Shifaa Integrative Counseling
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Payment
  • Blog

New Publication: Islam & Star Wars

7/15/2022

 
Picture
Dr Abdallah has a new publication released this month. Chapter 5 of the edited volume Theology and the Star Wars Universe, published by Rowman & Littlefield.

Dr Abdallah's chapter is titled "From Padawan to Jedi: The theological premise for the necessity of the master-apprentice relationship in the path of spiritual ascension". It explores the shaykh-murid relationship using the story of Musa and Al-Khidr from surah Al-Khaf in the Quran, and provides an in-depth analysis of the psychological dynamics of self growth as exemplified in the character arcs of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader in the popular Star Wars films. A fascinating read and unique perspective on a very real and relevant topic.
Buy the Book
Read the Chapter

Journey of the Soul

4/5/2022

 
Throughout the month of Ramadan Dr. Abdallah is doing a weekly series of short talks as part of the "Afternoon Anchors" series for Cambridge Muslim College's Ramadan program: Building an Ark. Each talk focuses on the Qur'anic themes of travel and journeying and gives practical insight into how to deepen our psycho-spiritual development throughout the month to work toward maximizing our potential. 
Subscribe to the youtube channel to be notified when these and other great daily talks are released live daily throughout Ramadan.

Boundaries

10/15/2021

 
As part of the Heartcentric Checkin hosted by Wasat, Dr. Abdallah Rothman speaks about the dynamics and importance of establishing boundaries within oneself in life and relationships. 
Picture
Picture

Powerful Parenting: Self Care

6/3/2021

 
Our lives are incredibly busy. Maybe even chaotic. Between taking care of our children, schoolwork, working from home, even homeschooling, maintaining the household, connecting with family - and everything in between - the burnout is inevitable. Oftentimes, taking care of yourself is a distant afterthought. But how do we find the power in parenthood if our power reserve is running on empty? What can parents do to realize the importance of self care in our everyday life? How does Islam promote self care? Dr. Abdallah Rothman joined Noor Kids' 'Powerful Parenting Speaker Series' to discuss:
- What is self care?
- How has the idea of self care evolved in today’s world?
- What does Islam say about self care?
- Self care as ibadah and as self love
- How can parents begin to prioritize self care?
- 3 practical steps to self care

Cultivating the Soul

4/21/2021

 
Throughout the month of Ramadan Dr. Abdallah is doing a weekly series of short talks as part of the "Midday Meditations" series for Cambridge Muslim College's Ramadan Live program. Each talk focuses on the Qur'anic themes of nature and agriculture and gives practical insight into how to deepen our psycho-spiritual development throughout the month to work toward maximizing our potential. 
Subscribe to the youtube channel to be notified when these and other great daily talks are released live daily throughout Ramadan.

Transactional vs. Transformational

4/17/2021

 
Dr. Abdallah talks about the importance of psycho-spiritual introspection in one's orientation to the practice of Islam and how religious obligations should be transformational rather than simply transactional. If we look to avoid difficulty or hardship and attempt to overlook our inner state, we can fall into 'spiritual bypassing', where we use belief and ritual as a replacement for doing the inner reflection and hard work of healing our hearts. Islam requires us to do both, and if we orient ourselves to the practice of the religion in this way, the obligatory acts of worship and remembrance can and should become transformational.

A Ramadan in Retreat: Psychological/Spiritual Wellness in Isolation

5/1/2020

 
Dr. Abdallah Rothman joined Baraka Blue once again on his Path & Present podcast, this time to discuss the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on our mental health and wellbeing, and the challenges and opportunities that isolation affords. They discuss the notion of retreat in light of the month of Ramadan coinciding with many people's current status with stay at home orders, and how people can adapt to the situation, cope, and use this as an opportunity for growth.
Path & Present Podcast · A Ramadan in Retreat: Psychological/Spiritual Wellness & Growth in Isolation w/ Dr. Abdallah Rothman

What Islam Offers to Modern Self Help: An Islamic Paradigm of Psychology

2/6/2020

 
Picture
The human being is body, mind, heart, and spirit. Often times, the self-help industry ignores this truism which brings about hidden, often unintentional misguidance that can lead to spiritual crisis, or worse, distance from our connection with God.

In this thought-provoking article, Dr. Abdallah Rothman shares powerful points including:
  • The forgotten rich tradition of 'ilm an nafs' (knowledge of the soul) inherent in Islam.
  • What does it mean to change oneself and how does one do this?
  • An Islamic perspective of the self as an integrated human being
  • Fitrah: The soul’s true identity
  • The structure of the soul (along with a visual infographic of the soul)
  • Understanding self-development as the development of the soul
Read the full article

Heartfulness

6/28/2019

 
Picture
It is clear that there is a growing trend of mindfulness extending beyond spiritual communities and into mainstream culture. How do we understand mindfulness from within the Islamic tradition? Is there a place for it in Islam? Is there an Islamic version of mindfulness?
​
Listen to the audio or read the text below:
At first when you hear this term "mindful" you think 'full of mind'. The last thing we need is to be more in our minds. We're already so locked into this thinking consciousness where we define ourselves by our thoughts. You could think "well, I don't want to be 'full of mind' I'm already stuck in my thoughts." But really mindfulness is about being conscious. It's about slowing down. It's a contemplative way of being. It's not really about being more connected to thoughts in the sense of identifying with the mind. It's not necessarily about thinking, but meta-thinking: thinking about thinking. It's slowing down and being conscious of what you think and what you do. The core of mindfulness is about being present. And this concept of being present is absolutely an Islamic principle. It's something that we find in the Islamic tradition and is a key factor in everything from ibadah (worship) to akhlaq (manners). Presence is indeed a very islamic principle.

However, this term mindfulness can tend to shift our awareness from the reality of the self, which is a much more holistic picture than what we have come to conceive of as ourselves in contemporary times. To a certain extent the entire modern world has been influenced by the Cartesian assertion, "I think therefore I am". It's taken root in society where people over identify with their thoughts. So that people's entire notion of self is about what and how they think and everything related to the self is based in the mind. And this in particular is really not an Islamic concept.

Read More

Sufism & Psychology: An Islamic Model of Spiritual Development

5/25/2019

 
Picture
Abdallah Rothman joins Baraka Blue on his podcast "Path and Present" to discuss Islam, psychology, human nature and psycho-spiritual development.


​click the play button below to listen or visit the path & present page
<<Previous

    RSS Feed

    Author

    Abdallah Rothman

    Categories

    All
    Announcements
    Coffee
    Courses
    Education
    Events
    Islamic Psychology
    Mental Health
    Mindfulness
    Parenting
    Podcasts
    Publications
    Relationships
    Research
    Self Growth
    Spirituality
    Star Wars
    Videos
    Youth

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    June 2017
    September 2016
    October 2015
    September 2014
    July 2013
    June 2012

Copyright © 2021 Shifaa Integrative Counseling
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Payment
  • Blog