Amira Ayad, PhD
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I'm Glad I didn't Listen

5/12/2022

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I grew up in my grandmother’s home. I was this little girl sitting in the corner listening to grown up stories… women who came to my grandmother for advice, service, and support. I have always been fascinated with the women stories and their wisdom. When I’ll grow up, I announced, I want to be counselling people listening to their stories and giving them support and wisdom like my grandma did. But, “This is not a profession,” I was told!
So,  stopped dreaming.

At school, I loved my creative writing class, I had loads of ideas, opinions, narratives, and views to express…  But my teacher did not like my writings… “Writing is not your strength,” she advised, “ stick to science, this is what you’re good at,”
So I stopped writing.

I then shifted to another passion… drawing, painting and visual art. My father and my brother are amazing artists, you could mistaken their drawings for photographs. But my art is different. I draw human experiences and healing. I express emotions and feelings through colors, forms and shapes. So, when I declared that I wanted to be an artist, I was met with a definitive “No way! You’re not good at art!” They advised in the most friendly way…“stick to science, this is what you’re good at!”
So, I stopped drawing!

When I graduated high school, I joined pharmacy. I was always good at science. But this wasn’t actually my reason for joining. Deep inside, I wanted to learn about those magical foods and herbs I experienced in my grandmother’s kitchen. Her kitchen was consistently brimming with aromas and flavors. A big pot was always simmering preparing the most delicious lunch for any potential guest. I have been enchanted by the magic of those recipes. I wanted to be an agent in people healing like she has been. Unfortunately, the way herbs and plants are taught in pharmacy stripped them from their magic, from their soul and reduced them to mere chemical formulas and Latin names. When I tried to express my point of view, no one understood what I was talking about.
So, I stopped trying.

I graduated top of my class and was hired as a teaching assistant in pharmacy. I loved my work. I love biochemistry. I love teaching and lab experiments. But, there was always something missing, some part of me I left behind in my grandmother’s home... some part of me that I left when I abandoned the kitchen, the stories, the sketchbooks, and the journals. But, I was now too busy climbing the ladder of academia and finishing my master degree in pharmacy.
So again, I stayed part of the system.

But, thankfully, not for long!
Fast forward… Now, decades later, I am glad I did not listen to the Nay Sayers.

My journey taught me to listen to my heart, instead, and not to fear being different.

  • They told me supporting women through stories is not a profession… I now practice narrative therapy, offer workshops and retreats, and my books are used to facilitate women’s support group around the world.
  • They told me I cannot make herbs my study and the kitchen my pharmacy… I now use herbs and natural products to restore health in most complicated conditions doctors fails to cure.
  • They told me I can never be a writer… I published 6 books, 2 of them have been translated into more than 10 languages and read and taught by 1000s around the globe.
  • They told me I’m not good at art… My art has been part of juried exhibitions and my art journals published in Canadian publications. I even integrated art in my work as a healing tool for self-exploration and expression.

Recently, I’ve been told of other things I cannot do and things I’m not good at…

My self-confidence took a hard blow and I retreated in my own little bubble. Then, I remembered my journey. And, maybe, once more, I need to choose whether to listen. I know now that it is my choice and I know that whatever I choose, the answer is never in hiding… the answer is in keeping the momentum.

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On Letting Go...

20/11/2022

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Every year, since I first came to Canada, I become fascinated by the sight of the bright colored tulips sprouting every spring. I learned that you plant the bulbs in October and they remain dormant during fall and winter until they miraculously bloom with the first signs of spring.

Back then, I bought some tulip bulbs – I decided to plant them in my garden. But, for some reason, year after year, I kept missing this narrow planting window. For some reason, every fall, my life got entangled in so much mess that I kept postponing my planting project waiting for the “perfect time” – "Maybe next year", I kept telling myself. I carried those bulbs with me as I moved from one house to another, from one city to another, still waiting for “the perfect time” to lay them in the ground. Finally, this fall, I decided not to wait any longer- plant them I will. So, I got the bulbs out of the storage box, prepared the ground, opened the bag, and lo and behold, here they were… all rotten!

