Episode 54: Sean Hinton (pt 2): Fathers, Loss, and Life's Lessons

Hello and welcome to the Baha’i Blogcast with me your host, Rainn Wilson. In this series of podcasts I interview members of the Baha’i Faith and friends from all over the world about their hearts, and minds, and souls, their spiritual journeys, what they’re interested in, and what makes them tick. In this episode, I catch up with Sean Hinton again (here's part 1 of our conversation in case you missed it: https://bit.ly/2YMdi8x), and sadly, this second conversation takes place after the passing of my father, Robert Wilson. Sean asks about my dad, and we talk about loss, Baha'i funerals, and about our fathers and our upbringing. We also discuss the importance of community building, teaching the Baha'i Faith, careers, and how 'what' we do is not as important as 'how' we do it. I hope you find part 2 of our conversation as interesting and insightful as I did. To find out more about some of the things we covered in this episode, check out the following: * Here's part 1 of my conversation with Sean Hinton: https://bit.ly/2YMdi8x * Find out more about my father, Robert Wilson, and his art from his website: https://www.robertwilsonart.com/ * Prayer for the Dead by Baha'u'llah: https://bit.ly/3b1QGWB * Sean works at the Open Society Foundation: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/ * Adib Taherzadeh (https://bit.ly/31xNMFP). Listen to a series of his talks here: https://bit.ly/3hNbkvW * The Kitab-i-Iqan (The Book of Certitude): https://bit.ly/2G4XCGV * The Dawn-Breakers: https://bit.ly/2QBUynP * I share this prayer: "He is God! O peerless Lord! Praised be Thou for having kindled that light in the glass of the Concourse on high, for having guided that bird of faithfulness to the nest of the Abhá Kingdom. Thou hast joined that precious river to the mighty sea, Thou hast returned that spreading ray of light to the Sun of Truth. Thou hast welcomed that captive of remoteness into the garden of reunion, and led him who longed to look upon Thee to Thy presence in Thy bright place of lights. Thou art the Lord of tender love, Thou art the last goal of the yearning heart, Thou art the dearest wish of the martyr’s soul." —Abdu’l‑Baha * Obligatory Prayer: https://bit.ly/2G8qIW1 * The Tablet of Ahmad: https://bit.ly/2EBipkW * Baha'i pilgrimage: https://bit.ly/3jpEUbv * Ali Nakhjavani: https://bit.ly/3gxL9bq * The Universal House of Justice: https://bit.ly/2YIGT2N * Sean shares the following quote by Abdu'l-Baha: "Work done in the spirit of service is the highest form of worship..." * Study Circles (https://bit.ly/31AS4fM) and the Ruhi sequence of courses: https://bit.ly/31AUcUM * Sean talks about our twofold moral purpose: https://bit.ly/3biyIiR *Sean shares this quotation by Baha'u'llah: "That seeker must, at all times, put his trust in God, must renounce the peoples of the earth, must detach himself from the world of dust, and cleave unto Him Who is the Lord of Lords. He must never seek to exalt himself above anyone, must wash away from the tablet of his heart every trace of pride and vainglory, must cling unto patience and resignation, observe silence and refrain from idle talk. For the tongue is a smoldering fire, and excess of speech a deadly poison. Material fire consumeth the body, whereas the fire of the tongue devoureth both heart and soul. The force of the former lasteth but for a time, whilst the effects of the latter endureth a century." * Baha'i Chair for World Peace: http://www.bahaichair.umd.edu/ * Dr. Hoda Mahmoudi: https://bit.ly/2G8ZOxe * The Promise of World Peace: https://bit.ly/34FrkN9 Be sure to subscribe to the Baha’i Blogcast for more episodes on: * YouTube: http://bit.ly/2JTNmBO * iTunes: http://apple.co/2leHPHL * Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bahaiblogcast * Spotify: http://spoti.fi/2IXRAnb If you would like to find out more about the Baha'i Faith visit BAHAI.ORG, and for more great Baha'i-inspired content, check out: http://bahaiblog.net/ Thanks for listening! -Rainn Wilson