Like many children who grow up in Baha’i families, I was raised on stories from The Dawn-Breakers (also known as Nabil’s Narrative). All through my childhood and youth stories about the lives of the first individuals to declare their belief in the Bab were shared with me to illustrate the spiritual characteristics that I was encouraged to acquire and perfect in my daily life and service. The fidelity and fierce courage of Quddus; the faith of Tahirih; the fearlessness of Badi…while the stories of these heroic souls are deeply moving, I’ve always been a bit overwhelmed and intimidated by the v ..read more

It has been deeply moving to feature books on Baha’i Blog that were published posthumously; to spotlight the dedicated efforts of friends and family who have recognize the importances of the manuscripts and who worked tirelessly to bring them into the hands of readers. Sarah Jane Farmer: Champion of Peace is one such book. It is written by Bahiyyih Randall Winckler and its recent publication is due to the love of Anne Perry. I am grateful to Anne for sharing with us all about this new biography: Can you please tell us about the incredible process of putting this book together? Anne Perry ..read more

The following is our monthly newsletter. You can get a copy sent directly to your inbox! “Where are you on your journey of reconciliation?” a newfound Indigenous friend kindly and gently asked me. It’s a question that lingers, that echos, and that I come back to time and time again. Where am I? I’m not sure I know. But I’ll keep moving even if it means heading in the wrong direction and needing to humbly retrace my steps, even if it means admitting I’m sometimes lost or confused, even if I don’t know the length of the journey or its milestones. As long as I’m moving towards an unders ..read more

Back in 2016, we were thrilled to announce a new resource for sharing Baha’i Choral Music online. Now we’re delighted to learn that the site has been completely and beautifully revamped to make it infinitely more useful! The completion of the final continental Baha’i House of Worship in Chile and the emergence of national and local Temples is bound to exponentially increase the need for Baha’i-inspired choral music. The updated Baha’i Choral Music site is designed to help burgeoning and existing choirs around the world find beautiful pieces to sing and for composers and choirs to share their ..read more

Some people exude a natural tendency to be self-confident. They seem to coast through life achieving success in whatever they do. They appear not to be hindered by any fear whatsoever. Other people, like me, seem to come into this life struggling with insecurity. We find it tremendously challenging to trust our abilities and are often overpowered by self-consciousness and doubt. Having spent a lifetime grappling with this unfair reality, I have come to understand that both tendencies often lead to an undesirable outcome. While the latter may lead to underdeveloped potential, the former may re ..read more

Moments of Truth: Stories About Nights When the Light Gets In is a book by veteran journalist and writer Keith McDonald. It’s about ordinary people dealing with moral dilemmas and it contains short stories and personal essays all about searching for a moral compass in times of difficulty. Keith kindly shared with us about his book, what it’s about, and the exciting development that paved the way for its publication: First, can you tell us a little about yourself? Writer Keith McDonald I was born in 1950 in England. I lived until my early 20s in Croydon, south London. I went into journalism w ..read more

Photo courtesy of the Baha’i International Community The following is our monthly newsletter. You can get a copy sent directly to your inbox! Everywhere I turn lately, people are talking about light. A few weeks ago a total solar eclipse drew millions across the world outside to observe just how powerful the light of the sun really is. This was followed by the dramatic and unusual appearance of auroras (Northern and Southern Lights) in places where they are not typically visible and long after the time of year when they are normally at their peak. Earlier this week I came across a won ..read more

I love seeing Baha’i-inspired musical initiatives share more and more of their work online for everyone to enjoy. It’s been a thrill to enjoy the music of the Edinburgh Sessions, to partake of their singles when they became Nightingales, and to now know that they have released a whole album titled Waves! Band member Payam Beint kindly agreed to tell us all about it! Can you tell us a little about yourselves and the band? Musicians Maureen (L) and Payam Beint (R) We are Payam and Maureen of Nightingales. We formed in Edinburgh three years ago. Both of us had worked on different  ..read more

As humans we appear to be unique. As far as we know, we are the only creatures on this earth with rationality and the ability to consciously direct our lives. In other words, we have free-will. But of course, despite our ability to make conscious decisions, in another real sense, we are at the mercy of the world. Even when it comes to our own beings, we are constrained by our physical and psychological makeup. This makes me wonder, to what extent is our spiritual transformation in our “own hands”? This is a longstanding question, perhaps since the time of the ancient yogis of India who develo ..read more

Roya Akhavan has written a book about Tahirih that shares never-before seen excerpts from her discourse. It is called The Trumpet Blast: Removing the Veil from the Advent of the Promised One. I will readily admit; I knew very little about Tahirih other than a handful of facts and one particular oft-quoted translated poem. Roya’s book is thrilling in what it uncovers and shares, and her process of putting the book together is exciting in its own right. We are very grateful to hear from Roya about the import of this new publication and how it came to be: Can you please tell us a little bit ..read more