Neighbourhood childrens classes in Redmond, Washington

In keeping with the 5 year plan's goal to have neighbourhood children's classes, the community in Redmond holds delightful classes for children in their homes on Sunday mornings. Coroush and Martha, my dear dear Baha'i brother and sister, who moved there from Mountain View, California brought me along to one of these sessions.

The classes started with lots of singing of Baha'i prayers. I was amazed that the children knew so many prayers by heart. Roy and Daniel had an amazing way of captivating the children. It did not seem to matter to them that the age group was so diverse. After this, we did some reading of stories and for this Sunday it was a story about trust. To enable the children to better understand it, they did a great activity of blindfolding each other and then leading the other around. One truly had to learn to trust and the one trusted had also to learn what it meant to be trustworthy. It was indeed great experiential learning. After that there were closing prayers and the children did drawing and coloring activities.

Such a pleasant way to spend a Sunday morning, and thanks Roy and Daniel for making me feel so welcome!

World Religion Day, 21st January 2008

I made a short trip to Seattle to surprise my dear friends and the surprise was on me. I was so amazed to see how many activities there was to participate in with the Baha'i community there. In this one, I will write about the World Religion Day celebration, held in the home of Nooshin and John Darvish. It was a very special celebration indeed.

The day before the activity, their children and my daughter got together to help decorate the place for the celebration. We were expecting to have about 50 people turn up, many of whom were neighbours and co-workers of Nooshin and John, and the local Sammimish Baha'i community. The girls spent 3 whole hours, shopping for craft supplies, doing research on the Internet for quotes and symbols of other religions, and made a poster and cut-outs of the religious symbols. This activity itself was so refreshing to see the dedication of the girls.

The event itself went very smoothly. There was lovely prayers from the different religions read and shared, the girls did a presentation of their work and a lovely Christian Persian couple, sang Christian music in Persian whilst they played the guitar and the tar (a Persian classical instrument). After a wonderful spiritual session, there was much feasting of good food and great conversation. People did not seem to be in any hurry to leave and new friendships were formed.

I feel so blessed to have been a part of such a special day.

Check out also http://www.sammamishreview.com/SamRev1_28.pdf for a posting in the local Sammamish newspaper on the event.

Great step for Junior Youth in South Bay

Thanks to good weather and a great turnout, a group of junior youth in South Bay were treated to a great afternoon of step dancing in the park. Step dancing we were told is a form of dance that helps build a rythm of unity.

With all that stumping and storming, it was good we managed to find a place outdoors to do this. Dancing to a unified beat, the junior youth were led in step dancing by a great group of teachers.

It was nice to see both boys and girls really get into it. In fact, my son loved it so much he has been stomping around the house all day today. Hope we get many more great days to come for the youth to dance in unity. I am really grateful to a dedicated group of teachers who will now make it possible for the youth to meet weekly. Really looking forward to this.

Happy Gregarion New Year!...and it now almost already Chinese New Year (Feb), soon BAha'i and Persian New Year (March), later Indian New Year (April), etc etc.

Whatever the New Year is for you, it is a time of reflection and contemplation looking back into the past to look for hope into the future. New Year resolutions, promises to loose weight, great expectations of self. Starting grandiously for many very soon peeter off into being nothing more than post-its of "should haves".

I decided to make this year different for me. I took the time over holidays to reconnect the family with each other, renovate and refurbish the house, had friends visit and stay with us, and did a lot of learning and planning. We decided to take baby steps. Too many changes can sometimes make you feel disempowered and not knowing where to start. So this year, we wish to start small and build upon our successes from this year to next. After all the children may only be with us for another 5 to 7 years before they all take off to college, university, etc. Our health is catching up with us and we want to have fun with them when we can. So it seems more important now than ever that we spend time together and build this important Baha'i institution "the family". We want the children to learn Baha'i princicples and action from us, that they understand their unique role to serve humanity, etc.

I am also doing some soul searching now that I have sold my business. My consulting practice is doing OK but I really want to be involved in something that awakens my higher need to serve and make a difference. I have not found it yet, but think it may have something to do with education for autistic spectrum children (asperger), use my public speaking skills, organisational skills, etc to use. Let's see what this path will take me to.

Meanwhile, we are really working on building community in our neighbourhood and were so delighted that many of the families from the school were able to come to our home to celebrate my huusband's surprise birthday party. It was indeed very touching to see the love and compassion these new extended family we have. We want to do more to invest and cultivate our new friends, and do hope to serve the community in return.

So it is with much reserve yet hope that I look forward to 2008. I pray it will be a good year of service and living with passion for me and most importantly, I will remember to pray and learn to praise God more often and thank his guardian angels for patiently protecting us through our "stupid" moments! :>

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Join our Facebook group to see the photos of the special event held for Frances.

For friends and family of Frances Coley, please note that we have set up a group on Facebook so you can see the photos and videos of the event. Here are the instructions to see it.

Go to http://www.facebook.com/ and sign up for a new account. You will need to put in some personal info but if you do not want this published, just put there do not publish. Once you get a Facebook account, make sure you look for the group "Sharing memories of the Coley Residence" and join that. If you want to join and have difficulties, just send me an email at laina@getit.org and highlight that you want to join the Facebook group.

If you still have difficulties, I have alsol set up a more public site at www.francescoley.blogspot.com

Local Rock Band (The Behjat Brothers) entertain Cupertino Baha'i Junior Youth Group

Today, a wonderful group of middle school youth gathered and had fun being entertained by The Behjat Brothers. It was a lovely afternoon of percussion music, where the children joined in the brothers with Native American drums, and other percussion instruments. It was indeed a very joyful occasion and everyone (adults included) seemed to have a great time.

Here are some pictures which speak for themselves.

Participatory and democratic elections for Baha'is (Unit Convention)

Yesterday, I attended Unit Convention for my Baha'i district to elect the representative to the National Convention (where the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of United States is elected- 9 members).

In Baha'i elections, there is no nomination process or electioneering process. All Baha'is on the roster of each District are eligible to be elected. Votes are collected and based on plurality or majority votes, the person is elected. This system wipes out need for funds, negative electioneering, mud slinging, politicking etc. It brings about a truer basis of democracy. Baha'is are thus encouraged to make it a point to attend Unit Convention to excerice this right and to ensure this type of democracy is enshrined. Non attendance or non-participation (participation can include voting by mailing in your ballots) erodes this system and allows for apathy and personalities to prevail. I was truly inspired by the message shared to us by the Universal House of Justice reminding us to excercise this right and this can change the way we conduct affairs in this world, one step at a time.

I enjoyed meeting old friends and connecting with new ones, and enjoyed being able to share my views to be taken to the Unit Convention by the elected representative (Marsha Gilpatrick). Although she was unable to attend, minutes were taken by a Secretary and will be passed to her as our input to the National Convention.

In between these administrative matters, we had lots of music, prayers, children reading and singing prayers, children's classes, refreshments, etc. It was indeed a lovely celebration and I am glad we made the effort to go. I would have liked a little longer for consultation than just 1/2 hour but perhaps next time round. Bravo to the Los Gatos Spiritual Assembly for pulling off this event on such short notice (about 4 weeks).

Reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones

Recently, one of my classmates from the Stanford program invited me to Seattle for a consulting contract. It did not take much to convince me to take the job, as I had my dearest "Baha'i brother and sister" -Martha and Coroush (and little Anika)- had just moved to Seattle. I was very happy to be able to see them again, and was even more grateful that the company I was consulting with had the most exciting technology to more than wet my appetite. I know there is much I can contribute to them.

So after working, I headed off to see Martha, Coroush and Anika. They were exploring to get a new place and I was honored to be a part of this process. Meanwhile, Chuck Cooper another dear friend now living in Chicago, happened to notice that my Facebook profile indicated I was in Seattle. He suggested I meet some dear friends of his, which I did and am so glad. I now have some new and wonderful friends in the Seattle area- Roy Steiner and family, John and Nooshin Darvish from Samimmish. John and Nooshin have a Holistique Medical Centre, and I was happy to hear Nooshin does work with autistic children. I am hoping to bring my son over to have her as his doctor.

Timing also enabled to spend Wednesday evening with the Baha'is of Sammimish. It was a wondeful Feast and so many children were present. What I liked best was that all the children present made the effort to say a prayer. That was so sweet indeed. The family that hosted Feast was so generous and had a DELICIOUS Persian dinner!! It was such a treat indeed. I met so many people, and in fact felt that I had met some before but could not place when. Overall, it was delightful meeting new people and connecting them with others.

Forces of globalisation and need for perspective taking



Having grown up in Singapore (majority immigrant Chinese), with a strong British and American influence, as an Indian, truly opened me to instrinsic perspective taking. It was a skill I needed to survive. My parents also consciously taught it to me as a child to see things from the other persons shoes. This really helped me fit in almost anywhere even today. I however realise that whilst this may be true with people who are minorities, it is not usually the case with people who are in the majority race or culture.

