Monthly Reflection: Mashiyyat (Will) – On Daily Habits

The springboard for this monthly reflection is the following song in Hungarian based on a passage from The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah exhorting us to bring ourselves to account each day.

Reflecting on the song made me wonder what other videos, articles, talks and podcasts we might have on Baha’i Blog in relation to the daily habits we are all striving to cultivate. This topic is very elastic and could technically stretch to include pretty much everything we publish. I’ll try to focus on concrete quotidian actions, such as bringing ourselves to account, as these friends from Hungary sing so beautifully.

Let’s look at content related to Obligatory Prayer. There’s Melanie’s reflection “9 Things I Didn’t Know About Obligatory Prayer”, Michael’s thoughts on how the Long Obligatory Prayer powers up his day, and Peter’s musings on the mysticism, meaning and effects of reciting the Short Obligatory Prayer. And let’s not forget Nahal’s personal perspective on why we say Allah-u-Abha 95 times a day.

As it relates to our daily devotions, the short film “A Deeper Calling” by Devina Saberi comes to mind. It shares the stories of five youth from Inala, a small neighbourhood in Brisbane and what each of these young people have learned about the power of prayer:

Prayer leads to and informs action. This video, for example, animates the words of Shoghi Effendi about the steps to take in order to make decisions prayerfully. The full adapted text is:

From prayer to action. Begin with prayer. Stay a while in the silence. Arrive at a decision and hold this. It might seem impossible to accomplish, but if it seems to be an answer then … Have determination. Many fail here. Do not let the decision become simply a wish or vague longing. When determination is born … Have faith and confidence. The right way will appear, the door will open the right thought, the right message, the right principle will be given to you. Then, as you rise from prayer … Take action. Act as though it had all been answered. Act with tireless, ceaseless energy. And as you act, you, yourself, will become a magnet, a channel for the Divine power to flow through you.

I am hesitant to share more on the power of prayer because we have A LOT of podcasts, talks, articles and videos on this topic and this newsletter runs the risk of never ending. But I will draw your attention to this episode of Moments of Meaning, created by our friends over at Baha’i Teachings. It’s an interview with Bahiyyih Nakhjavani about creating reality through prayer:

Moments of Meaning: Creating Reality Through Prayer with Bahiyyih Nakhjavani

In addition to prayer, we are enjoined to study the Baha’i Writings every day. Over the years, Ben shared the aids he makes use of when studying the letters and works of Shoghi Effendi, I wrote about some questions that can help frame your study of a sacred text, and Zayda offered tips or tricks for helping us memorize passages from the Baha’i Writings.

I think one wonderful resource that can tie it all together is a talk given at the most recent conference for the Association for Baha’i Studies where Jasmine Miller Kleinhenz gave a presentation called “Striving for Coherence: Reflections on Steeling Oneself for a Life of Service”. In this talk, she shares stories and experiences about how, when we see service towards others as the guiding habit of our lives, blessings flow in abundance:

If you get a chance to watch this presentation, I hope you find it as inspiring as I did!

The more I write this, the more habits I want to include; habits such as refraining from backbiting, demonstrating cleanliness in our dress and environments, being conscientious of what we consume–both in terms of food and media–and being thoughtful and deliberate in the economic choices we make. The list really could go on and on!

Perhaps this surface look at daily habits might give you something to mull over and consider as you reflect on the repeated actions that fill your days. Have a wonderful month of Will!