calmness, stillness, faith and more baha'i music

On Befriended Stranger today Mitko writes --

if one is not calm, centered, focused on God’s Will in the beginning, probably it will show in the end. And vice versa, if the beginning is rooted in the calm, confident reliance on God’s guidance, the end will be the way it needs to be, regardless of the specifics of the outcome, regardless of our inability to see the end in the beginning.

"The beginning of all things is the knowledge of God, and the end of all things is strict observance of whatsoever hath been sent down from the empyrean of the Divine Will that pervadeth all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth."
(Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 5)

and on the topic of tests and faith Elika Mahony's new cd "Fire and Gold" is just just about to be released in January 2008.

From the lyrics of the title track: "The world is like a vapor in the desert which the thirsty dreameth to be water and striveth after it with all his might until he findeth it to be mere illusion...busy not thyself with this world, for with fire we test the gold and with gold we test Our servants..." Baha'u'llah

Listen to sample tracks here
Sign her guestbook here .
And here is a video for "This is Faith," one of the songs on the album with lyrics from a poem by Amatu'l-Baha Ruhhiyih Khanum.



I have shared some geographical pathways through this life with Elika. She is also a "child of africa" and currently resides in China. I first met Elika in California where she was always the one inspiring her fellow Baha'i youth, myself included, into song. I have so enjoyed immersing myself in the two Melodies of the Nightengale cds and I do look forward to owning my very own copy of Fire and Gold.