This part of my website holds a different kind of material from the rest of my work. In 2000, my membership in the Baha’i community was withdrawn by the Universal House of Justice — an event that, in time, became the turning point behind the work I do now. The years that followed involved correspondence,…
Category: Personal Archives
Personal Archives gathers Alison’s historical and personal materials. This section includes records of her expulsion from the Baha’i community and related legal documents, alongside other personal writings, reflections, and archival resources. It offers readers a comprehensive view of Alison’s lived experience and documentary record.
Stay Connected
Quiet spaces, gentle rhythms, and ways to return I have chosen to house my work and outreach in quiet, meditative spaces. These social media platforms are a sanctuary for me. I avoid discussion-based platforms because they don’t offer the kind of spiritual, symbolic, and slow-unfolding work I love to create. Rather than contorting my work…
A Perceptual Shift: The Shift That Made the Book Possible
An interesting look at the spiritual motivation behind my book, Paradise of Presence, can be found in the following short bio I wrote in 2017. I stumbled on this in my Google files, and realized that I had forgotten about it. After reading it, I discovered that it outlined the spiritual shift that led to…
How love drives the mystical process of creation
How love drives the mystical process of creation. This article (written in 2018) is about Baha’u’llah’s creation principle, which is a statement on how things come to be. The principle is found in Baha’u’llah’s Tablet of Wisdom, paragraph 9 of the official translation. For more articles on Baha’i philosophy, see Baha’i philosophy: general articles. The…
Love is what unites us
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…
Official explanation for removal from Baha’i membership
Official explanation for removal from Baha’i membership – the following letter is from the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of New Zealand, explaining why it asked for my name to be removed from the membership rolls. 19 April 2000 Transmitted by email: natsec@… The National Spiritual Assemblyof the…
Decision of the High Court
Decision of the High Court regarding the action of the New Zealand National Spiritual Assembly to remove my name from the membership rolls at the instruction of the Universal House of Justice. IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND, AUCKLAND REGISTRY, M.759/02 between ALISON ELIZABETH MARSHALL (plaintiff) and THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHA’IS OF NEW ZEALAND…
Decision of Privacy Commissioner
Decision of Privacy Commissioner – this is the decision of the New Zealand Privacy Commissioner regarding my request to have the National Spiritual Assembly correct its assertion that I was counselled before my removal from Baha’i membership. Office of the Privacy Commissioner 28 March 2002 Dear Mrs Marshall PRIVACY ACT COMPLAINT : NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY…
Chronology of Events Leading up to the Removal Decision
This chronology of events, written in 2002, outlines in detail the events that led to Alison’s expulsion from the New Zealand Baha’i community. It is 20 pages long and includes documentary evidence of what happened. It gives background into the small, separate events, occurring over a period of years, that together created the context for the disenrollment….
Alison’s Removal From Baha’i Membership
The Notification On 29 March 2000, Alison received an email from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of New Zealand. It informed her that the Universal House of Justice had instructed the National Spiritual Assembly to remove her name from the membership rolls of the New Zealand Baha’i community. The email read: Dear Mrs…