Knowing My Inner Self: Applied Spirituality for Teenagers - Paperback

by Fazel Naghdy (Author)

Knowing my inner self is written for teenagers to assist them in their journey to discover inner self and to cultivate their hidden capacities as they blossom from childhood to maturity. It explores answers to the fundamental questions that often occupy the mind of adolescents at some stage of their growth: What am I? Who am I? What is the purpose of my life? The concepts and issues associated with these questions are examined, and their implications for teenagers are highlighted.

The content of the book is inspired by universal spiritual principles, particularly the concepts taught by Bahá'u'lláh, the Prophet Founder of the Bahá'í Faith. The approach and pedagogy is the result of nearly twenty years of sharing these concepts with teenagers of different age groups in the Education for Peace Program offered by the Yerrinbool Bahá'í Centre of Learning in Australia. The style of writing is simple but logical, and conclusions are reached through observation and reasoning. It simulates, as much as possible, a tutor-tutored relationship in which the tutor facilitates learning for an individual or a small group.

In summary, the book represents a manual on practical spirituality for teenagers and a workbook of activities to assist the reader to assimilate the concepts and apply them to personal situations. The book consists of four major parts:

1. The emergence of human beings: This section has its focus on the evolution of life on the earth. Efforts are made in this section to distinguish between the facts and theories surrounding the concept of evolution.
2. The nature of human beings: Through observation and reasoning it is demonstrated that a pure materialistic view is far from adequate to explain all the characteristics of man.
3. Cultivating inner capacities: The cultivation of inner capacities, identified as a major objective of human life, is emphasised and practical steps to accomplish this are explored.
4. A mystical journey: The final part of the book looks into the mystical aspects of spiritual growth, which is the process of drawing closer to God through knowledge and recognition of His Manifestation, growing love of Him, and serving His Cause.

The book consists of 24 chapters. Each chapter starts with an introduction that highlights the key concepts addressed. The topic covered in the chapter is then explored in sections of relatively short length. The chapter then ends with a series of activities aimed at assisting the reader to assimilate the concepts. The activities are designed to stimulate thought and reflection at three levels: acquisition of knowledge provided in each chapter, analysis of this knowledge and the application of this knowledge particularly to personal situations.