Five Tips for a Healthy, Happy Fast

We’re a few days into the Baha’i Fast and as always for me, the first days are kind of hard! These early days are when your body is adjusting to its new routine and regime, and here in the southern hemisphere it’s also when the daylight hours are the longest.

While the Fast is ultimately spiritual, and this is a time of prayer and reflection, I find it helps to put some thought into the material aspects of Fasting. Over the years I’ve tried a lot of different ideas for what to eat and drink, and how to go about the days. I have come to the conclusion that the best thing to do is to be moderate, consistent and embrace the Fast.

Here are my personal tips for a healthier, happier fast. What are your tips? What works for you? Add them in the comments!

1. Eat a Slow-to-Digest Breakfast

Not all breakfasts are equal! When it comes to tasty breakfasts I love waffles and maple syrup, but although you’ll get a big sugar spike, the reality is a breakfast like that won’t sustain you very long. Nowadays I look for slower to digest foods with complex carbohydrates and protein rather than white carbohydrates and sugary breakfasts. My current favourite is a scrambled egg, wholegrain toast, some basil and tomato!

There’s no breakfast that is so slow to digest that it will keep you full the whole day – trust me I’ve tried them all – but better choices will at least last a little longer and avoid a post-sugar dip.

2. Drink Water Steadily Through the Night

It’s really important to be hydrated and that means water ingested regularly post-sunset. By nature I tend to wake up a couple of times a night and will keep water nearby to drink. I figure that in normal life I would drink during the day and not when I sleep, so flipping this over means my body will remain properly hydrated.

Dehydration on the other hand leads to headaches, dizziness and lots of unpleasantness. Aside from anything else, it’s very hard to feel spiritually connected when you have a migraine!

3. Don’t overeat in the evenings

When you haven’t eaten all day, it’s awfully tempting to stuff your face the moment the sun sets. Moreover it’s tempting to keep eating through the evening. While I still end up doing both of these reasonably often, I’ve found it’s much better to eat a moderate meal at sunset, and then a light and nutritious snack a couple of hours later, but avoid getting overfull at any point.

You definitely want to avoid too much salt since it will dehydrate you. Getting overfull is just generally an unpleasant feeling. And eating too much right before bed means you have far more chance of indigestion, heartburn, a poor night’s rest, and most importantly a lessened appetite in the morning.

Overeating in the evening is also the main reason you hear of people gaining weight during the Fast. Personally, I always think if I’m going to be hungry all month, I’d like to shed some pounds from it!

4. Get a Good Night’s Sleep

It’s all too easy to go to bed late when fasting, after all the evening is the time you have lots of energy and food! But if you want to wake up in time for breakfast, that means you’re likely to not get a lot of sleep. Do that over and over again for nineteen days and you can really wear yourself down. During the fast there are no Saturday morning sleep-ins, at least not if you want to have a meal to start the day!

Waking up to have breakfast is not only good health advice, it’s also a part of Fasting. You aren’t just giving up food and water, but also sleep, so you can rise, eat, drink and pray. There was one year where I skipped breakfast pretty much every day and just slept in, but at the end of the Fast I felt like I’d missed the point completely!

Of course when you haven’t had enough sleep, there’s a great temptation to go back to sleep after a nice big breakfast. I’m not sure about everyone else, but I feel awful if I do this. Eating and then immediately going back to sleep not only increases the likelihood of indigestion and heartburn, but it’s convinces your body to store all those calories as fat instead of burning them doing stuff. A nap in the afternoon is a much sounder alternative – if you can get away with it!

5. Live in Helsinki!

OK this one is said in jest, but did you know that the daylight hours in Finland are approximately 10.75 hours? Down here in Melbourne, Australia we clock in at just under 13 hours at the beginning of the Fast – though it gets shorter and shorter as the days progress, which is kind of nice! My sister says this means we get extra spiritual nourishment. At 7pm though, I’m inclined to want a little more regular old nourishment!

