This Wondrous System

1. The Script for this Episode in Substack [https://maryjlrowe.substack.com/p/plan] 2. UN75: The Future We Want, The UN We Need [https://www.un.org/en/un75/presskit] 3. Top Influential Think Tanks ranked for 2023 [https://academicinfluence.com/inflection/study-guides/influential-think-tanks] 4. Some Futurist Organizations The World Future Society [https://www.worldfuture.org/] The Futurist Institute [https://www.futuristinstitute.org/courses/futurist-fundamentals/overview] World Futures Federation [https://wfsf.org/about-futures-studies/] 10 Best Futurist Podcasts [https://blog.feedspot.com/futurist_podcasts/] 5. World Economic Forum [https://www.weforum.org/] 6. NASA’s Long Term Plans [https://www.nasa.gov/specials/60counting/future.html] 7. The Long Now Foundation [https://longnow.org/] 8. A beautiful Chart depicting the progression of Baha’i Plans [https://bahai-library.com/palabra_unfoldment_divine_plan] The Baha’i Nine Year Plan (2022 to 2031) [https://bahaipedia.org/Nine_Year_Plan_(2022-2031)] 9. Who is Writing the Future? [https://www.bahai.org/documents/bic-opi/who-writing-future]

#1 - The Script for this Episode on Substack https://maryjlrowe.substack.com/p/converse [https://maryjlrowe.substack.com/p/converse] #2 - Gorgias, the Socratic dialogue, written by Plato https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorgias_(dialogue)#Physical_and_intellectual_combat_compared_(449d–458c) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorgias_(dialogue)#Physical_and_intellectual_combat_compared_(449d%E2%80%93458c)] #3 - Dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna https://www.shortform.com/blog/krishna-arjuna-bhagavad-gita/ [https://www.shortform.com/blog/krishna-arjuna-bhagavad-gita/] #4 - 10 Best Movies about conversations ever made https://thecinemaholic.com/the-10-greatest-conversational-movies-of-all-time/ [https://thecinemaholic.com/the-10-greatest-conversational-movies-of-all-time/] #5 - The Open & Curious Substack by Craig Constantine. A post from March 24, 2023 titled Reading Suggestions. https://open.substack.com/pub/openandcurious/p/reading-suggestions?r=ktotz&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post [https://open.substack.com/pub/openandcurious/p/reading-suggestions?r=ktotz&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post] #6 - The Miracle of Dialogue by Reuel L. Howe https://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Dialogue-Reuel-L-Howe/dp/0816420475/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3UPBJ8L54SU1G&keywords=the+miracle+of+dialogue&qid=1685384541&sprefix=The+Miracle+of+Dialogue%2Caps%2C151&sr=8-1 [https://www.amazon.com/Miracle-Dialogue-Reuel-L-Howe/dp/0816420475/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3UPBJ8L54SU1G&keywords=the+miracle+of+dialogue&qid=1685384541&sprefix=The+Miracle+of+Dialogue%2Caps%2C151&sr=8-1] #7a - Conversation with God https://www.bahai.org/library/other-literature/publications-individual-authors/bahaullah-new-era/7#165445990 [https://www.bahai.org/library/other-literature/publications-individual-authors/bahaullah-new-era/7#165445990] "Prayer," says Abdu'l-Baha, "is conversation with God." In order that God may make known His Mind and Will to men, He must speak to them in a language which they can understand, and this He does by the mouths of His Holy Prophets. While these Prophets are alive in the body They speak with men face to face and convey to them the Message of God, and after Their death Their message continues to reach men's minds through Their recorded sayings and writings. But this is not the only way in which God can commune with and inspire those whose hearts are seeking after truth, wherever they are, and whatever their native race or tongue. By this language the Manifestation continues to hold converse with the faithful after His departure from the material world. Christ continued to converse with and inspire His disciples after His crucifixion. In fact He influenced them more powerfully than before; and with other Prophets it has been the same. Abdu'l-Baha speaks much of this spiritual language. He says, for instance: -- We should speak in the language of heaven -- in the language of the spirit -- for there is a language of the spirit and heart. It is as different from our language as our own language is different from that of the animals, who express themselves only by cries and sounds. It is the language of the spirit which speaks to God. When, in prayer, we are freed from all outward things and turn to God, then it is as if in our hearts we hear the voice of God. Without words we speak, we communicate, we converse with God and hear the answer. ... All of us, when we attain to a truly spiritual condition, can hear the Voice of God. (from a talk reported by Miss Ethel J. Rosenberg). Baha'u'llah declares that the higher spiritual truths can be communicated only by means of this spiritual language. The spoken or written word is quite inadequate. In a little book called The Seven Valleys, in which He describes the journey of travelers from the earthly dwelling to the Divine Home, He says, in speaking of the more advanced stages of the journey: — The tongue is unable to give an account of these, and utterance falls exceedingly short. The pen is useless in this court, and the ink gives no result but blackness. ... Heart alone can communicate to heart the state of the knower; this is not the work of a messenger, nor can it be contained in letters. #7b - Words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, cited in Star of the West, vol. 8 no. 4 (17 May 1917) p.41 “There is nothing sweeter in the world of existence than prayer. Man must live in a state of prayer. The most blessed condition is the condition of prayer and supplication. Prayer is conversation with God. The greatest attainment or the sweetest state is none other than conversation with God. it creates spirituality, creates mindfulness and celestial feelings, begets new attractions of the Kingdom and engenders the susceptibilities of the higher intelligence.” #7c - The Universal House of Justice - From a letter dated 18 December 2014 to the Bahá’ís in Iran. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/compilations/institution-mashriqul-adhkar/12#926085242 [https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/compilations/institution-mashriqul-adhkar/12#926085242] Prayer is the essential spiritual conversation of the soul with its Maker, direct and without intermediation. It is the spiritual food that sustains the life of the spirit. Like the morning’s dew, it brings freshness to the heart and cleanses it, purifying it from attachments of the insistent self. It is a fire that burns away the veils and a light that leads to the ocean of reunion with the Almighty. On its wings does the soul soar in the heavens of God and draw closer to the divine reality. Upon its quality depend the development of the limitless capacities of the soul and the attraction of the bounties of God, but the prolongation of prayer is not desirable. The powers latent in prayer are manifested when it is motivated by the love of God, beyond any fear or favour, and free from ostentation and superstition. It is to be expressed with a sincere and pure heart conducive to contemplation and meditation so that the rational faculty can be illumined by its effects. Such prayer will transcend the limitation of words and go well beyond mere sounds. The sweetness of its melodies must gladden and uplift the heart and reinforce the penetrating power of the Word, transmuting earthly inclinations into heavenly attributes and inspiring selfless service to humankind. #8 - The Open and Curious Substack Newsletter https://substack.com/@openandcurious [https://substack.com/@openandcurious]   #9 - Participation in the Discourses of Society, an article on a Baha’i Faith Website https://www.bahai.org/action/involvement-life-society/participating-discourses-society [https://www.bahai.org/action/involvement-life-society/participating-discourses-society]

