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As muslims, we pray 5 times a day. This is an obligation in the religion of Islam.

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Too many times did I catch myself robotically going through the motions, mindlessly reciting verses from the Qur’an and forgetting how much of my prayer remained.

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It’s embarrassing forgetting where you’re up to in the middle of your prayer, especially when standing in the mosque.

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“what if someone notices me praying incorrectly?” frustration isn’t the only feeling that follows poor concentration, it can also lead to shame and guilt.

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For those of us with religious backgrounds, we’re taught to pray but we’re not taught how to concentrate and be present. This is not right.

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The more I became aware of this problem the more I began to see it all over my life.

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I struggled to listen to others when they were speaking to me.

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In school my mind would often drift off into daydreams, the teacher would ask me a question and I would then have to shamefully make up an answer, risking getting laughed at by the entire class.

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I’d often leave my school-bag, phone or keys on the bus or in some forgotten location, dreadfully trying to find them in fear of how my parents would react if they found out.

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If you relate to any of what i’ve shared so far, me and you are surely alike.

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I want you to know that you can improve. That you don’t need to damn yourself to labels like ADHD and live as a slave to your own self-doubts and limitations.

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That’s what most people do, but I know you’re not like most people, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this letter.

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Just like me, you can turn your situation around.

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You can get to the point where your focus and concentration are sharper than 90% of the people on Earth.

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That’s not an exaggeration…

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How exactly?

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Hard work is the vague answer.

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But i’m not here to keep things obscure and sell you false promises. That would be immoral.

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Before I tell you, the advice i’m about to share with you is what worked for me.

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Are these the only ways to increase your concentration, go deeper in your prayers, become a better listener, level up your memory and read books without drifting away every 2 seconds?

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No…

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But if they worked for me and you’ve related to my story then the chances of learning something valuable here are high enough for it to be worth carrying on reading.

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Components of A Successful Meditation Practice

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If you don’t already have a regular meditation practice, you’re committing a crime against yourself.

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Today’s world is so chaotic, attention grabbing and ultra-stimulating that it is no longer a luxury to train your mind, it is a necessity.

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We’ll dive into this more over time but here’s what turns meditation from some frustrating, mystical, boring task you’re not even sure if you’re doing correctly - into a portal for rapid peace, presence of mind and unwavering focus.

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Action Step: Learn more about how I can teach you simple, effective, non-religious meditation so you can max out your focus and regain inner peace, without going against any of your beliefs. (Link here) 

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The Perfect Compliment To Meditation

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What is it?

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I’ve already given you a clue above.

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This is something I stopped doing once I began meditating at the age of 18.

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I thought I had found all of the answers to life within me via meditation and regretfully fell into spiritual arrogance.

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I believed that I didn’t need to call upon anyone or any-thing outside of me for help or assistance in life.

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Although in the beginning this was liberating, but over time it lead to many problems.

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The practice I’m talking about here is attentive prayer.

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Note the word attentive here. 

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In religious practice we tend to miss the point and fall into pattern of robotic, mechanical praying that lacks meaning and depth.

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There is still benefit to doing this, sure, however it is worlds less than praying sincerely from the heart.

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When I was at absolute rock bottom, addicted to weed, smoking from morning until night and trying to binge eat my pain away I cried out to Allah in a moment of desperation.

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I asked for help, sincerely from my heart. 

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I wanted to be free from such addictions and I truly felt as though I couldn’t control my behaviour.

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My prayers were answered, the story is long so I won’t tell it here but let’s just say I’m in a completely different position now. 

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All praise and thanks be to Allah (God, The Universe, whatever name you wish to give to the creator).

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Action Step: Get into the habit of speaking to God. If you don’t believe in God, but want to, ask for signs so that you will believe sincerely.

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Do it out loud. It makes all the difference. Just have a conversation with the force that created all creation. The name you give it doesn’t really matter.

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If you doubt the existence of God, speak out and say “if you’re real, show me”

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Then keep your eyes peeled, for the signs will surely come your way. The question is whether or not you will heed them or turn a blind eye.

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The Most Effective Tool I’ve Found

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It’s all well and good trying to meditate or pray, but what if your mind is so hyper-active that these things don’t help at all and rather leave you feeling more frustrated?

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Firstly I would say if that’s the case, you’re missing the point of meditation.

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Secondly, move more.

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The first time I felt a sense of peace from my ever-racing, overthinking mind was to my own surprise while doing Yoga.