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What are your tips?

What are your tips for a healthy fast? If you’re interested in more information on this topic, check out Baha’i life coach Susan Gammage’s pair of articles: How to Eat During the Fast and 10 Tips for Healthy Eating during the Baha’i Fast. There’s also some interesting articles about the Muslim Ramadan which are very applicable, stop in at Islam 101 and see their Fasting Tips.

Happy Fasting Everyone!

Fasting: Spring Cleaning for the Soul

For this material fast is an outer token of the spiritual fast; it is a symbol of self-restraint, the withholding of oneself from all appetites of the self, taking on the characteristics of the spirit, being carried away by the breathings of heaven and catching fire from the love of God. (Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 69)

Have you ever had a transcendent moment, and felt just a glimpse of the infinite? Wasn’t it wonderful?

Every spiritual seeker lives for those powerful, fleeting, numinous insights into the deep mystical aspects of life. People spend their entire lives searching for that transformative experience. Every seeker wants to swim in the sea of mysteries, and develop a sense of unity, oneness and connection with a greater consciousness than their own.

But how do we find that transcendence? And once we find it, how do we sustain it?

The Baha’i teachings have three clear recommendations for seekers of transcendent spiritual experience: meditation, prayer and fasting. These techniques for fueling our inner light all start with the distinctly human capacity for self-reflection and contemplation. Baha’u’llah said that

“the sign of the intellect is contemplation and the sign of contemplation is silence, because it is impossible for a man to do two things at one time — he cannot both speak and meditate.”

This meditative contemplation – the act of sitting silently in deep thought, of communing with your inner consciousness, that regular spiritual practice the Zen masters call zazen – can be particularly effective and powerful during the period of the Fast.

Abdu’l-Baha, in a public talk in Paris a hundred years ago, encouraged everyone who seeks an understanding of life’s mystical dimension to meditate:

Meditation is the key for opening the doors of mysteries. In that state man abstracts himself: in that state man withdraws himself from all outside objects; in that subjective mood he is immersed in the ocean of spiritual life and can unfold the secrets of things in themselves. To illustrate this, think of man as endowed with two kinds of sight; when the power of insight is being used the outward power of vision does not see. This faculty of meditation frees man from the animal nature, discerns the reality of things, puts man in touch with God. (Paris Talks, p. 174)

For Baha’is, there are no recommended techniques, times or tenets for meditation. Baha’is are free to meditate in any way that works for them. But the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith, Shoghi Effendi, did recommend that Baha’is increase and intensify their meditative efforts during the nineteen days of the Fast:

The Fast is essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul.

For Baha’is, simply going without food and drink during the daylight hours – a merely physical act of self-denial – doesn’t really constitute a true fast. Instead, as the Baha’i teachings suggest, meditation and prayer act as an integral part of fasting, and make it complete. These contemplative aspects of the Fast have a singular goal — attaining those transcendent moments our souls long for, and finding the spiritual nourishment we need:

Through the faculty of meditation man attains to eternal life; through it he receives the breath of the Holy Spirit — the bestowals of the Spirit are given during reflection and meditation. The spirit of man is itself informed and strengthened during meditation; through it affairs of which man knew nothing are unfolded before his view. Through it he receives divine inspiration, and through it he partakes of heavenly food. –Abdu’l-Baha

Meditation is simple. Just about anyone who takes ten, fifteen or twenty minutes every day and sits down where nothing will disturb their inward concentration can meditate. It’s especially easy during the Fast, when the early hours around sunrise or the normal time set aside for lunch can be used to meditate. Meditation teachers urge a few basic ways to make it work: turn off the cell phone, the television, and any other electronic device that might interfere. Wash your face and hands, if you like, to feel outwardly refreshed. Listen to music. Sit in a place where there are no distractions. Get comfortable. Say a prayer. Then, make an attempt to clear your mind of all extraneous thought, and listen to your spirit.

