Episode 52: Dara Feldman

Hello and welcome to the Baha’i Blogcast with me your host, Rainn Wilson. In this series of podcasts I interview members of the Baha’i Faith and friends from all over the world about their hearts, and minds, and souls, their spiritual journeys, what they’re interested in, and what makes them tick. In this episode, I'm joined by award-winning educator, author and speaker, Dara Feldman, who served as the Director of Education for the Virtues Project for seven years. We talk about food shaming, the power of the 12-step program, and all the ways the virtues can be incorporated into all aspects of our lives. She tells me how she became a Baha'i, her passion for restorative justice, what's she's working on now, and her recent experience in India at the largest school in the world. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did! To find out more about some of the things we covered in this episode, check out the following: * Dara Feldman: http://www.darafeldman.com/ * Virtues Matter: https://www.virtuesmatter.com/ * Virtues App: https://www.virtuesmatter.com/app * Virtues App video: https://bit.ly/3dCeUq1 * Dara's book 'The Heart of Education': https://amzn.to/2YwxgEL * Baha'i Blogcast with Linda Kavelin Popov: https://bit.ly/384RvMA * Progressive revelation: https://bit.ly/2Vkay0B * City Montessori School: http://www.cmseducation.org/ * Virtues Matter video at City Montessori School: https://bit.ly/386EJ0b * Baha’i Firesides: https://bit.ly/3890psD * Devotional Gatherings: https://bit.ly/3g0Xyow * Independent investigation of truth: https://bit.ly/2VksmbO * Ruhi books: https://bit.ly/380Wm1m * Short Obligatory Prayer (https://bit.ly/3dBxOgy): "I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee. I testify, at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy wealth. There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting." -Baha’u’llah * Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program: https://bit.ly/2BCBcuC * Year of service: https://bit.ly/3eAQmz2 * Dara shares these quotes by Baha'u'llah: "Intone, O My servant, the verses of God that have been received by thee, as intoned by them who have drawn nigh unto Him, that the sweetness of thy melody may kindle thine own soul, and attract the hearts of all men. Whoso reciteth, in the privacy of his chamber, the verses revealed by God, the scattering angels of the Almighty shall scatter abroad the fragrance of the words uttered by his mouth, and shall cause the heart of every righteous man to throb. Though he may, at first, remain unaware of its effect, yet the virtue of the grace vouchsafed unto him must needs sooner or later exercise its influence upon his soul. Thus have the mysteries of the Revelation of God been decreed by virtue of the Will of Him Who is the Source of power and wisdom." "O MY SERVANT! The best of men are they that earn a livelihood by their calling and spend upon themselves and upon their kindred for the love of God, the Lord of all worlds." "O SON OF SPIRIT! Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased thyself. Rise then unto that for which thou wast created." * Baha'i Blogcast with Barbara & Radiance Talley: https://bit.ly/2Vka62p * Pupil of the eye metaphor: https://bit.ly/3dgVBT5 * Pupil of the Eye Conference: https://bit.ly/37Odbwv * Baha'i Blogcast with Joy De Gruy: https://bit.ly/386lowm * Van Gilmer: https://www.bahaichoir.org/director * Louis Gregory: https://bit.ly/2YfedhP * Advent of Divine Justice: https://bit.ly/2YNfFr0 Be sure to subscribe to the Baha’i Blogcast for more episodes on: *YouTube: http://bit.ly/2JTNmBO * iTunes: http://apple.co/2leHPHL *Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bahaiblogcast *Spotify: http://spoti.fi/2IXRAnb To find out more about the Baha'i Faith visit BAHAI.ORG, and for more great Baha'i-inspired content check out BAHAIBLOG.NET: http://bahaiblog.net/ Thanks for listening! -Rainn Wilson