A journey for the mind

Just a few days to the holy month of Ramadhan and the preparations are in full swing.

With all the goodness of spirituality it is a time when one can go inward and truly understand one’s personal journey. An immense opportunity one is blessed with each year and aiding the whole process is fasting for the whole month only to be broken when the sun is away. So unlike the rest of the months when days are valued as per calendar at each sunrise. Indicating the prominence of Lunar Calendar are the motifs that can be seen everywhere of the crescent and the star after all it is the crescent that announces the arrival of the holy month.

The announcement of the sighting is followed by the billions of greetings that will be exchanged throughout the globe in person and through the digital world. The beauty of Ramadhan in addition to prayers and fasting is that remembering others is also in focus.

Dr Hamed al Sinawi, Senior Psychiatrist, speaking on Oman Observer podcast - GreenMent said Muslims look forward to these 29 or 30 days every year because it brings in changes in lifestyle in general. Most people enjoy the social aspect of the month as well. He explained that it brings in meetings of family and friends but also about being kind and one aspect of fasting is that you develop an understanding toward the people who have little. People tend to give more, pray and reflect on one’s own behaviour. According to Dr Hamed this is one of the opportunities in Ramadhan, reflect on oneself and initiate changes.

However, there is a challenge Dr Hamed pointed out - can this new you or I be sustained?

How many times do we list out the changes we want in life and in our personality and life in general only to go back to where we were and reach status quo.

There are other challenges one goes through especially if you consume coffee on a regular basis, next week will be almost an obstacle race initially and then the patience and will power will take over. But the challenge is to keep all the good habits that we gain.

Purity of mind is what is aimed in this experience where intentions are pure.

We need to spend quite sometime with ourselves to understand our own intentions and motives. A lot of time what is good for us may not be good for others, well most of the time.

Does this mean we give up for others benefits?

This is the era of entrepreneurship and individualism. In the past finding a job was the ultimate journey, but today learning is a continuous journey. We must adapt and grow with the changes and development.

Changes are one thing that is guaranteed. Proof of that is the discovery of 900 archaeological sites in the Wilayat of Duqm by the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones (OPAZ), in cooperation with the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism and the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

It might be that the area has been earmarked for development in recent years but communities existed in this very area. What is being excavated in some areas even goes back to Iron Age.

So there were people before us who gained lessons of their own. And the Stone Age tools found gives us impression of the years when the people of that period lived. Today our tools are sophisticated with Artificial Intelligence. But the challenges of our minds and theirs might be similar- especially with emotions.