January has passed already. It flew by very fast. How are you proceeding with your goals, plans, and dreams? Did you start achieving some of them? Did you take the steps your promised yourself to? 
With the New Year still ahead of us new hopes, options, challenges and opportunities are there for you. Don't miss it, don't procrastinate, don't lay down and give up. You owe it to yourself to fulfil your life dream, your higher purpose and meaning. Go back to your plans, read them again and decide about your next step(s) and if you haven't devise any plans yet, it's time to start. It's never too late. And as  I was taught, life is like a huge football field. Every day you have the choice of being one of the players or a mere spectator. The players are the ones taking the risks, the ones who exert the effort, sweat and fatigue; they are the ones who sometimes lose. But, the players are also the ones who gain all the experience, find the challenge, and enjoy victory and enthusiasm. The spectators, on the other hand, are just observers, they applaud for the winner but never experience victory themselves; they may avoid failure, but never learn from the experience and never transcend their souls. They just watch. With time, they grow older but never wiser.

Here's a little, yet valuable, help to ignite our motivation for the new year, Ghurair and Neriska, two friends of mine are presenting a seminar on the 4th of February about achieving goals and success, about how to live on purpose. You can find more details on their website: http://www.successbypurpose.com/fundamentals-achievers/overview

Have a great week and a successful, purposeful, amazing Year!!!
Amira

In my practice, I always face the question: “What does spirituality have to do with health and healing?” I guess the confusion stems from us still adopting the old definition of health. Many people still identify health as the absence of disease: if you are symptom free, you are healthy. This is far from the truth, though. The World Health Organization identifies health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing”, and sees spirituality as an important factor in the quality of life and wellness of individuals regardless of their religious affiliations.

During the last twenty years, there has been a worldwide awakening to the need for integration of the spiritual dimension into our everyday living. Spirituality has become a very popular topic among scientists and medical practitioners alike. And, despite the rapidly growing body of research, still, the effect of spirituality on health and wellness is highly controversial as physicians and pharmacists see it. The spiritual dimension of human life is widely neglected in conventional medical practice and various medical training programs. Even though many studies show the positive effect of spirituality on the overall health and quality of life, Western scientists are reluctant in accepting it as they still disagree on the interpretation of the word ‘spirituality’.

Studies show that adopting spirituality/religiosity as a mere ritual do little if not nothing at all to improve health and healing. Spirituality, for it to be an effective tool in the healing journey, should be well integrated in our lifestyle. It should be, as the word denotes, a function of the soul. Spirituality is an individualistic concept; it is our personal quest for the sacred connection with our Creator, a quest for deeper meanings and purpose in life. Islam advocates a holistic way of living that integrates spirituality in every aspect of life and incorporates the health of the physical body with the well-being of the mind, heart, and soul. For Muslims, the words spirituality and religion cannot be detached, they are highly intertwined and both are manifested in the daily religious rituals as well as in everyday life experiences. Muslim worshipping acts carry within them a valuable ‘food’ for the soul. They are constant reminders of the need of this sacred connection with our Creator, a connection that ensures not only our spiritual and psychological well being, but that extend to our physical and mental health and wellness as well by driving away evil thoughts and clearing the mind from stress and worries. The later are seen by modern medicine as the precipitating cause of many serious conditions starting from ulcers and digestive problems, reaching all the way to adrenal fatigue, diabetes, and even cancer.

Diseases and Calamity in Muslims’ Eyes

Muslims perceive their diseases as a challenge, a test or an added value and meaning. They see calamities and challenges in life as lessons that help them evolve to a higher spiritual level of awareness.  As such, they look at calamity, be it illness, material loss or bereavement, as unavoidable part of a normal human life and growth. It is taught in the Qur’an: “Do the people think that they will be left to say, ‘We believe’ and they will not be tried?” (29: 2). And: “We will most certainly try you with somewhat of fear and hunger and loss of property and lives and fruits; and give good news to the patient, who, when a misfortune befalls them, say: Surely we are Allah’s and to Him we shall surely return” (2: 155- 156).

