The Qalb is the heart. We use our minds to think but the Qalb can be used to assist it; and what a mighty assistance it is! Alhamdollilah!
Main Article:
The mind reasons, uses logic and grasps a new idea whenever it comes across one. It can also organize information and connect to previous knowledge we have so that one can make sense of it all. Thus the mind can be thought of as a unique tool that's very good at processing information and retaining knowledge.
This ability and power to process as reasoning engines is something that will Inshallah one day be matched by Grand computer softwares that can think it all. In specific domains such as chess there is already software that can out-think the best human players! [Remember: Chess is a game of the mind]
Our hearts on the other hand use a slightly different faculty to sense or [make sense of things]. They do so by 'feeling'; which is a non-thinking faculty that humans posses. Thus we know in our heart of hearts that peace is superior to war, which reason might calculate forever but our feeling & capability to empathize QUALITATIVELY with the loss involved would tell us it can't be any other way; And this is a processing computers can't do for they cannot feel.
[Even humans with closed hearts would surely prefer to debate over this endlessly thus generating a QUANTITATIVE by-product of the reasoning mind; which in itself is useless as far as 'acknowledging' the principle is concerned]
So the heart and mind each process differently; and both faculties which are independent must be used in complementarity to each other as we do our left and right hands to completely grip onto the matter at hand. So let's delve into this a little deeper and see how we can use them well.
The Interaction Between Them
Now the processing by our hearts is churned out as intuition.
Whereas the processing by our minds is reasoning.
Interestingly intuition leads reasoning! Let's see through an example:
The words I say during ordinary unprepared speech comes through intuition. Which is also how ideas for a formal speech could come! Once however the ideas have come; say I jot them down on paper I would then re-arrange, organize and sculpture them for eloquence using my reasoning. Hence, what came to me first as intuition was taken to the mind and consumed by it.
So when our hearts are at harmony: they sense -> churn out some intuition -> that is sent to the mind -> which through its ability to reason understand this intuition and spells it out->so you have a firm grip on the matter present before.
And that's how poetry happens; comes to life! for whatever you feel is put across by the heart and interpreted and given language by the mind.
Using the Heart
Section A
When we bring our attention to the present moment we engage it by coming out of whatever perpetual day dream we are otherwise a victim of.
To engage the moment is a matter of engaging the issue at hand in a way that we are able to use our hearts to sense around it.
Thus we are in a position to untangle the issue as one would a ball of wire.
We do this by discovering the complex of feelings we posses about the issue and untangle these feelings one at a time. Each time we untangle a feeling it is replaced by an answer that arrives by intuition.
Using the Heart
Section B
If we are willing to accept this answer, [which might at times be challenging for we will have to be open/vulnerable to whatever answer comes to us] our consciousness will rise.
If we aren't brave enough to acknowledge and accept this answer [when it is about a difficult matter] we return to the old status quo and the disturbance remains within - (locked up).
Main Article:
The mind reasons, uses logic and grasps a new idea whenever it comes across one. It can also organize information and connect to previous knowledge we have so that one can make sense of it all. Thus the mind can be thought of as a unique tool that's very good at processing information and retaining knowledge.
This ability and power to process as reasoning engines is something that will Inshallah one day be matched by Grand computer softwares that can think it all. In specific domains such as chess there is already software that can out-think the best human players! [Remember: Chess is a game of the mind]
Our hearts on the other hand use a slightly different faculty to sense or [make sense of things]. They do so by 'feeling'; which is a non-thinking faculty that humans posses. Thus we know in our heart of hearts that peace is superior to war, which reason might calculate forever but our feeling & capability to empathize QUALITATIVELY with the loss involved would tell us it can't be any other way; And this is a processing computers can't do for they cannot feel.
[Even humans with closed hearts would surely prefer to debate over this endlessly thus generating a QUANTITATIVE by-product of the reasoning mind; which in itself is useless as far as 'acknowledging' the principle is concerned]
So the heart and mind each process differently; and both faculties which are independent must be used in complementarity to each other as we do our left and right hands to completely grip onto the matter at hand. So let's delve into this a little deeper and see how we can use them well.
The Interaction Between Them
Now the processing by our hearts is churned out as intuition.
Whereas the processing by our minds is reasoning.
Interestingly intuition leads reasoning! Let's see through an example:
The words I say during ordinary unprepared speech comes through intuition. Which is also how ideas for a formal speech could come! Once however the ideas have come; say I jot them down on paper I would then re-arrange, organize and sculpture them for eloquence using my reasoning. Hence, what came to me first as intuition was taken to the mind and consumed by it.
So when our hearts are at harmony: they sense -> churn out some intuition -> that is sent to the mind -> which through its ability to reason understand this intuition and spells it out->so you have a firm grip on the matter present before.
And that's how poetry happens; comes to life! for whatever you feel is put across by the heart and interpreted and given language by the mind.
Using the Heart
Section A
When we bring our attention to the present moment we engage it by coming out of whatever perpetual day dream we are otherwise a victim of.
To engage the moment is a matter of engaging the issue at hand in a way that we are able to use our hearts to sense around it.
Thus we are in a position to untangle the issue as one would a ball of wire.
We do this by discovering the complex of feelings we posses about the issue and untangle these feelings one at a time. Each time we untangle a feeling it is replaced by an answer that arrives by intuition.
Using the Heart
Section B
If we are willing to accept this answer, [which might at times be challenging for we will have to be open/vulnerable to whatever answer comes to us] our consciousness will rise.
If we aren't brave enough to acknowledge and accept this answer [when it is about a difficult matter] we return to the old status quo and the disturbance remains within - (locked up).
hmmm....Faraz good post.
ReplyDeleteOnly.....sometimes I think that why we have two thinking machines in our poor one body?
I mean...one always gives reasons and other always dont care about reasons...
Was it not easy for us if we only have our heart to make thinking process for us or only mind to make the decisions?
hmmm...in this case I had choose heart to make all the decisions.
Thanks !
It would seem the mighty creator has designed us from drifting into utter boredom :)
ReplyDeletehmmm....My MAKER...is flawless.....
ReplyDeleteMay be HE want us to make choices ???
Indeed.
ReplyDeleteInteresting points of introspection. I agree with all said...
ReplyDeleteIn other news though,
I once had my own twist in thought, where I argued that the heart is not the one that loves. It is the brain. For without the brain, the heart can not function alone. Perhaps in some matters the same logic applies to the brain, that is it cannot function in ALL its capabilities without the meddling of the heart.
Make any sense?