Forces on our Thoughts

Today I'm going to talk about one of my favorite topics , and that has to do with mind , mindset , thoughts , the nervous system , all of it put together . Our thoughts are a result of invisible forces , but only invisible if we don't open our eyes to them .

I'm going to start listing some of the forces that shape our thoughts , and this list is long and by no means all-inclusive . Is long and by no means all-inclusive In all of these scenarios , while our initial thoughts might not be under our control which is the concept of khawātir in Islam , but all subsequent thoughts are in our control .

Some of the forces that influence our thinking are , most commonly , our childhood experiences and upbringing . Other forces include trauma , response forces of sexism , racism , islamophobia , colonialism . Also includes our current relationships husband , children , friends , colleagues .

Thoughts are also shaped by one of the 16 Myers-Briggs personality type or one of the nine Enneagram types . They're also shaped by attachment theory , our sexual attractions , forces of immediate and delayed gratification because of the dopamine reward system and all of the addictions created by it . Our thoughts are also influenced by our current struggles .

It could be weight , finances , relationships , threats like war , lack of freedom of speech or threat to your actual safety . These forces also include music , which has a huge influence on our nervous system . The rhythmic tones directly speak to our emotions . Ever notice how you're able to work out so much harder because you feel so energized ?

Your gym is blasting high energy music ? Or while you're watching a movie and a sad scene comes , and the scene itself might not make you sad , but the music compounds the emotional effect . All of these are examples of the music influencing the nervous system subconsciously to invoke feelings , and , of course , the film and music industry is very masterful at that .

Again , this list is not all-inclusive , but it will become clear why I mentioned all of these . So these forces influence the mind to shape it . So we think our thoughts that we are currently thinking .

We think these thoughts because of these forces on our nervous system and we create these things out of our thoughts that then , in turn , influence our nervous system . It is a self-fueling cycle . Depending on which thought you choose , you can vortex yourself upwards or downwards .

Then we can also get in this never-ending loop of rationalization , when the mind is just an antenna , it is our frequency catcher when it comes to obtaining information . And when I say mind , I mean the thought line in the CTFAR model .

Circumstances are outside of us , they're not in our control , but they can influence our thoughts that are generated by our nervous system , that then create feelings in our body that fuel the actions or inactions that we take , that then generate the result that we are currently living .

Based on this cycle , like I mentioned , you can pull yourself upward or downward in life . So the mind that is separate from the circumstance , is just an antenna . This effect of the nervous system creates our results . The nervous system includes the autonomic , sympathetic , parasympathetic nervous system , including the vagus nerve from the polyvagal theory .

So before we get too caught up into the scientific terms , I'm bringing these terminologies into the picture because I always get objections like well , what about this theory and that theory , and what about this scientific discovery ? So I'm pretty much including everything that has been thrown at me as a contradiction to the model of CTFAR .

So don't get bogged down by the scientific terminology if you don't understand it right now . Inshallah , it is my intention to continue to address all of these in my upcoming episodes . So the thought in the CTFAR model is a collection of the mind and the nervous system as a whole .

We just call it thought because we use conscious language as the representation of the whole nervous system . No matter what influences your nervous system that presents you your initial thought , you cannot take control of the situation without bringing that thought into consciousness .

The subconscious thoughts will continue to drive your actions and results and you will spend your entire life not knowing how to change the outcome actions and results and you will spend your entire life not knowing how to change the outcome . Some of us in the culture of Islam have disillusioned ourselves that mind doesn't matter .

This antenna of the mind doesn't matter , because in Islam the concept of mind doesn't stand on its own . Problem with this approach is that this way the antenna stays tuned to receive the frequency of the nafs because we never acknowledged it .

We never acknowledged how it's working or how it actually operates and , as you can imagine , you need deep , intimate knowledge of something you want to take control of . So , at some level , when Muslims are disillusioned with their minds , it is a result of direct opposition of when the Western philosophy says I think , therefore I am .

The West says I think , therefore I am . And Muslims to some extent say let's see how far we can run away from that . Then we start to say mind doesn't matter , mind boxes you in . Pay attention only to religious obligations and you'll be fine . Then our religious obligations become empty vessels , mindless actions that we continue to take .

When we go to pray , we get distracted , we can't find concentration , so we beat ourselves up . Worst case scenario we say praying is not for us . When we go to fast , we find it hard . We can't give up smoking or chewing our nails . The craving of sugar , we say I'm not strong enough to fast .

