A feature of carrying forward an ever advancing civilization today would be to contribute to contemporary dialogue in such a way as to elevate the discourse of society and to promote a positive presence of the Bahá’í Faith on the internet. Understanding the dynamics of dialogue in creating reality is a key learning point to being able to make an impact in this area. It is important that our dialogue is purposeful so as to create an intended effect. The effect that we are trying to achieve is to draw hearts closer to Bahá’u’lláh and to contribute to the advancement of humankind through meaningfully participating in the discourse of society.
William Isaacs describes the deeper meaning of dialogue. “The intention of dialogue is to reach new understanding and, in doing so, to form a totally new basis from which to think and act. In dialogue, one not only solves problems, one dissolves them. We do not merely try to reach agreement, we try to create a context from which many new agreements might come. And we seek to uncover a base of shared meaning that can greatly help coordinate and align our actions with our values.”
To create a reality, a new understanding, that leads to spiritual transformation and the attraction of others to interest in the Faith, we must give conscious consideration to the words we use and how we use them. Bahá’u’lláh alludes to this when He speaks of the “Creative Word” and of the power of speech in many of His Writings. When choosing words, consider the Words revealed by Bahá’u’lláh in His Prayers and Writings. These constitute the Word of God and thus are endowed with a creative and transformative power.
“O My Name! Utterance must needs possess penetrating power. For if bereft of this quality it would fail to exert influence. And this penetrating influence dependeth on the spirit being pure and the heart stainless. Likewise it needeth moderation, without which the hearer would be unable to bear it, rather he would manifest opposition from the very outset. And moderation will be obtained by blending utterance with the tokens of divine wisdom which are recorded in the sacred Books and Tablets. Thus when the essence of one’s utterance is endowed with these two requisites it will prove highly effective and will be the prime factor in transforming the souls of men.” (Tablets of Bahá’u'lláh)
“Every word is endowed with a spirit, therefore the speaker or expounder should carefully deliver his words at the appropriate time and place, for the impression which each word maketh is clearly evident and perceptible. The Great Being saith: One word may be likened unto fire, another unto light, and the influence which both exert is manifest in the world. Therefore an enlightened man of wisdom should primarily speak with words as mild as milk, that the children of men may be nurtured and edified thereby and may attain the ultimate goal of human existence which is the station of true understanding and nobility. And likewise He saith: One word is like unto springtime causing the tender saplings of the rose-garden of knowledge to become verdant and flourishing, while another word is even as a deadly poison. It behoveth a prudent man of wisdom to speak with utmost leniency and forbearance so that the sweetness of his words may induce everyone to attain that which befitteth man’s station.” (Tablets of Bahá’u'lláh)
Another important aspect of contributing in a positive way to elevate the discourse of society is to participate in the social, humanitarian, and scientific discussion with learning that is born out of experience of the Bahá’í community and teachings. In thinking about participating in a discourse within these spheres, it is not enough to simply state a principle. Rather we must learn how to reframe contemporary discourses at the level of principle. As we read in The Prosperity of Humankind, in the context of a discussion regarding development discourse:
“It is unrealistic to imagine that the vision of the next stage in the advancement of civilization can be formulated without a searching reexamination of the attitudes and assumptions that currently underlie approaches to social and economic development. At the most obvious level, such rethinking will have to address practical matters of policy, resource utilization, planning procedures, implementation methodologies, and organization. As it proceeds, however, fundamental issues will quickly emerge, related to the long-term goals to be pursued, the social structures required, the implications for development of principles of social justice, and the nature and role of knowledge in effecting enduring change. Indeed, such a reexamination will be driven to seek a broad consensus of understanding about human nature itself.”
Reflecting on the above raises many questions that are worthy of consideration at the individual and community level. What are we trying to achieve when we communicate on the internet? Are we just trying to convey information about ourselves or are we trying make a positive impact with friends, neighbors and coworkers? How do we constructively contribute to a different type of culture on the Internet, whether through concepts, language, use of technology, or creation of spaces that truly reflect Bahá’í vision, ideals and spirit? Are we just riding the Internet wave and not innovating? Can spiritual empowerment occur through the Internet? Can we increase our community of interest through electronic social networks? Is there a role for intensive use of the internet during the various phases of Intensive Programs of Growth?
