Rayyan

2007-03-29T16:12:00.000-07:00

there was once a pigeon named jim
who loved finding things in bins
until one day he found a piece of glass
and pecked it very hard
you see
he mistook the glass for food
and cut himself deeply
he made it to the doctor
who replied that it wasnt easy.
so jim panicked and panicked.
and pleaded with the doctor
they struck a dirty deal
a dirty deal very ROTTEN....

to be CONTINUED!!!

ok.....

2007-03-29T16:06:00.000-07:00

ok. hello. how are you?
well an update on my life. i am currently in my second year at university. its hard, and im being tested daily, but this is life!!!!
i have recently become obsessed with middle eastern tradition music. thereis one musical instrument in particular called the oud. it is a string instrument and it sounds lovely!check it out! i would update a picture, but the dudes in my head are telling me not too so i wont. notice i said dude(s)!!!!!
does that mean im going crazy?!
does that mean im not real?!
somebody answer me.
ARGHHHH!!

TUTORS CONFERENCE 2007

2007-02-19T06:12:00.000-08:00

hello everybody.
i was in coventry, uk this weekend, attending the tutors conference with 250 tutors from around the world including south africa and japan...CRAZY! it was a lovely conference full of workshops, resourceful consultation, and really inspiring audio visual presentations (thanks to Rob Werinberg) Its really lovely meeting so many Bahais from all over the world, and i felt really warm inside being around all these people. One effect the conference had on me, was inspiring me to get up and serve. it reinforced the idea of service, and what we as Baha'is are trying to do UNITE THE HUMAN RACE. the world is in turmoil, we shouldn't sit back and do nothing, we should serve. hope you guys are well.

A Story

2007-02-06T04:25:00.000-08:00

I have just returned from Cardiff (the capital of Wales) visitng my cousin and a new Bahai Nawzar. On my way to the train station to depart from Cardiff back to Bristol i was reflecting on a quote by Baha'ullah.

"The purpose of God in creating man,hath been and will ever be, to enable him to know his Creator and to attain His Presence..."

I was trying to unravel the meaning of knowing God. Surely we can't know God, He is unknowable. I thought of Baha'ullah, ok, so we can know Gods purpose in creating man. But what does knowing God mean. As i was crossing the road, my eyes fell upon a very old man trying to cross the street unsuccesfully, he had a problem with balancing. i offered to help him and we crossed the road together, followed by a "thankyou" and a "my pleasure". i set off on my journey and then i stopped. this is what knowing God means!! i was so amazed at the lesson i was being taught, and i went home feeling good. hope you guys are well.

what in the world is going on with rayyan sabet-parry?

2007-01-25T07:24:00.000-08:00

HI GUYS.
i was in north wales for the past 4 days visiting my dad and gran. north wales is the most picturesque place in the united kingdom (im guessing). the landscapes are truly truly beautiful, unfortunately i had forgotten my camera, so no pictures. you know how in fairy tale books you always have the picture of a windy path leading up to a enormous mountain, well North Wales is very much like that, full of hills and mountains and of course sheep (Wales is notorious for its sheep)
heres a quote from the Baha'i writings:

'Make My love thy treasure ,and cherish it even as thy very sight and life"

PEACE.

HELLO!

2007-01-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

hey guys.
how was your winter break?
mine was AMAZING, i was in bahrain, which is a tiny island off saudi arabia visiting my family. I am now back at uni, and have officially moved in to my own place, reality has given me a big slap on my face ad i also miss my mum. Thankyou to everyone who showed us hospitality and fed us till we exploded. so much to talk about, so little time. Much love!
Rayyan.

'Memorials of the faithful'

2006-12-05T12:33:00.000-08:00

hey blogsters!
im reading a book at the moment called 'Memorials of the faithful' written by Adbul'Baha. The book is very amazing, because it documents the lives of the early believers during Baha'u'llahs lifetime, as well as the Babs and Abdul'Baha's. The book is divided into many chapters, each two or three pages long, or even shorter summarising the life of one who has fallen in love with God. Why is it so inspirational...? i dont know, i find it so extraordinary how these human beings have jumped out of themselves and have gained notoriety for being 'mad' or 'crazy' when truly they were intoxicated, drunk (not literally) well yes,literally, but not with alcohol YA GET ME?! anyways, one thing i find amusing about this book is that the believers names are extremely hard to get your head around e.g. Haji Mirza Tabrizi-Farajullah, and im half iranian. but this book is worth picking up and browsing, these guys are true examples to us all.
hope your well
Rayyan.

hi! i've lost my wallet! have u seen it?

2006-11-13T09:58:00.000-08:00

yeh, you know in myspace blogs you have a mood thing, to describe your mood?
mood: i dont know...peeved off :_____))((_____(((((
i have had my wallet stolen which is a real leech. anyways how was your day.
i take photos (www.fotolog.com/rayyan)
there is a quote by Baha'u'llah
'be thankful in adversity...'
can losing your wallet and the anxiety surrounding it be defined as adversity ?
-ADVERSITY
-A state of hardship or affliction; misfortune.
-A calamitous event.
hmm.