Today, I live in Cupertino in California where there is amost 50% Asians (including Indians). Living here has made me aware that not everyone does perspective taking. This I see as the cause of much "conflict" between the cultures. I hear my Caucasian friends talk about how rude Asians can be, that they don't look at you when trying to cut into your lane, don't give signals, cut into a parking slot you have been waiting for, etc. Meanwhile Asian friends complain how Caucasians are so aloof, don't help unless asked, don't make friends easily, don't invite you into their homes, etc. Yet for me, I have both positive and negative experiences irregardless of their cultural backgrounds, and often it is more do with personalities. Although I must add that it is my immigrant friends around here are the ones I can count on more than my American friends who are from this area (just different survival instincts I suppose).

Yet, I do feel that people treat me differently based on their perspective of how I look. I feel more often than not, that before I open my mouth and talk, people treat and respond to me as if I am an illiterate Indian woman who does not know her rights or what she needs. Now sure if I project that image or is it just their stereotype of Indian women, but I get talked down to a lot. Just yesterday a man pulled his car all the way into the gas station right in front of me cutting me off, even after seeing me thus leaving me little or no room to pump gas at the adjoining stall. He just ignored me and chose not to see my predicament for whatever reason. At the Northwest airlines, I used to get the ticket counter people talk to me as if I did not understand English. Over and over again it happens. I cannot help but feel that condescendence ooze out, or am I taking things personally. My husband tells me that I should tell myself that people are just going through their own stuff and not take it personally. But it takes a lot of patience and understanding, and is hard at times, especially when it happens over and over again. It is times like this that perspective taking can come in handy but is hard to do. Hence my reminder that "when you find the light within you, you will liberate others".

Whatever it be, I am so glad to see that my son is now attending a seminar at a class for high functioning autistic children where he is learning perspective taking. It is so useful although hard for autistic children to do so. But he is learning everyday and improves on it. So if he can do it, anyone can. That made me think, and I thought if only everyone learnt about perspective taking, social thinking, social etiquette, etc. we can avoid a lot of this unnecessary conflict we find living together. That we can better enjoy each other as human beings and not what we stereotype each other to be based on how we look, what we wear, etc.

So I do hope that we see more of this "Centre for Social Thinking" type education for our children in schools, where we do not assume they will get it even if not taught. Teaching ourselves and starting at home will be a good way to start. Having an international circle of friends whom you can have frank discussions and learn from them what you are doing wrong or right, will also help. I believe as long as we are open to learn how to reach out, not to offend, feel what others may be feeling, and truly want to be connected as one, we will then reached a state of unity.

Baha'u'llah states that “The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established. ”Let's not forget this and let's not take unity as a given, rather let's work on establishing unity and hence peace for all.

Oneness of Humanity is a complex and organic concept=not simplistic as it may sound

Oneness is a central theme of the Baha’i Faith which calls for the unity of mankind, for the recognition of the unity of the Godhead and the Manifestations, for unity of the sexes, and for unity of action after a decision has been made.

Abdul Baha has written
•“Unity is necessary to existence. Love is the very cause of life, on the other hand, separation brings death. In the world of material creation…all things owe their actual life to unity. The elements which compose wood, mineral, or stone are held together by the law of attraction..So is it with the great body of humanity.”

Baha’u’llah compared the world to the human body. Human society is composed not of a mass of merely different cells but of association of individuals, each of whom is endowed with intelligence and will…no cell lives apart from the body, whether in contributing to its functioning or in deriving its share from the well-being of the whole.”

The deeper implications of this Oneness of Mankind concept promulgated by Baha’u’llah more than a century ago, implies an organic change in the structure of present day society, a change such as the world has not yet experienced. It represents the consummation of human evolution- the next step is the high synergistic society where there will be a linking together of the consciousness of mankind..” This linkage is the linking of consciousness- a linking of soul-to-soul. More than just tolerance and coexistence.To go beyond a skin encapsulated ego. Beneath the skin, we are all one in spirit.

Baha’u’llah extols that
“The purpose of religion as revealed from the heaven of God’s Holy Will is to establish unity and concord amongst the peoples of the world; make it not the cause of dissension and strife. Consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship, …Wherever you find the attributes of God, love that person, whether he be your family or of another.”

Often though, culture seems to be a knowledge, some of it conscious and "pickled" into coded or traditional forms, such as myths and rules, some of it quite unconscious and automatic, such as the rules and structures that allow language speakers to understand each other. This knowledge is learned both formally and unconsciously within human groups and is heavily dependent upon language as a medium for transmission. Culture is shared between generations and within generations, but this sharing is neither completely homogeneous, nor without error. Humans, as individuals and as members of groups, use cultural assumptions to make sense of the world around them as they live out their lives. They also use culture to create strategies with respect to their group and individual interactions.

“This diversity, this difference is like the naturally created dissimilarity and variety of the limbs and organs of the human body, for each one contributeth to the beauty, efficiency and perfection of the whole. When these different limbs and organs come under the influence of man’s sovereign soul, and the soul’s power pervadeth the limbs and memebrs, veins and arteries of the bidy, then difference reinforceth harmony, diversity strengthened love, and multiplicity is the greatest factor for coordination.”

Baha’u’llah tells us “Ye are the fruits of one tree, the leaves of one branch.”
Abdul Baha reminds us:
“Consider the flowers of a garden: though differing in kind, colour, form and shape, yet inasmuch as they are refreshed by the waters of one spring, revived by the breath of one wind, invigorated by the rays of one sun, this diversity increaseth their charm, and addeth unto their beauty. Thus when that unifying force, the penetrating influence of the Word of God, taketh effect, the difference of customs, manners, habits, ideas, opinions and dispositions embellisheth the world of humanity..”

As we discover this new sense of oneness, this will bring forth a new universal culture in a truly united world- a spiritual rather than material society. Such a society Baha’u’llah tells us will:
“Be generous in prosperity, and thankful in adversity. Be worthy of trust of thy neighbour, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face. Be a treasure to the poor, an admonisher to the rich, an asnwerer of the cry of the needy, a preserver of the sanctity of thy pledge. Be fair on thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show meekness to all men. …Let integrity and uprightness distinguish all thine acts. Be a home to the stranger, a balm to the suffering, a tower of strength for the fugitive…..”

Science and Religion

Long before I declared myself as a Baha'i, I read the book "Seven Mysteries of Life" by Guy Murchie. My guru (Guru Nityachaitanyati from the Sree Narayana Mission), had introduced me to that book. Interestingly, it was that book that I first learnt about the Baha'i Faith (Guru Nitya was happy when I told him that I accepted the Baha'i Faith as my path of spirituality. He has passed on and remains my dearest teacher in my heart.)

There was a quote from Baha'u'llah talking about the harmony between science and religion. Guru Nitya and I used to have hours of conversation about this topic, hence his recommendation to me of the book.

Years later, understanding it further as a follower of the Baha'i Faith, I just completed watching the video called "What the Bleep- down the Rabbit Hole". I strongly recommend this video documentary for anyone searching for this harmony between science and religion. It talks about quantum physics and a more transcendal knowledge of God. How the one explains the other and vice versa. That the old ways of physics, e.g. Newton's laws, only explains part of life. There is a whole other regime of Quantum physics that now makes more sense and is the physics of the 21st century. It now becomes easier for us to see the harmony between science and religion although there is still so much we cannot always explain.

It also discusses about the current duality i.e. we see ourselves as separate from God and from each other. Guru Nitya always used to tell me about this duality that we need to overcome, and I see this myticism in the Baha'i writings as well. How the oneness of humanity and unity, is not a physical oneness only, but a spiritual connectedness. What quantum physics calls "entanglement". Baha'u'llah talks about this organic and spiritual connectedness of humanity. How each one of us is connected to the other much in the same way the organs in our body are connected and function together.

It also helps me understand how Baha'u'llah reminds us that we have the two parts to our being, the material and the spiritual. We need to "feed" both. They are much like the two wings of a bird. Unless both are equally developed, the bird cannot fly. With science and our industrial age disconnecting the spirit and the material, we have learnt to indulge more in one or the other, rather than finding a balance. As we find a higher understanding of "God" and "ourselves", we will achieve this connectedness and achieve this balance. Hence the practice of meditation and prayer to "excercise" our spirit.

Don't want to take the thunder out of this amazing DVD, so go watch it.

Social entrepreneurship and Values-based business

I am very encouraged with the many statements I see from reputed individuals in business, and their awareness of something more in life than just the pursuit of money.

The recent AeA/Stanford Executive Institute was one such experience. At first during the course, it appeared as if I was the only one interested in such issues. Then when I made a comment on the need to address the "Digital Divide", several participants came up to me to share their interests in this as well. I also had great discussions with some of the professors on the issues of social entrepreneurship.

Then we had some very inspiring keynote speakers. Mr Tim Guertin, CEO of Varian Medical spoke about the key elements of leaders, being someone you can 1) TRUST their judgement, 2) TRUST them with people, 3) TRUST them with resources, 4) TRUST them to get things done and 5) TRUST them to be dependable. Interestingly he also spoke about how important it was to work with people who will root for you. This element "TRUST" is needed for success.

