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Is there honour in your friendships? 

Meaning… honesty, courage, loyalty, accountability, encouragement, authenticity, shared value…

Do you honour your friendship? 

Do you want the best for that person? 

Do you bring something valuable to the table in order to help that person in some way?

Do they do the same for you? 

Do you tell each other the truth, even when it’s hard?

Do you stand up for them, even when they’re not around, or do you gossip about them? 

Do you hold them to their word and inspire them to be better? 

Do they hold you to your word and ensure you follow through with what you say?

Do you create a safe space for one another to be authentic without judgement? 

These are all facets of honour. 

Analyse the relationships with those you spend most time with. 

“Is there a truth you’re holding back from them?” 

“Is there something you’re resenting that needs to be brought to the surface and worked through?” 

Be simple about it. 

Like a child. 

They are innocent. 

They say whatever they must. 

Do the same… but with the etiquette of an adult. 

Before you point the finger at others, consider how good of a friend you really are. 

I used to go round to a guy’s house just because I knew he had a lot of weed to smoke. 

Free weed would be provided as a bonus for spending time with him. 

Was I being a good friend? 

Of course not. 

I was simply using him as a way to satisfy my demons. 

May Allah forgive me for that time. 

Are you doing something similar? 

Embody honour and your social life with simplify. 

There will be no room for those who deplete your forces. 

And more importantly you will learn to see where you are in fact the one who sucks energy. 

Only those who preserve and mirror honour will be allowed in. 

If a relationship is dented and fractured through simple, honest, courageous communication…

It most likely was never strong in the first place. 

Take a good look at yourself and consider whether or not you embody honour. 

Clean up areas where it is lacking. 

Cut out the people pleasing. People deserve the real you…

One Love 

In the modern day there is a tension between wanting stability yet being afraid of commitment. 

Many of us experience this in relationship. 

We want marriage, we want a loving life partner yet at the same time we fear that we’re settling for something less than what’s out there.

What if there’s somebody better? 

What if I feel tied down and limited? 

Every commitment comes with a sacrifice. This is inevitable and better embraced than avoided. 

Trying to go through life without feeling the fear of missing out is like boxing and expecting not to get hit. 

You will definitely get hit… 

No matter how good you are. 

It is unavoidable. 

Such too is missing out… 

Consider the up-sides to commitment and making sacrifice. 

Yes… you may miss out on satisfying some base desires like having multiple partners or going wherever you want, whenever you want… 

But you will gain something far greater in value. 

Simplicity strikes again as the solution to our problems. 

You will gain deep intimacy and union with your complimentary opposite. 

The bringing of children into the world.

You will rise up to your role as parent, leader, king or queen in this world. 

That is incredibly fulfilling to the DNA. 

I suggest you accept that the internet has fooled you into believing it’s easy to have multiple romantic partners. 

The internet makes available images of women without their clothes on. 

Are we blinded so much by our lust that we actually believe such women to be adequate life partners?

If you were to honestly inquire into he characteristics of your ideal life partner…

The women you see on social media exposing themselves would fall incredibly undesirable.

In the real world, it is best to pursue marriage with one person. 

This is where greatest fulfilment is found. 

Accept that you can not have everything, all at once.

The anxiety of missing out roots in immaturity and the inability to accept that there may be no escape from what one has committed to.

Why would you want an escape? 

Surely it’s the abandon of escape that defines commitment in the first place. 

This applies not only in relationship but in business and overcoming personal challenges. 

You either do it or you do not. 

The middle ground between these two is often a miserable place to reside.

“Do or do not, there is no try” - Yoda

One God

I used to consider myself a person who identified as spiritual yet not religious. 

There will be no attempt to convince you of what to believe here.

All I wish to do is share my personal experience. 

On the spiritual path with no defined God, there I fell into a common trap.

The trap of disregarding the notion of right and wrong. 

In my experience, the spiritual practice of non-judgement, although very useful for cultivating inner peace became ungrounding. 

I had no foundation that clearly told me right from wrong. 

When there is no right or wrong, why not do drugs, binge eat, and fall into self destructive patterns of behaviour? 

Why not sleep with multiple women? Cheat on your partner, or quit everything now and abandon your responsibilities? 