Banter

2006-10-29T09:43:00.000-08:00

Year 2 is hard hard hard!
for those who don't know i'm studying media practice @ bristol.
I am currently staying with an old couple, family freinds, they are extremely lovely people. but i want to talk about something else. when i read blogs from people who are on their year of services (e.g. May) i get very inspired and my heart springs into action once more, keep it up, because its truly inspirational. i can't wait to go on my year of service.... the clocks are ticking! who knows where i will end up going...possibly africa, possibly far east.
you can really see what an effect it has on people, it opens up their eyes to the world spiritually and mentally! i think the prospect of travelling to a different county also says something, meeting new people, eating new foods and expereincing the culture.
the clocks have also gone back an hour.
On mondays and tuesdays i go to a cetain area of bristol and help a somalian community, im in charge (charge is the wrong word) of the junior youth, they are very funny, and spending time with them allows me to switch into child mode for an hour. i also have invited two freinds to book 1's, man those books are amazing, they really generate discussion and everyone leaves smiling! i guess love is such an amazing thing, it has an amazing effect.
I host a hip hop night once a month, the last one was last night. it was fun!!!! a group from oxford came down, they are called "one level" and are two baha'i brothers. check them out!! (www.myspace.com/onelevelproductions) support the spiritual revolution: coming to a town near you!
Thankyou for reading.

Long hot summer

2006-09-11T05:23:00.000-07:00

HEY GUYS!
i haven't posted anything for a long long time, due to the fact that i had forgotten my password! how silly of me. Anyways, it is monday, the time is 13.20, the weather is mildly warm. my summer is coming to an end. it has been an amazing summer to tell you the truth. jam packed full of activity. i will now try to tell you what i have done.
well well, the first year of university was an unforgettable year for me, i shared a house with 3 other people. man!, you cannot summarise life at university, it is intersting, exciting,challenging, it is a fruit salad of many things.
So my year came to end, i passed. I remember bidding fairwell to some of my housemates, promising to keep in touch, whilst the sun began to descend behind the urban jigsaw puzzle, that defines Bristol. I set my mind on the months to come.
SUMMEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
yay!
My plans were to visit the Czech Republic! and visit my school. I had spent 3 years there, 3 amazing years! I journeyed from Prague to Ceske Budejovice by bus, and i remember the journey being a bit uncomfortable, but i think the thought of visiting the school and seeing everyone again cancelled that feeling out. Seeing everyone was lovely, i could'nt help but spend time and chat to everyone, i felt this brotherly attraction to everyone i met and my heart pounded with joy when i was in their presence. The graduation ceremony made me want to graduate again, but at least i had the pleasure of giving the collar :) The 8 days i spent there passed by way to quickly, but i returned to england with a big big smile on my face.
i had many months in front of me and nno concrete plans. GREECE,BULGARIA? two very promising ideas, none of which came into the equation, instead a majority of my summer was spent working in a warehouse, which involved me waking up at 5 in the morning! This unique experience taught me about life. Working in a warehouse sounds extremely dull and boring, but after 2 weeks of working there i began to look forward to lifting up cardboard boxes and placing them on pallets (wooden thingies). Of course the atmosphere that surrounded me is what i loved most. My fellow colleagues consisted of Africans, Eastern Europeans, Indians, you name it, they made a guest appearance. I guess being able to carry a box and jive to radio 1 at the same time speaks for itself.
the highlight of my summer vacation was definetly doing the animators course in cranmore tower. Cranmore tower is a beautiful house owned by a beautiful man in the middle of the woods, close to Bristol. The house itself sits next to a 180 ft tower, which can be viewed by 5 counties and was built in 1863. The "animators" course is a course based on the theme of youth and their role in society. I shared this experience with 30 other youth and left at the end of the week feeling refreshed,free,inspired,HAPPY. What made me feel this way was that we were surrounded by love. The atmosphere that surrounded me was full of joy. i will go no further, as i cant really describe the feeling, you must experience it for yourself. We need someone to point us in the right direction, you agree?
oh man, i feel happy thinking about it!
Once the animators course had finished, i busied myself with work. My weekends would be spent travelling to Bristol and metting with freinds! bless all of you.
much love.
Rayyan.

What jazz does to me!!

2006-05-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

" We, verily, have made music as a ladder for your souls, a means whereby they may be lifted up unto the realm on high..."
Baha'u'llah
When the dust and dross is cleaned of the soul, jazz penetrates it with sword and shield, opening it up so heavenly breezes wake it up!
Goodness me the feeling is superb. Everyone has experienced it!
peace.

Idead Ideas Ideas

2006-04-27T07:52:00.000-07:00

i want to do many things in life, but my latest creative passion is to start up a podcast, influenced by this- http://nextlevelradio.org
my mission statement is to chronicle events, interview artists or amazing people who are seeking to make a change in the world. i want it to have a bbc radio 4 feel, as well as streming beautiful music at the same time. Artists, that are making an impact with their lyrics, Human Rights activists that are dedicated to progress...basically "EVERYDAY PEOPLE" I have to translate thoughts into action, thats when the world truly begins to progress.
If you're reading this and think you are , or know people that come under this genre hit me up.
peace!