When we go to give charity , can't give much because we tell ourselves I can barely pay my bills , in an attempt to run from the western extreme of mind , as everything we as a Muslim nation has run to the other extreme of mind has nothing to do with the deeds . All acts of ibadah or prayers are a result of your thoughts and emotions behind it .

Otherwise they are just superficial actions . And Allah , subhanahu wa ta'ala , rewards actions , no doubt about it . But the reward is exponential if the vessel of the action is filled with the right intentions and emotions . Your commitment to the actions of prayer is much deeper when the right thoughts and feelings are behind it .

So thoughts are the language in our brain . Influenced by all of the factors I mentioned above , these thoughts create emotions that lead to actions . So the miracle , here again , is that the thoughts or the language of the brain creates neurotransmitters .

We are going from immaterial to material , language to substance , memories , experiences , to emotional vibrations and energy in our body . Neurotransmitters are perceived as emotions by our body . We then use this emotional energy to direct actions , like a fuel that any car needs to move forward . So again , language in our brain neurotransmitters actions .

That's the flow of creativity .

If I engage in the act of ibadah , that is charity , but the thought is I can barely pay my bills . All the khushu evaporates . You might be able to do it forcefully once or twice , but there's no way you're doing it from a place of abundance . If you're in scarcity mentality , that thought would lead to a lack of emotional connection to your acts of ibadah .

So the mind is not everything , but it's also not nothing . Islam is all about moderation . Mind is the breadcrumbs that lead to our emotional state . As Dr Abdullah Ratman puts it , it's the tip of the iceberg Quran emphasizes the need of intellectual thought 750 times . But that intellectual thought is always a function of something else .

Most importantly here , it is a function of your emotional state . The thought and feeling pair , which is your qalb , mind , is used as a verb , not as a noun , not something you possess , but rather something you act out . You go to give charity , you're thinking I can barely pay my bills . Your qalb is constricted , with or without your awareness .

You can expand that qalb by expanding the language in your head , your thoughts , your intellect . And it is so important to distinguish the faculty of qalb between emotions and thoughts , because thoughts are the only place where our control lies .

You have to sharpen that intellect if you want to raise your human experience , and by intellect I don't mean your academic performance or your IQ or your ability to memorize facts and spit them back out . All of that is a part of the intellect , but what I'm referring to is the quality of your thoughts .

You sharpen that intellect and your whole life will elevate . So this entity of the nervous system that you can control , that will then present to you higher quality thoughts . So all of the influences of the world that shape our thoughts that I just mentioned can only be controlled by bringing consciousness to them . That's the only way to alter the results .

You want to create serenity in the acts of worship . Elevate the quality of your thoughts , because that's where your control lies . You want to create money connection . You want to be of genuine service to the world . Elevate the quality of your thoughts . That is where your control lies .

I emphasized mind-intellect so much , not because it's all that matters , which is the most common misinterpretation of my work , but I emphasize it so much because that's where your control is . That's it . Your emotions don't just appear out of thin air . Your concentration in prayers doesn't just happen .

Your zest , your eagerness , your connection with Allah SWT has to be created , and you create it using your mind . This does not make the mind the master . It makes it the driver . The master is your soul . Soul receives guidance directly from Allah , our creator . The captain of the ship is the soul . The worker at the steering wheel is the mind .

The worker at the steering wheel is the mind . Our soul is our direct connection to Allah SWT . It asks us to submit to the greatest force , that is , the creator Nafs , directs us to submit to the created only , and that could be money , degrees , popularity , leadership All of these are created concepts that belong to the world .

The most ironic thing here is that you can aim to achieve all of these things , but your ultimate submission has to be with Allah , subhanahu wa ta'ala , because that is the soul's only desire . So human creativity lies for us , as Muslims , to incorporate the success of the world with the success in submitting to Allah .

Mind is not the master , it just controls the wheel . In its rebellious state , it stops listening to the soul and mistakenly thinks it's in charge or , worse , yet , it takes orders from the nafs . So the mind is in our control , which does of the word . Islam is not peace , it's submission . I think , therefore , I submit .

You can submit to the well-being of your children , your career , your romantic love or creative potential . You can submit to video games , businesses . You can submit to your own intellect . I think , therefore , I am . That is where most of the humanity is stuck anyways . If you're under the misunderstanding that that's what I'm teaching , I'm not .

