Mind: Soar

You fly free
I'll follow in your shadow
You see me
Smiling back at you

A smile of encouragement
A laugh of joy
Sends you leaping
With a strategic ploy

And you soar
Just a little faster
Maybe more
Just a little farther

Circling your goals
Enraptured with a vision
Destiny in view
Exploring each decision

You belong to the realm above
But walk humbly on solid ground
Embracing the path
A clear way to be found.

Body: Firm Foundation

Grounded and strong
I lay a firm foundation
Thick but not so long
A lunging sensation

Deep in my thighs
I want to feel the burn
Right before your very eyes
I press, pivot, and turn

Building from the bottom up
Often finding oneself down
But always getting back up
With a smile, not a frown

One squat and one squeeze
Aware of that base from which you grow
With thanks and a please
You will reap from the seeds that you did sow

Soul: Honor That Place

I honor that place in you where the entire universe resides
The place that has been open to the callings from all sides

That space so freeing yet filled with being
A portal to that which is immortal
A door needing neither ceiling nor floor
That fort fit for a royal court

I honor that place in you that lights up and shines through
The place that allows me to experience the real you

That time has no limit and that hour felt like a minute
A connection with distinct selection
A smile that seemed to go for a mile
That energy was not required and that everyone else was instantly fired.

Mind: Creative Valentines - 2013

This year's bahai-inspired valentine includes the quote, "Let your heart burn with loving kindness" taken from an original quote by Abdu'l-Baha:

"Do not be content with showing friendship in words alone, let your heart burn with loving kindness for all who may cross your path.” Abdu'l-Baha - Paris Talks.

Easy enough for a 4-6yr old to make themselves with limited help.

Instructions:
-Print quote hearts onto pink card stock
-Cut 2-3" squares of tissue paper (orange and yellow) with a slight cut in middle
-Slide dum dum lollipop through yellow and then orange tissue paper squares for flame.
-Foam star (or you could use different shapes) -- place two horizontal cuts in middle and about half inch vertically between for the dum dum lollipop to slide through.
-Glue heart quote on the half inch space that lollipop went through/behind.
-Write or glue a to/from on back or front.
And... Voila!
Enjoy!

 

 

January 2013: Grateful Moments

Grateful for Jan 2013

Kicked off the year with a good night's sleep
And a rebuild of confidence, a climb so steep
Was aided by the strongest of staffs
Providing comfort, support, and lots of laughs

Sometimes I found myself leaning upon it
And other times it gave me a nudge and kept me fit
But mostly, it helped to guide and shape the flock
Our prized jewels for which we would give up both shoe and sock.

For frost, for snow, for ice to skate upon
For business ethics, a stance against a con,
For homes away from home that are restful,
And for first time with fro-yo, I am grateful.

2013: Gratitude

13 Reasons why '13 is Inevitably the year of Gratitude

1. Gratitude fosters Apprecation
2. Appreciation promotes Contentment
3. Contentment allows one to find Joy
4. Joy eminates Positivity
5. Postivity is Contagious
6. Contagious attitudes have a significant Impact
7. Impact on others can be that of Service
8. Service is a calling from God
9. God provides A Source
10. A Source is that which offers up Continually
11. Continually streaming a sustaining and unconditional Love
12. Love is conducive to Unity
13. Unity is Inevitable

Jan 1st 2013:
Today, I am grateful for welcoming smiles, winter's cold, ice skates, and open hands with warm clasps.

Soul: Wish

I wish I may
I wish I might
Be with you
On this fine night

Snow falls at morn
Excitement fills the air
Crowds pack the church
Quickly does the gift wrap tear

It's the night before
The eve of wishes
Of joys and laughter
Of hugs and of kisses.

Body: Battle

It's a battlefield in there
Some dumb, some straight
It's me against them
Take on 50, 20, or 8

One at a time, I show off my strength
I lift, I bow, I bend
A glance in the mirror
It's my ego that I fend

The wounds are few and far between
As much as it pains me
That little red sore
How it makes me giddy

The battle is sometimes long
And othertimes short and sweet
But no matter what
Return to that place, will my feet

Mind: Education as a means of Emancipation

Jamilah is a Kindergartener beginning her studies this week at a private Catholic Elementary School in the USA that her family chose for her after visiting several schools she had to choose from. Her experience is in bold below.

