The Seventy-Sixth night

Since you left me, home is no longer home,

Nor is the neighbor neighbor, since you went away,

Nor is the friend who kept me company

The friend I knew, nor is the day bright day,

Nor are the sun and moon that shone with light

The same, for they will never shine again.

In desolation you have left the world,

In gloomy darkness, every field and plain.

O, may the crow that at our parting crowed

His feathers lose and without' shelter stand.

My patience fails; my body wastes away

How many veils are torn by death's cruel hand!

I wonder, will our nights come back again,

And will the old home once more hold us twain?

Image: Source

Spiritual Recuperation

Today marked the first day of the Bahá'í Fast. The last 19 days (one Baha'i month) of the Bahá'í year all the Baha'is around the world undertake a period of fasting, from sunrise to sunset. The Bahá'í Faith sees great value in the practice of fasting as a discipline for the soul. "It is essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, therefore, fundamentally spiritual in character. Fasting is symbolic, and a reminder of abstinence from selfish and carnal desires." (Shoghi Effendi, Directives of the Guardian (New Delhi: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1973), pp. 27-28.)

"Fasting is the cause of awakening man. The heart becomes tender and the spirituality of man increases. This is produced by the fact that man's thoughts will be confined to the commemoration of God, and through this awakening and stimulation surely ideal advancements follow... Fasting is of two kinds, material and spiritual. The material fasting is abstaining from food or drink, that is, from the appetites of the body. But spiritual, ideal fasting is this, that man abstain from selfish passions, from negligence and from satanic animal traits. Therefore, material fasting is a token of the spiritual fasting. That is: `O God! As I am fasting from the appetites of the body and not occupied with eating and drinking, even so purify and make holy my heart and my life from aught else save Thy Love, and protect and preserve my soul from self-passions... Thus may the spirit associate with the Fragrances of Holiness and fast from everything else save Thy mention."

- Abdu'l-Bahá, Star of the West, vol. 3, p. 305.

Enough said :)

Invictus

I just finished watching the film, Invictus, which follows the story of Nelson Mandela's first days as the President of the South Africa at the time that South Africa hosting the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The title of the film comes from a poem by William Ernest Henley that was written in 1875. In the film Mandela refers to this poem as what motivated him, when he was incarcerated in Roben Island Prison, to "stand when all he wanted to do was lie down".

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

~ William Ernest Henley

Although in reality it was not this exact piece of writing that Mandela handed to the Captain of the South Africa Rugby team, Francois Pienaar, the poem itself deserves some attention. Definitely a wall hanger.

Everything I have blogged so far is of no importance.

As I sit here, these are 7 Iranian Baha'is are sitting in the Evin Prison (Tehran, Iran), as they have been doing so since their arrests in March and May 2008, awaiting their fate.

Their crime: Being Baha'i and Belief in Baha'u'llah.
Only today, after almost TWO years, their trial began. I ask for your prayers that they recieve the justice deserved by every single human being.

For more information on the situation surrounding the arrests and the trial that is now underway follow this link: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/01/12/Iran.bahai.trial/

Reader's digest

Having grown up as quite the book worm, the past few months of near constant travel have necessitated a wide selection of books to occupy all those 'in-between' times. And although I am a great Harry Potter fan and I finally caved and read Twilight (much to my disappointment), the rest of the books have not, for the most part, been bestsellers. And it just so happens that I found an article in The Economist which summerizes my point much better than I could myself. Just to quote:

"A lot of the people who read a bestselling novel, for example, do not read much other fiction. By contrast, the audience for an obscure novel is largely composed of people who read a lot. That means the least popular books are judged by people who have the highest standards, while the most popular are judged by people who literally do not know any better. An American who read just one book this year was disproportionately likely to have read “The Lost Symbol”, by Dan Brown. He almost certainly liked it."

Now, I'm not saying that I necessarily have the highest standards, but it's always nice to think of oneself as a little above those who ONLY read The Lost Symbol :)

The rest of the article is also definitely worth at least a glance.


