I still have a very long and arduous path ahead. No other group of people has ever treated me in this way. I have received such a warm and embracing welcome from all Muslim brothers and sisters from around the world I take great comfort in this, knowing that, despite any adversity or setback, I am literally surrounded by my Muslim family that will never abandon me as long as I remain Muslim. Pronouncing my Shahadah was such a cleansing experience, and since this time, I have often just felt the presence of God and just cried and cried and cried. But most importantly, it contains that path to Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. It contained the discipline -physical, mental, and spiritual- that leads to true peace and happiness.
Well, the more I learned the more I was convinced that this was truly the path I had been searching for. It all made so much sense, the existence of God was so simple to understand! How could I have been so stupid all this time? Yusuf (Cat Stevens) really speaks to those of us who did not grow up in a Muslim society.).
Khaled is really the one that did it for me, but the other two by Br. (You may want to check out the lectures on this web page. I came across a lecture in RealAudio by a brother, Khaled Yasin, and well, this lecture really put me over the top. The very next day, I began researching Islam on the Internet. Well, needless to say, I was just floored by the interview, because he was certainly no terrorist, but a soft-spoken, articulate, peaceful man who radiated love, and patience, and intelligence. So, I immediately drew the conclusion that Cat Stevens has become a terrorist, and I kept that belief for many years.Ī couple months or so ago, i heard he was going to be interviewed on TV, and I wanted to hear about this crazy man who had left a great life to become a terrorist. Navy at the time and this was during the "hostage crisis" in Iran. When I heard he had embraced Islam, I was in the U.S. When I was a young man, I was very much "into" the music of Cat Stevens (now Yusuf Islam). And once again, I became very depressed, only this time with emotional side effects that began to manifest in very frightening ways and self-destructive ways. I became very discouraged and reverted to my old ways of indulgence in alcohol and other forbidden pleasures. I realized this whole practice was based on worshipping not only "the" Buddha, but also all these other Buddhas. All of a sudden, I realized that one of the last things the Buddha said before passing away was "don't worship me". At some point I realized I was not really bettering myself, just running around gaining empowerments, performing elaborate rituals. The Buddhist sect I became involved with and followed a Tibetan tradition, where importance is placed on gaining empowerments, which are basically blessings from various Buddhas.
Hurt and angry, but also realizing a need for a spiritual order in my life, I turned to Buddhism. At the time, I had been divorced and remarried and came to find out that the Catholic Church didn't want me. My immediate response was to turn to God, and, having been raised Catholic, it was to that church that I turned. I lived this way for many years, slowly losing control of my life, thinking I was pursuing happiness when all I was getting was more depressed, more confused, and making more and more of a mess of my life.Īt some point, my life just sort of spiraled to the bottom and I cracked. Growing into young adulthood, my obsessions became money, power, a better house, a faster car, and a prettier woman-all shallow pursuits. I used to lie outside at night on my parent's lawn, staring up at the stars, just amazed at the unfathomable size of the heavens.Īnd I also used to be amazed at how the human body just ticked along, heart beating, lungs pumping, with no help from me.Īnd from that early time, I always in some way knew, there just had to be a Creator responsible for all this.īut then as I segued into my teens, it was much easier to succumb to peer pressure, and I lost interest in the Divine and instead devoted my time to alcohol, sex and the immature games of a young male growing up in America. The existence of God was so simple to understand! How could I have been so stupid all this time?Īs far back as I can remember as a child, I was always astounded by this universe in which we live how everything works perfectly.