Join Ayeesha for some insight into mindfulness and meditation, followed by a guided meditation exercise called progressive muscle relaxation.

The exercise starts at 16 minutes.

Please see helpful details below. We hope you enjoy!

Books:

The Mind Illuminated - The Mind Illuminated is a comprehensive, accessible and - above all - effective book on meditation, providing a nuts-and-bolts stage-based system that helps all levels of meditators establish and deepen their practice. Providing step-by-step guidance for every stage of the meditation path, this uniquely comprehensive guide for a Western audience combines the wisdom from the teachings of the Buddha.

Link: https://g.co/kgs/b1Fht1k

Taste the sweetness of Salah: Taste the Sweetness of Ṣalāh is a guide on how to attain khushūʿ and enjoy your ṣalāh. It offers tips on how to achieve full focus and truly connect with Allah in your ṣalāh

PDF: https://lifewithallah.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Taste-The-Sweetness-Of-Salah-by-Life-With-Allah-2ndEd.pdf

Keywords from todays episode:

Mindfulness: a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.

Meditation: a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking,"achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditation process itself.

Fajr: an Arabic word that means "dawn" and refers to the first of five daily Muslim prayers.

Tahajjud: a voluntary Islamic prayer performed at night, after the Isha prayer (the fifth and final daily prayer) and before the Fajr prayer.

Wudhu: an Islamic ritual of washing specific parts of the body to remove impurities. It's performed before daily prayers to prepare the body and mind. The word "wudu" comes from the Arabic word Wadho'ah, which means "good and beautiful".

Attention: the ability to actively process specific information in the environment while tuning out other details.

Peripheral awareness: the ability to be aware of things that are happening outside of your direct line of sight. It's a skill that involves processing information from all five senses.

Sinking: when the mind drifts into a semi-conscious state, or becomes sleepy and semi-hallucinatory. It can be a challenging experience during meditation.

Mind wandering: when your thoughts shift away from a task at hand and towards internal thoughts.

Khushūʿ: a state of complete concentration and humility that people try to achieve in their ṣalāh (prayer). 

Progressive muscle relaxation: a technique that involves tensing and relaxing muscles to reduce stress and anxiety and can help you become more aware of your bodily sensations