The spiritual path teaches us that attachment is the root to suffering and that our desires are burdensome if we cling to them.

Sometimes suffering just isn’t enough to get us to stop doing something. 

From what I have learned thus far, I would define what is wrong as that which is depletes virtue. 

While the right choices are what strengthen our virtues. 

After a decade of yoga and meditation practice I found myself still missing something crucial. 

A foundation to place my beliefs upon. A firm grounding to keep me centred on Earth for as long as I am here. 

Until I re-discovered Islam I longed to blast off into higher dimensions of consciousness. 

I needed to have some majorly profound experience in order to believe in God. 

I begged for signs, dabbled a little in psychedelics and smoked a lot of weed. 

Still… I did not believe. 

I needed a sign more obvious. 

More psychedelics was my only thought solution. 

Until one day… when everything changed.

I was sat in my bedroom smoking weed, utterly depressed, lonely, confused and lacking purpose in life.

All of a sudden it felt the urge to speak the name “Muhammad”. 

When I did, tears streamed down my face and I felt as though my heart was softening. 

I had hardened up so much through pain and addictive behaviour. 

After this experience I decided to begin studying Islam from a rational minded place. 

No bias. No forceful belief. Objective, detached study. 

I began praying out loud, speaking to God and asking: 

“If you are there, please help me eradicate this addiction from my life. Guide me onto the straight path.” 

I fasted for 30 days during the holy month of Ramadan realising this was Islam’s built in anti-addiction protocol. 

I read the Qur’an from cover to cover. 

It was an incredibly deep experience. 

For through those sacred verses it became clear. 

“Those who have no knowledge also say, ‘If only God would speak to us!’ or ‘If only a miraculous sign would come to us!’ People before them said the same things: their hearts are all alike. We have made Our signs clear enough to those who have solid faith. - Qur’an (2:118)”

“We will show them Our signs in the universe and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that this ˹Quran˺ is the truth. Is it not enough that your Lord is a Witness over all things?” Qur’an (41:53)

I was and still am awe struck when reading these verses. 

“Is it not enough?” 

We are back to one of the key characteristics of simplicity. 

That it certainly is enough. 

That less is more. 

That it is not about how much one has but rather how one is inside.

That it is not about getting what we want but wanting what we get. 

That it is not about seeking out there but rather right here. 

There I was seeking faith through complexity. 

Craving vibrant visions, geometric patterns and incredibly serendipitous moments… 

When really… the evidence for God as supreme ruler is simple… 

It’s here… 

All around you. 

All within you. 

The very fact you’re reading this right now is a miracle. 

If you know me in person and we spend time with one another, how did our paths coincide? 

Is that not incredibly profound? 

That we met in the first place and now you’re reading this writing? 

The truth is simple. 

Religion is simple. 

Belief is simple. 

Once again, it is the mind, the ego that overcomplicates. 

I was once overly-intellectual about all matters. 

This is certainly a prison. 

For there is no end to one’s propositions. 

No end to the questions. 

And always a reason to disbelieve to the overly-intellectual mind.

Do not be mistaken, be a sceptic, question things before believing in them. 

Yet pursue the answers you seek from a simple mind.

For the questions and the answers come from the same place. 

The heart… not the head. 

The truth is simple… 

In islam there are no Gods. 

The word God is flawed because it can merely be made plural with the addition of the letter s. 

Through one letter we moved from monotheism to polytheism. 

In islam we say Allah for there has never been an attempt to make it plural. 

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There is no Allahs… Only Allah, only One. 

It is the same Creator we are all praying towards in the monotheistic religion. 

There is no God of The Bible or God of The Qur’an. 

Only One…

“There is no god but God” - Allah

“So know, [O Muḥammad], that there is no deity except Allāh and ask forgiveness for your sins and for the believing men and believing women. And Allāh knows of your movement and your resting place.” Qur’an (47:19)

From the bible: 

“I am the Lord, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; (Isaiah 45:5)

Being Present

Human beings today are more complicated than ever. 

We have made happiness, peace, love, friendship, work, meaning, fulfilment, health and whatever else overcomplicated.

