“Return, then, and cleave wholly unto God, and cleanse thine heart from the world and all its vanities, and suffer not the love of any stranger to enter and dwell therein. Not until thou dost purify thine heart from every trace of such love can the brightness of the light of God shed its radiance upon it, for to none hath God given more than one heart. This, verily, hath been decreed and written down in His ancient Book. And as the human heart, as fashioned by God, is one and undivided, it behooveth thee to take heed that its affections be, also, one and undivided. Cleave thou, therefore, with the whole affection of thine heart, unto His love, and withdraw it from the love of anyone besides Him, that He may aid thee to immerse thyself in the ocean of His unity, and enable thee to become a true upholder of His oneness.”

- Bahá’u’lláh - 

Lots of people say to their lovers “I love you with all my heart” - but in fact more appropriately they should say “I love you with all my pelvic region”. 

On day three of the purification series, we talked about the family and the tribe, which is where the love of family stems from (near the sit bones/tailbones).

On day 4 we talked about sex, creativity romantic relationships, located below the navel region around the reproductive organs, which is where romantic love stems from.

Today’s love - the love that stems from the heart, considers the love of others, humanity, society, community and most importantly, the love of God.

From the quote above “suffer not the love of any stranger to enter and dwell therein”. 

A healthy heart is one that seats God, and only God, at the center of its throne, only then can you really be able to love others, humanity, society and community, when it is stemmed from the love of God. 

“That the heart is the throne, in which the Revelation of God the All-Merciful is centered, is attested by the holy utterances which We have formerly revealed. Among them is this saying: “Earth and heaven cannot contain Me; what can alone contain Me is the heart of him that believeth in Me, and is faithful to My Cause.” How often hath the human heart, which is the recipient of the light of God and the seat of the revelation of the All-Merciful, erred from Him Who is the Source of that light and the Wellspring of that revelation.” - Bahá’u’lláh

The capacity needed to love others, stems from having God at its throne and experiencing the magnanimity of His love, and thus being able to share that magnanimity with others - alone, it’s not possible to express the full range of this love to others. 

Given there are SO MANY different forms of heart diseases, and it is by far the highest number of related mortality and morbidities in the world, it is no question that it is directly related to the belief of God, or the lack of ability to show love to others unconditionally (as God does to us), or the lack of trust in God and allowing him to reign entirely and wildly in the human sacred heart. 

Ischemic heart disease, as an example, is a narrowing of the arteries which means less blood and oxygen reaching the heart muscles.

If someone has betrayed you, and your heart literally shuts it self down as a form of protective mechanism, shielding from the pain of betrayal (natural of course), and continues to remain that way without a form of release, a form of forgiveness (not natural), the heart remains with constricted, choked levels of blood supply to your heart. 

That’s literally how physical diseases come about, from the mental and emotional pains of the mind and heart. 

Purifying the heart space is therefore vital for your LIFE. The absolute last organ to shut down when a person is to be called clinically dead. 

Sometimes the brain dies, yet the heart still lives on and keeps you in a coma state for years. The absolute last organ, the one that gives life blood to each and every other organ, is the heart. 

So when we think about how important is God in our life, The Mysterious, The Eternal, it’s literally life threatening to believe otherwise. 

If there is absolutely nothing that you purified this entire fast, or purification season, let this be the absolute ONLY thing you do. 

Because purifying the heart, the sacred heart, will influence, all the other organs, all the other functions and aspects of your life! 

Meditation 

The importance of the heart has been central to Yoga Avec Moi, so much so that we have dedicated the year October 2019 - October 2020 to celebrate the Bicentenary Birth of The Báb with the Bicentenary Meditation Project, aiming at creating 365 meditations throughout the year to 'open the heart of a person for His sake' through a meditation or to 'strengthen faith in Him and certitude in His Reality' - Him referring to either The Báb or Bahá'u'lláh. 

“For indeed if though dost open the heart of a person for His sake, better will it be for thee than every virtuous deed; since deeds are secondary to faith in Him and certitude in His Reality.” - The Báb

Follow us on The Bicentenary Meditation Project Apple iTunes Podcast, Spotify and YouTube to access these meditations, we have 427 mediations in 21 languages - we surpassed our goal by 62 meditations!

In the Baha'i Fast podcasts of 2018, one of the first meditations that we created was on the heart chakra, click on the "Read more" buton on the bottom left corner to listen to it :) Titles of the Podcasts of Interest below: 

Day 2 Jalál Glory - The Human Heart, 2018.03.03

Day 2 Jalál Glory - Heart Meditation, 2018.03.03

Reflection Questions 

1. What are some thoughts that you have that make your chest tight, or hurt, or make it difficult to breath? 

2. If you clasp your hands together behind your back, open your chest, move your shoulder blades back to touch one another, what emotions, and sensations arise in your chest? Breathe deeply for a few moments and see if you notice anything.

