Ramadan Kareem in Quarantine
By Sarah Astarte, PhD
Sacramento, California
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Ramadan is the holy month of fasting, praying, and partying for many Muslims. This year, due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus, we are to shelter in place, and our social calendars are seeing a drastic change compared to past years.
The prescribed practices are not just for physical health, but mental and spiritual health. I often felt that the social activities took away from the opportunity for people to work on themselves and grow. There were too many distractions of what to eat, wear, go, and eat again. Although it is nice to pray and engage in rituals communally, it is not possible this year as we are forced to face our most intimate selves in our own spaces. Many people have been decluttering their personal spaces. The ritual practices for the holy month were meant to clean out our internal spaces: our mental and spiritual selves.
In college and graduate school, I had the good fortune to study Islam in a new way, with Sufis. The emphasis was on spiritual growth, self-awareness and learning. I had to ask myself with every ritual I practiced, “Does this serve me?” I wanted to engage in behaviors that would help me learn and grow, not just go through the motions of something and feel empty inside. This would lead to guilt that I should have had a better experience of enlightenment when all I felt was lightheaded and hungry. I wanted to feed the ruh (soul) and not just be concerned about the nafs (body).
The deprivation of calories and water can quickly put us in an altered state of consciousness. Other things that can do this quickly are oxygen deprivation, sensory deprivation, and psychedelic substances. This can aid us to get closer to the Divine. When we engage in prayer and meditation practices, we go into an altered state of consciousness. A few deep breaths is all it takes to get us from being fully alert and awake with fast, rapid, beta waves in the brain, to the slower, alpha waves of concentration and contemplation. Pair prayers with fasting and one can go in and out of altered states very quickly, even spend a large part of the day in one.
One can do the traditional prayers at the designated times of day for salat (namaz). Additionally, utilizing the prayer beads, chanting, and sitting in meditation and contemplation are good spiritual healing practices. Contemporary practices such as journaling are wonderful to help with processing our thoughts and feelings, and building self-awareness.
Depending on the quality and dedication of practice, it can lead to amazing experiences, from a sense of peace and inner calm to feeling the intense presence of God. Seeming moments could last for hours. We could feel grounded to euphoric, centered yet floating through the universe. It can be healing, serene and energizing. We can come away with renewed faith and dedicated spiritual practices.
Other prescribed behaviors during Ramadan are practicing self-awareness. Learning how to observe one’s self by noting the nature of one’s thoughts, feelings and behaviors. This is how we get to know ourselves. We see what is happening internally, and its expression externally. We see what works for us and what does not. Only then can we train our brain and retrain ourselves to learn healthier behaviors. This is how you combat addiction, lose weight without gaining it back, and end bad habits long-term. In the field of mental health, using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), we coach our clients to do exactly this. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones, destructive behaviors with constructive behaviors. We are all human, and we are made to be human; flawed, limited, always struggling to be better.
The first meaning of Ramadan is the struggle within to be our best, possible selves. The month of Ramadan is meant to be a time of intensive work on ourselves. We are meant to take inventory of our thoughts and behaviors and do our best to launch a self-improvement campaign. We can exercise more self-awareness and spend time in reflection: about ourselves; our goals and dreams; what we are grateful for; what we wish for our future; what we wish for our loved ones. These are all wonderful practices utilized in numerous spiritual traditions. These are ways to give more room to the ruh for expression and go beyond the nafs.
We can read scripture, not just in the classic Arabic, but in the language that we speak as to understand it to the best of our ability. Knowledge is power and going through the holy book during this time is one thing but engaging in contemplation about its meanings and applications are deeper level is rewarding too. Reflecting on the life of the prophets, reviewing the teaching of Islam, reading various books on religion are helpful. The Qur’an is meant to be used as a holy book of guidance, not a religious relic. We can also practice giving to charity, community building, and creating harmony, putting into practice what we can do to make the world a better place.
To know one’s self is to know the Divine. Let’s get to know ourselves better, and by being a better person, we can all make the world a better place. Quarantine can be pristine, one person at a time. My prayer for everyone is to not grieve the loss of social gatherings but to utilize the opportunity to truly reflect, meditate and grow. This Ramadan is unlike any other, and that is not a bad thing.
(Sarah Astarte grew up in Sacramento, California, to Pakistani parents. She is a psychology professor and a counselor/life coach and a spiritual guide. She specializes in building self-esteem, healing trauma, diversity issues, and couples counseling. You can find her at innerfirecounselingservices.com )
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