FUNDamentals

Building Your Fortress (Spring '08 Issue)
From the Editor
"And when He desired to manifest grace and beneficence to men, and to set the world in order, He revealed observances and created laws; among them He established the law of marriage, made it as a fortress for well-being and salvation, and enjoined it upon us in that which was sent down out of the heaven of sanctity in His Most Holy Book." Baha'u'llah's Words. Marriage as law. Marriage as a manifestation of God's grace. Marriage as a fortress, sent down from "the heaven of sanctity." How do we make this beautiful vision of marriage, whether we're already married or looking to be, a reality in our lives? It's not easy.

For this issue of FUNDamentals your hard-working FUNDamentals Team asked a bunch of people how they built, or helped others build, their own fortresses of well-being. We particularly wanted to know how people worked to make the potentially chaotic element of money a fundamental building block of their fortress.

Keep reading to see what Nevin and Mercy talked about before getting married, how Cantwell and Desiree are merging their attitudes about money, and how Lev and Negin decided on their spiritual and material goals and found true wealth. See why we all need to write a will. Like, today. And how our marriages can help change the world. That's just a taste of what's in store for you in the FUNDamentals Spring Issue - Building Your Fortress.

We hope you enjoy this issue.

The FUNDamentals Team

Putting it into Practice
Money, Relationships and Marriage
Financial advice often overlooks the way that our relationships affect our interaction with money, and the way that money affects our relationships. Take marriage. Money takes on a different meaning in marriage. One marriage may collapse under not having enough. Another may fail because the money offered so much freedom that the people drifted apart. Rather, the way that a couple approaches money is far more important than the amount money itself. Cantwell C. shares some of what's he's learned with his wife, Desiree.

Material Encounters
How Your Marriage Can Help Create Change in the World

Marriage is a lot of things. It’s fun, adventurous, trying, even hard work. How many of us think of it as a path towards global and personal salvation? Husayn A. didn’t till he went to the Source – Baha’u’llah – Who described marriage as a “fortress for well-being and salvation.”* Having grown up in a Baha'i family he’d often heard the first part of that phrase, "fortress for well-being...," but not so much about the second. Here he shares some thoughts on the possibilities for salvation in marriage and family life.

From the Field
5 Things to Talk About Before Marriage
'Abdu'l-Baha wrote that, "Baha'i marriage is union and cordial affection between the two parties. They must, however, exercise the utmost care and become acquainted with each other's character. This eternal bond should be made secure by a firm covenant, and the intention should be to foster harmony, fellowship and unity and to attain to everlasting life...."*

Nevin and Mercy J. from Ohio, newly married, share some questions that helped them become acquainted with each other's character.

From the Field
Pocket Change for Well-Being
How do you handle money after you've been married for a time and have kids? You consult, you try to "become fully united both spiritually and physically, so that they may attain eternal union throughout all the worlds of God, and improve the spiritual life of each other." Heather B. shares some insights into how her family makes it work.

From the Field
Marriage & Money: From Tension to Tranquility
Money can be a source of tranquility in a marriage. We just need to approach it in the right way. In this piece Nura M., a marriage and family therapist, gleans some invaluable nuggets from her experience on how to move from tension to tranquility.

Putting it into Practice
Marriage as a (True) Wealth Generating Institution
Marriage can make you think differently about money, what you can do with it and it's role in your new life.  Here Lev R., recently married, talks about how this process manifested in his marriage, and the tools, whether practical or conceptual, he used along the way.

Spiritual Financial Planning
6 Things You Need to Know About Wills

It can be, um, a little difficult to talk or think about wills, particularly for young people. It's not exactly fun, and it might even seem a bit morbid to think so much about your death. But wills don't have to be about that. They can be about preserving unity, about giving a fireside, even about being happy in the next world. Here are six things we should all know about wills.

Material Encounters
What You Want and What You Need

How do you balance wants vs. needs? How do you negotiate that balance in a marriage? What has Baha'u'llah given us to help us reach that balance? Dan C. shares some insight that he's found on his journey, both on his own path and working with others.