What Are the 5 Different Types of Social Support?

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September 13, 2024

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When we experience the different types of social support, we feel close to and cared for by our community. In contrast, as noted in chapter 11 of “Health Promotion in Health Care – Vital Theories and Research,” published online by the National Library of Medicine, “The opposite of social support is loneliness.”

This chapter explained that “social support is a predictor of physical and mental health, and a buffer that protects (or ’buffers’) people from the bad effects of stressful life events,” having a significant “impact on psychological distress, quality of life, loneliness, burden of care, as well as anxiety, depression, hope, meaning, self-transcendence, and mortality risk.”

A robust culture of social support fosters an environment where, as the Universal House of Justice puts it, “Fear of failure finds no place. Mutual support, commitment to learning, and appreciation of diversity of action are the prevailing norms.”

Learn about the following five different types of support and how you can practice them in your everyday interactions.

1. Emotional Support

definition of encouragement for esteem support

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Losing the Stigma: May is Mental Health Awareness Month

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Tony Ramos

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May 29, 2025

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Have you been seeing lime green ribbons tied to trees this month? Those would be in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month.

Mental Health Awareness Month (MHA) was first observed in the United States in May of 1949. Started by the Mental Health Organization, each year the MHA releases a toolkit of materials to facilitate outreach activities for the month.

For 2022, the month’s theme is “Back to Basics,” observed with film screenings, media, and local events, all based on this theme. The goal: to provide “foundational knowledge about mental health and information for anyone whose mental health is a cause for concern.”

So who needs to be concerned about mental health? Everyone!

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The 9 Different Types of Safety: From Physical to Emotional

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Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith, stated that the Baha’i community “should feel it to be its first and inescapable obligation to nurture, encourage, and safeguard every minority belonging to any faith, race, class, or nation within it.”

To “safeguard” means, as Merriam-Webster defines it, “to make safe: PROTECT.” What comes to mind when you think of needing to feel safe? My mind immediately thinks of psychological and emotional safety, my mother thinks of medical and social safety, my brother thinks of physical safety, and my friend thinks of financial safety.

This made me realize how important it is for us all to understand the different types of safety if we’re going to do our best to safeguard every marginalized community from the various forms of harm.

1. Physical Safety

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9 Interfaith Quotes and Prayers to Find Peace of Mind and Heart

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Tony Ramos

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November 4, 2024

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There is an African proverb that says, “When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” So, how do you find peace of mind and heart?

In a world of distracting chaos, depressing conflict, distressing challenges, and addictive consumerism, finding inner peace can feel elusive. Yet, timeless spiritual and religious teachings offer helpful insights and comforting prayers to guide all of us on our journeys.

Explore how the following quotes and prayers from world religions and ancient spiritual traditions can unlock a peaceful, resilient spirit and bring tranquility to both your heart and mind.

Baha’i Quotes About How to Find Peace of Mind and Heart

A Baha’i study circle in Nedrini, Panama

If you’re wondering how to find peace of mind and heart, the Baha’i writings offer helpful guidance on this subject.

First, we can’t have a peaceful mind and heart without having a loving mind and heart. At a talk in New York in 1912, Abdu’l-Baha, one of the central figures of the Baha’i Faith, was asked, “Is peace a greater word than love?”

Abdu’l-Baha exclaimed, “No! Love is greater than peace, for peace is founded upon love. Love is the objective point of peace, and peace is an outcome of love. Until love is attained, peace cannot be…”

When we are kindled by the fire of the love of God in our hearts and look for the loveable divine qualities in every person and created thing, we will find that we are more at peace with ourselves and everyone around us.

In a treatise written by Abdu’l-Baha in 1875, he identified the different capabilities that an individual needs to develop to experience pleasure and peace. He explained that “the happiness and greatness, the rank and station, the pleasure and peace, of an individual have never consisted in his personal wealth, but rather in his excellent character, his high resolve, the breadth of his learning, and his ability to solve difficult problems.”

It’s important that we strengthen and develop these qualities, as they enhance our personal happiness and peace and build the resilience that we need to navigate the challenging moments in our lives.

