Rays of Light!

Driving back and forth from Miramar to Boca Raton, I love catching moment of bliss in the sky.  These usually only last a few seconds each but they are magnificent!!!

 I drive with my camera in my lap so that I can quickly capture these images. Usually, these are taken by my boys. I believe Zayn took these!  

These remind me of God and his angels!

Charity begins at home!

"Charity begins at home" is something my mom has always reminded us. We as a family and as a community believe that is is our responsibility to give back to others and thus, we all volunteer in different capacities. But "charity begins at home" and being that I am a single mother of two beautiful boys, I have to balance my time and energies to ensure that my boys are getting the best of me. And that means having to say no to outside commitments. Saying no almost always entails feeling guilty for saying no. That's how we women tend to be. But I know that I have to practice what I preach and if I want my boys to put their families first, then I must lead them by example. 
Just sharing my thoughts ....
Hope you all have an AMAZING weekend! Be safe, rest, relax and enjoy! Life is precious and we are blessed to have our health!


love and light to you all..
From one sufi to another...
Anita
Here are a few more pictures...

A picture of my boys with a few friends when they were just babies...

Anita

Meet Annie! One of the loves of my life!

 She is a SWEETHEART!!!!  She came into our lives last August when she was only 8 weeks old. And although I'd like to say that it was love at first sight, that actually is not how we fell in love. 
I actually went to get her sister who was this gorgeous tan color but was a little too hyper for my taste. The owner suggested I take another look at Annie who was calmer. As she handed me Annie, I remember picking her up and looking at her gorgeous beady eyes and soft velvety nose and her beautiful long ears. I put Annie in my lap and she just curled up and lay there letting me love her. I was hooked. :)


I first called her "Precious". It just fit! She is just soooo precious but Aly and Zayn didn't think an adjective was an appropriate name for our baby. Zayn got to name her since she is Zayn's baby. Her official name is Annie Zayn Lakhani. They have a bond like I've never seen...but more on that later. Enjoy a few pictures taken just a few days ago with my brand new Nikon camera...:) Oh and she is a King Charles Cavalier! A very intelligent and lovely breed! She is such a blessing to us all!

Lesson 2 - ENERGY!

We are all "energy". And the simple lesson I learned here is that we, each of us individually, are responsible for the "energy" we bring to a place or a person.

I can only speak for myself and therefore will share this in the "I" form.

- I am responsible for my words, my actions but most importantly, my thoughts!

- I have realized that I am powerful. How so? Well, I don't need to have an audience like Ms. Oprah to make a difference. I have an audience and that is my immediate circle of family and friends.

- I make a difference in the lives of my children and my parents and even my pets. The energy that I put out with my children influences who they become. Even the energy I approach my pets, influences their mood and personality. I am blessed to have the most amazing boys! They are literally night and day! Aly was born in June and Zayn was born in Dec. Aly is calm and relaxed and quite while Zayn is full of energy and LOVES to talk!  Aly looks like a "desi = brown from India /Pakistan" boy but does not touch desi food, while Zayn is my "gora=white" boy who cannot live without desi food. I enjoy them both for their uniqueness! They both have very different "energies" and my life is richer for it!


A few pictures of my babies.

So I deviated...:)

Let's remember to be mindful of the energy we bring to our loved ones and to all areas of our lives.

love and light,

From one sufi to another,

anita

A few lessons - Lesson 1 - GRATITUDE!!!

So I was watching the last Oprah show a few minutes ago and was once again, humbled and delighted by the incredible wisdom of this woman. I ALWAYS learn something from her show and this last one was no different. So as tired as I am...missed Friday Jk to veg out at home...I still found myself being inspired to share a few thoughts before I jump in the shower and crawl into bed! :)


- Gratitude is the most powerful prayer any of us can pray. It affirms our belief and faith in HIS plan for our lives. I find myself saying a prayer of thanks not only in the good times of my life, but especially in the roughest parts of my life


It's easy saying thanks to God when things are going great. But when we feel beat up, lost, hopeless, alone, confused or worst, unloved...this is when I have realized the power of surrendering to God and saying a sincere and heartfelt "THANK YOU". 


Thank you God for bringing me through this time in my life. 


Thank you for loving me enough to giving me the opportunity to overcome this difficulty and learning the lessons I need to learn. 


Thank you for keeping me on the path that I chose for myself before I was even born and not letting me slip up and take it easy in this life. 


Thank you for blessing me with my health, the breath that I take, my family, my loved ones and my friends.


