Inside the
Recovery Community Issue 7
Adventures In Recovery Coffe Cup
8 Ways To Stay Sober During Ramadan
May / June 2015
Inside the Recovery Community Copyright Š 2015 by Purify Your Gaze
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system. The articles in this newsletter are for general educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice or instruction. The information provided should not serve as a substitute for professional medical care. Published by: Purify Your Gaze, 27525 Puerta Real STE 100-333, Mission Viejo, CA 92691 Website: www.PurifyYourGaze.com Email: info@purifyyourgaze.com
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Contents May/June 2015
Editorial Milestones May 2015 We Can Heal A Note On My Recovery A Beautiful Share On The Forum Adventures In Recovery: Coffee Cup Spotlight: Dawud 8 Ways To Stay Sober During Ramadan Sobriety At An Alititude Of 52 Weeks Adventures In Recovery: Reconnect
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Editorial Zeyad Ramadan CEO & Founder of Purify Your Gaze
Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Rahim
but you know is the responsible thing to do.
“What if you’ve been the one you’ve been waiting for your entire life?”
To love and care for yourself it involves cooperation with yourself. Those things that you love about yourself and those things that you wish never existed or could be different; they have to come and coalesce together.
This is one of my all-time favorite questions that I will inevitably ask at least once in my coaching relationships. My coaching clients reading this can probably attest to this! It’s an incredibly powerful question because it invites the one being asked to consider that they are worthy, beautiful, intelligent, resourceful, strong, legitimate and that the one they’ve been looking for approval and love from is staring right back at them in the mirror. A lot of people think that recovery is about making a commitment to leading life without your drug of choice and instead making healthier lifestyle choices. Yes, it is about that, but none of that is possible without the fundamental decision to consistently come to your own aid and assistance. To come to your own aid and assistance involves love, care, connection, and it also involves discipline, and responsibility. To love and care for yourself or anyone else for that matter it involves intentional and proactive work! It involves having the discipline to do the right thing even when you don’t feel like doing it 3 Purify Your Gaze Inside the Recovery Community
And the only one who can allow that full integration to happen is you! Love and caring for yourself involves courage and faith. Sometimes in life we are externally in a place of darkness or spiritual winter and instead of despairing or falling into the abyss of nothingness, we need to believe in ourselves and in the plan that God has for us. This requires courage because it means confronting those deep lies and fears within us that for years had been telling us that we are not worthy, legitimate, lovable or adequate. It involves the courage to see things better than they are and a whole lot of faith to visualize and see this new reality we desire until it becomes that way through our striving and hard work. What if you’ve been the one you’ve been waiting for your entire life? It’s a big what-if and can only be made true or not true by what you choose to focus on and believe.
Recovery Community
A Circle of Gratitude
Milestones
May 2015
Celebrating the milestones reached by Hamed, Abdullah, Joyful, Abdullatif, Abutrustworthy, SisterIqra, AliDentity, Aamir, hitmebreeze, BrightsStars, and BrTwoThousand.
Members Only Replay An event that ended in silent happiness after we had collectively shared our milestones, shared support, and were inspired by the milestones that were reached in the first quarter of 2015. Alhumdulillah! Some have become engaged or now feel ready for marriage. Others have celebrated anywhere from 3 months to 16 months of recovery and have tasted the sweetness of recovery and sobriety, Alhumdulillah. And some members took the difficult yet immensely rewarding step of opening up to someone and breaking isolation. Purify Your Gaze Inside the Recovery Community 4
Live Expert Interview Review
We Can Heal
Br. Abd-al-Aziz shares the highlights of the trauma event that took place in the Community in the month of May, as well as his own thoughts and insights about trauma in the context of addiction recovery. Our community was blessed to have Dr. Hakim Archuletta speak to us about trauma and how to overcome it. Dr. Hakim is a convert to Islam from the 70s and specializes in the traditional sciences of Homeopathy or becoming a Hakim and in trauma therapy. He has over 40 years of experience. Dr. Hakim stated how Allah has created human beings with amazing mechanisms inside themselves to heal from difficulties/injuries that they face in life. This could range from the type of birth one had, to other experiences across the lifespan. However, these properties need an environment and framework that is conducive of our natural state (fitrah). Unfortunately, the modern world has minimized many of these aspects of life. These range from healthy interactions/connection with family, neighbors & communities, to being present and connected with ourselves and with Allah’s creation around us. Due to this, many of us lack the resiliency that is needed to recover from trauma or injuries that we incur through life. The body Allah has created has a way to cope with such unresolved injuries, which is to switch to survival mode to manage and cope with life’s pressures. Certain behaviors are adapted to be able to effectively manage emotions and pain. Some of these behaviors become addictions, which assist in dealing with emotional difficulties. 5 Purify Your Gaze Inside the Recovery Community
