soul walking upon my path."For the soul walks upon all paths.The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.-K. Gibran


  “…in man there is a reality which is not the physical body. This other and inner reality is called the heavenly body, the ethereal form which corresponds to this body. This is the conscious reality which discovers the inner meaning of things. The inner ethereal reality grasps the mysteries of existence, discovers scientific truths and indicates their technical application.”-‘Abdu’l-Baha“It is the inner reality which comprehends things, throws light upon the mysteries of life and being, discovers the heavenly Kingdom, unseals the mysteries of God and differentiates man from the brute.”-‘Abdu’l-Baha


  “Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows.”-The Buddha  
“Go to God first. Trust the voice of the Spirit first. Allow His wisdom to be the filter in which you view all else.”  
“Great Mystery, teach me how to trust my heart, my mind, my intuition, my inner knowing, the senses of my body, the blessings of my spirit. Teach me to trust these things so that I may enter my Sacred Space and love beyond my fear, and thus walk in balance with the passing of each glorious Sun.” – Native American prayers 


 “Do not feel lonely, the entire universe is inside you.” – Rumi


“There is a voice that doesn’t use words. Listen.” – Rumi


 “Possess a pure, kindly and radiant heart.” – Baha’u’llah
  “Turn thy sight unto thyself that thou mayest find Me standing within thee mighty powerful and self-subsisting."-Baha'u'llah 

Light

Light is one of the most universal and fundamental symbols. It is about the spiritual and the divine. It is illumination and intelligence. Light overpowers darkness in the physical realm. The photons in light can dispel darkness, but darkness cannot dispel light. This same principle applies spiritually, as the light of hope is always stronger than the darkness of discouragement and despair. All major religious holidays use light to celebrate the power of spiritual hope: Christmas, Diwali, Hanukkah, Nawruz... In today’s world, we have much to despair about but we also have much to hope for! Let’s light a candle and dedicate it to what we want to see or commit to in our lives!

“So powerful is the light of unity, that it can illuminate the whole earth.” – Baha’u’llah  “Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.”-L.R. Knost  “Love is light in whatsoever house it may shine.” -Abdu’l-Baha  “Beauty is not in the face; beauty is the light in the heart.” – K. Gibran “O Son of Being! With the hands of power, I made thee and with the fingers of strength I created thee; and within thee have I placed the essence of My light.” - Bahá'u'lláh  “All the teaching of the Prophets is one; one faith; one Divine light shining throughout the world. Now, under the banner of the oneness of humanity, all people of all creeds should turn away from prejudice and become friends and believers in all the Prophets.” -Abdu’l-Baha“In every case, the army of light vanquished the powers of darkness on the battlefield of the world, and the radiance of the Divine Teaching illumined the earth. Those who accepted the Teaching and worked for the Cause of God became luminous stars in the sky of humanity.” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá   “Light gives of itself freely, filling all available space.  It does not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or foe.  It gives of itself and is not thereby diminished.” -Author Unknown   “Light is good from whatever lamp it shines.” -Abdu'l-Baha  “The sun, a radiant orb, emanating light and warmth. A luminous king who rules the day, shining a blinding light at noon, and a soft glow at sunset, blistering heat in July and a welcome, comforting warmth in January. It is the most consistent element in the world, appearing each day in the east, where it begins its daily march across the sky to set in the west - a symbol of God's benevolence.”  - Author Unknown   “God grant that the light of unity may envelop the whole earth, and that the seal, "The Kingdom is God's", may be stamped upon the brow of all its peoples.” -Bahá'u'lláh “…. just as the solar cycle has its four seasons, the cycle of the Sun of Reality has its distinct and successive periods. Each brings its vernal season or springtime. When the Sun of Reality returns to quicken the world of mankind a divine bounty descends from the heaven of generosity. The realm of thoughts and ideals is set in motion and blessed with new life. Minds are developed, hopes brighten, aspirations become spiritual, the virtues of the human world appear with freshened power of growth and the image and likeness of God become visible in man. It is the springtime of the inner world. After the spring, summer comes with its fullness and fruitage spiritual!” -Abdu'l-Baha  “A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you're at home.”   - Author Unknown  “The sun is the life-giver to the physical bodies of all creatures upon the earth; without its warmth, their growth would be stunted, their development would be arrested, they would decay and die. Even so, do the souls of men need the Sun of Truth to shed its rays upon their souls, to develop them, to educate and encourage them. As the sun is to the body of a man so is the Sun of Truth to his soul.” -Abdu'l-Baha  “A man may have attained to a high degree of material progress, but without the light of truth, his soul is stunted and starved. Another man may have no material gifts, may be at the bottom of the social ladder, but, having received the warmth of the Sun of Truth his soul is great and his spiritual understanding is enlightened.” -Abdu'l-Baha  “He that has light within his own clear breast
May sit in the centre, and enjoy bright day:
But he that hides a dark soul and foul thoughts
Benighted walks under the mid-day sun;
Himself his own dungeon.
John Milton  “Man must be a lover of the light no matter from what day-spring it may appear. He must be a lover of the rose no matter in what soil it may be growing. He must be a seeker of the truth no matter from what source it come. “‘Abdu'l-Baha  “Shed the light of a boundless love on every human being whom you meet, whether of your country, your race, your political party, or of any other nation, color or shade of political opinion.” – Abdu’l-Baha  “God grant that the light of unity may envelop the whole earth, and that the seal, “the Kingdom is God’s”, may be stamped upon the brow of all its peoples.” - Bahá’u’lláh “Love gives life to the lifeless. Love lights a flame in the heart that is cold. Love brings hope to the hopeless and gladdens the hearts of the sorrowful. In the world of existence there is indeed no greater power than the power of love” - Abdu'l-Bahá   

