“Faith is an activity of consciousness--just as much so as integrity. Faith is always present in you, even though, like integrity, it may be dormant. The recognition and acknowledgement of the omnipresence of faith as an activity of individual consciousness starts the flow of it into visible and tangible effect.” “Faith does not concern the past or the future. Faith is an activity taking place in the present--now, only now!”  ~Joel
From Islamic point of view, IHSAN ALEXANDER TORABI pointed out the following;
1. Religion and Spirituality are Gratitude
It’s easy to forget that the very purpose of religion and spirituality is the progressive evolution and awakening of the human being, and the cultivation of a greater level of awareness and consciousness. Often we tend to instead equate the spiritual path but a ritual set of routine practices and a sanctified set of beliefs.
Yet it is important to realize and remember that the Eternal Lord of Heavens is absolutely Independent and utterly free of all need whatsoever. Instead, religion and spirituality, the Way, is in fact a gift for us, a divine grant and favour for human beings, and meant to lead us to happiness, success, joy and eternal prosperity.
Again, God is not in need, but rather it is we who are in need. And so He Almighty has revealed religion and spirituality as a means and way for personal and spiritual development and evolution.
In Islam, worship is fundamentally an opportunity to but express gratitude. Pure, simple and humble gratitude is why the Prophet Muhammad (saws) prayed, meditated and worshipped. He immersed himself in the Divine Presence of God not to escape hellfire, nor to attain paradise, for in consciousness and state he had already transcended both, but rather he worshipped simply and purely to be with Allah Almighty, the Creator, the One, the Source, the Eternal Lord of Heavens and Earth. (I quote; if the prophet transcends both heaven and hell, whom are we going to be with in heaven?)
It can be said that Islam is gratitude, and this is confirmed in the life and example of the Prophet Muhammad (saws), notably in the incident in which his wife, Aisha (ra) asked him, “Why do you worship so much?,” to which his response was, “Shall I not be a grateful servant?”
In spirituality and in Islam in particular, belief equates to gratitude. In fact, the very word for unbelief in Arabic, kufr, originates in the root word meaning “ingratitude.” Hence, belief is characterized by gratitude, which only makes clear sense given the beautiful and bounteous qualities of the Divine, while unbelief, the opposite of faith, is essentially blindness to the grace of the Divine Presence and the gift of life.
Islam = Gratitude
In summary of this point, it can be said that Islam equals gratitude, and by learning how to have an attitude of gratitude, you can better realize the true purpose of religion and spirituality, thus supporting your personal growth and spiritual evolution.
(Therefore, Christians and other religions cannot be term as Kufr because they all thank their God if we can just believe in the fact that God created everything. In other words, God is in everything. I think this piece had stipulated the missing links in our way of believing divinity)

2. An Attitude of Gratitude Cultivates Presence
Here’s a secret. Gratitude equals Presence. By being grateful, you instantly become present to the Here and Now. Gratitude is always experienced for what is now. Gratitude awakens us to the divine and beautiful miracle of present moment experience. And by learning how to have an attitude of gratitude, you support your spiritual growth and development towards heart-centred consciousness, what I call Level 3 State Consciousness, which is experienced as a level of awareness defined by presence, love, light, compassion, and which transcends the ego-mind and negativity.

Gratitude = Presence
Ingratitude is based in time, in past and future, and is literally for what is not now. Ingratitude is thus a rejection of Divine Will as it manifests now in the pure present moment, and such resistance is the opposite of surrender, which is the essence of the spiritual path.

Ingratitude is a result of Level 2 State Consciousness, which is ego-mind based consciousness and identification. Yet by learning how to have an attitude of gratitude, you progressively transcend the problematic ego-mind, also known as nafs al-lawwama, and increasingly experience life through the heart via Level 3 State Consciousness, also known as nafs al-mutama’ina. The goal of spiritual development and personal growth is essentially the attainment of Level 3 State Consciousness, which is heart-based consciousness, a higher level of awareness and a deeper foundation for true experience.

The attainment of such transcended consciousness is spiritual evolution and the very goal and purpose of creation, as well as of religion and the spiritual path.

The Way of the Prophets and Messengers of God is the Way of Spiritual Warriors committed to self-mastery and the transcendence of the ego-self, and by truly following their path and teachings, the way of self-mastery, you ascend towards the Divine Presence and true self-knowledge, transcending fear and learning to experience life in a constant state of joy, awe, wonder and gratitude.