3. What are the ‘constricting thoughts’ and beliefs that you have that hinder the natural flow of the heart? Racism, Sexism, Prejudices etc. all thoughts that counter the natural physical and spiritual Law and Order endowed by God counts, familiarity with them is vital and a good deepening opportunity if the distinction is not clear. 

Prayer 

“Behold Thou mine eye expectant to gaze on the wonders of Thy mercy, and mine ear longing to hearken unto Thy sweet melodies, and my heart yearning for the living waters of Thy knowledge. Thou seest Thy handmaiden, O my God, standing before the habitation of Thy mercy, and calling upon Thee by Thy name which Thou hast chosen above all other names and set up over all that are in heaven and on earth. Send down upon her the breaths of Thy mercy, that she may be carried away wholly from herself, and be drawn entirely towards the seat which, resplendent with the glory of Thy face, sheddeth afar the radiance of Thy sovereignty, and is established as Thy throne. Potent art Thou to do what Thou willest. No God is there beside Thee, the All-Glorious, the Most Bountiful. 
Cast not out, I entreat Thee, O my Lord, them that have sought Thee, and turn not away such as have directed their steps towards Thee, and deprive not of Thy grace all that love Thee. Thou art He, O my Lord, Who hath called Himself the God of Mercy, the Most Compassionate. Have mercy, then, upon Thy handmaiden who hath sought Thy shelter, and set her face towards Thee. 

Thou art, verily, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.”

—Bahá’u’lláh

Now that we are 6 days into the Purification series, I would love to hear some feedback on how these blogs have been for you? Have you found them helpful, are they assisting you in the fast? 

Is there anything in particular that you found enlightening and wish you had more of? 

Let us know in the comments below :) 

Tomorrows Day 7’s purification series will be focusing on our powers of expression and individual ability to express our souls truth. 

Share the link below if you have friends that might enjoy these purification series as well as would be interested in receiving updates about the Bicentenary Meditation Project, people who meditate together, stay spiritually connected consciously together forever ;)

Themes of the remainder

of the 19 Days of Purifications

The Seven Chakras 
7. Power of expression 
8. Inner sight/seeing 
9. Connecting with the divine 

The Three Kriyas, 
10. Self Study, 
11. Fortitude 
12. Surrender 

The Five Koshas 
13. Physical 
14. Energetic 
15. Mental/Emotional 
16. The Witness
17. Bliss Body 

18. Summary 
19. Maintaining purification

To receive personal updates on classes, workshops of Nahal that she doesn't share anywhere else, get on her mailing list on her website www.yogaavecmoi.com/subscribe

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Introduction to the Author 

作者简介

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Nahal Haghbin's Chinese name is Chen Nana, a Canadian-born foreigner who grew up in Tianjin, China. She is an Integrative Yoga Therapist (IAYT) in training. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Life Sciences from the University of British Columbia and a Master's degree in Control of Infectious Diseases from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. In 2014, Nahal worked with the World Health Organization on the H7N9, MERS-CoV and Ebola global outbreaks whilst serving in the Assistant Director General's Office Taskforce. It was her teenage experience of SARS in 2003, that led her to choose her eventual profession and future career in the control of infectious disease outbreaks. 

作者简介：Nahal Haghbin 中文名字：陈娜娜，出生于加拿大，在中国天津长大的外籍人士。她是一名在训的综合瑜伽理疗师（IAYT），她拥有英国哥伦比亚大学生命科学学士学位和伦敦卫生及热带医学院传染病控制科学硕士学位。2014年，Nahal与世界卫生组织合作处理H7N9、MERS-CoV和埃博拉全球疫情，同时在助理总干事办公室工作组任职。正是2003年她十几岁时的非典经历，让她最终选择了她未来的职业方向：控制传染病的爆发

Nahal has found that she can best be of service to mankind by combining her passions of global health and integrative yoga therapy. To her, both serve as complementary systems of knowledge to interpret the world around her. Nahal has found that by bridging the two disciplines, it broadens the availability of language and understanding that she can access, to share her interpretations of various health conditions. 

Nahal发现她能结合自己对全球健康和综合瑜伽理疗的热情，为人类提供最好的服务。对她来说两者是互为补充的知识系统，可以用来帮她解读周围的世界。Nahal发现连接这两个学科拓宽了语言和理解的可用性，使她能够分享她对不同疾病的理解.