Course Description

ONLY for those who are ages 18-35 (must be unmarried); Time Zone: Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa, and Asia

Individuals or early-stage couples ages 18-35 are invited to this online study group course to explore the practical application of the Bahá’í teachings for healthy relationships and marriage! Participants do self-directed study of the course content (documents, videos, worksheets...) on their own prior to each group session to be ready for the discussions. The facilitators can serve you and assist you with things such as setting goals, answering questions related to your circumstances, and encouraging you. Personal study and group meetings will aid you in learning about yourself, what is important to discover in a partner, and how to create a healthy relationship. This course is an individual initiative and not sponsored by a Baha'i institution. Participants can be of any faith or none, but may find it helpful to be familiar with the Bahá’í Faith (bahai.org).

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Course Schedule and Meeting Times

One group is planned for this course running from February 8 to March 29, 2026: Sundays, Sydney, Australia, time 7:30-9:30 p.m. facilitated by Fiona McDonald, Nava Jones, & Kian Jones, covering Australasia, Europe, & Africa time zones primarily

Note: Time zones are complex. To check your time vs. the meeting time throughout the course, these websites may help: https://www.worldtimeserver.com/meeting-planner.aspx https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html

Cost to Participate in the Course

Taking this course is one of many ways to step into the journey toward creating an eternal marriage relationship, something that requires commitment. This course invites you to commit time, effort, and money. We hope you can afford the cost of the course, as that helps cover the cost of the course platform and a small amount to the course coordinator and facilitators for their service. However, we recognize that many factors could make it difficult to afford the fee. We do not want financial difficulties to prevent registration. If you cannot afford part or all of the fee, there are coupon codes available to reduce it. Please be specific with how much you can afford or how much discount you need. Prior course participants are eligible for a 75% discount. Contact Susanne Alexander, course administrator, at [email protected] with your request for a coupon code.

Why Take This Course?

This course can guide you toward building a healthy, happy relationship that leads to marriage, and enhance your ability to succeed throughout the journey!

  • Learn

    Learn about yourself and about the Baha'i Faith's teachings on relationship and marriage topics.

  • Discover

    Discover new friends, meet like-minded individuals, and learn new relationship skills.

  • Empower

    Empower conversations on these important topics with peers and family members.

  • Calibrate

    Calibrate what to look for in a partner and how to get to know them, so that you can be intentional and purposeful in a relationship.

  • Gain Knowledge and Skills

    Service/Institute Process Elements: Gain knowledge and skills that may connect with or build on the learning in Ruhi Institute's Book 12 on “Family and Community” and “The Institution of Marriage”. Be more empowered with answering questions from junior youth about relationships.

Course curriculum

    1. Please Introduce Yourself!

    2. Course Meeting Information

    3. Course Orientation and Expectations

      FREE PREVIEW

    4. Course Communication Guidelines

    5. Processing the Content/Emotions; Counseling

    6. Frequently Asked Questions

    7. Change Notes for the Course

    1. Elements of the Course Opening Meeting

    1. Unit 1: Learning Goals; Study the Topic

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. Unit 1: Diving into the Bahá’í Teachings

