35th Annual Conference
Transforming Habits of Thought

In its 28 December 2010 message to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors, the Universal House of Justice drew attention to habits of thought which must be developed and those which must be overcome for the Bahá’í community to realize its vision.  The Association for Bahá’í Studies invites participants to contribute to the exploration of these habits of thought at its 35th annual conference.

 The House of Justice wrote:

Apart from the spiritual requisites of a sanctified Bahá’í life, there are habits of thought that affect the unfoldment of the global Plan, and their development has to be encouraged at the level of culture. There are tendencies, as well, that need to be gradually overcome. Many of these tendencies are reinforced by approaches prevalent in society at large, which, not altogether unreasonably, enter into Bahá’í activity. The magnitude of the challenge facing the friends in this respect is not lost on us. They are called upon to become increasingly involved in the life of society, benefiting from its educational programmes, excelling in its trades and professions, learning to employ well its tools, and applying themselves to the advancement of its arts and sciences. At the same time, they are never to lose sight of the aim of the Faith to effect a transformation of society, remoulding its institutions and processes, on a scale never before witnessed. To this end, they must remain acutely aware of the inadequacies of current modes of thinking and doing—this, without feeling the least degree of superiority, without assuming an air of secrecy or aloofness, and without adopting an unnecessarily critical stance towards society.

The House of Justice draws particular attention to the general social trends of reducing complex conceptions of social reality and social change to simple slogans, of imposing false dichotomies over a cohesive whole, and of favouring isolated events and projects over broad processes and long term action.  It then focuses on the complex relationship between three interacting agents of society, namely the individual, the community, and institutions.  This troubled relationship, which has led to a dangerous concurrence of a crisis of authority with a weakening of community ties, is contrasted with the potential released by a spiritual re-visioning. 

Conference participants are invited to explore habits of thought from a variety of perspectives. In many social arenas and disciplines, crises of thought and vision are already acknowledged to a greater or lesser degree. What new approaches and conceptions are developing there, and how do they correlate with Bahá’í teachings? Where do ideas and practices originate? How do habits of thought change – individually and collectively, whether through deliberate effort or subconsciously, through study, spiritual practice, or experience? How can increasing awareness of our own and others’ habits of thought, and the process of changing these habits, strengthen our capacity to engage in the prevalent discourses of society in any social space available to us – in our work, our field of study, with local civic groups, on campus, etc.?