Communication from the Domain of the Heart

Communication  from the Domain of the Heart

 “Since the nature of life is action and reaction, every outer experience has a reaction within, and every inner experience has its reaction in the outer life.”

Aphorims of HIK

The lady who walked into the room in the afternoon looked familiar. In my usual dreamy style , I had forgotten when I 'd seen her last and when I looked at the notes I mistook the date and thought she was coming in for her yearly check when in actual fact she had just been to see me the previous month for inserting an IUD, a contraceptive device. When I asked her how she was and asked if she was coming for her yearly check up , she snapped at me and told me in no uncertain terms that she was the patient who waited a whole hour in the treatment room because I had forgotten about her  only a month ago and today she also waited a long time before I finally called her. She then went into a tirade about some other things and she was in a blaming mood, practically blaming everything she could think of on me. Old experienced doctors like me who have been in practice more than 20 years are well respected and I almost never get a patient who found me fair game for such an outburst so this young lady's tantrum shook me up somewhat. I knew I was responsible because with a hundred and one things on my mind, I did do some multitasking and was late calling her in. Half finished on my computer screen was a slide presentation I was preparing about communication and perhaps with the work fresh in my mind I focused on trying to  talk to her as honestly and as close to 'Haq' as I possibly could.

I began in a low and calm voice to tell how how sorry I was for all my shortcomings. I told her honestly I could see she was very angry with me and asked her how I could make it up to her. While I was saying this , I focused on my breathing and was speaking to her from the domain of the heart. There was no echoing anger in me, only a great need to mend the situation.

The change in the energy was palpable. Not only did she stop being angry, she started opening up to me, telling me her worries and concerns over her health.

In a spirit of love and intimacy , I finished the examination and her greeting as she left the room was warm and heartfelt .As she left she apologized to me for her outburst. My receptionist told me she was smiling as she left my clinic.

This anecdote that I relate introduces our class for this month, Communication from the Domain of the Heart. How often we find ourselves in situations when we react instead of respond. How often that results in difficult situations and 'dances' that are repeated time and again until we learn not to react but to respond. ? How does one learn to respond rather than to react?

"Murshid, when I come to you I come with a thousand complaints to make.

Why is it that the power of your presence disarms me?"

 Murshid: "Because I have disarmed myself."

Anecdotes of Hazrat Inayat Khan Seite 1

Some patients have a compulsive need to trigger such reactions to reinforce

their rejection pattern.

It is the energy of the other person that we feel . I once caught myself becoming very angry only to realise that it was the key to the remedy the patient needed. The patient was a baby with cereberal palsy who almost never stopped crying . He was already 6 months old when the parents brought him to see me.Soon after he and his parents walked into my room I started becoming angry. He was screaming at the top of his voice and the parents told me this was his usual manner except when he is feeding or sleeping. I took the baby from his mum and gave him to his dad , instructing him to take the baby out to the waiting room and do a zikr, Ya Salam all the time. I then did a breathing exercise with the mum , we can try it now . After the breathing exercise, I got a history from the mum. She had become extremely angry when a doctor remarked to a nurse who was trying to teach her to suckle the baby at the breast while she was warded  with the baby when they were investigating his cereberal palsy. He had remarked to the nurse that she was wasting her time because the baby was brain damaged and could not suckle. The mother became very angry but did not say anything . She did manage to breastfeed the baby after this but never stopped being angry up to the moment she was with me.A this point there was a palpable silence because the baby had miraculously stopped crying.

Here is the exercise that we did together.

Focus on your breathing. Do not try to change it but just be aware of it. Observe the in breath and the out breath . Observe how your heart-space feels.In the Quran the heart space is called the "Sadr" and there are many places where it is referred to as expanded or narrowed. How does your "sadr " feel. Is it heavy or expanded or tight or narrow?Is your breathing fast or slow, is it deep or shallow?

Following a quantum physics law, the breathing changes when we observe it. It becomes more regular and deep. We also become calmer and become aware of our emotions. We become aware of the state of our heart-space and probably the reasons why if it is not in an essential state.

The boundaries of the heart-space are the clavicles, the rib cage,the sternum , the scapula and the diaphragm below. Some people may notice that it actually expands to the throat area and the solar plexus area.

The essential state of our heart space

I met an amazing woman this weekend. I was on a beautiful island in Thailand called Koh Samui. Both of us were attending a workshop. This tall Dutch woman walked with a crutch and had to be sent to the lecture room with a buggy.At 54, she was a cripple almost since birth. She lived in hospitals and institutions because she was almost paralized and had constant fits . The doctors finally diagnosed her has having a form of systemic lupus and told her when she was about 20 that she had only a few more years to live. The drugs they gave her almost paralyzed her and she was wheelchair bound. She looked for alternatives and met with an acupuncturist. He said to her, please remove your clothes so that I can examine you. Hearing this she burst out crying for none of the doctors had ever asked her permission to examine her or to subject her to any kind of scrutiny .Another alternative practitioner to whom she was referred to by the acupuncturist worked with her for six years and helped her to stand and walk again. Remarkably, she later met a person who financed her education and training and she then worked as a social worker. She had lived in the US and India and was now living in Thailand. She now called herself by a name her spiritual teacher gave her, Taro. Taro taught me something about the human spirit that I could not have understood had I not met her. I cannot begin to relate what I learned from her because the language of our communication is the language of the heart. This woman had learned to pray for whatever she needed and it would simply come into her life. Although dependent with her disability, she was more independent than many other more mobile people. She was however totally surrendered to guidance from the One.

Communication from the heart is about understanding the still voice from within that guides us and brings to us what we need in our lives. It shows to us our life purpose and guides us to the means to fulfill it.

" Open our hearts that we may hear Thy Voice calling to us from within" Prayer of Hazrat Inayat Khan

In the busi-ness of the day, in all that we do and all that we are occupied with it is the communication and guidance that can turn the time management into a flow of surrendering to the moment . When we learn to communicate with the Divine and are guided from within, our time management changes from coping to directing to thriving

exercise:

Have a look at the chart below and gauge where you are right now.

Use the breathing exercise from the last lesson and place the question in your heart space.

How is my communication with the Divine?

Is my life thriving?

"Whoso believeth in Allah and the Last Day is exhorted to act thus. And whosoever keepeth his duty to Allah, Allah will appoint a way out for him, (QS. 65:2And will provide for him from (a quarter) whence he hath no expectation. And whosoever putteth his trust in Allah, He will suffice him. Lo! Allah bringeth His command to pass. Allah hath set a measure for all things. (QS. 65:3)"

Learning how to live in the moment and let go of the past is part of our being able to address our own needs and the needs of those we communicate with . 

Living in the moment will be another lesson . 

Living ourselves to death

Yes I know this is a computer game, one of the things that serves as distractions from the real journey 

What a notion. We are living ourselves to death . Whether we like it or not, whether it sends chills down our spine or not , death is at the end of the journey we are travelling on. For those of us who have a belief, a faith that death is the beginning of another journey and this life is a preparation for this other journey our fear becomes a focused one. We fear that we will not be able to prepare enough for this coming journey .

