SAJDA/ SUBMISSION

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The sajda is the climax of namaz/ salat. It physically demonstrates submission. 
In sajda, you put your face on the ground. Your face is your identity. It is what distinguishes you, what makes you stand out, makes you -- you. 

To go in sajda is to become faceless and defenseless. It is to give up all your identities - name, position, family, ethnicity, gender, nationality, achievements, ideologies, beliefs. It is to give up your agendas, plans and desires. 

It is to give up any illusion of being someone, of being in-charge, of having a say. 

The sajda says: i give up, i submit, i dissolve, i disappear. I know nothing. I can do nothing. I want nothing. I am nothing.

ANIMA ANIMUS

Every human being has the archetypal anima (unconscious feminine) and animus (unconscious masculine) energies buried deep in the psycho spiritual core. 

The journey of self-realization includes the witnessing of the shadow masculine and shadow feminine so as to rescue and realize the Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine within. This process of witnessing and purification also brings the inner and outer masculine and feminine into harmony and balance. 

Self realization requires a profound submission, which is manifested as a continuous acceptance of and harmony between one's inner psyche and outer form, as well as one's place and purpose in existence. The submission to the inner masculine and feminine becomes an acceptance of and harmony with the world and its feminine and masculine manifestations.

and Allah knows best

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ENDING THE WAR WITHIN

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One of the manifestations of separation (from the Divine Source) is multiplicity, division, contradiction and conflict. This is experienced inwardly as parts of the self that are in contradiction with and at war with each other. Each part is a psychic knot tied at a traumatic moment or through conditioning. Each knot has an energy, a vibration, voice, feeling and narrative. 

So, for instance, there may be a knot tied in early childhood related to the fear of abandonment or rejection. An unresolved separation from the mother/ parents – perhaps due to an emergency that was never explained to the child -- may have been experienced as abandonment by the child, never articulated and healed. The story of this part of the self could read like this: “It is not worth it to love anyone or depend on anyone. Anyone I love will disappoint me, hurt me, or leave me. I have to look after myself.”

As the child matures in perception and receives love and support from the parents, another part of it will develop an appreciation for strong, loving bonds and its story is more likely to be: “I am grateful to my parents who have cared for me and loved me. They have taught how to form strong relationships based on love and trust. It is worthwhile to love and trust people.”

The second part is more likely to be conscious and therefore heard. The former is likely to be unconscious and unheard. In the inward, the two will be at war with each other. In the outward this conflict will be manifest as contradictory relationships – those where the self experiences rejection, as well as those where the self experiences love and acceptance.

The purpose of spiritual work is to bring about unity and union within and without. Spiritual practice – which includes a foundation of wholesome (or what is often called moral) behaviour and may also include creative expression – begins to bring to the surface the voices and stories of negation from deep inside the unconscious. Practice can bring the conflict between the warring parts of the self to the surface of consciousness. 

All that is required at this point is to listen to what has been unheard. Unresolved pain only needs full acknowledgement and acceptance. And the mature self can grant itself that. It is important to witness but not indulge in any self pity or rage or fear that comes up. Shining the light of consciousness on these aspects of the shadow self is all that is required to melt the shadows and undo the knots.

May Allah grant us tawfiq.
And Allah knows best.
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HARDSHIP AND EASE

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"And, behold, with every hardship comes ease: verily, with every hardship comes ease!"  Al Quran Surah Al Inshira (94; 5-6; transl. M. Asad)

Allah tells us that with every hardship comes ease, but do we experience our lives like this?  Why does the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate send us hardship? And where is the ease that He promises us?

What is a hardship? It is a situation, condition, person or endeavour that we find difficult or painful; something we cannot understand, control or accept.  Something that causes us misery, anxiety and suffering because it does not conform to our desire, to our agenda, to how we want things to be.  In other words, the hardship refuses to submit to us.  

Why?  Because the hardship is here to teach us something very useful.  It is here to teach **us** how to submit. Which in the meaning of Islam, which is what we are here to do – surrender, submit.