Eric Benhamou, Founder of Benhamou Global Ventures, also stressed the need for integrity. He spoke about how his fund actually refused funding from a suspect source. His fund focuses on social entrepreneurship, communication technologies that impacts humanity, and also has a philantrophic arm e.g. assisting basic literacy skills. He stressed that values discussion should NOT be divorced from strategy discussions. It is the basis of reality and will be used to make decisions in grey zone times. Ultimately he says "listen to your guts not to just analysis".

Nancy Schoendorf, a well seasoned VC and Managing Partner of MDV-Mohr.Davidow Ventures, impressed me also with such discussions during the New Venture Lab discussions. She counselled startups not to just look for the valuation price offered, but also the value of the VC and more importantly the VALUES of the VC. She said that investment is like a marriage, and should be considered wisely.

I was just totally encouraged by all these conversations. In fact even before this, I met Prof Tom Kosnik from Stanford Venture Labs Program who has started the GLEAN network (Global Leaders, Entrepreneurs and Altruist Network. He believes that a values based strategy will help bring a better world and world peace, and so is rallying people of likemind and also academic programs to nurture such thinking. At the recent TIECON'07 as well, the CEO of sales force.com and CEO of eBay, talked about values and social entrepreneurship. One of the TIECON keynoters this year, was also a "teacher" or "sathguru" from India. He stressed us not to forget to have JOY in our lives. I loved that so much it was probably the most memorable TIECON for me.

All encouraging developments and I hope to connect with more such people and do something together. Thought I would share this in case you feel inspired to do the same.

Have you discovered Facebook?

I just recently discovered Facebook when I heard the CEO speak at TIECON'07 in the Bay Area. I was fascinated and signed up. Then I received an invite from Chuck Cooper on Facebook and before long I was fascinated.

I have been having so much fun since I have been able to find so many of my long lost Baha'i friends (from Washington DC, Singapore, etc). Many I did not even know where they were and then I found them on FAcebook. There are so many Baha'i groups on Facebook and through those list I am finding more and more friends and people of common interests. I also found a plug-in application called "Writings of the Baha'i Faith" that automatically generates a new quote from the Faith each time I log in, giving me the ability to do my daily readings online...what a great idea!

So if you have not already discovered the new wonderful world of Facebook, go to http://www.facebook.com/ and sign up for an account and look me up! Discover this new world many other Baha'is have been using to connect to new friends and reconnect with old ones. I have been so involved in that, that I have not been good about updating this site. My dear sister gave me the wonderful idea of writing about my experiences on Facebook so I jumped at her idea and did so.

Happy Facebooking!

Prayers, Pancakes on Poi'hu beach (PPP)

Every first Sunday of every month, the Baha'is of Kauai have dawn prayers at Poipu beach and have a pancake breakfast after that. What a great idea. We just could not miss it, so we got the children up the early morning and headed for the beach. Normally they did prayers first but this time to accomodate the children, they offered breakfast first. After that we had a lovely treat to so many wonderful prayers including Hawaiian chanting from Liz Hahn. I am encouraging Liz to put her chants online so more of us can hear it. Liz interestingly is a Baha'i we stayed with 15 years ago (as we knew her through BCCA) and we were catching up again now after all these years.

Often, there are other groups also meeting at the beach who are also invited to join in. Sometimes it is the Alcoholics Anonymous groups, or this time a church group holding a service for the homeless. Pancakes are always a good way to get fellowship and service started. I think this a great idea of sharing food and devotions with others, and the consistency of doing it once every month, means getting the word out to join is easy. I do hope to get another chance to join in sometime soon.

Poi'pu beach is not only a lovely beach to snorkel and swim for young and old, it is also home to the almost extinct monk seals and green turtles (both protected by law). It is really a remarkable beach and a must see for anyone to Kauai.

After that lovely start to the day, Ole a Baha'i from Colombia living in Kauai, who was also at the dawn prayers and in whose house Feast was held, was a great host to us. He runs a successful business called ATV Tours (http://www.kauaiatv.com/). It is a really cool and fun way to see Kauai as you travel around in a semi-automatic jeep and go through mud roads to either a reservoir or a waterfall for a swim. I will truly recommend it. He also has a paint ball field, where you can have fun getting dirty with paint ball guns.

PS. Ole is looking for people to come work at his place (especially those who already have the right paperwork to work in the US), especially during the peak holiday periods like summer. He would like to invite Baha'i youth(have to be at least 16), who would like to spend time in Kauai to work, where there are lots of opportunities to teach and serve. For instance, Liz Hahn who works at a Trust also needs help to document Baha'i gravesites (for historical reasons) in Kauai. Many great Baha'is in Kauai, take for instance Ole who has many fascinating stories about his role in the growth of the Faith in Colombia.

Do pass the word on that Ole needs help. Kauai truly rocks and I will highly recommend this as your chance to really experience the Garden Island and meet people from around the world. For your free time-Lots of snorkelling sites and scuba too. Hiking trails or just hang loose at the beach or teach the Faith after work. Either way, great way to experience the Aloha spirit and really get involved, not just be another tourist.

Allah'u'Abha and Aloha from Kauai

Last night, we were so happy to connect up with the Baha'is on Kauai to share Nineteen Day Feast with. It was such a special experience. Such diversity in the community- we met people who had moved to Kauai from South California, Palau, Hungary, Maryland, Colombia, etc.

The hospitality was so touching and our children felt right at home. Even the dogs joined in the prayer circle, much to my children's delight. During consultation, it was nice to see that we are all part of the same global family endeavouring to bring Unity and Peace on Earth.

Some of the readings from the evening prayers that touched me were around how the world is in dire need of spiritual healing and we all need to do our part to help it, that all good comes from God and bad from ourselves, and that it is not sufficient to know the theory of what needs to be done to bring about unity, but it is important to practice it. To walk the talk. That we need to work on having true unity and true understanding, so we become the beacon of light of God. Radiating God's love for Heaven on Earth.

Celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary at the Baha'i House of Worship


the beautiful inlay work inside the dome



It has been 15 years ago since I got married in Washington DC at the Baha'i Centre there and that I had lived in the US for more than a decade (did spend some time in between in Singapore).

Yet it was only now that I finally made it to the House of Worship in Wilmette, USA. I have since now visited 4 other Houses of Worhsip around the world i.e. the House of Worship in Frankfurt, Samoa, India and Australia- and this was my very first time at the Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette. What a special occasion to come here though and this made it even more memorable.

What made it also a blessing was that on our visit to the House of Worship, we ran into the Music Director there, Van Gilmer, who actually sang at our wedding on that very day 15 years ago. I was a member of the DC Baha'i choir, and so was he. The DC choir so lovingly offered to sing at my wedding. Van Gilmer gave such a touching solo rendition of the Unity Prayer at my wedding, that I was moved to tears. I shall never forget this very special soul and am grateful to have met him again now. He had helped make my wedding a special occasion and now running into him again on my wedding anniversary made it special once again. Here are some pictures I took to remember the special nature of our day there.

with Van Gilmer

We saw so many special artifacts also at the House of Worship. There was the chair that was used by Abdul Baha, and the stone which was humbly donated by a Baha'i of humble background, which she carried it all the way to the place of the House of Worship as her contribution to its construction. Abdul Baha acknowledged her sincere contribution by naming it the cornerstone of the temple. It still resides there and is set in a room for meditation and prayer.


Abdul Baha's Chair

Abdul Baha named this the cornerstone of the temple.




Just outside this room with the sacred artifacts, is a room with many murals sewn together using quotes from the Promise of World Peace.






After the visit at the House of Worship, we were kindly brought around by a friend, Charles Cooper, to visit the National Baha'i Centre. Charles and us go way back. and in fact we visited him in Seattle during our honeymoon 15 years ago, and during that time my husband and him started architecting the creation of the Baha'i Computer and Communciations Association (BCCA).

At the National Centre, we met with many dedicated Baha'is. Whilst I was in the basement room having snacks with my children, many lovely people came by to say Hello. I was then invited to come visit the Baha'i Office of Pioneering upstairs. Here are met many wonderful people and we also able to share our travel teaching encounters with them. It was a highly encouraging visit all round and we know the children were also inspired. Thanks Charles for helping make this a truly special visit.

Faces of friendships and family in Singapore

Attended a lovely Baha'i Feast in June 2007 at the Singapore National Baha'i center and met so many lovely souls (some old friends, many new acquaintances). It was like coming home- after all it was only 1998 that myself, my husband and two children left to the United States. I still consider Singapore home so do still make it back as often as I can. This Feast was truly enjoyable as the Youth conducted the session and even had games to have us memorise the writings and build social skills.

Attended a devotional session and caught up with other friends too. It felt really good to be back.

