A Baha'i Perspective

A Baha'i who grew up in the projects in Detroit and family was her life, and once she became a Baha'i it broadened her view to be world embracing.

Fereshteh grew up in a Baha'i family in Iran until she was 15. Her family decided to leave Iran to serve the Baha'i Faith elsewhere and ended up in El Paso, Texas. Fereshteh married an American and had an opportunity to return to Iran with her new family by way of her husband's company. While in Iran, she completed her four year college degree. She and her family returned to the US in 1976 and she continued her education, getting her PhD in psychology. Her thesis was on the psychology of martyrdom, which we talk about in the interview.

Alejandro is a Baha'i from LA. He grew up in Nicarauga. He talks about growing up in a very Catholic country and what it was like being a Baha'i in that environment. He reads some of his poetry at the end of the interview. I apologize for the sound quality. I didn't get the balance right between his voice and mine.

Parvaneh grew up in Iran prior to the Islamic Revolution. She shares with us what was life like growing up as a Baha'i in a country that is very prejudiced against the religion.

Sandy is a professional musician who has a CD called Prayers that you can find on iTunes. I include a couple of songs during the interview and I play two more of Sandy's songs after the close of the interview.

Lillie is a 90 year old woman who became a Baha'i in the 60s in the south as a result of her son becoming a Baha'i. She talks about the effects of segregation on the Baha'i community at that time. You can hear her son, Rick, in the background helping Lillie in the interview.

Red is a professional musician with a focus on family music. He has released award winning CDs such as his classic recording Teaching Peace. We include several of Red's songs in the interview and along with his commentary. Red's website is RedGrammer.com.

Gail describes her life growing up and also in Estonia where she went after getting married. She worked with the elderly after returning from Estonia. She is now working on two books, one about her work with terminal patients and the other about her father, Fletcher Bennett. She shares excerpts from these in the interview.

Joanne describes how she almost became a Christian minister until she met her husband in seminary school. After becoming a Baha'i she and her family have lived in the Crow Creek reservation in South Dakota, South Carolina, Samoa, Fiji, Hawaii, the Navajo Reservation, and Maine; plus traveling in Siberia and plans to travel in Greenland.

a professional musician and a teacher of music at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood. His website is Jamie Findlay.com.

For the 1st 20 years of Mary Helen's life, she grew up near a small historically black college associated with the Texas A&M system. Then she became a Baha'i. After that, Mary Helen finds her self in Samoa, Hawaii, Guam, Saipan, the Navajo Indian Nation, and Africa.

Deborah is a Canada Research Chair, and professor at St. Thomas University. She is the author of three books: The Widowed Self: The Older Woman's Journey Through Widowhood; By Himself: The Older Man's Experience of Widowhood; and Equality of Women and Men: The Experience of the Baha'i Community of Canada which she is co-author with her husband Will.

Darlene is a painter from Canada. We discuss her painting and the source for her inspiration. You can find her work at onemoon.ca.

Michael did a stint at the Brookings Institue before getting his PhD in Economics. He now teaches economics at Pamona College in California. In this interview we talk about the economic teachings of the Baha'i Faith.

Judy is a retired social worker who specialized in hospice care. She is also the author of two children's books, The Elegant Osa Bearly and The Gift. We discussed how the Baha'i principles on the soul and life after death helped her in her work in hospice care.