It was such an aha moment. I laughed so hard. Here I was, carrying along a bag of rotten bulbs for years waiting for the “perfect moment – perfect life… perfect time… perfect place...
I wondered what other “rotten stuff” have I been carrying along? What other rotten memories… beliefs… ideas… illusions… dreams… have I been allowing into my life hoping that one day something good will come out of them?
What other rotten layers of my life was I refusing to shed… to let go of once and for all?
I finally threw away the old rotten bulbs and bought fresh new ones. This time, I didn’t wait for the perfect time and place. I didn’t wait for the best weather or best practices… I dug in the dirt and laid them with total faith that beautiful colorful tulips will emerge under my windowsill in the spring, God willing!
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“If you become addicted to looking back,
Half your life will be spent in distraction
And the other half in regret.
You can live better than that!
Find happier friends
.” Rumi 

“If you stop reading from your own small view,
The phoenix will grant kingdoms then to you!
” Rumi 
​



Body Whispers: Neck problems

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Neck problems are related to flexibility. This is your fifth chakra: your ability to find your authentic voice and use it in a good cause, yet, it is also about learning to align this newly found will with the Divine will. Learning to trust: when do you need to keep pushing and when do you need to let go - not out of helplessness or despair but out of faith and trust.
​

Ask yourself:
  • what is keeping me from moving forward, from moving on with my life?
  • Do I feel stuck? Why? What is holding me back? What “rotten stuff” am I refusing to let go of?
  • What other sides of the story am I stubbornly unable or unwilling to consider?
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On Peace & Anxiety

6/9/2022

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As many of you may know, every year I choose an emotion, a feeling that I want to work on and reach during this year. My word for 2022 is “Peace of Mind.” I am still working on it. Rumi, as always, has a lot to say about this. And, here are two of his quotes that left me more anxious and confused than ever:
“Be silent and wait and when the clear green fore-head-stone is given, wear it.” 
And, “Don’t always be waiting to see what’s behind it. That wait and see poison your spirit. Reach for it.”

​Ok, so now what exactly do you want me to do, Mawlana? Should I silently wait or should I not?


It took me some time to grasp the essential message in all traditional teachings – Life is a paradox… embrace the opposites, the ambiguity… listen to your heart. 

In another place, Rumi advices, “Nothing happens until you quit contriving with your mind. Quit your talking!” 
In CBT, we call this undesirable “contriving”, the ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts), those auto-generated thoughts that creep in- seemingly out of nowhere- and drag you down the rabbit hole.

An anxious mind is a mind loaded with ideas, thoughts, plans, to-dos, and scenarios… a mind like the World Wide Web firing in all directions all the time. Our ANTs generate negative feelings such as worry, fear, irritability, and helplessness. In their turn, the negative feelings initiate physical symptoms (hypertension, heart palpitation, high blood sugar levels, depressed immunity) and generate self-defeating behaviors that generate more ANTs and a vicious cycle sets in.
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Anxiety is the body’s warning signal, the reminder that we need to slow down.

Psychologists identified ten most common cognitive distortions (another fancy word for ANTs) that lead us down this rabbit hole. We all have them in various extents, but each of us usually has 2-3 patterns that we fall in again and again.


You can download the sheet of the 10 most common CBT patterns HERE

Try to identify yours and monitor your thoughts this upcoming month. Use a journal to catch the “ANTs”. Whenever you see yourself slipping into a negative thinking pattern catch those ANTs and quickly stick them in your journal. Write down exactly what those negative thoughts were - What were you saying to yourself?
Explore why and how those ANTs arise, reflect about it… Can you challenge/refute those thoughts?
Can you “Quit your talking!”

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When you chest is tight, your body is trying to tell you that there is a heavy weight, a burden, pressing on your chest that your are unable or unwilling to lift.
You are carrying too many responsibilities, running in all directions trying to meet everybody’s needs wondering when will you have time to meet your own… And, what are those needs of yours… you no longer know.
You are suppressing or avoiding your thoughts and feelings out of fear. Fear of facing the world… fear of facing your self… So, instead, you are putting on a mask that hides who you truly are.
And, on top of all that, there are stored grief and sorrow, and a deep feeling of loneliness and isolation. “Am I good enough?” You keep wondering. You have a need for intimate connection, a need to nurture and being nurtured, a need to love and be loved… A need to trust yourself and trust the world around you.