Islam defines my faith but I probably cannot be categorised.  Am I a fundementalist Muslim, a liberal Muslim, a universalist  or an ignorant Muslim? Perhaps in any one moment, I am one of those definitions. Sometimes I act like an ignorant Muslim when I forget to raise my children knowing the fundamental rules of being Muslim like respect for one's parents, knowing their rights and the rights of their guardians. At other times, it seems to my very strict fundamentalist Muslim colleagues that I mingle with, I seem rather liberal because I do not dress like they do. In my worship practices and the hijab I wear, I am fundamentalist  and sometimes it seems to those who view Islam through a narrow spectrum of what is right and see it as them versus us, I seem to be universalist as when I respect and acknowledge people of other religions. For my own self, what defines my faith is the depth of my belief that I have to live the life that God intended for me and for which God gave me the potential to do and I have to do it within the bounds of a set of rules and regulations that I choose to adopt and adhere to. Sometimes I get distracted by the glitter of life and forget for a while and at that point there is no congruence and alignment with my beliefs. I then need to realign myself and I am now realigning as I write this.

So coming back to us and by us I mean those who have a firm conviction there is life after death and who have a Supreme Being to answer to. What shall we do this day to fulfill our life purpose? To live the life intended for us? What needs to happen for us to be able to say to the Supreme Being that we have done that  for which we have been given the gifts talents and skills.  What needs to happen for us to have thoroughly prepared ourselves for the life to come? For the truth of the matter is every single minute we waste is a minute we will never recover ever again and it is a single minute that we have neglected to do that which we were intended to do in the limited time the Supreme Being gave to us. So please let us not fritter our lives away and cry when it is just too late to do that which the Supreme Being intended for us to do.

I expect you to....

When I was 8 years old, I asked for a desk and a chair for my birthday. One little desk with one little chair so that I could sit and draw or paint or read all by myself . Instead my dad bought a round desk with 4 chairs. I was really upset and wanted to throw the desk and chair out from the play room my parents had assigned to me.  Their thought was that I would be happy to have a table where my friends could come and play with me and we could have fun together, they thought I would be very happy to have a table where I could socialise and they did not know what I already had in my mind and what I was expecting to get. From my perspective now, I am sure my parents were perplexed and not a little disappointed with my reaction but from a coach's point of view, I now see what went wrong. It was about a difference between my expectations and my parents thoughts of what my expectations were.

I see this happening in our dealings with people quite a lot and wonder how many problems could have been avoided if we could have a discussion between the two parties interacting with each other and get a better picture of what the other expects.

Examples from my  past experiences:

A speaker was engaged for a conference and it was understood he would be given free food and lodging. The contracting was not well done however, and, he arrived several days earlier and decided to fly back several days later. He expected his whole visit to be paid for by the organizer but the organizers only wanted to pay for three days including the day of his presentation. This difference in expectation and the resulting misunderstanding could have been avoided if the terms of his engagement were stipulated clearly beforehand.


For Muslims, I would like to point out that contracting is clearly stated in several verses of the Quran.( Verses at the end of this article)

An agreement between two parties should at first be clearly stated, so that both parties are clear on what would be provided and in which quantity and on what date under what terms . This applies even to freebies and to any other dealings between two parties. It could be between patient and doctor, between customer and vendor , between a professional and his client, between a teacher and the pupils, between a husband and a wife and the list is endless. A discussion followed by a thorough understanding of what the other party expects is a contract, whether it be verbal or written. A written contract is far superior to a verbal one when it comes to disputes which arise after the contracting.

A vague promise by one party say Mr A,  would lead the other party, Mr B to imagine the undertaking to be more than what Mr A was willing to give and this applies to all of the parties I mentioned above and any that you could think of .

This also holds true for service providers who get payment for their services. Supposing I were to engage an entertainer for an event. Surely there will be terms of the payment . Perhaps a payment and some other benefits. What if there was an agreement to the terms and just before the event, the entertainer made some new requests? Surely I would feel that the entertainer had reneged on the original agreement and it would upset me. Indeed, in this case, the entertainer should right from the beginning state his/her terms and make sure that he/she does not demand more that what was agreed upon even if it meant he/she was being compensated less that what he/she felt he/she deserved!

An example I often quote between two people who marry each other is the expectation of the wife that she is getting a prince charming who will bring her flowers and gifts while the husband is imagining there is now someone who will cook and clean for him in the daytime while becoming a femme fatale at night ! Fireworks indeed when the prince charming turns out to be a snoring couch potato and the cook cleaner and femme fatale turns out to be a the girl who can only take care of her own little body or one who does the cooking and cleaning and gets so tired out that she goes to bed with her sweaty work clothes! So, you guys and girls who are planning to get married, do manage your expectations of each other , talk it out and spell out the dos and don'ts and make it as realistic and practical as possible . 

Below I quote several verses from the Quran that speak about contracts and honoring its terms:

1. O you who believe! Fully discharge (the obligations arising through) contracts
(Surah Ma’idah 5:1).

2. …and those who truly care for their trusts (left by others in their care) and their
covenants. (Surah Mu’minun 23:8).

1. Fully discharge the volume (to be provided to the client) when you measure in
volume, and weigh (the commodities sold by weight) by an accurate scale. That is
goodness and better (as a material and practical) interpretation (of the contract of sale
you have concluded).
(Surah Isra 17:34)

http://tcm-cucms.blogspot.com/2012/05/traditional-and-complementary-medicine.html

