Society builders pave the way, to a
better world, to a better day

a united approach to building a new society.

Join our conversation

for social transformation - Society Builders.

Society Builders with
your host, Duane Varan.

Welcome to Society Builders.

In our last episode, we discussed the
origins of this podcast series, how it

was conceived in response to a message
of the Universal House of Justice,

providing a singular aim and focus for
the Baha'i community for the next 25 years.

And that focus is this, 'the release
of the society, building power of

the Faith in ever greater measures.'

We discussed how for a Baha'i,
this guidance is seminal.

And in these next two episodes, I'd
like to explain what I mean by that.

Why do I use the word seminal?

Why is this kind of guidance so
important for a Baha'i and how does

it define our path of service

for what for many of us will
effectively be the rest of our lives?

So today's journey is all
about 'vision' and the art of

translating vision into reality.

It's about understanding how the kind
of vision articulated by the Universal

House of Justice gets translated into
action and ultimately into fruition.

Today's episode has important life lessons
for all of us, lessons for our daily lives

and our career and our life aspirations,
but it also has important lessons for

us and our collective community lives.

There are important ideas in this
and in the next episode, that

will truly transform your lives.

Trust me, there are tools that you'll
discover in these episodes that you'll

carry with you for the rest of your lives.

And I know what I'm talking about
here because these are tools

that have transformed MY life.

It's truly transformative in character.

It really makes a difference.

So fasten your seat belts.
It's gonna be an exciting ride.

Now, as I alluded to earlier,
we're going to tackle today's

theme across two episodes.

So part one, this episode, is
about mastering the art of

bringing vision to fruition.

But we explore this largely at the
individual level, at a personal

level. How you can work to bring
vision to fruition in your life.

In our next episode, we expand our
circle and explore how we can do

this collectively as communities.

And in that context we'll finally loop
around, back to this guidance from the

Universal House of Justice to explore
how that guidance ultimately shapes

our approach to society building.

So you'll have to accompany me
for a bit of a journey to get

to that ultimate destination.

And so we start in this episode with the
art of bringing vision into fruition -

part one of our 'History of Tomorrow' theme.

We start this episode then with a
story almost every Baha'i has heard.

Okay.

In the early 1900s, the nascent
Baha'i community of Chicago aspired to

build a temple, a House of Worship, a Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, but not just any old temple.

They wanted one that would
be monumental in scale.

Now, this was a dream that was
entirely beyond their financial means.

It would've been easy to discount their
ambition as a mere aspiration, or if you

were being cruel as some kind of fantasy.

Eventually, the entire American Baha'i
community joined in their dream,

but even that community was still
relatively small at the time, and

this dream was well beyond even

their collective means.

A pragmatic voice at the time
would've toned down the vision

to a scale within their means.
But they continued to dream big.

They wanted the temple
to have monumental scale.

Now, although they couldn't afford to
build the temple, they did manage to

buy land and to get started on a design.

So when Abdul-Baha visited Chicago in
1912, they decided that this would be the

perfect occasion for the breaking of the
ground and the laying of the foundation

stone in a big celebration and ceremony.

A local believer, Ms.

Netty Tobin, contributed the
cornerstone, a stone that was actually

rejected from another building
site, and she wheeled it to the site

in Wilmette in a baby carriage.

That was a story in itself, as was the
drama in digging the hole in the hard

ground to place the cornerstone in.

But as Abdul-Baha placed the stone
to dedicate the future temple, he

shared this amazing insight to the
300 or so believers that assembled.

He said the temple is already built.

The temple is already built.

At that moment.

The community set in
motion a path to fruition.

From that point forward, you
knew the temple WOULD be built.

You didn't know how.

You didn't know when or how long it would
take or what sacrifices would be made

along the way, but you could act with
absolute confidence that the temple would

be built even if it took over 40 years,

as actually happened, for the
community to actually build it.

At that moment with the laying of
the Cornerstone by Abdul-Baha, you

could have written the history books.

