What Prayers Look Like During Ramadan

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Razan Masri

I found this beautiful photograph on Instagram yesterday that I could not take my eyes off. Beautiful. It sure is, as much as prayers in Ramadan is. Serene. Full of color. From the prayer mat to what people are covered up with; to perform their prayers. Their spirits rise above to meet in unity, diverting their hearts and thoughts towards a meditative state of mutual connection towards the Divine. A prayer performed to remember what we are grateful for, to remember there is something much bigger than all of us, all of this and all of that, to remember that we are not alone but gifted, given, surrounded by miracles. Prayers; no matter how they are performed, no matter by whom they are performed, where or when, resemble the same beautiful purpose to express ones presence, gratitude, a beautiful way to express mutual humility and to remember always to take part in the unity of humanity.

Ramadan is a holly month that unites Muslims all around the world to submit their souls in the name of spirituality. They fast, practice their prayers, contribute as much as they can to charity and to their communities, it is a month to unite the people together to remember that we are all here, alive, today, through a common source. To practice not only what is good, but what can be better, to spread love, and peace, to ask for forgiveness and new chances, to start over again, to help people start over again. It is a month of unity, and it is a month of remembrance, a month for-giving.

To a world of today that is thirsty for our unity and love.

Photograph by Yassine Ismail, Morroco, found on EmergEast Instagram account.

Also tagged onto the Pleasure Daily post by wordpress.

Spiritual Writing on Letting Go

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Razan Masri

Ramadan Lesson number Two:

Let go; by giving, by sharing, by opening up. Let everything within you go. Let your attachments go, let your words go, let your thoughts go, just let go. Free yourself from your own self, and learn to let everything go.

Holding on to anything will cause us pain eventually, and in life, we happen to stumble over and over again onto obstacles and illusions that we only cause upon our self. One way to look at this is how to give without expecting back, how to love without expecting back, how to speak without expecting back, how to share without expecting back.

Train our souls, to give for the sake of the Divine, allow yourself to be His instrument, allow yourself to be the flower that moves with the wind, allow yourself to be the balloon that was set free by the little boy, allow yourself to be the bird that sings. Allow yourself to travel in life, to bring joy to yourself and to others. Practice by giving. Give once each day without wanting back, give for the sake of this earth to grow more greens, give for it to glow, and give for it to multiply.

We always want something back, and we always get so much back, but we forget, we become greedy, we train ourselves to become selfish and greedy. If I am not getting a response, I am never calling again, If I am not being loved, I am no longer loving, if I am not getting paid, I am no longer working. We always want something back, and it is good to get things back, but don’t be one of those who always want something back, who when you don’t get what you expect, you become upset and angry, you loose your joyous self, you loose your light, you loose your human element and become a greedy, grumpy human being.

Learn to let go, to let go of your expectations and thoughts, learn to give for no return, learn to give because you know there is a Divine, because there is something more powerful than you and everyone else, that there is something coming back to you always in different forms, in ways that we find are magical, in ways that we find no answers to, in ways that we can not predict or expect, we just receive, so give in that same way, in that way when you surprise people, when you put a smile into their hearts, when you put light into their eyes, give and ask for nothing back, want nothing back and expect nothing back.

hot air balloon, safari, jungle, Serengeti, sunrise

Spiritual Writings & Leopards

Posted on June 7, 2016 by Razan Masri

Ramadan’s Lesson Number One:

We never know what we are looking at, until we look deeper.

And we can only look deeper when we will and are welcomed to look deeper.

The door is opened, might be slightly opened, or even when it is locked and closed, it still is a view to look into and understand what it really is we are looking at.

First impressions never last, and they can mean something but are never accurate. We miss, most of the time.

But then, we get closer and closer to the true meaning of the picture we are looking into.

It can appear so dark, but once inside, it is so light and peaceful, and it can appear so light and once inside it is the darkest place on earth.

Nonetheless, we can never know just by looking at the cover.

The cover is a form. And our eyes can only have better first impression judgments when one’s vision is pure, and clean.

Other than that, our vision is blurred, mischievous, and malicious.

It is not a vision to count on, until it has been washed out from all vanity and desires. It must be like water, crystal clear.

Stereotypes are conducts of blurred vision. It is a cover that has been poorly interpreted over and over again. Most people tend to be followers, and so they follow the false meaning of the appearance.