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I can assure you, before my first Yoga practice I felt utterly uninterested.

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“Yoga is for women. Yoga is gay” I honestly believed so, and that there was nothing of benefit for me to gain in doing it.

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How wrong I was…

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Discovering the combination of both movement and meditation changed the course of my life forever.

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Not only did I find benefit in practicing meditation in isolation, I benefited even more by laying flat on my back in Savasana (corpse pose) at the end of an intense Yoga session, entering a deep, meditative state like no other.

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Movement and meditation are perfect partners.

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Why?

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Movement exercises energy from the body, and if done intense enough leads to exhaustion.

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These are the perfect pre-conditions for deep meditation.

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Laying flat on the back, exhausted and heavy-bodied, there remains very little energy available for waste via the usual channel of useless thought.

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Overthinking and hyper-activity in the mind are often due to excess, unspent energy in the body.

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One is more able to relax deeply into the present moment after intense movement.

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Action Step: Get into the habit of meditating immediately after intense exercise. Train to the point of exhaustion, then either sit with your back against the wall or lay flat on your back.

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I highly recommend using this particular meditation after your workouts/ yoga sessions.

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This is the practice I used for my first year of meditation. It is more than enough for a lifetime.

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If you’re interested in developing a regular yoga practice at home, check out the 5 element yoga system. More info here

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It’s a non-religious, scientific, beginner-friendly approach to getting the life-changing benefits of yoga that continue to improve my life each day.

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A Scattered Mind Is A Miserable Mind

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Have you ever noticed how quiet your mind becomes when you’re fully immersed in a particular activity? 

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Whatever it might be. Training in the gym, running outside, playing a sport, climbing, hiking, writing, reading, singing, acting, creating music, listening to music… the list goes on…

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Sometimes we get so enmeshed in the activity we’re doing it is as though we dissolve into it.

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We become fully present, in utter flow. This is called The Flow State.

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There’s a science to mastering the flow state. We will talk about that in later issues of this letter.

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For now, all I wish for you to understand is that the flow state is another way to maximise focus, concentration and inner peace.

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This is why people say “the gym is my meditation” or “running is my meditation”.

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They don’t realise but they’re entering a flow state.

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The fact that you both love and fear doing the thing is a good sign.

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In fact, desire and fear are the perfect signal for the direction in life that will most serve you (most of the time).

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Why?

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Because you love the thing enough to fear not succeeding.

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You have curiosity, and also a desire to do well.

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The pressure that comes with the fear of failure can either scare you away or get you into a deep state of flow.

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Action Step: Take some time to reflect and write down the task(s) you both love and fear facing up to. It’s likely this is the direction you must go in for maximum fulfilment.

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To help yourself in getting into the habit of showing up daily, start with setting a timer for 15 minutes, each day increase the timer by 5 minutes until you eventually hit 90.

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There’s no rush. Increase gradually and remember to eliminate outside distractions like using your phone or eating snacks while you do the activity.

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More on this in a later letter.

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Summary

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A scattered mind is an unhappy, miserable mind.

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The world has enough chaos in it today.

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We need more individuals like you. People who are willing to put in the work required for a stable, focused and sharp mind.

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Why?

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Because sharp minds improve the world.

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Scattered minds cause drama and pain.

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If you’ve read all the way until this point, you’re one of the chosen few.

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Before you go, here are some things that could dramatically change your life for the better.

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Alpha Mind - Learn more about my minimalist meditation program that blowing minds daily (click here)

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The Unchained Method - If you struggle with addictive and self-destructive behaviour and are ready to break free and win back your self-respect then book a free 60 minute call with me and let’s talk. (Book your free 60 minute consultation here)

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5 Element Yoga System - The first time I got into a flow state was in Yoga. Not only has it given me incredible peace, it’s allowed to me to connect deeply with my body. (Learn more here)

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Free Stuff:

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The Mastery Letter: If you’re not yet signed up to this newsletter sign up here to have your mind blown weekly. I share deep dives into holistic health, self mastery and online business. (Sign up here)

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Habit Tracker: Download you free self accountability system. Track your habits and stay consistent in positive behaviours. (Download here)

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There's surely a lot you can benefit from here.

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However if you prefer not to check out any of the links, that's fine.

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Thank you most of all for reading all the way to the end. It means a lot.

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As always...

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Stay Sharp

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@usman_unchained

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