Sonya Syed

It is so easy to preach spirituality while you are sitting in the comforts of seclusion when there are no challenges to face, no obstacles to overcome, no goals to achieve and no deadlines to meet. However, when you truly enter this world it presents fair amount of challenges. It is this world and the people you meet in your daily life are the ones who challenge your basic education of spirituality, love and forgiveness. And honestly even someone like me who deeply believes in peace can some time lose her peace loving stance. But then that is the real test of our spiritual teachings, it is in those unloving moments that the strength of our spiritual musculature is truly tested. Recently I started my dedicated practice of daily meditation, it is a very simple practice that hardly takes 5-6 minutes of my time. The main aim of meditation is to quiet the mind so that peace can come forth. The first day was great. I was joyous and in the moment, everything was just perf...

I am so sorry but I have to, this is one post that I have to write or should I say that it wants itself to be written. So there it goes, second part of the Kelly Birkin series. I became very curious about Hermès and the history of these bags. And most importantly why these bags have such an iconic status in fashion, so much so that even if you are able to pay ­$10,000 to $80,000 or even higher for this popular fashion item, it was reputed for having a waiting list of up to six years, the longest wait for any bag in history. In April 2010, Hermès announced that the waiting list would no longer exist, implying that it is potentially available to all. Hermès was established by a leather worker, Thierry Hermès who opened his shop in Paris in 1837. Thierry Hermès specialized in exquisite, finely crafted horse harnesses for carriages. In the early 20th century, as the company started to grow it introduced other fine leather goods like trunks and suitcases, saddles, harnesses, ...

I thought it would never happen to me but it did. I didn’t even know when it all started but it did somehow.  So this is how it all began... Couple of days ago I began to be a bit uncomfortable due to my handbag, it was my first expensive purchase and I was becoming obsessed with its care.   I just had it! I thought I would buy myself something less expensive so I can carry it with a free mind without killing myself over its care.  I found something and I fell in love with it right then and there, it was a great buy. Very comfortable, funky color, spacey and then…………………… As I was excitedly opening it at home and shifting my stuff something stroked me about my new purchase. There was a distinct monogram on the front and it said H..ermes Paris…. Err what? Really me! Oh my goodness I just bought third or probably fourth replica of Hermes Birkin or maybe a Kelly, I cannot seem to clearly understand the difference. They all pretty much look the same with slig...

WARMEST EID MUBARAK…to all my friends, family and all my blog readers (who have now become my extended family). I wish all of you tremendous joy, love, peace, health & prosperity today and for all the years to come.   Many Happy Returns on the Birthdays this month. There are so many of us born in October that it is difficult to keep up with the counting. October used to be the hottest and driest month of the year but this time it is quite pleasant, at the juncture of summer leaving us and winters soon approaching.  I always used to think that the people who are born in this month, popularly known as Librans are quite pleasant, talented, creative and well balanced in their nature so why is the month of their birth dry and dull.  What is most interesting that I share my birthday with Kate Winslet. Waheed Murad, Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha, Will Smith are amongst many of the other famous Librans. Of course the underlying intention here is also to highlight...

Thank you Mehreen Khan for all your love…. I am ecstatic, happy and grateful to Allah beyond any words. Today Mehreen Khan, one of my students of Corporate Law presented me with something very special that I have never imagined in my life to receive. This young lady presented me her love and respect. On 5th October every year since 1998 World Teachers’ Day is celebrated, highlighting the significant role which a teacher plays in providing quality education at all levels. And today I have been honored with my very first gift on Teachers’ Day. I have no words to explain how I felt in that moment. My student excitedly told me, ‘ Ma’am you are the first person in my life to whom I have said I love you…this gift is my token of respect for you.’ Speechless and humbled with the love and honor yet at the same time felt a tinge of confidence in my heart that I have done something right. This moment is also very special because this is the first gift I received right before my birt...

Hajj- the beauty of this Holy Pilgrimage is one of the most soul enriching experiences and today millions of Muslims are being blessed with the divinity of this spiritual journey. People who are blessed to have experienced this journey are considered the luckiest ones, and the ones who have not yet embarked on this journey wishes that if only once in their life time they can make this Pilgrimage then their lives in this world and the Hereafter shall be blessed with the Mercy of Allah. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) delivered his last Hajj sermon (known as Khutba-e-hajjatul-Wida) in the valley of mount Arafat. It was the best example of eloquence, brevity, conciseness and the content of the message was as humane, rational and favorable to justice and equality as any message could be. The message delivered in the sermon was delivered more than fourteen centuries ago, but, it was still inclusive of all bases of equality and justice and is an essence of the true message and philosophy...

  I saw this amazing quote by Albert Einstein and I think it explains in one brief sentence the entire of discipline of teaching. We have either direct experiences or indirect experiences when we met teachers who are wonderfully educated, and I say this with the deepest respect for all the teachers, but some of them start from being moderately complicated and end up being extremely complicated.  We always think that it’s us who are unable to understand the complexity of the subject but today I realize that the concepts of that particular teacher are unclear to her/himself. If you do not understand anything clearly yourself, you simply cannot explain it anyone else, rather it is in teaching or any other subject. I am not a numbers person and honestly my mathematics is pretty scary. In tenth grade when I had to prepare for maths exam, I wasn’t exactly feeling happy. One of our family friends recommended to us a Mathematics teacher.  I do not k...