What had really brought me to Singapore was my father's 80th birthday celebration (it went wonderfully- considering we organised in less than a week. We still had about 60 friends and family turn up. Some of them came on wheelchairs, many had limited walking abilities, some were just recovering from surgery, and most were mainly in their 70s and 80s. They all came to celebrate this date with my dad- THE TRUE SENSE OF LOYALTY, DUTY AND HONOUR. I was very touched by the committement he had to his friends and they to them. I HOPE THE WORLD NEVER LOOSES THIS SPECIAL TYPES OF FRIENDSHIP THAT HELD GENERATIONS GLUED TOGETHER ACROSS FAMILIES.

It was indeed a true attestation to the life of my father as many people said they would not have come but for the fact it was my father's event. He had done so much for them and they were all so grateful. I thus understand that much of these networks were largely driven by my father's sincerity and compassion for people, and I am proud to see his efforts benefitted others and that they wanted to personally express their thanks to him

Baha'i Faith in "Earth in the Balance" by Al Gore

It was brought to my attention today, and I am really excited to hear this, that Al Gore has mentioned the Baha'i Faith in his new book, Earth in the Balance, pp. 261-262:

One of the newest of the great universalist religions, Baha'i, founded in 1863 in Persia by Mirza Husayn Ali (Baha'u'llah), warns us not only to properly regard the relationship between humankind and nature but also the one between civilization and the environment. Perhaps because its guiding visions were formed during the period of accelerating industrialism, Baha'i seems to dwell on the spiritual implications of the great transformation to which it bore fresh witness:

"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 deeply affected by it. The one acts upon the other and every abiding change in the life of man is the result of these mutual reactions."

And, again, from the Baha'i sacred writings comes this:

"Civilization, so often vaunted by the learned exponents of arts and sciences will, if allowed to overleap the bounds of moderation, bring great evil upon men."

Reflecting on the principle of "Pursuit of Excellence"

I had a lovely visit yesterday from a dear Baha'i sister from Montreal. I have known here for more than 10 years now and she has the amazing knack of coming back into my life at turning points in my life. I listened with intensity to her words of wisdom to guide me through my next phase of career and life transition.

One of the things that dawned out of my introspection with her was that there is a very subtle yet strong difference between pursuit of excellence and pursuit of perfection. I realised that all my life I have been struggling with trying to achieve perfection in everything I did and hence often being disappointed with my achievements, even though some marvelled at what I had achieved.

I also found myself not fully enjoying the moment as I was always wondering what I could have done to make that moment even more perfect. This was the way I was raised, and I don;t also know if my being a woman and a minority had also attributed to my needing to overcompensate and prove I was able to achieve perfection. I read a book on women empowerment recently, where it stated that this was a common trap that most women fell into. Asked to do a lot with so much less resources, a women will say yes and get so burnt out achieving what she set out to do. On the other hand a man will most likely say that the task required more resources or renegotiate a more achievable task. Woman and minorities are often too keen to show they can do it and afraid to show weakness if they were to make similar demands.

This does not mean we just sit back and just do the minimal. I think it is important to have the right attitude and try to do your best. I realised that the Baha'i writing on the pursuit of excellence, if also read together with the writings on "work is worship" then the spirit of "putting your best foot forward" and doing it with the right attitude is what counts. Not getting it perfect but doing your total best and leaving the rest to God. Having faith and letting go of the results. In other words, the pursuit of perfection is quite different from the pursuit of excellence.

Think of it, Abdu'l Baha always asked "Are you happy?".

The pursuit of perfection I realise takes that feeling of happiness away, as life can never be perfect. Only God is perfect or can create perfection. It is egoistic of me to think I can create perfection.

So henceforth, I shall endeavour to remind myself "excellence- not perfection" and I am sure I will soon unlearn these habits of my past. With it I hope to learn to be more content and satisfied with what I have achieved and contributed.

So if you ever see me stressed out to achieve perfection again, please just give me a nudge and remind me of this difference :> After all it takes time to unlearn bad habits from the past.

Baha'i Computer and Communications Association (BCCA) successfully renewed with new energy and ideas with conference at Bosch

"Cultivating the Roots'' May 4th to MAY 6TH

It was indeed very inspiring to see so many individuals make their way out to Bosch to discuss the way forward for the BCCA. It was called "Cultivating the Roots" and there were some who can come as far away as Brazil just for this conference.

Unfortunately, I was unable to join all 3 days of the session as there were no children classes this time round at Bosch and so Barry, my husband attended the sessions instead. I was able to join in for one evening of consultation on the BCCA and was fascinated by the discussions that ensued. There was so much passion and so many great ideas, and so many who shared the history of BCCA as well. I had been fortunate to be amongst those involved in its early days, and so was happy to see renewed enthusiasm for this association. There was a lot of enthusiasm which somehow dwindled as life caught up and no clear direction continued. I was thus also happy to see many of the pioneers involved in this conference and had come far and wide to be here.

It was great to see some women attending too, and Erika I heard you helped convince Prema to come. Thank you for doing that! We not only needed more women involved, but youth. She has both and had great energy and a real action oriented person. Just what we need. I had the pleasure of meeting Prema online when she discovered my blog. She wanted to find out more about BCCA (I had written a posting about it) so I introduced her to Thane and Mat. Was happy to see that that online networking works and I got to meet here offline too. Kirsten we knew when she lived with us in Maryland 14 years ago, where she studied at the University and also helped us with our son. I am so happy to see that Barry;s encouragement to her to get onto bahai-tech has led to many more productive years in this arena, and that we finally meet again at Bosch. Mitra too whom I met at the San Jose Baha'i center early lasy year when she gave a talk on blogging- I told her about the BIA and BCCA and connected her with Thane. Since then she participated in the consultation session in Sept last year in San Jose, and leads an initiative which I am also involved with other activie Baha'is such as Ron. David, Kevin, to get bahainine.com going. So you see it is not only face to face collaborations that are needed. If we have tools where we can meet before or after face to face, we increase trust and speeds up the power of networking.

I cannot quite remember the very point I became a part of bahai-tech, bahai-announce, BCCA etc (as I did get my first email account in 1989 and became a Baha'i in 1990), but do remember Thane Therill, Mark Towfiq, Chuck Cooper, Kristin Motlagh, amongst others and was happy to see them again. In fact, I recall how Barry and I spent part of our honeymoon in Seattle where Barry and Chuck planned and devised ways forward for BCCA and went on to do projects for various Baha'i institutions. I do remember this visit to be a turning point in energising the creation of BCCA. I also remember fondly the meeting at World Congress where many from bahai-tech met up and we had a group photo taken (would love to have a copy if any of you know where to get one). Since then Barry was actively involved in putting Baha'i materials using Mosaic (from John Hopkins University where he worked), helped connect Bah'i universities to the Internet, and many other projects of passion. Since joining Cisco he continued to contribute through his advice and donations of equipmnent. When Barry and I were cleaning out the garage recently, we also found the old drafts of BCCA logo iterrations they went through back in the beginning days, and other such related materials and this brought back a lot of nostalgia. I myself went on to be appointed on the Security task force, and later to represent the BIA at the World Summit on the Information Society both in Geneva and the ohter in Tunisia. I also attended the September BIA consultation, which inspired me to begin blogging. I did blog about that meeting in an earlier posting.

What I found the most inspiring at the Bosch conference was that members of Baha'i institutions stayed all the days, participate actively, enourage others to participate, etc. Ms Erika Toussaint from the NSA of the US particularly struck me with her open minded comments and insightful perspectives. In fact, she came immediately up to greet me when she saw me as a new face in the room. This I thought was very refreshing and open and I felt that her genuiness was felt by others too. Many technical professionals from Yahoo. Microsoft, Cisco, Silicon Valley startups, professors, etc actively shared ideas and brainstorming paths forward.

So from what I gathered, anyone interested in helping promoting the use of technology for the advancement of the Faith can become members of the BCCA through mailing lists, wiki, etc. It is still to be worked out how the BCCA coordinating committe will function but the goal will be to keep it as it is but work to have it as much as its original charter envisaged it to be i.e. a grassroots organisation electing its leadership, much like other professional associations in the Baha'i Faith (e.g. Baha'i Justice Society) with local chapters, etc. The charter could also help finetune functions and projects but the goal will be to mobilise grassroots efforts to channel and mobilise technical skillsets to help in the advancement of the Faith. So please pass the word on to come on board and join the BCCA/bahai-tech mailing list. If I a non-techie feels I may have somethig to share and learn, you should to. Of course, would be also good to rally the real technology geniuses willing to volunteer their time to help the advancement of the Cause.

The way I see it, unlike 12 years ago when BCCA first started, bahai-tech is not just the purview of the "techies". Technology is so much more user friendly today, that someone as non-technical can be very proficient with user friendly technology they did not create. This is equally important as it is the usage of the technology and not the technology itself that makes it important. Meanwhile, some of us will be more sophisticated users and can teach others, and some are more competent to create and customise technology solutions. But ultimately, BCCA today more than when it first started will encompass techies and savvy and passionate users who are dedicated to passing new tool on to others. BCCA should serve mainly as a conduit to channel this enthusiasm, effort and dedication of grassroots movements which will help ensure that BCCA continues to grow and succeed in its mission. It is also imperative that it be aligned with the goals of the 5 year plan so that its efforts can held advance the Cause.

