As the world crumbles around us, it becomes clearer and clearer that we have to rebuild societies from the ground up. At the foundation of strong, lasting, and thriving societies are deep bonds of friendship, the kind that create spaces to discuss, lovingly yet frankly, what needs to be done to rebuild our society, one… Read More Weddings as a Community Building Activity
Whitney Houston’s death at the mere age of 48 took me, just like everyone else, by surprise. Despite the fact that her voice was not as crystalline as before, it was still beautiful, and boy, the woman could sing. After the release of her last album I Look to You in 2009, I was looking… Read More Whitney Houston: Not Your Average Tribute
I have come a long way when it comes to mantras. At first puzzled by what they were and how they were used, I became curious and starting researching them. As I read and heard about some interesting experiences both strangers and friends had had using mantras as part of their personal spiritual development, the… Read More Mantrafying Ego Management
I noticed that a recurrent topic in Baha’i circles is that of compliments. Many have a tough time receiving compliments graciously, that is, with a simple, heartfelt thank you. Instead, we recoil; we shrug, chuckle, and deny the good others see in us – typically, by pointing out something negative about us, shedding light on… Read More Compliments of the Insistent Self
Sometimes we talk very comfortably about things that we do not quite understand. One such thing is calling someone “husband” or “wife”. I do believe that a husband and wife are linked together for all eternity on a path of service towards God. But what does that really mean? Does it mean that the wife… Read More Like Two Trees
I had a conversation today similar to ones I have often been having in the last couple of months. Friend: “Wow, Sahar, you look so relaxed!” Me: “Wait, what?” Friend: “You are always in such a good mood!” Me: “Excuse me, what?” Friend: “How do you stay so calm?” Me: “Are you talking to me?”… Read More The Secret Ingredient to Faking it until You Make it: Mantras
The last episode before a hiatus is usually known to leave us viewers hanging, wondering if, after the holidays, we are going to find our protagonist with or without his or her reputation/job/life/something else really important or, in the case of Fringe, is still stuck in another timeline, away from the ones he loves. It… Read More TV Review: Fringe, Season 4, Episode 7: “Wallflower”
I have been participating as a tutor in a Ruhi Book 5 study circle for over a month now. The book, Releasing the Power of Junior Youth, is a study in who we would want to be as youth/what kind of youth we would want the junior youth we are serving as animators to become,… Read More From a Whack-A-Mole to a Three-Headed Dog: The Insistent Self is a Tough Beast to Overcome
I met Lorraine a little over a year and a half ago. The tall brunette with the big brilliant smile immediately charmed me with her quiet yet quick sense of humor. Her love of the arts and her interest in using them for the greater good added a unique depth to our friendship. When she… Read More Interview: Lorraine Sherrill, creator of The Journey West website
I was this reading this article on the CBC website and it hit me. We are most vocal about the things that scare us about ourselves, the things we perceive as the darker side of our nature that we refuse to acknowledge. It is as if being against it in the public sphere will just… Read More Scared of the dark… Inside of us