Reflections

1. What can stop you from living a life filled with light & warmth?
2. How do you know when a moment is sacred?
3. What does bringing light to the world look like for you?
4. How might you see world events with the eye of the spirit?
5. In what small ways can one introduce light into a darkened world?
6. How do you pursue your inner light?
7. What is the most soulful gift you have given someone?
8. Would cultivating love & light in the heart be a painful process?
9. When do we know we are living a life that brings light & warmth to the world?

Peace

“If you desire with all your heart, friendship with every race on earth, your thought, spiritual and positive, will spread; it will become the desire of others, growing stronger and stronger, until it reaches the minds of all men.”

— ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

 

O Son of being! Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire We test the gold, and with gold We test Our servants.  -Hidden Word.  When all mankind shall receive the same opportunity of education and the equality of men and women be realized, the foundations of war will be utterly destroyed. Without equality this will be impossible because all differences and distinction are conducive to discord and strife. Equality between men and women is conducive to the abolition of warfare for the reason that women will never be willing to sanction it.-The Promulgation of Universal Peace   But war is made for the satisfaction of men's ambition; for the sake of worldly gain to the few, terrible misery is brought to numberless homes, breaking the hearts of hundreds of men and women! How many widows mourn their husbands, how many stories of savage cruelty do we hear! How many little orphaned children are crying for their dead fathers, how many women are weeping for their slain sons! There is nothing so heart-breaking and terrible as an outburst of human savagery!-‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 29   Religion must be the cause of affection. It must be a joy-bringer. If it become the cause of difference, it were better to banish it. Should it become the source of hatred, or warfare, it were better that it should not exist. -Abdu’l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 82.
  “Christian, Jew, Muslim, shaman, Zoroastrian, stone, ground, mountain, river, each has a secret way of being with the mystery, unique and not to be judged.”-Rumi   “O Children of Men! Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other.”– Baha’u’llah   “So powerful is the light of unity, that it can illuminate the whole earth.”-Baha’u’llah  “Like a sculptor, if necessary, carve a friend out of stone. Realize that your inner sight is blind and try to see a treasure in everyone.”-Rumi    “The diversity in the human family should be the cause of love and harmony, as it is in music where many different notes blend together in the making of a perfect chord.”-Abdu’l-Baha   “He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye.”-Buddha   “There is no path to peace. Peace is the path.”-Gandhi   “The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace.”-Gandhi
  ‘’If we are lovers of the light we adore it in whatever lamp it may become manifest, but if we love the lamp itself and the light is transferred to another lamp we will neither accept nor sanction it.  Therefore we must follow and adore the virtues revealed in the messengers of God whether in Abraham, Moses, Jesus or other prophets but we must not adhere to and adore the lamp.”-Abdu’l-Baha    “The peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly source and are the subjects of one God.”-Baha’u’llah    “Religion must be conducive to love and unity among mankind; for if it be the cause of enmity and strife, the absence of religion is preferable.”-Abdu’l-Baha   “The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.”-Baha’u’llah  “Speak not of peoples and laws and kingdoms, for the whole earth is My birthplace and all humans are my brothers.”-Gibran    “Religions are different roads converging upon the same point. What does it matter that we take different roads, so long as we reach the same goal?”-Gandhi    “The believers, in their mutual love, mercy and compassion, are like one body: if one organ complained, the rest of the body develops a fever.”- Muhammad   “Be the change you want to see in the world.”-Gandhi   “Let them look not upon a man’s colour but upon his heart.”-Abdu’l-Baha 
