Monthly Reflection: Asma (Names) – On the Micro & the Macro

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What we have published and shared on Baha’i Blog in the last month include stories of individual transformation, resources for collective transformation, or content that explores the link between the two.

For example, we recently published “Finding Faith – Adyan’s Story” which was produced by Cherish Chee. In his vulnerable recounting, Adyan, a youth from Canning, shares how he grew up in a Baha’i family but he felt he was blindly following the beliefs of his parents. He spoke of what he thought was important–getting fit, honing his social and conversation skills, being tough–until he spent time in service to others and forged a genuine and meaningful friendship with someone who had experienced similar tests. The end result? He began to investigate truth for himself and became motivated to put his faith and beliefs into sincere and heartfelt action. Adyan is truthful about his experiences and his honestly is very touching.

We also published an interview with filmmaker and producer Shidan Majidi about his documentary Me, the “Other”, which, through the personal accounts of its 12 diverse protagonists, aims to give its audience a sense of our inherent oneness. And we released an interview with Payam Zamani about his biography Crossing the Desert: The Power of Embracing Life’s Difficult Journeys. All of these creative expressions offer us very private stories of transformation.

Telescoping out from the level of the individual to the community, this month we shared a podcast episode from the Baha’i World News Service where we were transported to the dedication of the Baha’i House of Worship in Papua New Guinea through firsthand accounts from three participants at that historic occasion. Jalal Mills, a member of the Board of Counsellors in Australasia, reflected on a visit to Papua New Guinea where he overheard the soul-stirring dawn prayers of youth who sang “Rely Upon God”. That same melody is one of the Studio Sessions we published this month, as shared by the Papua New Guinea Baha’i Temple Choir:

From the individual to the community, we can telescope even further out to consider society, or mankind as a whole. In this regard, we also shared two profoundly insightful talks.

Former member of the Universal House of Justice Dr. Firaydoun Javaheri, in addressing the 2024 Alberta (Canada) summer school, suggested ways in which the individual, the community and the institutions can take practical steps to respond to the call that “all must surge but youth must soar.”

In his talk at the 2024 Association for Baha’i Studies conference, member of the Universal House of Justice Mr Paul Lample reminded us how the Guardian had advised the American friends that they too few in number to effect large-scale transformation on society and to instead focus on transforming themselves and Baha’i communities. Mr Lample then explained how, in the 28 November 2023 message, the Universal House of Justice has stated that that time has now come. We are now prepared to release the society-building powers of the Faith in ever greater measures. Mr Lample’s talk considers the initial steps in the century ahead toward fulfillment of this greater mission, including exploring a framework for action for the elimination of racial prejudice in particular.

While both talks were addressed to a North-American audience, they both contain insights of interest and significance to friends around the world and they are both worth watching and rewatching.

From an editorial standpoint, we try to make sure that everything shared on Baha’i Blog is in line with our internal guidelines. There is an overarching cohesiveness to what we do. But it was particularly amazing to see an even further distilled coherence of ideas and themes emerge this past month that had, frankly, very little to do with our editorial work and more to do with Divine Providence! As an editor, I have found that the way the above resources relate and refer to one another is magical and I hope you experience a bit of that magic too!

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Sonjel Vreeland

In her innermost heart, Sonjel is a stay-at-home parent and a bookworm with a maxed out library card but professionally she is a museologist with a background in English Literature. She currently lives on Prince Edward Island, an isle in the shape of a smile on the eastern Canadian coast. Sonjel is a writer who loves to listen to jazz when she's driving at night.