Virtues
‘What is the purpose of our lives?’ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. — ‘To acquire virtues. (Paris Talks) “As to thy question, doth every soul without exception achieve life everlasting? Know thou that immortality belongeth to those souls in whom hath been breathed the spirit of life from God. All save these are lifelessContinue Reading
Two Kinds of Knowledge
“Know verily that Knowledge is of two kinds: Divine and Satanic. The one welleth out from the fountain of divine inspiration; the other is but a reflection of vain and obscure thoughts. The source of the former is God Himself; the motive-force of the latter the whisperings of selfish desire.Continue Reading
Relaxation
Chronic mental health challenges create a lot of stress, and finding healthy ways of relaxing is very important. In Edmund Bourne’s book, Anxiety and Phobia Workbook, he recommends progressive muscle relaxation, passive muscle relaxation, and deep breathing. A percussion massager is an alternative the muscle relaxation exercises. I use my Thumper Sport dual-head percussion massagerContinue Reading
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Woebot and Wysa
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) has been around since the 1960s. It was developed at the same time by Albert Ellis in New York City, and Aaron Beck in Philadelphia, who apparently both weren’t aware of the other’s work. Albert Ellis was a prolific writer, but personally, I like Aaron Beck’sContinue Reading
Values Clarification
Values clarification might be quite timely for some people, who are rethinking their life because of the circumstances of Covid-19 and being less busy. Some self-help books, especially those found in the business section of the bookstores, focus on the idea that you are the captain of your ship, andContinue Reading
Shame and Guilt
In the 60’s and 70’s, when I grew up, youth and young adults were experimenting with a lot of things. If you were angry, you needed to express it. Guilt and shame were bad and wrong. Recently the idea about guilt and shame is being revisited. At the core ofContinue Reading
Honesty
“Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. TheyContinue Reading
My Favorite Hidden Words
The Hidden Words is a short book of 148 short, condense writings. Baha’u’llah’s introduction to the book is as follows: “HE IS THE GLORY OF GLORIES. THIS is that which hath descended from the realm of glory, uttered by the tongue of power and might, and revealed unto the ProphetsContinue Reading
Words of Wisdom
For decades, I have appreciated these short snippets of wisdom, found in the book the Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. ASL-I-KULLU’L-KHAYR (Words of Wisdom) In the Name of God, the Exalted, the Most High THE source of all good is trust in God, submission unto His command, andContinue Reading
Healing a Sick World
“However, until material achievements, physical accomplishments and human virtues are reinforced by spiritual perfections, luminous qualities and characteristics of mercy, no fruit or result shall issue therefrom, nor will the happiness of the world of humanity, which is the ultimate aim, be attained. For although, on the one hand, materialContinue Reading