Substack Newsletter Link - contains a Script of this Episode https://maryjlrowe.substack.com/p/550ede25-6e50-4f95-a1ba-e9992954c71d [https://maryjlrowe.substack.com/p/550ede25-6e50-4f95-a1ba-e9992954c71d] #1 Website of the United Nations https://www.un.org/en/ [https://www.un.org/en/] #2 Website of the Peace Literacy Curriculum https://www.peaceliteracy.org/curriculum [https://www.peaceliteracy.org/curriculum] #3 The Proclamation of Baha’u’llah https://www.bahai-library.com/bahaullah_proclamation_bahaullah [https://www.bahai-library.com/bahaullah_proclamation_bahaullah] #4 From the Secret of Divine Civilization - go to footnote 43 https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/secret-divine-civilization/ [https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/secret-divine-civilization/] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_of_Divine_Civilization [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_of_Divine_Civilization] #5 The Universal House of Justice - Powers and Duties - See 3rd Paragraph https://universalhouseofjustice.bahai.org/powers-duties [https://universalhouseofjustice.bahai.org/powers-duties] #6 The Promise of World Peace - by the Universal House of Justice https://www.bahai.org/documents/the-universal-house-of-justice/promise-world-peace [https://www.bahai.org/documents/the-universal-house-of-justice/promise-world-peace] #7 Letter of January 18, 2019 - by the Universal House of Justice https://universalhouseofjustice.bahai.org/involvement-life-society/20190118_001 [https://universalhouseofjustice.bahai.org/involvement-life-society/20190118_001] #8 The Nine Year Plan https://bahaipedia.org/Nine_Year_Plan_(2022-2031) [https://bahaipedia.org/Nine_Year_Plan_(2022-2031)] #9 Letter of December 30, 2021 - by the Universal House of Justice www.bahai.org/r/758524476 [http://www.bahai.org/r/758524476] #10 The Official Website of the Worldwide Baha’i Community https://www.bahai.org [https://www.bahai.org]

"The Universal Crisis Affecting Mankind" - Quote 3, Sentence 2. This Compilation comes to us from a young, well-built religion with global experience, introducing a message, supported by a system - familiar yet new, timeless yet contemporary.

