Category Archives: Change and Personal Empowerment

Spring: A Time to Renew Our Commitment to Justice

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Spring is a time of renewal. The dead things on the earth are blooming again, heavy hearts are becoming alive again, and the cold and darkness of winter’s sleep is being awakened to a new freshness and aliveness. The Fast generated heat and kindled the fire of love required to burn away all things not approved by God. During the last 19 days preceding Spring, the portals of bounty and grace were opened wide and each longing and receptive heart received their portion. We prayed to align our will with the Will of God, so we should expect great change.

So what is the Will of God? Bahá’u’lláh is very clear.

O SON OF SPIRIT! 
The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor. Ponder this in thy heart; how it behooveth thee to be. Verily justice is My gift to thee and the sign of My loving-kindness. Set it then before thine eyes.

“The best of all things in His sight is JUSTICE“ Bahá’u’lláh taught us. He warned us to “TURN NOT AWAY” if we desired Him, and to “NEGLECT IT NOT”, if we wished Him to confide in us. Perhaps we should meditate profoundly on “confide.” When someone confides in you, they trust you and believe in you. He also teaches us to become worthy of the trust of our neighbors. I don’t know about you, but there can be no greater honor than to be worthy to have God’s Messenger for our Day confide in us. We have been given free will. We have a choice to follow our own desires or have faith in God’s guidance and to be obedient to His ordinances. Ponder this statement in The Seven Valleys And the Four Valleys —“A servant is drawn unto Me in prayer until I answer him; and when I have answered him, I become the ear wherewith he heareth….” 

‘If thine aim be to cherish thy life, approach not our court; but if sacrifice be thy heart’s desire, come and let others come with thee. For such is the way of Faith if in thy heart thou seekest reunion with Baha; Shouldest thou refuse to tread this path, why trouble Us?….. Begone!

(The Dawn-Breakers) ( P.137-8)

IS SACRIFICE YOUR HEART’S DESIRE? Now is the time to translate that which hath been written into reality and action, strive to become the best version of ourselves, and dedicate our lives to “the betterment of the world.” This can only happen if we choose to live in the spirit and practice great love towards all without prejudice. The Guardian warned Sadie Oglesby that it was already late in 1927, yet the things we were admonished to do regarding justice still remain largely unfinished and in some cases have become worse.

“The need of the Cause in America is the call of the heart, that can be given no one, save those who have suffered and been trained in the road of sacrifice and humility.”

No one can give you heart or make you care about justice. America has a great need that only pure hearts can hear the call. This warning from the Guardian spells out the criteria for being able to hear. It is for those who have suffered, and been trained in the road of sacrfice and humility, and not those commenting on the sidelines. America had spiritual problems in 1927 during Jim Crow, and those spiritual problems have morphed and mutated like a virus similar to what the Covid virus is doing now. We now have a new Jim Crow.

Read Michelle Alexander’s book if you want to serve those who are suffering and know of your own knowledge. America is trying to retreat and return to those days of legalized oppression. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, “over 400 bills with provisions that restrict voting access have been introduced in 49 states in the 2021 legislative sessions. These bills restrict voting access for poor, black, and brown people, denying them the right to participate in this dying democracy and have a voice in creating the laws that impact their health, education, safety, and well-being.” And in 2022, 22 states have introduced or carried over 250 restrictive bills.

So many tend to turn away from the justice conversation but love to speak of love while not actually practicing this great force, power, and law. Can we be truly loving if we participate in, ignore, or tolerate injustice? That is what Abdu’l-Baha desired for us to do — to commit to love each other sincerely. Because when we truly love, we put another’s needs before our own, like a mother does for her suckling child, that would die if not nurtured and nourished.

Remember Abdu’l-Baha is our example. That was his name and sole aim and we have no claim on the name Bahai if we do not serve humanity with both heart and soul. It cannot be an unpleasant duty.

So in this new year, we must decide what our aim will be. The Great Being is calling many, few will be chosen. Few will be willing to put their personal needs aside. Remember, you can be the answer to someone’s prayer. Wounded, desperate, and hopeless souls are calling. Will your heart answer like Abdu’l-Baha would?

Remember, only a few are chosen. Fortunately, we are given the criteria for being chosen — must have suffered, and been trained in — sacrfice and humility. So the questions are:

1. Will you humble yourself before God?

2. Have you suffered from bringing together the black and white?

3. Are you willing to suffer like His chosen ones suffered, putting the cause of unity, justice, and peace for humanity first?

4. Have you already been trained (in the road), or on the job experiencing sacrifice and humility?

5. Will you arise sacrifically to the occasion?

How can we get the power to follow the right path?

By putting the teaching into practice power will be given. You know which path to follow: you cannot be mistaken, for there’s a great distinction between God and evil, between Light and darkness, Truth and falsehood, Love and hatred, Generosity and meanness, Education and ignorance, Faith in God and superstition, good Laws and unjust laws. (ABDU’L-BAHA, ABDU’L-BAHA IN LONDON, P. 63)

We must be active to receive the divine confirmations!