If you are interested in exploring some of these questions together, you are invited to participate in a learning experiment. We are attempting to gain more information on three interrelated key points:
- How is the internet being used to explore the teachings of the Faith with others?
- How is the internet being used to elevate the discourse of society?
- If you are not currently involved in this purposeful use of the internet, what are some ways that you could engage others on the internet to produce a purposeful result?
We would then like you to share your learning, successes and failures, to this blog as a central point of capture. Share you strategies and lines of actions. Update your progress and the advancements you have made. Our goal is to collect a large amount of learning for analysis on the effectiveness of our presence on the internet. In addition, we hope to elevate the discourse of society by having more and more people consciously thinking about the ideas presented here and then purposefully communicate in a way that addresses these ideas.
You should feel free to contribute to this experiment anonymously if you like. You may also wish to review position papers for ideas and guidance at <www.bcca.org/bia>. Data from this blog will be gather and analyzed by the Bahá’í Internet Agency.
Thank you for your participation.
I am a writer and the primary purpose of my blog began as a marketing tool for my work. However, I’ve found myself branching out and including Baha’i information and music. It’s difficult to keep a balance so that non-Baha’is will continue to read my site, yet be exposed to the Faith.
Comment by B Irwin — March 16, 2010 @ 4:11 pm
I have several comments to make.
1. Meetup.com…..I have listed on there Cafe Bahai. It is clearly a Bahai promoted fireside/home visit activity. Enter zipcode 98133 and you will find me there. You can enter Cafe Bahai or any other words such a ‘unity’ ‘diveristy’ etc. I have an ongoing monthly activity listed. Gives me several new seekers every month. I have it set for 25 miles and my seekers come from within one hours ride to my house. Used to have it at the center but do this now in my home. I have any given time around 6-8 seekers. Several of them enrolled. I use “Heart to Heart” as the tool to present either topics or answer their many questions. They like it a lot. I enroll them online and network them immediately into the Institute Process. I am now teaching other communities to do the same and am watching to see if they too can attract new seekers. Immediate response is vital. I send an email within 15 minutes and invite them over for a cup of coffee. Often they come the next day.
2. I have a Facebook site for Heart to Heart. It has almost 600 fan members. I promote on there several activities such as devotionals and topic centered firesides. Has not attracted all that many NEW seekers. But it helps to get out the word.
3. I have a Bahai seekers and Bahai teachers website for Heart to Heart (
http://www.hearttoheartpublications.com/sharing-h2h) It is mostly used for teacher training. Have not yet set up the seeker website sufficiently. Will enter in there “Enroll here NOW” link. We are discussing putting H2H onto the website, but it is too premature to discuss any further details on that. Plans are in the making to redo the whole website for seekers.
4. YouTube…..we use YouTube to bring out video’s on the effectiveness of using H2H in a ‘one on one’ home visit or Cafe Bahai. It apparently has had over 1240 hits so far and I am getting responses back. Works really well for us and we are planning on making more from here on out. Will put them soon on the seekers website.
All in all I would share that Meetup.com is the BEST online effort as it gets me regular seekers coming to MY home for home visits. I have only listed one monthly event. Can only imagine what would happen if I list different topics from Heart to Heart such as Life after Death, Health and Healing, Peace and Justice, Family and Marriage, Science and Religion etc etc. We have 18 chapters to choose from to give it variety. Would need more help with more teachers. All I can handle comfortably is 5-6 seekers. That is almost one a day. I usually do 5 weekly home visits and 3 follow up consolidation visits whilst I line up a Study CIrcle for them. Am teaching the friends how to duplicate this effort as we speak.
Comment by Zabine Van Ness — January 4, 2010 @ 6:01 am
In Facebook, I’ve come to responding to others more than writing or sharing much. I dislike manipulation intensely and avoid it at all costs. (There seems to be a fine line between giving information with pure intent and the power of trying to influence for vanity’s sake.) If I express love and affirmation to others because I truly do love them and want them to feel acknowledged that seems to be more than enough. If they are curious about my status and see that I’m Baha’i, that is their business, but I will avoid trying to persuade anyone. My own personal experience is sufficient to convince me beyond a shadow of a doubt. I’m just happy to “be” and to “know” and if I feel prompted or am requested to share my personal journey or resources, I will do so with interest to learn from the other person as well.
