I believe love is what unites us. The theme of unity pervades the Baha’i writings, and believers talk about it constantly, and pray for a world filled with united people. But what exactly is it that unites humanity? I say it is love. What is love? I say it is Baha’u’llah, his Word, and his…
Category: Distilled Insights
Distilled Insights gathers Alison’s concentrated thoughts on various subjects, published as blog posts. These posts capture essential truths, contemplations, and moments of clarity. They invite readers into thresholds of meaning, offering resonance in a few carefully chosen words. All these posts are available in audio form on the Horizon Blogcast on YouTube.
Soul Boom is brilliant!
Rainn Wilson’s latest book, Soul Boom: why we need a spiritual revolution, is out. I didn’t think I’d read it. I have never related to Rainn’s public persona, and assumed his book would not interest me. But in the end, I was intrigued to know how he’d put the book together; after all, I’m writing…
GPT-4 translates Baha’u’llah
GPT-4 translates Baha’u’llah. I am now converted to the idea that artificial intelligence can translate Baha’u’llah’s writings. My conversion was brought on by the release of GPT-4, which has amazed the world. It has amazed me too. I would never have believed what GPT-4 can do, but you can’t deny the truth when it stands…
YouTube as a mashriqu’l-adhkar
I learned pretty much everything I know about the Baha’i mashriqu’l-adhkar (house of worship) from a handbook by Sen McGlinn called A Mashriqu’l-Adhkar Handbook, which is available on Amazon in kindle format for a couple of dollars. For those without a Kindle, Laura Foster has written an excellent essay about the mashriqu’l-adhkar, which gives a…
What is the heart?
Baha’u’llah refers to the heart throughout his writings, and places a great deal of importance on it. For example, he says in Arabic hidden word no 59 that the heart is his home: “O child of existence, your heart is my home, sanctify it for my appearance, your spirit is my place of revelation, purify…
Being respectful in the face of provocation
Baha’u’llah sets a high standard with regard to being respectful toward others no matter what they say or how they behave. In other places, he counsels us to be humble before others, such in Arabic hidden word 30: “Deny not My servant should he ask anything from thee, for his face is My face; be then abashed before Me.” And…
Controlling vain imaginings (unhelpful thoughts)
What are vain imaginings? I can’t give a definition. I’ve been trying to come up with one for some months now and what I find is that more and more of the contents in my mind seem to fall into that category. Currently, I would say that vain imaginings and idle fancies are thoughts that…
Developing mystical knowledge – a how-to
Human beings are remarkable creatures. They are infinitely complex for they have hidden dimensions that would astonish people if they knew about them. I will break the dimensions down into three. In the first place, a person occupies the physical world and interacts with the world using a physical body and that body’s many functions…
How words start wars
I am obsessessed with the war that Russia has forced on Ukraine. Why does it consume me? Because it is a perfect example of the situation Baha’u’llah referred to when he said that if one country attacks another, all should rise up to defeat the aggressor. I interpret that statement as constituting a personal spiritual…
Controlling the narrative
Recently on Reddit, someone made accusatory statements about me with regard to the fact that I was disenrolled from the Baha’i community in 2000. For example, the person said: “By your own admissions, you are violating the express guidance of Baha’u’llah and Abdu’l-Baha. You are claiming to know more and supplanting the judgements of Baha’u’llah,…