Keep Taking Action

Every now and then I review some basic concepts , and today I'm going to do that plus build on it with some advanced concepts .

Alhamdulillah , I have a very informed audience , and giving you these advanced concepts is going to up-level your self-coaching and your mind management , which is the simple rendering of everything that happens in this world on a physical and a metaphysical level . It is abbreviated as CTFAR circumstances , thoughts , feelings , actions and results .

Everything in life happens in one of these five categories . It also happens at the metaphysical level . Now you might be wondering what's the difference between the physical and the metaphysical formula ? So think about it as layers going from top to bottom .

The bottommost layer is the physical world , which is the cosmos , our results and outcomes that we generate based on our actions . Also , our soul belongs in this physical world . While it is bound in this earthly body . After death , soul travels to the metaphysical world . That is the next level , or the next layer . Metaphysical world consists of thoughts .

Nobody has ever seen or touched a thought , but they do experience it . Some people consider feelings to be metaphysical . I think they're somewhere between physical and metaphysical , because experiences or sensations in our body related to feelings are a result of neurochemicals in our body .

Other metaphysical entities include angels , day of judgment and again our soul travels to this realm after death . Above and beyond all of this is Allah , subhanahu wa ta'ala , who created everything between these two worlds . Why I make this distinction is going to become clear during this podcast , but for now let's go back to the CTFAR .

The C stands for circumstances , which is everything that is outside of us . And everything outside of us is always out of our control and always neutral by definition . By neutral , I mean it does not provoke a meaning by its inherent nature . We assign it meaning by neutral . It also means that it does not give us a feeling until we have a thought about it .

Everything outside of your thoughts is a circumstance and , by definition , neutral . And a lot of people question that they ask me is is even death neutral ? And I say yes , because death of somebody that I know will not have the same effect on you and vice versa . May Allah protect us from these tests .

So if death caused thoughts , then everyone would have same thoughts . But death , being a circumstance , does not cause thoughts . Our mind causes them . Circumstances include our past , our relationships , our work , our finances . Now , up until this point , that has so far been the review .

If I am to build on this concept , I will also teach you that anything that you can observe is a circumstance . That will include your thoughts and your feelings .

Meaning , if you are to scan your body during the day to figure out how is it that you're feeling and you identify a certain area in your body that is experiencing anxiety , you've just applied observation to it . Anxiety became a circumstance . Our thoughts are also a circumstance , through the power of metacognition , that is , our ability to think about our thoughts .

Anything that is an object of observation is , by definition , neutral meaning . We can make it mean whatever we want . Most of the time , we are assigning meanings to these neutral objects through default pathways of our brain , which are our primal self pathways , the animalistic self . The up-leveling game here is to assign meaning with a higher , more conscious pathway .

That brings me to talk about the conscious and the subconscious mind . So human beings carry two different types of brain In general the left and the right brain . The left brain is more logical , the right brain is more creative . Neither one of these themselves constitute as a higher or the lower brain .

So , for example , our primal brain would consist of the limbic system or animalistic brain . That in itself , technically , is not a lower brain , because if thoughts originating from the limbic system served us in the moment , then technically they were for a higher purpose . Then in that moment our limbic system served as the higher brain . But that seldom happens .

That only belongs in moments when fight and flight reactions are necessary , like saving your life , like if you're being mugged and you have to run . So the amygdala in itself is not the lower brain .

If it gives you a result that helps your goal of staying alive , then technically it functioned as a higher brain or the more soulful brain , because in that moment that's what you needed . So the higher brain isn't one structure . The higher brain is the origin of thoughts that gave you the results you wanted to reach your goal .

Most of the time that higher brain consists of the right side of the brain or the more creative side . Sometimes it consists of the logical brain or the left side . So think of higher and lower brain on a vertical axis , higher brain being at the top and lower brain being at the bottom .

Now , moving on to the difference between conscious and subconscious thoughts , our conscious thoughts are intentional , meaningful sentences that we tell ourselves before we set out to do something . These are sentences that we're aware of . Most of our mind consists of subconscious thoughts .

Think of conscious and subconscious on a horizontal axis , conscious being on the right side and subconscious being on the left . Most of the language gets programmed into our subconscious out of the need of efficiency by our brain , because it is an extremely efficient machine . Subconscious in itself is not bad .

Subconscious in itself does not comprise the primal brain , but more default . Primal thoughts get programmed into the subconscious if we are not careful , so our job is to bring them into consciousness , reprogram them and then program them back into subconscious .