Comment by Pat — December 28, 2009 @ 5:41 pm
The Bahá’í Digital Proofreading Project
In the early 1990’s, a small group of dedicated believers oversaw the very first proofreading of Bahá’í sacred texts for the purposes of digital publication. The texts were made available on an ftp site at the Bahá’í World Centre, and included in the “MARS” program. At that same time, a single believer began expanded the body of digital texts by scanning hard copies of many other important books, something he continues to this day.
The first formal project (Ansari-bahai.org) became “The Bahá’í Sacred Writings Project”, and the Bahá’í Reference Library (http://reference.bahai.org) was created to hold sacred texts.
An English-language proofreading team was organized, and volunteers were recruited from all over the world; later expanding to include the Spanish and Chinese languages. Eventually, this group became independent, and took on the name “The Bahá’í Digital Proofreading Project”, accepting work from various Bahá’í institutions, publishers, and independent Internet entities.
As of January 2010, 51 English, four Spanish, and five Chinese texts will have been taken through the proofreading process.
The main goal of all digital proofreading endeavors is to ensure that Bahá’í writings and texts placed on the Internet come from one trusted and approved source, so that the quality and consistency of public Bahá’í works is assured.
Comment by D. Kite — December 26, 2009 @ 8:08 pm
I use the internet to inject a spiritual note (Baha’i quotations usually, or sometimes from Islam, Christianity or other world religion) into conversations with close family members. Family consists of active and inactive Baha’is (and even one who has lost administrative rights), Muslims, Hindus, Christians and agnostics. Quite a mix! I try to keep it light overall just so I keep them reading, except sometimes for the relatively active Baha’is I send them new information from the Universal House of Justice, the International Counselors, or the National Spiritual Assembly where we live. I have not had comments from anyone except one Hindu sister who agrees with the essence of the Baha’i quotations I send and my 81-year old computer savvy Christian mother who tries to juggle the faiths of all her children by supporting everyone equally and finding similarities between us. The Baha’i family members have been totally silent, but at least they haven’t told me to stop. The one who lost administrative rights was very touched by information about the Baha’is in Iran, and I believe that one is still deeply in love with Baha’u'llah. By the way, my messages are sent to individual email accounts or to an individual Facebook account. I send them for special occasions, which would be a few time a year at the very most. I have a Facebook account with over 80 friends now, and only 3 or 4 are not Baha’is, they are Southern Baptists. Sometimes I re-post a Baha’i quote I think they will get something out of as Christians. They all know I am a Baha’i but have have very little idea of what that means. I see from other comments that this is a minimal effort compared to others, and that’s ok. I work via the Internet from home (sitting in my computer room all day long!!) for up to 55 hours a week. I guess I get very tired of looking at that screen. I think anything we can do to spread the Words of Baha’u'llah to the world will have an impact, even if we (or they) don’t see it immediately. Even reading them out loud in an empty room! Those blessed Words fly everywhere.
Comment by Michele Cosby — December 26, 2009 @ 3:16 pm
I’m another Facebook poster, though I haven’t consciously concentrated on ‘Teaching” with a capital T
there. It is a great place to share with friends and acquaintances, especially for people like me who aren’t part of a big or medium-sized local community (I mean big enough to have an LSA) that meets regularly.
One thing I consciously try to do which hasn’t been mentioned here yet is to send Happy Birthday greetings along with a ‘Baha’i Special Gift’ when anyone on my Facebook list has a birthday. I also might post a note and maybe a photo when I attend any Baha’i events (as I might any other events), but that hasn’t been too often, lately.
Another thing I try to do is keep a track of what others are posting, and to send a word of encouragement/love as the Spirit moves me. I think this is really appreciated, and I hope that friends to whom I am not that close realize it is coming from the heart when I do stuff like that – I mean, as someone else said, I’m wary of coming across like I’m preaching or proselytizing, because I think that would cause more harm than good, no matter how beautiful and true the sentiments we post.
