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Justice's Homeschooling Journal Mishkin's Journal about Teaching Chess to Justice The Institutes For the Achiement of Human Potential
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Unity Prayers: “God grant that the light of unity may envelop the whole earth,
and that the seal, 'the Kingdom is God's', may be stamped upon the brow
of all its peoples.” Holy Writings: “The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens.” “Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch.” “So powerful is the light of unity that it can illumine the whole
earth.” Affirmation: “I am part of God’s universe. I welcome differences. I will
not support prejudice. I am a peacemaker. I care for the earth and all
living things.” Stories: “The Christian Merchant” a story about 'Abdu'l-Bahá There was a Christian merchant in `Akka who, like many of his fellow-citizens,
held the Baha'is in scant respect. It happened that he came upon a load
of charcoal which some of the Baha'is had been permitted to buy outside
`Akka. (Inside the town they were denied such purchases.) The merchant,
noticing that the fuel was of a fine grade, took it for his own use. For
him Baha'is were beyond the pale, and so their goods could be impounded.
When 'Abdu'l-Bahá heard of the incident, He went to the place where
the merchant transacted his business to ask for the return of the charcoal.
There wer many people about in that office, bent on their trade, and they
took no notice of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. He sat and waited. Three hours
passed before the merchant turned to Him and said: "Are you one of
the prisoners in this town?" 'Abdu'l-Bahá said that He was,
and the merchant then enquired: "What was the crime for which you
were imprisoned?" 'Abdu'l-Bahá replied: "The same crime
for which Christ was indicted." The merchant was taken aback. He
was a Christian, and here was a man speaking of similarity between His
action and the action of Christ. "What could you know of Christ?"
was his retort. 'Abdu'l-Bahá calmly proceeded to tell him. The
arrogance of the merchant was confronted by the patience of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
When 'Abdu'l-Bahá rose to go, the merchant also rose and walked
with Him into the street, betokening his respect for this Man - one of
the detested prisoners. From then on, he was a friend, even more, a stout
supporter.' But regarding the charcoal, the merchant could only say, 'The
coal is gone, - I cannot return you that, but here is the money.' “Can We Play With You?” By Merrill E. Muttart. Two children go all over the world asking if they can play with other children. No one speaks their language, and they do not understand each other. They conclude that other children in other parts of the world must not be very friendly. Then they learn that there could be a universal language. Using it they discover that the other children can understand them. (It is assumed in the story that English will be the universal language). “The Bundle of Sticks”, from Thoughts: Education for Peace and One World. p 292-3. “Quick as a Cricket”, by Audrey Wood, illustrated by Don Wood – a child goes through a journey of imaginative instances of identifying his own qualities with those of different animals in their natural environments. Is about the unity of all created things and our reflection of all the attributes of God. “We All Sing With the Same Voice”, by J. Philip Miller and Sheppard M. Greene, Illustrated by Paul Meisel – A round-the-world look at children of different cultures “singing with the same voice.” Encourages strong sense of identification through phrases like “My name’s Amanda Sue. I’m called Kareem Abdu. My name is you.” “People” by Peter Spier – Incredibly dense and diverse drawings illustrate the diversity of the world’s people. “All the Colors We Are” by Katie Kissinger, Photographs by Wernher Krutein – explains scientifically why we have different colors of skin. “Two Eyes A Nose and a Mouth” by Roberta Grobel Intrater – a photo essay on the diversity of humanity. Songs: "God is One, man is One, and all the religions are one. Land and sea, hill and valley, under the beautiful sun." "Ye are drops of one ocean. All the earth is but one country. Game: Three-legged race Activity: Coloring page from Ruhi Book 3 “So powerful is the light of unity that it can illumine the whole earth.” |