STRESS IS A GIFT
 “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”
– Rumi
Consider: All suffering is the result of believing in thoughts that are not true. It is the meanings that we assign to events that cause stress not the events themselves. Stress is a gift from Allah as are all of our feelings. When stress is understood and used properly it is a breadcrumb leading to the experience of instant Peace.
Example: Let's say I have the idea that I don't belong at some important event. I am stressed over it because I believe that I'm not up to the standard of the other attendees (the not True thought). But, by noticing I'm stressed, I can see that I am not seeing Reality. What is Reality here in this situation? Clearly, Allah put me here. Therefore I must belong (the thought that is True) - the stress evaporates immediately with this Truth.
Of course, this begs the question: "What is Truth"?
Truth: Simply put Allah owns all things, controls all events, and this life is but a temporary rest stop before the next life. So why are we stressing over things that we neither own nor control? Allah's many prophets point to these truths over and over again. Examples:
Allah! There is no god except He, the Living, the Everlasting. Neither slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep. To Him belongs everything in the heavens and everything on earth. Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His permission? He knows what is before them, and what is behind them; and they cannot grasp any of His knowledge, except as He wills. His Throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation does not burden Him. He is the Most High, the Great.
“Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet Allah feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!”
“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.”
A meditation practice: The practice of using
stress or anxiety to find the peace within is easy because,
for many of us, stress and anxiety are ubiquitous. Any time of day, we can pause
and notice any stress or anxiety that we feel (and the associated belief) and use
Truth (remembering Allah's Truth in some way) to disappear it.
A meditation practice can be built on this this idea:
noticing that which is false
and remembering what is always true
(some Truth about Allah) and
bathing in the peace that comes when turning to Allah.
So ... sit in silence and notice any stress or anxiety that arises in consciousness and then say "Not true and replace that thought with some truth about Allah like:
I do this for about forty minutes each morning, But even a minute or two
(any time of day)
will have long term effects on stress and anxiety.
May Allah's peace be upon you.
For it is in the remembrance of Allah that hearts find rest.