You could have absolute
confidence that it would be built.

You could write the 'History of Tomorrow'.

And in that insight lays a profound
articulation of a sacred high

principle, entirely unique to our
Faith. A very specific perspective

on translating vision into reality.

A capacity to see the
end in the beginning.

It's an art.

It's a faculty, it's a skill, and
this ability to see the end in the

beginning and make it so, is the
focus of our conversation today.

I'm calling this episode a History
of Tomorrow because what I mean

by this is the idea that when you
bring together critical ingredients,

vision, faith, determination, action -

you set in motion forces that bring
vision into fruition, and at that point

you can write the history of tomorrow.

Confident it will be so.

And so when the Universal House of
Justice calls for the release of the

society-building powers of the Faith
in ever greater measures, you can

be confident that this will happen
and that great, great things will

consequently ensue along the way.

You can write the history
of tomorrow, today.

Today's episode draws on a talk I gave
at the Blue Bonnet Baha'i Conference

in Austin, Texas a few years ago.

And as I was preparing that talk,
I discovered something which

was truly exhilarating for me.

On a personal level,
I discovered a virtue.

Let me share the background here with you.

Most sacred scriptures have this idea
that we are created in the image of God.

Now, what does that mean?

Some take that literally, and they
believe that this means that God has

physical form, eyes, a nose, a long beard.

Perhaps they picture God in human
form like an old man sitting at

the top of the mountain commanding
the forces of the universe.

But I believe that what this means
is that we are created with the

capacity to develop and cultivate
God's qualities, his divine virtues.

This is one way in which we
understand God - by his qualities, love

patience, mercy, justice and so on.

So in cultivating these virtues, we
gradually discover more and more of God.

Now, it's not the only path to knowing
and understanding our creator, but

it's an important part of our journey.

As Baha'is, we talk about virtues
in almost everything we do.

Our daily prayers remind us of
these virtues as we recognize

the qualities of our Creator.

We have children's classes where
we teach our children virtues.

We walk in continual awareness of
the critical role of cultivating

these virtues in our lives.

Okay, so my talk at the conference
included a discussion of this process of

translating vision into reality, and as
I was preparing my talk, I was searching

for the right word to describe this idea,
this idea of bringing vision to fruition.

Now it turns out, surprisingly, it's
incredibly hard to find the right word.

We just don't have a word in English
that properly articulates this idea.

We don't have a word for this
idea of bringing vision to

fruition, but as I struggled to
find the right word, I came close.

I eventually discovered a word,
and the word is 'fashioning'.

Now, I don't mean fashion like
the latest trend in clothing.

I mean fashioning like
God fashions the universe.

He articulates a vision and little
by little that vision unfolds.

So for example, we have a prayer which
Baha'u'llah revealed, we think of this

as a prayer of praise and gratitude.

And in this prayer, Baha'u'llah says, 'Thou
didst wish to make Thyself known unto men,

therefore, Thou didst, through a word
of Thy mouth being creation into

being and fashion the universe.'

I'm gonna say that again.

'Thou didst wish to make
Thyself known unto men.

Therefore, Thou didst, through a word
of Thy mouth, bring creation into

being and fashion the universe.'

So the unfoldment of the universe unveils
itself with God's uttering of a single

word setting in motions that fashion
the universe over time to that vision.

And we even know what that word is, and
the word is 'BE', the word 'BE', we see this.

In the long obligatory prayer where
Baha'u'llah says, 'He that hath been Manifested

in the Hidden Mystery, the Treasured
Symbol through whom the letters

B and E have been joined and knit together.'

So we even know the word
is God's command, 'BE'.

Now, whether this is metaphorical or
not, my point in sharing it today is

that it expresses that one of the ways
we understand God is as Fashioner of

the universe, and it's a process that
is set in motion from the articulation

of the vision and onwards in a dynamic
process that evolves to that vision.

It's similar to the great drama, Baha'u'llah
tells us that his playing out, following

His tablet to the kings and rulers of the
earth with the rolling up of the old world

order and the rolling out of a new one.