International Conference on Homeopathy Malaysia 2011

Report on the First International Conference on Evidence Based Homoeopathy
This July marked a first for Homeopathy in Malaysia, an international Homeopathy conference was held for the first time. The First International Conference on Homoeopathy was help on 15th-17th July 2011 at the Putra World Trade Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The theme was “Is Homoeopathy Evidence Based?” It was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Health (Traditional & Complimentary Division) and the Malaysian Homoeopathic Medical Council.
There were concurrent sessions at the preconference workshop which commenced with the deliberation of the homoeopathic gastro-enterologist from Australia Dr. Hassim Seedat on “Finding the Similimum in Gastrointestinal Disorders” where he guided the audience on the method of case taking and repertorization along with presentation of a few cases of Ulcerative Colitis from his practice. In the concurrent session, there was the “Introduction to Evidence Based Medicine” by Datin Dr. Rugayah Bakri (Head of Health Technology Assessment Unit, Ministry of Health, Malaysia.) Mrs. Sin Lian Thye spoke on “Steps in searching for literature” while Mrs. Noormah Mohd Darus gave a detailed presentation on “Evaluating the Quality and Methodology of Systematic Review and Rct papers.” Dr. Izzuna Mudla Mohamed Ghazali (Epidemiologist) took a marathon 2 hour session on “Evaluating the Quality and Methodology of observational papers” and “Summarizing and Synthesizing Evidence.” She then joined Mrs. Noormah and Dr. Bakri for a group work on “Appraising a Paper.” Dr. Suriyakhatun Osman spoke on the role of Chronic Miasms in “Behcet’s Disease” where as Dr. Geeta Rani Arora exhibited the finesse of the homoeopathic software “RADAR” in clinical practice.
The inauguration ceremony saw much fanfare. After the official opening speech read on behalf of Y.B. Dato’ Sri Liow Tiong Lai; Minister of Health, Malaysia, the Keynote Address was delivered by YBhg Dato’ Dr Maimunah Hamid . She spoke at length on “Integrating Traditional and Complementary Medicine into Malaysian Health Care.” The preliminary sessions were on Evidence based Homoeopathy Practice and Homoeopathic Trials and Research. It started with Dr. Peter Fisher’s (United Kingdom) exposition on “The efficacy and real world effectiveness of Homoeopathy” followed by “Homoeopathic Prescribing in Rheumatology” and finally “Integrating Homoeopathy Into National Health System: UK experience.” He went on to answer 3 pertinent questions : Do homoeopathic medicines have beneficial effects that are not placebo effects?; Does homoeopathy as a whole system of medicine provide benefit in terms of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness; and is homoeopathy safe? Towing the line of the keynote address, Dr. Azman Abu Bakar - IHSR Director, Ministry of Health, Malaysia painted the Malaysian picture on “Evidence Based Medicine : Application in Traditional and Complementary Medicine and the way forward.”
The conference experienced 3 well researched papers by Alastair Gray (Australia). The Head of Homeopathy at Endeavour College of Natural Health spoke on “Systemic review of positive & negative Homoeopathic trials in the Treatment & management of Named Conditions & Diseases”, “Homoeopathic research: Pathway to higher education” and the last paper on “ Contemporary method in the Ethics, conducting, collating, extracting and publishing of Homoeopathic proving.” Dr. Clare Relton (United Kingdom) also presented 3 papers namely “Homoeopathy : What type of clinical evidence is required”; “How to design Homoeopathic Clinical randomized Controlled trials that Work” and “Understanding the evidence: Insomnia and Fibromyalgia Syndrome.”
The following sessions saw the works of a young and dynamic homoeopath cum biophysicist from United Kingdom Dr. Alexander Tourner. Combining his expertise of both the subjects (physics and homoeopathy) Alex presented papers on “The physics of Homoeopathy : The state of the Evidence” and “Theoretical model of Homoeopathy: How does it work?” His final paper vividly highlighted “Prof. Luc Montagnier”s Research on high dilutions and it’s Application in Homoeopathy.” The Head of the world renown Finlay Institute at Cuba Dr. Gustavo Bracho narrated his experiences in “Homoeopathic Approach to Dengue: Recent Experiences and strategies”, “Large scale of Homoeoprophylaxis for Epidemic control: Leptospirosis” and “Vaccines & Homoeoprophylaxis: Experiences and potentials.” Then came the turn of the veteran homoeopath from Australia, Dr. Issac Golden. He spoke on “Evidence base of Homeoprophylaxis” and “Long term Homoeoprophylaxis in Endemic conditions.”
One session was dedicated in discussing the present scenario of homoeopathy in Malaysia. Dr. Ramli Abd. Ghani Director T & CM division, Health Ministry, Malaysia deliberated on “Current & future regulation for T & CM practioners” while Dr. Suriyakhatun Osman, from the Malaysian Homoeopathic Medical Council spoke on “Current development of Homoeopathy in Malaysia.” She emphasized upon the fact that within the next decade Malaysia is to become the hub of Homoeopathic Medicine, education, research and industry, particularly in the ASEAN region.
Dr. Reishmi Devan of the Cyberjaya University college of Medical sciences gave the grass root reality of “Education and Training In Homoeopathy.” The session ended with the paper on “Conduct of HTA in T & CM : EBM approach” by Datin Dr. Rugayah Bakri.
Dr. Kate Chatfield (United Kingdom) spoke on 2 topics “Systemic review of the research Evidence for Homoeopathy In the treatment of Allergic conditions” and “The nature of evidence and Homeopathy.”
The grand conference witnessed the final paper in the form of “Clinico-angiographic profile in Young patients of Ischaemic Heart Disease & scope of Homoeopathy” a decade long research carried out by Dr. Aadil Chimthanawala from India.
This conference was a platform for the homoeopathic fraternity and the general public of Malaysia to understand more about homoeopathy – and it served its purpose well.
Adapted from report by Dr Aadil Chimthanawala

The New Horizons of Homeopathic Education in Malaysia

A  public talk on Homeopathy outlining the basic tenets and the progress of this Medical modality which is now 200 years old. There is close cooperation between the University, the Malaysian Homeopathic Medical Council and the Ministry of Health which has common goals of providing practitioners and the public with cutting edge levels of Homeopathic education and practice.The policies of the Ministry of Health on Traditional and Complementary Medicine as well as the role of the Homeopathic Medical Council of Malaysia in regulating Homeopathic practitioners will be explained.

This talk is jointly organised by Cyberjaya University College of Medical Science and the Malaysian Homeopathic Medical Council.

Who should attend?

• The general public who are interested in complementary and alternative forms of treatment.
• School leavers and students who are interested in getting a comprehensive basic medical science education and a good grounding in homeopathy with the intention of being a health professional in this field.
• Health Science and Medical Students and Health professionals who want to get a better perspective of what Homeopathy is and is not.

Venue: 4th Floor Hotel City Villa, Kuala Lumpur ( see attached map)

Date and Time: 2-4.30 pm April 11 2010

Speakers:

1. The Director of Traditional and Complementary Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia
2. Dr Suriyakhatun Osman, Homeopathy Department, Faculty of T&CM, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Science
3. Dr (H) Zainul Azmi Ahmad, Chairman Education Committee, Malaysian Homeopathic Medical Council

Being at the bottom...again

I am sharing a coaching tool that I shared in a few workshops for new housemen , new specialists and new sisters recently.
One was a chart as attached that showed the process of change or transition. It should come as no surprise that a few of the participants admitted to being angry over being promoted or having to deal with the change of being in a new level . From student to houseman , from MO to specialist and from staff nurse to sister. Some of them looked at the chart and pointed to where they were. It was a moment of self awareness that leads to a better understanding of what they were going through and thus moving towards an emotional balance.

The other tool that I talked about is the reframing tool.

I shared this table with the 8 Disempowering and their opposite Empowering frame

Again during discussions of issues and problems many participants especially the housemen group realised they were in the doubt frame, and were unsure of their own capabilities and competencies and also in the blame frame where they saw the bad attitude and treatment meted out to them by their mo s and specialists as the cause for their problems but , upon understanding their blame frame realised that the more empowering frame was to ask and answer the question, what can I do about the situation I am in?

I found the most receptive group who probably gained the most were the ones who really felt they needed to have tools to be able to assume their new role and those were the new sisters.

The prouder the participants, the less they gained because they thought they knew too much to need any new tools . 
What was so rewarding in the workshops was that I began to see I was also facing the same issues , being in the process of change from a well respected experienced GP coach trainer and Homeopath to the bottom of the rung "who are you new kid on the block " academic wanna be. So I am taking responsibility rather than blame all my woes on the environment and the people around in my new surroundings.

	Disempowering Perspectives	Empowering Perspectives	Summary
1.	Significance	Game	Taking things too seriously vs. putting lightness/fun.
2.	Trying	Commitment	Non committal vs. being honest and courageous to remove the hidden reason for inaction.
3.	Delay	Action	Holding back or avoiding vs. taking action immediately.
4.	Blame	Responsibility	Being a helpless victim vs. being a winner for taking charge and control for greater freedom and choices.
5.	Doubt	Trust	Fears of uncertainty or inability vs. security and confidence.
6.	Reacting	Responding	Acting rashly vs. acting on a well-managed plan that is aligned to goals.
7.	Invalidation	Respect	Making sweeping generalization of people and situation vs. accommodating and respecting their differences.
8.	Fraud	Truth	Either telling a lie, making denials or withholding vs. telling the truth.

