1.1 THREE-MONTH REVIEW

First review, first year on Substack

From a two-winged approach

What have I learned from reflection on action in this first three-month mark on Substack?

First, a few numbers:

• 19 published articles

• 99 subscribers

• 53% open rate

• 1.02K views in the past month

• 3 paid subscribers (not activated; thank you, dear ones)

I don’t quite know what the numbers mean except for the promising nature of the endeavor.

I have found Substack an effective platform for expressing self in writing and according to the heart’s desire. Like nearly all people on Substack, at least from the comments I have seen over and over again on the app, the feeling of the person on Substack is a genuine happiness, even relief, in finding ‘‘a like-minded community’’ of people who want to write honestly from their hearts. In the realm of thought and cyberspace, it is an encouraging sign. When we consider how we are all energy, how our reality is our thought, and how the essential reality of the universe is spiritual, according to science and religion, we can only imagine what potentially thrilling consciousness is being created by the sharing of thoughts together. The only thing that I would like to figure out how to do is how to best engage with the 99 subscribers in a way that would enable me to learn from them. Anyone who has experience on Substack, welcome to share a tip.

The majority of the 99 subscribers have come from one source, and I wish to thank this source for recommending my Substack on her platform, Dr. Sabba Quidwai, co-founder of Designing Schools. Dr. Quidwai and her team are becoming leaders in the field of education and learning how to build innovative, human-centered cultures of empathy and design thinking as their ‘‘secret weapon’’ to being irreplaceable in a world with AI. I admire how Design Thinking is embracing full-on the tough questions centered on justice, empathy, and ethics in the field of education and AI. For those interested, welcome to check out Dr. Quidwai’s recently published book, How to Become Irreplaceable in an AI-Driven World (2024). Thank you, Dr. Sabba Quidwai, and your contacts.

The remaining subscribers are made up of dear family members and friends, new and old, and new people who have come from Facebook, LinkedIn, or Substack. Hello, and welcome! A special honor to the very first subscriber, my brother, Randy. You are the best.

Thank you all for kindness in showing care and support. It really means a lot to me.

Colonnade of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice

A LEARNING

What have I learned regarding the content that was produced?

I learned that the heart speaks the truth. This, to me, is the most valuable expression for any human being—to speak from the heart. I wrote most of the articles in spontaneous creativity, moved by the spirit through a coherence of the heart and mind, a heart and mind shaped by my unique creation, background, culture, values, knowledge, and experiential learning of life from exploration and the application of knowledge.

A question that I have is, when will I be ready to set about a more structured approach to producing something that is more of a fruit, which would entail looking at a series of topics under a theme and those themes under an overarching theme? (A heart’s desire). For sure, something important is percolating in this path about fundamental matters—the search for truth, justice, peace, unity, the human heart, the love of learning, the oneness of humanity, health and wellbeing, and transformation, all in the realm of spirituality, education, love, and service to humanity.

I guess I am learning, too, to ‘‘be content with the will of the Organic process.’’ Not always easy!

CLOSING

I thought it might be a nice ending to list the titles of the 19 articles in this first three-month cycle on Substack and offer a musical piece as a way to conclude. Hope you enjoy the beautiful music.

I have a final big research project to write for the completion of my applied positive psychology program through The School of Positive Psychology in Singapore due in three weeks’ time. I look forward to writing another post at the end of the month or in February.

Best wishes to all!

Three-months of heart-sharing, from most recent to first (numbers should be 19-1):

1. 2025 New Year Resolutions: Understanding, joy, and cooperation and reciprocity

2. Warm Seasons Greetings: In an age of transition

3. In a State of Transformation: Coinciding with education

4. The Sanctuary of the Human Heart: A profound subject to open up

5. Applied Positive Psychology: Blazing the path of the love of learning

6. Blazing a New Path: Spiritual scientists breaking from the current models

7. Evolutionary Spiritual Development: Inherent in creation

8. A Love that Has No End: The diversity of our creation, yet in our infinite oneness of spiritual reality

9. A Bird is Born: From a Mindfulness Psychology course

10. A Requirement for Truth-Seeking: Detachment from all acquired knowledge in a posture of learning

11. Spirituality and Service: Places of worship for all and community building with all

12. A Constant Moral Choice, Thoughts and Emotions: The call to action

13. Humanity’s Look Within: Assessing human character at a heart level

14. Justice Begins Within: An inner exploration

15. Heart-Mind Coherence: The next stage of human evolution

16. Beginning a New Kind of Communication Skills: From the two wings of the bird, science and religion

17. A Great Chapter Being Written: Writing the future through the application of knowledge

18. A Midnight Love: A lover’s sacrifice

19. A Two-winged Approach: A test try; learning how to post

Musical piece, ‘‘Dans Ma Memoire’’, Amethyste.

An educational approach directed towards personal growth and societal transformation, and based on the belief that human beings are essentially spiritual, however, must go well beyond a mere statement of purpose. When words and actions are not directed by a moral force, scientific knowledge and technological know-how conduce as readily to misery as they do to prosperity and happiness. But moral values are not mere constructs of social processes. Rather, they are expressions of the inner forces that operate in the spiritual reality of every human being, and education must concern itself with these forces if it is to tap the roots of motivation and produce meaningful and lasting change.

—Bahá’í International Community, 1989 Jan 02, Position Statement on Education.