I also have a Blog – for a year and a half now, with a relatively short list of people to send update notices to (again, I tried to pick and choose from my mailing list). I sometimes don’t post scripture, and when I do I often post Bible quotes as well as Baha’i quotes. I rarely get comments there, and haven’t been tracking Blog visitors, but a few friends (mainly the non-Baha’i friends) have from time to time contacted me to let me know that they appreciate it, so I keep on doing it – partly for my own spiritual benefit as well, as someone else has also said.
Comment by Nicola Daniels — December 25, 2009 @ 5:02 pm
I write quotations with most of my pictures on Flicker programme.
Comment by Nahid Hossaini — December 25, 2009 @ 3:45 pm
I have blogs on Blogger, and WordPress. In October, I established our local Baha’i Group social network on Ning.com, after joining Baha’iwebdev.
My blogs are not exclusively Baha’i content, but many posts are specifically that. I use quotes from Baha’i Writings regularly.
I have been active on Facebook and Twitter for about a year. My Profile Info includes links to my own blogs, as well as Baha’i quotes. As part of a Minnesota Libraries web2.0 learning program, January to June 2009, I oversubscribed to everything. I explored all kinds of Twitter tools, and find TweetDeck most useful for following real friends and others who show interest in Baha’i content. There has been a wide range of Christian and Nature-based religious interest via Twitter.
On Facebook, take a look at AGREED! the tournament game of quotes (that advances peace), which is very much compatible with this blog.
My main weakness on Facebook is obsessive game playing, such as Mafia Wars. Some of that “family” are Baha’is. After dealing with email, I can easily consume an hour keeping up with the games. Game playing is part of real in-person social networking in our wide community along the North Shore of Lake Superior, one of many venues in which teaching the Baha’i Faith is a normal part of the conversation.
Most disappointing has been the lack of response to the Baha’i Group social network. My wife and I are the only two Baha’is in our cluster, Lake and Cook Counties in Minnesota. Most of what we do here in the realm of teaching is outreach. I deliberately invited non-Baha’i friends, all of them people of influence locally and globally, many serving on non-profit boards. Three of the friends have joined, the rest are Baha’is. I continue to add Baha’i content as if we were a larger community.
Comment by David Carlson — December 21, 2009 @ 3:01 pm
I have found that probably a third of my Facebook friends(300+) are Baha’is. I post a daily quote(rarely Baha’i) and a daily question. From that I may generate 20-40 comments a day. At least once a day and often many times – my Baha’i friends engage in meaning discussions on Baha’i topics with non-Baha’is.
Some of my non-Baha’i friends have begun to question me on the faith or spiritual issues. We engage in chats and private exchanges sometimes for days and hours on topics. I even had one friend who I have not seen in a decade who asked me to befriend her friend. My old friend claims to be an atheist(I think she is agnostic). Her friend had questions on spiritual and Christian issues. My first friend felt I would give her questioning friend the most honest and none dogmatic answers. This new person, who I have never met has now heard of Baha’u'llah, been to our website, & has been befriended by my daughter who resides in the same city. Interestingly my old friend lives in California; I live in South Carolina & her friend lives in Indiana. We all interact everyday on Facebook.
I was a long-time soccer coach & I now have former players all over the world. One of my former players who does classified work in England working directly with the Israeli’s & the Palestinian Authority chats with me occasionally on Baha’i spiritual topics(he is very knowledgeable but feels things he has done when he was a field operative has tainted him too much to ever be whole or worthy). Occasionally unsolicited & out of the blue I will receive an email to an old email account telling me about the safety of Baha’is where bombings, violence or unrest has occurred. Such as – when there was a bombing in Haifa he would just send me a short note the Bah’is are safe & it was so many km’s from the shrines – short & cryptic. He speaks English, Arabic, Farsi & Korean that I know of. I am careful to only speak on spiritual issues – he has been to Haifa and to our websites. I will be meeting him & his family over the holidays in Indiana when he flies in.
Overall I have friends all over the world & on every continent that I communicate with regularly and on a regular basis – someone, anywhere in the world, may ask me to become their friend based on what I have posted on spiritual issues on someone else’s website or FB page.
