How do you describe being in a state of “Peace of Mind”?
What is Peace of Mind?
We all need to be at peace with ourselves so as to function properly. Peace of mind is reflected by the calmness and composure that you show even in the face of adverse circumstances. People who have peace of mind are more efficient at work. You can have peace of mind by practicing meditation daily. Meditation exercises such as Yoga can give you great peace of mind and make your life quite easy and joyful. You can only feel fit and healthy if you are mentally at peace with yourself. So, work towards developing peace of mind and stay cool, calm and collected. In the words of Hannah Arendt, “Dedicate yourself to the good you deserve and desire for yourself. Give yourself peace of mind. You deserve to be happy. You deserve delight.”
Real happiness and peace can be found in submitting to the commands of the Creator and the Sustainer of this world. God has said in the Qur'an:
“Truly, in remembering God do hearts find rest” (Qur'an, 13:28)
On the other hand, the one who turns away from the Qur'an will have a life of hardship in this world. God has said:
“But whoever turns away from the Quran,1 he will have a hard life, and We will raise him up blind on the Day of Judgment” (Qur'an, 20:124)
The Ten (10) Commandment
1. Do Not Interfere In Others' Business Unless Asked
Most of us create our own problems by interfering too often in others’ affairs. We do so because somehow we have convinced ourselves that our way is the best way, our logic is the perfect logic and those who do not conform to our thinking must be criticized and steered to the right direction, our direction. This thinking denies the existence of individuality and consequently the existence of Allah. Allah has created each one of us in a unique way. No two human beings can think or act in exactly the same way.
All men or women act the way they do because God within them prompts them that way. There is God to look after everything. Why are you bothered? Mind your own business and you will keep your peace.
2. Forgive and Forget
This is the most powerful aid to peace of mind. We often develop ill feelings inside our heart for the person who insults us or harms us. We nurture grievances. This, in turn, results in loss of sleep, development of stomach ulcers, and high blood pressure. This insult or injury was done once, but nourishing of grievance goes on forever by constantly remembering it. Get over this bad habit. Believe in the justice of Allah and the doctrine of Destiny. Let Him judge the act of the one who insulted you. Life is too short to waste in such trifles. Forgive, Forget, and march on. Love flourishes in giving and forgiving.
3. Do Not Crave For Recognition
This world is full of selfish people. They seldom praise anybody without selfish motives. They may praise you today because you are in power, but no sooner than you are powerless; they will forget your achievement and will start finding faults in you. Why do you wish to kill yourself in striving for their recognition? Their recognition is not worth the aggravation. Do your duties ethically and sincerely and leave the rest to Allah, which is Tawakkal.
4. Do Not Be Jealous
We all have experienced how jealousy can disturb our peace of mind. You know that you work harder than your colleagues in the office, but sometimes they get promotions; you do not. You started a business several years ago, but you are not as successful as your neighbor whose business is only one year old. There are several examples like these in everyday life. Should you be jealous? No. Remember everybody's life is shaped by his or her previous Destiny. If you are predestined to be Rich, nothing in the world can stop you. If you are not so destined, no one can help you either. Nothing will be gained by blaming others for your misfortune. Jealousy will not get you anywhere; it will only take away your peace of mind.
5. Change Yourself According To the Environment
If you try to change the environment single-handedly, the chances are you will fail. Instead, change yourself to suit your environment. As you do this, even the environment, which has been unfriendly to you, will mysteriously change and seem congenial and harmonious.
6. Endure What Cannot Be Cured
This is the best way to turn a disadvantage into an advantage.
Every day we face numerous inconveniences, ailments, irritations, and accidents that are beyond our control. If we cannot control them or change them, we must learn to put up with these things. We must learn to endure them cheerfully, thinking, "Allah wills it so, so be it." Allah's plans are beyond our comprehension. Believe in it and you will gain in terms of patience, inner strength and will power.
7. Do Not Bite Off More Than You Can Chew
This maxim needs to be remembered constantly. We often tend to take more responsibilities than we are capable of carrying out. This is done to satisfy our ego. Know your limitations. Why take on additional loads that may create more worries? You cannot gain peace of mind by expanding your external activities. Reduce your material engagements and spend time in prayers, introspection and meditation. This will reduce those thoughts in your mind that make you restless. Uncluttered mind will produce greater peace of mind.
8. Meditate Regularly
Meditation calms the mind and gets rid of disturbing thoughts. This is the highest state of peace of mind. Try and experience it yourself. If you meditate earnestly for half an hour every day, your mind will tend to become peaceful during the remaining twenty-three and half-hours. Your mind will not be easily disturbed as it was before. You would benefit by gradually increasing the period of daily mediation. You may think that this will interfere with your daily work. On the contrary, this will increase your efficiency and you will be able to produce better results in less time.
9. Never Leave the Mind Vacant
An empty mind is the devil's workshop. All evil actions start in the vacant mind. Keep your mind occupied in something positive, something worthwhile. Actively follow a hobby. Do something that holds your interest. You must decide what you value more: money or peace of mind. Your hobby, like social and charitable work , may not always earn you more money, but you will have a sense of fulfillment and achievement. Even when you are resting physically, occupy yourself in healthy reading or mental reciting of Allah's name.