Unfortunately, these behaviors are “second best” and only seek to “fix” rather than fulfill. In addition, these are short term rather than the longevity that is sought in a healthy life. Overtime, these become ways to distract ourselves from bodily sensations (emotions) and distractions from what is really affecting our lives from within. To be able to recover effectively from such a state, we must “reset” back to our fitrah or natural state. Imagine that we are a container whose capacity
“Allah has created human beings with amazing mechanisms inside themselves to heal from difficuties/injuries that they face in life. “ is related to the satisfaction and resiliency we have in life. There are many ways to increase the capacity of our containers, one of which is to start becoming present with ourselves and with Allah’s creation around us. Our ibadah (worship) are physical acts that function to connect us with ourselves by slowing down our lives and connect-
ing us with Allah’s creations, such as the water and ground. Furthermore, this helps us experience joy in life, which acts as a natural healer. There were many gems from Dr. Hakim’s reflections to Ust. Zeyad’s questions. One of them was about the experiments in the Rat Park where rats who had been addicted to heroin turned less and less to it in an environment that meets their needs as compared to in isolation. It really takes our slogan at Purify Your Gaze of “addiction thrives in isolation” to a whole new level. The emphasis we place on interacting with people in the community via the forums or Sobriety Mastermind calls become crucial to recovery. Furthermore, even reading/listening to stories from the community members via the Community Newsletter or Spotlight Series gives us a new sense of hope and solidarity to our brethren in recovery. We too, can break free, if the Lord wills it. Another gem was that we do not need to experience the trauma again in order to heal from it. It is a common misconception that every detail needs to be explored before it can be healed. Yes, it is
important to visit it if it was no proper resolution or closure to it. Many times, the narrative needs to be organic i.e. stemming from within ourselves rather than someone else imposing it upon us. Thus, using it in a constructive way is beneficial whereas lingering over it for too long can bring negative affects. Lastly, during his reflections, he mentioned various hikmahs (wisdoms). One was that our emotions are a key to our bodily sensations. These help us understand how we are feeling and what our body wants from us. My clinical supervisor stated how these could be like emergency signals, which something is of concern. Ignoring it or numbing ourselves from it does not mean it goes away. Rather, it only gets louder and becomes more and more difficult to ignore. It is important to realize this process and listen to our emotions as these are keys to self-awareness. This is part of being present in the moment. This is living life to the fullest. This is the path towards becoming a true slave of Allah, the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Purify Your Gaze Inside the Recovery Community 6
A Note On My Recovery Br. Omar celebrates his One Year Sobriety milestone! may Allah bless him and increase it! He shares the beautiful lessons he has learned in his recovery, including the blessings of good companionship and also shares a powerful story from our pious predecessors that displays the importance of treating each other with compassion, which is indeed one of the greatest healers in recovery. In the name of Allah. We praise Him and send salutations on his noble Prophet Muhammad. Boundaries are opportunities. They don’t limit, they liberate. This gem was shared on an SMM call. I quite needed to hear it. Moving from dysfunctional, to functional, to purposeful living is a struggle. It can only be sustained when we have a deep conviction about its virtues. I am presently working to build that conviction. I’ve been trying to give time regularly to the masjid-based effort of iman, if only for a short while every day. We try to establish gatherings where we can talk, listen and think about spiritual realities. We invite any Muslim we can meet to join us. This is a refreshment mechanism that cleanses the dirt accumulated as I go about my day. It’s a source of energy for all aspects of my life. There is a constant flow of people in and out of the country for the sake of the effort of deen. We thus get to spend time in the company of a variety of people, some of whom have made phenomenal progress in their personal development. Some are scholars who combine their academic learning with deep experiential wisdom gained from spending time in the path of Allah. It serves as a reminder that I’m at step zero of recovery. 7 Purify Your Gaze Inside the Recovery Community
There’s a long path ahead. I’m learning that one of the greatest healers in recovery is compassion. There’s not a whole lot of it when one’s disease of addiction is active. There ought to be. It should be sought out. It addresses the root causes of spiritual diseases. I’m rediscovering it through a book called ‘Hayatus Sahaba’, which paints a detailed picture of the attitude and behavior of the companions. This is how Sayyidina Umar al-Farooq (may Allah be pleased with him) dealt with a man who fell into drinking:
“I’m learning that one of the greatest healers in recovery is commpassion” Sayyidina Yazeed bin Asam reports that a man from Shaam was a fierce warrior and would often be in the company of Sayyidina Umar (R.A.). When Sayyidina Umar did not see him for a while, he asked about him. “O Ameerul Mu’mineen!”
