Author: Firoozeh

Ideal Life

Ideal Life

We all have dreams and want to achieve certain things in our lives. Often, the life we have created doesn’t look like the one we’ve imagined for ourselves. Sometimes, when we look at other people’s lives, we think, “I wanted that in my life.” What we fail to realize is that many times, those people who seem to have a perfect life might be wishing for the life we have.

We need to remain grateful for every detail of our lives. We must realize where we are in our own life is exactly where we need to be in order to grow spiritually and acquire the Divine Attributes we will need in our next life — in the next realm. Where we are is perfect for achieving our life purpose here. When we are content with what we have, we are able to keep our hearts open, attract and receive what we need to be joyful, thrive, and raise our vibration.

So, next time when you look at someone and are tempted to say “I wish my life was like
that”, examine if you really do want that. Are you willing to make their sacrifices, to see if
that life would indeed be better for you?

Even when in a crisis, always stay relaxed and open to receive the Divine energy that will help
resolve the crisis.

By Firoozeh Bowden

Painting; FineArtFiroozeh.com

Kindness

 

Kindness

I want to share this beautiful reflection by Rene V. Steiner with you today!

“Plato urged us to “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.” I find it interesting that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá elevates acts of kindness to a duty as simply opposed to an optional “nice-to-do”. We often underestimate the impact such acts can have not only on individuals but, by extension, entire societies. Henry James wrote: “Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.” Little wonder that the work of organizations such as the World Kindness Movement, Inspire Kindness and the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation resonate with so many — and in recent years, given the current state of the world, these grassroots initiatives are more important than ever. For kindness to be truly effective it must be intentional and, on some level, habitual. According to Leo Tolstoy, “Nothing can make our life, or the lives of other people, more beautiful than perpetual kindness.”
In some respects, kindness is all about suspending judgment of others. Steve Maraboli poses the question: “How would your life be different if … You stopped making negative judgmental assumptions about people you encounter? Let today be the day … You look for the good in everyone you meet and respect their journey.” Easier said than done oftentimes, but something to aspire towards. It turns out that being kind has a variety of scientifically proven benefits. It produces oxytocin (the ‘love hormone’), it boosts energy, it extends one’s lifespan, it stimulates your brain’s pleasure and reward centers giving you ‘helper’s high’ and it stimulates the production of feel-good serotonin.” Tolstoy concluded that “Kindness enriches our life; with kindness mysterious things become clear, difficult things become easy, and dull things become cheerful.”

This limitless universe

“This limitless universe is like the human body, all the members of which are connected and linked with one another with the greatest strength. How much the organs, the members and the parts of the body of man are intermingled and connected for mutual aid and help, and how much they influence one another! In the same way, the parts of this infinite universe have their members and elements connected with one another, and influence one another spiritually and materially.”
~ Abdu’l-Baha ~

 Don’t stay angry!

 Don’t stay angry!

A reminder… Don’t stay angry! Staying angry doesn’t hurt the other person or make the situation any better. When we are angry we poison our body with chemicals and we close our heart that has been hurt so it does not get hurt again. However, in the process, we also close ourselves to the Divine Love, Light, and the Life Force that we need to survive, and thrive. Even if we have a strong faith and pray every day and consider ourselves connected to our creator, if our heart is not open and pure, we are not getting sufficient Divine Energy (Food for your soul) to thrive. Yes we are asking for blessings and guidance and they are constantly provided for us, but if we are not open to it, we never receive it. We think God has abandoned us. That is not true! My Energy coach Sarah McCrum taught me, that the more open and relaxed we remain during our lives the more we heal and thrive because we are constantly receiving and allowing the new information and the Healing Energy to reach us. It’s OK to get angry (We all do if we are put in a situation we consider unjust) but then we must process that anger, do something to resolve the situation instead of staying in the victim mode, and move on. Remember to breathe deep, stay connected and say out loud; I am Love, I am Light!  ❤

Meaning of “TRUE LOVE”

Meaning of  “TRUE LOVE”
A lot of times we mistake other emotions such as lust, like, longing, tenderness, deep affection, fondness, warmth, intimacy, attachment, sex, desire, infatuation, sympathy, romance … for True Love. Although those feelings might be a part of it, True love is so much more than that.  Firoozeh Bowden
“Have full assurance that love is the mystery of the appearance of God; that love is the divine aspect of God; that love is spiritual grace; that love is the light of the Kingdom; that love is as the breath of the Holy Spirit in the spirit of man. Love is the cause of the manifestation of truth in the material world. Love is the essential bond of union which exists between God and all things in their ultimate reality. Love is the source of the greatest happiness of the material and the spiritual worlds. Love is the light by which man is guided in the midst of darkness. Love is the communication between truth and man in the realm of consciousness. Love is the means of growth for all who are enlightened.
Love is the highest law in this great universe of God. Love is the law of order between simple essences, whereby they are apportioned and united into compound substances in this world of matter. Love is the essential and magnetic power that organizes the planets and the stars which shine in infinite space. Love supplies the impulse to that intense and unceasing meditation which reveals the hidden mysteries of the universe.
Love is the highest honor for all the nations of men. To that people in whom God causes love to appear the Supreme Concourse, the angels of heaven, and the hosts of the kingdom of the Glorious One make salutation. ” Baha’i Writings

“What a power is love! It is the most wonderful, the greatest of all living powers.