Versus in the Quran are all forms, they can be easily misunderstood and misinterpreted over and over again, they can give you a clue to what they might mean, but they are rarely understood within full meaning. The meaning of each verse has a deep story within, and only those who attain high spiritual connection can find it is easy to find true meaning behind each verse.

Life is also a form. It is a misinterpretation. Most things are poorly visible. Most things are apparent more than true wisdom, like flares, they can be easily put off or put aside. Most things in life are easily misunderstood. Because to meaning, it is more than what we just look at, meanings are mostly always hiding inside and behind, only those who are well experienced, and well explored, those who truly understand that behind each one of us, there is something a little something more than what we just put on and walk around with.

So listen more than look, for appearances are only appearances, what truly matters is what lies within.

Leopard, cheetah, jungle, safari, tanzania, Serengeti

The Letter B – حرف ال ب

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Razan Masri

Sufi mystics say the secret of the Qur’an lies in the verse Al-Fatiha.
And the secret of Al-Fatiha lies in Bismillahirrahmanirrahim.

And the quintessence of Bismillah is the letter Ba,

And there is a dot below that letter…

The dot underneath the B embodies the entire universe…

From the book – Forty Rules of Love

– Kilimanjaro View

From my readings… On Faith

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Razan Masri

My heart beats, my lungs breathe, my ears hear, my hair grows. And I don’t have to make them work-they just do. Planets revolve around the sun, seeds become flowers, embryos become babies, and with no help from me. Their movement is built into a natural system. I am an integral part of the system, too. I can let my life be directed by the same force that makes flowers grow-or I can do it myself.

To trust in the force that moves the universe is faith. Faith isn’t blind, it’s visionary. Faith is believing that the universe is on my side, and that the universe knows what it’s doing. Faith is a psychological awarness of an unfolding force for good, constantly at work in all directions. My attempt to direct this force only interferes with it. My willingness to relax into it allows it to work on my behalf. Without faith, i’m frantically trying to control what it is not my business to control, and fix what it is not in my power to fix. What I’m trying to control is much better off without me, and what I’m trying to fix can’t be fixed by me anyway. Without faith, I’m wasting time.

A year of Miracles – Marianne Williamson

On Meditation

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Razan Masri

To the perfect place to meditate, a minute to look into your heart, a minute to breath and fill in your body with the right type of oxygen, a minute to let go of your stressful thoughts; to loosen up your tight muscles, a minute to withdraw from everything holding onto you and pulling you elsewhere, a minute to cherish heaven that lies here within us and between us, a minute to feel silence & appreciate the serenity that exists amongst all chaos, a minute to hear the sounds of life’s music; the wind blowing to the right side, and the birds that sing right above you, the sound of leaves moving, and the sound of echo’s from faraway. A minute to sit back & be grateful; from every hour that passes, can be a transformation method to take you from wherever you are to your very current present.

Be present today, be open to changes, be open to hear the sound shift, be open to walk it without having to be pushed into it, be open to trust the choices of life to you and not struggle with wanting to control your choices upon life.

To a wonderful day, the first Monday of may, to choosing the present.

From the miraculous view of Marriott Hotel, Petra. Thanks to Saif Khlaifat Photography for the beautiful photograph

Love at First Sight

Posted on April 27, 2016 by Razan Masri

No filter… Just like the transformation of your heart… All you got to do is sit and watch it take transformation, let it take its full shape, lightness, softness, let it become flawless, clean, crystal clear, transparent, let it glow, be serenely powerful, let your heart be arousing, beaming, radiant and very magical. It is just like “love at first sight” you know it as soon as you see it, you look into it and you only see your better self through it.

It is just like your taste buds, you can tell by the very first drip of it, the sweetness & sourness of it. And here I am just watching one of the most beautiful sunsets that transformed a sun’s reflection into the most sheer candle light.

