Episode 55: Anisa & Doug White

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 Anisa and Doug White, a wonderful and dynamic indigenous Canadian couple who both work in the field of law. We discuss indigenous culture in North America and some of the challenges and experiences of their people. They tell me how they found the Baha'i Faith, how they found each other, and Doug tells me what it was like being a chief for his people. We talk about raising children, and explore what's needed to foster love and understanding amongst all peoples. I hope you enjoy the conversation! To find out more about some of the things we covered in this episode, check out the following links: * Baha'i Pilgrimage: https://bit.ly/2Gp7TxX * Youth year of service: https://bit.ly/3hU7phb * Baha’i Firesides: https://bit.ly/31SILYP * Study Circles: https://bit.ly/34Unu2K * Dr. Hossain Danesh: http://www.hbdanesh.org/ * Dr. Danesh's talks: https://bit.ly/3gUOwcG * Prayer for newborn babies: “I have come by God’s command, have been made manifest for His remembrance and been created for the service of Him Who is the Almighty, the Well-Beloved.” -Baha’u’llah (Quoted by Martha Root, ‘Star of the West [The Baha’i Magazine], Vol. 23, no. 3, June 1932) * 'Love, Power, and Justice' by William S. Hatcher: https://amzn.to/33TqrzV * Quote by Baha'u'llah: "O SON OF SPIRIT! The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest 4 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." * 'Obasan' by Joy Kogawa: https://amzn.to/3gxeKTf * 'Medicine Walk' by Richard Wagamese: https://amzn.to/33wCFOY * 'Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atanarjuat:_The_Fast_Runner * 'Coyote Science': https://bit.ly/3jIHEky * Children's Classes: https://bit.ly/3gNTfwE * Tahirih Justice Center (https://www.tahirih.org/) founded by Layli Miller-Muro, also a guest on the Baha'i Blogcast: https://bit.ly/2QNzgDV * Excerpt from a letter from the Universal House of Justice to the Baha'is of the United States: "Ultimately, the power to transform the world is effected by love, love originating from the relationship with the divine, love ablaze among members of a community, love extended without restriction to every human being. This divine love, ignited by the Word of God, is disseminated by enkindled souls through intimate conversations that create new susceptibilities in human hearts, open minds to moral persuasion, and loosen the hold of biased norms and social systems so that they can gradually take on a new form in keeping with the requirements of humanity’s age of maturity. You are channels for this divine love; let it flow through you to all who cross your path. Infuse it into every neighborhood and social space in which you move to build capacity to canalize the society-building power of Baha’u’llah’s Revelation." * Read full letter here: https://bit.ly/3jEvsAZ, and listen to audio version here: https://bit.ly/2EQol9S 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 If you would like 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