Al-Jauziyah divided diseases into two major types: Heart (or soul) diseases and physical illnesses. Treatment of heart diseases, lays in the connection of the heart with its Creator. Preserving the health of the heart, according to Al-Jauziyah, is the only way towards holistic health as he sees it as the source of physical health and the source of life itself. Knowing the Creator, believing in His Oneness, loving Him, relying upon Him, and always being grateful for His gifts and boons are the necessary “nutrients” for a healthy heart as described by Al-Jauziyah. If they are ignored, the heart sickens and falls prey to worry, sadness and depression. Nowadays, conventional medicine acknowledges the role of these heart aches and pain in precipitation of diseases such as depression, autoimmune conditions, and malignant tumors.

Helpers through Diseases and Life Calamities:

1. Belief in God’s Power and Justice:

According to Mayo clinic, the belief in a Higher Power is the best coping strategy for various life challenges be they physical, emotional or social demands. Faith and belief have always been Muslims’ helpers in coping with life's crises and physical challenges as well as in handling everyday minor hassles and discomforts.

2.     Assuming Responsibility for One’s Own Mistakes  and Pitfalls:
Qur’an teaches: “And whatever strikes you of disaster, it is for what your hands have earned; but He pardons much” (42: 30). It is up to the person himself alone to change his failure into success and when he starts assuming the right means, Divine help will intervene as stated in the Qur’an: “Verily Allah will never change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves” (13: 11). Such a proactive attitude is essential in overcoming illness as taught by modern-day conventional studies. The feeling of helplessness and victimhood is a main obstacle that impedes healing.

3.      Supplication:
  Muslims know deep inside that there is always a higher power that supports and protects them.  “And when My slaves ask you [O Muhammad] concerning Me, then [answer them], I am indeed near. I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me” ( Qur’an, 2: 186). This is another cure for helplessness. It gives us strength to struggle against life challenges.

4.      Divine remembrances (Dhikr Allah):
  Divine remembrances are not mere words; they are rather like a sacred type of meditation helping in empowering and reassuring the spirit. They help relax and clear the mind while instilling empowering positive affirmations and meanings in life, they dissipate distress and grief, relieve the anguished heart and bring joy, happiness, tranquility and serenity.

5.       Qur’an Recitation:
  Qur’an holds a special power of healing: “It [the Qur’an] is, for those who believe, a guide and a healing” (41: 44) and“We send down from the Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe” (17: 82). Recitation of verses of the Qur'an offers Muslims a way to deal with their stress and to manage the emotions of anguish and distress. 

6.      Surrender to the Divine Will:
  Surrendering to the Divine will means relying only on God for help and guidance while assuming all necessary worldly means. It is stated in the Qur’an:“whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allah has set a measure for all things” (65: 2-3). This practice, again, brings comfort to the soul, dissipates stress and relieves aguish.

7.      Detachment:
  Islam teaches about the true value of material life: “Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children, as the likeness of vegetation after rain, thereof the growth is pleasing to the tiller; afterwards it dries up and you see it turning yellow; then it becomes straw” (Qur'an, 57: 20). Detachment invokes the true meaning of Islam: surrendering to Allah’s will and having total, unconditional faith and trust in His absolute Wisdom and Justice. This feeling of detachment calms down everyday tension and directs us to relax and work in harmony with the universe.

8.      Balance and Moderation:
  Islam establishes a balanced harmony between the requirements of the soul and the demands of the body. It does not dissociate the physical body from the soul as it sees them as an integrated whole. “But seek, with that [wealth] which Allah has bestowed on you, the home of the Hereafter, and do not forget your portion of legal enjoyment in this world” (Qur'an, 28: 77).

9.      Content and Satisfaction:
 A person’s misery stems from an inability to appreciate Divine blessings in his/her life. Prophet Muhammad said: “The bigger the test is, the greater the reward for it will be. When Allah loves people, He tests them. If they accept the affliction [cheerfully], then they will achieve contentment; and those who become enraged [or evade the affliction] will only reap Allah’s rage” ( Ibn Majah & Tirmidhi). The cure for sorrow and distress lies in the acceptance and satisfaction experienced deep in one’s heart; knowing that afflictions will only affect one as much as he/she permits them to.

