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Mindfulness

Being fully present in the moment

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Mindful Intention sets the tone for the day. It is a deliberate connection to your values and purpose.

The obvious next question then becomes how do we inspire that Intention to take form in our daily lives? How do we convert Mindful Intention to Mindfulness?

The underpinnings of this practice are built from the awareness of your values and the purposeful recollection of these values as you perform your daily activities. Mindfulness asks us to bring our full mind, our full awareness to the activity and the Intention we set, simultaneously. It is a combination of mind and body, Intention and task. (We will bring Spirit in later when we explore Manifestation).

This is the work of mindfulness, the golden nugget of the practice. Here we bring the values of our choosing to our daily activities.

To accomplish this is a true practice; this word, practice, is a purposeful choice. It takes practice, repetition, to integrate and achieve mindfulness. This is a simple fact of the way our human organism is designed, our neurobiology. It takes time for the neural networks that support the new Intention to form in the brain and beyond. Practice is what develops the neural communication. What fires together neurologically, wires together. These established wiring circuits are called neural networks and they support all our learned behavior, both helpful and harmful behavior.

(Side note: it doesn't have to be this way, but for the vast majority of folks, this is the process. It is possible to flip the switch, so-to-speak, and arrive at one's Intention. It takes a deep awakening to the momentum... we will revisit this too in later posts on manifestation).

Starting each day with the conscious setting of Intention builds this neural network. Over time, the network gets established and then one day, as if by magic, it is built strongly enough to show up effortlessly even when your being yelled at about a choice you didn't even make. And your response spills out with LOVE, "Wow, you sound really upset about this situation. How can I help?" And just like that the tension begins to diffuse. After all, it doesn't really matter if you did or did not make the choice you are being told you made. What matters is that the other person is hurt and is reaching out to be heard and LOVED.

Once they feel this LOVE, they will soften and you will likely be able to address your feelings about being accused at some point later. And, having been heard themselves, there is a good chance they will now be able to HEAR you with an open heart. (Imagine how the world would thrive if we all gave the children, and each other, this kind of LOVING listening.)

Allow for time and stumbles along your path. Allow for space to integrate the Intention and relieve yourself of a specific time-frame for outcomes. Receive the stumbles as learning opportunities. Stumbles are the signposts of our edges. They point to the current process unfolding. When the signposts are not present, we are not working an edge (or we are gliding in calm waters after weathering a growth surge). Offer the signposts gratitude for their guidance onward and inward.

This is a powerful practice itself; when done routinely this is the foundation of self-forgiveness. A radical awareness that your growth edges are truly offerings toward evolution. These edges are your signposts, source sparks for potential growth requiring courage and fierce involution or inward reflection to convert the potential to realized form.

Since your heart knows better, ask it to lead. In that very moment, where you witness your struggle, embrace your Intention and the opportunity to embody it. Release the challenge all-together and return to the practice by consciously placing your minds attention on the values and purpose you chose from your heart; your INTENTION. Bring your awareness to the heart space to support you. The more you practice this when you are not challenged, the more easily accessible it will be when a challenge arises. Deep breaths help too.

Give yourself the gift of releasing the challenge in favor of your values and purpose.

This is the moment of the practice. 

The moment when opportunity is knocking.

Are you willing to answer the door and see what possibilities are awaiting?

Practice Offering

You are invited to set an Intention and explore that intention for a week, or longer. If you notice your achieving your intended theme effortlessly, it is time to move to a new Intention, to grow into a new edge of your spiral. You may find you need to return to that Intention at a later date; for now, set motion to your spiral and reach for growth.

If you are achieving intermittent success, then the Intention is asking for further attention and another week of your focus. The system of growth reveals its own momentum in this way. You will know when to celebrate your achievement and embrace a new edge. Rejoice for yourself. These accomplishments, both small and large, are worthy of celebration.

  • For instance, if your Intention is Joy, next time you are doing a dreaded task, ask yourself to tackle the task joyfully. 
  • Sing while you work, or dance if possible. 
  • Let Joy flow through you before you start by recalling a Joyful memory and then carry Joy into the task. 
  • The result will be that you have your full attention on the task and your values and purpose will be spilling forth as you achieve your task Joyfully. 
  • Try this while doing dishes, cleaning up your beloved furry friends land mines, or making the 3000th request of the day come to completion.

Allow the struggle, if it arises, without feeding it your attention.

When you experience struggle, focus on the Intention. Breath it in to your heart and release anything that does not serve with your exhale.

Other ways to celebrate and engage your intention are to:

  • Draw your Intention, maybe in the sand at the beach
  • Doodle it
  • Scream it loud and clear
  • Dance the feeling
  • Journal about it
  • Collage it
  • Welcome the feeling into your heart, then radiate the feeling outward 
  • Sing a song about your intention, or make one up

Allow the energy to unlock through a different approach to bringing your Intention to your awareness. Place your focus long and hard on the purposeful Intention in whatever form feeds your soul.

As always, create Mindfully, Joyfully and with Abandon.

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Copyright 2018