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“When the house of the brain fills with a wanting,
Your heart gets crowded with anxieties.
The rest of the body maybe undisturbed,
But in your chest, there’s constant traffic.
Find a safe haven instead
In the strong autumn wind of awe
Let last year’s peonies blow off their stems.
Those flowers must go, so these new buds can grow.”
– Rumi


Our modern life became more and more stressful It is like a race with us running like hamsters in a wheel. Maybe it is time to slow down and take a deep breath… Find the safe haven Rumi is talking about.

Rumi advises:
“Patience, not haste, gets you where you belong,
Slow down and heed the Beloved’s song.”


Let’s heed the Beloved’s song in our daily life… This month, let’s conclude every day by reflecting on one thing -at least one- that was sent our way that brought joy into our hearts.
In an increasingly frustrating and demanding world, let’s seek and focus on joy! Remember, you always have a choice!

Have a Blessed Joyful month :) 
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On Joy & Fear

8/8/2022

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This month, I am writing about joy as this is exactly what I need to draw into my currently hectic life.

My personal journey to find joy started a few years back. It started when I realized that, throughout my life, I have been- and still is and hopefully will always remain- grateful and content. But, I can’t say that I was really joyful. I realized that joy is different from mere content and gratitude. It is also different from happiness. But, what is it? And how to attain it?

Brené Brown, in her book Atlas of the Heart,  states that “happiness is stable, longer lasting, and normally the result of effort. It’s Low in intensity than joy, and more self-focused.” She writes that, for the ancient Greeks, happiness was a word that  described “the freedom of the rich from normal cares and worries”. Joy is something else, she asserts, it is "sudden, unexpected, short-lasting, and high-intensity. It’s characterized by a connection with others, or with God, nature, or the universe. Joy expands our thinking and attention, and it fills us with a sense of freedom and abandon.” And, according to the ancient Greeks, “its opposite is not sadness, but fear.”

So, the opposite of joy is fear… This made so much sense.
Here a mini lesson about fear, I recorded a few years back and I still find relevant:
And, as I am resuming my journey towards joy, I want to share with you this beautiful poem by Rumi,

“No one knows what makes the soul wake up so happy!
Maybe a dawn breeze has blown the veil 
from the face of God.

A thousand new moons appear.
Roses open laughing.
Hearts become perfect rubies.
The body turns entirely spirit.
Leaves become branches in the wind.

Why is it now so easy to surrender,
Even for those already surrendered?

There’s no answer to any of this.
No one knows the source of joy.

A poet breathes into a reed flute,
And the tip of every hair makes music."
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It Is Written In the Sands

22/6/2022

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There is an old Sufi tale about a Stream that flowed freely for years. It is said that he began his journey from up there in the mountains far far away… He passed through hilltops and lowlands… He survived ditches and travelled plains … until one day, he reached the desert.

The Stream has been through a lot on his journey and was certain that he can pull through this one too. So, he tried and tried; and the more he tried to cross the desert, the faster he kept sinking into its Sands… the Stream’s waters were disappearing and the Stream was gradually fading away. 

Yet, he knew that he was meant to cross the desert… but, he had no idea how… And, he began to wonder why… Why was he facing such a hard task?  Why can’t he just continue flowing as he used to? This is when the Stream heard a gentle subtle voice that seems to come from afar … the voice whispered: “the Wind crosses the desert, so can you.”
“But, the Wind can fly,” replied the Stream, “it can flow over those harsh arid Sands that keep sucking the life out of me.”
“Maybe you’re pushing too hard,” whispered the voice, “maybe you need to let go… Let go of your old ways of flowing… your old ways of knowing.”
“But, are there other ways of flowing… other ways of knowing?” Wondered the Stream. 
“If you just allow yourself to be absorbed in the Wind, it can happily carry you to wherever you are meant to be.”
The Stream fiercely objected, “absorbed in the Wind? But, I will no longer be a Stream. What will I be? Who will I be if I let myself be absorbed in the Wind?”

“And, what will you be? Who will you be? If you do not?” Answered the voice. “If you keep pushing against the harshness of the Sands, you’ll soon be absorbed away or turned into a swampland.” 