You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be quite still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet. -Franz Kafka

You may discover, once you begin a consistent practice of meditation, that you start to recognize others who regularly meditate. You’ll notice their peaceful, serene happiness, their clear-eyed spiritual calm – and they’ll notice yours.

The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinion of BahaiTeachings.org or any institution of the Baha’i Faith.

The Power of Baha’i Fasting

The Power of Bahá'í Fasting

With a few changes to my daily routine and a lot of prayer, I've found a powerful grace in the Baha'i month of fasting.

"No food or drink for 19 days? No coffee or cigarettes from sunrise to sunset? You've got to be kidding!" Such was my reaction when I first actually faced the Bahá'í Fast, which begins on the evening of March 1. My feelings when I joined the Bahá'í Faith had been highly spiritual, but my feelings when it came to obeying its laws were not quite so lofty.

It's not that I hadn't been told about the Fast before I joined the Bahá'í Faith, but that it had all sounded so reasonable when the Fast was months away. Just get up early and have breakfast, don't eat or drink anything from sunrise to sunset, and then have a nice dinner. No problem. I mean, basically it's just skipping lunch.

But when it came time to do it, I was in a total panic. "I'm sure this isn't good for my health," I whined to myself. "With no water I'll become dehydrated." I'm an American, after all, used to instant gratification. And

nobody

can tell me what to do.

With this attitude, it's hard to believe that I've come to love the Fast. In the Bahá'í calendar, the 19-day month of fasting comes between the hospitality of the Intercalary Days (February 26 to March 1) and the joy of New Year (March 21), and I find that I look forward to that sweet time. It's a month of constant awareness of God and our reliance on Him.

So what changed?

First was my experience of deep satisfaction in maintaining self-imposed discipline. I fast in obedience to Bahá'u'lláh - but

I choose

to obey Him.

Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Baha'i Faith, wrote:

"We have enjoined upon you fasting during a brief period, and at its close have designated for you Naw-Rúz as a feast . The traveler, the ailing, those who are with child or giving suck, are not bound by the fast . . . Abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sundown, and beware lest desire deprive you of this grace that is appointed in the Book."

Over the years I have come to feel this grace. Slowly I have realized that when I follow God's instructions I am much happier. I have been learning to see myself as both material and as spiritual, and fasting as a material means to attain spiritual growth.

Abstaining from food and drink - being aware of the appetites of the body and making conscious choices about which of them we will indulge when - is a symbol for being aware of our spiritual state and choosing noble actions over our egotistical desires.

Another change in myself that I noticed after I became a Bahá'í was a growing reliance upon the power of prayer. If I needed help getting through a day of fasting, I said a prayer--and my problem seemed to be lifted from me.

While I've always been self-disciplined in some areas of my life, I haven't been so great at dieting. So imagine my surprise when I found I could go without food or drink from sunrise to sunset - even go without coffee and cigarettes - if I prayed hard enough about it. Not just "any old" prayer, but one of the beautiful prayers written by Bahá'u'lláh specifically for the Fast. If I got up early and said my prayers with devotion, I got through the days of the Fast with very few problems.

Also, over time, I have learned that there are very simple physical things I can do that make fasting a whole lot easier. I don't know why there aren't more "guides to spiritual fasting," as people of virtually every religious tradition abstain from food and drink sometime during each year. Christians have Lent, Jews have Yom Kippur, Muslims have Ramadan.. But if there's a spiritual guidebook, I haven't found it. So I'll share a few of the lessons I have learned:

I discovered that it wasn't abstaining from food and drink that was the problem -- it was the coffee and cigarettes. In fact, for the first 5 years that I fasted, I had a cigarette as soon as the sun went down--before having food or water. Other Bahá'ís were aghast, because although smoking isn't forbidden in the Faith, it's certainly not encouraged. But I found that if I started to cut back on cigarettes a month before the Fast, it was easier. I would drink tea, for example, at times when I would have had coffee. So identify things you think you can't live without and cut back on these. It really helps.