After over a decade of meditation practice I can honestly say that meditation is the key to finding peace in life. 

It is not the only ingredient one needs, but it is crucial. 

Without meditation you’re tricked in every moment to believe that you are the voice in your head. 

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You can read my series on Mastering Meditation here.

You are not your thoughts, you are the observer, the awareness behind them. 

Without a meditation practice this goes no further than an intellectual concept… which is useless.

Cease the sport of mental masturbation and seek the direct experience itself. 

It is in this that one is liberated from the illusions of the mind. 

The illusions of always needing more to feel happy and fulfilled.

Of this moment never being good enough. 

Certainly we must pay our dues. 

This is fundamental. Know your role and play it. 

Yet know that no new, shiny object will satisfy your craving for more. 

At least not for long. 

No lustful pursuit that promises to be the last will be the last…

If you’re operating from a place of mind-identification. 

That is…. Believing you are the voices in your head.

These voices can be referred to as the ego. 

It is necessary, yet serves better as a tool and not a master. 

Meditation is the practice of being present as awareness, not as the ego. 

It means to bring oneself into this very moment and to perceive through the senses without casting judgements and labels about what is being perceived. 

It is to simply be… here and now. 

That is what most of us are yearning for. 

Once we have fulfilled our duties and accomplished a hard days work, we want to relax and just be. 

For so many this is not possible… 

The mind must be trained. Meditation is not for the weak. 

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 It requires from one the courage to be simple. 

The courage not to rely on thinking in order to feel secure. 

The courage to cease pursuing stimulation and sensory pleasures as distraction from one’s inner-scape. 

Although the ego may fear being still and present, the other side is blissful. 

One needs not much in order to feel satisfied. 

One sees colours with more vibrancy, hears sounds more clearly, and feels a sense of appreciation for…the simple things. 

Simplicity is therefore not just a virtue of character. 

It is a sign of one’s spirit. 

Simplicity points unobviously to a courageous heart. 

One that is willing to let a craving arise and pass away without impulsively fulfilling it. 

One that looks not for escape but rather means to strengthen one’s character instead.

Simplify yourself by learning to experience the present moment through meditative practice. 

Become incredibly familiar with the sense of being the awareness behind your thoughts, being not the thoughts themselves. 

Be present in as much of your life as possible. 

You will desire less, require less and feel satisfied with simpler things. 

You will break free from the illusion of consistently needing more. 

For you will realise that it was never you that needed more. 

It was never you that hoarded objects. 

It was never you that lustfully craved… 

It was The Ego…

The Lower Nature we are all born with for the purpose of testing character.

To lead us into miserable complexity and inspire us back to serene simplicity. 

Find What Works… Not What’s Most Impressive.

I recently transformed my lifestyle by reigniting my love for a solid, nourishing morning routine. 

Before this I was waking up at any odd time, unsure how to go about my day…

The morning routine has been a personal game changer. 

But know this… it didn’t come without friction. 

Initially I began attempting to wake up early, which for me was around 6am. 

This ended in miserable failure, for it was too great of a leap to begin with, considering my average waking time was around 8:30pm. 

Then I tried subtracting 15 minutes from my waking time each day… 

This failed also, for 15 minutes also felt too great and would compound rapidly. 

In just 4 days I would be waking up one hour earlier. 

Nothing was working… 

When I began subtracting 5 minutes from my waking time every morning, that’s when I started to see clear results. 

6am became my regular, natural waking time over the course of a few weeks.

This was incredibly effective. 

5 minutes doesn’t seem like a lot, but in less than 2 weeks you’re waking up an hour earlier than you started. 

2 weeks pass rapidly.

The optimal approach for waking up, eating meals, working out, working in, going to bed on time  and installing other positive habits it…

To do that which you could do every day for the rest of your life. 

Simplicity works. Over-complicating things often creates more problems. 

Simplicity calls for humility. 

Let the self image go. 

Be willing to do what is unimpressive, knowing you’re building new habits gradually, not intensely. 

Let go the pursuit of external validation.

Simply do what works… not what you think will impress others. 

This is a principle I believe so many of us could benefit from if installed into life. 

Especially those of us who are in our 20s and 30s. 

