Tuesday, January 30, 2007

The Stars at Night

12 Sultan 163 B.E. - Tuesday, January 30, 2007

It’s cloudy today. The clouds have covered most of the sky all day. The sun has shown through breaks in the clouds but not very often. This is what I’ve come to think of as a winter sky. In Las Vegas, there is no snow in the valley. In fact, the clouds haven’t even brought rain. It just cloudy and one would think dreary, but it’s not dreary.

The clouds are a blessing, the rain is a blessing and even the snow is a blessing. We don’t often think of snow as a blessing, especially when it causes difficulties, but a blessing doesn’t always mean that there won’t be difficulties.

I started out talking about the winter sky. Now I can stand the warm weather better than the cold weather, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t like winter. There are things about winter and its sky that I like. I especially like the winter constellations. OK, so I probably couldn’t name the constellations much less pick them out, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy looking at them.

One of the things I miss about Oklahoma is the winter night sky. I think it’s because I was born after sunset on December 24. According to my birth certificate, I was born far enough after sunset for the stars to be out. I don’t know if this is why I like looking at the winter stars or if it’s just that they sparkle so brightly.

There are cities in the world I would like to visit, just to see the stars at night. Even if they aren’t winter stars I’m looking at I still want to visit and see the stars at night. One of those cities is Bagdad. I’d like to visit that city between April 21 and May 2. That’s because Baha’u’llah declared His mission during those days in 1863 and I’d like to see the stars that looked down on the garden where He was staying there.

There are other cities I’d like to visit just to see the stars at night. Most of those cities have an association with either Baha’u’llah, the Bab, or ‘Abdu’l-Baha. I’d like to see the stars that looked down on those cities. The stars we look at today are the same stars that were seen by Baha’u’llah, the Bab and ‘Abdu’l-Baha.

Monday, January 29, 2007

The End of the Month

11 Sultan 163 B.E. - Monday, January 29, 2007

It’s almost the end of January. February is going to be an interesting month. This week is the final week of my masters’ class. The final project, which is the group project, is due on Saturday, February 2. On Sunday, February 3, I have two Ruhi classes the first is book 6 and the second, I’m one of the tutors, begins at 7:00 p.m. The course I’m helping tutor is Book 1.

I’ll finish both book 6 and Book 4 in February, those are the two Ruhi books I needed to complete the series. Now that I’ve completed the series of Ruhi books and my masters degree, I’m at a loss of what to do next. OK, I know one is find a job to use the master’s degree, but I’m not talking about the obvious here.

I can focus more on creative writing, then before. I’m sort of nervous about a new phase of my life. I now have more time to spend on other things besides schoolwork. My degree does give me the ability to teach in the school system. The question now is How can I use my knowledge for Baha’u’llah? I suppose I’ll find out soon.

I submitted my finial individual project in the class Saturday, January 27. It is a Lectora instructional module. I think one thing I’ll do is do the entire module the way I’d originally planned. The module was about the mystic poet Tahirih. Originally, I had planned five sections of content for the module, but the requirement for the class was two sections of content, with two sections of learning activities and a final assessment exam with a maximum of twenty-five questions. It had five questions for each TCO (I can’t remember right off what TCO stands for or even if TCO is what I mean).

OK, I need a vacation or at least a couple of rides on a roller coaster. I’m going to post this. I’ll do an update later on the Lectora project and tell more about it. Right now I have a group chat coming up in an hour or so and I want to relax a little so I can make sense on the chat. I think my main problems is that I spent the last 10 months (I think it was 10 months, although it seems like 10 years) working on the masters’ degree without thinking about what would come after I completed the program. I’m near the end and I need a rest.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Tutoring a Ruhi Course

5 Sultan 163 B.E. - Tuesday, January 23, 2007

I’m going to assist with a Ruhi Study Circle beginning in February. I’ll be assisting with Book 1: Reflections on the Life of the Spirit. This is the first time I’ve facilitated a Ruhi course. I’ve taken almost all of the courses with the exception of Book 5 and the two books that aren’t released yet. This is going to be fun.

I’ll finish the two books I’m taking in February. One is on Saturday morning and the other is on Sunday afternoon. The book I’m tutoring is on Sunday evening. So my week end is full.

In addition to the Ruhi books, I’m graduating with a masters degree in instructional technology. So I’ll be getting a new job this year, this is only January but 2007 looks as if it’s going to be a good year.

There are still some collectables I need to sell, but I don’t have a digital camera to take a picture to post. Oh well, I’ll get them sold eventually, at least some of them, but I’m not going to worry about it right now. What I need to day now is focus on the rest of the masters class and getting published.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Wind in Las Vegas

4 Sultan 163 B.E. - Monday, January 22, 2007

The last two days have been “Hold onto your hate days!” True the wind hasn’t been quite as bad as the Santa Ana winds, but give it time. We’ve had Santa Ana type winds here in Vegas. One writer from the last century referred to “Reno Zephyrs” of course (I don’t believe) he never got to Southern Nevada to experience the winds here or they would have been called “Las Vegas Zephyrs”.