The muslimah, the musalmaan is the one in submission.

The greater the hardship, the more profound is the potential for submission.  

And the greater our suffering if we refuse, if we resist, if we do not submit.

As soon as we submit, which is the purpose of the hardship, there is ease.  Acceptance brings immediate relief and calm.   And once we stop asking why and trying to change or control what does not lie in our hands, the difficulty -- the situation, condition, person, endeavour – begins to unfold.  

Once we stop resisting, we realize that we have the strength and have been provided all the help we need to get through the hardship.  

The hardship has been made easy for us to bear.  

And over time, as we continue to endure patiently in submission, we begin to see what a blessing it is.  

In fact, the greater the hardship, the greater the ease Allah provides in the form of help and strength.  And the greater the hardship, the greater the blessing at its heart.

And Allah knows best.

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GRATITUDE AND BLESSING

When you surrender to and patiently endure suffering, Allah shows you the blessing in it.  And you become grateful.  When you become grateful even for hellish suffering, Allah shows you more and bigger blessings contained in that suffering.  Each blessing makes the suffering worthwhile and each blessing is more beautiful than the one before.  And you are more grateful than before.  

You suffer once, but He blesses you again and again and again.  Indeed, "If you are grateful, I will give you more."

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IHSAN (EXCELLENCE AND BEAUTY)

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Ihsan is an act of such excellence that it is beautiful for its inner meaning and goodness and its outer form.  An act of such exquisite impeccability requires unconditional submission and unconditional intent.

and Allah knows best.

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WHAT WE TREASURE -- Divine Generosity

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When we receive something we cherish – a relationship, a position, a gift – we immediately become attached to it and almost unconsciously begin to act in a way so as to secure its continued presence in our lives. We forget that we are not the ones who designed either the treasure – whatever and whoever it is – or its arrival into our lives. We begin to claim it as our own as if we had initiated, produced and brought it into existence. We fear its loss. The more we value it, the more time and energy we spend striving to keep it in our hands. In truth, the best things in our lives are here not because of our ingenuity – if we have played a part in receiving them, it has been minuscule. The treasures of our lives and we ourselves are products and recipients of a most astonishing and staggering Genius and Generosity. If we truly realized that every valuable thing, person, or condition in our lives is a result of Divine Beneficence, we would be both grateful and trusting. We would feel secure. Because we would know that the One who has granted us this, can grant us more of the same, or better. We don't have to scheme or worry to secure anything for ourselves. We are taken care of. We always have been. We always will be. image: with thanks via Iraj Jahanshahi

BEFRIEND YOUR BODY

Your body is one of your greatest friends and allies.  It is an astonishing divine gift, a sacred dwelling place for your spirit, a holy lamp in which the light of your consciousness burns.

It is not your vehicle to project yourself into the world, to become an object, to be seen, to look attractive, to draw attention.

Its greatest value is not in its form.  But its function, and above all its meaning.

The spirit is its master dweller.  Consciousness is its essence and its purpose.

It is not just a miracle of metabolic, physiological and anatomical function, it is living, breathing, love and life.  

It is text.
Read it.
Listen to it.
Pay attention to it.
It whispers many stories, many secrets.

It speaks of pain and its cure.
It speaks of longing and union.
It speaks of imprisonment and freedom.

Listen.  Listen, pay attention.

Don’t use it to appear, to draw attention, to lure, to seduce.  
Don’t hate it for what you perceive to be its ugliness, its flaws.  
Don’t berate it for its infirmity and weakness and age.

Its everlasting beauty, strength and potential are inside, hidden, under the surface.  Find that.

Be grateful to this friend.

Rid it gently, of what is toxic, stagnant and no longer required.

Take care of it.  Nourish it well -- not with empty pleasure, distraction and futile activity – but with wholesome food, drink, rest, thoughts, feelings and actions.  

Purify it with prayer, remembrance, meditation and service.