Source: The Economist

Coffee for fortune

It seemed like a good idea at the time, drinking a cup of Turkish coffee to have my 'fortune' read. Perhaps I should've taken the time into consideration. It’s now almost 4 am and I'm still buzzing from my 10pm caffeine intake.

And after all the heart palpitations, this is what I learned of my future:

• I am too caught up in my dreams that I forget to live the present
  
• My future plans (near and distant) are going to be very busy and chaotic (story of my life)
• There is someone in my life that is begging for my forgiveness - down on their hands and knees!
  

Now, considering the last 6 months of my life have been a rollercoaster ride of semi-organised chaos, the prospect of a continuation of this hecticness is a little more than I can handle. As for the forgiveness business, anyone who knows me at all knows that I don't hold grudges and hence don't even need to be asked for forgiveness. And finally, dreamer I have always been, dreamer will I always be.

In conclusion, Turkish coffee --> fortune telling = no 'light' shed = sleepless night = (hate to say it) EPIC FAIL.

Let me occupy your mind

Life is good.

• Twin Holy Days in Haifa
• Christmas in Paris with wonderful family
• CT in Verona
• Visiting family in Lyon and Amsterdam
• a bunch of other trips

= Life is good.

Excitement comes in threes

Three things providing excitement:

• I have an increasing number of concerts/gigs/festivals to look forward to for my first month back in Sydney - (Future Music, Angus & Julia Stone, Matisyahu, Gipsy Kings and Buena Vista Social Club) - Horray for the world, we're glad to be on it!
• I just discovered that Angus of Angus and Julia Stone has released a solo album under then name 'Lady of the Sunshine' - its brilliant! Click here to hear some of his songs
• It has come to my attention that none othere than the AMAZING Ludovico Einaudi has a new album, Night Book, I am yet to hear any of the songs but I am certain of its brilliance... now to get my hands on a copy!

Find your wings

You were born with potential.
You were born with goodness and trust.
You were born with ideals and dreams.
You were born with greatness.
You were born with wings.
You are not meant for crawling, so don't.
You have wings.
Learn to use them
and fly.

~ Rumi

Pic: Source

Better this, than summing up my thoughts

I wondered what would be the worth of my words in the world
if i write them and then recite them are they worth being heard
just because i like them does that mean i should mic them
and see what might unfurl

i think of the significance of my opinions here
is it significant to be giving them does anybody care
just because i'm into this does that mean i should live like it
and really do i dare

art, art i want you
art you make it pretty hard not too
and my heart is trying hard here to follow you
but i can't always tell if i ought to

so i pondered the point of my art in this life
if i make it will someone take it and think it's genuine
will they be glad that i did 'cause they got something good out of it
will they leave me and be any more inspired

i question the outcome of the outpouring of myself
if i tell everyone my stories will this keep me healthy and well
will it give me purpose, to this world some sort of service
is it worth it, how can i tell

art, art...

(Tanya Davis)

Hopenhagen.

Today marks the first day of the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. I am lucky enough to be Copenhagen during this historic week of negotiations that seek to bring about an agreement across the world on how to target the issue of Global Warming. The city is buzzing, with thousands of people flooding into the city in the hope of being a part of a potentially significant moment in history. The success of this Conference has been widely debated and the result is still very unknown, but with time running out to make a significant change we can only hope that there will be a deal reached here in Copenhagen. As the Danish Prime Minister has said, "A deal is within our reach." Lets hope he is right!

On the 17th and 18th of December, 110 heads of states and governments will come to Copenhagen in an attempt to seal a political global climate deal. If a deal is agreed, the UN will aim at transforming it into a legally binding text to replace the Kyoto Protocol as its regulations of emissions expires in 2012. Sign the petition here:

However, regardless of the outcome in Copenhagen, further meetings will most definitely be necessary to finalise the "rules" of any new treaty. Anything done without spiritual insight is flawed, and the world still hasn't realised this. Although there is all this talk about active change and the public becoming more aware of the impacts of climate change, ultimately the world's leaders are still too focused on the economic impact of modifying the current system of functioning.

