What the hour is made of

Take the hour apart and there are usually three things in it, stacked.

At the bottom there is guilt, which is accurate. You believe this is wrong, and you did it. That belief is yours and this course is not going to talk you out of it or dilute it.

On top of that there is the shame, which is a different claim entirely. Not I did a bad thing but I am a bad thing. That is the layer that has nowhere to go.

And on top of that there is the panic, which is usually made of questions. Does my salah count. Has my fast gone. Am I still Muslim. Those questions feel like religion and they are running on anxiety, and lesson six is about what to do when that layer is the loudest one.

Only the bottom layer is doing any useful work.