Consistency is far more important than intensity. 

There’s no value in waking up at 6am one day if the next day your’e up at 8:30am. 

There’s no value in training so intensely in the gym one day if it means you’ll be crippled for the rest of the week. 

Start small and focus on consistency while maintaining an intensity that can be kept up every day (or as many times per week as necessary) for the rest of your life. 

Test out greater intensity when things begin to feel too easy or boring. 

Listen to the feedback. 

If you’re consistently inconsistent… it is important that you reconsider your approach. 

Regularity in sleep is far more important than duration of sleep. 

Putting in 1-3 hours of meaningful work on my business each morning yields more reward than expecting 8+ hours of solid focus and living like a hermit. 

Whether it be working out, running, training martial arts, writing, creating videos, music, planning your meals, or developing a new skill…

Apply this principle and witness the life transforming effects. 

Do what works… not what is most impressive. 

Be A Traveller, A Stranger

In my early 20s I spend over 2 years travelling solo around Europe with nothing but a backpack containing essentials, a tent and a sleeping bag.

From place to place I would hitch-hike, never paying for food, accommodation, nor transport. 

Through local language I would ask for food from markets, the owners would give me that which they were not happy to sell. 

Instead of making excuses like “I can’t afford to travel” I decided to maximise what I had at the time. 

With £700 I exercised resourcefulness and simplicity, stretching my funds for over 2 years.

Oh how generous I learned the world to be. 

Each and every night I would sleep in a new location. 

Pitching my tent and packing it back up come the morning. 

Some nights were freezing, others were sleepless due to pestering mosquitos… 

Yet this was one of the simplest times in my life. 

This pilgrimage did not end all well. 

It was not all sunshine and rainbows as one might expect travelling to be.

For after living such a life I realised that there was little purpose in fleeting from one country to the next. 

I was here to do greater things. To give back, to teach others what I had learned and to have a positive impact. 

Regardless of this, living as a nomad taught me much about the way of the simple. 

One need not carry more than one needs. 

Things come and go. 

What you need will present itself to you soon enough. 

Grow not attached to neither place nor person. 

Let all things pass as travellers too. 

I now understand why The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“Glad tidings be to the strangers” 

Those who walk the path of this life knowing we are but travellers. 

Here for a while, soon to depart. 

That all things come and go. 

That no thing is infinite but God, and that all creation will meet its end. 

The traveller walks with detachment. 

Pitching up and re-packing day by day. 

Trusting that The Lord will provide what is needed and that one’s belly will not rumble in emptiness.

There is an islamic Hadith that puts this perfectly: 

'Umar said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: 'If you were to rely upon Allah with the reliance He is due, you would be given provision like the birds: They go out hungry in the morning and come back with full bellies in the evening.”

This is how I lived for 2 years. 

My only concerns were where I would sleep, where I would next find water and where my next food would come from. 

Do not be mistaken, fear was present on most days…

Yet a traveller must live in surrender.

It is in our over-domestication that we have grown complex and riddled with worries unnecessary. 

Comfort soon becomes incredibly uncomfortable. 

Homes turn to prisons and act as storehouses for one’s possessions. 

In time all will fade away. 

So be like a traveller, a stranger…

Move when you must. 

Go where you must. 

Change when you must. 

Be not attached to any version of yourself. 

To any behaviour, place, person or thing… 

Live with detachment from this world. 

And investment in the ever-lasting. 

To Conclude

One of the greatest things we can do for our health, happiness and fulfilment is to simplify ourselves. 

Nutrition, health and exercise can be simple.

Making use of technology can be simple too. 

Consume only what is necessary. 

Know your priority and do only that which moves you towards it. 

Relationships need not be complex neither. 

Preserve honour over all things. 

Do what works, not just what others are impressed by. 

It is in small, gradual, daily improvement that one transforms for the better.

I wish you well and give you thanks for reading this far.

Use what you have learned to live a simpler, more fulfilling, enjoyable and interesting life.

As the world grows ever-complex…

Walk as one who is simple.

Leading others through example.

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And if this was any way useful to you, take a moment to share it with somebody it might help. 

Until next time. 

Stay sharp. 

Usman