someone informed him, “He has taken to drink.” Sayyidina Umar sent for his scribe and wrote the following letter addressed to the man: Peace be on you Before you do, I praise Allah besides Whom there is none worthy of worship. (Allah is also) The Forgiver of sins, Acceptor of repentance, Severe in punishment, and All Powerful. There is none worthy of worship but Him, and all shall return to Him (after death). Thereafter, Sayyidina Umar turned to the people around him saying, “Pray to Allah that He turns your brother’s heart towards Him and that He accepts his repentance.” When the man received the letter and he read it, he started repeating the words: “The Forgiver of sins, Acceptor of repentance, Severe in punishment. Allah has warned
me of His punishment and also promised to forgive me.” Another narration adds that after repeating the words to himself several times, the man started to weep and then gave up drinking most admirably. When this news reached Sayyidina Umar, the Ameerul Mu’mineen addressed the people saying, “This is what you ought to do when you see that your brother has slipped. Correct him, give him conviction (in Allah’s mercy), pray to Allah to forgive him and never be Shaytaan’s accomplices against him (by allowing him to continue and to lose hope in Allah’s mercy). The sahaba’s display of tolerance and compassion is very significant. It means this is how Rasoolullah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) trained them to think and act, which means this is what Allah is pleased to see in us. May Allah grant us the ability to implement the same principles in our lives. Purify Your Gaze Inside the Recovery Community 8
A Beautiful
Share On The
Forum
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A few days ago my wife and kids went out for the entire day. I was home alone for the entire day, and often in these cases I act out. This time however, I did not. I read Qur’ān, caught up on sleep, watched some funny TV shows, and did some work. Whenever my wife and kids come home after a day of me acting out, I feel horrible as I look at my children in the eyes and embrace my wife. I feel down, depressed, full of anxiety, and scared that I didn’t properly cover up the evidence. I feel like I let them down and I waste literally the entire day on porn. Soon after they come home there is usually a fight or an argument that takes place, usually as a result of my bad mood. This time was different. My wife parked the car and I was waiting for them outside, my children jumped out and all ran towards me with excitement and started hugging my legs. I felt so happy to be free, I felt no guilt, no shame, and although a large part of that time was spent online watching lectures or youtube clips and sleeping, I felt accomplished. This time there was no fighting, there was peace. Peace of mind, peace with myself, and peace with my family. This may seem very mundane, but this is what I am fighting for. I am fighting to be clean, to be a present and happy husband and father. I love being a parent and when I am clean I have the energy and insight to spend time with my children and have meaningful conversations and moments with them. One year ago, I thought being at this point was impossible, but I really wanted it. There is a pleasure to pornography that I thought I could never go without, but now I look back and realize how much of me was lost to it. There was so much it took away from me, in fact the greatest thing it took from me was myself. I am in the process of bringing myself back to life. I have said this in another thread, but just feel the need to say it again, I feel like I was dead and now alive, or that I was lost and finally came home. I want to give myself a hug and just cry and tell myself how much I missed me. I never want myself to leave again, because I hate being empty. @Liberty Thread Title: When My Wife Came Home
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Adventures In Recovery
Coffee Cup March 2015
Listen to the AIR Coffee Cup commemorative event replay
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Adventures In Recovery
Coffee Cup In AIR Coffee Cup the challenge was to pop into the coffee shop alone and write down what you're grateful for on the coffee cup or the serviette after some time there.
