Chasing Shadows

I learn something from my son everyday.

I remember one lesson he taught me about a week ago. We were outside playing in the sun and he was fascinated with his shadow. He tried his very best to grab a hold of this ephemeral substance but found he was unable to. What did he do when he found he couldn't do it?

He kept trying...

We're like this in so many ways in our lives. The metaphor for the shadow could be our spiritual lives or the world of the spirit. When we see it for the first time, it's very intriguing, but over time some of us lose interest while others can't stop chasing our own shadows.

Shadows are strange things. They exist purely because of light, yet they cannot exist within the source of light. Our spiritual lives are the same way. We have spiritual lives because of the light of God, but the distinction between spiritual and physical fades within the presence of the Divine, the ultimate source of the light.

We chase shadows throughout our lives in many ways because these shadows serve as reminders or as signs of their source, but when one truly understands the shadow - the source becomes apparent.

My son's insistence on chasing his shadow is a good thing, I pray that someday, he and whomever else wishes to search - finds the source and sees that the shadow fascinates because of it's cause and the truth behind it, not because of it's own substance.

May the light of the shadow illuminate all.

Unconscious Competence

I learned once that there are 4 stages of competence in our lives. These stages apply to anything that we can do. The first is where an individual is unconsciously incompetent. This is where a person does not make any attempt at performing an action and finds that in turn, that they are not effective at it. This is a stage where laziness or fear is the name of the game. We refuse to try to do something because we find distraction in other tasks, or because we wish to maintain the illusion that if we tried, we would be successful. This is a common stage for people to be in, particularly when we find we are stuck in a "rut" of some kind. It usually does not lead to much spiritual growth or effectiveness in our material lives, and only works to shield our emotional self from the sting of failure.

The next stage is where an individual is consciously incompetent. This is where a person tries to do something to the best of their ability, but does not get the desired results. This happens sometimes when we try to do things that are beyond our own personal abilities or well outside our comfort zones, or when we attempt something for the first time. This stage helps us to learn our limitations - once we know what doesn't work, we are able to grow in directions that are positive. Learning what you are consciously incompetent at is a very important stage in developing and growing spiritually. Usually, this stage is temporary. It is important to not be discouraged by initial failure when doing something new. In most cases, we grow from being consciously incompetent at something to eventually becoming consciously competent.

This next stage is where an individual tries to do something to the best of their ability and finds that, if they try - they succeed. This is an important aspect of our material and spiritual growth, because when we try and succeed, we are developing skills as well as confidence. Conscious competence reflects the first stage of success. When we grow to being consciously competent, we are able to carry out actions well as long as we put in the required effort.

The final stage of competence is when we grow to becoming unconsciously competent. Sometimes, a person can exhibit signs of being unconsciously competent at something for a short period of time - something we know as "beginner's luck." This is a temporary state for the most part. Usually, the way one grows to a state of unconscious competence is through constant repetition. Doing something again and again and again, until one no longer needs to put in any effort at all to do it in a repeatable and effective manner. This is the pinnacle of competence and what we should all strive to do consistently.

So, what's the purpose of all of this?

Prayer in our lives takes on these roles. Now, when I talk about prayer, I specifically refer to remembrance of God in our daily lives. This would not include many other forms of spiritual search. We can be unconsciously incompetent at praying - which leads to us spinning our wheels when we pray. This is where someone refuses to even try to pray. Granted, some people feel that prayer holds no benefit for them - and that is their right. However, I would argue, that this state results in no spiritual growth for the individual.

We can also be consciously incompetent at prayer. This is the most common state for a person who actually tries to pray. It's very difficult to pray and concentrate and have any discernible "results," particularly since we are talking about an esoteric phenomenon. This is an important stage, because this stage is where a person can either - understand their limitations and what acts to limit them and attempt to overcome their obstacles, or, give up and revert back to a state of unconscious incompetence. The attempt, the struggle against one's inner self is what leads to eventual growth into a state of conscious competence.

In prayer, when one is consciously competent, we "see" the growth of our spiritual selves. We can understand our own development and nurture it in an effective manner. Prayer requires effort, and if we aren't careful we can easily slide backwards, but this is the stage where we begin to understand what "success" in prayers truly means.

With hard-work and long hours of practice in the state of conscious competence, we may eventually grow to become unconsciously competent. Here, our every breath is a prayer. We begin to understand that all along, every particle of our being, every molecule that makes up the self has been in a constant state of prayer, and we understand all of this... effortlessly. Because we have already put in hours of effort to grow to this stage.

Growth in a spiritual manner is not linear, it is not easy, nor is it the path that every person needs to follow. We all have our own paths in life, and some people may not grow in this manner. However, for those who are spiritually inclined - the attempt to grow to a state where the self is unconsciously competent in prayer and remembrance of God is one way in which spiritual growth can be attained.

May you find yourself growing towards competence in every way.

Continuing the Journey

I've spent some time in the past while thinking about the next world. What happens after we pass away? Is it relevant to how we live our lives?

