Rollo Tomassi (2013). The Rational Male

Over the past year, I started looking more in-depth into the Men’s movement, the Men’s Rights Movement, the Manosphere, the MGTOW — or Men Going Their Own Way — movement… because of their influence on the youth of our community.

I will be posting some of the works I read in this regard. I have yet to start drafting my take on the Men’s Movement in all of its variants, but I intend to eventually. These entries will simply be a placeholder for my own reminder.

The present entry is for Rollo Tomassi’s The Rational Male.

on Anthony’s Bourdain’s suicide…

Anthony Bourdain was a well-known chef, author, traveler and host of TV documentaries and shows that explored international cuisine and culture, always with a pinch of humanity.

 

He was found dead of an apparent suicide by hanging on June 8 in his hotel room in France, where he was filming an episode of Parts Unknown.

R. McCammon (2015) Works Well with Others

Ross McCammon (2015) Works Well With Others

The title and cover of the book caught my eye for their humour, and the subtitle seemed relevant to me: An Outsider’s Guide to Shaking hands, Shutting Up, Handling Jerks, and Other Crucial Skills in Business That No one Ever Teaches You. The key word being “outsider”. In the “corporate” world where I work, I have managed to make my way up a few steps on the ladder, but the feeling of being an outsider has never really left me. So I thought I would take a look in this book and see whether there was anything in it for me.

J. Perry (2012) The Art of Procrastination

The Art of Procrastination: A guide to effective dawdling,

lollygagging and postponing*

*or, getting things done by putting them off

 

 

New Year Resolutions – with an Islamic Twist

As I write these words, the last few hours are about to drop from the top of the 2017 hourglass into the past…

A few of my 2017 readings

I have been a little busy over the past few months to maintain this blog unfortunately. I hope that I will be able to be more consistent in the year ahead.

I have read a large number of books over the past year, so let me share a couple of lines about 12 of them, one for every month, in no particular order.

Laughter and playfulness in Islam

The Place of Joy, Happiness, Laughter, Recreation and Relaxation in Islam

“For, to speak out once for all, man only plays when in the full meaning of the word he is a man, and he is only completely a man when he plays.” (J. C. Friedrich von Schiller, Letters upon the Aesthetic Education of Man, Letter XV, 9)

 

As a follow-up to the the entry entitled Self-Discipline in Islam, I was asked “what is the place of joy, laughter, and relaxation in Islam, in comparison to self-restraint, discipline and control?”

This Guy’s relationship tips: General Characteristics of the Husband

I was recently asked to give a lecture, or a series of lectures, on the topic of marital issues in our communities. So the notes I prepared were organized to present the issues one may encounter before getting married first, such as the characteristics to look for in the husband and the wife; celibacy; getting to know the spouse before the marriage, etc. And then address issues encountered once married.

I thought that I would share these notes on this blog, as they may perhaps be of interest to some readers… The following is a first entry in a series of entries on the topic of Introduction to Islamic Teachings on Marital Issues: the general characteristics of the husband.

Self-Discipline in Islam

“self-regulation failure is the major social pathology of our time.” (Baumeister, Willpower)

As it often happens during or around the month of Ramadan, I had a conversation with a colleague at work who was interested in understanding why Muslims fast. I explained to him that Muslims fast for a number of reasons, including:

• Their belief that God has ordered them to fast;
• It develops their compassion and empathy towards the less fortunate;
• It improves self-control;
• It is considered a great spiritual exercise of purification;
• It is a reminder of the weakness and dependence of our selves on the continuous graces of God;
• It has intellectual benefits, such as helping with focus and attention;
• There are important health benefits;
• Etc.

I did not know it at the time, but the point about self-discipline and control seems to have really spoken to him. As I was leaving work yesterday, we crossed paths again, near the door. He shared with me how our short conversation got him thinking about self-discipline, and its importance in our lives. He even showed me a book that he had started reading 4 days ago (The New Purpose Driven Life: What On Earth Am I Here For? by Rick Warren), and he was interested in learning more about it, and as a result of our little chat, he ended up asking me whether any local imams gave talks about the topic from an Islamic perspective or even had programs to acquaint non Muslims to Islam…

The truth of the matter is that the topic is incredibly important, and yet our Islamic programs, libraries and institutions lack greatly in this respect. So I thought that I would at least jot down some preliminary thoughts about the topic of self-discipline or self-control in Islam for now – and hopefully this will be the seed for a book or a series of lectures one day…

D. Miguel Ruiz. 1997. The Four Agreements – A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom. A Toltec Wisdom Book

A couple of weeks ago, a colleague at work mentioned having acquired this new book, and then on Friday, mentioned having just finished reading it, thanks to a very long wait at a medical clinic. This is not the type of book I typically spend any time on, so let me tell you why I did.