Kasih

Kasih adalah perasaan

Yang datang tanpa diundang

Yang pergi tanpa diusir

Yang melunakkan jiwa

Yang melembutkan kata

Yang membawa suka dan duka

Yang melanda semua manusia

Karam dalam lautan kasih

Misteri jiwaku!

Translation


Love is a feeling 
That comes uninvited
That leaves unannounced
Melting the heart
Bringing joy and sorrow
Affecting all and sundry
Drowning in the sea of Love
Is the mystery of my Being!


Suriya 31-10-09

JOHARI WINDOW

Arena (known to self and others) able	Blind Spot (known only to others) accepting, brave, caring, cheerful, clever, confident, dependable, energetic, helpful, intelligent, kind, knowledgeable, loving, observant, organised, proud, reflective, relaxed, religious, sensible, spontaneous, sympathetic, trustworthy, wise
Façade (known only to self) adaptable, bold, extroverted, witty	Unknown (known to nobody) calm, complex, dignified, friendly, giving, happy, idealistic, independent, ingenious, introverted, logical, mature, modest, nervous, patient, powerful, quiet, responsive, searching, self-assertive, self-conscious, sentimental, shy, silly, tense, warm

Dominant Traits

55% of people think that Dr. Su is caring

All Percentages

able (33%) accepting (11%) adaptable (0%) bold (0%) brave (11%) calm (0%) caring (55%) cheerful (11%) clever (11%) complex (0%) confident (22%) dependable (22%) dignified (0%) energetic (11%) extroverted (0%) friendly (0%) giving (0%) happy (0%) helpful (33%) idealistic (0%) independent (0%) ingenious (0%) intelligent (11%) introverted (0%) kind (11%) knowledgeable (22%) logical (0%) loving (22%) mature (0%) modest (0%) nervous (0%) observant (22%) organised (11%) patient (0%) powerful (0%) proud (11%) quiet (0%) reflective (22%) relaxed (11%) religious (44%) responsive (0%) searching (0%) self-assertive (0%) self-conscious (0%) sensible (11%) sentimental (0%) shy (0%) silly (0%) spontaneous (11%) sympathetic (33%) tense (0%) trustworthy (33%) warm (0%) wise (44%) witty (0%)

Created by the Interactive Johari Window on 4.10.2009, using data from 9 respondents.
You can make your own Johari Window, or view Dr. Su's full data.

Conservation and Noah's Ark

On hari raya day while doing the Raya rounds I met a man , a a professor at a local university and the topic somehow steered its way to one of his favourite topics which is animals! I have known this uncle since I was a small child and have heard stories of how he loved animals even when he was a small boy. His father was a veterinary surgeon and he lived on a farm surrounded by nature and he spent his days absorbed in the beauty of nature. He went overseas to study and it is no wonder that he too became a vet. He was now talking about his latest project, a farm! On this farm he had ayam hutan! A thousand of them he said. He also has a pet python and numerous beautiful cats. An ardent believer of conservation , he had planned the ecology of his farm to include trees frequented by certain species of birds and animals. The result is that on his farm you will see creatures from the Malaysian wilds you would never otherwise see. He even released on his farm a local species of bird which is a favourite of the Malays who like to keep them in captivity , the tekukor. Unfortunately the local villagers ( kampung people) caught all the birds he released! Apparently they did not understand his purpose was to let them breed in the environment which he had created to be conducive to the birds. He then went on to tell about how our Malaysian environment was slowly but surely being destroyed and made toxic to little animals and birds. As he talked I could hear the sadness in his face and in his voice and the earnestness with which he spoke! If only I could have captured his words on a video ! The reticent old uncle did not even want me to name him . The old professor for the past 20 years has tried to make one of the local universities a sanctuary for the little animals and birds which were slowly being displaced with the destruction of the mangroves forests and the jungles , even the forest reserves to make way for plantations and estates growing cash crops . It would not have caused so much harm if these big corporate companies which will remain unnamed had employed eco-friendly techniques and mimimised the use of insecticides and weedkillers but what would you expect when the main consideration is profit? The professor earnestly said that these people are the worst thieves you can ever imagine because they were stealing from our future generation! They were stealing the beautiful birds and butterflies, the little animals and the myriad plants of which Malaysia is one of the richest places on earth endowed with species that did not grow elsewhere! He reminded his rapt audience of Noah's Ark. Noah he said was a conservationist. He saved the animals and the plants so they would be preserved for future generations. Conservationists and environmentalists are following in the sunnah of Noah! There is great blessing in being one. What I saw as I heard uncle professor talk is that he should be made to speak to our young people as yet untainted by greed of money and full of ideals and make them all into conservationists ! This is what it means to be God's Khalifah , Allah's vicegerent , protecting and conserving the earth, walking gently on this earth, taking of it what one needs but giving it back for the future generations. My fellow Malaysians, wake up to your responsibility and play your part in taking care of our rich legacy of birds butterflies fish and plants!

What he said had made this verse play itself in my mind over and over again and I kind of caught the sad nostalgia of his words as he reminisced about the past and how it was slowly disappearing because of lack of awareness.

Corruption has appeared in the land and the sea on account of that which men’s hands have wrought, that He may make them taste a part of that which they have done, so that they may return. Quran 30:41

I remembered my son in law's father who had come for a visit from Sumatera and had sat enjoying the sound of birds in my garden, something I took for granted every morning. I was not even aware that I listened to them every morning. He had mentioned rather sadly that these birds had disappeared from his own farmlands. They were hunted and eaten to extinction! The uncle had remarked that a lot of the people who worked in the plantations now are the same ones who had hunted the birds in their own country to extinction! Oh oh! I will let your imagination fill in the rest of what is happening now in our country !

Who and what will save us? I leave it to you to think !

Farewell oh Beloved Ramadhan

It is the morning of the last day of Ramadhan. I am feeling a little folorn and sad.I have no idea why though. Is it because I feel I should have achieved more in terms of purifying my heart? Is it because I did not have enough solitude time because the household is awake in the early morning hours? Is is because I did not pay enough attention to those who wanted and needed my attention? Is it because I am wondering what the month of fasting and praying has done to transform me and propel me into plunging myself into the work ahead of me ?

My Lord God , Ya Rabbi , Ya Karim , Ya Alim, Ya Latif , Ya Khafi , Ya Allah....accept my duas , my solat, my fast, and change me and mould me as you wish me to be!

Ramadhan Reflections final

"Praise be to Allah, the Rabb of all universes" Quran 1:2

Hassan's reflection

For everything all praise belongs to Allah. For the good as well as the bad, for the whole plan and scheme of things in this world, for the hope of paradise, for the fears in this world and the hellfire we owe so much thanks to Allah. Allah loves us, which is enough for us to be immensely thankful. Thinking of younger days what we wouldn’t give for the most beautiful girl in school to love us, give us attention, care for us and spend time with us. How much more beautiful is Allah! If there was no paradise, no hope, then what would our life be like? I suppose it would be like it is for many Palestinians right now, or Iraqis, Afghanistan, Pakistan or many other Muslim countries. We are given so much peace, so much hope; so much for us to be thankful for. If there was no hellfire, no pain, no hurting, no anger nor unhappiness could there ever be peace, happiness, or satisfaction? With one extreme comes the other. We would never know such good if we didn’t feel such bad. We could do this with all emotions, and even write a book on this! Suffice it to say Alhamdulilah. Alhamdulilah for everything, Alhamdulilah for addictions, for with addictions comes understanding and awareness. All glory belongs to Allah!


