04.25.08
Posted in Miscellaneous at 2:35 pm by Shhh....
Analyzing The Path
Those of us on the path of personal and spiritual growth have a tendency to analyze our unhappiness in order to find the causes and make improvements. But it is just as important, if not more so, to analyze our happiness. Since we have the ability to rise above and observe our emotions, we can recognize when we are feeling joyful and content. Then we can harness the power of the moment by savoring our feelings and taking time to be grateful for them.
Recognition is the first step in creating change, therefore recognizing what it feels like to be happy is the first step toward sustaining happiness in our lives. We can examine how joy feels in our bodies and what thoughts run through our minds in times of bliss. Without diminishing its power, we can retrace our steps to discover what may have put us in this frame of mind, and then we can take note of the choices we’ve made while there. We might realize that we are generally more giving and forgiving when there’s a smile on our face, or that we are more likely to laugh off small annoyances and the actions of others when they don’t resonate with our light mood.
Once we know what it feels like and can identify some of the triggers and are aware of our actions, we can recreate that happiness when we are feeling low. Knowing that like attracts like, we can pull ourselves out of a blue mood by focusing on joy. We might find that forcing ourselves to be giving and forgiving, even when it doesn’t seem to come naturally, helps us to reconnect with the joy that usually precedes it. If we can identify a song, a picture, or a pet as a happiness trigger, we can use them as tools to recapture joy if we are having trouble finding it. By focusing our energy on analyzing happiness and all that it encompasses, we feed, nurture, and attract more of it into our lives, eventually making a habit of happiness.
What do you think?
-DailyOM
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Posted in Miscellaneous at 1:36 am by Shhh....
Less Than Perfect
When we recognize someone as a leader, we often place our faith in that person to a degree that exceeds what is humanly possible. In other words, we expect them to be beyond fault and to not make mistakes. This, of course, is neither realistic nor fair. Just like us, these people are living human lives, and part of the deal is learning through experience and working out our individual karmas. There will always be missteps and things they would do differently given a second chance. If we are to be fair, we must grant our leaders the same forgiveness, compassion, and understanding that we grant our closest friends as they navigate the complex challenges of this human life.
Leaders are special people in that they have the ability to guide and represent large groups of people. In this calling, they agree, to some degree, to be responsible for the well-being of others. Because of this, we hold them up to a higher standard of behavior, and in some ways this is fair. However, we will only be disappointed and disillusioned time and time again if we expect them to be perfect. If they were perfect, they would not be here on earth. Perhaps the most we can expect of our leaders is that they make it a practice to acknowledge their shortcomings and learn from their experiences. Beyond this, when our leaders let us down, it is up to us to forgive and move on. Dwelling on disappointment and negativity creates more of the same.
People who choose to lead are often extraordinary individuals blessed with vision, energy, and charisma. It is their path to inspire, guide, and represent us, but it is not possible for them to never let us down. Leaders are on a path of growth just as we are. Perhaps this is something to remember when we have the opportunity to choose somebody in a leadership role, or perhaps you are ready to step into a role of leadership yourself.
What do you think?
-DailyOM.com
Tags: DailyOM, Leadership
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04.18.08
Posted in Miscellaneous at 5:14 pm by Shhh....
When bad stuff happens you can develop a new perspective. Instead of thinking that life is punishing you — could it be pushing you to grow stronger in another direction? You can either sit with your confusion and pain or you can choose to focus on new possibilities and inner peace. You can either focus on the question, “Why did this happen?” Or you can focus on the question, “What do I need to do next?”
I’ve seen in my own life and in others how fear of change can cause us to shut down, hold back, isolate, play the blame game, become sick, stressed, panic and close our hearts and minds. Fear causes us to feel miserable, angry, vulnerable and like a hopeless victim. A mind full of fear has tunnel vision focusing only on the door that closed. Fear never allows us to see the other doors of possibilities. We have so much fear of not being in control, of not being able to hold on to things. Yet the true nature of things is that you’re never in control. You can learn how to control your response to change. You can never hold on to anything. Life does not always make sense or make us feel safe and comfortable.
We’re used to running from discomfort. If we don’t like it, we strike out at someone or beat up on ourselves with guilt, fear and gloom. We want to have security and certainty of some kind. On the path of life you will experience change, loss, grief and unexpected detours and bumps. Reading this message can nurture your faith and create a proactive mind set. This message can help you develop emotional and spiritual “shock absorbers” for the changes and bumps in life. Only the strong survive and thrive through the many kinds of life changes. ~ by Jewel Diamond Taylor (an excerpt from her e-book “SHIFT HAPPENS”)
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Posted in Miscellaneous, Do Something...Get Active! at 12:45 pm by Shhh....
Do you ever wonder what people are feeling when they smile? Do they smile because they’re happy or do they smile because they want people to believe they’re happy? Maybe they smile because they want you to smile and be happy.
A smile can touch a person’s life in ways you can never imagine. It’s infectious and can cause a chain reaction. It can be memorable to someone you pass on the street or the mall or driving… and it only takes a split second to smile and forget, yet… to someone that needed it, it can last a lifetime. Maybe I should smile more often.
-Haifa
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02.29.08
Posted in Miscellaneous, Events, Do Something...Get Active! at 6:13 pm by Shhh....
In The Name Of ALLAH, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Somewhere within our Muslim community a child will go hungry
tonight. A Muslim Sister and her children will find themselves
forced into homelessness.
Shelter Our Sisters
Solidarity Luncheon
Supporting our Homeless Muslim Sisters
Saturday March 1, 2008
12 - 3pm
Morgan State University
InterFaith Center
4307 Hillen Road
Baltimore, MD 21239
***This luncheon is specifically for the homeless Muslim women in
our communities where ever they are, however, servers, cooks, and
clean-up volunteers are needed. For adequate food preparation
please RSVP if you know of or can bring a homeless Sister to this
special luncheon given in their honor.
GET INVOLVED!
you are asked to participate in these
ways:
Bring homeless sisters so that we can serve them a meal prepared
with love.Make dishes to have available for the guests to choose
from Serve the guests at their tables Transport guests to the
luncheon Be a sponsoring organization
Inshallah Please Donate To This Worthwhile Cause
For More Information contact:
Asma Hanif, Executive Director
(410) 466-8686
Imam Faizul Khan, Islamic Services Director
(301) 879-0930
Imam Hassan Amin, Social Services Director
(410) 448-3371
Sister Jamila Garner, Community Outreach Administrative Director
(410) 262-4740
Ammar Hanif, Community Outreach Services Director
(443) 621-5554
**********************************************************
Muslimat Al-Nisaa Wholistic Health, Education, Shelter and Social
Services Center provides comprehensive services to respond to the
healthcare, educational and housing needs of the homeless women in
the Muslim community; not as a one organizational endeavor, but as a
community wide effort, Inshallah, to assist any sister in need,
regardless of race or Islamic community affiliation.
Do not simply contemplate the question, “whose responsibility is it?”
Donate To A Solution!
Click here or copy and paste the following url into your browser:
http://mnisaa.org/Get_Involved/Donate_Now.html
Muslimat Al-Nisaa
P.O. Box 31529
Baltimore, MD 21207
501(c)(3) Tax ID: 52-1662748
“None of you truly believes until you want for your brother what you
want for yourself.” Reported in Sahih Bukhari & Muslim
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