Treaty or no treaty, a new world order has to be established before any real 'change' will occur. Until then.. temperatures will keep rising, ice caps will continue melting and Australians will keep dying of skin cancer because the hole in the Ozone layer continues growing.

I'm no climatologist, or expert in any field for that matter, but I know that it will take more than a treaty to bring about the kind of change that is needed to save the world from its impending doom.

blank-screen sleep-texting machine

Andy Warhol, Shadow 1978

Could you stop haunting my dreams?

It is utterly disconcerting and,
quite frankly,
I've had enough.
Cheers.

Percussive, melodic, and rhythmic

I don't want this to become a blog solely about musical discovery and the such, but I couldn't deprive you of the musical ingenuity of Maneli Jamal. By chance I stumbled upon his song, Movement III Ziur, a couple of days ago and since then I've been hooked. Of course, by nature, I had to delve a little deeper and find out how he came to do what he does, and I found quite the interesting tale of forced nomadic movement. I will leave it for your own interest to read up on him, but I will just add that perhaps it was because of these experiences that he was able to seek out the Arts (in this case through Music) to express himself through his experimentation with the acoustic guitar not only in its melodic abilities, but the less trodden territories of percussion and rhythm.

It is not often that I buy music, but without hesitation I click on the link to the itunes store and typed in my Credit Card details - if you're interested in buying his CD let me take one step out of the equation: click here

I leave you with a taste:




"The art of music is divine and effective. It is the food of the soul and spirit. Through the power and charm of music the spirit of man is uplifted."

'Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 52

Warning: startup disk full

Prompted by a warning of a full startup disk this afternoon I began an attempt to clear some space. I started sifting through all the files on my mac. I stopped when I came across a document dated March 24 2008, the day I left the Baha’i World Centre after spending a year as a janitor in the Cleaning and Maintenance Department. Reading over it brought tears to my eyes, as I’m sure were present at the time of documentation. I just wanted to share a part of it:

March 24^th 2008

I have been on the plane now for 3 hours. I have left my year of service behind. I’ve been constantly on the verge of tears for the past few days in the constant state of anxiousness I've been in. What has become of me? Why does it have to hurt so much? I left my heart in Haifa and my soul is floating freely somewhere in Bahji, entangled in the strings that were tied one by one and day by day to that most Holy place in the progress of the year that evaporated faster than the once oceanic-sized Dead Sea. Why couldn’t those strings keep me there? Why did they have to be only spiritual? Why couldn’t I tie myself to the Threshold? Or Collins Gate? Or even the BVC jani closest forever?

But no, I will never have that again. Bahji is not mine, the BVC is not my palace, and I am not her Queen. Handed down from year to year, the Throne is passed on with no thought of the one who kept her in shape, the marble shinning, the mirrors reflecting, the glass transparent, the carpet manicured, the trash emptied, the sinks dried, the toilet paper refilled, the paper dispenser first placed, the windowsill dustless, the walls mark free! 

No loyalty.

But I will be loyal, I will keep up the esteem of those walls. The glistening cleanliness, the calm and serenity, only interrupted by John’s wise-crack comments and the hundreds of pilgrims storming through the visitors' centre as if it were their own. I will turn up every morning as the sun rises from the East, turn on the lights, in the ending darkness, pull on the straps of on my backpack vacuum and start my daily tasks, only to leave when I finish for the day, as the sun shys away into the West, and I walk down to the Sherut stand on Derech HaArba'a, knowing I will be back the next morning.

If home is where the heart is, Bahji be home.

The Haram-i-Aqdas

The most amazing sunrises and sunsets

I've never seen a bluer sky

Twenty months later, those strings are still tied as firmly as ever. And Bahji is still home.