I think , therefore , I submit to Allah is what I'm teaching . Your worldly pursuits of the well-being of your children , your career , your romantic love , your creative potential , video games , businesses , all of the above will be so much more elevated . Your acts of worship will be so much more elevated .

If you just understand this design , the actions of the worship that felt like an empty vessel will fill up with eagerness , energy and fulfillment . You are more than welcome to pursue money , degrees , being a media icon , popularity , academia , family life , art , a comfortable lifestyle .

You can have all of that because you know you're not ultimately submitting to any of these . You know , ultimately these things are all created by the human mind and you very well know that the only end point is submission to Allah . You also don't pursue any of the worldly affairs because you think life would be better at some other point than now .

Life will always be 50-50 . Half difficult , half easy . You do not evolve because you think that the life will be 100% easy afterwards . You evolve because you are listening to the voice of your soul and the soul wants you to grow . Seek connection . It will always direct you to Allah because that's why it was put in our bodies .

When I teach the simplified version of CTFAR , when I say thoughts , I mean mind , intellect , nervous system , the whole conscious , subconscious , primal and evolved parts , the whole conscious , subconscious , primal and evolved parts . The more medically inclined people will tell me you can't control your sympathetic threat response in a situation it's automatic .

And I say , yes , that's true , it's designed that way . It's designed to be automatic in a life and death situation so you don't overthink your escape and die in the process . But these days we are living a life as if every day is a life and death situation . So the sympathetic autonomic nervous system , the fight and flight response , is hyperactivated .

Just as you have accidentally hyperactivated it , you can bring it down to the normal level . That is absolutely in your control . So , yes , while the initial response of the nervous system might not be in your control , you can train it for future responses .

No matter what shaped that initial thought to enter your brain , you always have control over how you respond to it by bringing it to consciousness . If you can separate yourself from the circumstance and learn to choose the response in all future events , you can control the cascade of your primal threat .

Not everything in life is a life-and-death matter , but it will certainly seem that way in a hyper-activated sympathetic response .

If it was actually the case that we could not control the autonomic primal response , then we could not stand on the day of judgment in front of Allah , waiting to be judged based on our choices , because we would then just say we were all victims of our circumstances .

If somebody had no choice , they could just say after a traumatic event that I couldn't control my reactions afterwards . There should be no judgment for me . We all know that is not the case . Allah SWT takes your difficulties into account , but you will be judged on the choices you made .

You will be asked what you did with what was in your control , and that is your mind . Something that prompted this episode was I was recently told that the mind boxes you in , and I agree with that .

If the mind is the only thing you're following , but if you're using your mind as a tool , like I'm teaching , then it uplevels your life , and it might sound like a lot of work , but it's actually not . This type of work really can be easily mastered .

The forces that influence the thoughts may be invisible and out of your control , but we have control over how we exercise our agency on the mind , and that is an extremely powerful tool . This agency can dwarf all the external forces that seem to have taken over us .

Let's strengthen that agency , let's study it , let's become the master of it , so then we can put the mind in its proper place , which is the steering wheel , taking directions from the soul . Not one force that I saved for last that influences our nervous system is , of course , the divine .

Allah sends us messages , indirectly or directly , that influence our thoughts . It could be through inspiration , gut feeling , revelation in the form of message of the Quran or other influences like our dreams , which is why it is very important to stay in the state of wudu , or spiritual cleanliness , so the right influences can find you .

Everything influences our mind and then it steers us in the direction where our soul wants to go . If you're not sure of what your soul wants , or if you're not in tune with your true desires , then of course , the nafs will take over that role .

To cover all of this topic and much more , and to come up with practical tips of how we can achieve that process , please attend my upcoming webinar Take Control of your Life . I will leave the link in the show notes to my website , but for all future webinars , please go to my website at islamiclifecoachschoolcom .

With that , I pray to Allah SWT that we make our soul our priority , since that is the entity with the direct connection to the Divine priority , since that is the entity with the direct connection to the divine . I pray to Allah that we are able to master our minds instead of it mastering us .

I pray that we are able to use this gift of Allah to obey and submit to him only . It is my sincere prayer and dua that every force out there that is shaping our thoughts aligns itself so that we can become the best servant of Allah . I will talk to you guys next time .