“So it will come to pass that when women participate fully and equally in the affairs of the world, when they enter confidently and capably the great arena of laws and politics, war will cease; for woman will be the obstacle and hindrance to it.”-Abdu’l-Baha    “Peace between countries must rest on the solid foundation of love between individuals.”-Gandhi   “O Thou kind Lord! Unite all. Let the religions agree and make the nations one, so that they may see each other as one family and the whole earth as one home. May they all love together in perfect harmony.”-Baha’u’llah    “Close your eyes to racial differences, and welcome all with the light of oneness.”-Baha’u’llah    “Outward peace is useless without inner peace.”-Gandhi “O Thou kind Lord!  Thou hast created all humanity from the same stock.  Thou hast decreed that all shall belong to the same household.  In Thy Holy Presence they are all Thy servants, and all mankind are sheltered beneath Thy Tabernacle; all have gathered together at Thy Table of Bounty; all are illumined through the light of Thy Providence.”-Baha’u’llah   “May you become as the waves of one sea, stars of the same heaven, fruits adorning the same tree, roses of one garden in order that through you the oneness of humanity may establish its temple in the world of mankind."-Abdu'l-Baha   “If we want to reach real peace in this world, we should start educating children.”-Gandhi   “O Thou kind Lord! Unite all.  Let the religions agree and make the nations one, so that they may see each other as one family and the whole earth as one home.  May they all live together in perfect harmony.”-Abdu’l-Baha    “Let your vision be world-embracing, rather than confined to your own self.”-Baha’ullah    “Blessed is he who preferreth his brother to himself.”-Baha’u’llah    “Shed the light of boundless love on every human being whom you meet.”–Abdu’l-Baha   
  

The Power of Music

The universality of music is astounding. Songwriters link hundreds of individual tones into a pattern and pair that with pictures crafted from words to both express themselves and to draw an emotional response from their listeners. Sometimes the notes alone convey so much emotion that words are unnecessary.

Music can be joyful and spirited, a celebration of life. It can be sad or angry, a rage against the hurt or injustice we’ve suffered. It can express a political stand to inspire us to action. And it can simply tell a story that speaks to the human condition—no right or wrong; simply what is. 
Consider what role music plays for you. Are you a listener, a musician, a composer? How does music affect you? Is it a means of expressing your spirituality? Do you use it to enhance your mood? Is it background noise? 

“The art of music is divine and effective.  It is the food of the soul and spirit.  Through the power and charm of music the spirit of man is uplifted. . . . Thank God that thou art instructed in music and melody, singing with pleasant voice the glorification and praise of the Eternal, the Living.  I pray God that thou mayest employ this talent in prayer and supplication, in order that the souls may become quickened, the hearts become attracted and all may become inflamed with the fire of the love of God!” 

-Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

“Intone, O My servant, the verses of God that have been received by thee, as intoned by them who have drawn nigh unto Him, that the sweetness of thy melody may kindle thine own soul, and attract the hearts of all men.” 

-Baha’i Prayers

“And those that chant the verses of the Merciful in most melodious tones will attain thereby unto that with which the kingdoms of earth and heaven can never compare. And they will inhale therefrom the fragrance of My realms which none discerneth in this day save those who have been granted vision by this sublime Beauty.  Say, verily, the verses of the Merciful uplift the stainless hearts unto those realms of spirit which cannot be described in words or expressed in symbols. Blessed are they that hearken!”  

-Bahá’u’lláh

“The highest goal of music is to connect one’s soul to their Divine Nature, not entertainment.”   

-Pythagoras (569-475 BC)

“Music... will help dissolve your perplexities and purify your character and sensibilities, and in time of care and sorrow, will keep a fountain of joy alive in you.” 

