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  • Repeat after me:

    dionthesocialist:

    • Mental disorders are medical conditions.
    • Mental disorders are not personality quirks.

    Repeat after me…

    • Labels will give you mental disorders
    • Labels will reinforce your submission to a condition 
    • Labels will destroy you
    • Labels will imprison you
    • Labels are just that…labels

    Now, let’s try again…

    • Stop labelling your state of mind, it’s the same as stereotyping someone and expecting them to act differently
    • The more we ‘recognise’ so-called mental disorders as valid medical conditions, the weaker society becomes in dealing holistically with social ills because every bad experience can suddenly be ‘fixed’ with a pill
    • Neuroplasticity is proof that mental ‘disorders’ are merely a state of mind that can be altered based on experience and introspection
    • Experience has confirmed that insecurity and fears of insignificance are the most common underlying causes of symptoms of a troubled mind (a.k.a. mental disorders) and not some chemical imbalance
    • Chemical reactions are triggered by thoughts and stimuli, not the other way around. Simple proof of this is a smile. It’s confirmed to release feel-good hormones regardless of your ‘mental disorder’

    Separate the symptoms from the root cause and never confuse the two. Far too often, especially in western medicine, symptoms are almost always the focus of treatment with a holistic view shunned as being a quack’s approach to good health. The mind and body work in tandem, and not independently. Abuse one, and you’ll automatically abuse the other. Treating a physical ailment without considering the psychological or emotional triggers that caused one to be predisposed to the ailment is like taking energy drinks when you know you’re not getting enough sleep. It really is that simple.

    Give yourself a chance. You deserve to believe in yourself, because people are strange like that. They rarely believe in you unless you believe in yourself first. Think about it, and give yourself a break.

  • Should I Pray 20 Rak’ahs With The Imaam Or 8?

    rowhigherr:

    Question: If I pray in the masjid and the Imaam prays twenty rak’ahs, should I complete twenty along with him or should I pray eight rak’ahs along with him and then pray witr alone and leave?

    Answer: I advise that you pray eight rak’ahs and you pray the witr alone. Following the Sunnah is more deserving, for indeed the Prophet, salallaahu ‘alaihi wasallam, said: Pray like you have seen me pray.

    Shaykh Muqbil bin Haadee
    ‘Fadaa’ih wa Nasaa’ih’, Al-Allaamah Al-Muhaddith Muqbil ibn Haadee al-Waadi’ee, Daarul-Haramain, Cairo. Page 86.Translated by Abu Khadeejah

    This is extremely concerning. Why then do they recite 20 raka’ah in the haram in Makkah, and also in Majidun Nabawi in Madinah during Ramadaan behind the imam? 

  • It’s weird when I email something funny to a colleague that sits a few cubicles away from me, and they respond with ‘LOL’ but I didn’t hear them laughing. :-/

    The internet has made us liars!

  • Academia

    The demise of this world will result from the intellectual laziness that is excessively camouflaged by the brain numbing acquisition of useless information through academic pursuits disguised as models against which free thinkers are supposedly developed.

    CJ

  • The Real Definition of Bid’ah

    partytilfajr:

    This video, with English subtitles, explains a term Muslims (today) love to throw around like candy: Bid’ah. Unfortunately, we do not understand how serious this term is, and so, take a seat and listen to the Grand Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa.

    Some really important points raised in this video which re-emphasise the issue of understanding the principles of Islam rather than just learning the rituals and implementing those dogmatically without consideration for the flexibility that Islam allows.

    (Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

  • Question – Interview Candidates

    flawedscript replied to your post: Interview Candidates From Hell

    I am most like the over confident candidate, especially since the jobs I apply for don’t ask for very much, but I don’t know I just somehow become overly confident 🙁

    Take note of the responses and the tone of the person interviewing you and gauge whether you’re connecting with them, or are they just going through the motions. Maintain eye contact and be quietly confident, not boisterous or smug. You should be trying to give them a sense of confidence in the skills and competence that they may be able to benefit from by having you on the team, and not make it seem as if you think you’re too good for the job because it’s a walk in the park. 

    No matter how menial or junior the position may be, you have to make them believe that you see it as an important stepping stone in achieving your future career goals. 

  • Ever see a non-aligned extremist?

    Just a thought…ever see a Muslim ‘extremist’ that didn’t belong to a specific sect? That’s the thing with sects, or aligning with specific sub-groups of Islam, or giving your iman a label. It’s the same with nationalism, or pledging allegiance to any specific sub-group of a broader movement. You’re automatically inclined to defend the specific view points of that sect rather than remaining objective and neutral in your application and compliance with the rulings and principles of the movement itself.

