Jihad Saad – Expand Your Awareness, Transform Your Life

One place that truly touched me in Cartagena’s old city is the Plaza de la Proclamacion, or ‘Proclamation Square’ in English.

What i loved about it is how each night, with the old cathedral in the background, the square comes alive with music, upbeat percussions, energetic dances, colorful dresses and fiery torches.

And the dances became more meaningful to me when i learned the story of this square. Picture this: way back in 1811, brave rebels stormed into the square, surrounded the colonial government building, and demanded equal rights and independence. They forced the city leadership to declare independence from Spain right then and there, and that’s how this square got its name. 

As a result, Cartagena became one of the very first cities in all of Latin America to be free from colonialism.  And it took place in that exact spot where the dances are happening. How inspiring is this?

It was no easy path to get there. Cartagena’s independence came after centuries of struggles, captivity, racism and slavery. And even after declaring independence, they had to fight many battles to keep it. 

It’s an epic story that mirrors much of our shared human history, and speaks to our universal values, no matter where we come from. 

Hearing the music while imagining all this history felt so moving and uplifting to me.

It’s like connecting with this wild energy that moves in all of us too, the spirit of rising up against the odds, the passion to celebrate life despite all. 

Landmark monuments are often conventional, restrained and gray… but not in Barranquilla!

I was struck by the how colorful and vibrant the Barranquilla landmark monument is.

They call it: ‘Ventana Al Mundo’, or Window to the World.. a symbol of the city’s openness to the world.

What inspires me is how confidently this coastal city projects a joyful spirit and embraces celebration of life.

Show your true colorsUnknown to many, this city in Colombia hosts the second largest music carnival in the whole world, second only to Rio De Janeiro. Each year the whole city comes alive with music and dance and colorful exuberant costumes.

Barranquilla also has a vibrant culture and is home to a rich history of indigenous, African, European, and Caribbean roots.

It is also the hometown of the famous Colombian singer Shakira. They made a statue for Shakira there in her honor, i wish i had a chance to visit it.

I only spent few hours in Barranquilla but it made a lasting impression on me.

I believe we all have colorful personalities but oftentimes we hide and tone it down. This city invites us to audaciously express ourselves and show our true colors too.

Cheers to Barranquilla!

#barranquilla #Colombia #truecolors

Spiritual liberation! 🔥

Isn’t it time for all religions to live in peace and harmony together? 😔

Isn’t it time that spirituality becomes a source of unity and personal emancipation, rather than division and mental indoctrination? 😔

Yes it is time!

That’s what I believe, and that’s why it was very touching for me to meet one of my favorite modern spiritual teachers in the world: Michael Bernard Beckwith!

During my event with Mindvalley in Portugal, Michael Beckwith was a guest speaker, and he spent 4 days with us, attending classes with us, partying and dancing with us, even sailing and hanging at the pool with us 🏊🏼‍♂️. (hence our casual photo in summer look!) 😊

Coming from the Middle-East where faith in God, and belief in the prophets and holy books, is often a source of conflicts, separation, dogmas and violence, i can only have deeper appreciation and respect to spiritual teachers like Michael Beckwith who teach the principles of spiritual unity, and promote harmony between all religions and faiths, and solidarity and peace among all people.

As a boy growing up in the Middle East, specially in my country Lebanon, religions seemed to me more like political entities and identities, rather than heartfelt spiritual faiths. I had so many questions about religions, and spirituality, and God, and the purpose of life, but in those days Google did not yet exist, and no one around me was able to explain to me in a convincing manner about these mysterious revelations that we were supposed to follow. Sure enough, it didn’t take me long, together with many of my liberal city peers, to turn away from religions and spirituality and from all what they stood for.

It was only later in life, through experiences of personal awakening and self explorations, that I became more receptive to spiritual teachings, more and more appreciative to what prophets, saints and religions were trying to say and achieve, and more perceptive and believing in this Force that pervades and moves everything, call it God, Universe, Allah, Source, Energy, or whatever you wish.

And as I immersed myself in discovering the world of spirituality, it was modern teachers like Michael Beckwith, and others like Eckhart Tolle or Deepak Chopra, that best articulated this holistic spiritual faith that i was beginning to discover. A faith that does not contradict religions, and rather embraces spiritual unity regardless of everyone’s religious faiths.

Michael Beckwith, just as all enlightened spiritual teachers, including the biggest prophets, 

teaches the universal principles that can be found in all religions. The principles of spiritual unity and of surrender. The principles of being kind to one another, helping the needy, being just, and fair, and compassionate. They all promote practices like prayers 🤲, meditations 🧘‍♀️, and communal rituals, that are meant to allow us to be more in tune with our spiritual essence, and more supportive to one another.

What I also love is how teachers like Beckwith can gracefully marry a deep faith in in the divine, while at the same time fully embracing modernity and scientific progress. They express a vision of spiritual faith that unites rather than divides, that enhances rather than limits our life, that is a source of trust rather than fear, that brings freedom rather than mental captivity.

