Reflections on the Life of the Spirit

Kim & David Douglas

14 week class, Tuesday evenings, April 8th to July 8th

"Reflections on the Life of the Spirit" is the first workbook, in a series of seven, intended to build strong spiritual communities. Although it is primarily used within the Baha'i community, the spiritual principals it teaches are universal. It provides insight into spiritual matters and imparts knowledge of the Bahá'í Faith. The course is currently being taught in thousands of communities around the world.

Course Outline

This course has three main objectives:

1. Increasing the understanding the Bahá'í Writings and encouraging the studying the Writings every day
2. Developing attitudes toward prayer and encouraging memorizing short passages from them
3. Understanding that the true significance of life is to be found in the development of the soul

Unit 1: Understanding the Baha'i Writings

Purpose:
To develop the capacity to read the Sacred Texts and meditate on their meaning to advance our spiritual understanding for the progress of our spiritual understanding for the progress of our physical and spiritual life.

Description: This section's purpose is to develop in the participants the habit of reading the Writings and thinking about them, beginning at first with one-sentence statements. To read the Holy Writings every day, at least in the morning and at night, is one of the very important ordinances of the Bahá'í Faith. To read the Sacred Word is to drink from the ocean of Divine Revelation leading to spiritual understanding and reflecting on its application in one's own life and in the life of society.

Unit 2: Prayer

Purpose: To understand the importance of daily prayer and to develop the required attitudes of prayer. To memorize five prayers and understand their meaning.

Description: This sections reflects on three principal objectives. The first is to clarify the concept of prayer itself, to help the participants understand its great importance in that of daily spiritual sustenance and encouraging a profound desire to pray. The second objective is to awaken in participants the desire to "converse with God" and to feel the joy of being near to Him. The third objective of the course concerns the attitudes with which prayer should be approached, the attitudes of heart and mind that help one enter the state of prayer, and to the conditions that should be created in one's surroundings at the time of prayer.

Unit 3: Life and Death

Purpose: To understand that the true significance of life is found in the development of the soul which occurs in this world and continues eternally in other spiritual worlds of God.

Description: The theme of life and death has been included in the first book of the Institute's program because it is considered essential for participants' understanding of the paths of service they will choose to follow. Service in this world has to be understood in the fullest context of life which extends beyond our earthy existence and continues forever as our souls progress through the worlds of God.

1. Some questions investigated during the part of the course include:
• How life begins and what is death
• The soul is a spiritual entity, created by God
• The soul and the body, together, constitute the human being
• Death is just a change of condition; afterward the soul progresses eternally

2. The purpose of our lives
• The purpose of life is to know God and to attain His presence.
• One who recognizes the Manifestation draws near to God, and one who rejects Him suffers from remoteness from God.
• Just as in the womb of the mother one acquires the powers needed for this world, so in this world should we acquire the spiritual qualities and powers needed for the next world.

3. The nature of the soul
• The soul is a sign of God.
• A soul which is faithful to God will reflect His light and be drawn to Him.
• Worldly attachments and vain desires impede the soul's flight towards God
• God has bestowed on man the capacity to reflect all His names and attributes.

4. The need for the Manifestation of God as the Universal Educator.
• The capacities of the human being are latent; they can only be developed with the help of the Manifestation of God.
• To know the Manifestation of God is to know God.
• Through spiritual education, the treasures hidden within us can be revealed.

5. The condition of the soul after death
• The faithful soul will attain a sublime position and eternal happiness, but the unfaithful soul will recognize its loss suffer remorse.
• No one knows his own end; therefore, we should forgive others and not feel superior towards them.
• In the next world, the holy souls become acquainted with all mysteries and behold the beauty of God.
• In the next world, we will recognize our loved ones and enjoy companionship with the friends of God; we will remember the life we had in this material world.