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 Gratitude breaks the spell of Writers Block |
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Staring at a blank page is like staring into a snowfield. The snow, untouched by civilization and unmarked by living creatures, blinds you for a few minutes, it glistens reflecting subtle shades of pure white and rainbows at odd angles. If you stare at the snow too long, you get lost in the interplay of light and shadow. As the day wears on, you become awestruck at the beauty of the snow's perfection. You marvel at the way an oak tree cast its ebony shadow across the pure white snow. You watch the tree's shadow change, grow and shrink, as Earth turns and the sun moves from morning to evening. If you stand out in the snow too long without moving, you risk snow bite or freezing. If you are fortunate, a red fox will walk across your line of sight. The fox will leave his footprints written in the snowfield. As you watch the fox move, the spell holding you in one spot staring at the snow is broken. You are free to go inside out of the cold and out of danger. I must say, writing 500 words a day isn't difficult, unless I'm attempting to write on a single subject. On Monday, October 28, 2013, I began posting my weekly goals at "Weekly Goals"  . On Tuesday, October 29, 2013 I began keeping track of may accomplished goals in this journal."O SON OF BEING! Bring thyself to account each day ere thou art summoned to a reckoning; for death, unheralded, shall come upon thee and thou shalt be called to give account for thy deeds." Bah'u'll'h The Hidden Words of Bah'u'll'h, Part I.'From the Arabic, #31, page 11 'Heinlein's Rules for Writers Rule One: You Must Write Rule Two: Finish What Your Start Rule Three: You Must Refrain From Rewriting, Except to Editorial Order Rule Four: You Must Put Your Story on the Market Rule Five: You Must Keep it on the Market until it has Sold' Robert A. Heinlein It is enjoined upon every one of you to engage in some form of occupation, such as crafts, trades and the like. We have graciously exalted your engagement in such work to the rank of worship unto God, the True One. Ponder ye in your hearts the grace and the blessings of God and render thanks unto Him at eventide and at dawn. Waste not your time in idleness and sloth. Occupy yourselves with that which profiteth yourselves and others. Thus hath it been decreed in this Tablet from whose horizon the day-star of wisdom and utterance shineth resplendent. Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah Revealed After the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Pages 21-29: gr 32 I changed the way I did entries in this book several times. Beginning on March 21, 2018 the entries will cover the topics of spiritual, inspirational, and religions. However, the genres it will be under are Women's, Inspirational, and Spiritual with a tag of Religious. |
Jamál (Beauty) 2 Sharaf (Honor) 174 B.E. - Sunday, December 31, 2017 The Gregorian Year Ends The Gregorian year is drawing to an end, with the same sad, bloody headlines that cursed it path down the highway of history. I could cry, but that wouldn't help. Instead the best thing for me to do is say a prayer for the departed, a prayer for all the souls that came to a tragic end this year. I suspect this trail of blood will go on for another year, I pray it doesn't; however, until people begin to see the unity of humanity and the basic unity of religion, this blood letting will continue. The only thing I can do is pray, and do my best to stay positive by focusing on the scriptures revealed by Baha'u'llah. Contemplating 2018 The Feast of Sharaf (Honor) was held at the Las Vegas Baha'i Center on December 30 at 7:30 P.M. Pacific Time. I was unable to attend the Feast, however, I received a flyer about it in my Cox.net inbox. The flyer contained information about the Feast, which was a collective Feast for the Las Veags Baha'is. The flyer contained two verses of scripture, one from 'Abdu'l-Baha and the other from the Holy Bible. The one from the Christian Bible was Hebrews 3:13: "Encourage one another daily!" This is good advice, and a good goal for 2018, because I suspect it will be a year the whole world needs positive encouragement. The quote from 'Abdu'l-Baha read: “Man is he who forgets his own interests for the sake of others. His own comfort he forfeits for the well-being of all. Nay, rather, his own life must he be willing to forfeit for the life of mankind. Such a man is the honor of the world of humanity. Such a man is the glory of the world of mankind.” Twenty-Eighteen will be a stressful year, which will present new opportunities to humanity to over come the prejudices and superstitions of the past. The present condition of the world will eventually come to an end, and humanity will enter an age of peace and unity. World peace will eventually arrive, the problem now is getting through the present storm. The only way to get through another year of stress and world upheaval is to place my entire trust in God, and focus on the vision of the future presented in the scriptures revealed by Baha'u'llah. |