I truly look forward to the creation of an online community from the meeting at Bosch, that can be extended to others who are either already on one of the many Baha'i only mailing lists or would like to join "if they only knew about it". We need to find a way to capture the energy at Bosch AND those of earlier versions of this forum to build upon to cultivate the roots and help it grow deeper and stronger and reach further out. I do hope also that more youth already involved in blogging and messaging to teach the Faith, will come on board to share these tools with others and learn from each other. It is important to have people of all races, cultures, age groups, gender, etc so we can truly creat a diverse yet united social network online. If we all work together with the Institutions and as individuals, we only then will truly live the web 2.0 Baha'i world too.

I like to end with a quote that Marion Finley shared at the close of one session from Shoghi Effendi. I am paraphrasing as I did not copy it all down

"..it is time not to ask how you can serve the

Cause but how the Cause can be served"... .

It took me a while to understand this subtle difference but then I got it---it is taking the "I", the "ego" out of service and refocuses it back on the Cause. This was a good note to end the day on how BCCA can help serve the Faith.

For more information about this conference and how you can approach someone from the BCCA to join as a member, check out http://www.bcca.org/bccawiki and http://www.cultivatingtheroots.org/contacts Check out also http://pizza.sandwich.net/ for other Baha'i perspective about this conference.

Thanks Mum!

As we draw close the period of Ayam-i-Ha (a time of service and rejoicing) and begin the month of the Fast (a time for reflection and rejuvenation), I am reminded that my spirit of Ayam-i-Ha is largely attributed to the way my mum raised me.

My sister's comments to my last post on my dad, inspired me to write about my mom too. I just got off the telephone with her last night, and I was very inspired to see how my mom is so enthusiastic about her volunteer actitivies. Mind you, my mum is a heart patient, and has almost crippling athritis. Yet, speaking to her to get updated on her life's activities, I found her even busier than before. She has now added even more things to already helping raise her grandchildren (including tutoring them for school), and her volunteer work at the National University of Singapore Hospital. She now also reads once a week to children from lower income families and volunteers at another day care facilitiy for children from these homes to help them prepare for school. Both additions are exhausting work especially since it is with very energetic young children. Yet. she does not complain and seems to find great pleasure from serving.

So I thought I would add this post to my last post, as I am very proud of my mother as well. Whilst my dad's efforts have finally been recognised by the government, my mother's contributions are a silent but potent one. Being a retired educator, her contributions started as way back as her career as a teacher. She taught Physics at Raffles Institution and besides being a great teacher there, she came to be known for her great heart too. Despite being of modest income, she would help pay the school fees of good students who may otherwise have to drop out since their families could no longer afford school. There are many in Singapore who still remember her fondly for her many such contributions. She also started a student's club called "Charity Squad" so that activities could be organised to help the less fortunate. She would then get my sisters and me involved, and remember being as young as 6 years old standing at the front of the school gate holding a tin can and raising monies for the blind. She would also personalise these efforts by getting us and her students to visit the homes for the elderly, and we would speak with them and find out what they are missing. She ensured when we went on our next visit, the very good items or things they were missing were brought to. You should have seen the light on their faces. My mother sure made many peoples lives happier and a little easier to bear.

I could go on, and maybe I should. What I just wanted to say was "Thank you" for raising me to understand the need to give back. But more importantly, to give back even when you cannot. We don;t have to wait until we are rich to do this but it is the little things that count so much. That is why this spirit of Ayam-i-Ha and service, so typical of Abdul Baha that reminds me of my mom. It always makes her happy to see other people happy because of the little things she could do for them. Thank you mum for raising me the way you did. I just hope I can pass this along to my children too. This Ayam-i-Ha, we spent time with close friends and contributed to service projects our community was supporting. I hope we can do more next time.

Proud of my father!

My 79 year old father has never let retirement nor his age stop his passion for helping people. He continues to serve after all these years and I am so proud that now others will also come to know his efforts as he receives an award from the Singapore government.

The details of his award can be found at www.kaumudisingapore.com. I have also obtained permission to reprint it, which I will do so on this blog. Before that, I wish to add that it was my father and my mother's dedication to service and bringing me up under Sree Narayana Guru (the guru whose name the old folks home is named after) that groomed me to become a Baha'i. "One People, One Religion and One God" is the main principle behind Sree Narayana Guru's teachings, and this was the way my parents raised me. My father a dedicated devotee of Sree Narayana Guru, lives his life under these principles, and so had no problem supporting my decision to become a Baha'i. He is also a strong supporter of the Faith. The home he helped to start in the 70s, today has inmates of all different religions, racial and cultural backgrounds. It is truly inspiring to be of parents who live their lives to serve others.

Here is the full article as reposted from the other website:

R Raveendran receives Community Care Award

R. Raveendran, Chairman of the Welfare Sub-committee of Sree Narayana Mission (S'pore) was awarded the Inaugural North West CDC Community Care Award for his forty years' of volunteer services with the Mission.

He was first elected the Secretary of the Mission in 1967. It was during his term as Secretary of the Mission in 1979 that the "Home for the Aged Sick" was established with only four residents at the old Canberra School leased out by the Government to the Mission. Now there are 224 residents at the Home. The Mission is also running another Welfare Home "Meranti Home @ Pelangi Village" for the mentally burnt-out numbering about two hundred.

He was nominated by Bukit Timah Faber Hills Neighbouhood Committee where he was the Secretaryof the Neighbourhood Committee for twelve years since 1994 and at present its Vice-chairman.Another SN Mission Pioneer Volunteer Mr Foo Say Thye was also one of the four recipients who receivedthe awards at a ceremony graced by Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports & Second Minister for Information, Communiation and the Arts on 20th January 2007.

Dr Benjie Ng, CEO of the Mission and Mr Rodney Chang Kok Bu (BBM), a member of the Welfare Sub-committee of the Mission were also presented with appointment letters as members of the North West CDC Com Care Steering Committee at the above ceremony.

Be a part of the Baha'i blogging world!

A group of Baha'is in the Bay Area have taken the initiative to link various Baha'i blogs together. If you are a blogger and Baha'i, and would like your site to be know, go to www.bahainine.com to register your site.

Happy blogging!

Check out these great resources

As I was surfing the Net today, I can across some very inspiring sites with video, music, multimedia presentations etc. Truly truly recommend these if you are looking for some inspiration.

One with many resources linked is www.amessageinabottle.ca

The other two on You Tube is definitely a must to see
The Mystery of God
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW7nf4hV5Ck&mode=related&search=

and

The Life of Baha'u'llah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsIMrhGMIJ4

The one on the mystery of God really touched me. It reminds us at the end of that message that God has made a covenant with us to shower us with blessings if we only can have faith in God despite all odds. That love and a life of service are keys to happiness and the betterment of humanity. So timely to remember as we make our New Year resolutions. One of the quotes Abdul Baha reminds us (seen in that presentation):

"O Ye Beloved of the Lord. Strive to become the manifestations of the Love of God, the lamps of divine guidance shining amongst the kindreds of the earth, with the light of love and concord," "Know that you are where you are not by chance, but by the design of your Creator, for your development and for the development of those around you."

SHARING MY EXPERIENCES AT BOSCH

My dear sister from Oklahoma (dedicated Baha'i) visiting with her two children, my older sister who has completed two Ruhi Books but still questions whether this is a religion for her, and my nephew who is not sure also what he feels about the Faith were visiting over the holidays. I decided to take them all up to revel in the beauty of Bosch Baha'i School. I wish I had thought about it earlier and signed them up for some classes so we could have stayed up and enjoyed the mountain life a little.

Anyway, off we went with two cars since there were 9 of us, and we managed to finally take off after lunch to head to Bosch. Since many of us suffer from motion sickness, we took the longer way i.e. via the town of Santa Cruz. It was a nice ride, and finally we made it there. Unfortunately, we seem to have missed the session for that day and even did not get to meet any of the attendees as they were busy packing to leave.

So naturally, we headed to the most social place at Bosch. The coffee shop Bookstore. What a lovely surprise I found. I did know they were planning to renovate the place but it had been months since I last came up. They have truly made some remarkable changes to the place, and it is very wide, open and very conducive for people to strecth a little and take time to puruse books as they chose. I like the way they used the reading shelf to create little nooks and corners for difference age groups, and also including toys for the younger age groups. How very thoughtful and how very inviting. Bosch to me remains a place to get the books and music I want and need, and the rejevunation I need for my next venture.,

As if that was not enough, we managed to meet the lovely Baha'i Youth from around the world serving to make Bosch a better place for people who come up to learn and pray. We met Randell from Ethiopia, Saha from Utah and Olivia from Germany. Turned out my sister actually knew Saha when my sister lived in Utah shortly, and even conducted a childrens classes when Saha was just a child! What a small world indeed! So picture time could not go without a miss. Then my nephew from Singapore the fighter pilot had a chance to speak with Randell about the Faith. Interestingly, we later met our friends from Davies and who also knew Randell, and noted that he is a good person and was glad we managed to meet him. I am convinced that no matter where we come from or what we do, we are all connected and if not yet, will be sooner or later. Also remet Christine who works at Bosch, and was happy to hear she was going to India, Malaysia and Singapore (where I am from). Hope she gets to meet some of my friends out there too. What a small world indeed!

