The Practical Path to a Peaceful Heart

The topic for these series of lectures delivered in Toronto was "The Practical Path to a Peaceful Heart"

Lecture 1: Introduction to the spiritual heart
In the first lecture, we discussed the role of Muharram in reviving our hearts and the roles and responsibilities of all of us during this period.
As suggested, it may be a good idea to write out a pledge for yourself of your intention and intended behaviour during this time. This greatly helps in reminding ourselves of the purpose of the month of Muharram and establishing our focus and ensuring that we use the time for what it was intended.
We also introduced the concept of the spiritual heart and shared the outline of the proposed lectures.

¥ What is the importance of the heart in Islam? What does the Quran say about the importance of the heart? What does it mean to have a healthy heart? Why is it important to talk about the heart? We usually focus on knowledge and deeds. Modernity and the challenges of focusing on the heart. The role of knowledge in purifying our heart
¥ Assessing disease and health of the heart? What does a spiritually healthy heart look like? What are we aiming for? What are some diseases of the heart?
¥ what’s the relationship between our minds and our hearts? We will also lay out the plan for purification and the tools that we have. I will be following the program for spiritual purification that is laid out in Sura Muzzamil, Chapter 73 of the Quran. It is a short but very beautiful Sura which lays out a blueprint of sorts for the purification of the heart. It might be helpful to take a look at that at some point.
¥ In terms of tools and resources we will first start with the Quran which Allah says is has been sent as a healer for the hearts. The Quran of course can never be separated from he who received the Quran on his heart and we will talk about the connection as well as some practical steps to improve our connection to the Quran in everyday lives.
¥ We will talk about night worship and meditation as mentioned in Sura Muzzamil. Why spirituality is so connected to wakefulness at night. In this lecture we will also talk about the practical hindrances to waking up and what we can do about them
¥ Keeping good company: why this is so important. Our relationships have a powerful impact on who we become and how we operate in this world. We will also discuss other rules about relationships and friendships that are outlined in Sura Muzzamil
¥ As one of the important things of being on the path, the HP (saw) is advised to have patience when his adversaries mock him or verbally abuse him or tell him off. We will talk about this important concept as many of us struggle in conversations where there is conflict. We will talk about speaking from the ego versus speaking from the heart. We will talk about silence and speech and how to speak up and when to stay silent.
¥ Salaat as a tool of purification. The HP (saw) has said that Salaat is like a river flowing outside our homes which purifies from every impurity. The Quran also talks about the protective powers of salaat in keeping us away from spiritual toxins. In this lecture we will discuss and discover the philosophy behind each action in salaat and the power of salaat to act as a major tool in keeping the heart pure
¥ We will conclude our series with a discussion on Dhikr as a tool of purification. What is dhikr, what are the different types of dhikr and how we can practice dhikr so our hearts become an illumined lamp.

Here is the link to the audio of the lecture:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/marziahassan/Lecture_1_Oct_3_2016.mp3

Lecture 2: Recognizing and assessing health and disease of our heart

Continuing with the topic of The Practical Path to a Peaceful Heart, this lecture covers three main points:
¥ The Quran and Ahadith on health and sickness of the hearts
¥ Ten Reasons why it is important to focus on the health of our heart
¥ Assessing our own hearts

Here is the link to the audio of the lecture:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/marziahassan/Majlis_2_2016_161004_001.mp3

Lecture 3: Purifying our thoughts

Here is what we cover in this episode:
¥ The relationship of the mind to the heart
¥ The role of knowledge in purifying the heart
¥ Thoughts as gateways to the heart
¥ The practice of taffakur (contemplation) to purify the heart

Here is the link to the audio of the lecture:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/marziahassan/Lecture_3_161005.mp3

Lecture 4: Connecting to Allah in the night

We started by reviewing the basics of meditation and then recapped the steps to turn our online conversations into conscious communication. How we live our day to day lives is very much indicative of our level of consciousness and connection to Allah.
The topic for this lecture was night worship (Qiyam ul Lail) as an important tool on the spiritual path. We discussed why spirituality is so connected to wakefulness at night.
In this lecture we also talked about the practical hindrances to waking up and what we can do about them. The basics of sleep hygiene are also covered.