I hope this is making sense , because this is a very important difference when it comes to thoughts in the CTFAR formula . This model also gives us room to interpret thoughts in many other ways , including thoughts being our whole nervous system , meaning this is the antenna that we perceive the world with . This includes the nervous system that is in our gut .

This also includes the nervous system that is in our heart , and these are more recent discoveries as put forward by polyvagal theory and other theories like that , when you have a gut feeling but you can't really put into language what it is that your body is trying to say , the nervous system of your gut trying to tell you something , those types of thoughts can

also be brought into consciousness with some practice and they're also always part of our t-line or our thoughts .

So , in summary , the thoughts consist of conscious and subconscious thoughts , higher brain and lower brain , and it also consists of the information collected from other nervous systems of our body , because all of those create an internal experience or internal environment .

Because all of those create an internal experience or internal environment , which are our feelings , which is the next line in the formula . So , when it comes to our feelings , these are neurochemicals that are experienced as sensations in our body . All emotions carry sensations , not all sensations carry emotions .

If you are observing and investigating an emotion , you're basically putting it in the circumstance line and figuring out what it is that you're making it mean . Most of us are usually in judgment of our anxiety , which never lets us process it , which makes us box it in , and in turn it becomes bigger and bigger .

So it becomes very important for us to introspect and investigate , to see how we're feeling the science of muraqabah in Islam . That way , after we figure out what we're feeling , we can give it language . We can make it mean something that is constructive for us , something that doesn't pull us down . We can question why is anxiety there ?

Do I have to create anxiety with the language , or can I make it mean something constructive ? Language is directly from Allah . It is of metaphysical origin . Like I told you , thoughts are metaphysical . Language creates feelings and , unlike animals , humans have the capability of assigning language to their internal experiences .

While keep in mind , when I teach you these concepts , I am making a clear distinction between thoughts and feelings , mind and the body , and that is intentional , not because these are two different entities , which they're actually not , and sometimes this can be a very difficult concept to grasp . What I'm saying is mind and body are always working in sync .

They are one entity , but the reason I separate them is because , through centuries of programming , we have separated mind from the body . This is the Cartesian model , and through this separation , a lot of us are not in touch with how we feel . So I have to train myself and everyone that I coach to help identify these entities and then eventually integrate them .

Coaching with thoughts and feelings and a mind-body combined experience again constitutes for a more holistic approach . This is the Islamic point of view and this is referred to as the qalb of the human being , or the core . After the feelings comes the action line , or the A from CTFAR .

Actions are visible actions that we take on a daily basis , including making a cup of coffee , getting into a car , driving to work , or invisible actions that we take with our brain , which is more thoughts and feelings and spinning in our head .

It also includes inactions , like sometimes we just don't feel like getting out of bed if we're feeling upset or sad or frustrated about something . Staying in bed is an inaction , also a result of a feeling . Our feelings fuel all of our actions , including our in , depending on what energy our feeling is providing us in that moment .

And the most beautiful part of this whole paradigm is that our feelings are in our control , through our thoughts . Therefore , our actions are in our control , which means our results , which is the last line of this formula . Ctfar are for results . Our results are also in our control . Your results will always prove your thoughts .

It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy If you make it mean that you can't do something , that the result will be that you will not be able to do it . If you are able to believe that you can make it work , then with practice and effort you will eventually make it work , and then the result will be that you can do something .

This power of manifestation is by Allah SWT directly . We ourselves are incapable of manifesting these results on our own . We , as a human species , are dependent on this mercy of Allah . One question that I get asked very frequently is how much of the results are we creating and how much are the results are from Allah SWT ?

And the answer depends on what is your energy behind your actions . If your energy is action and always doing , doing , doing , over and over again , then you've taken Allah SWT out of the picture , which , of course , is not the believer's way .

But if you're taking action with the faith that you're doing it for the sake of Allah and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will help enhance your results , then the results we get are exponentially more than what our minds can create alone . And this is the power of faith and this is the power of du'a Allah , subhanahu'a .

Allah does not need our actions to manifest our du'a . We need our actions , but when you make du'a and you take actions Like your dua has been answered , the results will be exponential because they will have barakah in it . They will have a mathematical power behind them . That is going to be an extremely merciful outcome .

So , yes , human beings can generate results from their minds .

There are people that are non-believers in the world who believe in the power of manifestation and have created an incredible amount of success with it , but that is to stay in this world who believe in the power of manifestation and have created an incredible amount of success with it , but that is to stay in this world .

