Melting a stone block, breaking a crystal case

Religion = Authenticity in all relationships.

The purpose of power is to protect the weak, as a parent to a child, a sovereign to his subjects.

We have tamed and harnessed nearly every power in the universe (albeit on a smaller scale) but the power to transmute and purify the human heart is still beyond our reach.

"I have desired only what Thou didst desire and love only what Thou dost love."
More than expression of a wish, it is a statement that all I have ever loved and desired in my life has been for God and because of God. The definition of love and desire is: love and desire for the things of God.

God is not limited or conditioned by His creation's ability to grasp or understand Him. What is said about Him in Holy Books and Scriptures is for our benefit, not His, and descriptions of Him evolve in refinement and complexity as our capacity grows and our understanding evolves.

Apologizing is the act of placing someone else above our shame. Forgiveness is placing the other above our pride.

Character building in children includes making them experience that which is beneficial to them. In this sense, one does not teach a child, one trains a child as a living being. The child will react in his or her unique way to the experience. The art of parenting is a dynamic interplay between how a child reacts and giving that child what they need in light of their past reactions.

Papyrus collection

I visited the Egyptian exhibition at the German State Museum in Berlin a week ago (on the Birth of Baha'u'llah in fact) and I was deeply impressed by the artistry of their sculptures. What literally took my breath away however was the papyrus collection. I walked into this room, one of the last of the exhibition, completely unprepared for what I was about to feel. An overpowering sense of awe and wonderment at the timelessness of the written word, of its power to move, transform and preserve civilizations. One day it will also be all that is left of us, and yet it will still be alive and meaningful.

What does your Birth date mean?

This is eerily accurate.

Your Birthdate: October 1

You are a natural born leader, even if those leadership talents haven't been developed yet. You have the power and self confidence to succeed in life, and your power grows daily. Besides power, you also have a great deal of creativity that enables you to innovate instead of fail. You are a visionary, seeing the big picture instead of all of the trivial little details. Your strength: Your supreme genius Your weakness: Your inappropriate sensitivity Your power color: Gold Your power symbol: Star Your power month: January

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Parents make a great birthday present

Mom and Dad just left after spending two wonderful weeks with me. Having them here was the best birthday present ever. Not to mention they turned my apartment into a proper home.
Now it's back to focusing on work. I have also resolved not to do so much pondering about the world and more living in it. There'll be plenty of time for pondering later but right now I need more data (scientifically speaking).

Working to music

Today I got a bunch of new music (mostly classical, devotional music) from my Mom. It's great to work to. I've missed working. This week was productive of quality but not quantity. Spent a lot of time with my parents who are only here for two weeks. Still, being given time to drown out the world and focus exclusively on my work is an opportunity that brings me joy and gratitude. Today has been better that way. And I feel my headache beginning to recede, for which I'm also grateful.

That's all for today. Just thought my many readers deserved some update. ;)

What is physics?

This passage from an article written by John J. Hopfield, who served as President of the American Physical Society in 2006, is a beautiful summary of "what is physics". I hope you enjoy reading it and come to understand a little bit more of the world I get to play in every day. :)

What is physics? To me—growing up with a father and mother both of whom were physicists—physics was not subject matter. The atom, the troposphere, the nucleus, a piece of glass, the washing machine, my bicycle, the phonograph, a magnet—these were all incidentally the subject matter. The central idea was that the world is understandable, that you should be able to take anything apart, understand the relationships between its constituents, do experiments, and on that basis be able to develop a quantitative understanding of its behavior. Physics was a point of view that the world around us is, with effort, ingenuity, and adequate resources, understandable in a predictive and reasonably quantitative fashion. Being a physicist is a dedication to a quest for this kind of understanding.

—John J. Hopfield, APS News, 16 (8), Aug/Sep 2007, p.8.

The privilege of education

Yesterday I read the Universal House of Justice's 9 Sep 2007 letter to the Baha'i youth of Iran who are still denied access to higher education. It brought tears to my eyes. The simple fact that I can be where I am and do what I do is something not everyone can have and for that, I should be deeply grateful and exert every effort to ensure that I make the most of the opportunity I've been given.