Baha'is of Iran

2006-04-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

Goodness me! its a long time since I've posted anything.
I was listening to a certain podcast, and was influenced to start one myself, with the aim of capturing events, and focusing on artists that seek to make a change in the world.
Appreciation and thanks could be classed as the theme of this post. Recently the UN has expressed its worry, concerning the protection of the 350,000 Baha'i community that resides in Iran the 160 year old religion's birthplace. In the 1800's over 20,000 Baha'is were martyred accused of trying to plot the downfall of Islam. It is hard to beleieve that 200 years later, The government is again accusing the pacifistic community of the same treason. If one investigates into the core teachings of the faith, one realises that the Baha'i Faith places strong emphasis on the need for unity of mankind/religion,justice,world education,equality of men and women as well as many others. However, recently certain memebers of the Bahai faith have been unlawfully thrown in to prison, whilst their property has been confiscated. The media has allied itself with government claims, defacing the religion and force feeding the population lies about they're motives. One thing which moved me was the fact that Baha'i students are restricted access into university, 70% of Iran comprising of youth. I think we should be truly thankful that we have access to higher education as well as many other things. But we should also marvel at the fact that over a period of 160 years, 6,000000 million people worldwide are Baha'is, making it the second largest religious group in the world. The world has to recognise!
www.denial.co.za
www.bahai.org

student food, student me

2005-10-25T07:00:00.000-07:00

I can´t beleive that I am a university student....it really seems all tralalaa when you apply, but living on your own do have their defects, hence the name student FOOD. Unlike living at home...where the wafting of rice and gormeh sabzi (an iranian dish) would bring a smile to anyone´s face. Whilst at univeristy, home cooking as well as home company egins o dawn on you..and you begin to appreciate the supposedly everyday average meal....the average meal that haunts your dreams, you get the picture. No the point I´m trying to make is that as a student, you limit yourself to the simplest dishes, e.g. pasta, tuna and mayyonaise...i think it could be sheer laziness, the moral of the story is....big up your mums or dad´s for cooking...it takes some patience.
back me up on that one!

Lazy Habits @ the croft, bristol

2005-10-25T04:28:00.000-07:00

i had lost my id, yes i have lost my identification. ok..lazy habits are a london based 8 piece jazz/hip-hop band consisting of two mc´s, drums, percussion, bass, trumpet, flute,beatbox and a dj, i highly reccomend to anyone to see them lve, if this genre of music appeals to your tingling senses! www.lazyhabits.co.uk gives you a miniscule insight of what the group sounds like. The beatboxer of the group "Wandan"(www.wandan.co.uk) opened the groups set with his intersting array of vocal talents...immitating a young american school child at certain points never failed to keep the crowd amused and on their feet. The rhythmic combustion of noise that the group produced, left me screaming like a barbarian due to my excitement after each track. The drums cleverly interlinked with the neighbouring perussionist, whilst the trumpet slowly wafted in the background setting a new orleans cafe style atmosphere. The mc´s flowed over the beats perfectly accompanied by wandan who managed toy with the rythym and insert nasty robotic noises. Checkinstea them out!
Just walking back to my house, I thought i had bumped int one of the mc´s...instead he turned out to be a 32 year old who was a hip hop mc 18 years ago...now that is strange!
Peace.

"Why?" (Anticon Records) @ Thekla, Bristol

2005-09-22T04:50:00.000-07:00

An interesting night it was indeed! The floating venue (Thekla is a ship converted into a nightclub) opened its doors and, too my suprise allowed access too a fair number of anticon heads, who immeaditaely rushed in and vacated the seats that were available. The Bristol based opening group (whose name I can't remember) which consisted of four members (bassist, drummer, keyboard, trumpet/clarinet) played an extremely interesting array of experimental progressive funk and disco, pausing after each track and naming the next song they were going too play (e.g. My erection). When Why came on the crowd had sufficiently increased in numbers, and they opened their night with one of their most famous tracks "sandman" I´m not really a "why" fan but i was taken aback by their performance both as indiviuals and as a group...let me clarify, e drummer (the brother of the lead voclist) looked like he was having an epileptic fit whenever the song reached its climax, whilst the unshaven lead singer sang hhis anectode like lrics. overalll....brilliant night (www.anticon.com)

A little about "me"

2005-09-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

Greetings too whoever is reading my blog whether friend or stranger!
This is my first post, so I would like to introduce myself as Rayyan, I am 19 years old and I will be an official media production student at U.W.E (University of the West of England) in no more and no less than 3 days!. I spent the past 3 years of my life studying in the credited Townshend International School, in the Czech Republic, which housedd a multitude of 20+ nationalities and cultures including Czech, German, Maui (forgive my spelling Matt if you ever read this) andmany many more. Not only did that school give me the grades that would allow me too academically "move-on" but it also gave me the chance too mature mentally and spiritually as well as giving me a sense of responsibility which I'm proud too say was much needed!