Suriya's reflection:

Praise be to Allah that we were born into this world , to experience this material existence and in doing so , are given a chance to gain knowledge that we would never otherwise have .Does the world not dazzle us with its many attractions and pleasures? Does it not entrance us with the many things we can do in it. Does our mind not become so busy with the work we set out to do? We become so thirsty for what life offers. Some thirst for knowledge , some for wealth and others for pleasures of the flesh. We get addicted to all that life offers or we get addicted to games, to drugs and to money. If we do not reconnect ourselves with our creator and the purpose of our earthly sojourn, we are like the child sent on and errand who gets distracted by the traveling circus and forgets about the errand !

In expressing our praise to Allah , glorifying Allah our creator , we remind ourselves that we are acting on God's behalf and we are here on God's errand and our mission is God's mission . Truly it sounds so dull and so boring to say what I just said, as if there is no fun anymore in life because we are mere servants doing our duty. The truth is that we are God's servant whether we like it or not, whether we do our duty or not but if we place ourselves in alignment with God's will for us, we free ourselves from being slaves of anything or anyone else. Not only that , we get to enjoy what we do and we get to feel peaceful and joyful. So much that even the mere reciting of the words of praise brings joy to our hearts . Allhamdulillahi Rabbil Alamin!

Ahad: One

Hassan's reflection

Allah is one. There is no multiplicity with Allah, for this world would be in such a mess if there were. To me the concept of one goes further. There is no pain and happiness as two separate things. They are both like ingredients Allah uses to complete us, to shape us, to cook us up till we are just right. Sometimes a little more sugar is used, sometimes a little less, but as one, not separate things.


Suriya's reflection

The real truth is , there is but the One . All of the universe including ourselves in but the manifestation of the One. We are all figments of God's imagination and God''s word. I will perhaps elaborate on this in our class and I will leave you with the thought of our being the figment of God's imagination.


Hassan:

Well, it’s been an interesting journey this month. Thank you. A bit overwhelming at times, but these exercises definitely made me think more deeply when reading the Quran translation and a bit more aware of things. Definitely it’s a long road when climbing the stairway to heaven, whereas the highway to hell is an easy path! I look forward to starting back the classes.

Suriya

Yes it has been rewarding to do this exercise and may we all be guided to live this life to the best of our abilities in alignment with the Almighty's purpose for us. Each of our lives is unique and each of us contributes to humankind's experience of life on earth. There is a group consciousness beyond our individual consciousness and as you develop in spirit, you also help this consciousness to grow towards the goal for all of humankind. This group consciousness would explain the phenomenon of the 100th Monkey.

Ramadhan Reflections 15

We are spiritual beings in material world , We are sent here for training and we will leave behind everything except the skills we developed in training. Bearing this in mind , so many things we thought were so important simply fades into the background .

"You will not attain the Good until you give freely of what you love."
Quran 3:92

Hassan's reflection

We need to ‘walk the talk’. We say we are religious, we say we are on the right path; we think people should be like us. It is time for us to put this into practice. If we have money we might give money, but this is not really what is meant here. Our time might be so valuable to us. In this case we need to spend time helping others. Getting a seat on the train might be what we love as we are tired after a long day & not enough sleep from waking up early and going to bed late from tarawih. We need to put ourselves in others shoes and see that others might be even worse off and need our seat. Giving money is easy; giving what we truly love is very difficult! These are still easy examples. Imagine the time of the prophet when there was jihad and they had to give their lives. Would we really be strong enough for that? As Ramadan winds down it is a time of happiness in that we have learned so much, but also a time of sadness to see that we have so very far to go!


Suriya's reflection

I looked up other translations and found several , this one is interesting, I got it from subagh.com. It is not a standard translation:

3: 92 – By no means can you achieve the true freedom of Self unless you keep open (the resources) to fulfill the necessities of others from what you cherish greatly. And whatever you spend, surely Allah knows about it.

I think it conveys the meaning of the verse in a spiritual context . When we think that what we posses is ours , it is so hard to give anything up. It is only when we realise that all these things we own are not really ours, they are entrusted onto us to use for the greatest good it can bring. Sometimes , like in having a good car that is safe and trustworthy for a person who needs to travel , it is best we keep what we own. THere are many times however , others would put to better use what we leave in closets and drawers hardly touched yet find difficult to give away because we love so much our possessions. The person with true freedom from attachment is the one who can give of their most valuable possessions without blinking an eyelid. Ibn Arabi once gave away a whole mansion that was a gift to him from the King . He just walked out , giving it to a beggar. He was totally unattached to his possessions. I think the theme of this phrase as Hassan points out, is sacrifice of that which is dear to you for the sake of others . Giving something which is not of value to you is not sacrifice and will not result in attainment of that which is good for you. It is a spiritual training of the nafs .


"Say He is Allah - The One, The Eternal" Quran 112:1-2

Hassan's reflection

Allah is the One, eternally. Allah was not born and does not give birth. There is none like Allah. This is actually rather difficult to get my brain around. Allah has always existed and will always exist. My heart knows this as true, but the details of it are beyond my brain’s comprehension. People talk about the big bang theory and whatnot, but there must have been a being causing the bang, this is Allah.

When we are faced with difficulties, when we are faced with people doing things they should not do, bad influences on us, trying to convince us to do things we shouldn’t do, our path is clear. We must say that He is Allah, the One, the Eternal. This is our way of saying that no matter what comes our way, Allah is the One, and the way of Allah is the only way. This is not new, we have not made up something which has not always been around. Allah is eternal. Allah’s way is eternal. The path nabi Muhammad SAW taught us is as relevant now as it was so long ago. We have so much to be thankful for, we cannot think of anything or any path as having the same level or as important as Allah.


Suriya's reflection:

Allah is eternal and so are we. Allah has no beginning and no end, We had a beginning but no end. Having said that, as a material being on a material plain, our time is limited . The chances we are given to develop our souls is limited . Truly all that humankind builds and develops will come to naught in the end . What is left then is what we have done to our souls . The material things around us can be considered the gagdets we need to train and exercise our souls and get it to top form , This phrase Qul Huwallahu Ahad orients us to the eternal nature of our creator and ourselves and orients us towards the true purpose of our earthly materialisations.

We are spiritual beings in material world , We are sent here for training and we will leave behind everything except the skills we developed in training. Bearing this in mind , so many things we thought were so important simply fades into the background .

Ramadhan Reflections 14

Enter in among my devotees and enter my garden Quran 89:29-30

Hassan 's reflection:
Nice surah. We will be tested both with difficult tasks as well as with honor and gifts. When we get gifts we need to give back to others, wherever we can, not being greedy for more. Our souls will be in rest and relaxation, pleased with ourselves and Allah pleased with us. It fits in nicely with the spirit of Ramadan. To me this also implies that we need to stick with the Muslims. Even though we do not agree with everyone on everything, especially say political things, there is no room for ostracizing some Muslims because they belong to a different political party or say they are not real Muslims. We should stick together as a group, all Muslims, all Allah’s devotees together, in order to attain success. It doesn’t matter if they are Umno, Pas, PKR or DAP, stick together with all Allah’s devotees, not splitting the Muslims apart, but keeping us together so we can enter the garden.