Over the years I have learned to eat moderately during the Fast. When I first became a Bahá'í, I experimented with eating huge breakfasts or gigantic dinners but I found that they made fasting harder. Big breakfasts made me lethargic, while big dinners made it hard to sleep well at night. So now I just eat a normal breakfast (fruit and nuts), and a normal-to-light dinner (soup, salad, and a small portion of meat), and I do fine. I don't get hungry during the day.

What the body needs more than food is water, and I really push myself to drink when I can. I found that lack of water makes me feel dull and sluggish, while serious dehydration gives me a headache. So I end each day's fast with a cup of hot water and take in as much liquid as I can until bedtime. The downside is that I always have to get up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet, but at least it's an opportunity to drink more water.

There are a few other things you can do- arrange your schedule so you get enough sleep, realize it's OK to be a bit uncomfortable sometimes. But mostly, just relax and enjoy the Fast. It's a gift from our all-loving God.

4 Things The Fast Helps Us Strengthen

As I take part in this special period of the Bahá’í year, and join fellow Bahá’ís around the world inthe fast I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve learned from fasting over the years. Probably the main thing which comes to mind is that even now, although I’ve been doing it every year for the last 20 years - I’m not getting any better at it.

But perhaps that’s the point. To get better at it would mean that we would potentially miss out on a significant opportunity to put ourselves to the test in order to help ourselves grow and develop into better human beings, which is what we’re encouraged to do as Bahá’ís everyday. Baha’u'llah wrote:

We have enjoined upon you fasting during a brief period… beware lest desire deprive you of this grace that is appointed in the Book.

So, maybe it doesn’t need to get easier, as I don’t want to be deprived of “this grace”. 

I heard a joke once which goes “The biggest drawback to fasting for seven days is that it makes one weak.” Haha! Yeah that’s funny, I get it, but in all seriousness becoming weak is the whole point, and fasting is a great opportunity for us to actually exercise and strengthen what I like to call our ‘spiritual muscles’. There’s no point in just thinking and talking about how we need to work on and develop qualities such as ‘detachment’ or ‘humility’ if we’re not able to put ourselves to the test in real, everyday circumstances. Bahá’u’lláh says:

It is incumbent upon every man of insight and understanding to strive to translate that which hath been written into reality and action. (Bahá’u’lláh, Gleanings, p. 250)

So, when we’re exhausted, thirsty and hungry, it often quickly becomes apparent what shortcomings or attributes we need to work on, and we can look at the fast as a period of time where, for 19 days, we have an opportunity to really rev-up the strengthening of our ‘spiritual muscles’ in a more concentrated and intense way.

I thought it would be interesting to reflect on just four of the ‘spiritual muscles’ (or qualities) the fast has helped me strengthen, and I’m sure many of you can relate to these as well.

1. Discipline

Oh yes, there’s no doubt about that! Having to refrain from food and drink between sunrise and sunset, while still carrying on with our daily lives, and making sure we’re up before sunrise everyday to say our prayers and eat can be hard. But as the saying goes ‘no pain, no gain’ right?

Bahá’u’lláh clearly explains:

Even though outwardly the Fast is difficult and toilsome, yet inwardly it is bounty and tranquillity. Purification and training are conditioned and dependent only on such rigorous exercises as are in accord with the Book of God and sanctioned by Divine law… Whatsoever God hath revealed is beloved of the soul.  (Bahá’u’lláh, The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting, XVI)

`Abdu’l-Bahá also explained:

The mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by suffering. The more the ground is ploughed the better the seed will grow, the better the harvest will be. Just as the plough furrows the earth deeply, purifying it of weeds and thistles, so suffering and tribulation free man from the petty affairs of this worldly life until he arrives at a state of complete detachment. His attitude in this world will be that of divine happiness. Man is, so to speak, unripe: the heat of the fire of suffering will mature him. Look back to the times past and you will find that the greatest men have suffered most. (Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá)