I learnt a short prayer from Breezes of Confirmation and would like to share this as it reminds me of my experience at Bosch.

"God is the helper of those souls, whose aim is the service of humanity. Whose efforts and endeavours are devoted to the good and betterment of all mankind"

At Bosch, I truly felt that I met young committed and pure souls devoted to the betterment and service of humanity. I look forward to going up there more often just to meet these lovely souls.

Skype video changing the face of a spiritual gathering across oceans

During the last Unity Feast, which I hosted in my home, I was so very happy as we were able to include my nieces and parents in Singapore to join in our Feast via Skype video session (best part was this was totally free and we could see each other and hear everything). My parents and nieces were alone in Singapore, as my older sister (their mom) and their brother were visiting me in California. My other sister, who lives in Oklahoma was also visting me with her two children. We were so excited to have so many relatives connected with us, and we were also able to include other family and friends from other religious denominations into the Baha'i Feast both physically as well as virtually. This made it a very special Feast for me.

The other interesting fact about this Feast was that it was conducted by the children, who prepared the readings and prayers and the adults followed along. How sweet to see the dedication of the children and between this vibrant energy inspiring us all, it was also very inspiring to feel we could share this with others across the globe instantaneously.

On this note, it would be useful to reflect on what Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith and Abdul Baha, the exampler of the Faith, had to say about global communications so many years ago (in "Baha'i World Order". Two quotes come to mind.

"A mechanism of world inter-communication will be devised, embracing the whole planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions, and functioning with marvellous swiftness and perfect regularity" Shoghi Effendi

“In cycles gone by, though harmony was established, yet, owing to the absence of means, the unity of all mankind could not have been achieved. Continents remained widely divided, nay even among the peoples of one and the same continent association and interchange of thought were well nigh impossible. Consequently intercourse, understanding and unity amongst all the peoples and kindreds of the earth were unattainable. In this day, however, means of communication have multiplied, and the five continents of the earth have 39 virtually merged into one…. In like manner all the members of the human family, whether peoples or governments, cities or villages, have become increasingly interdependent. For none is self-sufficiency any longer possible, inasmuch as political ties unite all peoples and nations, and the bonds of trade and industry, of agriculture and education, are being strengthened every day. Hence the unity of all mankind can in this day be achieved. Verily this is none other but one of the wonders of this wondrous age, this glorious century. Of this past ages have been deprived, for this century—the century of light—has been endowed with unique and unprecedented glory, power and illumination. Hence the miraculous unfolding of a fresh marvel every day. Eventually it will be seen how bright its candles will burn in the assemblage of man.",,,,Abdu'l Baha

"

Baha'i Faith mentioned in book

A dear friend of mine told me about an email she received from Carl Shoudel

Hi,

Any James Patteson fans out there. One of his latest novels, "Judge and Jury" mentions the Faith quite prominently, albeit during a chase for a terrorist thru the terraces of the Shrine. Starts on page 333...

Carl

Remembering Generosity and Gratitude at Thanksgiving


I was so thankful to end my 5 days in Tennessee at the Nashville Baha'i centre with the most lovely souls on the Day of the Covenant. I was touched by the diversity in the community (I had not seen a lot of diversity in the general community), the love and fellowship and the dedication to the Faith (seeing also how this was the second Baha'i centre they had built from scratch). It was magnificent and had already outgrown their needs and was soon to undergo the second stage of rebuilding to cater to the growth in the community.

The service was very prayerful and the music and voices were just out of this world. As I felt my spirit rise through the wonderful service, I felt myself further touched gently by the ray of sun shining through the top of the auditorium streaming right onto my face! How perfect indeed! The readings shared were so special and the thoughts shared by Jim Traub through story telling kept well to Abdul Baha's sense of joy and humor.

I was truly humbled by the story shared about how the Blessed Beauty, Abdul Baha and the other prisoners at the end of the day used to share about something amusing that happened that day so they could end their day in laughter. Imagine that--to find humor in the horrible dungeons and being in chains- how humbling indeed. Abdul Baha reminded us that laughter is spiritual relaxation. Happiness he said is a spiritual state of being, and has nothing to do with our material surroundings.

When Abdul Baha was out of prison even as an older man, he travelled to Europe and the United States. There many luncheons and dinners were organised for him to meet with the dignitaries and luminaries of society hoping they will see a glimpse of the greatness of who he was and the magnificence of the Faith. This was at a time when many other spiritual leaders from the East were visiting the US. At one luncheon when given an opportunity to speak to an audience who were expecting to be "preached" to even when they were not really interested, Abdul Baha instead chose to share the humorous stories shared in the East. This broke the ice at the luncheon, and the other guests begun to share stories that they were reminded of. There was just so much joy and happiness, that everyone enjoyed themselves.

Jim shared another interesting anaedote about how Abdul Baha was very popular with reporters as he always had interesting stories to share and was quite positive about the US. When speaking to reporters he said smilingly Americans were really OK ( as when asked "how are you" they always replied "Its A OK".) Abdul Baha also noted the spirit of enterprise of the Americans, and John pointed out how amazingly the first incorporated Local Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is was in a place in the US called "Enterprise".

Karen ended the program by sharing a story written by a Baha'i about Abdul Baha for Thanksgiving, which was indeed published by the local newspaper Portsmouth Herald. It was indeed a truly inspiring end to the program for the day. You can read the full article at http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/11072006/community-f-n7-ringside-n3.html

So once again, I was able to just walk in to the centre and feel so at home in Nashville, Tennesse. I did have an added advantage though as I was also able to connect up with friends (Ann Hall and her son Aaron, and many others- Jim, Parry, Juliet, Pam, Karen, etc) of a fellow Baha'i friend (Leong/Price Mei-Ling)who used to live in California, used to live in Nashville after she married Darwin and now lives in Sydney, Australia with Darwin and recently delivered a lovely baby girl, Raina. So grateful to be a part of this global community!!

The Burgess Falls in Tennessee

As I spent Thanksgiving here in Tennessee with the other side of my family, I had occasion to explore and went hiking at Burgess Falls. It is a very spectacular site indeed. There are the 3 different levels to the falls- the small falls, the middle falls and then the great fall. What a progression indeed, reminding me of the patience we need to have in our lives to believe there is a progression to all things and before you know it, lo and behold, its majesty stands before you!

In this modern day of instant gratification, I too often find myself looking for instant results. A small hike for 90 minutes with the true art in nature is a great settler of spirit indeed. Here are some pictures I want to share with you that I took and a quote from the writings which I shall post as my thought for the day. (PS I am really excited to meet the Baha'is of Nashville on Sunday before I leave back for the Bay Area- will post info when I have it later. Also check out my photos on the artists of Tennessee Tech University centre at www.bayareajournal.blogspot.com)

"......rest ye not, seek ye no composure, attach not yourselves to the luxuries of this ephemeral world, free yourselves from every attachment, and strive with heart and soul to become fully established in the Kingdom of God. Gain ye the heavenly treasures. Day by day become ye more illumined.Draw ye nearer and nearer unto the threshold of oneness" .........Baha'u'llah

JOY GIVES US WINGS!

My thought for the day was gathered from a devotional circle I attended in Singapore many months ago. It was derived from the Baha'i writings although I am not sure from exactly where in the writings. I liked it so much I copied it down. I am sharing it with you:

"In times of joy, our strength is more vital, our intellect keener, and our understanding less clouded. We seem better able to cope with the world and to find our sphere of usefulness. But when sadness visits us, we become weak, our strength leaves us and our comprehension is dim and our intelligence veiled. The actualities of life seem to elude our grasp, the eyes of our spirit fails to discover the sacred mysteries, and we become as dead beings- THE SPIRITUAL WORLD BESTOWS ONLY THE JOY!

This is not to say we will not go through stress or test/difficulties. Instead, having a spiritual perspective allows us not to suffer through the stress but rather grow from it. A Bhuddhist friend of mine shared with me that her belief was that the universe will keep bringing the same type of test/difficulties to you until you learn from it and this breaks the cycle. So if we have faith and belief that it is for our best and growth, we will go through it joyfully, hence opening our eyes to learning.