In all I think the internet is a wonderful tool to spread the influence of Baha’u'llah, but it is important to be careful in how we present ourselves after we are identified as a believer. The world is watching and listening to us.
Comment by Al Black — December 21, 2009 @ 11:47 am
Suggested, encouraged and inspired by a friend, I signed up for Facebook in August with a clear purpose to inject certain spiritual oriented conversation into the day to day catch-up chats with friends, families, coworkers and/or new encounters.
Facebook is mainly friend/family circle sharing media. It is amazing that how quickly the friend list can increase within a short time (say a month or so). Many people have several hundred friends; some even have more than a thousand. Initially, it includes mainly the friends within the immediate area, but soon expanded to friends any where in the country. The really exciting part of this is that there is chain reaction among friends. Each person has a circle of friends, and almost always these circles overlap with others’. So when I post something, say a quote or a short note on my facebook, not only my friends can see it, there is chance that my friends of friends can also see it (if my friends choose to share it or if I tag my friends with a note). Besides, facebook is a perfect place to mix up Baha’i friends with non-Baha’i friends.
Initially I posted a few notes on my facebook with various topics. For some of them we had good participations in discussion. Sometime a friend would raise a question during the discussion. That in turn gave me or other friends a chance to post another note. Here are some examples of responses:
Date: Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 9:18 PM Lindsay says, “Hi Le, Joyce and I went to college together and are friends on facebook. I came across your notes on her wall and I think they are incredibly insightful and well-thought out. I just wanted to be your friend and keep up with what you are reading and thinking.”
Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 12:54 AM Jim made a comment about your note “Science and Religion_3″: “Lovely thoughts, Le. I came into this in reverse, but you can be sure that I’ll find the first two installments!
Please forgive my ignorance, but are you Bahá’í? I’ve always admired their commitment to peace.”
September 1 at 9:02am Anna commented on “Connection is colorful”: “Yes, facebook is an instant way of doing consultation and out of the clash of differing opinions comes many wonderful things, a bet like the protons ad neutrons in the molecule. Love all the chemistry analogies…”
September 1 at 7:19pm Jeanne: “Le, I love the thought that God is hidden from us because of His/Her nearness…not remoteness. What a gift to consider that thought. Thank you!”
September 3 at 11:56am Yu: “sad to see all races become one race, diversity is the main force which move the society forward. Diversity is colorful and is the real soil for innovation.”
September 3 at 1:57pm Bill: “Yu, Good thought. I agree with you but not to worry. There is already one race, the human race. And, there will always be a great deal of diversity within it. Diversity of culture, geography, thought, tradition, family, etc. While diversity is the soil of innovation, it is “unity in diversity” that will make us grow. “
September 3 at 8:32pm Jeanne: “I love this rich dialogue. Thank you folks. Understanding and respect for ‘other’ would enrich our world so much. As you have said so beautifully Yu, it is the “unity in diversity” that could capture the maximum benefits.”
September 11 at 3:26pm Yu: “would anyone like to explain more about “unity in diversity”? thanks”
Though conversation through internet will never replace face to face relationship building, it certainly provides a new channel for friends to share thoughts, information, and perspectives, with surprising depth.
Comment by Le Wang — December 20, 2009 @ 8:52 pm
After tried using Facebook for a while, we learned that Facebook is a very good tool to connect and share insights with friends, families, yet Facebook is to a degree closed circle of communication. So we sought to use Facebook combined with blog. Blog is open to all, friends or strangers, but blog by its own, is like a hidden treasure berried among millions of other blogs. Using Facebook as a connection point and post a link every time a new blog is posted is an effective mean to direct traffic to the blog. The same can be used with connection of Twitter. And with the help of Posterous as suggested by George Dannells, post one time and it will show up at Facebook, Twitter and multiple blogs if so desired. It made maintainence so much easier. Many thanks to George.
Some of my friends on Facebook, never posted anything and never made any comments. Sometime I wondered if they ever login and read. But later when I met them, they made comments on some posts; some even said they enjoyed reading. My point is that Facebook or blog can be a very effective way to communicate with friends with great depth that sometimes is not easily the case when face to face with friends.
Comment by Le Wang — January 4, 2010 @ 3:12 am
My previous comments were meant for all, of coursre, and not just as a reply to anotherworldcitizen and her fine blog on film.
