Where do I go?

I wrote this in response to a discussion on my old girls list about the relationship between wealth and Phd.'s ...there is none.....

The notion of 'you don t have to go to school to be rich' is from the book 'Rich Dad Poor Dad'.
Actually it is not about making millions either , it is about money management and,an education not in the field of money may mean one is not too money savvy and is likely to make a lot of mistakes re money. Which means if you are smart , it does not mean you are money smart.

Another point to ponder is this:
Abdul Rahman bin Auf, sahabat Nabi was a rich man before he migrated to Medina with the rest of the Muslims. He had to leave all his wealth in Mecca .
He went to Medina with nothing and his 'helper' in Medina lent him some capital , he started a business and again became a rich man.
On the other hand: we have the stories of people who became instant millionaires when their land became valuable and a year later they are poor again, even worse , now without their land.
What does it all mean?
That wealth is a state of being. It does not matter if you are a Phd holder or a school drop out,if you have a wealthy mindset , you will have the wealth.

Having said that, wealth is not something all people aim for or want to work at.
The main question to ask ourselve is:
What do I really want?
What will make me happy?
What will be fulfilling for me?

As I was walking from a restaurant, carrying my beautiful grandchild in my arms , a bundle of lovable joy, I thought to myself.
What is preventing me from being happy right now?
I know what will make me happy. I would be happy if I was my most authentic every moment of my time. If I did what I was doing in the best way .If I treat people the best way I could, if I solved problems in the wisest way possible, if I took my trials with fortitude and patience, learning the lessons and moving on.
Most of all if I spent enough time with my Lord and had the peace within the center of my being, anchoring me in the Haq all the time...

All the rest of the ornaments of life, Phds, money , beauty ...are the dressings......

Postscript:

In some cases, dressings are very important . I do not understimate the importance of dressings.
And perhaps my analogy is not that accurate either ..because money is a tool and a vehicle to attain life's purposes. So too a degree, it too is a tool to gain life's purposes. They are not the goal, they are the means to an end.

Travelling West

I do not think I will be travelling to the West in the near future. Perhaps I have been looking at the wrong websites but it seems to me that Islamophobia is on the rise and many governments and police , airport authorities etc and etc are not thinking rationally. Have we moved back in time? Are we in the Middle Ages...I almost spelt Muddle Ages and perhaps that is what this age is , a Muddle Age.

It is my opinion that many people are getting arrested on mere suspiscion that is not substantiated and many innocents are getting hurt. What about the university student who was selling handphones to pay for his university fees? Just because handphones can be used to detonate a bomb ,does it mean any person with a lot of handphones is involved in blowing up bombs?

And why would two Asians who passed a security check want to blow up a plane and how would they do it without anything that could be used ? Why then remove them from the plane and stop them from flying?

I would rather travel to Muslim countries with a Muslim airline. I would definitely feel safer. This is a feeling and even though it may not be appropriate and perhaps not even rational , I feel it because of the current situations at airports. Orly airport has just closed several Muslim prayer rooms.Luckily they kept a few still open . Prayer rooms and mosques are being viewed as places where Muslim ( synonymous with terrorist) plot to blow themselves up along with whoever is around. Is the world moving back in time? Are we getting polarised and talking about them versus us?

All it took was for a group of men , whoever they were to blow up a plane and a building. This started it of and instead of healing from it there is more and more paranoia.

It does not help that Muslims are also being fed kafirphobia.There are emails flying around of plots to make Muslims eat pork , cola bottles parodying Muslims at prayer and all kinds of nonsensical emails specifically designed to make Muslims hate non Muslims.

Limiting Emotions?

Last month I had an invitation to give a motivational talk to students at a school for girls. It is no ordinary school, there are grills that prevent the girls from running away and they have hostels because it is a residential school. These girls were there because their parents or teachers found them too difficult to handle. What I discovered was that they had a whole bunch issues with themselves and their families .Why did they end up here, prisoners to all intents and purposes?
One consolation was that they were only required to stay for a short duration of one year. Many would come back .When they became too old to be placed in these schools they may end up with this other group....

Yesterday I was at a training camp in Janda Baik, Pahang. This time it was a group assembled by the Pink Triangle NGO and the Jabatan Ugama Islam.There were men and women with problems . Many were HIV positive.What they had in common was that all felt rejected by society for things they felt they could not help . Many had used drugs at one time or another.