Istijlál (Majesty ), 17 Masá’il (Questions) 174 B.E. - Thursday, December 28, 2017 There are only three days left in 2017, and there are eighty-three days left in 174 B.E. I have listed eighteen goals (resolutions) to work on in the coming year. Between January 1 and March 20, 2018, I will work on and evaluate those goals to see which ones are feasible for 175 B.E. In the week before Naw-Ruz (Wednesday, Mrach 21) I will decided which goals to keep for 175 B.E. and which to replace. After that I need to review the goals and decide if I need to replace any for the New Year of 175 B.E. On the last Thankful Thursday in 2017, I contemplate this awesome bicentennial year, and am awestruck by the joyful and wonderful events. As 2017 draws to an end, I consider everything I have to be thankful for. If I were to list each item my gratitude list would fill an 50,000+ word book. As I wrote in "2017: An Awesome Year" , it has been an astounding year. True there have been stressful moments and events occurring through out the past twelve months, but most of those have not remained in my memory. Those moments and events no longer cause stress because I have placed them in Baha'u'llah's hands. Whatever is occurring in the world today is God's will and intended to lead humanity into a new age of peace, unity, and security.On On the last Thankful Thursday in 2017, I am grateful for the transformation of my attitude, over the last twelve months it has changed from negative to positive. |
Kamál (Perfection). 14 Masá’il (Questions) 174 B.E. - Monday, December 25, 2017 On the last motivational Monday in 2017 On the last motivational Monday in 2017, I contemplate 'Abdu'l-Baha's answer when he was ask about the way the teachings of Baha'u'llah differed from those of Christ. It is Christmas day, traditionally considered the birth day of His Holiness Jesus Christ. I am letting the argument of whether or not Christ was truly born in late December slide, because it doesn't matter when Christ was born. The important thing, which seems to be forgotten in this material age, is why He was born. "The teachings are the same. It is the same foundation and the same temple. Truth is one, and without division. The teachings of Jesus are in a concentrated form. Men do not agree to this day as to the meaning of many of His sayings. His teachings are as a flower in the bud. Today, the bud is unfolding into flower! Baha’u’llah has expanded and fulfilled the teachings, and has applied them in detail to the whole world." Abdu’l-Baha1 His Holiness Christ, like all the messengers sent for the Almighty, was born upon Earth to assist humanity in both its spiritual (the most important reason) and material development or advancement. Today, on December 25, 2017, I consider the reason for Christ's birth, and remember the Christmas celebrations of my childhood. Celebrations that were much less materialistic than those I witness today. As I ponder this day, I wonder, like Ms Palmer in her article what Jesus would think of the way His birthday is celebrated. Footnotes |
Jalál (Glory), 12 Masá’il (Questions) 174 B.E. - Saturday, December 23, 2017 Contemplating 2018 What are my plan, goals, or resolutions for 2018? Between January 1 and March 20, I plan to evaluate my accomplishments and plan my goals for 175 B.E. Right now I have about three or four writing goals planned. I have not considered my review goals yet. I volunteered a package to "Invalid Item" The “primary purpose underlying the whole of creation”2 "Having created the world and all that liveth and moveth therein, He, [God] through the direct operation of His unconstrained and sovereign Will, chose to confer upon man the unique distinction and capacity to know Him and to love Him - a capacity that must needs be regarded as the generating impulse and the primary purpose underlying the whole of creation..." Baha’u’llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah To know God, can only be accomplished through His Manifestation, and to love God is accomplished through loving His Manifestation. In this age, the Manifestation of