As you will see from one of my earlier posting, one of my favourite Baha'i prayer is:

The joy of community

One of the things I love about the Baha'i community I live in, is that we do enjoy hanging out together. Usually people are not in such a hurry to leave when we meet up and this is great considering the Bay Area is such a hectic place for many. I still remember when I first moved here and did not even have furniture, many of the Baha'i friends came over and just hung out. They brought Board games over and we prayed and played, and just enjoyed each others company. There is really something special about mixing spiritual discourse, developing strong bonds of friendship and building community. My Baha'i friends here have made me feel I do have a community away from my home in Singapore.

I am reminded of the writings of Abdul Baha (found in compilations Baha'i World Faith, p 449)

O ye friends! Fellowship, fellowship! Love, love! Unity, unity! —So that the power of the Bahá’í Cause may appear and become manifest in the world of existence. Just at this moment I am engaged in your commemoration and this heart is in the utmost glow and excitement! Were ye to realize how this conscience is attracted with the love of the friends, unquestionably ye would obtain such a degree of joy and fragrance that ye would all become enamored with each other!

Connecting across borders

It was indeed a lovely feeling to group together with Baha'i friends and others in the home of a Baha'i in Cupertino. The occasion was to welcome back a wonderful soul, Ming, who accepted the Baha'i Faith during his stay in the US, whilst on an exchange program from Singapore. He had come back to visit the Bay Area with his own family, and was welcomed back with open arms- offering hospitality in many ways including- of course another occasion for us to party and eat!!

Many people he had come to know here in the Bay Area also turned up with food and friendship to welcome his family here. I truly enjoyed the sense of global communityship as I grew up with this strong sense of community back home in Singapore (I am from a minority community in Singapore so we build strong ties to be there for each other). It was truly nice to experience this sense of community here in the US in a home where everyone was welcomed (whether known to the host or not).

Sorry pictures are not that great- took it with my handphone (cellphone).

AUDIO TALKS AND LECTURES

My dear Baha'i sister shared this wonderful site with me, that I am now sharing with you. It is a compilation of audio talks. Check out this site


http://www.bahaistudy.org/audio-talks.html

Description of the site from the site: Over the years, countless formal and informal recordings have been made of talks and lectures given on the Bahá'í Faith. While these talks represent the views of the speaker, they are nonetheless important to gaining yet another view of the Bahá'í Faith. We will be constantly adding materials to this section. If you listen to a recording and feel that it is sub-par, please let us know since we don't always get a chance to listen to all the recordings in their entirety that we process.

Check out this really cool multimedia presentation prepared to celebrate the Birth of Baha'u'llah

http://www.nybahai.org/bahaullah/birthofbahaullah.html

(great photos and great music from the Baha'i Gospel Choir)

O SON OF MY HANDMAID! Be not troubled in poverty nor confident in riches, for poverty is followed by riches, and riches are followed by poverty. Yet to be poor in all save God is a wondrous gift, belittle not the value thereof, for in the end it will make thee rich in God, and thus thou shalt know the meaning of the utterance, "In truth ye are the poor," and the holy words, "God is the all-possessing," shall even as the true morn break forth gloriously resplendent upon the horizon of the lover's heart, and abide secure on the throne of wealth".... Hidden Words, Baha'ullah

Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Baha'i Faith, was born on November 12, 1817 and Baha'is all around the world celebrate this day.

There are many interesting stories of his life and of his childhood. The one I like is about a dream that Bahá'u'lláh related to His father. In His dream, He was in a garden while huge birds attacked him on all sides. Yet the birds were unable to harm Him. He then went to sea, where He was attacked by birds and fish, but again wasn't harmed. His father summoned a famous seer to interpret the dream, and was told that His son would become the founder of a great Cause and would be attacked by the leaders and learned men of the world. But they would be unable to harm Him, and He would be victorious over them all.

Born into a noble family, he declined the ministerial career open to Him in government, and chose instead to devote His energies to a range of philanthropies which had, by the early 1840s, earned Him widespread renown as “Father of the Poor.”

Baha'i community in Kona, Hawaii

My many trips around the world give me a chance to meet the wonderful Baha'is around the world. Summer this year took me to Kona, Hawaii. I was able to join them in celebration of Feast and it was a real treat indeed. Singing prayers together and just spending time meditating on the writings really helped us connect together and feel as one. Short as it was, I will always carry special memories of them with me.

Please support World Religion Day next year

I am reprinting an email I had received through my global friends regarding World Religion Day for next year. I think it is always a good reminder to ensure we do not let this precious day go by without doing anything and we need time to ensure it is truly inclusive of peoples of all religions. The best way is to ensure everyone feels ownership and participates enthusiastically in it. I was privileged back in 1997 to have been appointed the Baha'i speaker for a panel of religious speakers of 9 Faiths in Singapore, and I felt truly inspired sharing the message of the Oneness of Religion, of Peoples and ofGod. I was actually 5 months pregnant, but no one noticed that I was when giving the speech. They all thought I was just glowing though with pride of being a speaker. There were close to 1000 people in the audience, and we also had the Minister of Community Development and other key leaders in Singapore attend.

Other communities have it on a more modest basis with inter-religious prayers, but always getting people of other Faiths who are passionate bringing about greaty unity and also peace in applying spiritual principles to the way we interact as a humanity.

Having said that, here is the letter:

Each year in October we send out a request, via print and electronic media, to all Baha’i communities as well as individuals and organizations of other Faiths encouraging them to observe the annual World Religion Day in the coming year.

It is that time now. We call it the World Religion Day season. We respectfully request you to let us know if your Baha’i community has any plans to observe this important day on Third Sunday January 2007 (January 21, 2007). This information will be added into our website which gets over 300,000 visitors each season. If not may we urge you to appoint a dynamic group of Baha’is to formulate a plan for the said observance in January ‘07..

World Religion Day has proven to be an effective tool to build bridges between hearts of those who desire harmony. We are all aware, now more than ever, humanity’s plea for understanding and harmony among the followers of all Faiths. Many religious leaders have made attempts to bring together the followers of other Faiths for a friendly dialogue on the issue of living by the Golden Rule. Many civic leaders, around the globe, have praised the services rendered by World Religion Day in its efforts to promote harmony. The Government of Sri Lanka proclaimed Third Sunday in January as World Religion Day and issued a postal stamp to mark that historic proclamation. The Baha’is, with a global vision, are engraving in the minds and hearts of the believers of all Faiths that “Religion must be the cause of unity”. The worldwide observances of World Religion Day have been seen as most prominent in this endeavor.

The Baha’is around the world are attempting to invite their families, friends and neighbors to participate in their grassroots Core Activities. World Religion Day has been used by the Baha’is as a tool to further enhance the enrollment of seekers in the process of establishing God’s eternal kingdom on this planet. The examples are many among those Baha’i communities that observe the annual World Religion Day. Please visit http://www.worldreligionday.org/past_observances.html for more information.

We look forward to receiving the news of your planning to hold 2007 World Religion Day in your area. If you have a question please email them to The Project Office, WORLD RELIGION DAY PROGRAM, admin@worldreligionday.org

Please be assured of our loving prayers.

With best regards,

WORLD RELIGION DAY PROGRAM

lal@worldreligionday.org

http://www.worldreligionday.org/

Singapore Baha'i friends

Singapore is a multicultural, multiracial and multireligious society. The Baha'is have been established and doing great work in Singapore, thanks to its amazing people and great pioneers. Although I became a Baha'i in the US, it was really in Singapore that I finally investigated the Faith and was moved to declare. Also being Singaporean, Singapore always holds a special place in my heart.

One of the advantages, of places such as Singapore is that it is a cosmopolitan city and so becomes a great transit point for peoples from all over the world. What never ceases to amaze me is the number of times I meet Baha'is who know other Baha'is that I know from other cities around the world. The Baha'i world is not that small (about 6million people around the world). That always makes me feel so connected to the world and truly makes me feel as a global citizen. Recently, I met a Baha'i couple from Sydney who was visting Singapore, who happened to know a Baha'i friend of mine in Montreal and another back in Sydney, whom I got to know here in the US!! I also met another here in the US who knew my Baha'i friend back in Botswana!! Truly makes me feel like a global citizen indeed!!!

Washington DC experiences

Washington DC always holds dear memories for me. It was there that I first attended Feast, where I got married, had my first child, celebrated my 10th wedding anniversary, etc. I was therefore thankful that I was able to spend sometime this summer catching up with dear friends and my adopted family, the Coleys. (Zylpha Mapp Robinson was my other Baha'i mom who passed away, but her presence was felt and dear memories with her not forgotten, I thank God I was able to see her a month or so before she passsed). The Baha'i friends are all so dedicated to the Faith and work hard to actually live the life, that I use many of them as my beacons of hope and faith. I also turn to them often to be my prayer line as I truly value the power of their prayers. I share some of these memories through this picture.

Great German experiences

On my way back from WSIS Tunis, I managed to stop by to visit a dear Baha'i friend (more like sister). Thanks to her wonderful hospitality, I managed to visit the House of Worship in Germany and met some really wonderful people in Germany. The world is indeed one country and humankind its citizens.