Use it to pour yourself out, to serve yourself empty.

Be grateful to this friend.  Take care of it and listen to it.  

Pay close attention and you will learn so much about yourself from this singular ally. 

You have no other friend like this, in the whole world.

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FREEDOM POWER COURAGE

When you want nothing from the other, you cannot be manipulated. You cannot be enticed or intimidated. You cannot be held hostage.

This is the essence of real freedom and power.

How can you arrive at this?

By letting go of all desire and expectation that is fulfilled by the other. And by convincing yourself that a grain of good cannot reach you, unless Allah permits it and a grain of harm cannot reach you, unless Allah permits it. He alone has command over what you receive and your life.

What can anyone possibly give you or withhold from you that is better for you than what Allah can give you or withhold from you?

THE GIFT OF TOTAL ACCEPTANCE

It may appear that people want what our money, or fame or power can give them.  It may seem as if people like us for our strength, our outer beauty, our place in society, our talents, successes and achievements.

But what people really want – and they may not even be conscious of this themselves – what actually lies behind their aspirations, is to be accepted, to be understood, to be affirmed as they are.  

We all have a deep desire to be seen, to be given full attention, to be listened to without interruption or judgment.  To be accepted with our weaknesses, our flaws, our failures, our fears, our darkness.  We want our pain to be acknowledged and understood.  We want to be sincerely affirmed and praised for our selves and our struggles. 

Why are we all so desperate for this total acceptance and why are so few of us able to give it to another?  

Because most of us are in denial about our own selves.  Most of us are afraid to know ourselves.  Most of us are too busy constructing and defending the shell we have created of ourselves, based on our conditioning.  This shell is not who we are, it is not whole, it is not authentic.  So we have a fear of being found out, of being an imposter. And this disquiet eats away at us.  And when we see our shadow reflected in others – in weakness, in vulnerability, in what we consider deviant or improper, in neediness, in brokenness, in failure – we shrink in horror from the other, when in fact, it is our own selves we are most afraid and horrified of.

What we require, more than anything else, is permission to be human – which means to be lost sometimes, to be confused sometimes, to make mistakes sometimes.  To not always have the answers, to not always be right, successful, strong and in control.  To be allowed to be weak, vulnerable and needy sometimes.  To be allowed to want (not necessarily have) what we should not want.  Permission to acknowledge our selfishness, greed, jealousy, envy, fear, without succumbing to them.  Permission to acknowledge our appetite for violence, revenge, pleasure, without indulging in them.

Permission to be imperfect and broken.

Permission to be tired, to stop and to rest.

It is only when we acknowledge our demonic and beastly potential that we transcend them to realize our highest potential, which is noble and breathtakingly beautiful and sublime.  

Our darkness is not just the opposite of our light, it is not just the path to our light, when the darkness is made conscious, it becomes our light.

Grant yourself the permission to be human.  Grant yourself full acceptance.  Walk into and transmute your darkness into light.

Then give this gift of total acceptance, of your light, to everyone else.

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PRACTICE & GROWTH

For any area of self improvement -- physical, intellectual, creative or spiritual -- go to a source you trust and a teaching/ technique that resonates with you.

Then submit to it fully.

Start small, but be regular in order to establish your practice and build it up from there. It is better to do a little each day than to do a lot in spurts.

Give it your all.

if you don't give it your best you will not benefit from it and you will never know why it didn't work -- was it you or was it the teaching/ technique? And you are likely to be plagued by doubt and regret, which you will carry to the next thing you try.

If it works, stick with it. If you slip in your practice, forgive yourself and start again.

If it doesn't work, give it up and try something else. Don't waste time with something that is not working just because you've already made some kind of investment in it (assuming you've done your best and given it enough time). It's not going to start working based on the size of your investment.
And always pray for Divine guidance and help :)

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THE ONE WHO HEALS YOU

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The one who heals you is the one who accepts you fully as you are, and shows you how to accept yourself.