There is nothing that brings success in the Faith like service. Service is the magnet which draws the divine confirmations. Thus, when a person is active, they are blessed by the Holy Spirit. When they are inactive, the Holy Spirit cannot find a repository in their being, and thus they are deprived of its healing and quickening rays.  From a letter dated 12 July 1952 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer)

I leave you with a story Abdu’l-Baha shares about a conversation the Buddha had with his disciples:

Buddha had disciples and he wished to send them out into the world to teach, so he asked them questions to see if they were prepared as he would have them be. “When you go to the East and to the West,” said the Buddha, “and the people shut their doors to you and refuse to speak to you, what will you do?” — The disciples answered and said: “We shall be very thankful that they do us no harm.” — “Then if they do you harm and mock, what will you do?” — “We shall be very thankful that they do not give us worse treatment.” — “If they throw you into prison?” — “We shall still be grateful that they do not kill us.” — “What if they were to kill you?” the Master asked for the last time. “Still,” answered the disciples, “we will be thankful, for they cause us to be martyrs. What more glorious fate is there than this, to die for the glory of God?” And the Buddha said: “Well done!”

“The teaching of Buddha was like a young and beautiful child, and now it has become as an old and decrepit man. Like the aged man it cannot see, it cannot hear, it cannot remember anything. Why go so far back? Consider the laws of the Old Testament: the Jews do not follow Moses as their example nor keep his commands. So it is with many other religions.” Abdu’l-Baha

Like Spring, everything has been renewed. Even the Holy Bible confirms the problem with putting new wine in an old wine skin: “Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” We can look forward. We now have new wine (knowledge) and a new wine skin. Ponder on that.

Until next time,
Barbara

21 Tips to Help You Spring Forward: Part 3

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Continued from Part 2: http://wp.me/ppImQ-iG

Throw Off Your Fears, Mediocrity, and Winter Doldrums

The physical spring represents change, movement, and new growth everywhere.  The hardened dark soil becomes verdant and green again.  The barren trees begin to bud once more.  Animals emerge from their winter hiding places eager to introduce their new offspring to our beautiful world.

And, more importantly humans are refreshed as the warm sunlight rejuvenates their skin.  They exhale with joy and appreciation in anticipation of mostly warm and sunny days ahead.

Symbolically they begin to throw off the layers of clothes that have warmed and protected them over the winter just as they throw off fears, mediocrity, and winter doldrums.  Some bare more of their body to let in the warmth and the healing and rejuvenating rays of the sun, others bare their souls instead.  For spring is a time of repentance, fasting, spiritual rejuvenation, renewal, forgiveness, and grace.  It’s a new season.  Time to make the most of our valuable time.  Time to make the most of our valuable lives.

The final 7 of our 21 Tips to spring forward are below.

  1. Don’t take old baggage into spring.  Let go, forgive, and move on mentally.  Physically, let go of clutter and make your space inviting, harmonious, and nurturing.  Every piece of your stuff holds a piece of your conscious mind hostage.
  2. Have a system that manages your time.  Start with the end in mind, and work backwards.  Keep a ‘To do before I die’ list of the most important things you want to accomplish.
  3. Know when you are the most productive during the day and plan accordingly.   Prioritize your tasks.  Something has to be first, second, third, etc.
  4. Appreciate the value of your time and you won’t waste it.  Be aware of your time thieves and have a plan to keep them in check.
  5. Focus and limit distractions as much as possible. Set aside some ‘no interruption’ time each day.
  6. Handle those things that you excel at or are most important to you and delegate as much as possible to others.
  7. Keep a calendar of commitments handy and don’t leave home without it.

Barbara

Lessons and Blessings Are Around Every Corner~

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“When the student is ready, the teacher appears.”

Are you ready?  I mean are you ready to live the life of your dreams? Are you ready to move beyond self-limiting thoughts and beliefs? Are you ready to accept your abundant blessings?  Are you ready to accept your lessons as guidance to unleashing your power? My wish for us today is that we all just “wake up” and realize that there are lessons and blessings around every corner. If we just open our eyes, our minds, and our hearts, we will learn the lessons we need to learn and begin receiving the blessings that we are heir too!

Life is abundant. There is enough of everything to go around. We don’t need to compete; we need only to realize that we are all connected, to collaborate, and to care about each other. This is what we call service. When we serve others, our blessings naturally flow. The more you give, the more you get! The greatest lie is that we are separate and need to battle or vie against each other to get our piece of a shrinking pie. The universe does not know limitation or lack; we create that reality of limitation in our own minds. It is that limiting perception that limits us because what we believe is what we ultimately get!