2. Detachment

The Fast definitely helps us practice detachment, and whether your rich or poor, or somewhere in between, attachment is something we are all tested by. `Abdu’l-Bahá explains this in the quote below:

Our greatest efforts must be directed towards detachment from the things of the world; we must strive to become more spiritual, more luminous, to follow the counsel of the Divine Teaching, to serve the cause of unity and true equality, to be merciful, to reflect the love of the Highest on all men, so that the light of the Spirit shall be apparent in all our deeds, to the end that all humanity shall be united, the stormy sea thereof calmed, and all rough waves disappear from off the surface of life’s ocean henceforth unruffled and peaceful. (`Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 87)

And again, `Abdu’l-Bahá expresses the importance of detachment in a prayer:

O God, my God! Fill up for me the cup of detachment from all things, and in the assembly of Thy splendours and bestowals, rejoice me with the wine of loving Thee. Free me from the assaults of passion and desire, break off from me the shackles of this nether world…        (`Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 174)

3. Gratitude and Servitude

Oh how good does it feels to drink some water, and dig into a meal after a day of fasting! Even something you may not normally have much of a taste for, tastes oh so good!

The fast definitely helps us feel a sense of gratitude for what we often take for granted, and it helps us become more compassionate towards those who are without. Bahá’u’lláh wrote:

All praise be unto God, Who hath… enjoined on them the Fast that those possessed of means may become apprised of the woes and sufferings of the destitute. (Bahá’u’lláh in The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting)

And feeling grateful also has positive consequences, as numerous studies have shown that a sense of gratitude encourages and generates a behaviour of giving. There are also a number of studies which point out that a sense of gratitude even affects our physical health in a positive way. Bahá’u’lláh says:

Blessed is the one who through the heat generated by the Fast increaseth his love, and who, with joy and radiance, ariseth to perform worthy deeds. (Bahá’u’lláh in The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting)

4. Humility

The Bahá’í Writings stress the importance of humility:

They who are the beloved of God, in whatever place they gather and whomsoever they may meet, must evince, in their attitude towards God, and in the manner of their celebration of His praise and glory, such humility and submissiveness that every atom of the dust beneath their feet may attest the depth of their devotion. The conversation carried by these holy souls should be informed with such power that these same atoms of dust will be thrilled by its influence. (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 7) 

In my opinion, by fasting we learn a sense of humility in two major ways:

First of all, fasting reminds us of how vulnerable and weak we are as human beings. Humanity has come so far and has advanced technologically, and in so many other ways. We’ve learnt to try and tame the earth and our environment to serve us, so at times it’s pretty easy to forget the Creator and just how vulnerable we actually are. However, through the fast our vulnerabilities are exposed and it can really bring us to our knees, quickly reminding us of how insignificant and vulnerable we actually are. Bahá’u’lláh wrote:

Humility exalteth man to the heaven of glory and power, whilst pride abaseth him to the depths of wretchedness and degradation. (Bahá’u’lláh, Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 64)

Secondly, at times during the fast, I catch myself slipping into a mental state of mind where I either start to feel sorry for myself, and in a certain sense, I start to see myself as a victim because I can’t eat and drink like all the others can. I also find myself feeling quite the opposite of this at times as well, where I start to pride myself in the fact that ‘I’m so tough’ because I’m refraining from food and drink while all those around me consume it. Pathetic I know, but it gets reinforced when everyone says: “Oh, I don’t know how you do it! I could never do that! You’re really strong!” Both of course go against the spirit of fasting and relate to the ego. Shoghi Effendi explains the ego as being:

…the dark, animalistic heritage each one of us has, the lower nature that can develop into a monster of selfishness, brutality, lust and so on. It is this self we must struggle against, or this side of our natures, in order to strengthen and free the spirit within us and help it to attain perfection. (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, December 10, 1947)

So fasting gives us an opportunity to battle the ego and work on strengthening our ‘spiritual muscles’. I know there are many more attributes fasting helps us with, and it would be great to hear about these, and how fasting has helped you personally in this regard, so feel free to share them in the ‘Comments’ section below.