Congratulations to the members who Participated in AIR Coffee Cup! Hamed
Aamir
AbdulAziz
Misbah
Noor33
David
SisterIqra
Dove
abuhamza
Forum Highlights “I decided to go to a Panera instead because who am I kidding?, I don’t know what I’m doing at Starbucks. It was nice just sitting without having anything to do. For this short period of time, I don’t have anywhere to be. What’s cool too is that even though it’s a busy place, there are tens of private moments happening all around me.” Noor33 “Alhamdulillah, I made it to a local coffee shop this morning. I realized in my hasty approach to life, I had never done this before. The baristas were friendly and created a warm atmosphere. On a side note, it felt like I was sitting in someone’s living room much more than a typical corporate coffee shop (sorry, Starbucks).” Hamed “...I took my first sip of the coffee and yes, it was terribly bitter. I had run downstairs twice to get enough (10 packets) of sugar inorder to make that thing barely palatable. I could not get myself to add more coz then I’d be drinking more sugar than coffee I guess. Anyways, I sipped awawy and journalled about te experience with the counsellor and consolidated what I learnt which was really helpful.” Aamir “...It was nice going on my own- the waitress ‘knows’ me so we chatted for a bit and she started asking me about watercolor painting once she saw me working [I found out that she paints too :)] and it was very peaceful and nice overall, Alhumdulillah. Also was great for creativity!” SisterIqra Purify Your Gaze Inside the Recovery Community 12
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Now you go to the coffee shop too!
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Spotlight Series Interview #3
Dawud Click Here To Listen To The Spotlight Interview
In late 2010, Dawud had in his mind that recovery would consist of a one month, two month thing, then “Boom!” things will be sorted and done. What is it about Dawud that has him getting back up again and again, and coming back to coaching when he’d left it feeling like there’s nothing more for him to learn? You can hear about that, and appreciate how far Dawud has come in maturity, in really appreciating life, growing in his relationships, and having his sights set on more recovery work and pursuing marriage.
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8 Ways To Stay Sober During Ramadan
Brs Javed, David and sr BrightsStars share with us their recommendations on staying sober this Ramadan.
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Assalamu ‘Alaikum, A warm Ramadan Mubarak to all of our readers. May Allah (SWT) accept each of our deeds and grant us forgiveness during this holy month. Ramadan is a time of striving towards nearness to Allah (SWT) through increasing in ibadah and sincere prayer. Through the baraka of Allah’s blessings we are able to find time and energy to do more ibadah. However, it is important to remember that self-care is a year-round activity. Amidst our hectic schedules, Qur’anic recitation, and Tarawih prayers, it’s important to keep some sobriety essentials in mind and in practice. With that in mind, we have compiled a list of 8 sobriety essentials to help each of us stay sober this Ramadan.
1. If you observed fasting, consider yourself
sober at the end of every day. Congratulations! Make a mental note of what you were able to accomplish without the need to act out, and remind yourself daily why this is Worth Fighting For. The goal now is to extend your sobriety a few hours longer, which is not as daunting, insha Allah, and create new habits that will carry you far into the future.
2.
Plan your Ramadan for proper mechanics of sleep, nutrition, and exercise. Productive Muslim is a great resource for Ramadan tips. Fasting gives relief to the senses, so help the cleansing along by not overindulging in dunya since that could lead to that “special private reward” that we give ourselves. Doing too much will jeopardize the foundation of self care. Prepare your mind and body for fasting before the month arrives by fasting a few days before the month starts so that your body will be able to adjust easily during this month.
Find tips on how to maintain nutrition and exercise during this month.
3.
Improve your relationship with Allah, specially surrender. Define what surrendering your addiction to Allah means to you. Opening up our hearts takes practice. With every salah we have a chance to make our love for Allah get bigger than our love for escape. Seek contentment (acceptance) for what Allah provided, and tune into what role or special skill you have that will allow your love for Allah to flow into others. We each got created for a special purpose in His perfect design. Make a list of duas that you will make during the month of Ramadan, and remember that Dua’s are more accepted, inshaAllah, during this month. Choose at least five things that you will consistently make dua for in your sujood, in taraweeh, and at any moment you have free time. The first 10 days of Ramadan are days of Seeking Allah’s Mercy. Recovery questions: What can we be grateful for in our recovery? What does Allah teach us every moment about turning to Him for sobriety? The second 10 days of Ramadan are days of Seeking Allah’s Forgiveness Recovery questions: Are we truly willing to leave our sin’s behind? Can we forgive ourselves like Allah can? The last 10 days of Ramadan are days of seeking Allah’s refuge from the Hell fire. Recovery questions: Are we committed to start a brand new a life? Is our heart ready to let go of our past, or is there something left to learn? Every night there are a group of people who are released from the punishment of the Hell-fire. Aim to make sincere dua every night so that you are one of these blessed people, inshaAllah. Purify Your Gaze Inside the Recovery Community 18
Perform a Ramadan supplication. One of our favorite Witr Duas is by Shaykh Muhammad Jebril. Learn what the imam is saying in Arabic in those emotional Witr prayers so you can feel a connection with Allah (SWT) as well!