The one who heals you is the one who understands you and your pain, and helps you to know yourself and your pain.

The one who heals you is compassionate; who feels your pain as her own, and helps you let go of its root.

The one who heals you is the one who helps you come back Home -- back  to wholeness, back to your self.

And in the end you find that the one who heals you is you. There never is or was any other.


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COURAGE is real Confidence.

Photo by Iraj Jahanshahi on Facebook

COURAGE is real Confidence.

Parents and other super-ordinates concerned for the welfare and growth of children and subordinates, often want those in their charge to be confident.

But how can one give confidence to another person?  And what are we talking about really when we speak of confidence?   

Confidence is generally understood to be a kind of self-belief, strength and faith.  For the little one to be confident, the ground-bed of the relationship between the big one and the small one must be one of affirmation -- sincere care, support, praise and appreciation of the little one.

What is truly empowering or enCOURAGING, however, is not an exclusive focus on achievement and success, but an acceptance of failure as necessary for the little one's growth.  

The big one who trusts and allows the little one to risk failure, teaches the little one courage.  And true confidence is, in fact, courage.

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THE DIVINE QUEST

THE DIVINE QUEST is a solitary journey of the spiritual warrior. The warrior's most effective weapons are restraint, discipline, vigilance and courage. The enemy and the battleground are internal. This enemy, who comes in many disguises and with many clever ruses, has to be faced - alone - with heroic courage. And ultimately laid to rest with an unbounded acceptance of the totality of the self. A Seeing of It All. The most epic and heroic of journeys back to core authenticity, to Home, asks for everything along the way. Everything. Everything must be given up. In complete dispossession, deprivation, detachment and submission is found the Treasure of all treasures.
May Allah grant us that Treasure. and Allah knows best. photo via https://bobchoat.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/woman-warrior2.jpg

COURTEOUS WHEN PROVOKED

To remain courteous, when you are provoked, is the only way out.

It is very difficult to remain silent and courteous when you feel you have been unfairly accused. However, this is the only thing that will take you to greater freedom. Let’s say someone accuses you of being intolerant, judgmental or disrespectful. You can either choose to defend yourself or not to defend yourself.

If you choose to “defend” yourself, it is best to give attention to what lies in your own hands. Generally, the only defense you can offer is to clarify your intentions and/ or your actions; or to explain that you didn’t mean to judge or disrespect the person. And better still, apologize for the fact that the person experienced you the way they did. But then move on. There is no more you can do without vindicating the accusation.

In other words, the moment you start to blame the other person for your behaviour – “I said this because you said this…” – you will become judgmental. They will respond with more accusations and so on. This can only add to the drama and keep you stuck in an unhealthy pattern.

The only way out is to choose not to defend yourself and remain silent in the face of the other’s accusations. Even if the other person is completely wrong in their criticism of you, by engaging in a dialogue of criticism and counter-criticism, you remain trapped.

So what if the other person does not experience you or see you the way you think you are, the way you strive to be or the way you intend? Their perception is a result of the filter of their internal dialogue and conditioning. Why do you want to make their problem, your problem?

This is not an absolute statement, only a suggestion for situations in which another person’s **opinion** is involved. In cases where you are unfairly **treated**, by a boss or teacher for instance, it may be correct to confront them.

The Entire Ocean In A Drop

In order to experience being the entire ocean in a drop, we have to give up our identities.  Wear them loosely, like outer garments to be worn when required, but hung on the wall, when not.

We cling to identities for security, significance, belonging -- to escape our insignificance, our weakness, our loneliness, our fear. But identities end up limiting us, making us mediocre and unauthentic, and alienate us and cut us off from the vastness that is our potential.

If my "identity" does not have a practical use (like a passport that allows me to travel) or is not a transformational practice (like islam) which takes me towards understanding, compassion, peace and the fulfillment of becoming "the entire ocean in a drop."  then I have to ask myself why I am clinging to it.