God, the reflection of divine attributes to humanity, is Baha'u'llah, the Glory of God. To love and obey Baha'u'llah is equivalent of loving and obeying all the Divine Manifestations who the Almighty has sent to Earth in the past. I think this has to be the focus of my prayers for the calendar year of 2018 C.E., as well as that of 175 B.E. Survey Groups I Participate In I have slowed down my survey group participation because most of the survey are no fun any more. I dropped one survey group this year, and I am think about dropping another one in 2018. The groups I have not dropped are sending me survey e-mails, which is filling up my Cox and G-mail inboxes. I did a few surveys sent to my g-mail inbox without qualifying. I suspect the problem or part of the problem may be my age, I will be 71 tomorrow. I have to find another way to make extra money, and publishing my stories and poems could be my only option. At least it is the best looking option at this time. Footnotes |
Istiqlál (Independence), 11 Masá’il (Questions) 174 B.E. - Friday, December 22, 2017 This is the fourth Friday in 2017, in two days I will be 71 years young, and there are nine days left in the year. As of last night, I have given a total of 15,439 reviews since joining writing.com on October 31, 2002. As of this morning, I have 1,923,326 GPs in my Gift Points account. My premium plus membership expires on May 15, 2018, a 12-month membership costs 4,199,500 GPs, to purchase another 12-month membership I need 2,276,174 GPs. I can, if I so chose, extend that membership by either 3 or 6 months. A six month membership cost 2,349,500 GPs and a 3-month membership is 1,399,500 GPs. For a 6-month membership I need 426,154 GPs, and for a 3-month membership I need 76,174 GPs. "My God, my Adored One, my King, my Desire! What tongue can voice my thanks to Thee? I was heedless, Thou didst awaken me. I had turned back from Thee, Thou didst graciously aid me to turn towards Thee. I was as one dead, Thou didst quicken me with the water of life. I was withered, Thou didst revive me with the heavenly stream of Thine utterance which hath flowed forth from the Pen of the All-Merciful." I am thankful that I discovered and accepted Baha'u'llah in the late twentieth century. I have been a Baha'i for over thirty years, and, in those years, I have changed a great deal. My soul, my spirit, is still being transformed by Baha'u'llah. I still encounter test, some of them I fail and some I pass, and I know I will continue to encounter tests and difficulties until the day my soul transcends into the Abha paradise. I also know that the tests I fail, I will encounter again because they are intended to polish the mirror of my soul so that I can reflect the light of Baha'u'llah.  Review at least 24 items during with at least 5 by newbies. Submit at least one poem and one story to a contest. Read two or three more part of God Speaks Again by Kenneth E. Bower. Begin straightening Computer desk. Post at least two or three times to my offsite blog.Since I appear to have survived 2017, I need to begin considering my tentative goals for 2018. I say tentative because I normally don't make my definite goals until Naw-Ruz, which is Wednesday, March 21, 2018. I have signed up for the following challenges in the coming year "Project Write World" and "I Write in 2018" . I have to decide if I am going to continue "Invalid Item" in 2018. I had problems participating this year, when my computer went down. I discovered it is difficult to post anything from a smartphone. I will give this some thoughts and prayers over the next nine days, and make my final decision on "Invalid Item" by January 1, 2018.Footnotes |
Kamál (Perfection), 7 Masá’il (Questions) 174 B.E. - Monday, December 18, 2017 What is my motivation for the Week of December 18-22? There are six more days until my 71 birthday. There thirteen days left in 2017. This week I have to list the books I want to finish reading, followed by the books I want to start reading. I have to review, at least, twenty-four items between today and Friday. I need to post this week's writing goals on "Weekly Goals"  Review at least 24 items during with at least 5 by newbies. Submit at least one poem and one story to a contest. Read two or three more part of God Speaks Again by Kenneth E. Bower. Begin straightening Computer desk. Post at least two or three times to my offsite blog.I posted the "Blogging Circle of Friends " prompt for today, when I returned for the Devotional Services yesterday. "DAY 1859: December 18, 2017 Prompt: Here are seven words that the CDC has been told avoid using. Use these seven