The Reason for each item in my Spiritual Toolkit

15 Mashiyyat 163 B.E. - October 11, 2006

Yesterday I listed the nine items in my spiritual toolkit. Today I am adding a blank journal and several ink pens to the kit. Eventually the pens will have two or three different colors of ink, but now I have only one color of ink.

Spiritual Toolkit

A string of 95 prayer beads
Baha’I Prayer Book
The Katib-i-Aqdas
The Katib-i-Iqan
Gems of Divine Mystery
The Summons of the Lord of Host
The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys
The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah
The Tabernacle of Unity
Blank journal with colored ink pens

Blank Journal

There is a reason for each item in this toolkit. Everyone making up a spiritual toolkit must choose his or her own tools. The one thing that should be common to all spiritual toolkits is a blank journal with colored ink pens; this is so that a person can write any thoughts down after saying prayers or reading from the scripture or whatever book chosen for the toolkit. When choosing a journal pick one that makes you feel comfortable writing in; it doesn’t matter if the journal has line or not as long as it makes you happy. Then choose one color of ink to date the pages with and use the other colors to make and title your entries.

Prayer Beads

My prayer beads are green.
Ninety-five clear green glass beads on a double string.
To count when I chant God’s Most Great Name.

Poem

Intoned in morning’s silence,
God’s name on His lover’s lips.

Baha’I Prayer Book

This prayer book contains a collection of prayers written by The Bab, Baha’u’llah, and ‘Abdu’l-Baha. Among these prayers are The Remover of Difficulties (The Bab), the Fire Tablet (Baha’u’llah), and The Teaching Prayer for the Western States (‘Abdu’l-Baha).

The Katib-i-Aqdas

The laws and ordinances revealed by Baha’u’llah.

The Katib-i-Iqan

This contains Baha’u’llah’s explanation of the symbols from the holy books of past revelations.

Gems of Divine Mystery

In this Baha’u’llah writes a reply to a seeker, which concerns the revelation of The Bab.

The Summons of the Lord of Host

This book contains the authorized translations of several of Baha’u’llah’s major tablets, including the Surih of the Temple.

The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys

This contains translations of two mystical writings The Seven Valleys and The Four Valleys.

The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah

Baha’u’llah revealed the Hidden Words in both Arabic and Persian, this book contains the authorized translation of each.

The Tabernacle of Unity

This book contains the authorized translations of several tablets revealed Baha’is from Zoroastrian heritage.

Those are the only things I have put in my spiritual toolkit right now. I may add some more books to it later, but not until I have read each of these books, written poems on their themes and applied the concepts to my life. I am including a picture of my prayer beads in this entry. In addition, in the next few weeks I’ll makes some poetic entries using the themes in the books.