Mindfulness And Islam
Sunday, February 17, 2013 3:11
% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.
Now, lest there be any confusion about the matter, let me say this right at the outset: I am not a Muslim, and Islam is certainly not my favourite religion. No, not by a long shot—but that’s for another day. Actually, I have no favourite religion at all. Having said that, I can find some good—and, yes, plenty of bad—things to say about every religion. Today, I will say some positive things about Islam. It’s high time that somebody did.
I’m ‘into’ mindfulness—which is all about health and wellness—and the essence of mindfulness (which, by the way, is not a religion) is this—unconditional surrender to what is. Such surrender is the result of a choiceless awareness to life as it unfolds from one moment to the next. In essence, the word ‘Islam’ means voluntary and total submission—in peace—to the will of the Almighty (Allah) together with a striving after Truth so as to do the will of Allah. Submission and surrender are essentially the same thing, for both involve a letting-be and a calm acceptance of whatever is. The word ‘Islam’ refers to that total peace that comes from such submission or surrender.
In Islam this submission is anything but fatalism. It is often said in Islam that the Almighty does not change the fate of a person, or a people, unless that person or people changes what is in themselves. Also, the notion of insha’Allah (‘God willing’) embodies qualities such as patience, resoluteness, wisdom, compassion, equanimity and non-reactivity—all qualities that are otherwise embodied in mindfulness. The Arabic word sabr denotes a calm and unconditional acceptance of what is—that is, there here-and-now—manifesting itself in an imperturbability that refuses to succumb to worry and anxiety. Such equanimity can only arise when there is a calm acceptance of reality or life—on life’s own terms.
The monotheism in Islam may appear to some to be overly strict and remote but at least it avoids the anthropomorphism of traditional Christianity and embraces an ‘all-Encompassing’ Reality (Qur’an 2:115). Those words—‘all-Encompassing’—appear in many places throughout the Qur’an, which, it must be remembered, contains, among other things, the religious, civil, social, legal, and military codes of Islam. (You need to keep the latter especially in mind when reading portions that present as militant or aggressive in nature.) Now, Allah—‘the [sole] deity, God’—is ‘of all things, encompassing’ (Qur’an 4:126) and, as such, is not so much omnipresent but Omnipresence itself, for it is axiomatic in Islam that the Almighty Divine Life cannot be said to be ‘in’ any place nor be ‘everywhere.’ Nor can the Almighty Divine Life be said to be ‘nowhere.’ All such talk would limit the limitless.
In short, we are talking about an ‘all-Encompassing’ Reality—One Presence and One Power active in the universe. This is the true meaning of the statement, ‘There is no God but Allah’ (Qur’an 47:19). This uncreated and unmanifest Presence is not ‘transcendent’ in the Judeo-Christian sense—at least not in the sense of some supposed anthropomorphic deity in the ‘upper regions’ (whatever that means). No, we are talking about a Reality that is truly limitless, encompassing all things including all of space—and yet beyond all space as well. Nor is this Presence ‘immanent’ in the Christian sense, for the Presence cannot be said to be contained ‘in’ anything. Nor can this Presence be said to be in any way ‘separate’ from the universe (that is, the sum total of all that is) for the notion of separateness denotes divisibility whereas this Presence is indivisible. All in all, it is a mature concept of deity.
Now, you need not call this Omnipresence ‘God’ or ‘Allah’—I generally don’t—but you can if you wish. The really important thing, as I see it, is this—this boundless and limitless presence and power of life fills all, is all, and empowers all, for everything is truly an individualised expression of life. This presence and power—this All-in-All—is most fully and personally experienced in the silence. It is experienced as peace, calmness, tranquility, equanimity, wisdom, love and compassion—indeed, as all those things ordinarily associates with the sacred or the divine. The regular practice of mindfulness affords a unique opportunity to cultivate these qualities—simply by a calm, choiceless awareness of whatever is.
This post would not be complete without at least some albeit brief mention of Sufism. Every religion has its ‘inner’ or esoteric side, and Islam is no exception. Like all mystics, the Sufis assert that it is possible to fully embrace the Divine Presence in this life. Almost every religion looks with suspicion upon the mystical tradition, the main reason being that if it be possible to embrace this Divine Life in some direct, immediate and unmediated fashion, then there is a loss of control, authority and dependency. How terrible! Bring it on.
Well, Divine Life or nothing, the ‘good news’ I have for each of you is this—Muslim or non-Muslim, believer or infidel, theist or non-theist, you can never be less than life, you can never be separate from life, and you are always—I repeat, always—in direct and immediate ‘contact’ (for want of a better word) with life in all its fullness. I don’t care if some call that heresy—and they will, because they want you to be in submission (that is, bondage) to them and their authority. Reject all such nonsense. Choose to be a heretic, for the word ‘heretic’ refers to one who chooses. As truth/reality/life is dynamic and never for one moment static, those who refuse to choose—-and instead remain statically wedded and glued to some fixed, rigid and ‘authoritative’ view of reality—are simply not on the side of life. Simple as that.
So, why not choose to affirm your oneness with all that is—the ‘is’ being nothing less than the ever-dynamic, all-encompassing life as it unfolds incessantly from one moment to the next. Here’s some more good advice—‘Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others,’ wrote the Sufi mystic and poet Rumi (pictured), ‘Unfold your own myth.’
2013-02-16 23:46:09
Source: http://ianellis-jones.blogspot.com/2013/02/mindfulness-and-islam.html
Source:
Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world.
Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.
"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.
Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.
"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.
Please Help Support BeforeitsNews by trying our Natural Health Products below!
Order by Phone at 888-809-8385 or online at https://mitocopper.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomic.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomics.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Humic & Fulvic Trace Minerals Complex - Nature's most important supplement! Vivid Dreams again!
HNEX HydroNano EXtracellular Water - Improve immune system health and reduce inflammation.
Ultimate Clinical Potency Curcumin - Natural pain relief, reduce inflammation and so much more.
MitoCopper - Bioavailable Copper destroys pathogens and gives you more energy. (See Blood Video)
Oxy Powder - Natural Colon Cleanser! Cleans out toxic buildup with oxygen!
Nascent Iodine - Promotes detoxification, mental focus and thyroid health.
Smart Meter Cover - Reduces Smart Meter radiation by 96%! (See Video).
MOST RECENT
HELP KEEP NEWS FREE
DONATE
HERE
| Online: | |
| Visits: | 1,605,429,576 |
| Stories: | 8,137,093 |
Wanted: Citizen Reporters,
Whistler Blowers, Insiders
Whistler Blowers, Insiders
"Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." Zechariah 4:6
Today's Top Stories
Featured
Top Global