So this is fashioning.

This is why my moment of discovery
in preparing my talk was so

exciting for me on a personal level.

Because I had discovered a new
virtue, this capacity to have a

vision and translate it into the
world of being. That is a virtue.

I had never thought of it that way before.

I was never taught it as a
virtue, and so I felt like running

down the hall shouting, Eureka.

Eureka, like I had discovered
a new element in science.

I had discovered a virtue.

Now, I'm probably not the first
person to discover this, but for me

it was a discovery because no one ever
framed fashioning as a virtue for me.

So it's a discovery for me on a personal
level, hence my excitement, and I hope

that now that you understand this idea
of fashioning as a virtue, that it

will be empowering for you as well.

Now fashioning is an
incredibly powerful virtue.

What is the one thing
above all that defines and

characterizes a successful CEO?

It's this capacity to fashion,
to translate vision into reality.

This is probably the single most important
trait for any captain of industry.

It's what we admire most.

For example, about Steve Jobs and his
leadership at Apple, stocks rise and

fall on the ability to deliver on vision.

And it's a virtue that can
help us in our personal lives.

This ability to look beyond the
horizon and rise to transcend

ourselves and make great things happen.

Wow.

How exciting to suddenly realize
that this art of translating

vision into reality is a virtue.

But it doesn't happen just
because we articulate a vision.

There is an art to bringing
vision into fruition.

It's a skill, and there are ingredients
that are critical to making it happen.

Abdul-Baha, for example, gives us
three of these key ingredients.

He says, 'the attainment of any object
is conditioned upon knowledge, volition

and action.

Unless these three conditions
are forthcoming, there is no

execution or accomplishment.'

So let's reflect knowledge,
knowing something, volition,

having faith, confidence, sheer
willpower to make it happen.

And of course, action.

So we have to do our homework to
understand the problem, muster

the will and Faith to make it
happen, and then act to make it so.

Shoghi Effendi gives us further guidance on this.

Now, these are pilgrim notes, not actual
scripture, but it's what we refer to as

the Five Dynamics of Prayer, a recipe
for how to pray for change in our lives.

Spoiler alert, this quote is
the essence of today's episode.

It's not just helpful in
understanding prayer, it's the key to

understanding the art of fashioning.

So it's the focus of the
rest of today's episode.

Shoghi Effendi.

tells us that when we have a
problem and we pray for assistance,

we should go through these five steps.

'First step, pray and meditate about it.

Use the prayers of the Manifestations
as they have the greatest power.

Then remain in the silence of
contemplation for a few minutes.

Second step, arrive at a
decision and hold to this.

This decision is usually born
during the contemplation.

It may seem almost impossible of
accomplishment, but if it seems

to be as answer to a prayer or a
way of solving the problem, then

immediately take the next step.

Third step have determination
to carry the decision through.

Many fail

here. The decision butting into
determination is blighted, and instead

becomes a wish or a vague longing.

When determination is born,
immediately take the next step.

Fourth step.

Have Faith and confidence that
the power will flow through

you the right way will appear.

The door will open, the right thought,
the right message, the right principle

of the right book will be given.

You have confidence and the right
thing will come to your need.

Then as you rise from
prayer, take at once

the fifth step.

Fifth step.

Then he said lastly.

Act.

Act as though it had all been answered,
then act with tireless, ceaseless energy.

And as you act, you yourself will
become a magnet which will attract

more power to your being until you
become an unobstructed channel for

the divine power to flow through you.

Many pray but do not remain for
the last half of the first step.

Some who meditate, arrive at a
decision, but fail to hold to it.

Few have the determination to
carry the decision through.

Still fewer have the confidence that
the right thing will come to their need.

But how many remember to act as
though it had all been answered?

How true of these words: Greater
than the prayer is the spirit in

which it is uttered and greater
than the way it is uttered is the

spirit in which it is carried out.'

Wow, in this guidance is the key to this
art of translating vision and to fruition.

