Tag Archives Consultation

5 Things to Consider Before Asking for Consent to Marry

Baha'i Life, Opinion Leave a comment

You and your sweetie are talking about marriage. Being in a happy marriage builds love, promotes well-being, and creates an ever-expanding unity. In comparison, being in a conflicted marriage is misery. The good news is you have a lot of control over the outcome; “Careful preparation for marriage is an essential first step in the preservation of Baha’i marriage.”

Asking for and receiving consent from all living parents is a requirement of Baha’i marriage. It’s a new concept to have couples independently arrive at the decision to marry and then to have parents respond. I’m always striving to understand the guidance from the Baha’i Writings on the subject. I’ve considered and given consent, and I’ve also asked for it from my own parents. I am exploring the topics of consent and marriage with couples and parents globally as a marriage and relationship educator and coach. However, everyone involved in consent is in a learning mode and simply trying to do their best. One way I am learning is by asking couples in difficulty what they could have done differently before they asked for consent and got married. Here is my checklist of 5 things to consider as potentially helpful for you before asking for consent:  Continue reading →

3 Spiritual Habits to Teach Young Children

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Chelsea Lee Smith is the coordinator for online parenting courses for the Wilmette Institute, and Susanne Alexander, in her role as its Chair of the Relationship, Marriage, Parenting, and Family Department, often has the joy and privilege of helping Chelsea create course content. In our courses such as Fostering a Baha’i Identity in Children, Conscious Parenting, and more we help parents learn many practical ways to increase spiritual practices in their homes. Here are three spiritual habits that we love to encourage parents to teach to young children: Continue reading →

4 Benefits of Family Consultations

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Using consultation skills in family meetings is excellent for facilitating understanding and making effective family decisions. It’s also a great way to build life skills in children, no matter what their age. They can learn to contribute toward family unity and to the world around them. Meetings can be casual or formal and in any setting; it’s up to each family to explore what works for them. We facilitated an online course called “Communication Skills for Spiritually Minded Parents” at the Wilmette Institute that explored how consultation can be used in family life. In this article, we offer a few words about the importance of consultation and then explore four benefits to consulting as a family unit.  Continue reading →

Creating a New Culture for Singles Who Want to Marry

Baha'i Life 10 Comments

The path to finding a mate for life is not easy. Through my personal life and my work as a marriage and relationship educator and coach, I have seen how perseverance, courage, discernment, and commitment are all essential. We and the world need strong, happy marriages that are fortresses of well-being.

We are not yet living in a world that has established a common pattern of courtship based on the Baha’i Teachings. As a result, individuals and couples are experimenting and trying to find their way – sometimes joyfully and sometimes with more difficulty.

As you know, courtship practices differ greatly from one culture to another, and it is not yet known what pattern of courtship will emerge in the future when society has been more influenced by Baha’i Teachings. However, there is no indication that it will resemble the practices extant in existing cultures…. In this interim period, the friends are encouraged to make great efforts to live in conformity with the Teachings and to gradually forge a new pattern of behavior, more in keeping with the spirit of Baha’u’llah’s Revelation.

The challenge we face is how to engage in patterns of courtship that strive to implement Baha’i principles in a world that is “a bewildering moral environment” and in “a society in which materialism, self-centeredness and failing marriages are all too common.”

So, when we look at what possibly aligns with Baha’i courtship, what is important?  Continue reading →

Reflections on Participating in Discourses of Society

Baha'i Life 2 Comments

Photo taken in Biharsharif, India. (Courtesy Baha'i World Centre)

Participation in the prevalent discourses of society is one of the three areas of activity that the worldwide Baha’i community is trying to learn about (the other two being expansion and consolidation and social action). Broadly understood as a contribution to the evolution of thought, there are several principles and ideas that can help us understand how to contribute most effectively to the discourses around us. These are a few of my reflections on this weighty subject.  Continue reading →

Why Cluster Reflection Meetings Are So Important

Baha'i Life, Opinion 9 Comments
A Cluster Reflection Meeting in Greater London, United Kingdom. (Photo: Baha'i World Centre)

A Cluster Reflection Meeting in Greater London, United Kingdom. (Photo: Baha’i World Centre)

Cluster Reflection meetings are an important part of Baha’i community life now, but depending on the community you live in, attendance can sometimes be low and it’s still something many communities are learning about, so I thought it would be interesting to look at the importance of these meetings and why we should make an effort to attend. Continue reading →

Taking the Politics Out of Politics

Baha'i Life, Opinion 5 Comments

(Photo courtesy: planolight via Flickr)

pol·i·tics

n.
1. The art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs.
2. Intrigue or manoeuvring within a political unit or group in order to gain control or power

The fact that the word “politics” – once used simply to refer to the act of governing – has come to acquire the additional meaning listed above says a lot about the world we live in. This definition reflects the assumption that the act of governance in a country or organisation is inseparable from divisiveness, conflict and the struggle for power and status.

But is that necessarily the case?

Continue reading →