4. Plan to do less, way less, on ambitious per-
sonal projects and up your recovery game instead. The added sobriety will gather your strength and you’ll resume your projects with greater focus and confidence after Ramadan. Call in to Sobriety Mastermind, 12 step conference calls, AIR challenges. Start or renew a Forum accountability thread, contact your support networks. Make your game plan for the month and celebrate your wins! Use every moment to get closer to Allah (SWT).
5. Practice your fire drill. Do you have a plan for
when feeling anxious? Who can you call when feeling weak? Have you made a list of what you consider risky behavior that could lead to a relapse?
6. Include media fasting and extend personal restrictions into the night. Watching TV and movies increases your chances of being triggered. For serious recovery, set up restrictions on technology use to the month of Ramadan, such as no internet on phones for this month, or no checking email and going online after iftar.
7.
If married, work on redefining “intimacy” with your spouse in a way that doesn’t involve sex. Nurture emotional intimacy by shifting your attention to your spouse and away from triggering distractions. Explore how to create differentiation from your spouse, that is, to foster closeness while keeping a sense of yourself. Practice being more 19 Purify Your Gaze Inside the Recovery Community
Click Here To Learn About The Firedrill honest every day about how you’re feeling, your struggles, and what kind of help you need and how you’ll get it. Remember that your spouse is not your parent, so do share, but the emotional lifting is all yours!
8. If not married, this is not a time to be alone. Brothers, Are you feeling your inner strength yet? Focus on getting closer to your family, specially the women in your life, supporting their needs and dreams. Relieve them from the routines and chores that keep them from being their best selves. Be vulnerable with those you trust, and nurture a caring energy, the kind that allows us to give of ourselves. If you won’t see your family one night, or you can’t make it to the masjid, Is there a Muslim brother you can connect with to reason through a particular fear, or to brighten up after a tough day? Sisters, Are you glowing with inner beauty yet? You are more than a cook in a patriarchal culture. Delegate the housework and cooking to be equitable between men and women. Make sure to take care of your needs as well, such as having personal time with Allah, taking care of your hygiene and focusing on making duas for yourself. Focus on getting closer to your family, friends, and the important people in your life. Open your heart to give and receive love for the sake of Allah,
“Plan to do less, way less, on ambitious personal projects and up your recovery game instead.” even to those who may not reciprocate. This small gesture will open the doors of healing between the hearts. All of the advice thus far still applies to you as well. Remember that sexual compulsion is an intimacy disorder, and we’ve unfortunately learned to abuse and shame women, even if that woman is yourself. Nurture your feminine by serving others and also a bit of your masculine side by being a leader in your family. A great way to do this is to make special plans for your family and friends when you are not praying or fasting. When you are not fasting and praying, take advantage of the blessing given by Allah and use your extra energy to give to others: Take care of small children so mothers can pray taraweeh, make a special iftar for your family or masjid. Also, find alternative forms of worship. As sister Shazia Ahmad writes
in her article Closed Doors and Open Eyes, “Being in a state of ritual impurity really has no deeper connotation or implication as to a person’s worth or standing before Allah...They can be regarded as a dispensation, to allow us an interim for comfort and rejuvenation while in a state of physical weakness and tiredness.” We hope that you enjoyed reading this list and found practical ideas to implement this Ramadan. But do to come up with your own ideas and share what works for you, in the comment section below. Insha’Allah through making a consistent effort each day to take care of ourselves, we can not only have an enjoyable Ramadan, but also make progress in our recovery as well. May Allah (SWT) grant us a Ramadan full of His forgiveness and rahma and help us to maintain and strengthen our sobriety (Ameen). Purify Your Gaze Inside the Recovery Community 20
Happy
Birthday AbuHamza allahgreater comsea hasanist40 paladeen Ameeen May this next year in your life be one of closeness to Him, breakthroughs in the areas you care about, and deeply felt joy! From Purify Your Gaze 21 Purify Your Gaze Inside the Recovery Community
Adventures In Recovery
Prayer May 2015
Stay tuned for issue #8! Purify Your Gaze Inside the Recovery Community 22
Sobriety, As Seen At An Altitude of 52 weeks. Br. David reaches his 1 Year Sobriety milestone, Allahu Akbar! Here he summarizes the profound and captivating reflections he has made over the past year, with the help of Allah, of what sobriety actually looks like. Read on and feel rejuvenated about your recovery!