An attitude of gratitude cultivates presence, which heals and changes, for by learning how to have an attitude of gratitude, you heal and purify your very filter. By shifting from an internal state of resistance to an internal state of surrender, an internal state of Islam, you begin to transcend problematic circumstances, for what you resist shall persist, yet what you surrender to shall pass. Resistance literally holds holds energy in place and prevents its movement and passing, and so surrender equals success.
Surrender = Success
Hence, Islam is also known as tazkiyyah, which literally means “purification,” and which is in fact the original name of the Way. Purification of the self from the negativity and duality of the self is the very purpose of the Path, of spirituality, which is the deeper dimension of religion. Often, this dimension of spiritual purification and progress is also referred to within Islam as Sufism.
3. An Attitude of Gratitude Attracts Grace and Prosperity
And remember! Your Lord caused to be declared, “If you are grateful, I will add more unto you.”— Surah Ibrahim (Holy Quran, 14:5-7)
The Law of Attraction states that gratitude is one of the most powerful forces with which to attract increasingly positive circumstances and results into one’s life, and this is confirmed in the Holy Quran and in the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (saws).

Yet it is important to note that one must be grateful sincerely for the sake of gratitude for what is now, and that by learning how to have an attitude of gratitude, such gratitude is real and not based in need, which will actually repel rather than attract. In other words, do not be grateful to get more. Simply be grateful because it’s the right way to live.

We’ve already been given so much, and learning how to have an attitude of gratitude for the sake of only attracting trivial gains in life is at some level still based in ego and thus insincere, still lacking real awareness of the purity and perfection of the present moment.
How to Have an Attitude of Gratitude
Having an attitude of gratitude is a way of life. It is the way of life, and is based in a life rooted in spirituality, divine success, inner peace and personal prosperity. Gratitude is religion and spirituality, is surrender and thus the divine path of personal growth and spiritual evolution revealed by the Holy Creator.
Verily, the Way before God is Islam — Surrender.
— Surah Aali-Imran [Holy Quran, 3:19]
By learning how to have an attitude of gratitude, you serve your highest purpose, and your life experience increasingly shifts from negative to positive. The Universe is a mirror designed to reflect to you yourself, and as you shift within, your external results will correspond. By thus purifying yourself, you discover your true self.
“They who know themselves are as they who know their Lord.”
— Prophet Muhammad (saws)
Constantly look for and see the beauty of life and the beauty of others. All of creation originates and emanates from the Divine Presence of God, and beyond superficial appearances, all is with divine purpose. Remember that all is by divine will, and you become a person of wisdom and knowledge by remembering that there is a beautiful and divine purpose to all things.
They who remember Allah standing, sitting, and reclining, and who consider the creation of the heavens and the earth, and say, “Our Lord! Surely Thou has not created this in vain! Glory be to Thee! Preserve us from the suffering of the Fire!”
— Surah Aali-Imran [Holy Quran, 3:191]
All of creation is an emanation from God, and so learn how to have an attitude of gratitude by training yourself to always see beauty. Remember that the Universe is a mirror and will reflect to you yourself, your choices, and that your micro-choices determine your ultimate destiny and results. In every situation and in every circumstance, choose peace and paradise rather than that which leads to suffering and hell.
O mankind! Whatever good you experience is from God, yet the ill you experience is from yourself.”— Surah An-Nisaa [Holy Quran, 4:79]
Now, let us compare these two write-ups as the following statement by  Julius Fann, Jr stated; Consciousness cannot be described. Yet manifestation of Consciousness is recognized by the senses, of all men, through the activity of the Spirit forms already established within the Principles and Pattern of God's nature as thought formation. Within the Nature of God, all forms, realms, spheres, dimensions and degrees of man's own omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent Spirit of Being exist. The Nature of God is the reality of God living as the individual consciousness and souls of all men. This makes God the individual consciousness, conscience, and soul of all mankind.