words in you blog entry. The words are vulnerable, entitlement, diversity, transgender, fetus, evidence-based, and science-based." I wrote and posted my response "Words" this morning."O my Lord, my Hope!5 Praise be unto Thee, for Thou hast sent down unto us this spiritual table, supreme benefit and heavenly blessing. O our Lord! Strengthen us to partake of this heavenly food, so that its fine essence may run through the pillars of our spiritual being and that we may thereby obtain a celestial power for serving Thy Cause, promulgating Thy signs and adorning Thy vineyard with lofty trees, the fruits whereof shall be near (to gather) and of perfuming fragrances. Verily Thou art the Possessor of great bounty! Verily Thou are the Clement, the Merciful!" 'Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 1'6 I now have two prayers to say before of after a meal. The first one I posted in "Motivation Monday: December 11, 2017" , and this one I posted today. After I found the other entry, I got to thinking about the subject. I knew that 'Abdu'l-Baha must have given a prayer to say before the meal, so I checked earlier entries on that blog.Looking Ahead to 2018 I joined the "I Write in 2018" challenge because it encourages me to enter a different contests each week. I am considering joining "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge" in 2018, this challenge will encourage me to read. It could mean starting over on two books I have begun, but that's alright because I have started over on these books before. If I do join this challenge, I will have to put aside some time either in the morning or the evening to read. The reading challenge sounds like fun. I need to make a list of books I want to read, and figure out how many I can read each month. Perhaps stat with two and build up from there.I filled "Flashes of Lightning" with the last two stories for the 100 in that collection. Now all I need to do is write an introduction to the group of stories. I can write either a dear reader introduction or put a poem in the introduction about the stories.Footnotes |
Jalál (Glory), 5 Masá’il (Questions) 174 B.E. - Saturday, December 16, 2017 I am going to attempt to plan my writing and other activities on a weekly basis. I know that all sorts of issues could raise their heads above the fog of the future, and cause interruptions or delays. If they do, I will deal with them as they come up. I just need to place my trust in God, and accept any delay or interruption in my weekly goal-plan as God's will. I know that, with prayer, everything will work out. I encountered a number of unexpected issues in the past twelve months that, with patience and the assistance of the Almighty, worked out for the best.  Review a total of 28 items a week. If I have a minimum amount each week, it is easier to keep track because I can just check the e-mail about the number of reviews I did each day. Also, I don't have to keep tack, in my mind or writing them down, as I do them. All I have to do is make a note of the day's total, and add each day's total to that of the day before. Submit to a contest each week. I signed up for "I Write in 2018" , which begins on Monday, January 1, and ends on Sunday, December 30. That is 52 weeks of writing and submitting to one contest a week, and reviewing an item written by another "I Write in 2018" participant. The word count has to be 2000 words or less and the rating 18+ or less. Finish reading the series God Speaks Again7 by Kenneth E. Bowers. Once I have finished that series read the series The Purpose of Physical Reality8 by John Hatcher. Attempt to find a poem idea in each article that I can use to write a poetic entry in "My Life Is A Poem" . Clean off my computer desk and begin going through the storage boxes I have in my bedroom. I am not sure what is in those boxes, since I have not looked in them for the past two or three years. I do not want to have to lug them with me when I move again, or leave them for someone else to go through when I transcend into the next world. Work on the stories, novels, and poems I need to rewrite or edit that are in my port.  Purchase a year's premium plus writing.com membership and create a website. Finish books I have begun reading.Footnotes |
