TRANQUILITY

Achieving calmness can be attained through various paths, fundamentally derived from sufficiency, maintaining health, or any other means, but the core idea is "OBTAINING WHAT IS EXPECTED TO AVOID ANXIETY." In any case, the goal is to eliminate or reduce anxiety.

However, we do not view calmness from that perspective, but from a more fundamental one. Even when the situation remains anxiety-inducing, one can still remain calm within that anxiety. How can one be calm in an anxious state without being contradictory?

Anxiety is necessary to stay alert to situations. If the absence of anxiety leads to decreased alertness, this poses a significant risk.

Achieving calmness in an anxious state means that the anxiety can be controlled so that it no longer resides at the emotional level but at the level of knowledge.

The Cycle of Balance

The control of anxiety cannot be complete, but it can be reduced and then redirected towards self-awareness (knowledge of the situation - being alert to the situation).

HOPE-ANXIETY. This is an effort to move anxiety to the level of knowledge, so that the degree of alertness remains intellectually intact, while on the emotional side, anxiety will shift to its natural paired condition, where as anxiety decreases, hope increases.

There are times when anxiety resurfaces beyond our control, which then makes us aware of the situation, and it is controlled again so that anxiety remains at the intellectual level, and anxiety turns into hope.

A cycle of "hope-anxiety-hope" that allows us to remain "vigilant, alert, and willing to fight without giving up, full of hope."

🧩 Anxiety is no longer seen as something entirely negative or to be avoided, but rather as part of the emotional dynamics that can be managed to maintain alertness and readiness. This emphasizes the importance of balance between emotion and intellect in navigating a challenging life, where hope and anxiety complement each other to sustain motivation and resilience in facing difficult situations.

TYPES OF ANXIETY

There are many forms of anxiety, ranging from those related to health disturbances to other anxiety-inducing disorders.

We only look at it fundamentally, to achieve the best self-control.

Anxiety exists so that we are willing to sacrifice to solve problems, thereby understanding the concept of satisfaction.

PRIDE. Initially, there is anxiety, which should be overcome by making sacrifices. The highest form of sacrifice is sacrificing the ego - one's pride. The question is, what is the highest form of pride, so that the sacrifice is also the greatest?

FEELING IMPORTANT. It is the pride that we feel important. Feeling somewhat important, important, or very important."

SELF-CONTROL

SUBMISSION. Simply put, the degree of importance is determined by how much one feels the need to be prioritized (how much one feels the need to be put first), and this is the highest form of anxiety because it stems from ego pride. Therefore, the highest form of sacrifice is submission.

TURMOIL. Since the highest anxiety is caused by the ego, and this anxious state is filled with turmoil, the highest turmoil is caused by the ego's pride demanding to be prioritized.

WORSHIP. So, what is the highest form of submission that overcomes the highest form of ego pride? It is to submit in worship to God. This represents the highest form of self-control, forcing oneself (submitting oneself) to worship Him. More specifically, it means being consistent in worshiping Him.

🔰 When we can worship Him without haste, it shows that we are not prioritizing ourselves, not putting ourselves first, and not feeling self-important. Instead, we submit, prioritizing worship without turmoil (without prioritizing ourselves).

This is the highest form of tranquility: being able to overcome the highest turmoil caused by ego pride.

❇️ The highest tranquility comes from overcoming the highest turmoil of ego pride, which is subdued through submission in the form of worship performed without haste.

📌 How can we practically train ourselves in this❓ Here, overcoming turmoil is not merely about refraining from haste but rather about not rushing with a sense of ease.

• 👉 During the process of worship, the ego's pride may arise, reminding us of the importance of quickly doing this or that, so the act of worship is also hastened.

〰 At this point, there is a feeling of rushing turmoil, and this is what we must subdue by lowering the feeling until tranquility (absence of turmoil) emerges, and then maintaining this state.

CONSISTENCY

After worship, take time to reflect on the experience of tranquility during the act of worship.

There are two ways this experience can bring tranquility outside of worship...

• 1⃣ HABIT. Being accustomed to maintaining tranquility by controlling the turmoil of ego pride during worship, this automatically leads to not rushing outside of worship as well, accepting that everything proceeds according to its proper sequence of importance.

👉 Patience in following the process.

• 2⃣ SELF-CONFIDENCE. Having successfully practiced tranquility through controlling the ego's turmoil during worship, this ability can be repeated outside of worship by recalling or repeating the process for other matters. We can reduce turmoil to the level experienced before, leading to tranquility.

👉 If this can be done, then the tranquility experienced during worship will affect one's attitude outside of worship.

This is what is meant by successful worship, not just because one automatically becomes submissive, reverent, and calm after worship, which does not necessarily happen automatically, but because one has gained a trained experience that can be repeated in activities outside of worship.

CONSISTENCY

⭕️ So, if the act of worship, performed with full devotion (without haste), cannot be used as an example to replicate in other activities, it indicates that the effort to calm oneself during worship has not been fully successful. The tranquility achieved is not sufficient if it was not maintained from the beginning to the end, but only for a few minutes, resulting in inconsistent tranquility that fails to leave a lasting impact, making it difficult to replicate in different situations outside of worship.

FUNDAMENTALLY... A good experience does not necessarily mean it will automatically lead to goodness. Rather, it is the ability to repeat the good actions that come from that good experience.

SPECIFICALLY. If the process of calming the turmoil of the ego's sense of importance fails from the beginning to the end of the worship process...

📌 Critical Question: Does this mean that the act of worship has no ability to transform one into a calm state? That's not the issue.

• 👉 The point is that we are actually given a method to train calmness at the highest level.

❇️ This is the advantage of understanding the benefit of worship for tranquility. Without understanding its benefits, it would be pointless to try other methods, especially if the basic principle is misdirected from the start.

❇️ Training calmness does not involve overcoming anxiety through various methods, except through the act of worship.

❇️ Therefore, knowing the most effective way to train the highest level of calmness is an essential advantage of this knowledge.

🎯 The advantage of knowing how to train the highest level of calmness through worship is crucial for achieving true tranquility.

• 👉 Without this understanding, efforts to achieve calmness through other means may not be effective or could even be misdirected from the beginning.