He continued by saying that, man's primary purpose is to continuously bear witness that Consciousness is the true form of life by Pure Awareness within God's nature. That Consciousness brings life to the flesh of men, and therefore, the minds of men because of conscious awareness. That every thought conceived, first came out of the invisible essence and substance of Consciousness, by way of Spirit intent within the Nature of God. Man is here to bear witness to the truth that God is the only power.  And no human thought, interpretation of human thought, or human intent of thought is a power, in this world, and can never alter God's intent of purpose. Man's purpose is to fulfill his Promised contract to halt the lie that for mankind to exist, mankind needs a physical body.

Men refuse to acknowledge this truth, and therefore refuse to bear witness that everything they possess, everything they have learned, everything they do, is done not to only fulfill the purpose of their Promised Contract with God, but also for the purpose of expanding their human awareness. This endeavor to expand the human frontier is the divide harboring the belief that the Mind of God and the mind of man is not one Mind. Believing the Spirit and flesh mind to be separate was the beginning of man's split personality, and acceptance of a dual nature of influence in man's life. It is also the beginning of the self-righteous religious thought mentality and of self-worshiping. Anything human judged as evil or bad, can all be instead, re-framed as life experiences. A  prostitute or alcoholic for-example, are all life experiences or lessons that the culprit have to go through before death but because of human attitudes by not obeying the rules and therefore abandon these culprits instead of loving them end up dying without recovering. However, these human actions doesn’t mean God will also abandon them, they might even go to heaven and the one who the society thinks is the pious one will be fund in hell.   
 



On Tuesday, 29 July 2014, 19:04, Edie Sidibeh <[log in to unmask]> wrote:



Now our so called heroes believed the fact from Arabs and Koran that; none believers should be killed or tortured till they submit to Islam. (TORTURING OR KILLING) aren’t anything wrong with that if God and the religion is peaceful and why am i reading such from other faiths? We despised Yahya for torturing, maiming and killing our people yet if you read the Koran, it condones those acts.  Again, never befriend none believer until they submit to Islam? Is that phrase uniting God’s creation? Why will God tell them to torture or kill and again, is the same God who said thy shall not kill? If that is the case why does God need to punish the disobedience after death?  These misconceptions are the reasons why when we became adults we are always looking for someone to decide for us someone to do things for us or waiting for who will start first because we were never empowered to be right or to stand for ourselves, we learn those when we are adult. This also can be a negative reaction on our adulthood in terms of rebelling against the system that dis-empowered us. People let’s start using our conscious mind not logical one. God Allah or whatever name you call Him, is always here with us and fulfilling our collective needs. These needs will never be materialized/realized without collective efforts and conscious realization clear from egoistic expectations. Trust, faith, and patience are very importance tool in this regard, whatever one trust “wholeheartedly” with patient and faith will sure materialize. For example; if a doctor or marabou give you a medicine for the cure of certain ailment, but you didn’t believe it will, surely it will not period. As well if the doctor is not kind with the patient, whatever he/she gives the patient will not help either. This is how human psychic functions. Wherever/whatever unconditional love and wisdom is applied the universe will always support. Nothing had however, happen in the Gambia out of our consents. We Gambians consciously or unconsciously created them because God will never give us anything we didn’t ask for. Faith, trust, and believe are God’s own entity period. If you distrust anything or process you distrust God because God is the creator of everything and every process and if you build trust around them, God will surely saw you the way to completion. On the other hand, whenever there comes a collective dislikes, God will surely intervene in His own terms as it is now happening to Yahya without even knowing the reasons and logic behind some of his acts.  

In this trying time, I think what God is teaching us Gambians is to consciously look within ourselves; (the place where God is/resides) as well as from our past in order to know our present such as; what are the advantages/disadvantages from our colonial masters to the second republic? All these were naturally and systematically different entity but similar in their motivations (governing). Now we will have to collective agree on the positive ones needed from each era in order to stabilize the third republic.  Such as; (democracy and rule of law, citizen empowerment, economical management infrastructural development just to name but few).
To be fearful is to be controlled by so called Satan as well as rejecting and disobeying the divine power. Besides, believing in two powers (the power of Satan and that of God) is abomination to the divine reality. One who is afraid of spreading his/her conscious opinions is a living soul without guidance. Furthermore, we shouldn’t be blamed for misinterpretation of the messages which had not only confused people, but done lots of destructions in this beautiful world and Her people. It was said by Joel that, “All attempts to contact God through the mind or intellect have failed and always will fail. God can be known only through the Soul and the Soul-faculties and the soul and its faculties can only be incorporated through KHALUA in seclusion or meditation and contemplation”. KHALUA is an individual self development method that will take one closer to the divinity. Sadly in our culture, we were not taught to meditate even thus our prophet received the divine teachings from meditation. These fallacies religions cleverly formulated in our minds are not helpful either. Man must be really conscious because it is from consciousness that will benefit this world and hereafter. Besides, why do we have to pay others to perform KHALUA on our behalves? They scared the hell out of people by telling them if they try KHALUA without knowledge or know-how, they can come out mad because various kinds of animals like snake or frog can come growing larger and larger in your secluded space etcetera. In reality, KHALUA or meditation can be performed anywhere even our prophet was doing it in the mountains or any seclude area that suits you (in the forest, the beach side, on the mountains just to be away from distractions to contemplation.
 
