last blog for 2017
Man is made or unmade by himself, in the armory of thoughts he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself; he also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace- James Allen
2017 was an amazing year both for my personal and professional growth and I chose to close this chapter with this blog I promised about faith, a subject I did not blog about before.
A few days ago, I received these 2 comments on my Istanbul morning prayer videos....
"I find that annoying they do that in Africa too"
" It sure wouldn’t happen here. We have noise pollution laws. We all have to coexist!"
First I would like to thank my Facebook friend for giving me the opportunity to clarify some misconceptions. And my sincere apologies, as she was probably subject to some prayer callers, not with the finest of voices, while also using high pitched microphones, which I agree, is not acceptable.
Now to the comments; Reading these words “ annoying “ “noise pollution” made me think that my faith was mocked and not respected, leaving me with a sad feeling.
And what do I want? I would also like respect and coexistence.
Despite my sad feelings reading these comments, I value her. What she thinks and says are not who she is to me. She is still precious to me. Our thoughts and beliefs don’t define us because they change. And our true self is pure and constant... pure love!!
It is not a secret to anyone who met me socially or professionally, that I am a person of faith. I am a strong and practicing believer in Islam.
I follow the main 5 pillars of Islam, not because I have to, but because I was lucky enough to discover why they are important to me and how they make a difference in my life.
Yes, I do the 5 prayers a day... as they have become an integral part of my daily rituals, they are necessary for the clarity of my mind.
The latest research has shown that 27 minutes of meditation changes the brain structure...
http://yourbrainhealth.com.au/27-minutes-mindfulness-medit…/
It is not a surprise that the average time for the 5 daily prayers is about 30 min!!!... which are spread throughout the day, to structure our day. Some may ask: "Why to pray then if mediation can do it?"
Muslim prayer combines three elements:
1) Meditation: stilling the mind (which the majority don’t do, as they think they need to pray to avoid hell; while actually, hell starts here is if I don’t still my mind and follow the logic behind the prayer)
2) Yoga movements.
3) Connecting to the Source, the Creator (my crush 😍💜)
~Why choose less when I can have more~
Many people ask me: "Nevin, do you really pray 5 times? Isn’t this too much?"
Yes, it is if I see it as forced or as an addition to what I need to do in my day. But this is not how I perceive it.
Prayer for me is my 5 breaks to relax my mind... my mind that is responsible for the quality of my life!!
Now tell me, who would say 'No' to 5 breaks in the day, resulting in more clarity and excelling in decision making?:)
Any time praying was mentioned in the Quran or in the prayer call, praying is followed by the word “success”, why?
Because pausing our mind gives us the clarity to make better decisions that lead to success.
Yes... if you really take that time to pause and drop all you are doing physically and mentally, it is bliss. However, if we just perform the prayers physically, while our mind is still spinning and in other places, it is hell, because peace is being all in one place... mind, body, and soul.
To get the best results of any machine, you need to know how to operate it and maintain it. The first step I need is to know the 'on & off' buttons.
Praying enables me to 'switch off', from being overwhelmed and over thinking... a problem many people suffer from. And we all know how that affects the quality of our lives.
Earlier I mentioned I was lucky to discover why my faith is important in my daily life, I discovered that through my coaching journey which is basically how our thinking creates the quality of our life. And which part is responsible for thinking, our mind that is maintained by the daily pauses, the daily 5 prayers.
This is why the 5 daily prayers are important to me because in them I found my tools that built my mansion of joy, strength, and peace. Through leading and selecting my thoughts and not being led by random ones
NOT because of fear of going to Hell, like the majority of traditional clerics say to scare people and gain power over them, which by the way, was the same technique some clerics used to scare Christians and gain power over them in the middle ages.
And here is my gift to her, this video. The prayer call with the angelic voice of my dear friend May Abd El Aziz
This video is pic and video from my retreat and a couple of pics and videos from dear friends. Dalia Hassouna Sally Rashid Nadine M. Khazen
Pics from:
Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
Aswan, Luxor, north coast, Egypt
India
Konya, Cappadocia, Istanbul, Turkey
Happy new year 🎊
Love,
Nevin.
Don't miss watching the video, breathtaking!! copy paste the link below:
https://www.facebook.com/nevin.elgendy/posts/1407211122739565?notif_id=1514751856659686¬if_t=feedback_reaction_generic