’Idál, 03 Qawl (Speech), 178 B.E.

Seen

My sister’s Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) is starting to bloom …

Obviously, I’m keeping it out of harm’s way (along with her geraniums)!

Done

Prep work in the kitchen getting ready for the upcoming Thanksgiving cook-a-thon: pie dough, bread, pulled pork (not everyone likes turkey!), sweet potatoes, baked butternut squash for pumpkin pie (who knew?!). Should be a fun (and filling) time tomorrow! Definitely a lot to be thankful for …

Noted

Astral Prospecting on Instagram and Astral Prospecting on Facebook

Marc Bosserman on Instagram Marc Bosserman on Facebook, and Marc Bosserman Music and Musings on YouTube

Tab’s Galaxy on YouTube (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) ASMR Different Hand Sounds

Quoted

To visit ‘Akká—this was the ardent desire of every early American Bahá’í. Not a few braved the long and difficult journey to that prison-city of the Ottoman Empire, half a world away. They did not speak of meeting with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; their journey was to “attain the presence of the Master.” Some 108 persons are officially listed in The Bahá’í Centenary as having made the pilgrimage by 1912. Probably there were more. But the vast majority of Western Bahá’ís had not seen ‘Abdu’l-Bahá before his historic tour of Europe and America in 1911-1912.

And so, from the time of the first Western pilgrimage sponsored by Phoebe Hearst in 1898-1899, it became the custom for returning pilgrims to recreate their experiences for their fellow believers. Members of the Hearst party returned with recordings of the voices of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and his sister, Bahíyyih Khánum, the Greatest Holy Leaf; they brought back photographs of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the other members of the Household; they reverently displayed relics related in some way to the person of their Master; they gave numerous talks about their experiences. Several of them also left written accounts of the trip.

Thus began the genre of Bahá’í literature that has come to be known as pilgrim’s notes. … 1

In Galilee by Thornton Chase, and In Wonderland by Arthur Agnew, are among a few pilgrim’s notes — such as those of Juliet Thompson and May Maxwell — which give well written descriptive accounts of their time in ‘Akká. This booklet is also distinguished by the high quality photographs of the Holy Land not found in most similar publications. The two essays were combined under a single cover by the Bahai Publishing Society because they recount the story of the same pilgrimage. 2

My sister and brother-in-law recently relocated and chose to donate several books in their library rather than move them. Many of these volumes are not well-known, but due to the topics they cover and the manner in which their authors explore them, they warrant a nod of recognition before being sent on their way. Accordingly, most quotes referenced in the “Quoted” section come from these books. Maybe they will stir (or renew) your interest, too.

  1. Chase, Thornton, and Arthur S. Agnew. In Galilee. Edited by Richard Hollinger, 1st ed, Kalimat Press, 1985, v-vi. [return]
  2. Ibid, vii. [return]