Thank you for being able to afford my hobbies, my passions, my desires.


Thank you for being born in this faith and for holding my hand as I walk this path.


Thank you for using my life to serve others!


Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!


I love you God! and I trust you completely. You alone know what's best for me and yet trust me to make my own choices, and to live my life on my terms.


Thank you.


Wishing you love and light on this journey of life...


From one sufi to another...


Anita

Some more pages from my art journal...

So these are some of the lessons that I've been working on as part of Soul Restoration 1 - from the Brave Girls website I had mentioned a few months ago.

This next one was called "labels". Simple yet powerful!

Sanibel Island 2011 - some pictures

The view from our room...

 The beach is littered with shells...

More shells...

My Zayn ...busy at work...

Aly is just chillin...

Checkin' out the view...

So it was about 6:30 pm..and this man was stumbling on the beach with a beer bottle in his hand. He was drunk. I felt kinda sad for him...but the boys thought it was funny to see a man actually epitomize "drunkenness."  His wife finally came looking for him and escorted him back to their room.

Isn't this beautiful? The waves, the sand, the shells....and the sunset...

Clouds and more...

So I love photography but at this time, I don't even own a working camera. My simple little Sony digital camera died on me a few months ago. I can't really blame it...it worked hard for over 5 years. Now as much as I want to invest in a good camera, 1. I don't have the time to figure out which one to buy. So i have a few friends who have spent some time educating me but I am still confused. and 2. I don't have the time to actually learn how to use it. It'll be simply too easy for me to just buy another point and shoot camera but I refuse to do so. Therefore, in the meantime, I am using the camera on my Blackberry to take pictures EVERYWHERE I go!


My favorites are of clouds or the sky as I'm driving! I usually have my son take the pictures so that I can concentrate on the road :) Here are a few pictures I've taken around town!

I call this one, "HOPE!"

Check out the rain clouds!

This next picture was on our drive to Sanibel Island. It was raining soooo heavy in some spots that I couldn't see 10 feet in front of my car. This was just cloudy and threatening to rain. 

So the next few were taken this morning 9/6/11 on our way to school at 7:15 am. We took pictures as we kept driving towards it.

So the next two were taken earlier today also. What does it remind you of???

So it reminded me of an eagle with a prey in it's claws/beak...:)

That's it for now...until next time...:) 

Sanibel Island 2011!

So we started a family tradition last summer! My boys and I came to Sanibel Island for only 3 days last summer and we LOVED it!!! My boys take numerous trips during the year with their dad who is a pilot. They've literally travelled halfway around the world with European Disney cruises, Costa Rican beaches, Mexico getaways and ofcourse the annual ski trips! But it was our 3 day trip last summer with just the three of us that they cherished and looked forward to. This year we almost didn't make but we're finally here again. Sanibel Island is one of the top 10 beaches in the world. It's most famous for the limitless shells that grace the beaches here. Last year, we left here with 3 large buckets of em and I have them displayed in large, clear glass jars. I love them!!!! I love the act of picking up shells! It soothes my soul! The shells displayed around our home, bring me a lot of joy and happiness!
So of course, now that we're back here again, I made sure we packed a few of the plastic beach buckets to collect shells. But surprisingly I found myself NOT wanting to collect shells. I mean I started to pick em up and place them in the bucket, but I realized that I didn't want or need or desire anymore shells! I realized that I had plenty of them at home just like the ones I was seeing on the beach and I was just happy to be here to enjoy the abundance of the shells! So I took a deep breath and smiled and allowed myself to just be in the moment and enjoy the sun, the sand, the water,  the pretty birds, my boys and ofcourse, all the millions of shells gracing the gorgeous beaches here.

It was a GOOD feeling! I experienced abundance, contentment, joy, peace, gratitude, love and laughter!
IT WAS A GOOD DAY!

Summer is over...art journaling is here...

So I have had an amazing summer but it's been very busy! Between my 12 year old going away to Kansas University for a 3 week Duke Tips Camp aka"Nerd Camp" to running around with my 9 year old and his baseball camp, doctor's and dentist appointments and simply trying to keep cool in this ridiculous hot summer...simply put...I've been busy and I'm glad school has finally started. Not that my schedule is any easier with school starting. But I've been escaping and reconnecting to myself through the "Soul Restoration" classes. This online class is FUN!!! I'm working on an "art journal" and playing with paint, Mod Podge, glitter, stamps, glue gun etc and during all of this, I am working on "restoring myself" one step at a time! So here are a few photos of my art journal. 