It was a hard choice to make… After all, the Stream only knew one way of flowing… one way of knowing. All his life, he has been flowing in his old familiar way… he has been knowing in his old knowable way... he was free, or so, he thought… he had never relinquished his control before… had never been absorbed before… “Will I stay me? Will I stay the Stream?”

“The Wind has been carrying the waters from the streams for years and years… it carries them to wherever they are meant to be”

“How do I know that this is true?”

“You need to trust. You need to believe.”

“But, will I remain the same Stream that I am today?”

“Your essence will never change… whether you become a new stream, a lake, or a river… whether you choose to sink in the Sands or turn into swamp or marsh... you are and will always remain you… your secret… your most essential you.”

The Stream was more confused than ever… So many questions needed to be asked. But, the answer did not come from the faraway whispers this time, the answer came from deep within. The Stream vaguely remembered once upon a time far faraway when he was held by the caring Wind… it felt safe… it felt true… or, did it? 

And, the Stream allowed his waters to be absorbed in the Wind… and, the Wind gently carried the waters to the mountaintops far faraway. The Stream was watching and learning... He was flowing like he had never flown before… He was knowing like he had never known before...
The Stream still did not know where the Wind is carrying him… And, he still did not know what or how he’ll end up being… But, it felt true… it felt real… it felt safe. The Stream somehow knew that he still was and will always remain the Stream that he had always been and he also knew that he no longer was and will never remain the Stream he had ever been.

And, on his journey up to the mountaintops, he heard the familiar gentle voice whisper again, “We have always known, because we see it happen all the time."
And, this is why it is said that the journey of your Stream of Life is written in the Sands.

_______________
Ref. 
Tales of the Dervishes by Idris Shah


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Did I really forgive?

18/5/2022

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Forgiveness is an elusive concept. You think you’ve already forgiven and put the past behind you only to find the ugly face of anger, rancor, and hurt suddenly peek through the curtains of your life out of nowhere disturbing your peace and scaring the heck out of you. 
Caroline Myss says, “the capacity to forgive is nothing less than the acceptance of a higher principle of Divine justice rather than earthly justice, as the organizing element behind the events of your life.” Forgiveness, she adds, “requires you to surrender your ego’s need to have life fall into place around your personal version of justice.” 
No wonder forgiveness is so hard. It does not follow any logic or reason. Trying to rationalize it could be ultimately frustrating because we are applying our humanly limited version of logic in a futile attempt to manage our fears and pains. We are trying to control the chaos of our life, or rather what we perceive as chaos and randomness.
We will never find logical explanations for all the circumstances of our life, good or bad. Through his poetry, Rumi teaches us not to try to understand. Whatever meaning, reason, or conclusion we draw are but tiny pieces of threads in the big fabric of reality. Life is much more complex. Rumi advises:
“Please don’t request what you can’t tolerate
A blade of straw can’t hold a mountain weight.” (140)

And,
“If you stop reading from your own small view
The phoenix will grant kingdom then to you.” (1098)

To forgive, Myss teaches, we need to “defy gravity, to transcend the limitations of the reasoning mind and connect with an inner realm of mystical truth.”
Forgiveness defies reason as it defies gravity. It defies the clinging of the soul to explanation, order, structure, logic. It defies the gravitation towards a physical, inflexible, rigid realm and instead levitates us towards a heavenly mystical higher truth.

It is not easy… To forgive is to let go of a solid ground that might have supported us while we were trying to make sense of our life and existence; to let go of a familiar structure that held us as we navigated our way through life’s scary maze and wilderness. To forgive is to let go of the ant view and instead, fly high to see with an eagle eye...To see the bigger picture, the whole panorama, and realize that it is not about them… this is my story… my path… my journey; and all the challenges, troughs, snarls, and tangles are but lessons perfectly designed to help me build more resolve and strength, to help me advance on the Path and fly higher.

“Forgiveness, Myss says, is an act of release, surrendering the need for an explanation[…] forgiveness is your release from the hell of wanting to know what cannot be known.”