Our Need To Be Interesting Makes Us Uninteresting

As human beings we have a deep desire to be significant - to stand out, to be attractive, to be interesting, to be important.

The greater our own need for significance, the less attention we have for the other.  There more interesting we find ourselves, the less interesting we will find the world.  And the less interesting the world will find us.

However, when we can give up our need to be attractive or interesting and really listen and look at the other, we will find much to be delighted and enchanted with, even if it is someone or something that at first glance seemed ordinary.  In fact, you can literally begin to see, over time, how the other blossoms under the bestowal of receptive, affirmative attention. 

It is like sunshine on a rose.

And what is likely to happen?

The more enchanting we find the other, the more enchanting we generally become to the other, without even trying.

And Allah  knows best

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www.sufi-girl.blogspot.com

Spiritual Teacher/ Student

A spiritual teacher is there to serve the student unconditionally and s/he has to be milked for nourishment by the student.  Such a relationship is mutually beneficial for both student and teacher.  The teacher's job is to discern what might help the student in her struggle. The student's job is to discern what nourishes his spirit, not his ego.

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Rumi and Shams

Many want to be Rumi but don't want to endure what he endured. Rumi became Maulana not because he was with Shams. He became Maulana because he had to be without Shams. And because he had to do the hard work of discovering Shams inside himself.

The Rumi-Shams relationship is not about romance or partnership or even companionship.

It is about awakening to the excruciating pain of our original separation from the One Beloved, the unbearable, obsessive yearning for Union and the unspeakable anguish of what it takes to be purified for the Beloved's Presence.

And Allah knows best.

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Travel Light

to travel well is to travel lighton the path of Love what''s essentialbut a heart turned to and turning only for the Beloved?

drop everything elseeverything!

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Generosity II

This morning i was communicating with someone who is dealing with huge challenges on many fronts.  Without going into details, I want to stress that I do not use these words - huge challenges on many fronts - lightly and I do not exaggerate.  This person has their plate full to overflowing with challenges that they must deal with alone.

I offered some little help but the person said they would not take something for nothing; they would only take what I offered if they could make a contribution in return.  

How often do we complain about our little aches and pains, our dashed hopes and fantasies of vacations and material goods, about the petty behaviour of others, about the amount of work we have to do?  

And here is a human being who is offering to do do MORE, despite what they must confront, with great difficulty, every day of their lives.

I am filled with admiration and respect.  And my faith in humanity, in the Divine Generosity behind All This, is once again reaffirmed.

Alhamdolillah<3

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The Curse Is The Blessing

Our lives, our bodies, our every breath is a miracle.  But all this is so easily given to us that we take it for granted. Once in a while something so astounding happens that we become completely still and silent, awestruck, when we get a glimpse of just how Great the Genius behind our lives is.

One of the most astounding and awe-inspiring realizations is when you realize that the thing that you had been complaining about for years, maybe decades, is actually an incredible blessing.

It's like you're locked up in a tiny room and you're staring at the wall and complaining bitterly about how awful it is and how awful your life is, and suddenly, very gently, Allah turns you around 180 degrees and you see that all this time, the door to the sun-lit meadow was lying wide open.  All you had to do, was turn around.  But you were so stuck to the wall, to its ugliness, to the unfairness of your situation, to your sob story, that you never thought of looking anywhere else.  This was all you could see. 

This is what we do.  We create our cage, then sit and complain about it.  While all this time, the door to freedom is lying wide open.

If we remain stuck to our story, we refuse to see His Text, which is staggering in its ingenuity, in its breathtaking design.  The incredible blessing appears as curse, until He grants us an opening to see.

It's easy to see a blessing that is clearly a blessing; to really see and to be amazed and thrilled is to see the curse IS the blessing.

We can never truly fathom the Beloved's Greatness or Generosity or Patience. Or indeed anything about Him. 


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Self Mastery

Self mastery implies you are not manipulable. A mature person cannot be tempted or intimidated into doing what is incorrect. The more s/he is willing to lose, the greater her/his self mastery.

and Allah knows best.