Istiqlál (Independence), 4 Masá’il (Questions) 174 B.E. - Friday, December 15, 2017 It is the third Friday of December 2017, with two more Friday's left in the month and the year. I purchase a $150.00 leg brace from the vein specialist because it is supposed to keep alleviate the swelling in my left leg. The brace works similar to compression stockings, and it lasts longer. I put it on yesterday when I returned home from seeing Dr. Reese. When I took it off, before going to bed, there was no swelling in that leg. I did find out that it is easier to put on sitting in the recliner than if I am setting in my walker. "O maid-servant of God! Verily, all existence is [a book of] pages and tablets which utter the glad-tidings of the appearance of the Kingdom of thy Lord, the Supreme, the Great. Observe the pages of the universe and discover the traces which appeared! Hast thou seen or heard in any of the previous centuries or generations that which is manifested in this Glorious Age? If the writings of the previous centuries, the middle centuries and the later centuries, be compared with that which is manifested in this single century, they will not weigh against it! nay, rather, they are as drops of water in comparison with the ocean. Magnified is He, who hath crowned this century with the appearance of His Kingdom!" ‘Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 19 We are living in a glorious, a wonderful age, the likes of which has never been witnessed before. This is the age when Baha'u'llah, the Promised One of God, has appeared and revealed an ocean of knowledge. I like the metaphor, 'Abdu'l-Baha uses in this quote, about existence, the universe, as a book revealing the good news of God's Kingdom. Review a minimum of 4 items per day with one written by a newbie. Complete poem for "Invalid Item" . Finish latest poem/prose entry in "My Life Is A Poem" . Submit an entry, either poem or story, to at least one contest. Do a bit either port housekeeping and/or computer desk housekeeping this week.It is Friday morning in Las Vegas, and I need to consider the goals I accomplished this week. I did a good job on all five goals, however, I could have done a better job on goal number five "Do a bit either port housekeeping and/or computer desk housekeeping this week." I need to do more than just a "bit" of desk and/or port housekeeping. Perhaps, instead of having two items, I need to make that one item so I can focus on either the computer desk or my wdc port. I think I need to focus on the computer desk this coming week. Footnotes |
Kamál (Perfection ), 19 Qawl (Speech)174 B.E. - Monday, December 11, 2017 It's Monday, December 11, there are twenty more days left in the Gregorian year. There are thirteen more days until my birthday. This year I will turn 71, an auspicious age because I have never turned 71 before. I don't know what the next year of my life will hold, and I don't want to know. Life is more fun when surprises are included (more stressful as well). "O my Lord, my Hope!10 Thanks be unto Thee for these foods and benefits. O Lord! Suffer us to ascend to Thy Kingdom and to sit at the tables of thy divine world. Nourish us with the food of Thy meeting and cause us to attain to the sweetness of beholding Thy beauty, forasmuch as this is the utmost wish, the mightiest gift and the greatest bestowal. O Lord, O Lord! Make this feasible unto us. Verily Thou art the Beneficent, the Giver! Verily Thou art the Bestower, the Mighty, the Merciful." Only yesterday, I was thinking about a prayer for meals, and, this morning, when I checked the blog "Counsels and Explanations by 'Abdu'l-Baha -- daily readings" I found a prayer by 'Abdu'l-Baha for this purpose. I have a blank book I used to copy prayers by Baha'u'llah, The Bab, and 'Abdu'l-Baha that I don't have in my prayer book or on the Baha'i Prayers app. Review a minimum of 4 items per day with one written by a newbie. Complete poem for "Invalid Item" . Finish latest poem/prose entry in "My Life Is A Poem" . Submit an entry, either poem or story, to at least one contest. Do a bit either port housekeeping and/or computer desk housekeeping this week.It's been a busy, inspiring, and successful Monday. This morning, I was notified that my poem "Snow Days" was the winner for "The Daily Poem" earlier this month. I completed "Comfort" to that contest, reviewed four items, and finished "2017: An Awesome Year" , which I submitted to "Invalid Item" . In addition, I responded to blog prompts for "Blogging Circle of Friends " and "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" , posted an entry in my Poet 999 blog, and submitted this week's goals to "Weekly Goals" .Footnotes |