This is what I see in my landscape looking back at what made my year of sobriety successful: SURRENDER enabled everything. Accepting that I’m powerless over lust made me hand over the keys to Allah. I relinquished all control over my desires and my strict expectations of others. I felt that I had finally, truly become a Muslim. By not trying to control everything in my environment, my brain suddenly had full access to the wisdom of the sunnah of Rasul Allah (SAW) as not something I can DO, but as someone I can BE. 23 Purify Your Gaze Inside the Recovery Community
Live by La illaha il Allah and not worship lust or bodily desires. I extended this to not worshiping cravings of emotional eating, emotional numbing via entertainment and music, emotional denial by overworking. Live by Iyaka nabudu wa iyaka nastaeem and trust Allah’s guidance. Accept the gift of help from others and be patient in learning about my blind spots from all sources, religious or not, but especially from my wife, who is 90% right about my faults! Also, seek the help of mentors and counse-
lors to keep shedding expectations that are not my own. Live at edge of my comfort zone and make that my personal boundary to others. No procrastination of my salah by allowing distractions take precedence. I got a second chance in life to praise Allah, and will do so every chance I snap out of daydreaming. If the day seems impossible to survive, I take it one salah at a time. This came to me after salah in a difficult day: I stressed, and dunya did not change.
I held tight, and dunya did not change. dunya does not belong to me. I relaxed, and dunya did not change. I let go, and dunya did not change. dunya does belongs to Him. Be assertive in my self care and be aware of being Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired (HALT). Since I always gave myself away to others, being selfish for my well being is something I’ve had to learn. I am much more useful to my family and community Purify Your Gaze Inside the Recovery Community 24
Photo from Juan’s one year sobriety road trip.
when I can be myself and use whatever faculties that Allah blessed me with. Learned to despise lying (specially to myself ), and treat the impulse of holding secrets from my wife as a red flag. Using touch with her to reinforce reality, not enhance fantasy. My life is not perfect. All is as it should be, and I accept it as it is.
What’s next? My challenge going into a second year, is to redefine my sobriety as more than physical abstention, to continue the journey of what the 12 steps calls “progressive victory over lust”. Now I have a better appreciation for others with long-term sobriety being so strict and tightening their criteria of success.
Be grateful, not entitled. Thanks to Brother Shakil’s Sobriety Mastermind topics for that one.
May Allah help us to ever fine tune our life skills and ever increase our desire to find Him. Ameen.
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Adventures In Recovery
Reconnect April 2015
Listen to the AIR Reconnect commemorative event replay
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Adventures In Recovery
Reconnect In AIR Reconnect the challenge was to meet with someone you haven't see in a long time, at least six months, face to face. That person can be family, a friend, mentor, or teacher, you decide. An effort to bring meaningful connection into our lives. We strengthened our bonds, and our support network.
Congratulations to the members who Participated in AIR Reconnect! Hamed
Joyful
BrightStars
-Laylah-
SisterIqra
SrDove
Abd-al-Aziz
Muhisin1
Forum Highlight “I feel like this (challenge) really hit home a message. And that is that in all these years I was wasting time acting out, I could have been making real connections with people. I could have been there for my friends. Rather than confining myself to my home and a computer, I could have been improving my relationships with those around me. Alhamdulillah, it’s never too late. And this challenge was a great start. - Hamed on the forum thread of “AIR Reconnect.” Purify Your Gaze Inside the Recovery Community 28
“Each reconnection that we establish served a specific purpose for us, but it also could have been a specific purpose for them… Allah guided us to reconnect with them” Abd-Al-Aziz Live on the call.
The Live Conversation “The whole purpose of it was to allow us to step out of being in our own little world and our own little recovery, and just live, and be with people and make connections… ” - Sr.Dove live on the call. “Had it not been for the challenge, it probably would have been 5, 10, 15 years, who knows if I would have ever gotten back to touch with him again. Once you make your addiction your friend, then your other relationships go by the wayside…” - Hamed live on the call. 29 Purify Your Gaze Inside the Recovery Community
Ramadan Kareem! From the Purify Your Gaze Team
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