10.  Patience and Forbearance:
  Prophet Muhammad taught: “No fatigue, no disease, no sorrow, no sadness, no hurt, no distress befalls a Muslim, even if it was the prick he received from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for it” (Bukhari & Muslim). This is another great reassurance for an aching heart and an ailing body.

References:

Al-Jauziyah, I. (2003). Healing with the medicine of the Prophet. KSA: Darussalam.
Ayad, A. (2008). Healing Body & Soul. KSA: IIPH
Bussing, A., Abu-Hassan, W. M., Matthiessen, P. F. & Ostermann, T. (2007). Spirituality, religiosity, and dealing with illness in Arabic and German Patients. Saudi Medical Journal, 28 (6), 933-942.
  Cotton, S., Larkin, E., Hoopes, A., Cromer, B. A., & Rosenthal, S. L. (2005). The impact of adolescent spirituality on depressive symptoms and health risk behaviors. Journal of Adolescent Health, 36, 529.e7-529.e14
  Geda, Y. (2006). Stay connected. In D. Hensrud (Ed.), The Mayo clinic plan: 10 essential steps to a better body and healthier life. New York: Time.
  George, L. K., Larson, D. B., Koenig, H. G. & McCullough, M. E. (2000). Spirituality and health: What we know, what we need to know. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 19 (1), 102-116.
  Koenig, H. G. (2004). Spirituality, wellness and quality of life. Sexuality, Reproduction & Menopause, 2, 76-82
  Levitt, C. (2005). Spirituality and family medicine. In A. Meier, T. O’Connor & P. VanKatwyk (Eds.), Spirituality and health: Multidisciplinary explorations (pp. 61-70). Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
  MacPhee, M. (2003). Medicine for the heart: the embodiment of faith in Morocco. Medical Anthropology, 22, 53-83
  Ohm, R. (2003). The African American experience in the Islamic faith. Public Health Nursing, 20, 478-486
  Ramadan, T. (2004). Western Muslims and the future of Islam. New York: Oxford University Press
  Skevington, S. M. (1998). Investigating the relationship between pain and discomfort and quality of life, using the WHOQOL. Pain, 76, 395–406.
  Smith, T. B., Poll, J., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Religiousness and depression: Evidence for a main effect and the moderating influence of stressful life events. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 614-636.
  Ulwân, A. N. 2003. Islam: The law of life. Egypt: Dar us-Salam.
  WHOQOL SRPB Group. (2006). A cross-cultural study of spirituality, religion, and personal beliefs as components of quality of life. Social Science & Medicine, 62 1486–1497.
  Zarabozo, J. A. M. (2002). Purification of the soul: Concept, process and means. Denver, CO: Al-Basheer.

When I write my plans (or dreams and hopes) for the New Year, it has always helped if I choose a guiding word. Just one word. Like a general theme that stems from my new year plans. I can’t tell you how exactly I choose it. It is rather intuitive; I kind of feel it in my heart. May be a missing trait, character or feeling I want to add or need to add at this point of my life; or may be a general motivational word that will help me accomplish what I planned for this year or overcome some challenges I am currently facing. It could be anything: awareness, fun, consciousness, fulfillment, courage… 

Whatever your word is, you need to feel it in your heart, so that you will willingly apply it in every moment and in every goal you plan for.

My word for 2012 is Fulfillment. I had too many plans, too many ideas, too much challenges and tasks at hand. I felt that I could have accomplished much more if I could just bring myself to calm down, turn off the mind chatter and focus on my ‘circle of influence’ rather than the ‘circle of concern’ as Steven Covey teaches. Soon after I devised my plan, intentions and goals for the New Year, this word just popped into my mind: Fulfillment! “Yes. This is exactly what I need”, I thought. It reminds me to live in the moment, be aware and mindful of my tasks at hand, do my best and just let it be, surrender to the Divine Will. It reminds me of my powers, potentials and achievements. Sometimes, when we dream big and work hard, we fail to slow down and notice what we achieve on our daily basis. We sure do have many achievements; don’t let your stress-filled life put you down. You are doing great, we all are, as long as you are doing your best, taking baby steps every day, adjusting your intention and taking care of all of ‘you’: Body, Mind, Heart, and Soul, You are on the right track. Keep going and don’t get discouraged. Don’t underestimate yourself, your powers and your abilities.

