Some ideas change the way we understand revelation, the life of the soul, and the nature of meaning itself. The imaginal world and the creative imagination are two such ideas. Chapter 4 of Jean‑Marc Lepain’s Archeology of the Kingdom of God explores their emergence, and this post offers a simple introduction to the fascinating history…
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A Guide to the Phelps Inventory of Baha’i Writings
Making a vast new resource less daunting Introduction Baha’i scholar Steven Phelps has in recent years undertaken a major cataloguing project that brings together publicly accessible works of the Bab, Baha’u’llah, and Abdu’l‑Baha. The work is titled A Partial Inventory of the Works of the Central Figures of the Baha’i Faith. It currently lists over…
Reading in a Universe That Reads You Back
Living Within Relational Meaning Across recent blog reflections, I’ve returned to one central idea: Baha’u’llah’s meaning is not fixed, static, or singular, but unfolds according to the spiritual state of the reader. Jean-Marc Lepain sets out this position in the following way: “The definition of the metaphysical and mystical terms utilized by Baha’u’llah is not…
Two Ways of Seeing Reality: Being and Meaning
In chapter 1 of Archeology of the Kingdom of God, Jean-Marc Lepain reframes three key terms: ontology, hermeneutics, and cosmology. In this post, I explain how he combines them into two complementary ways of understanding the divine worlds or two ways of seeing reality. Finally, we consider why this matters for reading Baha’u’llah’s writings. Three…
The Call of Justice: Ukraine’s Survival and the Lesser Peace
Ukraine’s survival and the Lesser Peace: the two go together. The Lesser Peace is not the dream of disarmament, but the duty of justice. The war in Ukraine is a geopolitical crisis and a threshold moment for humanity. When aggression threatens the vulnerable, silence risks becoming complicity. The Baha’i teachings explain that peace cannot be…
Infusing Civilization from Within: A Mystical Prelude to Social Order
In answer to the question, “How do we help God?” Baha’u’llah offers an unusual response. He says we must first become virtuous people, and only then seek to move the hearts of others through the all-pervasive power of his words. He forbids his followers from contending over worldly concerns, pointing out that the world isn’t…
The Hermeneutics of Spirit: Baha’u’llah’s Symbolic Approach to Meaning
The Hermeneutics of Spirit. What does it mean to read a text spiritually—not just for information, but for transformation? In my blog, A Landscape of Light: Understanding the Kingdom of Abha, I introduced my new project exploring Jean-Marc Lepain’s study on Baha’u’llah’s philosophy: Archeology of the Kingdom of God. I began the project with chapter…
Now on Video: A Symbolic Invitation to Paradise of Presence
A Symbolic Invitation to Paradise of Presence I’ve recently released a short video introducing Paradise of Presence, my book exploring the mystical writings of Baha’u’llah. Rather than being a trailer or pitch, this video serves as a symbolic invitation that uses poetic language, contemplative rhythm, and spiritual imagery to invite viewers into themes of detachment,…
A Landscape of Light: Understanding the Kingdom of Abha
Over the past few years, I’ve begun a contemplative study of Jean-Marc Lepain’s Archeology of the Kingdom of God, a philosophical work that explores Baha’u’llah’s metaphysics in depth. It’s a complex and thoughtful book that examines the architecture of spiritual reality and the soul’s unfolding within it. Rather than summarizing the entire work, I’ve decided…
Spiritual Hospitality: A New Way of Speaking About the Faith
There’s a passage from Baha’u’llah that presents hospitality not as food or shelter, but as character and conduct. He writes: “Graciously enable my loved ones to show their hospitality unto Thee through their character and their conduct, that the heavenly table of Thy loving-kindness may thereby be spread before all Thy servants… This, verily, is…