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Allah Is All You Need

Self Knowledge

We deny the enormity, the intensity of our darkest emotions.  We judge ourselves and shove our unacknowledged feelings into our unconscious.  There they reside, the most powerful influences invisible to us.  These unconscious emotions are the roots of our rage, depression, aggression, anxiety, and pain.  

They make us weak, gullible, manipulable, susceptible, anxious and easily provoked.  

Because we are unaware of them, we do not control them, they control us.  

They prevent us from seeing things as they are.

There is no remedy for suffering like self-knowledge.  There is no greater struggle than the struggle with one's own self.  There is no greater gift you can offer the world than your own realization and fulfillment.

and Allah knows best.

image with thanks via Maarten Maarten Appel on Facebook

The Problem With Binaries

As a species we seem to have little capacity to disagree but allow the other to fully express and be who they are – with acceptance, compassion, love and respect. Beware of anyone who tells you that anyone who is not like you; does not dress or live or eat like you; does not speak or think or believe like you; or someone who disagrees with you; is your enemy and hates you. At the root of all violence – subtle and obvious – lies the idea that the world exists in binaries that are mutually exclusive and hostile. There is an assumption that if I disagree with something, I must necessarily hate those who agree with it. This is not true. This binary thinking is what is problematic, not disagreement, different belief systems, lifestyles or ways of being. It is possible to defer to a religious position without having to hate anyone who disagrees with it or lives differently from it. It is possible to disagree and yet accept the other's right to their opinion, choices and perspectives. It is possible to disagree but be appreciative and in awe of the many amazing attributes that other human beings have. It is possible to disagree with but love a person for their heart, for their presence, for their being, for their struggle, for their humanity. It is possible to disagree with but wish the best for and do the best for and have only goodwill towards another person. I personally am sick and tired of the binaries that we impose on our own selves and on others. The world is vast enough and our Creator is generous enough to accommodate us all. And we must struggle to find our authenticity, our own convictions that do not necessarily fit convenient but reduced categories like “pro-x”/ “anti-x.” Don't judge someone who does not agree with you and don't let anyone guilt you or bully you into a position by labeling or judging you. May Allah grant us the capacity to recognize and be for truth, beyond binaries, and whichever , “side” it comes from. photo: with thanks via Maarten Maarten Appel www.sufi-girl.blogspot.com

The Need For Significance Makes Us Prey

As humans we seek to be significant, to be seen, to stand out. After all, how many of us will say our aspiration is to die a nameless loser? The Design, however, is for us not to seek but to grant significance. Our eyes - which more than any other organ in the body are associated with attention - are oriented outwards, towards the other, not towards the self. That which is significant is worthy of attention. Therefore, our physical Design tells us we are here to grant, not get significance. (from the teachings of Shaykh Ebrahim Etsko Schuitema) This is also explicitly mentioned in the Quran, “And I did not create the jinn and humankind except to worship Me.” (Quran 51:56) We are made to worship Other than us - "everywhere you turn is the face of Allah" which means we are not here to worship ourselves, to grant significance to ourselves to vie with others to get significance. So, we embody and live this contradiction -- wanting significance and yet carrying and existing in the Design of being here to grant significance. One of the ways in which this contradiction plays out is that when we strive to appear, to stand out, we set ourselves up for attack. Just like the Design of our eyes, this is evident in nature. In the natural world, camouflage is protective to all creatures. Camouflage is about blending in, not standing out. That which blends in is safe. That which stands out is prey. The same rule applies for humans. The human being who seeks to be seen, who seeks to stand out, becomes prey. She or he will be attacked. Usually, the one who is prey will react by accusing and abusing the attacker. And there will be truth in the accusation. The predator may indeed be reprehensible. But until we understand the root of this dynamic, we will set ourselves up for attack again and again. I am one, but "they" are many. It is not in my power to stop the predators. They will eventually wear me down. But it is in my power to give up the need to be significant, to be seen. It is in my power to blend in and be safe. It is in my power to be the one who grants, not seeks, significance and attention. This is also the meaning of humility -- being here to grant, not seek, significance. And it is a profoundly practical attribute to cultivate. If you feel people are always attacking you, examine your intent. When you interact with others, are you motivated by the intent to stand out and be seen or are you motivated by the intent to listen, understand and grant the other significance? Changing our intent to grant significance to the other has the most profound and miraculous effect on our interactions. The world no longer attacks us. And the few attacks that find their way to us don't feel like attacks any more because we are not engaging for the sake or significance (to be right, important or liked). This is because our intent is now in harmony with the Design and all of Existence. When we blend in, when we grant significance, we are allied with all of Life. We are safe. and Allah knows best. photo: with thanks via Maarten Maarten Appel on Facebook

