Psychology & Neurodiversity

You can't go back to the person you were before...
You knew what you known now...

The Mind Behind Waiting
Have you ever noticed...
Waiting has an interesting sense of humour.
It rarely changes tomorrow.
It spends most of its time changing the person who's waiting.
The clock is innocent.
It's our imagination that keeps running ahead of it.
What if it never happens?
What if everyone else gets there before me?
What if I'm the exception?
Lately, I have been wondering...
Maybe waiting doesn't steal our peace.
Maybe it's the stories we whisper to ourselves while we wait.
Strange, isn't it?
We say we are waiting for tomorrow.
But most days...
we are really waiting for certainty.
Perhaps that is why waiting feels so heavy.
Not because time refuses to move.
But because our hearts keep trying to arrive before Allah has written the moment.

Are you more likely to follow a tradition or question everything?

It turns out your MBTI personality type plays a massive role in how you view religion, faith, and spirituality. Data shows a pretty clear split in how different groups approach the big questions:

The Traditionalists (SJs): ISFJs, ESFJs, ISTJs, and ESTJs are statistically the most religious. They deeply value community, ritual, and the comfort of long-standing traditions.

The Seekers (NFs): INFJs, INFPs, ENFJs, and ENFPs lean heavily into spirituality. They might skip organized religion entirely to focus on a deeply personal, meaning-driven inner journey.

The Pragmatists (SPs): ISFPs, ISTPs, ESFPs, and ESTPs take an individual approach. For them, faith has to feel real in the present moment or make practical sense. They are the classic vagabonds, oft the heroes of Islamic tales and knighthood.

The Skeptics (NTs): INTPs, INTJs, ENTPs, and ENTJs are the least religious group. Their default setting is to question authority, meaning they usually land on agnosticism or atheism, however they were also the most prominent of Islamic Scholars, a force to be reckoned with when used for good.

Where do you land on the spectrum? Drop your MBTI type below and let me know if this matches your vibe.

What would a woman-centred society look and feel like?

I don’t mean a society without men or children. I mean a society with men, women, and children, but one that’s centred around women.

The purpose of life isn’t to find happiness.

The unseen core....(2)
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘆𝗮

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵.

Perhaps this is one of those phrases we hear so frequently that we no longer pause to ponder its actual words.
At first glance, the meaning of this phrase seems positive. Usually, it implies that a person should not go to extremes or neglect their responsibilities whether in worship, family, education, livelihood or other duties There is no fault in this intention the objective is noble

But when I reflect on this phrase, I notice an interesting assumption in its framing as if 𝘋𝘦𝘦𝘯 is on one side 𝘋𝘶𝘯𝘺𝘢 is on the other, and a person is trying to strike a balance between the two.
If 𝘋𝘦𝘦𝘯 is truly a way of life, then how can 𝘋𝘶𝘯𝘺𝘢 be something that stands in opposition to it?

After all, a balance is maintained between two distinct or opposing forces ..... like rest and work or income and expenses.
This is precisely why I personally find the framing of "Balance Between Deen and Dunya" a bit strange. It subtly creates two separate scales, whereas the reality might not be about two opposing scales at all.

There is another point worth considering.
Sometimes people say 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦
But this begs the question 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣?
When someone accepts a faith whether it is Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism or Islam they are essentially declaring that they believe this path to be the truth. Consequently, drawing closer to this path should logically be a positive pursuit, rather than something one needs to "balance" against to avoid

Particularly in the case of Islam, it presents itself as a complete way of life. This means it provides guidance not just for worship but for family, business, education, ethics and social conduct alike.
Therefore, the language of "balancing religion and the world" can sometimes unconsciously foster the perception that practicing religion fully might hinder or complicate a successful life in this world.

Perhaps it would be more accurate for a person to say:
I have not yet reached the standard that I believe is right

This phrasing carries 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺The individual acknowledges their shortcoming as their own. They recognize that the path is clear but their own effort has not yet met that standard.
There is a profound psychological difference here.
When a person tells themselves 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥
it keeps humility, room for improvement and a sense of responsibility alive within them.
Conversely, the language of "balancing Deen and Dunya" can sometimes generate a subconscious complacency 𝘐'𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭

Ultimately, the issue does not lie in the core message of the phrase but in its framing. Sometimes, words do not just convey a message .... they shape the very angle from which we view the world.

Because of the research work I do for a humanitarian organization, a topic that will come up very often, is of course, grief.

A simple quote I came across actually turned out to have deeper meaning when I was doing the research, “Grief is love with nowhere to go”. As poetic as this sounds, there’s psychological and neurological truth to it. Losing a loved one causes the nervous system to be on high-alert, which can be seen in heightened activity from fMRI imaging of the amygdala (part of the brain responsible for survival instincts). Your attachment to the loved one that is now deceased has dramatically altered, which is why you’ll often here someone say something like “I feel like my entire world has been flipped upside down”.

So here are some practical, evidence-based, adaptive coping strategies and tips I can offer. You don’t have to mentally “sever” your attachment to the deceased in order to heal, you should try to reconstruct your attachment to them in a way that doesn’t require their physical presence. Spiritually, you can pray for them, make dua for them. You can also hold onto items of theirs that they loved, or items that remind you of them. Print a photograph of them and frame it, or visit places they used to love going to, like a park or a beach. Writing letters to them, with all the things you could never say, or even writing them updates on your life after they passed.

Hi

Hi

You will see yourself glow when you'll finally be out of the repeated loop. Just get out of it.