Suriya's reflection

The phrase that comes after this as Hassan pointed out is Radhiyatun Marhdiyyah.The whole sentence would read

27> "O (thou) soul in (complete) rest and satisfaction!

28> "Come back thou to thy Lord well pleased (thyself) and well-pleasing unto Him!

29> "Enter thou then among my Devotees!

30> "Yea enter thou my Heaven"!

For me, this means in order for me to enter into my Lord's domain in the hereafter, my vibrations have to match that of the domain. The only way my vibrations will match is if I have already brought them up to this level, the level at which I will experience even now on earth, peace and , to be well pleased with myself which means at peace with myself and at peace with my Lord. This is what I have said on countless occasions, that my Lord Allah does not wrong us, and that we wrong ourselves by not doing the activities that qualifies us for this domain.

It is quite easy to mistake self righteousness and a holier than thou state for this state of being well please with one's self , only the self righteous holier than thou person has a sour expression on his face and his presence does not bring those around him/her the peace and God consciousness the soul at peace would. In fact any feeling that has the slightest connotation of vanity and pride would eradicate this peaceful state required to be nafsul mutmainnah !

Perhaps if we make it to this Domain , as Hassan said , we would be surprised who we find there amongst the people we once knew. I suspect that that those beings who make it into the Domain would recognise among the people they knew on earth who they will meet there. They recognise it because when they meet with certain people the joy in their hearts and the peace they feel within them increase as does their God consciousness and loftiness in thought and deed! Look out for these people . Some of them may not even call themselves Muslims yet !


"And Allah taught you what you did not know" Quran 2:151

Hassan's reflection

We are so lucky to have the prophet to guide us and show us the way. If we remember Allah, Allah will remember us. We need to be grateful to Allah. We need to seek help with patience and perseverance and prayer. Imagine without the Prophet, how difficult our life would be. I would be Christian; the Malays would be Hindu, who knows what the Arabs would be. We were given the Prophet so now we know the truth. At any time Allah could have changed the path of history and we would not have been taught this beautiful religion. Instead we are taught every day, in every way, in means we could not imagine. If only we as parents, bosses, teachers, friends, colleagues or neighbors could teach as effectively or in as many different methodologies as Allah teaches us!

Suriya's reflection

This phrase comes from this verse in the Quran:

Even as We have sent unto you a messenger from among you, who reciteth unto you Our revelations and causeth you to grow, and teacheth you the Scripture and wisdom, and teacheth you that which ye knew not. (QS. 2:151)

A list member from another list sent an article that pointed out the role of Hutu Muslims in protecting Tutsi Christians during an ugly racial genocide of Hutu Christians on Tutsi Christians. At this time , the Hutu Muslims who were a minority protected Tutsi's regardless of religion and race. They protected because the Quran teaches them DO NOT KILL ! So Allah , via the Quran teaches us and in teaching us , causes us to GROW IN SPIRIT. In this day and age, it is thus sad that there are people who call themselves Muslims and go about doing Muslim rituals and things and yet do not learn what has been taught or , learning it , misunderstand it and develop sour holier than thou, I am better than you attitutudes, seeking revenge , not being able to forgive ! The Muslims in Rwanda were a marginalised group , yet they protected those who marginalised them . It resulted in a huge wave of conversion to Islam after the massacre was over ! I believe, only the Muslims who have cleansed their hearts through their tears of repentence , who seek to understand what Allah teaches with all sincerity , who cry upon their Lord day and night in all earnestness and who walk on this earth softly and humbly who are the ones who will understand what Allah teaches, via the Quran , via analogies , via the hidden messages in our dreams and in the things that happen to us on a day to day basis and as we reflect on our lives not to regret the bad that happened to us but to reflect on how we reacted to what happened which then gives us a chance to learn from it and better ourselves in the future. The prophet SAW said a Muslim will not step into a biawak ( monitor lizard) hole twice . THis means he/ she learns from mistakes made and does not repeat them. My Lord Allah, make me not blind to what you teach me and make me not heedless of what you teach me ! Amin!

Ramadhan Reflections 13

But speak of the gracious bounty of your Rabb Quran 93:11

Hassan's reflection

Allah has done so much good for us, we need to be grateful and declare how well Allah has treated us. It’s like a teacher or parent who knows exactly the right blend of instruction, quizzes and mentoring that is needed to get us ready for our final exam. As much as it is difficult, it hurts much of the time, and we don’t feel “lucky” to be getting so much attention, in the end we will understand how Allah has truly given us so much and cared for us enough that we were not allowed to just live our life any way we wanted like so many of our friends.

Suriya's reflection:

This phrase comes from the surah Al Duha:

SURAH 93: AL DUHA (The Glorious Morning Light).

In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful

¹ By the glorious morning light,

² And by the night when it is still,

³ Your guardian Lord has not forsaken you, nor is he displeased.

⁴ And truly the hereafter will be better for you than the present.

⁵ And soon will your guardian Lord give you what shall please you.

⁶ Did he not find you an orphan and give you shelter?

⁷ And he found you wandering, and he gave you guidance.

⁸ And he found you in need, and made you independent.

⁹ Therefore, treat not the orphan with harshness,

¹⁰ Nor repulse the petitioner;

¹¹ But rehearse and proclaim the bounty of your Lord!

How does one proclaim the bounty of our Lord? Some of us are prone to feel like the victim and are fond of having a ' poor me' attitude that makes us ungrateful for whatever blessings we have in our lives. We also have an English phrase that asks us to " Count your Blessings" I am not sure where it came from but it is probably a Christian phrase from the Prophet Isa Alaihisalam and brings us to the same direction as proclaiming the bounty of our Lord. It is far easier for us to look to see what the other person has that we do not have and far more difficult to see how there are people less fortunate than us . A friend who visited Delhi said to me that there are so many poor people there and he said it was sad . This is what I saw when I was in India. I saw a naked child covered with dust and grime , asking for food from a tourist . He looked well nourished and healthy and he was cheerful , not noticing that he did not have a stitch of clothing on him , no slippers, and slept at night on the pavement . One would wonder when he grew up , what would he have in order to proclaim the bounty of his Lord? Yet , the paradox is that he also will have blessings in his life as will even the most wretched of humans . The balance of nature , the bountiful food that exists in abundance in the earth are all bounties of the Lord. It is humankind who then goes on to destroy this balance by their activities and, by their lack of consideration for their fellow human , allowing people to live in poverty and distress and refusing to help those less fortunate than them . Declaring the bounty of our Lord to us is done by our active collective effort to right the wrongs wrought by human hands, to help the weak and oppressed and wronged and to use the bounties we have not for our own selves only but for those in need. There is enough wealth and enough food and enough provisions for every human being on this earth , if only it was distributed equitably. It is for this reason that humankind was made Khalifah, vicegerent on Earth and has to do God's work on earth. Writing this has made me feel a lot of regret over my own heedlessness and selfishness and I pray that I will in the future be better at fulfilling my role as a human and vicegerent.