    The same is true for the raging debates between different sects and different schools of thought. You’ll be hard pressed to find someone that sincerely debates to arrive at the truth, rather than debating to defend their allegiance and adopted perspectives from the sect that they’re a part of.

    I can’t see anything other than three specific states of iman. We’re either guided Muslims, misguided Muslims, or non-Muslims. All the nuances and differing opinions around issues that do not take one out of the fold of Islam are simply whisperings of Shaytaan that successfully sow discord amongst Muslims by instilling a sense of pride or superiority in us about our alignment with what is considered by some to be a superior manner of practising Islam, not realising that our pride and haughtiness, no matter how we disguise it, could easily negate all our efforts in the process. 

  • Interview Candidates From Hell

    I noticed a number of people talking about writing their resumes and applying for jobs recently so I thought I’d share some observations from my side about what doesn’t work for me when I interview candidates for positions in my team. 

    Just some background first. I generally focus on interviewing people for analytical type roles, or else technically focused roles primarily in the IT space. But the characteristics and issues that grated my nerves were pretty generic, so it should apply to any industry or career path. Here goes:

    1. The Pompous Candidate – this is the guy (term used generically) that still has an over inflated ego because they got great marks at high school or university. Those marks mean nothing until you can apply that knowledge practically, so having the qualification only gets your foot in the door, and doesn’t guarantee you the job. Being humble and acknowledging the real world challenges around applying your academic achievements is important if you want to set the right tone in the interview.
    2. The Lethargic Sod – the biggest turn off for me when I first meet a candidate is if they appear lethargic and uninterested as if they have something better to do, and they’re just here to see if they can get lucky. I usually make up my mind about a candidate the moment I get a slouch waiting in reception looking like they’re ready to nod off or fall off their chair. This candidate is also likely to arrive late, or not at all, and if late, usually tries to laugh it off by making a lame joke about it and expecting everyone to adjust their diaries to accommodate their lack of punctuality. The only possible recovery from arriving late is to ensure that you call ahead to let them know about an unforeseen event that delayed you, and a sincere apology the moment you arrive. If you’re expecting to be more than 15 minutes late, call ahead and give them the option to reschedule rather than insist on still trying to pull the interview off. You don’t want to sit in front of a recruiting manager or interview panel that is already annoyed with you before you even arrive.
    3. The Over Confident Candidate – I have the most fun with these candidates because they generally position themselves too strongly and end up over-selling their skills. My favourite is when they lay claim to being at an ‘Expert’ (or 5 out of 5) level of proficiency in the use of certain applications, like MS Word, or MS Excel and the like. That’s when I start asking them questions and it goes something like this. Assume we’re talking about MS Word, I would start off with, “So do you know about Kerning?”. I usually get a sheepish grin to which I promptly respond, “Then you’re not a 5, you’re a 4.” My next question is usually, “Do you know how to format a table that restricts access to only those fields that you want a user to enter data into without being able to modify the rest of the document?”. This is usually followed by another sheepish grin from the candidate accompanied by a wry smile from me, to which I respond, “Then you’re not a 4, you’re a 3.” At this point I allow them a graceful exit by jokingly asking them if they want me to continue, to which the response is normally a definite “No!”. The point is, don’t over state your qualifications or skills, and make sure that you have a reasonable point of reference when trying to rate your level of proficiency in the use of standard tools or applications relevant to the position you’re applying for. 
    4. The Unkempt Candidate – there’s always that guy that walks in and assumes a level of familiarity with me as if he knows me from way back when ‘pa fell off the donkey’ (as we would say in South Africa). They usually crash and burn very early into the interview because the excessive familiarity usually causes them to discard professional decorum leaving them looking like slackers. They’re also usually untidy and casual in appearance. The golden rule of first impressions making lasting impressions definitely apply in the interview process.
    5. The Uninformed Candidate – it’s common for the recruiting manager to ask the candidate to explain their understanding of the position they’re applying for. It’s also common to ask for their understanding about what the company does and how that job function contributes towards the company’s objectives. So when we get candidates that can barely explain what the role is about relative to the job ad, and even worse, they know nothing about the organisation, they immediately set the impression that they’re just trying their luck and that they’re really not that serious about making a career for themselves at the company. Do your homework about the position, and about the organisation. It helps if you can talk about your potential contribution to the role within the context of the challenges that they may be facing at that point. But don’t overdo it because it will look like you’re just clutching at straws in trying too desperately to sell yourself.

    Those are the most common pitfalls that I can think of regarding the way candidates do themselves a major disservice in how they present themselves. There’s probably more, but this post is long enough already. There are many do’s and don’t’s that apply to the way in which you should structure and prepare your CV, which, if there is sufficient interest, I’ll cover in another post.