    3. Unit 1: Activities

      FREE PREVIEW

    4. Unit 1 Activity: “Building a ‘Fortress for Well-being’, an Essay on Marriage Preparation” (PDF)

    5. Unit 1 Activity: PrepSheet 3 PDF-Assessing and Understanding My Virtues

    6. Unit 1 Activity: PrepSheet 4 PDF-My Virtue Development Plan

    7. Unit 1 Optional Activity: Past Partner Relationships - Reflection & Healing

    8. Unit 1: Videos

    9. Unit 1: Questions: Individual Reflection, Discussion Postings, and Group Consultation

      FREE PREVIEW

    10. Unit 1: Optional Extra Reading

    11. Unit 1 Optional: Do You Have a Tail? Essay (PDF)

    1. Unit 2: Learning Goals; Study the Topic

    2. Unit 2: Diving into the Bahá’í Teachings

    3. Unit 2: Activities

    4. Unit 2 Activity: Seek and Avoid in a Partner

    5. Unit 2: Videos and Podcast

    6. Unit 2: Questions: Individual Reflection, Discussion Postings, and Group Consultation

    7. Unit 2: Optional Extra Reading

    8. Unit 2 Optional: Buffalo Wing Principle Essay (PDF)

    1. Unit 3: Learning Goals; Study the Topic

    2. Unit 3: Diving into the Bahá’í Teachings

    3. Unit 3: Activities

    4. Unit 3 Activity: Happiness, Joy, Laughter, and Humor (PDF)

    5. Unit 3: Videos

    6. Unit 3: Questions: Individual Reflection, Discussion Postings, and Group Consultation

    7. Unit 3: Optional Extra Reading

      FREE PREVIEW

    1. Please share your thoughts and experiences; Anything we can assist with?

About this course

  • $70.00

From Our Learners!

“I'm really enjoying the course. The various materials are informative and rich, though not too overwhelming; it seems to be the right amount for me. The discussions in course are also great and leave me reflecting on many things. Overall, I'm glad to be in this course. It's exactly the sort of thing I was looking for.”

Amir S.

“A loving space to reflect on the essence of what it means to be in a relationship. What a joy it was to connect with different souls with like-minded intentions of creating healthy relationships in their lives.”

Learner

“I really felt that I expanded my understanding of myself and healthy relationship-building processes through this course. The breadth and depth of the information we studied, and the opportunity for new connections via the group really was a glimmer of joy and hope when sometimes finding a partner feels so difficult. And while growth also is challenging, I feel important questions were raised that we had the opportunity to tackle in a loving group.”

Learner

“The course is very valuable and provides a good overview of necessary learning steps towards building a healthy relationship, and it provides a wonderful balance between science and Baha'i scripture. The facilitators were very warm-hearted in guiding the participants and making sure that the challenges that came up for each individual member would be addressed. I can very much recommend this course. It might be helpful to know, that for some people (like myself) the material can feel very intense and a lot over those 7 weeks. If anyone who needs much time to process things is waiting for her/his course to start, it might be worthwhile taking the self-guided course with the same material while waiting, to have a chance to process some of the material even before the group process starts.”

Learner

“I have taken this course twice. It is not because the course is poorly designed. On the contrary, it is so profound and resourceful. It does not tell me 5 steps to have a successful marriage; instead, it asks me to reflect on the virtues required in the context of myself and the marriage I envision. It requires serious self-examination to allow the content to enter my mind and eventually reach my heart. The course gives me tools, vocabulary, analytical methods, and frameworks for thought and reflection that help me begin to disentangle and reassemble myself with both comfort and unease. ”

HQ

“I highly recommend taking this course. Whether single or in a relationship, it is beneficial to any person because the course material really allows participants to learn more about themselves and their relationship desires/goals. I personally appreciate the challenging aspect of the Foundations for Healthy Relationships course because it allowed me to revisit subjects that I either overlooked or had not yet explored. Since taking this course, my goals and desires have become much clearer. I have enjoyed acquiring such knowledge and seeing the growth through my actions and responses. ”

Mischa Stephens

“This course is one I wish I took when I was younger and highly recommend it to anyone that is thinking about marriage.”

Learner

“The course is so dense and every time I take it, I get more and more out of it. It's a gift that keeps on giving. There's so many layers of information, and an environment of people that are so excited about quality relationships is so rare, it brings so much hope every time!”