" The one who diverts his self from vain desires will attain a place in the Garden" Quran 79:40-41

Hassan's reflection

In just a short period of time we will be standing before Allah at the Day of Judgment. We need to stop worrying about the small things and understand the truly important things in life. As much as it is so very easy to get caught up in the small things, we must if we are to take our place in the Garden. It is always said, fear Allah. Not sure how I feel about that. A saying of the saint Rabi’a sticks with me, when she says that if she is doing something to gain paradise then keep her from paradise, if she is doing something to stay away from hell then send her to hell. Accept her good deeds if she is doing something purely for love of Allah (something like that). That doesn’t imply fear, that implies pure love, but it also implies such love that we wouldn’t even think of committing sin. Like her phrase: May God steal from you all that steals you from Him. Can we really live up to that? Are we ready to have all the things we hold dearly taken from us? The good deeds we do in Ramadan sounds nice and feel good, but what if Allah took everything else away? Would we still be able to do the good deeds? Would we be angry with Allah? It is frightening sometimes, when you know what the pure straight path is, but also know the sacrifices which must be made. Are we really ready for that? Everyone loves their parents when they are being given chocolates and sweets, but what about when we are being punished and pushed hard if it’s in our best interests? Well, I need to go salat or something, tons of excess energy still inside

Suriya's reflection:

I seem to have reflected on this phrase already while doing the previous reflection!
Rabia does not have a perspective of fear. She has gone beyond fear to a perspective of pure love and is willing to undergo any suffering or sacrifice for love of Allah. This is something to think about in bringing up our children either as parents or teachers. Which will work better for them Love or Fear? Or are both needed ? In what proportions if we were to say both were needed? I would say tons of love with a small sprinkling of fear.

What are vain desires? Yes in a way it is the small things we worry about without seeing the big picture. In my work as a doctor , homeopath and energy psychologist , I have noted that the one thing that makes people suffer and unable to function is when they focus on their own selves. Their thoughts are all related to their own needs and their own misfortunes aches and pains. They hardly ever focus on the task they need to do or what is present to them at any point in time. They are totally distracted by their thoughts and do not live in the Now , they live either in the past, counting their past misfortunes or they live in the future , anxious over what will happen to them.

Another perspective of vain desires is the thirst of humankind for wealth and power. These are the two things that seem to motivate people. The quest for wealth is something quite obvious but the quest for power is more subtle and harder to trace . A person driven by higher principles inherent in being an upright human does not quest for wealth and power but attain wealth and power and use them as tools and does not allow them to become their masters. This is the difference we need to know .

Your reflections on the 'what if things were taken away and all' is one that actually happens to people . For some, it made them into better people , for others, it destroyed them. It is not that bad things happen to good people . It is bad things happen to every one and is part and parcel of being human. It is what we do when it happens that distinguishes us. It is at this point that we can see who are the ones who have grown in spirit and who have not. Ya Rabbi! Do not give me trials too hard for me !

Ramadhan Reflections 12

Allah knows what is secret and what is manifest Quran 64:18 et al

Hassan's reflection

Allah knows everything. We cannot hide anything from Allah, so it’s best to surrender now. In our own world we spend so much effort creating plans to keep our own silly mistakes and accidents a secret. With Allah it is pointless as Allah is aware of everything. I think if we can put into practice this surrender our life will be so much simpler, and in turn it will be so much easier to surrender. It seems to be a cycle, the more we surrender to the will of Allah the more we are able to surrender deeper. On the other hand, the more we forget and try to keep secrets,even from ourselves, the harder it is to surrender.

Suriya's response

The point you make about ourselves not knowing about our own selves is to my mind something we should be well aware of. We have a subconscious mind that dictates our behaviour and this subconscious is hidden from us but not from Allah. The way to unravel our subconscious is by connecting with Allah and in so doing , to become enlightened by Allah's Nur which then reveals to us our own state.The trials we seem to be getting are what is just right for us to learn and overcome the shortcomings we have . Knowing this , we have to develop the attitude of hope and acceptance as well as gratitude. Many times, wives or husbands come to me to complain about their spouse. Many a times, they are justified in their complains. However, what they have to realise is that this thorn in their flesh is for them to grow their pearls. I am not saying that people who have these challenges should grin and bear it. Far from that! Overcoming these difficulties may mean patience , it may mean courage to break free , it may mean gaining in spiritual strength and with it , gaining in influence. There can be no person who is spiritually enlightened that the people around them do not change for the better or leave. The Nur from Allah shines from their presence and enlightens those around them who will find it easier to be postive and kind than to be negative. Their prayers are quickly answered by Allah and they pray for those around them as part of their spiritual practice. Those whose darkness and negativity are so thick will not be able to tolerate this Light and will leave of their own accord. This presence is not judgmental and evoking fearfulness in others but their presence is compassion and a sweetness that evokes tenderness and regret and reminds the people around of Allah without their having to even utter a word because their God consciousness is palpable. They may not know what people around them need but they will be inspired to give to others what they need by the All knowing Allah. Work on yourselves , do your zikr and meditations without pride and be consistent and you will see this miracle of transformation in yourself and in others around you.

And all that is in the heavens and earth glorifies Allah Quran 24:41 Hassan's reflection In thinking of this I have faith that all creatures here glorify Allah, as does nature and whatnot. However, one thing that comes to mind is, if this is true, that means we humans must glorify Allah as well. At times this is definitely true, but when a rapist is raping a woman or a thief is stealing? That surely isn’t glorifying Allah. Perhaps the meaning is that it is a warning to us that all the other creatures glorify Allah, and we should be doing the same.

Suriya's response

Walking in natural surroundings , seeing the beauty of the mountains sky and sea are spiritual practices that attune us to nature and we can sense the glorification in the sound of the sea, the twinkling of the stars in a velvety sky and the sound of the birds.
Human beings have a choice. Either to be elevated higher than the angels or to be brought down lower than the beasts. This is mentioned in surah At TIn .
La qad khalaqnal Insana Fih ahsani Taqweem , Thumma radadna hu as fala safilin

Verily, We created man of the best stature (mould),
Then We reduced him to the lowest of the low,

Of all created creatures , it is humankind who have been given permission to disobey or not by their own personal choice and if we chose to glorify Allah, then we will be in alignment with the Universe.

Ramadhan Reflections 11

Say “the spirit is an act from my Rabb” (soul is an activity of God) Quran 17:85

Hassan Scott Odierno Our spirit or soul is what defines us. At the Day of Judgment it will be the very definition of us, and it will be seen how we treated our soul, whether we kept it clean or dirtied it. All the external stuff such as what we look like, our physical characteristics, what we did for a living and whatnot will not be important. It will be our soul which will save us. Therefore we need to keep our soul as clean as possible. This soul starts out clean, and is created by God. This sentence implies an even deeper connection, one where God actively takes care of our soul. With God caring for our soul, what right do we have to dirty it!

Suriya's reflection

This is the context of the phrase and its place in the Quran

They Ask You Concerning The Spirit

They ask thee concerning the Spirit.
Say: "The Spirit (cometh) by command of my Lord:
Of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to you."
If it were Our Will, We could take away that which We have sent thee by inspiration:
Then wouldst thou find none to plead thy affair in that matter against Us.

surah 17: 85-86 Al Isra’ (The Night Journey)
(Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur'an, 1989.)

