“And whatever member of the human body is deficient, produceth a deficiency in the other members. The brain is connected with the heart and stomach, the lungs are connected with all the members. So is it with the other members of the body.”

- ‘Abdu’l-Bahá -

Ever wonder why having a six-pack/eight-pack abs is so attractive and coveted by many? 

Because it governs the region that dictates our personal will power. 

The solar plexus, right above the navel beneath your rib cage, is the energetic center where thought is digested (broken down in the stomach), where you receive nourishment (intestines) and exercise overall personal power. 

If you generally have trouble accepting new ideas such as breaking down thoughts, processing, it is likely you have discomfort in this region.

Have you ever felt like someone sucker punched you in the stomach? 

Literally stealing away your personal sense of power to act, just by their words alone? 

That is the unconscious part of you that surrenders the personal power to another, blindly believing in the things that other people label on to you, and believing that it is true - don’t worry~ it happens to the best of us at one point or another in our lives! We just gotta work at it with our discernment. 

Vampires are a folklore creature that live off of other people’s blood.

Symbolically representing the archetype of that to regular humans, are people who live off the power of others, the life-force of another.

The first place that people will exercise this ‘taking’, is from your personal will power center, they will make you give it to them, control you by withholding love or affection to kowtow to their will to get what they want - sound familiar?

We all have people like this in our life, and we might even be one of those people from time to time depending on our mental state, it’s ok, hey it happens from time to time! 

This is where I praise God for the daily obligatory prayer, which is absolutely amazing to protect us from crossing that line!

From the Long Obligatory Prayer in the Baha’i writings, it says 

“By Thy might! My trespasses have kept me back from drawing nigh unto Thee; and my sins have held me far from the court of Thy holiness.” - Bahá’u’lláh 

I believe these trespasses mean the crossing of our will onto another, otherwise, how could even a professional burglar trespass on peoples territory every single day? Don’t they like require some sort of planning or something? 

I’m sure there are meanings seventy and two for each writing. 

“Every knowledge hath seventy meanings, of which one only is known amongst the people.” - Bahá’u’lláh, The Kitáb-i-Íqán

But given that it’s the obligatory prayer, one that is recited daily, we are more likely to force our opinions, and thoughts, and ideas onto other people, either consciously, or unconsciously, more often than a house invasion, that’s just how I understand it! 

What about you? What are your reflections on this? I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts on the meaning of ‘trespass’ in this piece of writing in the Long Obligatory Prayer~ Let me know in the comments below :)

It’s important to understand where you stand in your personal will power because whether or not we are brave enough, courageous enough to overcome our obstacles, for this particular purification series, dictates the purification of what is in our way to get to where we want to go, which is vital for our ability to exercise our will power and live unbound - the gift that God granted only to us humans! 

Reflection Questions 

1. Have you noticed a particular pattern/time/person where you lost your ability to stand your ground and act according to your own will rather than another? And felt imposed upon?

2. What is one thing, that when you think about it, it makes your stomach hurt? Reflect on why. 

3. What are particular life circumstances or changes of plan that make it difficult for you to accept more than others? 

4. Who are some people that suck the lifeblood out of you? Reflect on whether or not they serve your highest good or deter you from following your spiritual quest. 

Prayer 

“O Thou peerless and loving Lord! Though capacity and worthiness are lacking, and it is infinitely hard to withstand tribulations, yet worthiness and capacity are gifts vouchsafed by Thee. O Lord! Give us capacity and make us worthy, that we may evince the most great steadfastness, renounce this world and all its people, kindle the fire of Thy love, and even as candles, burn bright with a consuming flame and shed abroad our radiance.”

—‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Tomorrows purification series will be focusing on our beautiful heart space! Share the link below if your have friends that might enjoy these purification series, people who reflect together, stay together ;)

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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.