I’ll sign-off by leaving us with this wonderful quote from a prayer by Bahá’u’lláh:

Praised be Thou, O God, my God!  These are the days whereon Thou hast enjoined Thy chosen ones, Thy loved ones and Thy servants to observe the Fast, which Thou hast made a light unto the people of Thy kingdom…

The Baha’i Fast

The Baha’i Fast falls during the month of Ala – the last month of the Baha’i calendar. During these 19 days, Baha’is – with the exception of women who are nursing or pregnant, the elderly, children, the sick, those travelling and those engaged in heavy labour – abstain from food and drink between sunrise and sunset.

While this abstention from food and drink is a test of one’s will and discipline, the Fast is not just about abstaining from food. The Fast is, primarily, a spiritual practice.

For 19 days, those observing the Fast partake in a rich spiritual experience. The Fast is a time of joy and invigoration of our lives. It is an opportunity that comes once a year for us to take a step back and reconnect with what truly matters to us. It is a period of respite from the daily routines and hectic schedules that so often consume and overwhelm us.

Abdu’l-Baha said:

This material fast is an outer token of the spiritual fast; it is a symbol of self-restraint, the withholding of oneself from all appetites of the self, taking on the characteristics of the spirit, being carried away by the breathings of heaven and catching fire from the love of God.

Fasting is not as hard as people might think. In fact, many people – including those who really love their food – look forward to it each year.

The Fast is a time of prayer and of drawing closer to God. The abstention from food and drink is, in itself, a physical practice. However, it is a symbol and reminder of greater spiritual truths. While practising detachment from the physical world and from the desires of our physical beings, we are reminded that we are – in fact – spiritual beings.

Being reminded of our true spiritual reality, it is only natural that we find ourselves longing to strengthen this spiritual identity. It is a reminder to us that we are far more than the clothes we wear, the jobs we have, and the lifestyles we lead. We are reminded of what really matters to us – the things that really make us who we are.

Abdu’l-Baha said:

Fasting is the cause of awakening man. The heart becomes tender and the spirituality of man increases. This is produced by the fact that man’s thoughts will be confined to the commemoration of God, and through this awakening and stimulation surely ideal advancements follow.

… O God! As I am fasting from the appetites of the body and not occupied with eating and drinking, even so purify and make holy my heart and my life from aught else save Thy Love, and protect and preserve my soul from self-passions… Thus may the spirit associate with the Fragrances of Holiness and fast from everything else save Thy mention.

The Fast creates in us feelings of prayerfulness and contemplation. As we pray and meditate more, we are able to recalibrate our lives to find an inner balance.

Shoghi Effendi said, of the Fast:

It is essentially a period of meditation and prayer, of spiritual recuperation, during which the believer must strive to make the necessary readjustments in his inner life, and to refresh and reinvigorate the spiritual forces latent in his soul. Its significance and purpose are, therefore, fundamentally spiritual in character.

This, more than the mere abstention from food and drink, is the purpose of the Fast.

A very happy and blessed Fast to all our readers out there who will be observing it! I hope that it is a period of reinvigoration and recuperation for all of you.

.

An Interview with Baha’i Actor Rainn Wilson

A couple of months ago I had the pleasure of meeting up with actor Rainn Wilson. We have a bunch of mutual friends and they always spoke so highly of him – not just because he’s such a great actor and played the role of Dwight Schrute so brilliantly in the hit TV show The Office – but more importantly because he was just a really nice down-to-earth guy who was sincere in his desire to serve humanity.

Well, my friends were right! I was finally able to meet him at the Texas Baha’i School a couple of months back, and let’s just say I wanted to hug him straight away. His spirit of humility and his attitude of service to others made my heart smile. He was one of the main speakers at the school and his humble posture of learning and dedication and focus on working with others, and especially teenagers was awesome.