Most people think that praying is just
asking God for something, but this

quote helps us understand that asking
is just the first part of a process

that is ultimately expressed in action.

Praying is not just about
asking God for something.

It's about arriving at a decision,

having confidence that it's the
right decision, having faith that

the right tools will come your
way and being ready to seize those

resources when you encounter them and
acting tirelessly to make it happen.

All of that is praying.

It's everything from the prayer to the
articulation of a vision or decision

to having faith to the arena of action.

In fact, the action itself is
an integral part of the prayer.

Wow.

In my own life experience, I
have found this guidance to

be pure gold, absolute magic.

And these same five steps and prayers
are also amazing tools to help

us translate vision into reality.

Now I'm gonna focus on three key
features of this guidance here.

First, arriving at a decision.

Second, cultivating faith, and
finally being open to solutions,

arriving in ways you can't anticipate.

All of these are critical
to effective fashioning.

So let's start with
arriving at a decision.

As a general rule, people tend to
be reactive and largely passive in

making decisions in their lives.

We normally allow others to decide for us.

Your boss, your teacher,
your significant other.

We react and respond to
the decisions of others.

In fact, it's easier for us to make
decisions about what other people should

do than it is to make them for ourselves.

It turns out it's hard work
making decisions for ourselves.

So it's generally hard for us
to encounter life's challenges

and actually make a decision.

We fear making the wrong decision, and
so we're weighed down by our problems.

We're weighed down because we can't
decide how to best move forward.

Of course we make decisions every
day, lots of them, but we tend to

make them only when we absolutely
have to, when there's a forcing

function, demanding a decision.

And that's why I say that we're largely
reactive rather than proactive in life.

The beloved Guardian's
advice takes us past this.

It allows us to move in life with
clarity, with focus, with purpose.

It liberates us from indecision.

Decide.

And if it turns out that our decision
is not the best decision, we can

learn, adapt, and make new decisions,
but being freed from indecision is

truly liberating and empowering.

So try this next time your way down,
pray about your problem, make a

decision, and trust that it's the right
decision, even if you can't foresee

how it will all come together and act
as if your prayer has been answered.

Give it a go and then afterwards
evaluate the approach.

Trust me, you're gonna be amazed at
just how powerful this approach is.

Okay, so you've prayed, you've
meditated, you weighed up the

facts, you arrived at the decision.

Now comes the hardest part, having faith.

Faith is something you have to
exercise, develop and cultivate.

Abdul-Baha.

tells us: 'To the extent
that you have Faith, so shall

your powers and blessings be.'

So let's explore this quality of faith.

You know, there's this story about
these Native Americans, um, Navajos,

Hopi perhaps, who were suffering the
consequences of an endless drought.

Their lands were parched and dying.

They were facing disaster and ruin.

And in their desperation, they kept
doing their rain dance, beseeching

God to provide them with rain.

But no matter how hard they prayed
and danced, no rain resulted.

And in that moment of desperation,
many of them felt abandoned

by their Great Creator.

Why didn't he answer their prayers?

So they came together to consult about
this, struggling to find a wisdom.

Why was there no rain?

And it was a little girl
who solved the mystery.

She stood up and proclaimed, 'I know why!

It's because we didn't bring
our umbrellas to our rain dance.'

We didn't bring our umbrellas.

This is faith.

If they had true faith, they
would've brought their umbrellas

fully confident that it would rain.

Faith requires that we detach
ourselves from self-doubt and

remain focused on the task at hand.
That we cling to that vision,

confident that even though we don't
know HOW, we will ultimately prevail.

This reminds me of another story.

There was a man walking in
the middle of the night and he

couldn't see where he was walking.

Suddenly without realizing it, he
walked right off the face of a cliff

as he was falling to his death below.

He reached out for dear life, trying
to grab anything he could to save

himself. By some miracle, he managed
to grab onto a branch, and with all

the power he could muster, he held
onto that branch for dear life.