Hazrat Inayat Khan explains that it means the soul is an activity of God. The true nature of this activity is revealed to Prophets and saints but even they know a little of the truth of the matter. How does Allah ochestrate the Universe and ochestrate our puny little lives is a mystery that we will be unlikely to comprehend entirely. Yet the human being was born with a thirst to know. Many even speculate when they do not know for sure. Personally I do not like to dwell on theories and speculations and prefer to keep things simple. For me , taking care of what I am inclined to do while guarding that this is in line outwardly with the Syariah code and does not harm anyone or any thing , to the best of my ability , is what I need to do in order to do my part to participate in Amri Rabbi, ie the command of my Lord. And , knowing that the soul is Allah's activity and under Allah's direct command makes me persist in asking for guidance by prayers meditations and zikr. Allah guides us to people who will be our collaborators in doing Allah's bidding by making us feel th synergy of working with certain people. They seem to arrive at one's doorstep so to speak and then they seem to fill in the gap that was preventing us from doing what was to be done. When what we set out to do keeps meeting with a wall and we find ourselves banging our heads against it , it is tme to have a relook at the intentions we had when we started out on the task and reevaluate. That does not mean all tasks that align with Allah's plan do not meet hardship. The Prophets are the ones who suffered the most at the hands of evil men yet they persisted, some were killed , as were many rightoeus men after them.
Yet death perhaps is also part of God's plan for it is sometimes the death that wakes up the others to set things right .

I am clear of what you associate (with Allah) Quran 6:19 Hassan's reflection Allah is one. There is nothing similar to Allah. Allah is our creator and the creator of everything. How can anything be associated with Allah? There is nothing like Allah. This also makes it very clear that we are responsible for our own actions. We will not be able to say we were simply following someone else’s guidance and suggestions. We will need to take personal responsibility. If we try to place the blame on anyone or anything else they will clearly state that they were not a part of whatever we were up to.

Suriya's reflection
Indeed , associating with Allah that which usurp's Allah's command is shirk. The truth of the matter is , all of us are guilty of commiting shirk when we forget that the Ultimate cause of everything is Allah. Even the bad that comes to us is by Allah's permission. To seek to understand the reasons for bad things happening is not as important as to respond positively rather than react when bad things happen. Bad things do not choose good people, they happen to everyone. Good people respond positively and pick themselves up and overcome because they have acceptance and compassion as well as gratitude as part and parcel of their daily lives. They take responsibility and do not blame others , even though it seems that their trials were meted out to them by fellow humans yet these trials were sanctioned by Allah and these evil people also have souls that maybe heedless to guidance yet they act according to Allah's will. This paradox is perhaps difficult to understand and the truth is seldom simple.

Hassan's reflection on web article Attitide towards life

In the article on your website you mention that negative emotions are simply stuck feelings inside of us, and that for people in an occupied area it takes on the stuck feelings of the entire people. This is similar to Palestine now. So, what can be done by or for such people?

Suriya's response

Negative emotions are guests that come to the living room of our beings and stay for a while. The ones that fail to leave are the stuck emotions. EFT can deal with them and so can good spiritual practices.

The dialogue exercise was fascinating. I started with one subject but it quickly moved to another, with the final result being the conclusion that I have a strong desire not to get hurt. This causes me to put up defenses and do certain things where in reality I need to just accept that Allah has a plan, surrender to the fact that Allah knows best, and Allah will take good care of me, like a child in the parents arms.

Suriya's response

Yes indeed. I think my writing above helps us to understand this.

Hassan I have been giving a lot of thought on what to do with pain, like you asked in the article. So, is it best to live with the pain, take pain killers, focus on the pain thinking poor me, or find the source of the pain and get rid of it? I had always taken pain killers so I know that is not the right path. Saying poor me is also not right. This leaves living with the pain or finding the source of the pain and getting rid of it. Obviously getting rid of it is the best way, presumable through EFT. How to do this in real life though, as it can be quite a challenge? Reading your article, just being aware of the pain is best, as it will dissolve. Is this part of the practices we will learn?

Suriya's response

You have to be present to the pain and just let it be , giving it the attention it needs. I used to do zikr and breathing exercises and all I got was pain. My spiritual guide was perplexed , he was saying I should feel joyous, and I said no , it made me cry and filled me with deep pain and sadness. But I did not try to avoid it , I faced it and let it be experienced. It was like journeying in a tunnel and being unable to see any light at the end. As time went by , I kind of got used to feeling the sadness and the deep pain. Then one day I began to feel some of the joy that my guide talked about. I still have my moments of sadness and sometimes a feeling of sheer loneliness but now it is less intense and , I think that all of us , with no exception have some of this . It is the pain of separation from the Beloved and it is not another human being but Allah ! Human relationships are nice , but they are not the ultimate. When you think you are falling in love with another human being, the real truth is that you have not found a relationship that was completely fulfilling and you never will for this relationship cannot exist except with God no matter what the love stories tell you.


Hassan:

I agree that for all the things mentioned above not having expectations is best, along with having hope and doing zikr. Doing this will likely be a challenge though. Suriya: Yes indeed

On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 8:02 PM, Hassan Scott Odierno wrote:

"Allah takes care of everything"(similar but not identical to 11:12) We try so hard to be independent, to take care of ourselves. We plan so much for the future and the things that seem so important to us. In reality Allah takes care of everything. Allah knows what we really need and how we fit into this crazy world. It is up to us to surrender to the will and plan of Allah, to give up with our own selfish desires and plans. Allah will take care of everything; we can have faith in that. We still need to strive to the best of our ability in this world, but we must go with the flow, accepting when trials and tests hit us. Allah knows best!

The word used here is Wakil as compared to another phrase that is in the ayat seribu dinar. Innallaha bi kulli shai in qadir.
There is a difference in meaning between qadir and wakil . These two phrases are ones that I frequently teach healing students to use because they teach us two qualities that is redha and tawakkal. These need elaboration and I think you can read the elaboration here.
http://nursyifa..info/islamichealing/attitude.html
Scroll down to the pink writing if you do not want to read the whole article .

Allāhu nūru s-samāwāti wa-l-arḍ 24:35 Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth Hassan: Sometimes things seem so dark with the tests and trials that we face. We are sometimes faced with such tests that it seems that there will never be a letup in the pressure to survive. In such times we need to just feel the light of Allah all around us, guiding us and protecting us. Allah is absolutely everywhere on the heavens and the earth, lighting the world for all of creation.

Suriya:

Allah is the Light . Ya Nur , Ya Munawwar. Light is one of the 99 names .The nature of light is to enlightened. "Allahu waliyul ladhi na amanu yukhrijuhim minazulumati ila nur." Allah is the protector of the faithful bringing them from darkness into light. When we polish our hearts with zikr and prayer good deeds and tears of repentence , we will find that there is light in our hearts. This is the light that is mentioned in the surah Nur and this is the light that when it is lit guides the faithful from within. Those whom Allah chooses will be able to recognise this light in another faithful and they indeed will love one another for this light has with it qualities of love , joy and peace and attracts those who have the potential to have these qualities. Those whose hearts are black with unconsciousness and heedlessness, even if they pray until there is a black mark on their foreheads , fast and go without sleep will not be able to recognise this Nur whether they see it in another or whether it reaches them when they pray. It is sad that many Muslims nowadays are not able to benefit from this Nur because they have blinded themselves to its nature . For this Nur to benefit one, the heart must b soft yielding , humble and empty of notions that are harsh and unyielding . Haq or truth is more strange than you could ever think so only those willing to empty themselves of all preconceived notions will recognise it when it comes to them.