alhumdulillah

If you have been following me lately, you know I am in a determined state.  In my groups, I have said this IS the Summer to Shift.  I have decided no more of the limiting, small, beliefs that have kept me stuck (why did I let them keep my stuck) and have taken on so many cool practices.  I started with a "No Suffering" practice.  Then, I flowed into an "Is this love?" practice.  As I was doing all of this, I start meditating morning and night (ok, sometimes, only one of those, sometimes none, but a heck of a lot more than I was before).  And, now... I have come back to the cornerstone - TRUST.

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Do you know what Amina means?  Trustworthy.  One who can be trusted... and, now this Amina, is working on being one that TRUSTs.

This August, in Adventures with Amina, we are going to be discussing an amazing book by my dear friend, Akshay Nanavati, called Fearvana.  This book is the real deal, y'all.  If you have not gotten it yet, check it out.  Akshay did a great job explaining how our brain works, and most importantly, how you can change your brain.  One of the big things that came up in this book is the pause between your animal brain's response to fear and your human (higher functioning) brain's use of logic.  That pause.  That is what meditation is for.  That is what prayer is for.  That is really what, I think, all spiritual practice is about.  It is about catching that pause.  Lately, I have been able to do it.  I really credit the "No Suffering" practice for upping my awareness of this pause.  Lately, I have gotten to the point where I can see the moment of pause.  That's where today's topic comes in.  

I got to this place of noticing the pause, but then, almost did not know what to do.  I know I need to change the pattern, think a different thought, be happier, etc.  But, how?  I was freaking out and suffering and now, I am experiencing the pause, but still having the feelings.  And, that is where gratitude comes in.  I would just start chanting, Alhumdulillah.  In Arabic, Alhumdulillah is translated as, All praise is to God.  It is amazing how just using this one word in a moment of pause can create an automatic shift.  There is something about the word and the sound itself, the sound of hamd, which is praise (adoring gratitude) that is just calming.  There was a study done once on using a mantra during meditation, they found that any sound repeated could get you into a meditative state, even the word, hamburger.  I find that the word, alhumdulillah, gets me there pretty quickly.

The next tool in the process has revelated itself. What I find even more amazing is what happens after I spend a moment in a state of Alhumdulillah.  Next, guidance comes in. I seem to calm into a state of knowing what to do next.  It is usually not anything difficult and an easy solution.  And, I am left in awe, as to how easy life can be when we are in the flow.  When we are fully trusting that this moment, like every other moment, is perfectly divine.  I seem to calmly know what to do all of a sudden.  All the time.  I just know what to do.  And, when I don't know what to do and start to feel that frenzied feeling, I go through the process:
1.  Am I choosing to suffer?  Can I decide to not suffer?
2. Is what is happening love or not love?
3.  I am now fully in the state of Pause.
4.  Alhumdulillah
5.  Guidance, ease, simplicity and flow.

I invite you to try it too! Look at my last few blog posts (which I referenced in this post) to watch my progression.  I have to tell you all, it has been easier than I would have imagined.  The hardest part is realizing I am suffering (sometimes, I suffer for hours before I am aware I am doing it).  And, join us this month in Adventures with Amina to befriend our fear.  I am loving everything Akshay is sharing about Fear and how we react when it shows up.  It is perfectly timed with my personal life experience.  There is just not much to fear and when we are in fear, it is a such a delicious opportunity to see how we think and make a new choice!