I wasn’t going to ask him, but it’s not everyday you get to hang out with a Baha’i actor with celebrity status, and I know a lot of my friends and other Baha’is around the world are curious about him and would love to get to know him more, so Rainn happily agreed to be interviewed on Baha’i Blog.

Baha’i Blog: Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview Rainn! Something I know a lot of Baha’is want to know is what it’s like being a Baha’i in Hollywood, and what’s the general perception of the Faith among those you’ve come across – do a lot of people in Hollywood know about the Baha’i Faith?

There are a TON of misconceptions about Hollywood. You read a lot of insane stories in the press about decadence and celebrity train wrecks and, although those things really exist, the majority of the people in the entertainment industry are focused on doing high-quality work, making the world a better place, cherishing families and engaging in their community. I won’t say its perfect here in LA (far from it!) , but 90% of the people in show biz are really good people, trying their best and having regular old human struggles on a daily basis. I’ve worked a lot of jobs and believe me, the insurance industry in New York City is WAY more venal, competitive and back-stabbing than anything in Hollywood. Materialism is definitely a powerful force here in LA. It determines status. For the first 5 or 6 years I was here I drove old dumpy volvos that were always on the verge of breaking down. People really notice these things and i was judged accordingly. It’s preposterous really, to be sized up by what you drive.

And this exists in the Baha’i community in Southern California as well. Status, class, clothes and cars are very much ‘noted’ at many Baha’i gatherings. It’s so sad. Can you imagine going to the next world and having to have a conversation with God and Baha’u'llah about how much time and attention in your life you devoted to material things, class and status!? That would be the most depressing thing ever.

But materialism is rampant everywhere and our Baha’i communities often reflect the qualities of the outside world.

Lots of people know about the Faith in LA and many of the Office cast have come to gatherings that my wife and I have hosted. People have a pretty positive view of the Baha’is and are very upset about the terrible persecution they’re suffering in the birthplace of our Faith, Iran.

(By the way, I drive a nice but very plain Chevy Volt right now. Low emissions and a great sound system!)

Baha’i Blog: You had mentioned that one of your personal mentors was Baha’i writer/director Mark Bamford, and that he had once said that he had decided that his ‘Baha’i’ community life and ‘non-Baha’i life’ were going to be one in the same, and that this was something that always stuck with you. Can you elaborate on this please?

I had a great Baha’i teacher when I moved to Los Angeles in 1999. I was just tip-toeing tentatively back into the community as I had turned my back on religion for the previous ten years and while at a very crowded and confusing event at the LA Baha’i Center I met this very tall, very commanding young man named Mark Bamford. Him and his brilliant wife Suzanne had weekly gatherings at their house that were always filled with really cool, diverse people talking about the big ideas of the universe and the realities of being a person of faith. He was a screenwriter and director and exemplified for me how you could have a sense of humor while working in the industry AND have a strong foundation of faith and service at the same time.

One thing Mark said to me, stuck with me. He said he always would follow his commitments to the Faith with the same exacting discipline as he would his professional commitments. He said, most Baha’is would never show up 20 minutes late to a meeting with Spielberg. Why do they show up 20 minutes late to a Baha’i meeting? That’s a hypocritical double standard.

Baha’i Blog: So do you have any advice for someone who’s struggling to find his or her place in the community?

This is a tough one. There’s like 150 thousand Baha’is in the US and many of them are rarely ‘active’ in their communities. That’s about how many people belong to one enormous mega-church. And we’re scattered all over the continent. We’re really very small as a community.

One thing that Shoghi Effendi once told Enoch Olinga (as related to me by Hooper Dunbar) is that the Faith needed “crazy lovers”.

Be a crazy lover and you create your own community. Don’t look around and go, ‘man all these old farts have such boring Feasts and are so weird, I want nothing to do with this community!’ Create your own.