For us , as believers , it is our duty to believe in the metaphysical , in the afterlife , and have faith that Allah will reward me for my pure intentions and actions , your unrelenting belief in the power of Allah , your persistent action despite of immediate results , and your pure energy behind your actions , which is the fuel , the feelings and the dedication from

service , compassion , excitement , joy , gratitude . If you have all of these energies behind your actions and you're making Dura , then your result will be exponentially more than what you expected just from your actions and you're making Dura , then your result will be exponentially more than what you expected , just from your actions alone .

May Allah put Barakah in all of our actions and results . Persistent action is very different from workaholism when your identity is tied to your work and your results . You have left Barakah behind . You're going to feel burned out , but with faith , you know that it doesn't matter what the results are .

All you have to do is continue to believe and take persistent actions , without stress , without overwhelm . Then the results become metaphysical . Something that is out of your wildest imagination , something that is directly from Allah is out of your wildest imagination , something that is directly from Allah . So the clients will always ask me am I doing too much ?

If you're asking that question , chances are that you are in hustle energy . All you have to do is to take persistent action with positive , open emotions that you can create from your thoughts , and those thoughts can be . These actions are for the sake of Allah . The result is going to be from Allah . I have complete tawakkul , or belief in Allah's power .

Then another objection I frequently face is that isn't rizq written for everyone ? Nobody can earn more or less than what's written for them . And again , this question drives me insane , because how do you know what is written for you ? How do you know the dollar amount that is written for you ? You actually don't .

You don't know if you have a million dollars written in your rizq . The difference lies with what you're assuming . What are your thoughts ? Are you bringing your limiting beliefs and calling it your rizq that Allah wrote for you ?

This depends on your conviction behind your goal , because we say we're 100% committed to our goals , but we are actually applying limitations of our mind in our thoughts and actions and saying that my rizq is written for me . What will happen will happen Most of the time . These limiting beliefs are society's opinions that we've internalized for ourselves .

So again , how much work do we put in ? Do we keep doing work ? And it depends on how big your goal is , how committed you are to obtaining that result . A lack of immediate result does not mean that it wasn't written for you .

Where do we draw the line of quitting and assuming that this is what was written for me , versus keep taking action , saying that this is a faith-building exercise ? Allah SWT is building my character through testing me , and answer that question is again a balancing act . How do you feel when you are working ? Are you hustling ?

Are you losing sight of the big picture ? Are you losing sight of the highest level of intention , that this is for Allah , in which case the outcome won't really matter ? Whatever the outcome is , it is then up to you to make it mean what you want .

You can make it mean that this was all it was written for me in my rizq and really be quitting and calling it qadr , or you can make it mean that I can go as long as Allah SWT needs me to go , while not sacrificing your faith and your spirituality and your religious obligations . Check in with your intentions and your body's experience of what it's feeling .

If the intention is that this is purely for Allah , then why the stress ? There'd be no need to stop working .

You just continue to take action , continue to believe , continue to make dua until you have the result with a capital R , the result of the metaphysical origin , the result with barakah something more than what you expected , and you will know your dua is answered . You can create a result with your mind , but the ultimate outcome is from Allah .

Sometimes what helps me is imagining that there are two models happening side to side in my life . If I want a certain result in my business , then I will purify my intentions . I will not make a circumstance mean anything limiting about myself . I will increase my feeling to a highest level of experience .

I will align myself with the highest of intentions and keep taking action , knowing that this is all for Allah . So the outcome is really inconsequential , but I do use the result and the outcome to evaluate where I need to strengthen my belief and where I need to empower my du'a even more .

Next time you find yourself saying this was written in my rizq , dua even more . Next time you find yourself saying this was written in my rizq , ask yourself how do you know ? A million dollars was not written in your rizq . You actually don't .

If you give yourself a goal big enough to put a cap of what you're capable of believing , you will be applying a limiting belief to Allah's capacity . You will say that this much is written in my rizq and the real breakthrough comes with lifting that limitation . I hope this was a helpful concept for all of you and if it doesn't click right away , that's okay .

I want you to come back to this topic and figure out where your blocks were and where you can address them . With that inshallah , I pray that Allah SWT lift all of our blocks of our mind . He helps us strengthen our belief and strengthen the power of our du'as . Oh Allah , please make us people of success in this world and the next .

Please keep me in your du'as . I will talk to you guys next time .