1. The Universal Crisis Affecting Mankind - nursing a sore-tried and disillusioned humanity back to health https://bahai-library.com/pdf/compilations/compilation_state_disorder_confusion.pdf [https://bahai-library.com/pdf/compilations/compilation_state_disorder_confusion.pdf] 2. Today’s Sentence - “The call of Bahá’u’lláh is primarily directed against all forms of provincialism, all insularities and prejudices.” (The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh) www.bahai.org/r/333528334 [http://www.bahai.org/r/333528334]   Seven letters written by Shoghi Effendi and addressed to the Bahá’ís of the United States and the West, first collected in 1938, comprising “The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh”, “The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh: Further Considerations”, “The Goal of a New World Order”, “The Golden Age of the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh”, “America and the Most Great Peace”, “The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh”, and “The Unfoldment of World Civilization”. 3. Bahá'u'llah - https://www.bahai.org/bahaullah [https://www.bahai.org/bahaullah] 4. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá -https://www.bahai.org/abdul-baha [https://www.bahai.org/abdul-baha] 5. Shoghi Effendi - https://www.bahai.org/shoghi-effendi/ [https://www.bahai.org/shoghi-effendi/] 6. The Baha'i Faith - https://www.bahai.org [https://www.bahai.org] 7. Baha’ís of the United States - https://www.bahai.us [https://www.bahai.us] 8. Response to the Call of Baha’u’llah - https://www.bahai.org/action/response-call-bahaullah/ [https://www.bahai.org/action/response-call-bahaullah/] 9. The Call of Baha’u’llah and it’s effect on the World - https://bahaiteachings.org/call-bahaullah-effect-world/ [https://bahaiteachings.org/call-bahaullah-effect-world/] 10. Longman Dictionary - The call of something https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/the-call-of-something [https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/the-call-of-something] 11. And what voice other than that of Bahá’u’lláh—the Mouthpiece of God for this age—is capable of effecting a transformation of society as radical as that which He has already accomplished in the hearts of those men and women, so diversified and seemingly irreconcilable, who constitute the body of His declared followers throughout the world? (The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh) www.bahai.org/r/827878978 [http://www.bahai.org/r/827878978] Shoghi Effendi, Haifa, Palestine November 28, 1931 12. “The Call of God,” ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá has written, “when raised, breathed a new life into the body of mankind, and infused a new spirit into the whole creation. It is for this reason that the world hath been moved to its depths, and the hearts and consciences of men been quickened. Erelong the evidences of this regeneration will be revealed, and the fast asleep will be awakened.” (The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh) www.bahai.org/r/771401011 [http://www.bahai.org/r/771401011]  13. A Covenant in the religious sense is a binding agreement between God and man, whereby God requires of man certain behaviour in return for which He guarantees certain blessings, or whereby He gives man certain bounties in return for which He takes from those who accept them an undertaking to behave in a certain way. https://bahai-library.com/compilation_covenant [https://bahai-library.com/compilation_covenant] (23 March 1975, from a letter written by the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer) 14. If it is considered with insight, it will be seen that all the forces of the universe, in the last analysis serve the Covenant.(Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá) www.bahai.org/r/162163083 [http://www.bahai.org/r/162163083] 15. The Call of the Divine Beloved Selected Mystical Works of Baha’u’llah. May the publication of this volume contribute to a deeper appreciation of the mystical dimensions of Bahá’u’lláh’s Message and inspire a greater zeal and fervour in raising the celestial call of the Divine Beloved: “For whereas in days past every lover besought and searched after his Beloved, it is the Beloved Himself Who now is calling His lovers and is inviting them to attain His presence.”7 [https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/call-divine-beloved/10#824534398]. Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, CLI, ¶ 2.  https://www.bahaibookstore.com/Search.aspx?k=The+call+of+the+Divine+Beloved [https://www.bahaibookstore.com/Search.aspx?k=The+call+of+the+Divine+Beloved] 16. Baha’u’llah’s Revelation affirms that the purpose of our lives is to know God and to attain His presence. Our true identity is our rational soul, whose free will and powers of understanding enable us to continually better ourselves and our society. Walking a path of service to God and to humanity gives life meaning and prepares us for the moment the soul separates from the body and continues on its eternal journey towards its Maker. https://www.bahai.org/beliefs/life-spirit/ [https://www.bahai.org/beliefs/life-spirit/] 17. The Intellectual Life of the Bahá’í Community - Farzam Arbab  https://journal.bahaistudies.ca/online/article/download/212/323/735.      [https://journal.bahaistudies.ca/online/article/download/212/323/735] 18. Episode Host:  Mary JL Rowe - The personal views expressed here in Episode 6 (outside to the quotes) reflect only my individual perspective and do not represent the official views of the Baha'i Faith. Links to authoritative Baha'i Institutions, Authors and Writings are listed above - except for #9, #10, and #17.