Myss sees that failing to surrender is a lack of humility as we cling to the illusion that we “can prevent God from creating chaos in [our] life.” “Certainly, you will never uncover an explanation that actually heals the full measure of your pain, because reason simply can’t penetrate the heart and soul that deeply.”

As Rumi says,
“The One from whom all benefits arise
Can surely see what you’ve seen with your eyes!
A million benefits are here and all
Compared with that one are extremely small.” (1531)
فكيف لا يرى ذلك الذي تتولد منه الفوائد ذلك الذي صار مرئيا لنا؟
وهناك مئات الآلاف من الفوائد كل منها تعد الفوائد التي ندركها بالنسبة لها قليلة القيمة

“If all Divine wisdom should be known to [the human being] at once, the benefits in it would leave him unable to act and the infinite wisdom of God would obliterate his comprehension. He would not be able to cope.” This is why God says, “We only send it down in a fixed measure” (Q. 15: 21) وَمَا نُنَزِّلُهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِقَدَرٍۢ مَّعْلُومٍۢ

Healing, teaches Myss, “represents a cleansing of the ego that liberates the embittered self. In its place emerges an inner truth that assures you that nothing was a mistake or an accident.”
“To surrender runs counter to all your instincts of protection, grounded as they are in your need for personal safety.” “Surrender represents […] a supreme act of faith that states, with God, all things are possible […] you leave it to God to chart the course of possibilities.”

Forgiveness is surrendering the ego… And, surrender is the ultimate test in humility. You acknowledge and assume your position as God’s servant عبدالله, you stop fighting for control or entitlement, you do the work and retreat in the shade, releasing the results, knowing and believing deep in your heart that the perfect plan is already in effect.

In Rumi’s words,

“The waves of peace collide with wonderous might,
Uprooting from men’s breasts all hate and spite” (2590)


“At one stage on this path snake venom changes
To wholesome food - it’s God who rearranges…
Things harmful to the soul in that pure sphere
Can be remedy where they are down here:
Unripe grapes are too sour for us to eat
But when those same grapes ripen, they taste sweet.” (2610-2614)
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The 7 I's of Transformation

10/5/2022

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Today I want to share with you a paper a recently published in the Canadian Journal of Theology Mental Health and Disability. In the paper, I introduce a new therapeutic model, the 7 I’s of Transformation, a model that I have been   using in my retreats and private practice for a few years now with great results.

The 7 I's Model integrates some aspects of Narrative Therapy with Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, and the Ayurvedic model of human development through the teachings of the seven chakras.
The Model is aiming at developing a “Heroine’s Journey” that a woman can relate to and use to reconstruct an alternative richer narrative that enables her to find her own unique life meaning and purpose. The integration of the Ayurvedic teaching serves at linking the spiritual and psychological aspects to physical health, enabling the woman to listen to her Body Whispers®, those physical warnings that point at deeper emotional and/or spiritual roots that need to be addressed.


You can read the full paper and explore the case study Here.
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I’ve been hibernating!

2/3/2022

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Winter with its cold and snowy nature is a time of slowing down. Nature takes a deep slumber turning inward… the animals hide in their dens and burrows; and the plants dig deeper into their roots. Seeds become dormant to avoid germination as the time and environment are not suitable or sustaining. Hibernation and dormancy help nature survive - They safeguard and sustain life until the time and environment are favourable once more.
Nature has a lot to teach us…

​Here are some winter symbolism to reflect on:
  • Cold - for constriction, contraction, the yin side of the cycle- Cold drives us inward looking for warmth inside our hearts, drawing on our inner resources.
 
  • Dark - Winter nights are longer than the days - they reflect the silence, seclusion, connection with our deeper self, our deepest secrets and mystery. Darkness inspires introspection, self-evaluation and reflection. It also imbues calmness and preservation.
 
  • Snow - the magical white blanket reflects a majestic beauty that inspires awe and wonder. Purity, softness, gentleness - yet it can be frightening and damaging at times. Snow has the inherent yin and yang in its nature. It reflects harmony, flow and fluidity - yet it is restricted, rigid and inflexible at times. 
The cold, dark, and snowing nature of winter forces us inward. It inspires resilience as we learn to draw on our inner resources for survival, for preservation of our energy and protection of our resources. The tough nature of the season teaches us to surrender, to stop trying to change what we cannot change. It teaches us to let go as we admire the cycle of death and rebirth. It teaches us to detach so we can start anew. Winter reflects vigilance, resiliency, and patience and inspires hope for new beginnings, for transition and evolvement.

