LESSON OF THE DAY 487

Ayahs of the Day:
Do those who plot evils feel secure from God causing the earth to swallow them up, or the coming of punishment to them from where they do not perceive, or God's seizing them in the midst of their comings and goings, they being unable to prevent it. [16: 45,46]

Hadith of the Day:
Do not do evil to those who do evil to you, but you deal with them with forgiveness and kindness. [Bukhari]

Wise Quote of the Day:
Covetousness is itself poverty regardless of how rich one is; detachment is itself wealth regardless of how poor one is; and not wanting vengeance is itself patience regardless if one was wronged or not. [Omar radi Allah anhu]

Guidance of the Day:
A quiet mind is the foundation of inner peace. And inner peace translates into outer peace. Although there are many techniques for quieting the mind, such as reflection, deep breathing, contemplation, and visualization, the most universally accepted and regularly used technique is meditation. In as little as five to ten minutes a day, you can train your mind to be still and quiet. This stillness can be incorporated into your daily life, making you less reactive and irritable, and giving you greater perspective to see things as small stuff rather than as emergencies. Meditation teaches you to be calm by giving you the experience of absolute relaxation. It teaches you to be at peace.

There are many different forms and variations of meditation. Essentially, however, meditation involves emptying your mind. Usually, meditation is done alone in a quiet environment. You close your eyes and focus your attention on your breath--in and out, in and out. As thoughts enter your mind, you gently let them go and bring your attention back to your breath. Do this over and over again. Over time, you'll train yourself to keep your attention on your breath as you gently dismiss any stray thoughts.

You'll quickly discover that meditation isn't easy. You will notice that your mind will fill with thoughts the moment you attempt to keep it still. It's rare for a beginner to be able to focus attention for more than a few seconds. The trick to becoming an effective meditator is to be gentle on yourself and to be consistent, Don't be discouraged. A few minutes each day will reap tremendous benefits, over time. [Don't Sweat The Small Stuff]

P.S: Our meditation has been prescribed for us in the form of five daily prayers, if we are able to focus more on what we are uttering, rather than just the mechanical aspect of it, we will be able to set our minds free, inshaAllah.

Food for Thought:
A non-doer is very often a critic--that is, someone who sits back and watches doers, and then waxes philosophically about how the doers are doing. It's easy to be a critic, but being a doer requires effort, risk, and changes.