First of all where you are is where you need to be at this moment. All of your past life experiences brought you here. Everything you and I need to get to where we want to ultimately be is already here. When we focus on it with unwavering faith, we cause it to manifest. The reality is that your faith, belief, and expectations largely determine what you actually see. The mind and its tools of perception are designed to filter out and show you only what you believe, focus on, and think about. That means that just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean that it is not there!  And more importantly, it means that if you want something to manifest, focus your thoughts on what you WANT and not on what you don’t want.  When you learn to consistently focus on what you want, you will attract into your being everything you are destined to manifest. Remember, Lessons are around every corner. However, you may have to pass through a lesson first. So, don’t avoid the lessons because they lead to you to your blessings!

Barbara

Who’s Got Your Back?

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Who’s got your back, for sure?  AND, whose back do you have?  We are all connected and there is power in unity. We were designed to be there for each other and not just for self. Are you honest, loyal, and trustworthy to those people who rely on you (and to everyone else for that matter)? There is a logical reason beyond the obvious for developing qualities of honesty, trustworthiness, and loyalty. When we are habitually faithful in these virtues, we are sending out powerful loving energy to the universe and attracting back to us the kinds of people with similar virtues as us.

Remember, you attract not what you want, but WHAT YOU ARE.

Who's Got Your Back?Everyone needs someone who they can rely on and trust wholeheartedly to be there through thick and thin.  That’s what true friends and family are for.

If you can’t trust the people who say they are behind you, first check to make sure that you have been loyal to them as well. If you have, and the relationship isn’t reciprocal, then perhaps you need to find those who will have your back. Life is way to short to spend it with people who bring no value to your life and don’t value you enough to give the kind of loyal relationships you deserve.  Just something to think about!

Another message that matters from Barbara Talley.

Why African Americans Need to Learn Strategies for Building Wealth?

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This is Black History Month, so I’m focusing this article on African Americans but the knowledge contained herein can benefit anyone.  The wealth gap is widening and African Americans need to learn new strategies for building wealth. “Median black household income was 59% of median white household income in 2011, up modestly from 55% in 1967; as recently as 2007, black income was 63% of white income.” [Source: PEW] It is often said that African Americans are a nation of consumers instead of creators. However, our survival depends on us changing from primarily being consumers to being the suppliers and creators of the products and services we consume.

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African Americans have a projected buying power of $1.1 trillion by 2015. That’s a lot of dough to be distributed. Wealth is not a dirty or evil word reserved for those who are lucky, greedy, or lazy and seeking to take advantage of others!  Wealth is a vital birthright that offers the freedom to make choices that allow us to live joyful and fulfilling lives. Everyone has the right to life in dignity and to pursue their dreams.  

Watching my stepmother get denied medical services at age 85, and watching her toes blacken and almost rot off as she screamed in pain, taught me a very valuable lesson. Poverty is not pretty, spiritual, or dignified. She could not afford the care she desperately needed to live in dignity and I was powerless to help her. It takes money to help those you love, to choose the medical care of your choice, to buy the materials, training, and resources we need to excel in our crafts, to invest in our businesses, to give to charity, to tithe generously, to eat healthily, to travel, to vacation, to be there mentally for our families, or to live in safe and beautiful neighborhoods.

Growing up, I had only been trained how to trade time for dollars, which rarely if ever, builds wealth. At times my father was an entrepreneur, and during those times we worked even harder. I realized that if I kept following that old paradigm I would be destined to end up like those written about in a recent Forbes article, The Greatest Retirement Crisis in American History, which dismally projects that 75%  of those now approaching retirement have less than $30,000 in savings. And, that paltry amount won’t last that long, with the average nursing home stay (God forbid) being around $248.00 a day or $90,000 a year. So for that reason,  as well as, the dollar declining since 1972, and the cost of living projected to double over the next decade, the vast majority of people today are forced to delay their retirement. I did not grow up around wealth nor did my parents talk about wealth or teach me about it. They taught me to work hard, so I know how to do that. They worked hard their entire lives and still only barely eked out a living and died practically penniless.  They could not teach me what they did not know.  They did not know that the only way to build wealth was to have money work for you or people work for you.  That explains why the majority of small black entrepreneurs fail to build wealth either. They are primarily sole proprietors and thus still trading time for money.  To continue to part two, click here.

Warren Buffet advises aspiring wealth builders to have multiple streams of income.  Speaking, authorship, and training is my passion work.  I love doing it! But, I’ve learned that if I stop speaking or training, the income also stops.  I too want the freedom that comes with wealth, to be able to work with populations who can’t afford me, to be able to help my children and grandchildren, and to not have to worry about retirement after raising six children and working over 50 years already. 

Email me for more information about how to bring me in to speak to your group, OR train your employees. Luck has very little to do with wealth, but timing has everything to do with it. What if you had been able to be part of the beginning of Google, Facebook, and Microsoft?  How would your life be different now? You missed them but you haven’t missed them all. Email me to learn more about Talkfusion, a disruptive technology poised to be the next billion dollar brand. I’ll direct you to an on-line presentation that explains it all.

Barbara Talley
To your wealth
barbara.talley@gmail.com