But his arms grew weary, and he knew
that he couldn't hold on forever.

In absolute desperation, he shouted out
into the heavens, begging God to help him.

Suddenly the heavens were cleft
asunder, and a deep voice came

thundering from the heavens above.

I imagine this was a voice, much
like the voice of James Earl

Jones, and the voice said: 'LET GO!'

Let go.

The man thought about it and
he yelled out his response.

'Is there anybody else up there now?'

He didn't particularly like this
advice, so he continued clinging

to the branch with great pain.

I might add.

He was exhausted.

Every muscle in his body ached and
his life flashed before his eyes.

But as the first glimmers of light
associated with the dawn came, he

could suddenly start to see the
contours of the landscape around him.

And it was at that point that
he realized that he was just

one foot above the ground.

So there was a wisdom in the guidance
that God was giving him, which he

couldn't see, but which he needed
to rely on his faith to believe.

And we all encounter this challenge
in our lives, to trust our inner

voice, to trust the guidance we
receive now cultivating faith.

It's a big topic.

It's truly the essence of what religion
is all about, and there are many

ways that we develop and exercise
our faith, prayer, fasting, living

the Baha'i life, contributing to the
fund, making sacrifices in the path of

service, sharing our Faith with others.

All of these are part of our
path in cultivating faith, and

so is developing the capacity
to see the end in the beginning.

A theme we'll return to in our
next episode. But in terms of

vision, just remember that faith is
something we have to work actively

to exercise, develop, and cultivate.

And once again, as Abdul-Baha
reminds us, 'as you have Faith, so

shall your powers and blessings be.'

Okay.

The third and final feature of
the Five Dynamics of Prayer that I

wanted to talk about was this idea
of making a decision, not knowing how

you're gonna pull it off at the time.

It might even seem impossible.

The Guardian tells us that as we have
Faith, the right resources will come

to our aid, and we have to be prepared
to seize that aid when it comes.

We have to be searching for it, open
to it, and then we have to seize

it when the opportunity presents.

This reminds me of another story.

There was a flood and
the waters were rising.

A man prays to God for help, and
soon a rescue team shows up at his

doorstep, eager to take him to safety,
but he doesn't need their help.

'God will provide.'

So he rejects their assistance.

The waters continue to rise.

Pretty soon, he's on the second floor
balcony and a boat pulls up with

rescuers, eager to save him, but
he again turns down their advice.

'God will provide.'

Finally, he's standing at the
highest point of his roof with

the water continuing to rise.

He's up to his neck in the flood
waters, and a helicopter flies above

with rescuers sent there to save him,
but again, he rejects their help.

After all, 'God will provide.'

And that's right.

You guessed it.

The waters rise and the man drowns,
and he goes to heaven and in heaven

he meets his maker and laments:
'God, how could you abandon me?

I prayed, but you ignored my prayer.'

And God said, 'what are you talking about?

Three times I sent you help.

Why didn't you accept?'

So the moral of my story is that
we have to be open to the resources

we need coming in ways that we
can't predict coming to our aid.

Now, this is entirely different
from your typical corporate plan.

A corporate plan lays out the
sequence of events, knowing the

resources they'll marshall to the task.

A will be followed by B.

Everything is laid out
in meticulous detail.

With the Baha'i approach, you don't know how
you're gonna get from point A to point B.

You turn up for the voyage, confident that
the right resources will fall in place.

And as they do, you have to
seize the narrow window of

opportunities that present.

This is how revolutions are usually
fueled. In contrast to the corporate plan

where every detail is meticulously laid
out, the revolutionary lacks resources

and has no clue how they'll prevail.

They're constantly on the
lookout for the opportunity

that might advance their cause.

A landlord kills their worker
or some other mishap like that

happens and they immediately

mobilize to seize the momentum.

Maybe their response catches
the public imagination.

Maybe it doesn't. But they continue
in their quest for opportunities,

marshaling resources to respond
to the opportunities that present.

The problem with the corporate approach
is that you're blind to opportunity.

