My head is a convenient store

Way to go making me miss Copenhagen Yoav, cheers mate.

My mind fights on in a battle against self,

For years trying to sever the ties and disconnect, 

In a moment left to wandering thoughts, 

You reemerge and destroy my progress,

The moments we shared so vivid and alive,

Taking me back when all seemed fine,

Forget my time and place and space,

Your life is again in sync with mine.

The frozen moments lost in time,

The smiles, the silence, the unspoken signs,

The motives, the motions, the millions of miles,

The dreaming, the delirium, the daily demise,

The feelings, the flaws, the faltering fears.

Tarnished, ungreased, I'm like a rusted gear.

[Special thanks to Saba for assistance with the last line.]

Charlie breaks the silence.

Taken from Charlie Chaplin's film, The Great Dictator (1940). It was released just prior to the US entry into WWII. It was a huge act of defiance against Nazism and an act of courage given the political climate at the time.


Absolutely inspiring. (It gives me goosebumps)



Next step: to watch the film.

‎"The betterment of the world can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds,  through commendable and seemly conduct". - Bahá'u'lláh

Reminiscing my mind.

Thought of the day (28/09/09)
- Some things ought not to be recorded as a means of forgetting or, at the very least, in order to not be reminded of them.

Resonance..

A poem I found quite a while ago. It held meaning to it then, just as it does now. But naturally, different circumstances, difference experiences mean I read it quite differently now...

Kurban Said

A book that I read, put down, read, thought about, read and finally finished... The Orientalist. 

"Dont be frightened - but I regret to tell you with all formality that I have lost my mind." p335

I still don't quite understand the life and times of Lev Nussimbaum, but it was refreshing to read a biography about a man who eluded all manner and form of stereotype and expectation.

Heart (e)scape

With the natural progression of time,

we went our separate ways,

even if that meant you pushed me left,

then ran to the right,

leaving no trail to follow, 

After much hesitation I had no choice,

I continued on the path you set,

but my heart left a lingering path,

needing only a sign to sling-back,

double over, return like a boomerang.

For too long my heart waited,

but like bait never bitten, 

it lost its scent,

it lost its strength,

the trail faded away.

My heart is mine again,

it no longer lays at an angle,

waiting for its escape,

it settled back into its cavity,

allowing the blood to flow,

beating returns to regularity,

freeing me from any entanglements.

Artist: S. Rouhani

The Faith of God has lost a distinguished servant.

The sudden passing of our beloved Dr Peter Khan on 15 July 2011 has brought to an end a "remarkable life, one of earnest striving, of unbending resolve, of unflinching dedication to principle, and of constancy of effort". The following video was prepared by a friend for a memorial service held in Dr Khan's honour.

"By any measure, his was a remarkable life, one of earnest striving, of unbending resolve, of unflinching dedication to principle, and of constancy of effort."

I can earnestly say that Peter was one of the most amazing individuals that I have ever had the bounty of meeting. I especially remember that during my year of service at the Baha'i World Centre during 2007 and 2008, he was serving as a member of the Supreme Body of the Baha'i Faith, The Universal House of Justice. He was a member during the years 1987 to 2010. For more information, see the following article: Dr. Peter J. Khan: A "remarkable life"

I will end this post with a Baha'i Prayer for the Departed:

Omy God!  O my God!  Verily, thy servant, humble before the majesty of Thy divine supremacy, lowly at the door of Thy oneness, hath believed in Thee and in Thy verses, hath testified to Thy word, hath been enkindled with the fire of Thy love, hath been immersed in the depths of the ocean of Thy knowledge, hath been attracted by Thy breezes, hath relied upon Thee, hath turned his face to Thee, hath offered his supplications to Thee, and hath been assured of Thy pardon and forgiveness.  He hath abandoned this mortal life and hath flown to the kingdom of immortality, yearning for the favor of meeting Thee.
O Lord, glorify his station, shelter him under the pavilion of Thy supreme mercy, cause him to enter Thy glorious paradise, and perpetuate his existence in Thine exalted rose garden, that he may plunge into the sea of light in the world of mysteries.
Verily, Thou art the Generous, the Powerful, the Forgiver and the Bestower.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Climate change is a moral issue.