If your love for Baha’u'llah’s message is pure and passionate and you believe that his revelation holds the key for the peace and salvation of human kind, you need to change your whole relationship to the Baha’i community. Remember how JFK said, ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country? Too many folks, youth especially, show up to gatherings and kind of look around and say “I’m not getting much out of this.” Forget that way of thinking. Show up in a spirit of service, lit by the fuel of love for Baha’u'llah and ask what you can do to uplift and move forward your community.

And what we think of as community is changing. The thing we’ve really been finding out over the last ten years is that the Faith, as guided by the Universal House of Justice, has a fantastic plan to transform us locally and globally. Get together with your friends and neighbors and pray and sing and talk and serve and teach children and galvanize youth towards service and the arts. That’s your community. Doesn’t matter if they’re all Catholics or Atheists or Muslims!

I would say to any young Baha’i that their love for God and service as well as Baha’u'llah and his message need to be the battery that you draw your strength from. The source is his teachings.

Actually read the holy writings. I’m amazed by the number of young Baha’is that never really do.

Baha’i Blog: You mentioned a personal interest in the more mystical elements of the Baha’i Faith. Can you tell us a little more about that?

I love mystery. I love transcendence. I like music that transports your soul in indefinable ways. I love it when you see a bunch of swooshes and blobs of paint that have been lovingly, inexplicably put on a canvas and you can be moved to tears with the astounding beauty of it.

When I was finding my way back to faith after some dark ‘self-filled’ times, I was reading about Native American spirituality and the Lakota concept for God was “Wankan Tanka”, the Great Mystery. Ancient, loving, father-God of the directions, of nature, of our ancestors. These readings taught me to see God in a new, deeper, fresher way.

I read the teachings of the Buddha frequently and I love the concept of Maya or Samsara, where our physical universe is a dream, an illusion and our spiritual selves are our true reality.

Baha’u'llah teaches: “Dost thou reckon thyself only a puny form when within thee the universe is folded?” And Abdu’l-Baha urges us all to become “incarnate light.”

These are the teachings that resonate deepest with me as a spiritual being having a human experience (to quote DeChardin).

Shoghi Effendi says that the core of religious faith is “that mystical feeling that unites man with God.” Too often us Baha’is are too focused on the draining administrative work and not getting connected to the source, The Great Mystery.

Baha’i Blog: Can you tell us about some of your initiatives like SoulPancake, and why they are important to you?

SoulPancake was never a Baha’i thing, but it is a Baha’i inspired thing. It’s a website, app, book, YouTube channel and media company that seeks to explore “Life’s Big Questions” and uplift and challenge audiences to dig into what it really means to be human. It’s a service for young people. A place for people to go to find light and laughter and meaningful dialogue about death and faith and love. The Universal House of Justice urges us to seek out conversation with our communities on the issues that matter to us most, this is whatSoulPancake strives to do.

It is, at its heart, the fullest testament to Baha’u'llah’s teaching of the “Independent Investigation of Truth” as we could create.

Baha’i Blog: What message do you have to other aspiring actors and artists out there?

Art is something that needs to be studied, trained for and worked at. Find the very best schools and teachers and mentors. Put in those ten thousand hours. Sacrifice for your art. Understand the difference between being an amateur and a professional artist. There’s NOTHING wrong with being an amateur, but if you want to be a professional, dig in with all of your being as if you were committing ten years to the study of being a brain surgeon.

Life is fleeting. Strive for greatness. View your art as service and you’ll never go wrong.

Baha’i Blog: It was truly great meeting you Rainn, and thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview!

You can find out more about Rainn Wilson’s Hollywood career from his profile page onIMDB, and you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook as well!

Also, if you haven’t checked out SoulPancake yet, I highly recommend it!

• Arts,
Baha'i actor, Dwight Schrute, Hollywood, Rainn Wilson, The Office

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