SO I STARTED WITH AN ARTIST'S SKETCH BOOK! 

 And then I covered it with this fabric and modpodge, and crystal beads and some of the print outs that I mod podged on some chipboard! What is chipboard...it's basically cardboard of different thickness! Also, the pretty ribbon you see toward the bottom of the cover was part of the fabric. I did cut up the gold border of the fabric and used it to cover the binding! 

   Here is a close-up...so the crystal beads you see on here are my favorite. I applied a thick layer of ModPodge and simply sprinkled the beads on here making sure they were NOT one on top of another, and then I had to wait like 3 days for the ModPodge to dry completely and TA DAAA.....i love the way it looks...like pretty jewelry sparkling on my cover!!!  And thanks to Mod Podge, it is stuck for good!!!

So here is a side view of the journal with only about a dozen pages done...there are over a 100 pages in this book....hmmm....i wonder how this is going to work out...i need to stop embellishing and keeping my pages simple and "flat". :) but boy am i having fun....:)

So I am bookmarking my favorite pages with some pretty ribbon that coordinates with the pages! 

This is one of the last pages I worked on just a few nights ago!!! Although it may look simple, I LOVE THIS 2 page spread!!! It's very therapeutic and it was sooo much fun just playing around with it until I loved the look!!!

Soul Restoration 1

Ok so I just got done watching the awesome videos for SR1 and read the instructions etc and am only now realizing (duh!!! kinda slow i am ..) that although I can do this as a group with friends, I may not share my log in info. Each of you who wants to do this, needs to register (and pay) for the class. And after seeing what all is involved and the personalization that Brave Girls does for each participant, it makes total sense to do it that way. So please check out the website and if you haven't signed up yet and are still debating, please do sign up for this LIFE CHANGING, INCREDIBLE class! Although I'm inviting you to sign up, I'm actually not sure if registration is even open at this point, since classes have begun, but do look into it please. If anything, maybe you'll be able to do it the next time....AND I'll probably blog about my experience at the end of it anyways.  (whenever I do finish).

As always, please feel free to ask questions or post comments.

Love and Light always!

From one sufi to another...

Anita

Anyone wanna join me?

So I've signed up for this awesome online class called "Soul Restoration 1" which is this fun, artsy, 8 week long course offered by Brave Girl's Club for women. Please read the description below and check out the website with additional details in terms of time commitment and materials required. I hope you decide to embark on this brief but crucial journey of self-discovery.

So here is a direct copy and paste from the website:

_______________________________________________________

Soul Restoration is a course that is often beautifully healing and even life-changing.

You will learn the art of  ‘soul crafting’ (creative art projects, collage, journaling, etc.) including fun & effective methods to help you get unstuck, back on track, and restored to your best self!

This enjoyable and powerful workshop is designed to help you really really think and hear your own soul again…to help you remember what brings you the most joy, to realize & remember all of the things that you are good at and that make your heart sing…to get back on track and to unleash the courage and motivation to stay on track….to reunite with your soul.

This workshop is a method of helping you become reacquainted with your deepest self through remembering and reuniting with your inner ‘Truth-Teller’. You will be helped to discern truth from lies…lies that can be holding you back and making you feel less than who you really are…to remember your dreams, your potential, your gifts and talents, all the possibilities and unique answers for your life(because it is different for each of us).

Soul Restoration is intended to help every woman to find and then keep the bravery needed to stay joyfully true to your own path.

Here is the link to read more about the class:    http://bravegirlsclub.com/soul-restoration-1

_______________________________________________________

I hope you'll decide to invest in yourself!

Love and Light,
From one Sufi to another,

Anita

Life is too short...so live life fully NOW!

Life is short or rather, life is unpredictable. Nobody knows when their time is up. This isn't something we care to think about but life and death are simply a reality of our existence in the human form.


Some of us age to a ripe, golden phase of seeing our hair grey, our skin wrinkle and our bodies bend with time. If we're lucky, we can be grateful for the wisdom and awareness that only life experiences can bring us. If we're really fortunate, we'll be surrounded by love in the form of family and friends. But then there are others whose life is cut short for one reason or another. The promise held in the years left still to live is a reminder to us all that indeed, life is too short!