The word Zephyr doesn’t really describe the winds we get here. When I think of a zephyr I think of a sudden gust of wind that comes out of nowhere and surprises a person by blowing off his or her hat. Lately the winds have been continuous, if not constant. The wind speed is somewhat variable, but the wind continues to blow.

Yesterday I went I went to the Baha’i Center on South Oakey. I didn’t notice the wind too much when I got into the car. However, when I got out of the car, at the center, I almost lost my cap. I was wearing a leather Harley-Davidson baseball type cap. I got out of the car carrying my purse and the bag with the Ruhi study course material (I’m taking book 6). I started to go into the center and the wind almost took my hat right off my head.

OK, maybe I’m excessively attached to the cap. It’s not like the cap cost me anything. It was given to me and not even as a gift. Someone had found it and when they couldn’t find the owner, give it to me because I collect Harley stuff. However, it is a Harley cap with the company logo embroidered on the front. Maybe I am too attached to the cap, although no one has actually offered me money for it, so I guess I don’t know how attached I am to the cap. Oh, well I guess I’ll just have to wonder how attached I am to the cap, because I don’t think anyone’s going to offer me money for it. And I don’t plan on putting the cap on e-bay, at least not for a while. I don’t have a digital camera to take a picture for posting.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

The Weather and Neighborhood Cats

17 Sharaf 163 B.E. - Tuesday, January 16, 2007

It’s been below freezing here in Vegas for the past few nights. In fact, there are warnings about ice on the roads. Not that it’s rained or anything like that, but the freezing weather has caused sprinklers to leak and the water runs into the streets. The water freezes at night and in the morning, people have to be careful driving to work. The weather report says the temperatures will continue through midweek. It usually doesn’t get this cold. The homeless shelters have added beds and the ones that accept only men (there are shelters that accept only women and children) are accepting men, women, and children as well.

Then there is the wind chill factor. Today there are no winds, but there’s been wind for the past few days. I’ve got to say that I’m cold, I’m not even going to think about the power bill at this point. I’m having enough trouble keeping warm. It’s not so bad at night because I bundle up in blankets, but during the day I can’t put on enough cloths to keep warm. We’re just not used to this type of weather here. It’s not that we don’t get freezing weather, but normally it doesn’t last this long.

There are a couple of cats in the neighborhood that usually get out and prowl every night. They haven’t been doing their prowling at night lately. In fact, I don’t see them outside until about noon. They get out, walk around the neighborhood, and then go home. These cats always stop at my house to see if my cats are on the back porch. If my cats aren’t where they can see or smell them, then they walk straight through the back yard, but if mine on the enclosed patio then the neighbor cats get on the outside of the patio and look in on mine. It’s just too cold for any of them to do anything but sleep right now.

Right now Midnight is setting on the back of the love seat and looking out the living room window. I haven’t seen any of the neighbors cats or the winter birds that usually nest in the trees around the house. In fact, I haven’t seen any of the pigeons that eat the olives on the ground. Usually there are two or three pigeons eat olives, but I guess it’s too cold for them to get out of their cadges or fly from wherever they nest. I don’t know where the pigeons come from at this point. They imploded the Castaways (used to be the Show Boat) a while back and so there’s no place there for pigeons to nest. The only thing I can figure out is that someone in the neighborhood has pigeons.

It’s not like any of the cats in this area of town are going to chase pigeons or any other bird. The cats around here are well fed and aren’t interested in birds. If a bird does fly into the patio my cats will attempt to catch it, but then they don’t know what to do with the bird if they do catch it. The bird stops struggle and the cat holds it in its mouth waiting for my Mom or I to tell it to let the bird go. Then one of us has to get the cat in the house and let the bird out the patio door. Originally the bird came in a small hole by the top of the patio, but naturally the bird can’t leave that way. We don’t get a lot of birds on the patio, maybe one sparrow every two or three years manages to find the hole and get into the patio.

Monday, January 15, 2007

Thoughts on an Enlightened World

16 Sharaf 163 B.E. - Monday, January 15, 2007

In an enlightened world, humanity is a single species.
In an enlightened world, the God is the common foundation of all religions.
In an enlightened world, both genders are valuable and receive an equal education.
In an enlightened world, science and religion are the wings of civilization.
In an enlightened world, peace exists.

We can write about what we think an enlightened world would be like, but it will be like nothing we can envision because we are walking through the darkness toward the light. The enlightened world we move toward is hidden behind the illumination we’re moving toward. We can move toward the light, but we can’t see what’s behind it, which is probably just as well because if we could see the glory of the coming age we wouldn’t work so hard to achieve it for ourselves and our children.

