Nazma Shabbir Chagani (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania), a qualified M.A. Psychologist and CBT therapist specialises in Personality Disorders and provides compassionate support to survivors of narcissistic abuse. She is the founder of Gethelpgethappy Mental Health Counselling Services, operating from VServe at Dr. Manji’s Clinic. Professional Expertise With a Master’s degree in Psychology, Nazma has developed a robust understanding of mental health principles and evidence-based therapeutic methods. Her expertise is further enriched through extensive training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), an approach widely recognized for its effectiveness in addressing a range of psychological challenges.
Achieving mental and physical well-being through a spiritual journey is a multifaced process that integrates various aspects including emotional, psychological and spiritual dimensions. This journey is deeply rooted in the understanding of the self, your relationship with Allah SWT and a balanced life. Sustaining a lifelong spiritual journey for healing is a deeply personal and evolving process that can bring profound inner peace, growth, and transformation along with spiritual renewal, overcoming life’s challenges, and achieving a harmonious balance between the body, mind, and soul.
Ways to nurture one’s spiritual journey:
Cultivate Awareness and Mindfulness
Awareness and mindfulness are at the heart of spiritual practices. Regular practices like daily prayer, mindfulness practice, healthy eating habits, physical exercise, meditation, and volunteering or community engagement can help ground you in the present moment.
Key Practice for cultivating awareness and mindfulness:
Daily Prayer: Helps to create discipline while providing opportunities for reflection.
Mindfulness Practice: Meditation, Deep Breathing, and Mental Time-outs (even for short durations) can enhance focus on spiritual matters.
Healthy Eating: Eating a balanced meal not only nourishes body but also helps with spiritual upliftment.
Physical Exercise: Physical fitness like walking, swimming etc releases endorphins (chemicals in our brain) that help to reduce stress, which improves mood and enhances a sense of well-being.
Volunteering or Community Engagement: Volunteering reduces stress and elevates a positive and relaxed feeling as a result of dopamine release in our brain.
2. Practice Compassion (for Yourself and Others)
A lifelong journey of healing often involves developing compassion, both towards others and yourself. Visiting the sick, helping the less fortunate, showing kindness and sympathy, being forgiving, and donating to charity (Sadaqa) are acts of compassion that provide exponential benefits.
Healing requires self-forgiveness acknowledging your feelings, taking responsibility for your actions and learning from your mistakes. When you release judgment and embrace yourself with kindness, it can be easier to heal old wounds.
3. Seek Guidance and Support
To seek guidance and support on a healing journey, identify and build a strong support network including friends, family, a therapist, or support groups. Acknowledge and communicate your pain openly, practice self-care, set boundaries, validate your emotions and consider seeking professional counselling for guidance and to navigate your healing Journey.
Healing takes time so be patient, Ask Allah SWT for help and clarity on all matters during your journey.
Connect with like-minded individuals who support your journey and can help offer perspective or advice.
4. Embrace Healing Practices that Resonate with You
From professional counselling to self-guided learning there are countless practice paths to healing. Healing is not a one -size -fit process. You can engage in what works best for you – Prayers, Dhikr, Art therapy, and Journaling. Each method contributes uniquely to your growth and healing process. Reminder: healing is not a linear process and requires a multifaced approach.
5. Practice Gratitude
Gratitude is a transformative force.
Practising gratitude during the healing journey involves actively focusing on and expressing appreciation for the positive aspects of your life, even during challenging times, which can help shift your mindset towards a more optimistic perspective. Remembrance of Allah SWT and reflecting on his favours is a powerful way to cultivate gratitude.
Start a Gratitude Journal to list three things you are grateful for each day, no matter how small. Begin your listing with ALHAMDULILAH.
6. Let Go of What No Longer Serves You
We tend to hold on to the past longer than necessary. Whether it’s past trauma, unhealthy relationships, memories, or old habits. We become attached to what is familiar and comfortable, thinking that what has worked in past should work for us in the present and future. Releasing what no longer serves you opens up space for new growth and healing.
Quran 93:4: ‘Indeed what is to come will be better for you than what has gone by’
7. Trust in Allah’s Plan and Accept your Spiritual Journey
TheHoly Quran assures believers in Surah At-Tawbah, “And rely upon Allah; and sufficient is Allah as Disposer of affairs.” (33:3). By placing trust in Allah’s wisdom and mercy, the believer experiences healing from the burden of worry and stress, knowing that Allah SWT is always with them.
The concept of Tawakkul (reliance on Allah SWT) involves making efforts while being cognisant that the best outcome is in Allah’s hands. This understanding brings peace, as it reduces anxiety over the future and fosters contentment with the present.
Remember that healing is about integrating your spiritual practices into your everyday life, bringing your highest self into everything you do – work, relationships, and personal car
Final Thoughts
Sustaining a lifelong spiritual journey for healing in Islam is a continuous process of connecting with Allah SWT, seeking forgiveness (Istighfar), practising patience, and nurturing a relationship with the Holy Quran. A lifelong spiritual journey for healing is about deepening your connection to yourself and the divine, nurturing the parts of you that need love and care, and honouring the unfolding process. It is about showing up for yourself and allowing for transformation and healing at your own pace. Gentle reminder: It’s not about Perfection but Progress.
Nazma Shabbir Chagani (Dar es Salaam, Tanzania), a qualified M.A. Psychologist and CBT therapist specialises in Personality Disorders and provides compassionate support to survivors of narcissistic abuse. She is the founder of Gethelpgethappy Mental Health Counselling Services, operating from VServe at Dr. Manji’s Clinic. Professional Expertise With a Master’s degree in Psychology, Nazma has developed a robust understanding of mental health principles and evidence-based therapeutic methods. Her expertise is further enriched through extensive training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), an approach widely recognized for its effectiveness in addressing a range of psychological challenges.
