Ramadan 2011: Day 7 Meditation: The Inner Self

Aug 7, 2011: Day 7

Truly, God does not change a people’s condition
unless they change their inner selves.

[Surah ar-Ra'd 13:11]

__________

God would never change the blessings
with which He has graced a people
unless they change their inner selves:
and [know] that God is all-hearing, all-seeing.

[Surah al-Anfal 8:53]

__________

Reflection

I’ve often asked myself is it possible for someone to change by themselves without the grace of  God and the more I have asked the less possible it seems. One of the questions I have sat with a long time is “What can we really do on the way” other than to be steadfast with the practices we have been given. We cannot stand much reality and quite often have built elaborate mechanism to prevent ourselves from seeing things honestly so how do we change our inner capacity?

Often time it’s the cumulative effects of all the realizations of what we cannot do that brings upon the humility to admit we cannot change on our own. Being that some behaviors have roots that go so deep beyond the surface I feel it is our duty to make ourselves aware of as much as possible  to offer it up to the one who can really change us.

What do you feel ?

Dave

__________

 << Day 4 Meditation – Heart at Rest

Related articles

• Ibn Arabi’s “What the Seeker Needs” (4) (mycaravanofdreams.com)
• Ibn Arabi’s “What the Seeker Needs” (3) (mycaravanofdreams.com)
• Ramadan 2011: Day 1 Meditation – Subtlety (mycaravanofdreams.com)
• Ibn Arabi’s “What the Seeker Needs” (1) (mycaravanofdreams.com)
• Merhaba Ramadan! (thecorner.wordpress.com)
• Ibn Arabi’s “What the Seeker Needs” (2) (mycaravanofdreams.com)
• Celebrating the spirit of Ramadan 2011 with Muslims Around the World (mycaravanofdreams.com)
• Imam Khalid Latif: Ramadan Reflection-Day 1: Stop, Reflect, Deepen (huffingtonpost.com)
• Ramadan 2011: Day 3 Meditation – Divine Relationship (mycaravanofdreams.com)
• Ramadan Reminders-”Spend in the way of Allah” and “The Gates of Heaven” (xeniagreekmuslimah.wordpress.com)

Tags: Allah, Alternative, Bahauddin Veled (Rumi's Father), Conditions and Diseases, God, Health, Heart, Ibn Arabi, Maghribi, Meditation, muslim, Nuh, Peace, Qur'an, Rahmat Ali Shah, Ramadan, Series on the Blog, Sufis of Antiquity, Sufism, Sura, Surat, THINKING ALOUD