Faith Building – The World Is Your Gym!

June 20, 2011 — Jihad Saad

Believe.

Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve!

Believe it till you see it.

Ask, believe and receive.

Believe in your self. Have faith.

You can do it if you believe you can.
…

OK Ok we got it, we’ve got to believe! It is said everywhere and by almost everyone, in personal development teachings, in spiritual traditions, even in pop culture and our grandma wisdom!

But how can we actually believe? What does it mean to have faith? Many of us do understand what faith is conceptually, but when it comes to the real world, we’re not so sure of what it really is.

Faith is not this metaphysical abstract concept. Faith is a very down-to-earth attitude and behavior that we can learn and practise. And no it is not kneeling on your knees to pray, and not repeating endless mantras and affirmations.

To have faith comes back practically to 2 things:

1- Choosing always and always to interpret life events and circumstances with a thought that means “it’s going great”! Whatever happens in our life, we can interpret it the way we choose. When we have faith, we always choose the interpretation that supports us in the direction of our desires and dreams.

So to illustrate this for you, say for example that your business results are not doing well. Don’t think about bankruptcy, choose to think that it’s temporary, that you’ll learn a great lesson from it and that you’ll rebound incredibly. Say for example that a dear person to you is not connecting well with you, don’t think that you lost the person for ever, think that this is happening so you can connect together better and even stronger later. Say for example that you have a health problem, don’t think that you’ll get weaker in life, think that this sickness will make you adjust your life-style and emerge healthier. Say you had a painful experience in your past, don’t think that you’re damaged, think that it’s a blessing for you to overcome and be stronger and even help others.

You see, it’s up to you to interpret any event the way you like. If you have faith, whatever happens in your life, you automatically choose the interpretation that basically means: “that’s ok, i trust it’s for the best and it’s going to be great anyway!”. Now that’s faith!
Now let’s move on to the second pillar.2- Having faith is feeling calm and peaceful in the heart. Yes this is the feeling that practically faith comes down to. Whatever you face, even in the midst of turmoils, when your heart is calm, it means that you believe. It means that deep down you’re not scared because you know eveyrthing is going to be all right. It means that you trust things will always turn for the best.

So keep a check at your heart. When things start getting out of control or moving in an unwanted direction, do you loose your inner calm? Does you heart feel agitated? That means you don’t trust yet. And that you’ll attract to you what you fear.

Be always mindful of the heart muscle. Breathe deeply and focus on it till you feel it calm and warm. Focus on the physiology and the feeling. Yes it’s possible to keep the heart non-agitated! Imagine you’re in a business meeting but you feel bored and sleepy, don’t you still manage to keep your eyes open and a smile on your face? Well do the same for your heart! If you feel turmoil or unwanted life events, keep your heart calm through conscious control. If you’re able to maintain your heart calm and peaceful throughout the day and throughout your life events, watch out, your faith will make great things happen for you!

Conclusion:So now that you know what faith practically is, it’s time to exercise and to develop it. Just like you do weight-lifting to develop your muscles, you need to practice continuously the art of choosing always the “it’s going great” interpretation, and the discipline of keeping your heart calm at all times.

After few days and few weeks of practice, your faith muscle will be so strong, that you’ll be continuously vibrating the “I BELIEVE” energy, and life will prove it to you by making what you believe in become true!

And the good news is: you don’t need to go to the gym! The world is your gym! Every event and circumstance is a chance for you to practice your faith. And it’s also easier than lifting weights on a bench press, but Gosh a developed faith can give you incredibly more powerful results than a developed biceps!

Ok? so let’s go and hit our workout! 🙂

What does faith practically mean to you? How do you think we can better develop this unshakable trust that we’ll realize all our dreams? Please share with us below your insights too!

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It Ain’t Over ‘Till It’s Over – The Rocky Power!

June 18, 2011 — Jihad Saad

Who doesn’t know Rocky! This personality has captivated the world imagination and transcended cultures on an international scale. Wherever you go, if you start acting boldly and with strength and courage, chances are someone will yell at you: hey dude, who do you think you are? Rocky?