For a long while I grappled with the concepts of science and religion (and I still do). One of the uneasy truces I reached early on was in my thoughts regarding the nature of the soul. I felt that in some way, our souls were linked to the universal source and cause of matter. To put it another way, our being is made up of energy, that energy IS the soul, and this energy is the same energy that innervates the rest of creation. This is a similar thought to that of panpsychism, that everything in the universe that is made up of energy has some level of consciousness, however, we are different in the level of consciousness - the level of information processing we are capable of. In this way, I was able to create an intellectual link between the spiritual, esoteric aspects of faith (such as the soul) and the hard, facts, theories and proofs of science.

I'm beginning to see holes in my earlier logic.

I see links between the soul and the energy that innervates our every particle. Possibly the two are closely intertwined, but then I think of death and what comes afterwards.

I believe we do have an existence after we pass away, I also believe that we are to be held accountable for our actions after we pass away. This means that when we die, we cannot join the universal stream of energy that innervates all of creation. At least not immediately. Accountability for our lives on this Earth, accountability for our actions, our deeds is an integral aspect of all religious traditions. It isn't something that can be lightly cast aside, because it doesn't fit a particular theory.

Possibly, both of these thoughts are not so divergent - maybe when one dies, one joins the universe until the end of creation, the Day of Judgment - after which judgment occurs. But this seems a very... incomplete journey for the soul. The more I think on it, the less likely it seems to be. How do I know this? I don't... but maybe, just maybe, something inside of me is telling me that what seems to work outwardly is not always sound when examined with an eye that can see what is hidden.

Maybe that's my inspiration talking?

Continual Inspiration

When we think about the Divine and about our own true nature, at times we may be blessed with the gift of inspiration.
It is something that comes unbidden, sometimes when we least expect it, suddenly we feel as though we understand something that was foreign to us before. That's what I mean when I use the word inspiration in this context. A feeling of intellectual or spiritual upliftment that accompanies understanding.

I believe this feeling comes from a Divine source, however I've always been a bit confused by something. I've found through my own musings and writings that at times, inspiration does not bring one the truth. At times, inspiration can be contradictory or even just plain wrong. What do I mean?

Historically we see that individuals can and do have multiple trains of thoughts. There are many beliefs and interpretations of beliefs. Some of these state different perspectives than others, even if they are from the same source. Why would this be? Why would we receive inspiration from a Divine source, yet have it not bring us the truth?

Sometimes, the truth is not exact. Sometimes the truth is like a bullseye that we aim towards and sometimes the truth is more nebulous. I believe that inspiration serves as a key to help us approximate the truth, particularly those truths that are particularly nebulous and difficult to grasp. One can spend lifetimes, ages, millennia, eons studying God, yet never truly understand what the Divine is. However, moments of inspiration serve to slowly draw us towards the center.

Through inspiring us to understand, or at least believe we understand some small nugget of the truth, God slowly brings us closer to Him. What does it matter if our moment winds up being superseded by another moment of inspiration that is yet closer to the truth? All that truly matters is the search for and movement towards the center of all things.

This serves as the gravity that draws us inexorably inwards - towards a timeless existence and towards our ultimate goal.

The Power of an Apology

There have been many instances of violence in our world throughout history. Recently, a segment of violent actions that has garnered a lot of attention are terrorist attacks. Many of these carried out by Muslims around the world.

I often hear the familiar outcry from sources on the internet and in my life - Why don't more moderate people denounce these actions? I also read a lot of jokes regarding Islam, the Holy Prophet and other aspects of my faith which I find sacred in attempts to satirize the terrorists or to in some cases to inflame passions even more.

My response is simple. When I apologize for something, I own it.

People who perform acts of stupidity, terror, anger, violence, etc... are not ones who practice my faith. Now granted, no one can tell anyone else what faith they belong to. I cannot in good conscience say that a person who wants to be Muslim is or is not a Muslim regardless of their actions, no matter how heinous. That decision lies in God's hands alone. However, the practice of faith and the expression of faith are different. Many Muslims act in ways that are contrary to their faith. This is the true dilemma. In Islam, there is no orthodoxy, there is no proclaiming that your faith is not mine - there is supposed to be no compulsion in religion.

This means that moderate Muslims can denounce the actions of radical Muslims, yet we cannot separate our faith. We cannot truly say, "those people are not Muslims" because no one has the authority to do so.

Now as a Muslim, a part of my identity is intertwined with the 1.5 billion other Muslims around the world. We are a brotherhood, but I'm also linked with the other 4.5 billion people who are not Muslims. We are all tied together. Whether we accept it or not. We are a large brotherhood of people with differing opinions and differing passions.

When we give terrorists a platform, we are giving into their demands. When we ask innocents to defend terrorists by accusing a faith followed by billions peacefully, we are giving into their demands and letting them control the conversation.

The death of any innocent must be met with outrage, but the aftermath cannot pigeonhole a large, global problem into a simple black or white decision.