Why Bahá'í Coaching

A few years ago…

My local assembly from New York visited the National Center on a special visit. During that visit someone from the Office of Community Administration met with us and said that the Bahai community is plagued with every problem and challenge that the wider community faces.

I was broken hearted to learn this. I supposed I was hoping we would somehow be protected from some of it. But no…none of us are.

I remember when I first became a Baha'i and I heard over and over again how Abdu'l Baha would tell the believers to “Be Happy” I was pretty young at the time and remember how delighted I felt that God wanted us to be happy. 

However, after living a few more decades and going through the life cycle I realize what a tall order it is to be happy in the face of all of life’s adversity, challenges and difficulties. And yet Abdul Baha wanted us to be happy regardless of those life circumstances just as he had in the prisons of Akka for 40 years.

In 2014 I became aware of the field of positive psychology. I discovered that there is actually growing evidence-based science of human happiness and flourishing. Remembering Abdul-Baha’s wish for us to be happy, I felt it was my mission to learn as much as I could and offer some gems of what I have learned to the Baha’i Community.