Baha’is worldwide are acting on their belief in the oneness of humanity as the foundation for social transformation. Visit our facebook community to get more information.
“Love ye all religions and all races with a love that is true and sincere and show that love through deeds...” ~ ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
Baha’i schools across the United States offer three- to five-day programs for adults, youth and children on such themes as [ Read More ]
Study circles are regular gatherings of people interested in studying the Baha’i Writings and applying [ Read More ]
The Baha’i community places great emphasis on the moral and spiritual education of children and youth [ Read More ]
Young members of the Baha’i community are encouraged to grow in moral responsibility, often by contributing [ Read More ]
The U.S. Baha’i community has developed curricular materials for the spiritual education of children [ Read More ]
We hope you will enjoy the mix of speakers and the variety of topics discussed every Sunday here on our website [ Read More ]
Gregory Watson entered the doctoral program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) in 1987 with a Master's degree in education, acquired under the supervision of Dr. Daniel Jordan, founder of the Center for the Study of Human Potential at the University of Massachusetts. His studies in the ANISA Model focused on psychological learning processes and domain-related “competencies” (which are similar to what Harvard Professor Howard Gardner later referred to as "multiple intelligences"). At Harvard, Watson obtained a second Master’s in Education, in the context of International Development—with a dual emphasis on administration and psychological development. In that study, Watson designed and trained 70 familes to teach toddlers to read at 2nd grade level before starting school, believing that we can piggy-back literacy on the back of the critical period in brain development for early language acquistion (birth to age 3). He presented this to the Association for Baha’I Studies in 1989:
https://watsongregory.homestead.com/files/parents.html https://watsongregory.homestead.com/files/litbahai.html https://watsongregory.homestead.com/files/emp_new.htmlDuring his time at Harvard, he served for several years as a research fellow at the Harvard Institute for Development (HIID), and as a consultant to the Conflict Management Group (CMG) born out of the Program of Negotiation at the Harvard Law School. On loan from Harvard, he worked as a consultant to the U.S. Dept. of Education in Washington for summer terms as a grant reader for the Native Alaskan program and the Migrant Education Even Start program.
In 1991, Watson represented the Baha'i International Community during the launch of the World Decade for Cultural Development at the U.N., presenting the long history of Baha'i experience in cultural and community development—the Baha’is having consultative status at the U.N. as an NGO since 1970, the year Watson became Baha’i - https://watsongregory.homestead.com/files/un_talk.html In 1989, as a member of the Greater Boston Baha’i Community School Advisory Board, he outlined the curriculum framework for schools, emphasizing self-knowledge (“reality of man”) and education elements informed by the Baha’i Writings.
In his doctoral thesis, Watson combined psychology with social policy, developing a "systems model" for world citizenship education—seeing global citizenship as the moral ethic of global competency. Later he presented this as "oneness education" in China, in numerous schools, over a 3-year period (2016--2019), and for the Chinese Diaspora after returning to the United States: Joining the faculty at the University of Massachusetts while he was at Harvard, Watson taught developmental psychology in the Graduate Program for teachers.
"O My brother! When a true seeker determineth to take the step of search in the path leading unto the knowledge of the Ancient of Days, he must, before all else, cleanse his heart, which is the seat of the revelation of the inner mysteries of God, from the obscuring dust of all acquired knowledge, and the allusions of the embodiments of satanic fancy...
...When the detached wayfarer and sincere seeker hath fulfilled these essential conditions, then and only then can he be called a true seeker. Whensoever he hath fulfilled the conditions implied in the verse: 'Whoso maketh efforts for Us,' he shall enjoy the blessings conferred by the words: 'In Our Ways shall We assuredly guide him.'
Only when the lamp of search, of earnest striving, of longing desire, of passionate devotion, of fervid love, of rapture, and ecstasy, is kindled within the seeker’s heart, and the breeze of His loving-kindness is wafted upon his soul, will the darkness of error be dispelled, the mists of doubts and misgivings be dissipated, and the lights of knowledge and certitude envelop his being. At that hour will the Mystic Herald, bearing the joyful tidings of the Spirit, shine forth from the City of God resplendent as the morn, and, through the trumpet-blast of knowledge, will awaken the heart, the soul, and the spirit from the slumber of heedlessness. Then will the manifold favors and outpouring grace of the holy and everlasting Spirit confer such new life upon the seeker that he will find himself endowed with a new eye, a new ear, a new heart, and a new mind. He will contemplate the manifest signs of the universe, and will penetrate the hidden mysteries of the soul. Gazing with the eye of God, he will perceive within every atom a door that leadeth him to the stations of absolute certitude. He will discover in all things the mysteries of Divine Revelation, and the evidences of an everlasting Manifestation."
Directions to Local Baha'i Centers
