When do we know that our inner voice is intuition? How can we discern intuition from beliefs, whether enabling or blocking ones? What about our emotions and biases, and how do they contribute to our decisions? And as human beings, how shall we build a purified soul?
Answering these questions is never easy, yet we shall think of them and notice how we are doing! And where we are heading with our souls, at least every year.
Self-purification is an ancient concept from Islamic culture and scholars like “Mohamad Al-Gazali,” and it’s known as “Tazkieh Al-Nafs.” A journey with massive inner work to purify the soul from evil inclinations and beautification with good values and virtues.
So, on action items, how can we do that? I will share what I did and still do, and I am sure it will be of value to you.
Before twelve years, when I was exposed to these concepts as research papers and religious virtues, I could not digest or implement them; I was not yet ready to develop myself. Fortunately, things are easier to digest now, especially the inner work components.
Here are the phases that work for me:
The process began with a self-discovery journey, i.e., who am I? what are my beliefs? Do they serve me? Am I passive or active in my life?
Then, I strengthened my emotional agility muscle by noticing my emotions with awareness and perceiving them as teachers, i.e., emotions are data, not directives.
After that, I worked on my mental biases, i.e., what are they? How can I utilize them for my benefit? Can I notice them and avoid their impact on my thoughts and behaviors? And how cognitive behavioral therapy is a great tool to cultivate that?
The fourth phase is reconnecting with our heart intelligence, which is done by improving our level of presence using mindfulness techniques, i.e., breathing and shifting our focus to something joyful. This is already an Islamic virtue known as “Tafakur.” A spiritual virtue of contemplating, thinking, and reflecting.
These four phases are the inward journey, then moved outwardly to finding my EDGE, i.e., what are my singularities? And how can I cultivate them? And finally, drawing my trajectory by learning from my previous self, connecting and loving the present self, and envisioning my future self.
The six phases are interconnected and shall continuously be implemented. I have noticed how they contributed significantly to my self-purification journey, and I am still learning and implementing them. These phases have been tested for individuals with different backgrounds, and I witnessed the tremendous impact on them.
And to make this accessible to all, we deployed this “Self-purification” journey on a technological tool called the WellShift app that is available for Android and iOS users.
Back to answer the questions, how do we discern between our intuition or what is called in our culture “Firasah,” whereas believers see with the light of God?
The answer is within! No one can judge if it’s intuition or not; only the person who experiences the situation can tell. And people around them notice that based on the level of care or harm they receive, individuals who are purifying themselves are compassionate and loving, always looking to contribute and lifting up others.
On the other hand, self-centered people are looking for competitors to beat or prove their value and opinion. Those are still at the beginning of the journey. And we can all notice them through their harmful interactions with or without intention.
Based on that, while listening to your inner voice, check all that we discussed to discern whether it’s an intuition, a belief, a bias, or an emotion that directs you. After practicing this, you will notice a significant improvement in your decision-making process; with time, it will be almost flawless and happen gracefully.
Does this mean we will not mess up sometimes?
Of course not! We are humans, and messing up is part of our contract with life, so embrace it when it happens, then learn and move forward. And this requires you to forgive yourself, love yourself, and prioritize it over your ego.
In 2022, I experienced massive ups and downs, starting from my dad’s death which was the maximum pain I ever had, then a considerable boost in my career path and startup. In addition to a new realization about people and relationships, i.e., who are the unique parings around me? How can we connect with them to flourish? And how can I repel harmful people before getting them into my circle?
I am grateful that I knew self-purification before all these situations happened; it made them easier to accept and move forward with ease.
I encourage you to answer and revisit the questions to ensure you contribute to your life and the universe. And we can’t do that without individuals’ self-purification.
Be sure the accumulated results for all of us will be tremendous to our universe. Have a blessed year ahead filled with love and purified souls.
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