Falling Into Grace

From Bahaiworks
Falling Into Grace  (1999) by Justice St Rain
The Trials and Triumphs of Becoming a Bahá’í

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Contents[edit]

Falling Into Grace, Part 1

Understanding the Process of Transformation
Good Change/Bad Change Your Habits Don’t Care
Culture Shock
The First Stage
The Second Stage
The Third Stage
The Fourth Stage
Mixed Blessings: Sources of Shock


The Blessings of Community

The Structure of the Community
The Blessing of Scale
The Blessings of Space
The Blessings of Diversity
Finding Your Place in the Community
The Two Arms of the Administrative Order
Dealing with Authority
Stepping through the Mirror
Nineteen Day Feast
The Bahá’í Calendar
Bahá’í Holidays and Your Family
The Bahá’í Funds
If you want more money, invest in God
Getting Used to the People of the Community
Maintaining Your Sense of Self In the Presence of Strong Personalities
Dealing with Disappointment
Taking Offense
Love in the Community
Spending Time with the Community
Pre-Bahá’í Relationships
Bahá’í Lingo
Section Summary


Falling Into Grace Part 2

Struggling with Shame
What is a mature relationship with Law?
Shame in the Bahá’í Community
How Shame Works
Shame Spirals
Alternatives to Perfectionis
A Few Words about Forgiveness
My Favorite Quotations about Forgiveness
Intimacy as a Tool for Healing Shame
Putting Law into perspective — A Parable
A Word about the Covenant


The Blessing of Principles

Walking the Mazes


The Blessing of Laws

Four Kinds of Laws Squared
Wrestling with Laws We Don’t Understand
  1. Understanding laws written for people at different developmental levels
  2. Understanding laws that take an indirect approach to a problem
  3. Understanding laws that take a pragmatic approach to a problem
  4. Understanding laws that take a spiritual rather than a logical approach
  5. Understanding laws that take a global rather than a Western approach


Living the Life

Meditate on the Afterlife
Study the Holy Writings
Pray
Meditiate
To Live the Life — “Be As I Am.”
Appendix 1 — Analyzing Our Trouble Spots
Principles
Analyzing Our Trouble Spots - Laws
Appendix 2 — Especially Troubling Laws
Women on the Universal House of Justice
Homosexuality — Unhealthy, Not Evil
Acknowledgement