-Dietrich Bonheoffer

“The musician’s art is among those arts worthy of the highest praise, and it moveth the hearts of all who grieve.  Wherefore, O thou Shahnaz, play and sing out the holy words of God with wondrous tones in the gatherings of the friends, that the listener may be freed from chains of care and sorrow, and his soul may leap for joy and humble itself in prayer to the realm of Glory.”  

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha

“It is the music which assists us to affect the human spirit; it is an important means which helps us to communicate with the soul.” 

-Baha’I Writings

“Sound or vibration is the most powerful force in the universe.  Music is a divine art, to be used not only for pleasure, but as a path to God-realization. Vibrations resulting from devotional singing lead to attunement with the Cosmic Vibration … Words that are saturated with sincerity, conviction, faith, and intuition are like highly explosive vibration bombs that have power to remove the rock of difficulties and to create the change desired.”  

Paramahansa Yogananda, Cosmic Chants

“The power of music to integrate and cure is quite fundamental”, Dr. Oliver Sacks, a neurologist and author of Awakenings wrote.  “It is the profoundest non-chemical medication.” 

Dr. Oliver Sacks,  Musicophilia 

“Get yourself a drum.  When you sing a song and play the drum, you’ll be surprised how your mind, body, and spirit will react.  Everything becomes calm and joyful.  Our bodies love the songs.  The songs allow us to touch the hand of the Creator.  When we sing and touch the Great Spirit’s hand, He gives us power. Songs are another way to pray.  My Grandfather, teach me a song today”. 

 –Ethel Wilson, Cowichan Tribe 

“Chant is a devotional practice, a form of heartfelt prayer.  We call out to God, we honour God, we thank, we beseech, we invoke, we bow, we bless, and we celebrate. . Whether you are an experienced singer or the person who was asked not to sing in the class play, you can share in the wonder of chant. Chanting is not “singing”—it’s about breath, about heart, and about Spirit, and we all come fully equipped to participate. In chanting with groups . . . disparate voices begin to touch each other, their multitude of tones searching for a common vibration.  We breathe together and the silence in between the musical phrases grows quiet and crystalline.  Securely held in the repeating forms of the chant, we become free to let the Spirit of the chant take us where it may. As we give ourselves to the chant, we let go into an ever-changing river of melody and movement, patterns weaving and disappearing, feeling and emptiness, sound and silence.  And if we are so graced, there are moments seemingly out of time when something happens—when the boundaries that separate “me” from “you” disappear.” 

-Robert Gass, Chanting: Discovering Spirit in Sound 

“The finest emotion of which we are capable is the mystic emotion.  Herein lies the gems of all art and all true science. Anyone to whom this feeling is alien, who is no longer capable of wonderment and lives in a state of fear is a dead man.  To know that what is impenetrable for us really exists and manifest itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, whose gross forms alone are intelligible to our poor faculties – this knowledge, this feeling . . . that is the core of the true religious sentiment.  In this sense, and in this sense alone, I rank myself among profoundly religious men.” 

-Albert Einstein

“Through art, mysterious bonds of understanding and of knowledge are established among men. They are the bonds of a great Brotherhood. Those who are of the Brotherhood know each other, and time and space cannot separate them.”  

-Robert Henri

“Let us investigate a song which is above all songs: one which will develop the spirit and produce harmony and exhilaration, unfolding the inner potentialities of life. “ 

-Abdu’l-Bahá  

“Music sets up a certain vibration, which unquestionably results in a physical reaction.  Eventually the proper vibration for every person will be found and utilized.”  

-George Gershwin

“To chant but one verse with joy and gladness is better for you than reading all the Revelations of the Omnipotent God with carelessness.” 

-Baha’I Writings

“. . . singing and music are the spiritual food of the hearts and souls.  In this dispensation, music is one of the arts that is highly approved and is considered to be the cause of exaltation of sad and desponding hearts.” -Bahá’u’lláh

“Chanting can awaken and guide humanity now”. We are “sounding a new world into being.” 

-Chloe Goodchild, The Naked Voice, p. 146 & 257 

“Give the world music that comes directly from the soul.  Soulful music is the music that immediately elevates our consciousness to the Absolute, to the Highest. Soulful music is next to meditation, and it carries the beauty and fragrance of silence, the message of the inner and higher worlds.” 

-Sri Chinmoy, The Source of Music