MILESTONES OF PHILOSOPHICAL AND SPIRITUAL JOURNEYS

Dear Friends,

I would like you to share your life story and the highlights of your philosophical and spiritual journey with other members of the Family of the Heart. It will help us get to know each other better. In this way we will learn the art of growing alone and growing together. It might inspire others to share their stories and we might build a bigger circle of like-minded people. After publishing my own story in the form of book From Islam to Secular Humanism…A philosophical Journey, I met a number of new friends who openly shared their dilemmas and dreams. It was a wonderful experience. If you are not used to writing and sharing your struggles, I have devised a questionnaire that might help you in articulating your point of view and remembering some significant events of life that made you who you are. I believe every human being has a fascinating story and each one of them is worth sharing.

 QUESTIONS

1.    What was the ideology and philosophy of your parents, teachers and elders of your community? Did you grow up in a conservative, religious, liberal, secular of atheistic social environment? What is the your first religious or spiritual memory?

2.    Did you question the beliefs, values and practices of your family and community as a teenager?

3.    Did you experience religious and spiritual conflicts as a young adult?

4.    How did your conflicts affect your personality and life style?

5.    How did you try to resolve or dissolve your religious, spiritual and philosophical conflicts?

6.    Who were the personalities and philosophers that played a significant role in the development of your personality and philosophy?

7.    How is your philosophy and lifestyle different now than your family of origin?

8.     Did you develop a circle of like-minded friends who are supportive of your struggles?

9.    Are you still in conflict with your traditional relatives and friends? How do you cope with them?

10.   What are the sacrifices you had to give to discover your truth? What are the sacrifices you are still giving to live a life according to your conscience?

11.   What is the ideal you would like to achieve in your life time?

12.   What is the best and worst you experienced during your philosophical and spiritual journey?

I will look forward to receiving your stories and then asking Pervaiz Salahuddin to share them with others through our website of Family of the Heart. If you need any help or support please let us know.

Sincerely,

Sohail

January 2005

 Send send your comments to Pervaiz Salahuddin