Although I don't side with any political party, this is a brilliant speech given by Malcolm Turnbull MP earlier this week that shows due respect to the science behind climate change and the imperative need to take action.

"The consequences of getting our response to climate change wrong will not likely be felt too severely by us, or at least not most of us, but will be felt painfully and cruelly by the generations ahead of us. And the people in the world who will suffer the most cruelly will be the poorest and the people who have contributed the least to the problem. There is an enormous injustice here. When people try and suggest to you that climate change is not a moral issue, they are wrong. It is an intensely moral issue, raising grave moral issues."

http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/homepage-speeches-articles/inaugural-virginia-chadwick-memorial-foundation-lecture-sydney-july-21-2011/


It is quite the long speech, but I would highly recommend reading it, een if only to gain greater perspective on the issues that the world around us are facing with the reality of climate change.

My thoughts, not yours.

But, it doesn't matter what you think, for it can't change the uncontrollable thoughts that constantly stream between my ears. The realities I face are mostly in my subconscious and no manner of explanation or justification will bring you to a sufficient level of understanding or acceptance.

"All our words are but crumbs that fall down from the feast of the minds." (Kahlil Gibran)

This is my plea to you, do not try and bring reason into the discussion. Matters of the heart and, by extension, the subconscious, rarely take notice of reasoning. There is no reason. I have accepted this, and beg of you to do the same.

Falsified truth.

What a great danger we can be to ourselves, 

when we become so accustomed to lying, that 

we even convince ourselves of such untruths.

The persecution continues.

The arrested associates of the BIHE

After a long history of systematically denying the Bahá'ís living in Iran the right to an education, amongst many other things, the Iranian Government has taken it even further. The Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) is a initiative offering higher education to the young Iranian Baha'is that have been barred from attending university. They have been the victim of the latest attacks. 16 people with association to the BIHE were arrested just short of a month ago, not to mention at least 39 homes have been targeted. 


The reaction to this inhumane and unjustifiable act has aroused international condemnation, including the Austrian government, top academics in the United Kingdom, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom just to name a few. For further information, please read the following: Worldwide outrage at Iran's attack on Bahá'í educators

FutureSpeak

Who would've thought a song could be written, using google! The Guitar Doodle appeared in place of the regular google logo last week. The clip below is a song written by a friend (Arlen), and his group FutureSpeak, wrote using this funky little doodle. Enjoy!





To listen to some of their other songs: CLICK HERE

The Rubaiyat

I recently purchased another (beautifully illustrated) copy of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat. By far one of the best pieces of writing I have ever read and definitely a recommendation of mine to everyone. Here is one of my favourite stanzas in the Edward Fitzgerald translation (of course).





66
I sent my Soul through the Invisible,
Some letter of that After-life to spell:
And by and by my Soul return'd to me,
And answer'd "I Myself am Heav'n and Hell" 

Mercury in retrograde

You didn't see it coming, in fact it was the last thing that crossed your mind, the last thing you perceived to possibly become reality. And by fighting back, you prove them to be right. You showed them the reaction they sought, as a response to their actions.

You spent an immeasurable amount of time building up a facade, a facade that had the sole purpose of protecting you from such an ordeal - and in a flashing moment it dissolved like jelly crystals in boiling water. Not only did it dissolve but you were also infiltrated beyond your veneer - forming an abyss, a gaping chasm, only realised in absence, emptying and creating a void that previously knew no such existence.

Then there is the aftermath. Mind races through past fleeting moments, moments that were most likely taken for granted, moments that were previously unnoticed, unthought of, only known in your subconscious. Now they surge, cascading from the highest height, gushing down like a river rapid. Reminding you of what once was, what no longer is, what exists no more.

Like rubbing salt into a wound or pouring cold water on a sensitive tooth, your subconscious gives you no reprieve. As night succeeds day and the dream-state envelopes, you continue the torture brought about by the unknown, the unforeseen and unfathomable. Only with morning do you come to an agreement for a temporary armistice that will allow the progress of the new day, knowing full well that the ceasefire will end as night falls.

Picture courtesy of: under.a.glass.moon