Still, winter will be soon receding giving way to spring… And, the cycle continues.

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You Can’t Drag an Elephant

1/2/2022

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I use visual journaling to explore my feelings and understand what’s going on inside this messy chaotic head of mine. Art journaling helps slowing down the erratic firing of my brain’s neurons, snaps me out of the autopilot mode for a while and re-roots me in the present moment.

Sometimes my journal pages are chaotic, a perfect reflection of my racing thoughts. Other times, the process begins with simple colours or doodles and suddenly images start of magically force themselves onto the pages maybe in an attempt to add some sense to what seemed so non-sensical. And, this was the image that popped up on my journal page last week.
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If you didn’t hear me talk about it before, my favourite metaphor of the conscious and the subconscious mind is Jonathan Haidt’s, “the rider and the elephant.” In his book The Happiness Hypothesis, Haidt depicts our subconscious mental reality as an elephant that has its own will. And, our analytical, logical conscious mind is the rider who is supposed to direct that elephant. Yes, the rider holds the rein… yet, the rider can never force the elephant into a direction it does not want to go. The elephant is the one running the show.
I take it that the image in my journal that day was trying to warn me that I am stuck in a futile attempt to drag my “elephant”. And, my poor elephant is in full panic mode.

Lately, I have been putting so much pressure on myself to achieve more than I could bear. I was desperately trying to tie all loose ends and put all my ducks in a row. The drawing made it very clear how ridiculous my attempts were. I simply cannot drag an elephant! I needed to slow down… maybe have fun with that little mouse dancing in the corner. It’s a tiny harmless mouse (I used to play with so many of them in my pharmacy lab), but the elephant cannot see that… my life problems might be rationalized away and I can put all the plans and strategies in place to deal with them, they are not scary, at least to the rider… yet my subconscious mind, my elephant, is envisioning all the dramatic scenarios that it can possibly think of… My “elephant” is frightened! It is stuck… It panicked… And, it froze!
If this rider in the image just stopped for a while and embraced the dance of the mouse, maybe the elephant will realize how harmless this seemingly dangerous creature is… Embracing the chaos… the dance of life… the unexpected (or maybe expected but un-welcomed) interruptions and changes…

Breathe… Slow down… Flow with the whirls and twirls of life, and, eventually, the elephant will calm down; and, only then, you can direct him wherever you want him to go next.
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On Belonging II - Our Intimate Conversation with the Divine

25/1/2022

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If “true belonging is the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic self with the world”1, it goes without saying that it would also allow you to share this most authentic self with your Creator… i.e. being yourself in those most intimate conversation you have with the Divine.

I grew up in a very spiritual family, yet they weren’t big on rituals and organized religious structure. Since my early childhood, I learned to talk to God in the most intimate of ways - just open your heart and pour it all out. Tell God what you feel, what you need, what you are grateful for, what you like and dislike, what scares you and what delights you… tell Him everything. He is interested… He listens.
I have always been an extremely introvert person, you may even call me a hermit. I find it extremely difficult to socialize or to make friends. God has always been my friend, my refuge, my comfort in all my light and dark moments.

When I took a leave after the birth of my first child, I decided to formally study my religion for the first time. I wasn’t very welcomed in the mosque, though. I was “different.” I did not belong.
As usual, I buried my true self in order to fit in… I suppressed this part of me that they rejected… this most authentic part that forged the intimate Divine connection I so much valued… “God can’t be your friend, this is so disrespectful!”  they told me, “You only talk to God in the way He taught us to. We’ll teach you,” they said. And, I believed them. I needed to fit in… I so desperately needed to belong. So, I stopped my intimate conversations. The compassionate language of the heart that I grew up with was soon morphed into a sterile language of do’s and don’ts, of halal and haram, of heaven and hell.

But, for how long can you press yourself into a mold that doesn’t fit you? I couldn’t fit in… it wasn’t me. Don’t get me wrong, though. I am a traditionalist. I believe in the importance of religious rituals, doctrine, and structure. Yet, for me, these are the framework, the scaffolding not the main course.