And they teach that we are all one, that we are all connected. And that all religions ultimately come from the same source, and have the same essence.

Sure, there are differences between the various religions and spiritual traditions in the world, differences in rituals, differences in emphasis, historical differences, linguistic differences, differences in interpretations and practices, but I believe the essence of the various spiritual teachings are one. I believe that there is way more that unites us, than what divides us. And even what’s different between us, is a source of richness, and ought not be a source of conflicts.

Back to Michael! 🙂

I discovered Michael many years ago in the movie the Secret, and he immediately struck me by how articulate he is, how elegant his language was, and by his ability to infuse emotions in his words. And so I went on to follow him and study his programs, read his books, and listen to his podcasts. His book, Spiritual Liberation, is a book I deeply cherish, as it brought me great strength and inspiration on my journey. He was clearly to me someone who had experienced some sort of enlightenment or awakening.

And let me tell you also the story of how I met him! 😁

Michael was actually one the very few first people that i bumped into in Portugal during Mindvalley’s Afest. It happened on the first day and the very first moment as I arrived to the hotel in Carvoeiro to check in to my hotel room, a man was in front of me in the hotel check-in queue. I didn’t recognize this man from behind, but then suddenly he turned to speak to someone, and I realized who he was. Michael! 😮 I couldn’t help but greet him with strong emotion and affection, hug him, and tell him how much I loved him and appreciated him and his work. After all, this was the man whose voice was playing in my ears for years during my early morning guided meditations.

He looked at me cheerfully and said: well, you have a nice way to greet people! 🙂

So i went on to tell him how much I appreciated his spiritual teachings and holistic faith, and how much this is so needed in the world today, specially in regions like the Middle East that is still suffering from religious conflicts. And I also told him that as someone who comes from the muslim faith, it really saddens me to see how many narrow-minded interpretations of Islam are currently affecting negatively our world and contributing to intolerance or violence. And I told him with spontaneity that I wish something could be done about it, that I wish too I could one day do something about it.

He looked at me with a big smile, and replied: well, this may be your Dharma! And he winked! 😉

And at this instant the hotel receptionist called him to check in and our conversation ended. And that was the first encounter between me and Michael. An encounter that makes me happy and that I will always remember.

And I surely hope to meet him again! 🙏

🌟What is a magical life? 🌟

Is it always great, happy, feeling good? I wish, but that’s not how it works. We live in a world of duality. As long as we live, there’ll be ups and downs, good and bad, beauty and ugliness.

Is it a life where you succeed in everything you do, where you accomplish all your desires? Oh I would have loved that! But that’s not the case. Defeat, failure, loss, pain.. are always a part of life! Even the greatest of our human legends and heroes have had their full share of failure, deception and grief.

So what is it then?
And does a magical life even exist? 🤔

To me, the turning point in my life that made all the difference, is when one day, many years ago, I dared to have a dream. I wanted to explore the world. To travel to places that are so far from the beaten track. To help people in need. To embark on a spiritual quest. To sleep under the stars. To follow my heart in a world that i was so hungry to experience, so hungry to explore.

I had no idea how to get there. I was just a freshly graduate engineer, studying my MBA in Paris. I was on a student loan to pay my university. A good corporate job in a big city seemed the best thing that life could offer me. A ‘good job’ was the path for which I was raised, educated and trained. But I couldn’t do it. 😞

I remember vividly that day on my French business school campus where all the big companies were coming to ‘recruit us’, we the freshly- graduate bright talents.

What I had to do was to wear a nice suit, look smart, print tens of copies of my CV, go around the booths, put in my CV applications for random companies i knew little about, applying to jobs where i had no idea what i’d be doing, to serve a mission i had no interest in. And then hope someone calls me back.

I didn’t want to do it.
And i burned my bridge.
I took the only suit i had at the time, and i donated it to charity.
I pledged to not wear any suit, and to not take part in the ‘campus recruitment’ day.
And by the time that campus day was happening, I had no suit to wear anyway! 😮

And I decided that I wouldn’t settle.
That i would figure it out.
That i’d follow my heart.
That i would dare chose a path of my own.
And that I’d fight for it if needs be. ✊

And that was the day my life became magical. 🌟

When i made this decision, did my desire suddenly show up in my life? No.
Did i get everything i wanted? Hell no.
Was it easy? Was it always pleasurable? No
Did i doubt myself? was i scared? Oh yes!
Did i fail along the way? Many times.
Was there pain and loss on the path? Yes!
Have i fulfilled all my dreams and desires in my life? I wish, but no.
Is there even a guarantee i’ll ever fully make all my dreams true? No.

But all of that doesn’t diminish the magic.

Because that day something in me was born that i cherish beyond anything else.

A passion was born in me that i had not felt before.
I suddenly had a drive to conquer.
A reason to live.
A mission.
A destination.
A worthy fight.
A destiny to accomplish.
A fire burning in my heart. 🔥

And that’s really what makes life magical!

It’s not the accomplishments or the trophies.

It’s the passion, the mission, the striving, that give life its juice!

