Disconnection & Self-Reflection
From the moment we are born, we feel as though the clock is ticking, and everything seems to be passing by us quickly. Wake up, pray, get ready, get dressed, have some coffee, go to work, come home, relax, pray, and go to bed. Throughout the day we go through a series of motions and emotions, we have the means to connect to everyone and everything around us, but for some reason we can't seem to do that. Our time feels limited, our energy, as well as our connection to others. Somewhere along the road, we got disconnected.
Allah(Exalted is He) warns:
{وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَأَنسَاهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ}
[ الحشر: 19]
[And be not like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves. Those are the defiantly disobedient.]
The thing is, our bodies will never not tell us how we feel. There are times when you have waves of disconnection hit our consciousness. We emotionally numb ourselves through our comforting coping mechanisms, whether it’s food, a substance, binging TV or social media. All of these are responses to cover and distract ourselves from what our consciousness and body are experiencing. Our essence is made up of a ruh (soul or spirit) that is highly receptive to whatever energy we feed it. However, we identify so much with our physical and tangible reality that we can lose sight of the intangible and inner realm that exists within us. This disconnection causes a subconscious pain that manifests itself into the body, thus beginning a cycle of suffering.
Unfortunately, we spend a lifetime in this ego-driven state, we are pushed and pulled by Dunya (worldly life), and we become fixated, obsessed and hyper-focused on our temporary lives, how could we not? Our subconciousness becomes a storage unit for all of our emotions and feelings. Eventually, our anxieties and fears seep into our consciousness and begin to spread like a virus into our bodies.
Self Reflection is a powerful tool for purifying the heart. When we're experiencing disconnect it's important to go back to basics and assess what our senses are consuming, everything we let our senses experience can either benefit or harm us. Its time to figure out what's not working anymore. What are my ears, eyes and heart consuming? Are they leading me back to the harmony or towards dissonance? Is this connecting me to my Creator? Or, are we allowing our minds to wander into a state of hopelessness and fear of the unknown? What are you in control of now? Its the simplest things than can push us towards awareness and self actualization. Give yourself the gift of silence, to close your eyes and guide your breath back to yourself. Listen in as your lungs compress and expand, as the hand on your heart is moving up and down, here we are experiencing our most grounding force. You are here, a living breathing honored being, with the the power of choice and intellect. You were never helpless.