So let us all live each day to the fullest.
Let us speak kindly and lovingly to everyone we come in contact with starting with our spouses, our children, our parents, our friends, our co-workers.
Let us appreciate the ones closest to us, be it in proximity or emotional ties.
Let us slow down to appreciate each beautiful moment and take time to smell the roses.
Let us take the time to express our love and gratitude to our loved ones.
Let us take the time to express our gratitude to God always for granting us another BEAUTY FILLED (BEAUTIFUL) DAY !
Let us take time to figure out our dreams and make plans to turn them into goals.
Let us then start taking steps toward achieving the goals.
Let us forgive quickly, apologize earnestly, love passionately and give unconditionally!
Let us remember to BREATHE and BE PRESENT in each moment!!!


Please do share your thoughts on how you would live differently if you knew your expiration date or that of your loved ones.


Love and Light,
From one sufi to another,


Anita

Pillars of our lives!

We all have certain principals (pillars) that define and govern our existence. Some we inherit from our faith, while others we embrace on our own. In an email conversation with a dear friend, I found myself defining the principals that I strive to live my life by. This got me thinking...so welcome to the inside of my head!  

Islam has 5 pillars which govern and define every Muslim's life. They are every Muslim's responsibility to respect and follow. 

The 5 pillars of Islam are:

1. Imaan or Faith - This clearly defines the belief in the "Oneness" of God. Muslims, along with Christians and Jews are called, "People of the Book". All three religions have common denominators which includes the belief in ONE God and in a Holy Book, namely the Quran, the Bible and the Torah.

Back to Imaan or Faith, this comes in the form of a declaration that every Muslim makes, "There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God."

2. Salah or Prayer: This defines the responsibility of every Muslim to say their prayers five times a day. This further strengthens the intimate relationship shared between God and his follower. 

3. Zakah: This defines the form of tithing or giving a portion of one's earnings to help others. The belief is that giving Zakah purifies the income and consequently everything touched by that purified income.

4. Sawm or Fasting:  Every year in the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, abstaining from food, water and sexual relations with their spouses. Fasting is seen as a form of self-restraint which leads to purification, a deeper appreciation for life and gratitude to Allah.

5. Hajj or Pilgrimage:  This defines the obligatory visit to the holy land, Makkah for all Muslims who are physically able and financially capable of making this trip. Every year, millions of Muslims from around the world make the holy pilgrimage where they are stripped of their worldly belongings and are dressed in simple clothes. Thus, all are the same in the eyes of God, regardless of their bank balances and zip codes.

As a Shia Imami Ismaili Muslim, I also adhere to a few more expectations which include: Dasond (tithing 12.5% of my income) and allegiance to His Highness Prince Karim Agakhan, who is a direct descendant of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and our first Imam, Hazrat Ali. 

But in addition to these pillars and expectations, I have my own 6 pillars that further define my existence and journey on this earth.

They are: 

FAITH, TRUST, BREATHE, SURRENDER, HUMILITY AND GRATITUDE!!!

So I strive to live my life with complete FAITH in God. I TRUST HIM and know that HE has me in the palm of his hands...and so when things get tough, i BREATHE and SURRENDER to HIS will and know that whatever happens will be the right thing.!!! Oh and ofcourse,  I also strive to live life with humility and constant gratitude!!!!!!

Thus, when i am told that I am spoiled, i say,  "Shukar!" (Shukran Lillah Wal Hamdullilah - All Thanks is due to Allah and All Praise is due to Allah.)

Ofcourse, I have my days when I am not feeling so humble and grateful. In fact, not too long ago, I went through a period of months where I was pretty upset at HIM. In fact, I was straight up angry. I even challenged HIM to put on HIS boxing gloves and meet me in a ring so that we could duke it out.  Although, this was literally just a few months ago, I honestly can't even recall what I was so upset about. These days, I am in a pretty good place!!! I am feeling extremely blessed and grateful for HIS many graces and thus it's easy to feel humbled and grateful to HIM for all of my blessings. Shukran Lillah Wal Hamdullilah - All Thanks is due to Allah and All Praise is due to Allah. That's not to say that my life has drastically improved or changed. In fact, things are pretty much the same as they were a few months ago. But what's different now is my attitude! 

I invite you to take a few minutes to count your blessings and offer a heartfelt THANK YOU!!! Please do share your thoughts. I know we are here to teach and learn from each other!!! So PLEASE be generous with your wisdom and do share!

Love and Light

From one Sufi to another...

Anita

References:

- For further information on the 5 pillars of Islam, please google it. There are numerous websites that describe in little and or great detail to appeal to one's interest in the subject.

- Do check out the following websites to learn more about us Ismailis. 

www.theismaili.org

www.akdn.org