Learner/Course Assistant

“I think every Baha'i youth and adult should take this course to get a better understanding on relationships and how important they are. Also, it is great way to look and reflect on yourself to see what you can improve or work on yourself. ”

Learner

Registrar/Course Creator

Susanne M. Alexander

Relationship and Marriage Educator and Coach; Course Developer and Administrator

Hi, I’m Susanne M. Alexander, your course creator and companion on this learning journey. While I am a Relationship and Marriage Educator and Coach, I’ve also had a lot of experience. I’ve likely walked in your shoes. I’ve been single, dating, engaged, married, divorced, and widowed (currently married). I am a child, stepchild, sibling, step-sibling, parent, step-parent, grandparent, and step-grandparent. All of this has given me a diversity of experience to share! I meet with clients globally via the Internet for relationship preparation and navigating, marriage preparation, and couple relationship or marriage strengthening. I coordinate the faculty team and am the lead instructor here at Transformation Learning Center (www.transformationlearningcenter.com). My company is Marriage Transformation®, www.marriagetransformation.com, where I am President and also the author and publisher of numerous books. Books authored or coauthored include Growing Our Unity, Starting with Me, Creating Excellent Relationships, All-in-One Marriage Prep, Marriage Can Be Forever--Preparation Counts!, and Re-Vitalizing Our Marriage. I am certified by Prepare-Enrich to offer a research-based assessment to couples at any stage and accompany them through learning about themselves and their readiness for the next stage in their relationship (www.prepare-enrich.com) I'm also certified to offer the Character Foundations Assessment and have Completed Level 1 Training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy. I'm a member of the National Alliance for Relationship and Marriage Education. Media and Writing Experience: Quoted as an expert in Upjourney.com, HerCampus.com, eHow.com, Washington Woman, Ladies Home Journal, Inc., and more. I'm also a journalist with a background in freelancing for Newsweek, SimpleMarriage, and many others. I have been creating and offering online relationship and marriage courses for over 12 years. Photo Credit: Jordan Raj

Facilitators

Nava and Kian Jones

Facilitators

Hello! We’re Nava and Kian, a married couple living in Sydney, Australia. Nava is a professional musical theatre performer and law (Juris Doctor) student. Kian works in marketing at a multinational consultancy firm. In 2024, we started “That Married Couple Podcast”, as a way of contributing toward the discourse around relationships, with the goal of providing impetus for listeners to have their own discussions, consider varying perspectives, and ultimately have a clearer vision of how they wish to conduct their relationships. The podcast blends listener questions with insights from science and psychology, Baha’i and religious principles, other couples, and expert guest perspectives. As we got to know each other before marriage, we attended an earlier version of the Foundations for Relationships course. It had a transformative effect on our lives personally and gave us foundational knowledge to accompany others in navigating their relationships. We are so excited to now be involved in facilitating this course and to continue learning alongside the wonderful participants.

Facilitator

Fiona McDonald

Facilitator

Hi there, I live in Western Australia and will be facilitating the Australian group along with Nava and Kian Jones. I have been married for 50 years and have several children and grandchildren. I have a background in Relationship Education, having spent about 25 years working in two agencies offering various courses such as pre-marriage education, couples courses, parenting, and individual courses such as self-worth and anger management. I look forward to taking this journey with the group!

Course Coordinator

Wendi Momen

Coordinator

Hi, I’m Wendi Momen, a social activist and a champion of the equal rights and responsibilities of women and men. I’ve been married since 1971 and have two adult children and two adult grandchildren. I grew up in a family of entertainers in the San Fernando Valley, California, and moved by myself to England when I was 18. I had a step-father and two step-mothers, and have a step-sister and two half sisters. Our extended family embraces 26 nationalities and 8 religions. The diversity of our family has given me insights into a number of cultures and ethnicities, has convinced me that humanity is just one big family, living on one planet. I served as a criminal magistrate, a family court judge and youth court magistrate for 38 years, which gave me insights into the dynamics of marriages and families when they are unhealthy and often dangerous to their children. This caused me to concentrate on how to enable marriages and families to embrace healthier patterns of life. I have taught numerous online courses on marriage and family life, am the author of 13 books, and sit on a number of boards that champion women, human rights and the planet, including the National Alliance of Women’s Organisations, Widows Rights International, UK Civil Society Women’s Alliance, Ethical Business Building the Future and the International Environment Forum (iefworld.org). I hold a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics, of which I am a Governor Emeritus. I was honoured to be awarded a MBE by Queen Elizabeth in 2014 for services to the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and to the community in Bedfordshire.