Humanity and earth will survive the present conditions, just as our ancestors the difficulties of their time. True today we have problems that our ancestors couldn’t have imagined, but the more difficult the tests through which the human races passes the more glorious the future. We must look toward the light and not the darkness of the present. Even if we can’t see what’s behind the light, we can see the light and move toward it, we can work to create an enlightened world, but that world we be nothing like the individual envisions it. So continue working toward an enlightened world.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Update on My Life

12 Sharaf 163 B.E. - Thursday, January 11, 2007

I’ve been remiss in posting on a regular basis to this blog lately. It’s not that there is nothing happening in my life. There is a lot happening, just nothing I really want to write about. However, I think I’ll write about the intriguing start to 2007. So far the weather in Las Vegas has been interesting, actually cold would be a better description; although there are people who would say the weather’s been nice. My definition of cold weather is when you have to have the central heating unit on to keep warm. Not that I turn the air on at night, I don’t. At night I wrap up in blankets to keep warm, but wrapping yourself in blankets during the day is difficult, especially when you have to walk back and forth through the house. I simply can’t wear enough cloths to keep warm and be able to work at the same time. So therefore I have to have the heat on. I’m not even going to mention the power bill except to say … nothing. I’ve did too much complaining as it is. The more I complain the more I seem to have to complain about.

On a brighter note, I’m still taking two Ruhi study circles. In the one on the Twin Manifestations, we’re studying Baha’u’llah’s life now. The practice to this section of the book is to share an illustrated presentation of the live of Baha’u’llah. The book comes with a pictures and I can download a PowerPoint presentation the Ruhi website. The only thing to do is for me to write what I’m going to say to go along with the pictures. Then I get to make a home visit and share it with someone or with a family.

In addition I have a Lectora module to do for my masters’ class and I’m working on rewriting and writing a novel (two different things). I have a lot to do, but I also am submitting work for publication. You know looking at what I have to do, I don’t have time to worry or complain, because it just gets in the way. When I complain my inner critic acts up more than usually and interferes with the achievement of my writing goals.

An interesting side not about my “inner critic”, it seems to act up less with I say my prayers and read the writing regularly. Right now, my mother and I are reading to each other. I’m reading the Dawn-Breakers to her and she is reading the Tablets of the Lord of Host to me. Well, I think that’s it for today, I’ll attempt to post again tomorrow.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

It's Getting Colder

11 Sharaf 163 B.E. - Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Bad new or is it good new, this depends on one’s point of view. Anyway, it’s going to get colder. Now I’m not a person to complain about something I can’t do anything about, but it’s getting a bit ridiculous. First, let’s get one thing straight, I like snow. I enjoy setting inside in a warm house and watching the snow out a picture window. I don’t ski, but I like to watch the Winter Olympic skiers going down a slop. I especially like to watch them on a T.V. set, sitting in a warm house with a cup of hot chocolate in one hand, a cat laying on my lap and stroking the cat with the other hand.

My problem right now is its cold with no snow. I am setting in a house that’s hard to heat and … well let’s just not even mention the power bill … I don’t think I’d mind the cold so much if it snowed or rained or something that would help the drought, but all we’ve got recently is a wind chill factor that gets worse when I go outside.

Now they’re talking about global warming, which has nothing to do with it getting warmer in Las Vegas. Actually here it probably means colder weather and a bigger snow pack. Now that I’ve complained about the weather, I think I’ll see if I can come up with a poem about the Wind Chill Factor.

Maybe I’ll write something about it freezing here. The weather person just gave a freeze warning for tonight. It felt like it froze last night, but may get colder tonight. I don’t leave the air up at night, I sleep under a vent and if I have a choice I rather put more blankets on the bed then have the air blowing on my face all night long.

Monday, January 08, 2007

My Favorite Way to Spend Time Is …

9 Sharaf 163 B.E. - January 8, 2007

My favorite way to spend time is composing poems for the Beloved.
writing mystic poems is sometimes work,
but always enjoyable.

My favorite way to spend time is reading the sacred scriptures,
especially those revealed by Baha’u’llah and the Bab
they calm my soul, clear my mind, and focus my intentions.

My favorite way to spend time is meditating on the Baha’i holy writings,
then writing poems based on what I have just read,inspiration is in the words of God.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

2007 Begins

3 Sharaf 163 B.E. - January 2, 2007

On a personal level, 2007 has begun on a good footing. For me this is going to be The Year of the Poem. I’ve set up a pen and paper in which to write each day’s poem. Now I have tried this project a couple of times before and had problems keeping it up. However, I didn’t have a pen and paper journal or any time of journal to write the poems in, this the project continues until December 31, 2007. My first poem of 2007 is A New Beginning.

On a community level 2007 begun on bad tone. The first police involved shooting of the year occurred yesterday evening (January 1) at about 9:00 p.m. Haven’t heard a lot of other news this morning. I didn’t turn the T.V. on until about 5:44 a.m. this morning, so the rest of the news concerns the Day of Mourning and the weather. Channel Three is kicking off A New Year A New You this morning. This is to help people keep their New Year’s Resolutions. Well I guess that’s all for today.