Showing posts with label Fast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fast. Show all posts

Thursday, March 19, 2020

On the Nineteenth Day of Fast

I contemplate the coming year
full of joy, hope, and sharing
the word of Baha'u'llah
on the unity of humanity.


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Wednesday, March 18, 2020

On the Seventeenth Day of Fast

I inhale the chill of morning,
and meditate
on the meaning
of the Nineteen-Day Fast:
Letting Go
and Letting God.

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Tuesday, March 17, 2020

On the Sixteenth Day of Fast

I meditate on a Fasting prayer:
it is the wine of Divine love
flowing from the Holy Spirit
into the chalice of immortality.


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Monday, March 16, 2020

Saturday, March 14, 2020

On the Thirteenth Day of Fast

Fast prayers inspire
Encourage the poet to write
Odes to the All-Glorious Lord,
Praising the Glory of God.

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Friday, March 13, 2020

On the Twelfth Day of Fast

Tranquility
embraces the mind and the soul
of the individual that places
complete trust in the All-Glorious Lord.

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Thursday, March 12, 2020

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Monday, March 09, 2020

On the Eighth Day of Fast

I intone a prayer revealed for the Fast,
a prayer that begins praise of God,
a prayer the ask protection,
and request forgiveness.

I meditate,
I realize the prayer
encourages obedience
and trust in God--
the only protection in times of trouble.

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Sunday, March 08, 2020

On the Seventh Day of Fast

Sleep arrives
on the wings of prayer
revealed for the Nineteen-day Fast,
and I realize that,
because of age and medication,
I miss fasting.


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Saturday, March 07, 2020

On the Sixth Day of Fast

In prayer I speak
to the All-Glorious Creator!

In meditation I listen
for the Creator speaking
in the language of my soul.

Divine love
and forgiveness
emanate from the prayers
revealed for the nineteen-day fast.

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Thursday, March 05, 2020

On the Fourth Day of Fast

At 73,
I Fast spiritually.

Day by day
I let go of old habits
and thoughts
that hold back
the progress of my soul.

Prayer by prayer
I place each tests
in the hands
of God's Glory.

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Wednesday, March 04, 2020

On the Third Day of Fast

Paragraph by paragraph
I consumes the word of God
feeding my soul on sacred scriptures.
 
 

Tuesday, March 03, 2020

On the Second Day of Fast

I read a prayer
revealed for the nineteen-day Fast,
and contemplate letting go.

In its essence fasting
is letting go of the desires of the flesh--
such as food and drink--
and holding onto spiritual qualities--
such as faith in God
and forgiveness.

At 73
I am learning to let go
of the prejudices
and fears
that come between me
and the Glorious Lord.


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Monday, March 02, 2020

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Endings are always depressing

Fiḍál (Grace), 4 Ayyám-i-Há (The Days of Há), 173 BE - Tuesday, February 28, 2017 CE about 9:57 AM Pacific Standard Time 

Ending are always depressing, 
Saying good-bye 
To a month, 
A person 
Or anything 
Brings tears to my eyes. 

Today is the last day of Ayyám-i- for another year. It ends at sunset and the month of ‘Alá’ (Loftiness) begins which Is the month of the Fast. In addition a new Gregorian month begins. My mother was born on March 19 in 1921 this year she would have been 96 years old. This year March 20 is the vernal equinox which is Naw-Ruz. Naw-Ruz means New Day and it is the New Year I celebrate. 

As I think about saying good-bye to an old year, I wonder what other endings will occur in over the next nineteen days. I wonder if all the endings I encounter in March will be sad. I hope not because endings are usually beginnings and beginnings should not be sad. 
 

Sunday, March 02, 2014

Spiritual Sunday: Thoughts on Spiritual Life

Jamál (Beauty), 1 ‘Alá’ (Loftiness), 170 BE - Sunday, March 2, 2014 about 11:19 am Pacific Standard Time

Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life. 
Buddha 

I am a candle
lit by the will of God,
my flame burns bright
when I pray.
meditate,
and fast.

Today is the first day of the nineteen day fast; unfortunately, I am on medication and cannot abstain from food and liquid between sunup and sundown. My physical condition does not prevent me from praying and meditating; therefore, my spiritual life moves forward though prayer, meditation, and abstaining from those things that create veils between God and me.

In order to find out what comes between my creator and me, I read the Baha'i scriptures and I write in a pen and paper journal. My journal entries consist of letter to Baha'u'llah and to my Mother. The letters to my mother are new, I did not begin writing her until this year. The letters help me focus on what is important in my life and on what I can do to advance my soul spiritually. I know I am only on this earth for a short time and that I will spend eternity in the next world. The only thing my soul will take with it when it separates from my body are the spiritual attributes it develops in this world.

Monday, March 07, 2011

After Sunset on Monday, March 07, 2011

Fidál (Grace), 7 ‘Alá (Loftiness), 167 BE – Monday, March 7, 2011 about 7:55 PM Pacific Time

It is after sunset and a new solar day has begun. My life has been so full of stress lately that I cannot focus on writing. I cannot seem to focus on anything except the stress. I need to relax. I need to go to a restaurant by myself and have a huge chocolate desert. I think I would like chocolate ice cream on top of a piece of chocolate cake or brownie and a cup of hot café mocha.

A new solar day has begun and it is the seventh day of the month of fasting. I cannot fast because I take medication. I take three different medications. I take four tables a day plus an eye vitamin or calcium tablet. I took the eye vitamin this morning, so I will take the calcium tablet in the morning. There is a reason for this, which I do not wish to go into at this time, perhaps in a later entry.

I am making this entry after sunset because I could not think of anything to write earlier in the day. The stress seems to be affecting my muse, as well as my memory. I noticed this afternoon that I had trouble finding the words I wanted. I think the problem is stress, but I am not sure. There could be another problem, which is affecting my memory. However, since I can still recite the Tablet of Ahmad without a prayer book in front of me, I suspect the memory issue is more about stress then anything else.