This is most dramatically visible
when an industry encounters

disruptive technologies.

For example, you're a Swiss watchmaker.

Collectively, you OWN the
watch market globally.

Someone invents a digital watch and
comes and pitches it to you, but this

doesn't fit in your planning cycle.

You don't need this, so you
discount it and you turn them away.

Instead, they go to someone with
no experience in watches like Seiko.

And next thing you know, almost
all watches are being sold by the

Seiko's of the world, with only
few still being made by the Swiss.

Or it's like you're Sony and you
make this device called the Walkman,

which dominates portable music.

A company like Apple approaches you
with this idea of digital music.

What do they know?

They're computer people.

'We're Sony - we own music.' But
a few years later, all music is

digital and the Walkman is obsolete.

And we could go on and on.

This is a classic story, and
it's true with the Faith as well.

I remember traveling behind the Iron
Curtain back in 1989, deep in Russia,

and I was there when the Berlin Wall
came down and you were allowed to share

the Faith in public for the first time.

Now, I've never seen a people
more hungry for the Faith.

You could hold a pamphlet up
offering it, and you get mobbed by

a crowd of people desperate for it.

That's a window of opportunity.

People in Russia wouldn't always be
that hungry, but when they are, we

need to respond to that opportunity.

We didn't foresee the crumbling of
the Berlin wall, so none of us were

truly prepared for the opportunities
when they suddenly appeared.

But we should have been, it was
organized crime who was best

prepared, and they responded rapidly
to the void that was created.

So we largely missed that window.

Now by way of contrast, while the
Second World War was raging, there was

a group of academics in America who
were preparing for the defeat of Japan.

How would they reform land ownership?

What kind of education system would
be best suited for the Japanese?

How would they rebuild the country?

They were prepared, and when
Japan did surrender, they seized

the window of opportunity and
made changes that propelled Japan

through its dramatic recovery.

All of this is about seeing
the end and the beginning.

You are clear on your destination,
but not on how you're gonna get there.

So you remain open to the possibilities
and you seize them when they present.

And of course, finally, and perhaps most
important, you act - and in that action you

become a magnet attracting confirmations.

Now, today's episode was about translating
vision into reality at a personal level.

Before exploring how we do this
collectively as communities, I

wanted to first set the stage
on the art of fashioning.

I wanted to help emphasize how fashioning
is a skill we can develop and cultivate

this virtue of fashioning, of bringing
vision to fruition, transcending

ourselves, and our limitations.

And just as we can do this as individuals,
we can also do this as communities.

So today's episode was about getting
you ready for my next episode, which

will explore how we engage in the same
kind of fashioning at a collective

level so that we can better situate
what the Universal House of Justices

guidance to us that we release the
society building power of the Faith

in ever greater measures really means.

So don't miss that episode
of Society Builders.

The second part of our conversation
on the history of tomorrow.

If you haven't done so already,
make sure you follow or subscribe

to the series, tell your friends
about it, and join the conversation

at our website at societybuilders.com.

So thank you for joining the
conversation about social transformation.

We'll see you again next
time on Society Builders.

Society Builders pave the way to
a better world, to a better day.

A united approach to building a new society.

There's a crisis face in humanity.

People suffer from a lack of unity.

It's time for a better path to a new society.

Join the conversation.

for Social Transformation - Society Builders

Join the conversation - for social transformation. Society Builder.

So engage with the local communities and
explore all the exciting possibilities. We can

elevate the atmosphere in which we move.

The paradigm is shifting.

It's so very re uplifting.

It's a new beat, a new song, a brand new groove.

Join the conversation - for social transformation. Society Builders.

Join the conversation.

for Social Transformation. Society Builder,

The Baha'i Faith has a lot to say,
helping people discover a better way

with discourse and social action.

Framed by Unity. Now the
time has come to lift

our game and apply the teachings of the
Greatest Name and rise to meet the glory

of our destiny. Join the conversation. For social transformation. Society Builders

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