The Prophet taught us that God says, “My slave will not approach me by anything more favourable for me that what I have enjoined on him.” - literalists stop here… they ignore the rest of the saying: “and, my slave keeps coming closer to me by optional worship acts till I love him. And, if I love him, I’ll be his hearing with which he hears, his eyesight with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks. If he asks me, I’ll give him and if he seeks my refuge, I’ll protect him.”

Rumi, in his Masnavi, relates a story of an encounter between Moses and a shepherd:2

“Once Moses overheard a shepherd pray:
    ‘O God! O God!’ He heard the shepherd say,
‘Where do You live that I might serve You there?
    I’ll mend Your battered shoes and comb Your hair,
And wash Your clothes, and kill the lice and fleas,
    And serve You milk to sip from when You please;
I’d kiss Your little hand, and rub Your feet,
    And sweep Your bedroom clean and keep it neat;
I’d sacrifice my herd of goats for You
    This loud commotion proves my love is true.’
He carried on in this deluded way,
    So, Moses asked, ‘What’s that I hear you say?’
‘I speak to my creator there on high,
    The One who also made the earth and sky.’
Moses replied, ‘You’re truly lost your way,
    You’ve given up faith and gone astray.
It’s gibberish and babble, stupid twit;
    You’d better learn to put a cork on it!’ […]
‘If you’re aware that He is God, our Lord,
    Why act familiar when that is abhorred?
Such stupid friendship’s truly enmity;
    The Lord’s above such acts of piety.
For relatives reserve your generous deeds -
    God has no body, nor material needs.’

The shepherd said, ‘Your words have struck me dumb.
    Regret now burns my soul, and I feel numb.’
He breathed a heavy sigh and ripped his cloak,
    Then in the desert disappeared like smoke.’

A revelation came down instantly:
    ‘You have just turned a slave away from Me!
Was not to lead to union why you came?
    Is causing separation now your aim? […]
I’ve given each one his own special ways
     And, his unique expressions when he prays. […]
I stand immune to all impurity
    Men’s pride and cunning never bother Me. […]
I’m not made any purer by their praise;
    They gain in eloquence and godly ways.
And, I pay no attention to their speech,
    But their intentions and the heights they reach -
I know when men’s hearts have humility,
    Even if they should speak too haughtily.

The heart is the essence, words are mere effects:
    The heart’s what matters, hot air he rejects.
I’m tired of fancy terms and metaphors;
    I want a soul which burns so much it roars!’ […]

Once Moses had heard God’s reproach, he ran
    Towards the desert, searching for that man;
He followed footprints that the shepherd laid,
    Scattering dust throughout the track he’d made. […]
On reaching the poor shepherd finally,
    Moses announced, ‘I bring you God’s decree:
Don’t bother with good manners anymore,
    But let your heart express what’s in its core! […]
Absolved by God, Who does what He should will,
    Speak out, and don’t be scared I blame you still!’”


___________
1 Brené Brown - Atlas of the Heart
2 Jawid Mojaddedi
’s translation

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    About the Author

    Hi, I'm Amira... I'm all for simple, natural, uncomplicated life... My core values are derived from my Islamic faith... My definition of wellness includes lots of smiles, human interactions, delicious food, music, joy, colorful paint, Mediterranean sunshine, blue sky and turquoise sea, care, love, compassion and deep heart-felt peace.
    I love learning… I love books and art supplies… And, I am saddened by human conflict and intolerance.
     
    I am an introvert who loves being around people... I love building communities and gathering around the kitchen table... I am a teacher at heart... I simplify complex health science and speak openly about heart and soul stuff...

    I've been helping people on their health and healing journey for more than 20 years now and I am committed to be authentic, caring and a beacon of love and peace.

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My wellness coaching, workshops, teachings, and all the services I provide are at all times restricted to education, teaching and training on the subject of natural health matters intended for general natural health well-being and do not involve the diagnosing, prognosticating, treatment, or prescribing of remedies for the treatment of any disease, or any licensed or controlled act which may constitute the practice of  medicine. 
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