Monthly Reflection: Sultan (Sovereignty) – On Peace & Progressive Revelation

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Hi friends!

This month has been especially out of routine for my family and me, but happily, it’s because we got to spend some time way up in northern New South Wales ringing in the Gregorian New Year by camping out near a beach. While there, we met many others doing the same, having a break, being with family, and getting back in touch with nature.

We met a really lovely group of Anglican missionaries who were initiating elevated conversations with strangers in a park about the Personage of Christ. They were very happy to feel the genuine interest we had in engaging with them on this topic. We read some Bible passages together, said some prayers, and explored many of the concepts our faiths have in common, which were, to their surprise, fundamentally identical! We spoke briefly about our understanding of progressive revelation, but alas, it was still another couple of weeks before Baha’i Blog published a video explaining this concept, so we couldn’t show it to them. Here it is if you’d like to see it and have your own elevated discussions about it:

Across all our platforms, we’ve been exploring peace as our way of contributing to the positive culture of the holiday season. On Instagram and TikTok, we’re ‘Waging Peace’ through our new series of short animations coming out. Be sure to keep your eye out for the next one, and check out our last three:

• on the words of the Universal House of Justice that world peace is not only possible, but inevitable
• on Abdu’l-Baha’s counsels that we should change thoughts of war, to thoughts of peace
• on the words of Baha’u’llah about putting away weapons of war

I’ve always loved Abdu’l-Baha’s quote where He asks us to “…try peace for a while”. He says, “If we find war is better it will not be difficult to fight again; but if we find that peace is the glorification of humanity… we must agree and adhere to it and establish it permanently.” On our website, we have a lovely compilation of 5 resources about world peace. It includes the story the above quote is from, as well as articles and Writings about peace and how Baha’is around the world are contributing to its establishment. If you love audio meditations, I’d also recommend this reading which has more words from Abdu’l-Baha about peace from His talks in Paris:

The next edition of the ‘Deck of Questions’ series is now up on YouTube! Della, from a Baha’i family, and Polly, who became a Baha’i later in life, share their insights about being a Baha’i, becoming a Baha’i, as well as the meaning of life, and so much more! We hope you’re enjoying this series because – spoiler – there’s more in the mix!

We’ve got another big month coming up including projects for Ayyam-i-Ha and about love in the spirit of Valentine’s Day.

See you then!

Posted by

Cherie Heggie

Hello, I’m Cherie! I grew up in Sydney, Australia, and currently live just west in the Blue Mountains, where my heart has always belonged. I’m a graphic designer, photographer, and general artist, having basic skills in a wide range of mediums and performing arts. I love learning new ways to live sustainably and sharing these ideas with my friends, family, and the local community.