Love gives life to the lifeless. Love lights a flame in the heart that is cold. Love brings hope to the hopeless and gladdens the hearts of the sorrowful.

In the world of existence there is indeed no greater power than the power of love. When the heart of man is aglow with the flame of love, he is ready to sacrifice all–even his life. In the Gospel it is said God is love.

There are four kinds of love. The first is the love that flows from God to man; it consists of the inexhaustible graces, the Divine effulgence and heavenly illumination. Through this love the world of being receives life. Through this love man is endowed with physical existence, until, through the breath of the Holy Spirit– this same love–he receives eternal life and becomes the image of the Living God. This love is the origin of all the love in the world of creation.

The second is the love that flows from man to God. This is faith, attraction to the Divine, enkindlement, progress, entrance into the Kingdom of God, receiving the Bounties of God, illumination with the lights of the Kingdom. This love is the origin of all philanthropy; this love causes the hearts of men to reflect the rays of the Sun of Reality.

The third is the love of God towards the Self or Identity of God. This is the transfiguration of His Beauty, the reflection of Himself in the mirror of His Creation. This is the reality of love, the Ancient Love, the Eternal Love. Through one ray of this Love all other love exists.

The fourth is the love of man for man. The love which exists between the hearts of believers is prompted by the ideal of the unity of spirits. This love is attained through the knowledge of God, so that men see the Divine Love reflected in the heart. Each sees in the other the Beauty of God reflected in the soul, and finding this point of similarity, they are attracted to one another in love. This love will make all men the waves of one sea, this love will make them all the stars of one heaven and the fruits of one tree. This love will bring the realization of true accord, the foundation of real unity.

But the love which sometimes exists between friends is not (true) love, because it is subject to transmutation; this is merely fascination. As the breeze blows, the slender trees yield. If the wind is in the East the tree leans to the West, and if the wind turns to the West the tree leans to the East. This kind of love is originated by the accidental conditions of life. This is not love, it is merely acquaintanceship; it is subject to change.

Today you will see two souls apparently in close friendship; tomorrow all this may be changed. Yesterday they were ready to die for one another, today they shun one another’s society! This is not love; it is the yielding of the hearts to the accidents of life. When that which has caused this `love’ to exist passes, the love passes also; this is not in reality love.

Love is only of the four kinds that I have explained. (a) The love of God towards the identity of God. Christ has said God is Love. (b) The love of God for His children–for His servants. (c) The love of man for God and (d) the love of man for man. These four kinds of love originate from God. These are rays from the Sun of Reality; these are the Breathings of the Holy Spirit; these are the Signs of the Reality.”

Paris Talks
PART II
pages 179-182

Meditation

Meditation

. . . while you meditate you are speaking with your own spirit. In that state of mind, you put certain questions to your spirit and the spirit answers: the light breaks forth and the reality is revealed.

You cannot apply the name `man’ to any being void of this faculty of meditation; without it he would be a mere animal, lower than the beasts.

Through the faculty of meditation man attains to eternal life; through it he receives the breath of the Holy Spirit – the bestowal of the Spirit is given in reflection and meditation. The spirit of man is itself informed and strengthened during meditation; through it affairs of which man knew nothing are unfolded before his view. Through it he receives Divine inspiration, through it he receives heavenly food.

Meditation is the key for opening the doors of mysteries. In that state man abstracts himself: in that state man withdraws himself from all outside objects; in that subjective mood he is immersed in the ocean of spiritual life and can unfold the secrets of things-in-themselves. To illustrate this, think of man as endowed with two kinds of sight; when the power of insight is being used the outward power of vision does not see. This faculty of meditation frees man from the animal nature, discerns the reality of things, puts man in touch with God.

This faculty brings forth from the invisible plane the sciences and arts. Through the meditative faculty inventions are made possible, colossal undertakings are carried out; through it governments can run smoothly. Through this faculty man enters into the very Kingdom of God. Nevertheless some thoughts are useless to man; they are like waves moving in the sea without result. But if the faculty of meditation is bathed in the inner light and characterized with divine attributes, the results will be confirmed.

The meditative faculty is akin to the mirror; if you put it before earthly objects it will reflect them. Therefore if the spirit of man is contemplating earthly subjects he will be informed of these. But if you turn the mirror of your spirits heavenwards, the heavenly constellations and the rays of the Sun of Reality will be reflected in your hearts, and the virtues of the Kingdom will be obtained.

Therefore let us keep this faculty rightly directed – turning it to the heavenly Sun and not to earthly objects – so that we may discover the secrets of the Kingdom, and comprehend the allegories of the Bible and the mysteries of the spirit.

May we indeed become mirrors reflecting the heavenly realities, and may we become so pure as to reflect the stars of heaven. (`Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, pp. 174-6)