A Buddhist Quote About the Importance of a Peaceful Mind

It’s fascinating that breadth of learning not only fosters peace but that peace of mind is also conducive to greater knowledge.

In the Dhammapada, the Buddha states, “If a man’s thoughts are unsteady, if he does not know the true law, if his peace of mind is troubled, his knowledge will never be perfect.”

When our thoughts are flighty, unsettled, and anxious, it’s difficult to focus, think deeply, and meditate on divine guidance. So, we have to clear and calm our minds to receive greater insights and understanding.

Yogic, Buddhist, and Cherokee Quotes About the Importance of a Peaceful Heart

As a yoga fan, I enjoy the peace of mind and body that yoga often brings. However, I was even more excited to learn about the spiritual teachings that ancient yogis have shared about how important a peaceful heart is for fostering harmonious relationships.

In “The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,” it says, “Where the heart is full of kindness which seeks no injury to another, either in act or thought or wish, this full love creates an atmosphere of harmony, whose benign power touches with healing all who come within its influence. Peace in the heart radiates peace to other hearts, even more surely than contention breeds contention.”

Likewise, The Sutra Collection, a sacred Buddhist text, asks us to abstain from calumny and slander —also regarded as grievous sins in the Baha’i Faith — and avoid repeating what would “raise a quarrel against the people.”

A Cherokee proverb beautifully captures this spirit of compassionate silence and open-hearted communication: “O Great Spirit, help me always to speak the truth quietly, to listen with an open mind when others speak, and to remember the peace that may be found in silence.”

Continuing in this spirit, The Sutra Collection concludes, “Thus he lives as a binder together of those who are divided, an encourager of those who are friends, a peacemaker, a lover of peace, impassioned for peace, a speaker of words that make for peace.”

A Taoist Prayer for Peace of Mind and Heart

“Lao-Tsu’s Peace Prayer” beautifully illustrates how important peaceful hearts are for creating a peaceful world. He wrote:

If there is to be peace in the world,

There must be peace in the nations.

If there is to be peace in the nations,

There must be peace in the cities.

If there is to be peace in the cities,

There must be peace between neighbors.

If there is to be peace between neighbors,

There must be peace in the home.

If there is to be peace in the home,

There must be peace in the heart.

A Baha’i Prayer for Peace of Mind and Heart

*A prayer gathering at the Baha’i Center in Lauro de Freitas, Brazil*

As we strive to cultivate inner peace, turning to prayer can be a powerful balm and refuge. The following Baha’i prayer offers profound words of solace and strength, imploring our Creator to renew your spirit and restore peace to your mind and heart:

Create in me a pure heart, O my God, and renew a tranquil conscience within me, O my Hope! Through the spirit of power confirm Thou me in Thy Cause, O my Best-Beloved, and by the light of Thy glory reveal unto me Thy path, O Thou the Goal of my desire! Through the power of Thy transcendent might lift me up unto the heaven of Thy holiness, O Source of my being, and by the breezes of Thine eternity gladden me, O Thou Who art my God!

Let Thine everlasting melodies breathe tranquillity on me, O my Companion, and let the riches of Thine ancient countenance deliver me from all except Thee, O my Master, and let the tidings of the revelation of Thine incorruptible Essence bring me joy, O Thou Who art the most manifest of the manifest and the most hidden of the hidden!

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Entitlement: Detrimental to Your Spiritual Health

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Tony Ramos

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December 11, 2025

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If you live in the developed world like I do you enjoy certain advantages that a lot of people in other places do not: electricity, running water, plentiful food and clothing—and particularly jobs.

Why do refugees flee their poor, oppressive or conflict-ridden countries and endure great hardship to make it to Europe or the United States? It’s simple: they want to get to a country where they can live better lives. In their situation, anyone would do the same thing. When refugees arrive in the developed world, with hard work and ingenuity they can get a job or create a business and make a good living—a living that includes a peaceful society, human rights and freedoms, functioning utilities, cars, gyms and a wealth of advantages over their homelands.

However, the developing world uses most of the world’s resources. On average, an inhabitant of North America consumes around 90 kilograms (kg) of resources each day. In Europe, consumption is around 45 kg per day, while in Africa people consume only around 10 kg per day.