Here are my guidelines for the New Year:

1. Get grounded: connect to the ground, to nature, to the earth. Spend more time outdoors; you cannot imagine the immense energy earth and nature supply us with. If the weather does not allow, get some indoor plants for the time being.

2. Eat healthy: you owe it to yourself to take care of your body. We wouldn’t fill your exotic car with cheap gasoline, why then, are we filling our bodies with cheap empty-calorie food. Eat more live food, raw fresh fruits and vegetables, sprouts, seeds and nuts. And, most importantly: Read your labels.

3. Live mindfully: turn off the autopilot. Live fully enjoying and benefiting from every moment of your life. Involve all your senses in every day experience.

4. Simplify: Simplify your physical life as well as your emotional, spiritual, and mental awareness. Go around your house, get rid of the clutter, get rid of all your unused items, clothes or furniture, and fill a charity box. Simplify your mind, reduce stress, breathe, relax and meditate. Simplify your emotions, forgive, love and allow love and peace to touch your heart and soul.

5. Listen to your heart: Trust it. Trust your intuition and deep heart whispers. When you simplify your mind and emotions, when you practice forgiveness, piety and purity, you will experience the beauty of a pure heart; and you will listen and learn so much.

6. Connect with the Greatest Power of all: Connect with your Creator. Live with sincerity and purpose and let the Divine light touch your spirit and guide you to the Right Path. Strengthen your connection with daily prayers, supplications and Divine Remembrances (Dhikr Allah).

Experiments on rats showed that coupling the smell of camphor with the injection of an immune boosting drug could later cause the animals to respond by increasing their immunity just upon smelling the camphor. The opposite was also true. Coupling the smell of the camphor with an immune suppressive drug caused the rats’ immune system to be conditioned for immune suppression upon smelling camphor alone. Isn’t it fascinating!! The same agent could act as immunosuppressant or immune booster depending only on the mental state these animals associate with it, which in turn depends on the pre-programmed memory stored in their cells (Chopra, Quantum Healing). 

Folk medicine has always been using the mental state of awareness to overcome minor viral infections. Family physician, upon examining a child with warts and lumps, would show his fascination with this skin formation and ask the child to sell it for a coin. The child’s mind, striving for the shiny new coin, would boost the immune system to get rid of the warts. Few days later, the warts would disappear and the child collects his coin (Miller, Deep Healing)


An adjusted state of mind coupled with unconditioned belief is all it takes to claim your internal medicine, our God-given internal pharmacy that possesses the perfect cure for every ailment. But the question remains: How easy could it be?

 Thousands of cases of spontaneous healing from serious ailments like cancer and multiple sclerosis have been recorded, but still, according to Dr. Chopra, the rate of spontaneous remission in cancer patients (this is cancer dissipating on its own without any medical intervention) is as low as one in twenty thousand cases.

The access to our ‘endogenous pharmaceutics’ is not as easy as it might seem. It is not just a matter of meditation, relaxation, positive thinking, or mental affirmations. For deep healing, we need to reverse a pattern engraved in every cell of our body. We need to reach each and every cell and talk to it in the language that it understands, in a higher ‘intelligence’, as Dr. Chopra calls it, which is delivered in the form of molecules, the neuropeptides and neurotransmitters that Dr. Candace Pert calls: the ‘molecules of emotions’. In order for you to change your molecules of emotions, you need to change not only your life style and thinking mode, but most importantly, your deeply held beliefs. You need to dig deeply enough to reach beyond the casual surface. You need to work on your subconscious as well as your conscious mind. A spiritual guru or a health advocate asking an oppressed man, an abused teenager, a rape victim, or a cancer patient to look in the mirror every morning and repeat “I love and forgive” or “I am whole and healthy”, is missing the whole point.