Are you experiencing or have you experienced Spiritual Crisis/Emergence and in need of support to integrate it all?

A spiritual crisis or “spiritual emergence” is a turbulent period of spiritual opening and awakening that can become unmanageable for a person. People may experience psychological challenges as a result.

Our peer support/sharing group in Oxford for people who are experiencing/have experienced spiritual crisis/emergence is open to new members…

Oxford Emerging Kind Peer Support/Sharing Group

When? Monday 6th April and Monday 4th May at 7pm monthly meetings

Where? The Mind Centre, 46 Cowley Road Oxford OX4 1HZ.

If you think that this might be of interest to you please contact Alan at: alan@emergingkind.org

Group Aims

To be a forum where our spiritual experiences can be validated

To provide support to people experiencing spiritual crisis/emergence

To explore the positive transformational nature of spiritual experiences

To explore the spiritual significance of what may have been seen as a mental health issue

To learn from each other and increase our knowledge of spiritual crisis/emergence

To explore how we can best integrate our experiences

To explore how we can use our experiences to aid our spiritual growth and quality of life

What are the #Emerging Proud Day plans for 2020? 

 COLLABORATION, COLLABORATION, COLLABORATION! 

Voices for change are always stronger together; it’s time for #Emerging Proud to merge with bigger movements for social change… Wanna join us in a move towards global peace and unity? 

Concept: 

Inner Peace and Unity brings Outer Peace and Unity

This year’s meeting of the Emerging Proud Community explores the connection between inner and outer peace as a reflection between unity on an individual and systemic level. We believe the future is all about co-creation and collaboration, and so we’re aiming to initiate some of this action for this years International #Emerging Proud day.  

Reason:

The aim is for the #Emerging Proud community to become part of the global movement for Peace, which culminates on Global World Peace Day – 21st Sept 2020 

Who are we collaborating with? 

 Co-Creating Europe is a growing network of individuals, initiatives and organizations from over 22 European nations. 

Together with their partner, Unity Earth, they envision this movement to grow into one of the largest, diverse physical and digital collective movements for peace in human history. And WE are invited!! 

UNITY EARTH is a global network of organizations and individuals standing together for unity and peace.

We will be taking part in a Caravan of Unity…

The Caravan of Unity is a global call for action – reconnecting the fragmented elements of society; loss of traditions and inherent natural values through compassionate acts catalysing  heart connections. At this time of global crisis what else do we have to hope for but this unity regeneration for humanity? Together with Unity Earth in the US, we are establishing a global network of collaborative action- takers to deliver acts of social justice for all.  This years #EmergingProud day will be your opportunity to help us launch the Caravan to the wider public through organising a simple activity, and become a host for an event connected to the global tour in Sept.

Dear #Emerging Proud Friends,

In case you missed it the first time – and this time with more details!

An exciting opportunity has presented itself to us as a collective for this years #EP day celebrations and, more importantly, beyond…

As we are all aware, the world is in crisis… we’re in a process of transformation and it’s up to us to come together to ensure that transformation is a positive one.

We appear to be amidst a shift in human evolution, a shift to a different state of consciousness; from fragmentation to integration where we’ll see society developing into a more collaborative / co- creative organism … It’s time to integrate the #Emerging Proud movement with the wider movement for social change. 

We are collaborating with Co-Creating Europe and Unity Earth for a global stand for Unity and Peace – more info soon, but see our partners HERE

What will happen? 

#EP Members / Groups will each have the opportunity to organize an event for the public within the Caravan  events taking place between 1-21st of September 2020, culminating in a mass meditation for World Peace Day, 21st Sept.

Next steps. What do I need to do to be part of this incredible movement? 

-Gather your local #EP Tribe – As big or small as you wish

-Start designing your own activity with your community.

-Use #EP day 12th May 2020 to plant the seeds for your activity which will grow to be featured in the CCE Caravan of Unity events taking place between 1-21st of September.

What kind of activity can our group do? 

Example Activities that explore our theme; The connection of inner and outer peace;

-Artistic expression of the theme through material art, sculpture, Painting…

-Expressive dance, spoken word, poetry, live theatre

-Random acts of kindness for disadvantaged groups in society such as homeless or the elderly

-Environmental actions eg. Planting trees, seed bombing, constructing a natural building, find a community/guerilla garden

-Create a musical piece or film to feature globally as part of the Caravan tour

-Mindfulness group practice to raise the vibration of your geographical area

You can either choose one of the above to instigate in your area, or develop your own idea…

Empower our global network through your vision – do you have an idea related to our theme? Tell us and perhaps inspire a group in another country to do the same!