All of the wealth in the developed world is used without much thought to this huge disparity. With our dependence on these material things, though, comes the darker side: entitlement. In North America, Europe and certain other developed regions of the world, many people feel entitled to their patterns of over-consumption. They believe their lifestyle is their right. But that sense of entitlement is detrimental to spiritual growth and overall health—mind, body and spirit.

An entitled person feels that he/she deserves to be given something, whether it is a high paying job, financial support or some special privilege—without working hard for it or giving anything back. I don’t know about you, but I’ve known many people like this, who feel they don’t have to work at certain jobs just because they got educated and earned a degree. They are convinced that their degree entitles them to a high paying job right out of school, rather than accepting a more entry-level position.

Actually, I was one of them. So I understand the feelings of having gone to a university, gotten a degree and then smugly nurturing an entitled mindset that I immediately deserved a great job with good pay. I learned a valuable lesson when this did not happen. I learned that my degree was not going to financially support me without a lot more hard work on my part.

I should have known better anyway as my Baha’i parents taught me at an early age that life was not easy and nothing would be handed to me on a platter. I have very loving and kind parents who worked hard, so I saw as I grew up the importance of a good work ethic. In fact, my parents definitely followed the Baha’i teachings to “accustom your children to hardship:”

…Endeavour to rectify the conduct of men, and seek to excel the whole world in moral character. While the children are yet in their infancy feed them from the breast of heavenly grace, foster them in the cradle of all excellence, rear them in the embrace of bounty. Give them the advantage of every useful kind of knowledge. Let them share in every new and rare and wondrous craft and art. Bring them up to work and strive, and accustom them to hardship. Teach them to dedicate their lives to matters of great import, and inspire them to undertake studies that will benefit mankind. – Abdu’l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 102.

I was a very headstrong child and as such I wanted to make my own money and have my own job. So I got a job at the age of 14 at a fast-food restaurant. I have pretty much worked ever since, even working two jobs plus full time coursework during my university years. Now I’m not saying everyone should or even can do this—we all have our unique strengths and drives.

I do, however, see quite a bit of this spiritual illness called entitlement with many people and, I often wonder, is it the parents’ fault for not introducing their children to hardship at an early age by making them do chores or some kind of work around the house? Perhaps it is. Of course it is not done out of malice, but instead out of love. Giving your children responsibilities in the household will help them cultivate a sense of work ethic early on. Sadly, though, it doesn’t help the entitled child when everything is done for him or her, but instead thwarts her or his spiritual growth, as well as the child’s mental and physical health and happiness.

Entitled people can burden a community, government and families. They often demand or expect others to finance their lives, while they exert minimal effort at supporting themselves. Somewhere in the midst of growing up, they learned not to be bothered by burdening others, in spite of being quite capable themselves. Sadly, this kind of laziness born of entitlement is detrimental to their spiritual growth, physical attainments, health and even mental capabilities. It will also affect their happiness in the long term, resulting in an eventual drop in self-esteem and self-respect.

This is why it is imperative that children learn at an early age that life is not easy, and that they are not entitled to a free ride. Teaching children not to feel entitled shouldn’t communicate neglect or hold back love from them, but should teach them that hard work will help them to be well-rounded and capable adults who have the potential—with enough hard work and dedication—to transform the world.

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Finding Strength and Unity: Native American Proverbs About Life

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Tony Ramos

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November 22, 2024

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Growing up during segregation in the United States, my grandfather, who was Cherokee, Black, and Irish, had a difficult life, to say the least. But, my mother told me, while he chanted his Cherokee chants, he seemed happy. In fact, that Cherokee chant was one of the few cultural traditions that he passed down to his children.

“It was the string that kept us connected…,” my mother says. She taught me and my siblings this chant and shared a Cherokee story she had learned later in life, one filled with wisdom and guidance — a testament to the enduring spiritual legacy of Indigenous people.

A letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith, to the National Spiritual Assembly of Central America and Mexico echoed this sentiment, highlighting their transformative potential:

If the light of Divine Guidance enters properly into the lives of the Indians, it will be found that they will arise with a great power and will become an example of spirituality and culture to all of the people in these countries.

Native American Proverbs and Stories About Life

The Cherokee story emphasized the importance of the choices we make in life in the battle between our higher and lower natures. As Abdu’l-Baha, one of the central figures of the Baha’i Faith, wrote:

For the inner reality of man is a demarcation line between the shadow and the light, a place where the two seas meet…

This timeless truth is beautifully illustrated in the story, which goes as follows:

A young boy, angry with another boy for treating him badly, went to his grandfather, who proceeded to tell him a story. “I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down, and hate does not hurt your enemy. Hate is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times,” he said.

“It is as if there are two wolves inside me; one wolf is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way. But the other wolf is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper.”

He continued, “He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger, because his anger will change nothing. Sometimes it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me because both of the wolves try to dominate my spirit.”

The boy stared deeply into his grandfather’s eyes and asked, “Which wolf will win, Grandfather?”

Smilingly, the grandfather replied, “The one I feed.”

So, are we feeding the wolf of love, harmony, and hope, or anger, hatred, and hopelessness?

I know that it can be challenging to be optimistic in depressing and dangerous times, but as Louise Profeit-LeBlanc’s grandmother told her, “Whatever you need is around you! It is not what you want, but what you need that will be provided to you.”

Photo of Louise Profeit-LeBlanc, courtesy of Louise Profeit-LeBlanc.

Louise Profeit-LeBlanc, a storyteller, artist, and member of the Nacho N’yak Dän First Nation of central Yukon, Canada, shared that this Native American proverb reminds her that “the Creator provides for us, and it might not be what we want, but it will be what will make us grow.”

She added, “It makes us less material and more appreciative of everything we might need in terms of our livelihood, our well-being, and also, for the happiness and joy we bring to others.”

Native American Proverbs About Oneness

“We are all related” is Nadema Agard’s favorite Native American proverb. A Cherokee, Lakota, and Powhatan artist, educator, consultant, curator, and storyteller, Nadema often highlights this teaching in her work.

Photo of Nadema Agard, courtesy of Nadema Agard. — *Photo of Nadema Agard, courtesy of Nadema Agard*.

Moreover, the Baha’i writings emphasize humanity’s oneness and interconnectedness:

This limitless universe is like the human body, all the members of which are connected and linked with one another with the greatest strength. How much the organs, the members and the parts of the body of man are intermingled and connected for mutual aid and help, and how much they influence one another! In the same way, the parts of this infinite universe have their members and elements connected with one another, and influence one another spiritually and materially.

Not only are we all members of one human family, but we are all also connected to the heavenly kingdom. One of Medicine Eagle’s favorite Native American proverbs is from the Hopi people, which states, “The one is the all. The all are the one.”

This Hopi proverb reminds Medicine Eagle — a holistic healthcare practitioner and member of the Anishinaabe nation — that “there is but a veil of separation between us and the spirit realm.”

He wrote, “We all act as though there is a separation from the divine, yet there is no such thing! All created things come from God, and all things are good. We condition things to be not good through our gift of free will. This is the biggest illusion we face as beings.”

To overcome this illusion, all we have to do is turn towards God and look within ourselves. Baha’u’llah, the prophet and founder of the Baha’i Faith, revealed a powerful admonition, encouraging us to rise to our higher nature:

Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty, powerful and self-subsisting.

I hope these Baha’i teachings and Native American proverbs inspire you to look within, uncover your strength, and awaken the vast potential waiting to be tapped. These gems of guidance remind us that we are all part of something greater — a divine oneness that unites us with each other and with our Creator. The choice is ours: Which wolf will we feed, and how will we reflect this unity in our lives?

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Why Do We Have Good and Bad Dreams?

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Tony Ramos

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June 4, 2025

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According to the Sleep Foundation, most people dream for around two hours every night. Dreaming is a universal experience, regardless of whether or not you remember them upon waking.

From understanding our spiritual reality to healing from our traumatic experiences, here are nine spiritual and scientific reasons why we have good and bad dreams.