10. Do Not Procrastinate and Never Regret
Do not waste time in protracted wondering " Should I or shouldn't I?" Days, weeks, months, and years may be wasted in that futile mental debating. You can never plan enough because you can never anticipate all future happenings. Always remember, Allah has His own plan, too for you. Value you time and do the things that need to be done. It does not matter if you fail the first time. You can learn from your mistakes and succeed the next time.
Sitting back and worrying will lead to nothing. Learn from your mistakes, but do not brood over the past. DO NOT REGRET. Whatever happened was destined to happen only that way. Take it as the Will of Allah. You do not have the power to alter the course of Allah's Will. Why cry over spilt milk?
Terms and Condition
This is the general and special arrangements or rules that forms the integral part of attaining peace of mind. They are six in numbers you have to come in terms with these six things that will never change no matter what. It has been before now and will always be like this after today.
Life is not fair:
There will always be injustice in life, you can try to change things but, when you can not tell yourself “that’s the way it is”
You cannot change people easily
People are the way they are, if they change it will only be gradually over a long period of time. Accepting this will let you accept people as they are and it is a good basis of unstressed relationship
Some people will never like you
You could be kind, good natured and friendly, and still meet people who dislike you. So have it in mind that some people will never be turned over to like you so forget about the idea of wanting to getting everyone to like you and just be prayerful an satisfy your conscience
Life is a constant struggle
Many people have the idea that once they get through a major difficulty, life will be smooth sailing. This is not true, life is full of a series of problems, but if you look at these problems as opportunities to learn then the problems won’t be as stressful
Things are bond to change
Nothing in life is static forever, so accept the reality that things are bound to change
Getting older is inevitable
Wrinkles, paunchy stomachs and grey hairs are fact of life
Worried or Concerned?
Have you ever found yourself repeatedly going over a problem in your head? Have you ever found that in so doing you’ve done little to actually address the problem? This, I would suggest, is worry. Worry is ruminating about an issue that is plaguing us without actually making substantive progress in addressing the issue. The dictionary supports this with definitions such as “to touch or disturb something repeatedly”, “to subject to persistent or nagging attention or effort”, “to afflict with mental distress or agitation: make anxious.
This is in contrast to concern. Concern, I would offer, is solution oriented. Concern focuses on solving the problem, addressing the issue. It isn’t going over the same points over and over without adding value to the thought. It is coming up with options, setting priorities, drawing conclusions.
Whether you agree or disagree with the precise usage of these words, the point is simply this: If we find ourselves spending more than just a few moments worrying about something, hashing over a problem, then rehashing it, we are wasting our valuable time to no avail.
Just as the steps we take in dealing with grieving have been identified, we also tend to follow a sequence of steps in dealing with a problem. While we won’t dissect those steps here, clearly one of the early steps is to worry about the problem. Up to a point, this can be not only acceptable, but also healthy. It can be a ventilation phase. Beyond that point, it is a waste of time. It can be counterproductive, emotionally damaging, and is more of a procrastination tool than anything else. Learning to rapidly transition from the worry phase into the concern phase will decrease your stress and increase your productivity.
Not only is this concept valuable to us individually, but it can also be helpful in a group setting where multiple people are confronted with a problem that they must mutually tackle. While we can often get bogged down with worry by ourselves, it can become epidemic in a group. As someone who knows the difference between worry and concern, you can facilitate transitioning to a more constructive conversation about solutions.
When considering the differences between worry and concern, consider these distinctions:
Worry distracts us; Concern focuses us.
Worry disables planning; Concern helps us plan.
Worry blurs our vision; Concern clarifies our purpose.
Worry tends to give up; Concern perseveres.
Worry exaggerates; Concern pinpoints problems.
Worry focuses on self; Concern cares for others.
One of the most difficult things to do is to control what we think or how we think. Yet it is one of the most important tools we can possess. Control your thoughts by ridding yourself of worry, and focusing yourself on concern.
As a believer…
You don’t need to worry about anything…those that worry are those that don’t have rest of mind and those that don’t have rest of mind invites death in a hurry. Its like running a relay race to the grave.
There are two days we should never worry about, the past and the future i.e. yesterday and tomorrow.
Everyone, either the rich or the poor worries and when they worry they lose the quality of their health, happiness, joy and friends but there is room where you never find worries
The only place where you won’t find worry is a heart filled with Faith and Hope in Almighty Allah i.e. little and weak faith worries while great and strong faith possess an iron cast dominion over worry.
Some believer’s today worry about what to eat because of the inflationary trend and resultant high cost of living. They should believe that Almighty Allah knows what we need and he is more than sufficient to supply all our needs according to Q 3:173.
The answer to every man’s problem is to repose ones confident in Almighty Allah, be committed unto Him alone and be prayerful and you will be amazed what Allah will do for you.
Prayer Point:
Q 7:23 (133 times) Morning and Night or
Q 106: 1-4 (41 times) Morning and Night or
“Walata ‘luna uluwan Kabiran” (99 times) after each salat.
Best of Luck
“May Allah grant you the serenity to accept what you cannot change, Courage to change what you can, And the wisdom to understand the difference”.
0 Comments