My primary blog address is now http://bahaiviews.posterous.com
Comment by george wesley dannells — December 20, 2009 @ 5:26 pm
I maintained a blog for a year and a half but have stopped posting to it since my major goal became writing my memoirs.
The blog began as a chronicle of my spiritual struggle to withstand the physical onslaught of a medical drug therapy. It quickly evolved into a forum for the exploration of Baha’i “themes of concern” as applied to events in our crisis-ridden culture.
The most significant aspect of blogging for me was the effect it had on my own mind and heart–the regular effort to convey principles from my Faith that could serve as points of resolution to crises experienced by others became a spiritual exercise in my personal life–a meditation using technology.
It’s been many months since I stopped attending to the blog but the last message encourages folks to explore its hundreds of posts. I’m quite surprised that the blog is still averaging the same visitor numbers as when I was actively maintaining it!
Comment by Alexander Zoltai — December 20, 2009 @ 5:03 pm
I’ve been blogging about the spiritual themes in film as film is both an artform and a platform for social discourse. I try to support my points about the films with the Creative Word. I am not sure how effective it is, or if it is really contributing to the discourse much, but my viewership is going up and I have a few dedicated readers.
Comment by anotherworldcitizen — December 20, 2009 @ 4:20 pm
First, let me say this is a marvelous initiative. I expect to come here whenever I have a moment’s reflection on what I’m attempting to do on the Internet or personal observations on what I see happening. So no treatises, just bits and pieces.
Here is a strategy I am attempting to follow, one that may already be viewed as fundamental and basic to some. I am trying to multiple my efforts through autoposting. Posterous.com is the blogging platform that has enabled me to take advantage of it. I put one post up on http://bahaiviews.posterous.com and it automatically appears on what had been my only active blog, Baha’i Views on WordPress, but on three other sites as well, which I reactivated for the purpose. I can monitor visits on all of the sites through Google Analytics. With Posterous I also get automatic posting about my new content on Twitter, Facebook, and Friendfeed, critical elements for determining that content gets read, it seems to me.
Another strategy involves Baha’i Views on Flickr. I incorporate photos in sets and use a Posterous feature which automatically treats the set as a slideshow. It’s set can really give the viewer the sense of “being there,” especially if short video clips are included as well. Use of sets in this way has a powerful effect on increasing the number of views to the Flickr account, considering that the set slideshow is showing up on five blogs. So Flickr has become a predominant tool for promoting Baha’i Views content.
A focus for content more recently has been simply the portrayal of Baha’i Community Life, so I have been taking lots of pictures and video of every Baha’i gathering I attend in my community and throwing the images up on the Internet. The more ways people can experience Baha’i life virtually, the more likely they are going to partake of it in the physical world.
Enough for now.
Comment by george wesley dannells — December 20, 2009 @ 5:19 pm
What this brings to my mind is the importance and the power that moderation has. In the context of Facebook, this is most clearly seen. Facebook can be used as a platform to share the gems of the Divine Message with many people. In my opinion, one is most effective when one shares parts of the writings in their status messages. It can serve as inspiration to many, and this has been demonstrated by the fact that many acquintances even leave positive comments and responces. The next thing to think about is your audience. It is important that the language and the tone of the messages suit the people who most frequent your page, or else it is not understandable and may not have a great positive impact . Videos(generally youtube) are another effective tool. They are often eye-catching and engaging. It is important to not post strictly Baha’i information as your networks often want to know about “you.” However, if you are living the life, and explain what is going on with you then this too imparts what the “daily” life of a Baha’i looks like. As teaching the Faith has many different aspects, the method of sharing them on internet and explore the reality of each aspect could be posted in different ways on internet. It is also important to note that if you post too frequently it may overwhelm people and they may chose to filter your updates altogether (just one easy click does it). I feel like if you post more about daily life on a regular basis then if you devote a few days or a few posts in a short span of time about Baha’i specific material it is most effective and draws attention more. The purposeful results can be achived if one used internet with wisdom yet sharpens his/hers sight to use different methods of teachings on a daily basis.
Comment by Anisa Zareh — December 20, 2009 @ 3:18 am