Jinn Exorcism

One of the most popular topics of discussion amongst Muslims young and old are Jinn stories.  A lot of us have heard all sorts of interesting things about Jinn, and accounts of people possessed by Jinn, but few ever really experience a true Jinn encounter, or have any knowledge of what to expect.

Rest assured, the internet revolution is even breaking down THAT barrier.  Here’s a video for those wondering what it looks like:

Jinn Exorcism Video

Side note:  One thing we all love to see is the conversion of some brother or sister to Islam.  Ever seen a Jinn convert?  Well, here you go, a two-fer – an exorcism AND a conversion are in the above video.

Why Israel is Losing

I recently was sent out an article written by Dr. Ashraf Isma’il, one of our AlMaghrib instructors, about the current “conflagration” between Hizbollah and Israel.  Counterpunch’s version of the article is editted and pared down (just a little), whereas the one I have, I’m told, is the uncut version, so here you go:

Why Israel is Losing

The Passion Test (part 1)

So last night, my wife had me go with her and our daughter to the local library.  I really didn’t spend too much time looking for books, but on the way out, I picked up a book called The Passion Test.  No, it’s not a book on re-igniting your marriage, or anything related to that.

It’s actually about helping you find and do in your life what you’re passionate about.  The book is interesting in that it doesn’t start with goals – it’s starts with your state of being.  In what state of being, or doing, are you in when you’re at your happiest?  The passion test starts with this premise in mind and asks you to do the same.

I’ve finished reading the first 3 chapters, and a lot of it is just plain filler.  Mostly the story of the life of one of the authors (Jane Attwood) which, quite honestly, I could do without.  I’m sure others would like it, but I’m not one of those.  Anyway, the “test” itself is intriguing, and I liked that.  I thought I’d just summarize it here, and let you try it out on yourself:

1. Think of 10 things you’d like to be doing or being right now.  No limits.  Want to be a billionaire?  Fine, write it down as, “In my ideal world, I am a billionaire.”  Just like that.  Do not shortchange yourself because you don’t think it could happen.  Write it down.
2. Do not write GOALS.  What’s the difference between a goal and a passion?  A goal is a concrete marker, or milestone.  A goal would be, “I’d like to make $1 billion” or “I’d like to achieve 10% bodyfat” (goal) vs “Being in peak physical conditioning.” (Passion)
3. Now, re-order them according to priority.  Look at the first item your wrote, and the second.  If you could only have one or the other, not both (pretend having one means not having the other, even if having one would imply you could easily have the other), which would you choose?  Take that outcome, and then moving on to the next item you listed.  So imagine you have item 1 and item 2.  Item 2 is more to you, so you take item 2 and compare it to item 3.  Still like item 2?  Move on to item 4.  Now you like item 4 better?  Keep going down the list until you’ve really thought about it and compared them all.  Once you get to the bottom, put the item you are most passionate about at the top of a new list.  Then go back to the top of the original list and start again.
4. Make sure you do this each time.  Do the comparison for each item.  Don’t assume that, “Oh that one is definitely the best on the list, I don’t need to make any comparisons.”  The author warns against this, and I can confirm you’ll be surprised at what comes out on top in some cases.  Items you thought meant less than others might actually mean more.
5. Finally, when writing your list and making your comparisons, DON’T think about what others think of your list, or what you think it should be, and don’t do this with anyone around.  Do what you think would make you happiest.  That’s it.

In part 2, I’ll share my list and show you how it started initially and how it eventually ended up.  Give it a whirl and see what you come up with.

George W. Bush’s transformation / mental degeneration

Alright, so I’m not what one would call a Republican.  At best, you might call me a social conservative (anti-gay marriage, well, anti-gay anything, pro-life [except for women who were raped, or the mother's life is in danger]), and to a certain extent, a fiscal conservative (I like tax cuts, but not so much when there’s no money to fund it, I like welfare for the poor, but only to a point).

Still, I don’t like George Bush Sr or Jr.  Hate ‘em both.  I think they’re a bunch of looney bins who do not have the best interests of the people in mind.  In particular for Dubya Jr, I not only think he’s looney, I think he’s a flaming moron.

So imagine my surprise when I watched a video of GWB from 10 years ago in a debate for the state governor’s position in which he sounds intelligent and confident.  I came across this video on youtube.com, and could not believe this was the same GWB that is currently in office.

GWB – Then and Now video

If anything, this contrasting of his two performances should scare the hell out of anyone already questioning his mental faculties.

Part time job

So the past few days I’ve been giving thought to taking on a part time job.  I applied at UPS and was able to get in for a tour of the facility.  The long and short of it is, UPS offers amazing benefits for people who are working part time.  The bad is that you will work your rear end off while loading boxes.  I personally hope that if I do decide to take a job (and they offer it), that I can handle it.

Interestingly, they only promote from within – no one can come from outside with an advanced degree and start somewhere at the top of the corporate ladder.  Every single person has to start by first moving boxes – every single person has to have been at the lowest level before climbing higher.  Even the CEO moved boxes before being CEO.  I think that’s a very interesting philosophy by which to run a business, and it seems to work quite well for UPS.  It’s something I haven’t seen in other books on leadership, surprisingly.

In any event, I hope I can use the extra income to pay off all debts faster and get myself into good shape at the same time.  I saw the other loaders working, and the job is pretty intense, but do-able.