Back in about September of last year I went to the Ubuntu LoCo Birthday Bash in Lakeland, and met a nice woman named Kimberly who had recently changed her eating habits and was glowing! I wasn’t glowing, and actually feeling quite horrible about my eating habits, so she decided to share her “secret.” She had actually gone to a gym, picked up a ‘First for Women’ magazine, and found this article:
She was feeling great, looked great, and it was all because she was eating nothing but raw, plant-based foods. I think that’s pretty amazing.
I started reading The China Study yesterday, and the concept is the same throughout the book. Pretty much, stick to raw plant-based food, and avoid animal proteins. I know that T. Colin Campbell, the doctor who wrote the book, would probably be peeved by the fact I’m even associating his book with something “fad dietish,” but I think if it’s done right, there could be some good results.
The American Baha’i for January and February had an article inside of it about the Orlando Baha’i Center and I wanted to post it sort of as a ‘follow up’ to my earlier posts about the fire:
“With prayer, drumming and song, Baha’is in Orlando, Florida, celebrated the Anniversary of the Birth of Baha’u'llah the evening of Nov. 11.
But where their beloved Baha’i Center once stood was a tent erected by the Orlando Spiritual Assembly.
The Center, a community fixture since 1974, was destroyed in a series of fires that began early Oct. 25.
A homeless man had been arrested on three counts of second-degree arson in connection with the fires.
Praise and thanks were uppermost in mind, however, as about 60 people gathered Nov. 11 to observe the Holy Day.
Praise to God for giving humanity Baha’u'llah. Thanks for the firefighters’ efforts to save the Center.
Thanks, too, for the even greater unity enjoyed by area Baha’is since the Center burned.
“it’s brought people together,” an Orlando Sentinel article on the celebration quoted Kelsey Vargas, the Assembly’s corresponding secretary, as saying. “You become stronger.”
Two people made immediate inquiries about the Faith after viewing news coverage of the fires, according to the National Teaching Office.
One seeker said she was “so impressed by how the Baha’i responded in the news about this terrible event. She seemed so calm and grateful.” The woman said she and her husband went online to learn more about the Faith and she immediately identified with it’s teachings. “I have believed these things all my life, and I had no idea there were others who believed like I do,” she related. “I want to attend some activities in my area.”
The Assembly’s main goal in response to the fire, Vargas told The Assembly’s main goal in response to the fire, Vargas told The American Baha’i, was to “just help the friends feel comforted and united.”
Just as important, she said, the Assembly wants the friends to know “that the physical structure burning down is in no way going to impede our teaching. It can only help us feel more engaged and charged up.”"
This morning, the 2nd fire in three days broke out at the Orlando Baha’i Center, leaving it as a total loss. Reports say it’s likely that an arsonist is to blame. Many Baha’i’s from the local community came out for the second time this morning to observe as the demolition team started to knock down the historic structure that served as a gathering place and place of worship.
This historic house, surrounded by commercial buildings, was built in approximately 1918, and had one family of occupants before it was bought by the local Baha’is in 1982. The family who previously owned the property came out to bid their farewells to this beautiful structure, as well. 87-year-old Edward Young gave his testimony of how he felt about the destroyed facility/house:
Edward Young was born in this house in 1920, where he preceded to spend most of his childhood. His father had built the house a few years prior to his birth. The oak tree celebrating his life, planted on the left side of the structure, had also been burnt badly in this second fire.
The Baha’is picked this house specifically because it had loving energy, and continued to upkeep this love along with the material needs of the home.
“…the more you strive to extinguish, the more will the flame be kindled…” -’Abdu’l-Bahá
This morning, the 2nd fire in three days broke out at the 
