Dear James:

AI: “La ilāha illā Allā means ‘There is no god but Allah.’ This is the core declaration of Islamic faith — the statement that affirms the absolute oneness of God and denies the existence of any other deity worthy of worship.
It’s considered the foundation of tawḥīd (oneness of God) and the heart of the shahāda, the Muslim testimony of faith.

“Islam’s central teachings emphasize Compassion (rahma), Justice (‘adl), Protection of life, Care for the vulnerable, and Peaceful coexistence. The Qur’an repeatedly says that God loves those who act with kindness, patience, and fairness, and that killing an innocent person is like killing all of humanity.

“Most Muslims live quiet, ordinary, peaceful lives, and the heart of Islam teaches compassion, fairness, and care for others. Violence comes from politics, fear, and extremist groups — not from the religion itself. When you look at the everyday practice of Islam, it’s about prayer, kindness, family, and seeking peace with oneself and others.”

Hey 😊 Confused:

Actually, Gemini just showed up on my phone a week or so ago. I just asked him about Prozac and it verified what I said, that it is very well- known for sexual side- effects. It said that studies show that 60% of people using SSRIs in general, “or more”, it says, report sexual side- effects.

In one of my previous posts I told you about another group of anti- depressants that cause way less such side- effects ( I don’t remember what it was. I’ll ask Gemini after I submit this message)

The med removing the power of troubling thoughts is a plus ✔️✔️✔️

About Gemini saying something she said made you shutdown- yes, you mentioned before that even if she sounds distant a bit, or not as loving as a moment before, that alone triggers your shutdown.

Do you think that a different woman won’t trigger a shutdown?

The changing from the “loving one” and the “stone cold” one- I agree with you that the changing from the loving => the stone-cold one is about trying to avoid hurt- good insight, Confused👍👍👍

🐔 (just because) Anita

And thank you, Thomas 🙏🙏🙏-

3 thank you-s because as I read your other message (submitted 4 min before this one), I experienced the first 😁 on my face this long, rainy, boring evening (here).

I love your sense of humor (consider me a fan)

😊 ✔️ Anita

Dear James 🙂

“Being noble and gentlemany becomes inevitable… respect becomes inevitable”- I like that very much.

Noble, gentle(wo)manly, respectful- this is what I want to be, always.

La ilahe lllallah”- I think it translates to God (Allah) is one? I will look it up later when I get to use the computer.

🌿🙏🌿🙏🌿 Anita

Hey 🙂 Confused:

About checking your feelings 3 times a day, what if you ask yourself ‘How am I feeling?” and then type away whatever comes to mind at the pace it’s coming out, if it does at all (in which case, you can type something like: ‘Nothing’s coming up, I feel nothing, etc.”?

Seems like she’s taking care of herself following feeling pressured/ overwhelmed. In a way, she’s like you: withdrawing when feeling too much.

Do you think that the two of you are similar in this way?

About withdrawing from the med, please consult the psych before- and if you do. Maybe you expect perfect results from taking it (an all-or-nothing kind of thinking), and you’re not paying attention to improvements that the med does provide..?

🌿🌿🌿 Anita

* Or better not engage with him

Richard Wagamese: “Home is the slumping drop of luggage on floors… as you re-enter and engage fully in simple… love.”

Krishnamurti: “When you are down at the very bottom, completely empty… there is a totally different movement, which is love.”

Peter: “I think I’m just going to sit here quietly on the floor for a while, next to the luggage, and listen to the room…”

Thomas: “I have that same reaction when I sit in meditation. I start to think I am doing good in my quiet meditation. Then realizing that I just failed again. Will there actually be a moment of just sitting?”

Peter: “Thomas, you caught it exactly. The thought that we have ‘failed’ at sitting is heavy piece of luggage. Yet the floor remains beneath us.”

Anita’s research this Thursday morning: presence isn’t the absence of thought — it’s the absence of struggle with thought. Thoughts only become a problem when you start fighting them. If you stop fighting, they lose their power. If you stop trying to stop them, they slow down on their own.

Let the mind be noisy if it is — paradoxically, allowing noise makes it quiet sooner. This is the “slumping drop of luggage” Peter talks about — the moment you stop carrying the mental project of controlling your mind. You’re not pushing anything away; you’re simply not feeding it.

You stop giving a thought the fuel it needs to grow, multiply, or take over your attention. A thought only becomes powerful when you invest in it — by following it, arguing with it, analyzing it, or trying to get rid of it. All of those actions are forms of feeding. When you simply notice a thought and let it pass without climbing inside it, you’re removing its supply line.

Not feeding a thought doesn’t mean rejecting thinking altogether. It means you stop giving energy to the kinds of thoughts that spiral, tighten, or pull you away from yourself. Healthy thinking is spacious, intentional, and connected to reality. Unhealthy thinking is repetitive (ex: ‘I should’ve done it differently. I should’ve done it differently…’), anxious (ex: ‘What if they’re upset with me?’), or self‑erasing (ex: ‘I shouldn’t feel this way.’).

Self‑erasing thinking is any thought that shrinks your sense of worth, validity, or capability. “I have failed” doesn’t describe an event — it describes you. It collapses a moment, a difficulty, or a mistake into an identity. It can also become repetitive if the mind keeps circling it, and anxious if it’s tied to fear of consequences or judgment. But its core structure is self‑erasing because it turns a situation into a self‑attack.

You can stay present and think — as long as the thinking is serving you rather than running you.

Thoughts run a person when the mind keeps repeating something and you get dragged along, when a thought triggers anxiety or shame and suddenly, you’re inside the feeling, and when you start thinking about thinking, trying to fix or control the mind.

In all of these, the person isn’t directing the thinking — the thinking is directing the person. Presence disappears because the mind has taken the wheel.

I hope it’s somewhat helpful? I would like to think 🙂 about this further later.

Anita

Dear James 🎶

I understand your view, and I do find comfort in the sky metaphor.

I also honor the personal, human side of experience — the part that feels, hopes, and lives through the clouds. That is important to me.

Good night, James. My best wishes for you ✨✨✨

Anita