MALEVOLENCE

MALEVOLENCE

Unless we see the face of malevolence in its extreme form, we do not understand its nature or appreciate its full horror and we make excuses for its more subtle forms, especially as it appears in ourselves.


photo: with thanks via http://www.ffonts.net/Malevolent-z.font

Why Guilt Often Backfires

Why Guilt Often Backfires

When we act from guilt, our motivation is to make ourselves look or feel better, not necessarily serve or benefit the other.  Because we are not trying to give but trying to get something from the other, they experience us as predatory or manipulative. They will react by withdrawing  their approval or complain and demand more.  In either case, our attempts will backfire.

photo: with thanks via Maarten Maarten Appel on facebook

SEPARATION

SEPARATION Understand that if you look at the rest of humanity and say: "I'm different, I'm this but not that, I'm part of this not that" then you cling to separation, to a separate identity, to illusion. And you suffer from alienation, hatred and fear. If you want an identity that distinguishes you, that is "better" than the identity of the other, then what are you doing on the spiritual path? Drop the talk about nearness, union and gnosis. This path is about all or nothing. There's nothing half-hearted or partial about this endeavour. There's no exclusion, exception, or choice. You have to accept All of it - the profane and sublime; the base and noble; the dark and light; the ugly and beautiful; the pain and joy. You have to embrace the alien, the enemy, the tormentor, the other as yourself. This is Union. All else is separation. photo: with thanks via Maarten Maarten Appel

HEALING

HEALING Self-pity, resentment, fear and despair exacerbate disease. if you think you are unique in your suffering; if you are asking why me; if you have no faith and you think I cannot do what is required to go through it, then you are aiding your disease. It is natural to experience these emotions when one is very sick, but understand that indulging yourself in them will make you sicker. Accept the totality of the situation and yourself. Then deliberately choose gratitude, forgiveness, trust and faith to heal. and Allah is the best of Providers and Healers. photo: with thanks via Maarten Maarten Appel

Gratitude For The Petty Tyrant

Gratitude For The Petty Tyrant If there is someone in your life who drives you to distraction but with whom you cannot or will not sever ties, then this person is your "petty tyrant" (PT) in the words of Carlos Castaneda. One way to work on your relationship with this PT is to deliberately seek out what this person does for you for which you are grateful. Every time you have a resentful or violent thought about the PT, deliberately seek a reason to be grateful to this person. Initially this will be take effort. But overtime, you will find it less of a struggle and you will find more and more reasons to be grateful to the person. Eventually, the gratitude will become more effortless and spontaneous and it will wipe the grime of resentment from your vision. And most amazingly, you will find more and more things the PT did in the past as well, for which you are grateful to them -- things that you had never seen before. In other words, your gratitude in the present will transmute your resentment and not only change your present but also change your perception, experience and narrative of the past! Even if this person continues to irritate you, the intensity of your emotion will be milder, you will find it easier to restrain yourself during a trying interaction, and you will get over your irritation faster. You will find your heart filled with more and more love for this same person. SubhanAllah! image: with thanks via Maarten Maarten Appel on facebook