So here’s a very important question for you:

What made the movie Rocky such a legendary success? What propelled the obscure Stallone into the stratosphere of international stardom?

Believe me, you need to know this answer! It’s not just about Rocky and Stallone, it has everything to do with you too and with whatever you’re trying to achieve in your own life!

Let’s go back to the question.. what made Rocky such a legendary success? Here are few options for you:

a) Stallone’s incredible acting talents
b) the big muscles of Stallone
c) high promotion budgets
d) the movie script
e) luck

OK I’ll give you the answer: it’s NONE OF THE ABOVE!

In fact, Sylevester Stallone was a very beginning actor when he made Rocky I, with practically no experience in acting and no skills, not to mention his funny articulation and tilted jaw! As for his muscles, well how many body-builders exist in US? Surely that’s not a reason for his success, otherwise every big body-builder would have been a superstar! And for your information, the movie production and promotion cost was very low and incomparable to the movie success! As for the script, what’s so special about an action movies where the good guy struggles the whole movie and wins at the end?

Must be luck then?
That’s the most dangerous answer and the farthest from truth! If you believe it was luck that made the movie a legendary success, then you have to listen to this audio story and learn the real reason of Stallone’s rise to fame!Listen to the Rocky story as narrated by Tony Robbins. You need to know the truth about the force that shaped and inspired our popular international culture!

You got the answer to our question now?
Can you see that true strength and power comes not from muscles and budgets, but from the strength of determination, and faith, and willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve our dreams!

Did you like this story? Do you also have a big dream that you’re trying to achieve like Stallone? Share with us your comments and let us know if this story inspires you to never give up!

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The Light of the World

January 29, 2009 — Jihad Saad

Usually people identify themselves by their name, title, nationality, gender, religion, family, tribe, etc…

To the question “who are you?”, you will probably hear answers like this: I am Bill, I am Indian, I am muslim, I am the Program Manager, I am a single guy, I am an actress, etc…

Two thousands years ago, in a fertile land on the shore of the mediterrranean sea, a man was asked: “who are you?”.

His answer was: “I am the Light of the World”

…

Wow.

What an extraordinary and formidable answer.

But what is more extraordinary and formidable is that this man was not joking at all, and he would pay his life for what he believed.

The man name is Jesus. After his death, temples will be built for him across the four corners of the planet. Magnificient churches and humble huts still celebrate his name to this very day. And more than half of humanity, people from both christian and muslim faith, believe in his triumphant return.

…

What an incredible story.

And yet it is here, it is there, it is everywhere. In the scriptures, in churches, in prayers, in paintings hanged on walls, in necklesses and tatoos, on t-shirts and scarfs, in cities and in villages, in xmas gifts and eastern eggs, in the memories of previous wars, in current wars as well, and in the sound of ringing bells…

Something must have surely happened two thousands years ago, in this fertile land, on the shores of the mediterranean sea!

…

The picture above is taken by Asri in Manusak Village, a community of ex-refugees, in West Timor, Indonesia. As part of my work with Austcare, we were implementing a support program in the community, and we made a visit from Aceh to Timor in order to launch the support program.

The community consists of refugees who had to flee the violence in East Timor and take refuge in West Timor. They were given a land to settle, but the land is dry, and they lack everything: food, hygiene, water, and sanitation.

In this dry land where everything is missing, the community built itself a humble church, so humble that without the hanging wooden cross you would never guess its actually a church. In this simple hut, there are no ornaments, no golden altars, no fancy priests clothes and jewel crowns. And yet in this desolate place, this chapel stands more magnificient in its poverty than any other.

I can imagine how one day someone from this refugee community gathered two tree troncs from the surrounding fields and shaped a cross with them. He planted the cross in front of the wooden hut, to remember and to remind himslef and everyone around him, that one day a man once claimed: “I am the Light of the World”, and paid his life for it.

…

And so, now I will ask you again the same old question. But before you rush and answer, please take a pause, and think again.

Your answer will determine everyhing in your life.

For this question is the most important of all.

“Who are You?”

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