I introduced both groups to Emotional Freedom technique..I told the organizers, I was not going to do any preaching, I only wanted to help them come to terms with how they felt. Pictured below the participants practicing their newly learned Emotional Freedom Technique, tapping on the meridian points.

Between needs and wants

While shopping to equip our new office , we tried our best to buy only what was needed. It was not easy to distinguish between the two..how much time do you spend trying to decide between wants and needs...
Why are you reading this blog, is it a want or a need? Why am I writing this , to fulfill a want or a need???

How many times have you heard (or for that matter said yourself) "I absolutely need (fill in the blank)" when in reality the meaning was "I really want (fill in the blank)?" I can't live without those shoes...I will die if I can't have that ring...I simply have to have that car...the list can go on and on. Please don't get me wrong. These are phrases that we all use. That is why it's important to step back and remember that wants and needs are not the same.

Here is a list. Take a few moments to jot down what is a need and what is a want.

1. shoes

2. designer suit

3. water

4. large apartment

5. bed

6. ice-cream

7. car

8. entertainment center

9. club membership

10. lunch

11. concert tickets

12. trip to Hawaii

13. medicine

14. necklace

15. computer

16. daily espresso

17. cellular phone

18. golf clubs

19. furnishings

Unfortunately, the answers to these questions are not completely black and white. What may be a want for one person may be a necessity for another person. For example, let's take a look at a computer. If you make your livelihood on the computer, then a computer is a necessity for you. If you only use a computer to play the latest online games, then it isn't. Knowing this, we can still make some pretty good guesses as to what are wants and what are needs from the above list for most people. Shoes (and clothing in general), water, bed, car, lunch, medicine and furnishings are good bets to be needs. Now that doesn't mean that the latest model, 4 wheel drive sport utility vehicle with all the extras counts as a need for most people, but basic transportation to make a living does.

A large apartment, computer and cellular phone may or may not qualify as a need depending on your particular circumstances while a designer suit, ice-cream, entertainment center, club membership, concert tickets, trip to Hawaii, necklace, daily espresso and golf clubs all probably fall into the want section.

If you can take the time to start being honest with yourself, you will find that a lot of the things which you assumed were an absolute necessity until now are in reality nothing more than wants. Once you distinguish between the two and look at these issues objectively, you have placed yourself in the position to live within your means by simply asking yourself whether or not an item or service you are about to purchase is a need or merely a want.

Copyright (c) 2004, by jeffrey strain

Ainayya Mardhiyah

This is my grand daughter . She crawls now. Her favourite toy is a handphone. She already chewed her Mum's handphone until it no longer works, she has also destroyed Mamu Aiman's headset by sucking on it. My handphone has to be reformated after she had a go at it..and as you can see , she loves to be behind the wheels.
Mami Ai said, she is angelic when she is asleep.

Aimi's USU mind map

You can click on the image to get a clearer view of this mind map. It can be added to of course,perhaps I can use it to coach Aimi later when she has gone to USU so that she remains focused on her goals.

Aimi is going to USU to do medicine. Finally! What a scramble to find her a place to do medicine. But in my mind and heart I could already see Aimi in 5 years from now so I was certain she would be able to get a place. She has has a one track mind about her career , even though it was so difficult to imagine possible when she did not make the grades to go locally and then, she was offered a place to do dentistry instead. In the end though , she got her place , only God knows how that came about! Aimi is leaving this weekend and I will go visit her with Hana when Hana comes back . What a pity that Hana will miss Aimi by a mere 12 hours . We will go visit her Hana when she has settled down.
This is a mind map of the brainstorming session I had with Aimi weighing her benefits, challenges and what she needs to do.

So many milestones

I guess I should be so pleased today!
I am attending Himi's graduation at last..and Aiman's in 3 weeks from now! So 3 graduates in the family already .
Hana is coming back next week and the Light of Healing treatment and training center is going to be ready by next week.
I will be finishing my Professional Certified Coach training by September and Holistic Leaders Sdn Bhd will be getting ready to roll!

Things are moving really...now if only I can get my heart to stop having these palpitations ....ooops Hana not to worry it is getting less already , and will settle down when the family and new companies moves beyond these baby steps......