Jamál (Beauty), 18 Qawl (Speech) 174 B.E. - Sunday, December 10, 2017 On December 2, 2017, the International Seerat Conference took place in Pakistan. According to an article on the Baha'i News Service13, titled "Faith and peace explored in Pakistan"14, over 1,000 individuals from four faiths attended. At this conference, which was organized by "the Pakistan Government's Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony"15, were people from Hindu, Christian, Muslim, and Baha'i communities. Today, across the world all faith communities have to deal with prejudice and intolerance. It is conferences that this one that helps these communities confront these challenges. Those of us, at the grass roots level, working for tolerance and understanding have to emphasize the fact that "The violence being perpetrated in the world in the name of religion has nothing to do with true religion."16 Intolerance and prejudice, a cancer eating at society, has nothing to do with religion. Footnotes |
‘Idál (Justice), 14 Qawl (Speech) 147 B.E. - Wednesday, December 6, 2017 It is the first Wednesday in December 2017, there are three more Wednesdays and three more weeks in the Gregorian year. This was an exciting year because, in August, we (the Baha'is across the world) celebrated the 200th Anniversary of Baha'u'llah. I wrote 200 poems dedicated to the Blessed Beauty, and posted them in "Bicentenary Poems and Prose" "O Son of Man! The temple of being is My throne; cleanse it of all things, that there I may be established and there I may abide." Baha’u’llah, The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah17 In this quote, I think (at least at this time) that the "temple of being" refers to the human mind, which, I believe, is the connection between the body and the soul. The soul is eternal, but the body is ephemeral. The quote could, also, refer to the human body because it houses the brain, the mind, and the soul. I have to meditate on this quote some more. Comment submitted to "Spiritual Newsletter (December 6, 2017)" : "I have written poems about the faith based holidays I celebrate today or have celebrated in the past. I have included faith based holidays in some of my short stories or flash fiction. I think I need to increase my use of the holidays I celebrate today rather then those I celebrated in the past."Footnotes |
Jamál (Beauty ), 11 Qawl (Speech) 174 B.E. - Sunday, December 3, 2017 Twenty-one days and counting, not to Christmas but, to my birthday. I will be 71 years young at 11:44 PM on the evening of December 24 (15 Masa'il 174 B.E.). I was a bit depressed earlier, however, that is passing. I think the brown study (I like this word better than blues). Two of my items, "Hidden Meanings on an Autumn Morning" "I hope that the people of the West may be illumined by the light of God; that the Kingdom may come to them, that they may find eternal Life, that the Spirit of God may spread like a fire among them, that they may be baptized with the Water of Life and may find a new birth. This is my desire; I hope by the will of God, He will cause you to receive it, and will make you happy." ‘Abdu’l-Baha18 Day by day the light of God is illuminating the citizens of the West. There are some, who may not believe this is true because of the hate, disunity, and other disasters that are occurring on Earth. However, these ar just signs of the change that is taking place. The denizens of chaos and darkness, seeing the rising light of a new day, rise up against the purifying light of dawn. Perhaps a better analog would be spring in the desert. When the spring sun begins to melt the snow on the mountains, the snow melt rushes down the mountain sides and fills dry creek or river beds. This causes a flood that carries away the debris of winter. This is the spring of a new age, when humanity matures and becomes united. DAY 1845: December 4, 2017 Prompt: "Write about something you don't know. And don't be scared, ever." - Toni Morrison. What are your thoughts on this quote? I finished the prose poem "Universal Peace" . I, also, finished reading "Our Human Dream of Peace and Purpose"19, which partial inspired the poem "Universal Peace" . The next article in the "God Speaks Again" series by Kenneth E. Bowers is "The Promised One of All Religions"20. My plan, when I started reading this series, was to write a poem inspired by the article or a quote in the article. The deadline to finish this series is March 21, 2018, which I may or may not meet depending on how long it takes me to write a prose poem or a line phased poem. It took me three days to write the first prose poem, that was when there were 86 articles in the series. As of today, there are 87 articles. Review a minimum of 4 items per day. Write at least one short story for a contest. Write at least one poem for a contest. Port Housekeeping. Computer desk housekeeping.Footnotes |
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