Since that day, my life has never been ordinary. I was never bored. I could be well, i could be unwell, but one thing is sure, I was never ever bored!

I ended up starting my career as a humanitarian worker. I traveled to places that i’d never dreamt of knowing. I lived in cultures so different of my own that it stretched my identity. I’ve been to war zones and to natural disasters, also to earthly paradises like i’ve never seen before.

But more importantly than all, I got to discover and know who i was. To find peace and faith in my own heart. To find friendship with myself, and connection with my own spirit.

✨✨✨

You see, magic happens the moment you decide you’ll pursue your dream. The moment you decide that you won’t settle for ordinary. The moment you commit to step up for it! ✊

You’re only one decision away!

You can have it now, if you wish!

I don’t promise you it’ll be always easy, but trust me, you’ll never look back.

Rise up for your dream, and you’ll be filled with passion, drive, fire, and spirit.. 🔥🔥

and isn’t that the dream anyway?

Tahrir Square, during my visit to Cairo in April 2012

I was taken over by such a strong sudden and strange feeling few days ago, that I am still trying to explain.

From the moment I read the statement by the Egyptian Army Commander on 30 Jun 2013, clearly taking sides in the political events in Egypt and giving an ultimatum of 48 hours before intervening, I was filled with an overwhelming feeling of refusal, anger and indignation.

Prior to that, I was following with interest the developments in Egypt. Being a liberal myself and a huge supporter of Arab Spring, I was enjoying watching the dynamic political landscape in Egypt and the aliveness of the newly born civil society there. Bassem Youssef for me became the best embodiment of the principles of our revolution: Freedom of speech, creativity, liberalism, and genius.

To me, having Bassem (with what Bassem culurally represents) was alone worth all the Arab springs. It was so amazing for me to watch extremism and social conservatism be “destroyed” by sharp jokes, creative production and extremely smart humour. I was a fan, and a follower, of Bassem, and of the new Egypt.

Thanks to Bassem, I was was getting familiar with the Egyptian news, the political intrigues, the Tamarod campaign, and like most people I was hoping for change and improvements in Egyptian governance that would mirror the aspirations and ambitions of the youth and of the people like Bassem. When the Tamarod campaign kicked in, and the large number of protests started taking place, I was happy to watch democracy in the making, and was certain that change would be achieved thanks to popular pressure.

But then… I heard the General Sisi statement.

Its inappropriateness, its illegitimacy, its arrogance, its gross interference in political life, its pledge to use military force to shift power balance, offended my senses so deeply. And the fact that the Army was positioning itself as the defensive of liberal democratic Egypt, and the fact that the so-called “liberal democratic” forces in Egypt were volunteering to justify in advance a military coup, is just as intolerable and offensive to basic common-sense and political correctness.

I couldn’t believe, and still can’t, that such blunder and abuse of power could be made by the so called liberals, including Bassem Youssef and his supporters. I would have personally preferred waiting few weeks or even few months to achieve the desired change in a proper way, then achieve it immediately, the wrong way.

I guess part of me sensed, instinctively, how dangerous such a move is and how much it would backfire and lead to the opposite result. I truly believe it’s wrong, it’s immature, it’s shorsighted, it’s unfair, it’s driven by anger not wisdom, in short, it’s bad!

And I wanted to scream: NOOOOOO.

But the scenario was already written, everyone seemed blinded by high emotions. And who could hear me, anyway.

And the rest is history. Detention, house arrests, humiliation, persecution, shutting down of media outlets, indignation, division of society, mass protests, hatred and intolerance from all sides. And it’s just the beginning.

I honestly feel sad about it. It could have been a different way.

Indeed hatred and frustration can only breed hatred and frustration. Only wisdom, tolerance, compassion and patience could triumph over extremism and hardships.

And I was left to the horror of watching Egypt fall, and more painful, watching well-meaning people cheer about a disaster.

These moments happen in history, and they are painful and take time to heal.

Jesus himself was convicted to the cross with a cheering euphoric crowd. “Barrabas, Barrabas”, everyone was screaming when Jesus was the one chosen to die and Barrabas the criminal was set free.

Little did people realise at the time, that they had killed their biggest prophet, their own “Saviour”.

And fire works and military jets were illuminating the Cairo skies after the coup took place.

And little did people realise, that they had just killed their own democracy, and their own social pact and unity.

When hatred prevails, there is no winner.

Love your enemy, wasn’t it the eternal commandment?

You don’t beat hatred and oppression by hating and oppressing yourself.

I believe what happened is wrong. It needn’t be this way.

Am sorry to say the truth, I know people wouldn’t like it.

—-

And now, I let it all go.

These emotions serve me no more.

What will be, will be.

Egypt road now is rocky. One day, the Light will show at the end of the tunnel.

And sooner or later, all people will realise, that before electricity and economy and employment, there is Love, and mutual Respect, and Solidarity, and Compassion, and Peace, and Unity.

These are the sources of wealth and prosperity.

These are the real liberation, and the only true salvation.

Until then, yes the revolution shall continue.

And so let it be.