Niknaz is a graduate of the Baha’i Institute of Higher Education — the open university established to educate Baha’i youth who have been banned from the state-run colleges in Iran. She was interviewed about what it was like to study at the BIHE – her responses are in italics below.

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She awoke from her bed, eager and excited to attend school. “The teacher has curly hair like me” she exclaimed.

Every day of studying at the BIHE involves risk factors and restrictions.

“You don’t need to come with me, I can wait for the bus alone.” She boarded the bus without a fear and waved bye.

We were always very careful to avoid traffic while going and coming out of the house, not to attract any attention.

On the bus she made friends with the boys, “I already made friends with those boys” she exclaimed. The bus took over an hour to get to school, but she will only ride the bus once a day in the morning.

Sometimes for attending two classes in one day, I had to go from one class in the north of Tehran to another class in the south.

The bus arrived safely to the clean school building – the same one she had visited several times before in preparation for the first day of school.

Our classes were held at homes and the university was underground.

Friendly teachers stood outside to show her where to line up and to guide her to her classroom.

I did not study in a normal classroom like everybody else in America.

“Tomorrow,” they said, “You will set your back-packs here, play in the playground, and when the bell rings, you will line up again here to go to class.”

Every day, I did not know if tomorrow my university will be there or not.

Each day would be the same morning routine, and each day Mrs B would be there to greet her when she gets off the bus.

Every day the fear existed that our professors would be arrested and our equipments confiscated.

When she arrives to her classroom each day, Mrs S will greet her upon entering and she will hang her backpack on the same hook, and sit at the same table she sat at the day before.

There was no permanent place for our classes and workshops.

And when it comes the time for her scheduled gym, library, computer, music, or Spanish class – there will be a separate fully equipped classroom for her to go to.

Many Bahai homes and their basements, big or small, and the professors’ offices and workplaces, were ready to instantly turn into classrooms and studios and labs.

She, as a student, will be happy, under any circumstance, whether there isn’t enough strawberries in her lunch box, whether the teacher mispronounces her name, whether the smart board only has four pens, it won’t matter her mind is ready to learn.

We as students were happy under any circumstance, whether there were enough chairs or we had to sit on the floor; whether the room was spacious or cramped, whether, there was an overhead projector or a whiteboard, would not matter and our minds were ready to learn.

For more information on the persecution of Baha’is in Iran, please visit http://iran.bahai.us

Soul: Roses

The roses were brought from over 40mi away.
They arrived in the hands of a man
Eager to share with the woman he loved
A symbol of the love they shared.

The roses stood strong in nourished fresh water
Witnessing the comings and goings of that home
And then, all of a sudden, all become silent and still
The woman was gone, the roses stood alone.

One by one, those roses began to wilt
The woman had left the roses to explore
The love for God that grew continually within her heart
The roses longed to understand how come

The rose within her heart never seemed to wilt
It didn't need companionship, nor fresh water
It's existence was not conditional on nourishment
It was self sufficient and ever-giving

A few days past by, and the woman returned to that home
The roses remained on the table, wilted and still
Whilst the rose in heart shone radiantly from within
What did those roses symbolize now?

The woman had not needed the roses while away,
But it seems they had needed her
Had the roses sought refuge in her home?
Had the roses come to expect the care?

The woman glanced at the roses,
And a few... seemed to glance back at her
Those few symbolized faith, hope, and patience
The rest laid limp and still, never to be known what they symbolized

And the conflict ensued
Should she keep those that stood alive
And toss the dead among them?
Would the few be able to stand strong alone?

If she pours out the old water, and refreshes with new
Will those roses come to expect that each time they wilt
New water and nourishment will always be there
What if she doesn't always have fresh water to provide?

Yet is to be known what will come of those roses
As that woman stares and ponders
Only the rose shining within her has a glimpse of what's to come
And she prays that rose will offer but a sign

Or a note, from which she can make the tune
Or a stroke, from which she can complete the painting
Oh Dear Rose, be these roses tried and true
Eternal, let them stand side by side with you.