It was a dusty horizon and because of that it managed to be miraculous. Dead Sea

Relaxing into my Center

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Razan Masri

There’s a way to relaxing into our center, letting other people have their say, knowing our being is even more reliant at times when we’re in a space of not-doing. When the ego steps back, the power of God steps forward. To often we feel we’re invisible unless we’re making the cool comment, doing this or doing that. But we’re so much more powerful when grounded with silence. Taking a deep breath, knowing that what you don’t say can be as powerful as what you do say, thinking deeply about something before making a response-such actions leave room for a spirit to flow, to harmonize your circumstances and move them in a more positive direction. How many times have we felt we’ve blown it simply by talking when we later wish we hadn’t or by showing off when we could have just sat there and seemed intriguing?

God’s spirit will always reveal the truth to us if we simply don’t block His guidance. And we block it by talking fitst, attitudinally walking ahead of truth. This happens when we push too hard, trying frantically to make things happen, or keep things from happening, because we lack faith in an invisible order of things. That is why a holy instant matters: it uis a moment of quiet when the spirit enters and nakes right all thins.

From my readings, A Year of Miracles

An inspiring short story on Wisdom

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Razan Masri

One upon a time, there was an anthropologist who discovered a lost tribe living far from civilization. The people of this tribe were friendly and kind and seemed very wise. In spite of the fact that the man’s inner confusion and unhappiness was disturbing to their harmony, they accepted and made him feel welcome.

He befriended one of the inhabitants of a small village. One day this friend took him to the top of a high cliff overlooking a fast-moving and tumultuous river with a small island in the middle of it. There was a calm, mysterious beauty about the island, but it seemed impossible to reach. Dangerous currents and whirlpools swirled around the island, and there was no bridge from either shore. The water looked too dangerous even for boats. The man gazed for a long time at the island and was curiously moved; he felt that it was his destiny to visit this island.

After a time, another man climbed down the cliff over a barely visible path and stood quietly on the edge of the shore. Eventually a rainbow appeared and seemed to make a beautiful bridge from the shore to the island. The anthropologist was amazed when the man on the shore put his foot on the rainbow and crossed over to the island!

“How did he do that?” he asked his friend. “It is very simple. You just need to know your color. Put your feet exactly on that color, and you will be able to cross over.” The anthropologist was very excited because he thought he had found the answer to fulfilling his destiny and visiting the island. He said to his friend, “You are a very wise man and surely you can tell me: what is my color?” His friend said that that was not possible. “The color is inside you, and only you can discover it. However, I can help you to find the way.”

The anthropologist was impatient and kept asking “How? What must I do?” His friend explained that he must study, read, and meditate and that he would bring him to other wise people who could guide him, but he said, “Only you can find your color.”

And so the anthropologist worked with the wise people of the village, studied and meditated, and after many, many months, he felt he was ready to try to reach the island. With his friend, they climbed down the cliff path to the edge of the shore, looked across to the special, magical island, and waited patiently. Soon a rainbow appeared and made a bridge to the island. He put his foot on the color that he recognized as his and, yes, he crossed the river on that rainbow to the island of his destiny. He spent many days exploring the island, finding it full of marvelous colors, the colors of all the wise people who have visited before him. He finally understood that he had to leave his color here on the island, that very special and personal color it took him so long to find. But when he left, he knew that he would take away with him a little bit of the color of each wise person who had come before him.

Now he is truly finding harmony for himself and learning what wisdom is.

Adapted from a story by Patrick Condamin

For the love of Zebras

Posted on February 21, 2016 by Razan Masri

For balance, for improvement, for being wild and free. A life inspired by Zebras is a life full of adventure. Kind, aloof, appealing, and diverse. To a life that is all about balance, giving and not taking but learning. A life that is about community, surrounding yourself with the right elements of life to be who you are born to become. A life that is generous, that is unlimited, that is infinite, that is abundant. It gives you, it feeds you, it challenges you, only to make you a better version of your own self. To Zebras, for the love of Zebras, for inspiring us, Human, to be unique, like a print, that can not be identical but can be very similar. To company, to reflection, to having a partner in life who can look you in the eyes to show you what a brave one you have been, to mothers and fathers, who are ideals, who are leaders, to their children, if not to the world. They stand their ground, they raise their shield, they put you first, they surround you with protection and love. To independency, that is limited, yet free of boundaries, to being your self, but being true to others, to being there for yourself and to everyone else. To great company, to accepting, to playing, to enjoying life, to dancing for life, to learning about love, to give love. To be generous in giving love, to nature, to everything natural, to being like nature, changing in seasons and only surprising us with a more beautiful version of yourself.