“Consider the flowers of a garden: though differing in kind, colour, form and shape, yet inasmuch as they are refreshed by the waters of one spring, revived by the breath of one wind, invigorated by the rays of one sun, this diversity increaseth their charm, and addeth unto their beauty. Thus when that unifying force, the penetrating influence of the Word of God, taketh effect, the difference of customs, manners, habits, ideas, opinions and dispositions embellisheth the world of humanity..”” Abdul Baha

Faces from around the world

Since I only just recently started this blog, I will slowly work my way backwards and post the pictures of some lovely Baha'is I have had occasion to meet around the world. Let me start with some from Cambodia and Laos. Some of them are pioneers from Malaysia into these countries, and others are local and homefront pioneers.

Many of them had been at it for such a long time, and their life of dedication to the Faith is indeed an inspiration to all!! Did you know there is a village in Myanmar, which was referred to by Abdul Baha was "my village"? This place is affectionately known as Abdul Baha's village by the locals in Myanmar, and has been visited by Ruhiyyih Khanum. Unfortunately, it was the rainy season still and there was not enough time for me to visit it on my trip. I hope to make it back and meet more lovely people! Great and inspirational people and I can only hope and wish to life my life as they do, with humility, love and total dedication. I am so blessed to have met them!!

Celebrating the Festival of Lights in the Bay Area

One of the exciting things about living here in the Bay Area, is the diversity of cultures and faiths. My daughter's school is great at helping promoting this diversity and recently celebrated Diwali, the Festival of Lights with the teachers and children. This was an initiative by the mothers, and I was delighted to be included in this celebration.

Diwali has many meanings to many people, but the one I like most is that it is the celebration of the victory of good over evil. This is the day that lights are put up to rule out darkness and to celebrate its victory over evil. A very universal struggle within and without all of us, and it was just a great treat to have people of all faiths and cultures celebrate this notion together here in the Bay Area! Great effort of unity in action!

Baha’u'llah has written“The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established. ”“So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth.”… Something for me to remember as I celebrate Diwali with my friends here.

Collaborating with a great group of enthusiatic Baha'is

Yesterday evening, we were warmly received in the home of fellow Baha'i working for Yahoo here in California. This was an individual initiative to try to followup on the meeting organised by the Baha'i Internet Agency here in the Bay Area.

For those of you who may not be aware, the International Teaching Centre has set up a Baha'i Internet Agency, to encourage individual and group initiatives to use the Internet and other communication technologies to help strenghten communitites.

Many Baha'is are enthusiatically offering their time and effort, to help pull together all the efforts of other Baha'is to use blogging more effectively. As a beginner blogger myself, I look forward to learning much from them. I also enjoyed the first consultative meeting the BIA organised here in the Valley. The BCCA (the Baha'i Computer and Communications Association)will be organising a meeting in Bosch to get likeminded Baha'is together to get the ball rolling and renergise BCCA, sometime in Spring next year.

Having been involved in telecom and the Internet over the last 20 years, I have always been excited about telecom?internet as a tool to bring us closer together as one human family.

(PS posting the picture taken at the BIA meeting in the San Jose Baha'i centre a few months back)

Experiencing the world as one country

One of the things I will start doing on this blog, is sharing my experiences with the Baha'is from around the world. I have to date been very fortunate to be welcomed by Baha's in India, Samoa, Myanmar, Singapore, Vietnam, US, etc just to name a few. It truly is a very warm feeling to be welcomed wherever you are. My most recent trip was to Myanmar where I met very warm and hospitable Baha'is. Despite their time constraints and health issues, they still enthusiastically came to welcome me at my hotel and proceeded to welcome me into their homes for dinner. I was actually in Myanmar attending an official UN meeting hosted by the government of Myanmar, and they were surprised that I knew people in Myanmar despite this being my first trip there. This is what being a part of the global family is. I do have lovely pictures and videos to share but will do so at a later time.

World Summit on the Information Society

This week in Athens, the first Internet Governance Forum is resuming to discuss issues concerning the global community. There will be many workshops on different topics such as privacy, domain name management, affordable and equitable access to communication technologies etc.

I was fortunate enough to have been a part of some of the burgeoning days of these efforts, from my days as founder of the Asia PAcific Policy and Legal Forum (APPLe) and as Secretary General of the Asia Pacific Internet Association back in the late 90s, as well as the Baha'i International Community Representative both at the WSIS Geneva 2003 and WSIS Tunis in 2005.

Both at Tunis and Geneva, as Baha'is we participated mainly in the Ethics and Values Caucus to help bring forward such principles into the Action Plan of the WSIS. It was very encouraging to see other spiritual and religious groups involved in these efforts.

We met many other Baha'is during these events, such as the Mona Foundation who were invited to showcase their projects at the Microsoft booth, Dr Danesh and his efforts in the Institute of Conflict Resolution, etc. I am sure there will be many Baha'is in Athens, and only wish I could have been there. Lack of funding and time has made me have to miss attending again this year.

It is ever so exciting to see the world collaborate to use communications technologies to bring the world together. This vision of a borderless world of communication is there in the Baha'i writings.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/30/igf_overview/

UNITY IS KEY TO WORLD PEACE

Baha’u'llah has written
“The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established. ”
“So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth.”…

Abdul Baha has written
“Unity is necessary to existence. Love is the very cause of life, on the other hand, separation brings death. In the world of material creation…all things owe their actual life to unity. The elements which compose wood, mineral, or stone are held together by the law of attraction..So is it with the great body of humanity.”

Contemplating on these words, I realise that we will not solve our problems be it environmental, racial harmony, the global economy etc, until we achieve this unity. Yet, we have it all backwards. We have this idea that unity is this far off goal for which we must first solve all these problems to achieve.

Having it backwards is why we seem to be going deeper and deeper into the troubles of our own making.

Equality of men and women



Baha’i writings about women:

“The equality of men and women is not, at the present time, universally applied. In those areas where traditional inequality still hampers its progress, Baha'is are called to take the lead in practicing the equality of men and women. Baha’i women and girls are encouraged to take part in the social, spiritual and administrative activities of their communities.”..She must become proficient in the arts and sciences and prove by her accomplishments that her abilities and powers have merely been latent. Demonstrations of force, are neither becoming nor effective in the cause of womanhood and equality.” “Women must endeavor to attain greater perfection, to be men’s equal in every respect, to make progress in all in which she has been backward, so that men will be compelled to acknowledge her equality of capacity and attainment”

Importance of equality given a high station in Baha’i faith.

“The emancipation of women, the achievement of full equality between the sexes, is one of the most important, though less acknowledged prerequisites of peace. The denial of such equality perpetrates an injustice against one half of the world’s population and promotes in men harmful attitudes and habits, which are carried from the family, to the workplace, to political life, and ultimately to international relations. There are no grounds, moral, practical, or biological, upon which such denial can be justified. Only as women are welcomed into full partnership in all fields of human endeavor will the moral and psychological climate be created in which international peace can emerge.”

While we empower ourselves, we need to educate men on how we approach things differently, and we need to learn also the rules of their game…so we can understand… much of the conflict is because of lack of understanding on both sides. This has been called the Age of women…. But this is not a gender issue. This is a quality…. for men as well as women.. With the balancing of the male and female aspects of mankind, will we see true progress in any venture we undertake including the Internet.

. “The world of humanity has two wings- one is women and the other men. Not until both wings are equally developed can the bird fly. Should one wing remain weak, flight is impossible. Not until the world of women become equal to the world of men in the acquisitions of virtues and perfection’s, can success and prosperity be attained as they ought to be”

“The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established. ”

In the Baha'i writings, Abdul Baha describes how world unity shall come about through the seven candles:
•The first candle is unity in the political realm
•The second candle is unity of thought in world undertakings
•The third candle is unity in freedom
•The fourth candle is unity in religion
•The fifth candle is the unity of nations -causing all the peoples of the world to regard themselves as citizens of one common fatherland
•The sixth candle is unity of races, making all that dwell on earth peoples and kindreds of one race
•The seventh candle is unity of language- the choice of a universal tongue in which all peoples will be instructed and converse.

We are very lucky in this age that we live in times where the oneness of mankind is a lot easier to visualise. We have global aviation, telecommunication satellites, global broadcasting that brings events such as in Tienammen square right into our living rooms. Through the birth of things like computer networks and the Internet, we are beginning to link mentally as well as physically. In fact. Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon is reported to experienced instant global consciousness looking at the earth from the moon.

YET WE HAVE PROBLEMS STILL TODAY…..
this linking will not happen because of technology alone. Technology is but a tool and can in fact be used either way, as a tool for creation or destruction. We still have problems today…… The next level of linkage that needs to happen is the linking of consciousness- a linking of soul-to-soul.

The deeper implications of this Oneness of Mankind, implies an organic change in the structure of present day society, a change such as the world has not yet experienced. It represents the consummation of human evolution- the next step is the high synergistic society where there will be a linking together of the consciousness of mankind..