DO ONTO OTHERS AS YOU WILL ACCEPT THEM IN RETURN. DO YOUR BEST AND LIVE THEREST TAKING CARE FOR ITSELF


On Tuesday, 29 July 2014, 18:39, Edie Sidibeh <[log in to unmask]> wrote:



THE BITTER OPINION SOCIETY LOVE TO IGNORE AND TABOOED
Things are not the way they should be in this world and these problems are getting out of hand. Now let’s ask ourselves:-  
What are these problems? And where does it start? How can we help this situation? Where will we start?
The problem with our smiling coast and Her people Vs our attitudes come from a place termed as divinely tabooed to discuss deeply much more to remedy. So called religions without teaching us the know-how to its faith (in honesty Gambians are very religious but our faith to God as the creator of everything Good or bad is missing). This, I may say was due to the wrong understanding in which it was received and distributed with. Everybody wants to go to heaven but none wants to die is where the faith and knowledge of it is lack. Besides, how can one goes to heaven without dying? The religion came to us with fear mongering in the heart and mind of the people just like the introduction of slavery from both the Arabs and the white man. All these were introduced to our society in a brutal manner, killing and maiming and forcefully taking people to subjugation to Islam and slavery. Some will say that we shouldn’t look unto the Arabs for Islam, but in what language are we praying? Who assembled the Koran Thus the words were said to be come from God to Muhammad (PBH)? In our people’s mind, The Koran was written, edited and bind by God Himself and the angels straight to the hands of Muhammad. Now if we should not look unto the Arabs for the religion, why are we blaming the English, the Germans, and the Portugal etcetera for slavery? Why are we blaming the Nazism for discrimination? We can all be blamed for double standard behaviors hence It is human’s nature to turn blind eye on realities which are not in their favor just like how the American are turning blind eyes to the atrocity of Israel towards Palestinians. Besides Arabs self interest behaviors are well known. Have you ever seen an Arab is worried about so many wars in Islamic Africa countries? But whenever Arabs are killing each other African Muslims will involve in the favor Arabs but fail to realized that it is all God’s punishment. Why can’t the Arabs join together to help Palestinians why did they left Somalia to be destroyed?  

We can call on or blamed slavery for the destruction it brought to us but not religions. How many people did Foday Kabba, Mansa Musa etcetera killed maimed for the forceful introduction of Islam in our society? Upon all their ungodly and wicked manners, they became heroes and gradually these forceful subjugation became rooted in our society. For example; No matter how right the child is, his/her parents words must stand thereby, dis-empowering the child and make him/her vulnerable resulting to the total dependency on his/her parents mercy. Yes parents should train their children to become a better adult but with both physical and mental empowerment coupled with love will help because every child came with a message from God but only if the parents will sometimes listen instead they will like to force the child to subdue to their will. In a certain stage of their life, children start asking lots of questions and parents will sometime stop them on their tracks instead of answering the questions. Some parents will tell the child “you talk too much or shut up”. These kinds of behaviors will never empower the child towards been a productive adult. However, children due to their curiosity, can sometimes ask difficult questions that their parents are not ready or have no knowledge about, but does not mean you have to shut them up thinking you are training him/her to become a better adult whiles what you are doing is dis-empowering.
 
DO ONTO OTHERS AS YOU WILL ACCEPT THEM IN RETURN. DO YOUR BEST AND LIVE THEREST TAKING CARE FOR ITSELF


On Wednesday, 25 September 2013, 17:15, Edie Sidibeh <[log in to unmask]> wrote:







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