Meditation Two
(for Day Two)
Streams of Light
Materials:
- Meditation table
- Streams of Light material including:
- Quotes with stands:
God has ever been a creator
Foundations of World Unity 107-112
…out of every manifestation of His invincible power oceans of eternal light have outpoured …
Gleanings 61
Yet the Holy Manifestations of God are even as a looking glass, burnished and without stain, which gathereth streams of light out of that Sun, and then scattereth the glory over the rest of creation.
Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha 50
…when the Holy Manifestations of God, …shines upon the worlds of spirits, of thoughts and of hearts, … a new life appear …
Some Answered Questions 163
The most important thing is to polish the mirrors of hearts in order that they may become illumined and receptive of the divine light.
Baha’i World Faith 217-220
…the ‘Manifestations’ bring the power of the Holy Spirit from the divine Sun of Reality to give light and life to the souls of men.
Paris Talks 57-59
- Golden ribbon (large piece of net cloth)
- Large candle holder; matches
- Large transparent mirror/ stand
- Hidden Word Arabic 11 – first two sentences – stands
- Heart mirrors with necklace cords
- Mirror polishing material
- Golden ribbon narrow – one for each participant
- Greatest Name (ring stone) symbol
- 1 candle for each participant
- Music selection
The Meditation
(Have children place Quotes on table)
Have two cards from Hidden Words Quote turned over.
We have been meditating on Hidden Words Arabic 11.
What does the first verse say?
Children state and card turned over.
(Place on meditation table)
Today we are going to think about this part of the Hidden Word.
Turn card over and recite
Get thou from it thy radiance
and seek none other than Me
Hidden Words Arabic 11
It: God’s Light
Radiance: shining bright; bright with joy, hope, warm and cheerful.
Any Words stand out for you?
“get”: seek, get energy from it
Today we will meditate on how we can obtain radiance from God’s Light.
Our story is called “Streams of Light.”
Place out Quote with stand
God has ever been a creator
Foundations of World Unity 107-112
All things in the universe were created by God – things beyond our imagination that are still waiting to be discovered and explored!
Add candle holder
Baha’u’llah says:
Place out Quote with stand
…out of every manifestation of His invincible power oceans of eternal light have outpoured …
Gleanings 61
Light the candle.
(invincible: something that cannot be defeated or conquered)
In this great outpouring of eternal light, of this boundless , invincible Divine Power our universe formed.
Lay out large net-like golden ribbon.
And, eventually because of this great outpouring of eternal light, of the boundless Divine Power, our Earth began to form.
Commanded by the Word of God, this Divine Power, everything on Earth radiated out into a beautiful order:
Unroll golden cloth while saying:
The beauty of our earth with all of its hidden secrets.
The small things we cannot see in the ocean.
The lovely plants with their flowers.
The many types of animals.
And finally humans beings.
One of the very special gifts God gave to us was that we had the ability to know that there was a God and to love our Creator Who made us and all the lovely things around us.
But, how were we to learn about something so grand and so splendid and so powerful as our Creator?
To help us know our Creator God sent special teachers to us called Manifestations of God.
Place transparent glass mirror in middle of ribbon.
Carefully hold on edges so mirror will not smudge.
The Manifestations are like pure mirrors. There is no trace of any dirt or smudge on the mirror. It is perfectly polished. So the Manifestations perfectly reflect this Holy Light. If you look closely this glass actually is a mirror – but a pure mirror. (Show carefully.)
‘Abdu’l-Baha says:
Place out Quote with stand
Yet the Holy Manifestations of God are even as a looking glass, burnished and without stain, which gathereth streams of light out of that Sun, and then scattereth the glory over the rest of creation.
Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha 50
(looking glass: a mirror)
‘Abdu’l-Baha also says:
Place out Quote with stand
…when the Holy Manifestations of God, …shines upon the worlds of spirits, of thoughts and of hearts, … a new life appear …
Some Answered Questions 163
So, to catch the rays of the Holy Light we need the pure mirror of our heart.
Give each person a heart mirror with necklace
Turn the mirror(s) toward the candle to receive the Light and to reflect this Light in the best way that you can.
Now this mirror represents your heart, what you are attracted to, what you love. The mirror can’t help it. It attracts the light. – and what happens to the light? (It reflects the light naturally. – if it is clean!)
Here is an important piece of advice from the Writings:
Place Quote on stand and recite
The most important thing is to polish the mirrors of hearts in order that they may become illumined and receptive of the divine light.
Baha’i World Faith 217-220
Lets double check your mirror by polishing it so it can get the most light
Hand out polishing material.
Put your mirror on again and see if you can get the candle to reflect in your mirror.
Place out the following Quote on stand and read:
…the ‘Manifestations’ bring the power of the Holy Spirit from the divine Sun of Reality to give light and life to the souls of men.
Paris Talks 57-59
Repeat this verse again for each child while stringing a ribbon from the meditation table candle to the child.
At this point could add the Greatest Name (Ring Stone Symbol)
At this time one could experiment.
We have to turn to a power source to get our energy.
Examples:
- If there were no sun what would happen?
- What do plants do automatically?
- How do we start a car?
- What about food and energy?
- Sail boat racing?
If possible make a solar driven object (e.g. car)
Closing Meditation:
On the meditation table are the Quotes used from the meditation.
There is an unlit candle on the table, one for each of you.
One at a time you will go up, light a candle and place it by your favorite Quote. More than one candle can go by a Quote.
Show how to light candle.
If possible, begin with music.
God’s Holy Spirit is our first energy source. The Hidden Word Arabic 11 says:
Get thou from it thy radiance
and seek none other than Me
Each child goes up, lights a candle and places his/her heart by the Quote they enjoyed the most.
At end could ask each child why they selected their Quote.
Finally, close again with the Hidden Word Quote Arabic 11 and song.