CONTACT US HERE TO FIND OUT HOW TO GET INVOLVED 

We are currently seeking Muslims who have been through difficulties and challenges with their mental health to contribute to this pocketbook of hope; 

CONTACT US HERE if you’d like to find out how to get involved

Once feeling alone, worthless and that everyone was judging her, Faduma learned that facing and talking about her pain and challenges was the key to healing. She’s now grateful for her blessings and aims to use her difficult journey as a foundation for helping others…

I first experienced depression after I gave birth to my son. I had postnatal depression which is quite common in women. My depression was very severe; I heard voices that constantly told me to take my life.  This started a week after giving birth and I said to myself ‘you can’t tell this to anyone’. I feared that if I told healthcare professionals, they would take my baby away. I mean I was thinking of taking my life, I thought how could I be normal? I was 22 years old, a mum for the first time and I was a single mother. My circumstances didn’t make things easy, in fact they escalated my symptoms.

Healing from the pain of childbirth, I felt as if I was in a war between my body and mind. As the voices got louder, it was hard to know what was real and what was not. I was scared for my son’s safety, so if I wasn’t feeding him or changing him, he was in his bed. There was no time for bonding. This was survival.

After 2 weeks I realised I wasn’t well, and I couldn’t continue to live like this, so I told my family. I left my house and stayed with extended family members. Surprisingly the voices weren’t there anymore; til this day I believe that house where I heard the voices was haunted. I mean, I didn’t hear the voices unless I was inside my house, but as soon as I left, they left too.

I decided to move and by the time my son was 6 months, I found a new place to live. By the will of Allah, our new home felt much safer, and I no longer heard those voices. I started to bond with my baby and started to enjoy being a mother. I still felt depressed every now and then, but not to that extreme length.

Depression came to visit me again when my son got diagnosed with Autism. This time I didn’t need voices. I was my own worse enemy. I felt worthless and constantly picked on myself. I was the mother with the sick child. I hated it when people said to me; ‘May Allah heal your child’ because it didn’t feel like a dua (prayer), it felt like a statement. I felt like I no longer belonged to my community. I had a disadvantage already for being a single mother, now I had a child with special needs. It was obvious that I didn’t have my community’s support. I felt like I was just a ‘thing’ people looked down on, a ‘thing’ people looked at and thought; nah I don’t want to be associated with her.

I prayed to Allah asking him for comfort. I cried everyday all day. I would look at my son and fear for his future. Would he ever talk? Would he require a lifetime of care? I had so many questions and no one understood my pain. I didn’t know who to turn for comfort, so I turned to food. I ate my feelings and felt guilty the next day. So, I would overeat one day and starve myself the next so I wouldn’t get fat. But I started to gain weight. I drove myself to deep depression. I lived inside my head. To the outside world, to my friends and family, I was happy. But they had no idea what was going on inside my head. I started to isolate myself, I felt ugly, fat and worthless. I had to do everything by myself.

This continued for almost 2 years. My son started special school, I was going to uni and working. Things started to feel balanced. But he struggled with sleep, he was up everyday at 2am so I’d take him to school, leave my car and take the train, go to uni and sit in a 2 hour lecture half asleep. I couldn’t do it. It took a toll on my health big time. I felt the most alone I’d felt in my life.

One day, I decided I was gonna get help, professional help. I spoke to my GP and was put on anti depressants. It didn’t help, they just increased my appetite. So, I did a self referral to Lambeth Talking Therapy. They offered me 6 weeks cognitive behaviour therapy and it was the best decision. I was committed to going to therapy and was honest about how I was feeling. I am still using the techniques I learned during therapy as this isn’t a quick fix.

My son is doing well now, he has said his first word, spelled his first word. He is the sweetest little boy and I can’t imagine not being his mother. He is a beautiful blessing and I thank Allah for choosing me to be his mother. I am now studying psychology part time and hope one day to be an Educational Psychologist inshallah. I am slowly learning to not be so hard on myself.

I will be 27 this year inshallah and I am glad I didn’t listen to those voices and take my life.

I have so much to live for and you do too.

Never give up.

We are currently seeking more Muslims who have been through difficulties and challenges with their mental health to contribute to this pocketbook of hope; 

CONTACT US HERE if you’d like to find out how to get involved

Why is this important? 

This groundbreaking book in this wonderful series is aimed at breaking the silence and stigma in Muslim communities around mental health issues, providing a platform to share recovery stories and giving hope and inspiration to our friends, families and communities. All contributions will be published on the #EmergingProud blog, and with enough contributors we will be able to publish both a hard copy and EBook which can then be circulated far and wide inshaAllah!

If you would like further information on how to go about writing your story for the blog please CONTACT US HERE