Here is the link to the audio of the lecture:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/marziahassan/Lecture_4_161006.mp3

Lecture 5: Practicing patience in speaking

In this session, we cover the role of communication in our spiritual path. the Holy Prophet (saw) is told to "have patience on what they say". This is such good advice for all of us!
Here are some of the topics we covered in this talk:
Quran and hadith on talking and remaining silent and speaking
What does patience look like? Does it mean we don’t speak?
How to know when to speak and when to keep silent?
Silence as a practice towards wise speech
Practicing wise speech

Here is the link to the audio of the lecture:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/marziahassan/Lecture_5_161007_M2016.mp3

Lecture 6: Developing a relationship with the Quran

In the 6th lecture of the series, we discuss our relationship with the Quran and why it is essential to build this relationship.
We discuss how the Quran is both a proof and a guidance and why focusing on the proof is so important in order to access the guidance.
When we have a problem with the guidance mentioned in the Quran, it is often because we have not realized or reflected on the 'Bayyanah", the hut and the miracle of the word of God.
In other words, if we get the bayyanah, the miracle of the Quran, it increases our faith and makes the guidance of the book more accessible. 

Here is the link to the audio of the lecture:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/marziahassan/Lecture_6_161008.mp3

Lecture 7: Establish Prayer

In the 7th Lecture in this series, we talk about Salaat as a tool of purification. It is actually both a tool for evaluating how much our hearts are connected to the Divine and a means for that connection.
The HP (saw) has said that Salaat is like a river flowing outside our homes which purifies from every impurity. The Quran also talks about the protective powers of salaat in keeping us away from spiritual toxins. In this lecture we will discuss and discover the philosophy behind each action in salaat and the power of salaat to act as a major tool in keeping the heart pure

Here is the link to the audio of the lecture:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/marziahassan/Lecture_7_M2016_161009.mp3

Lecture 8: Keep Good Company

In the 8th lecture in the series, we talk about the importance of keeping good company and why friendship matters.
The Quran mentions several different types of companions and friends and is clear that some friendships support our ultimate purpose while other friendships can distract us from our main purpose and cause us great regret ultimately.
In this lecture we discuss the kinds of friendships to nurture and how to seek out good company.

Here is the link to the audio of the lecture:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/marziahassan/Lecture_8_M2016_161010.mp3

Lecture 9: Purifying the heart through Dhikr

What do we mean by Dhikr and its importance in the cultivation of a peaceful heart.
Why Dhikr Allah is Akbar
Three types of Dhikr and examples of it
Living the Dhikr 

Here is the link to the audio of the lecture:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/marziahassan/Lecture_9_M2016_161011.mp3

Lecture 10: Being smart about sharing the message of Imam Hussain (as) on social media

Social media is a powerful platform which can be used in a smart way to spread the message of Imam Hussain (as).
In this lecture we discuss questions like:
Why is it important to be savvy about using social media? The reality on the ground
The power of social media for good
Examples of great social media campaigns
Reminding ourselves about the principles of effective communication from the Quran
The dos and don’ts of playing it smart on Social Media

Here is the link to the audio of the lecture:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/marziahassan/Lecture_10_M2016_161015.mp3

Lecture 11: Purifying our heart from guilt and remorse

In the 11th lecture in the series we discuss the role of Nafsul Lawwama as an internal GPS to take us towards the Divine.
When we do not follow our internal GPS, we experience guilt and remorse which lead to agitation. The path towards a peaceful heart is to align our actions with our internal GPS.
We discuss the following questions:
¥ What is NL? What is its role in guiding us towards a peaceful heart
¥ What is the role of emotions generally in our lives? Why have we been given negative emotions such as guilt and shame?
¥ How can we sharpen this tool and nurture it so that it helps us towards a Qalbe Saleem?

Here is the link to the audio of the lecture:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/marziahassan/Lecture_11_161029.mp3

Lecture 12: Accessing peace through gratitude

In this session we discuss the role of gratitude in nurturing a peaceful heart. What is gratitude and why is it so important on the spiritual path to have a grateful heart.
We also discuss how to start an intentional practice of gratitude 

Here is the link to the audio of the lecture:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/marziahassan/Lecture_12_161030_.mp3

Lecture 13: Practicing gratitude during difficult times

Few people would disagree about the value of gratitude in our physical and spiritual lives. It is easy to be thankful when things are going really well.
But what about when we are in challenging or difficult times? How does one maintain a grateful heart in the midst of difficulty and grief?
In this session we explore ways to be grateful even if we are not feeling gratitude. 

Here is the link to the audio of the lecture:
http://traffic.libsyn.com/marziahassan/Lecture_13_Gratitude_part_2_161106.mp3