Intentions = More Aliveness
Some of us who have tried yoga or participate every week have heard the instructor at the beginning of class say, “Set an intention.” What is an intention? Do we set them? According to Webster’s Dictionary, intention could mean a “purpose”, a “determination to act a certain way”, an “object for which a prayer or pious act is offered”, or the “healing of an incised wound”. Personally, professionally, and culturally, I think of intentions as being hope for order, peace, and rest. But our worshiped ideals of progress, comparison, and selfishness don’t allow much room for order, peace, or rest unless we become aware that we are in a never-ending current of striving and intentionally swim towards a boat and hop on it to catch our breath. It is away from the current, sitting in stillness on top of it, where we can notice our bodies and minds co-existing in harmony, even for 20 minutes a day.
What are your intentions for your current life season? Do you slow down enough to set them? Do you notice when you need to heal from old wounds? What things are getting in the way of you being able to find order, peace, and rest? At the risk of being accused of sounding overly motherly-like, I will dive right in here and completely correlate our culture’s obsession with busyness and technology use as major barriers to achieving order, peace, or rest. I believe the antidote to chaos is slowing down to become aware of our 1) five senses and 2) others around us. For instance, how often have we thought we should listen to a podcast to add to the knowledge we have in our bursting brains, like we are literally meant to be walking libraries, instead of listening to the birds, breeze, or waves? When we allow our ears to return to their natural state, our other senses become more alive. Distraction dulls our minds and then causes them to become reliant on the next stimuli to feel satisfied, as if we were caffeine junkies going from one coffee shop to the next, all day long.
Why are we so afraid to slow down? Why are we afraid to know ourselves? What are we running from?
The following is a list to help you get re-acquainted with yourself, your senses, and others:
1) Practice mindful eating. Chew a bit of food at least 20 times. Or, try some fruit and notice the texture it has, is it sweet or sour, juicy or dense? Do this with family members and talk about what others notice.
2) Go outside and listen to the birds, saccades, forest, or ocean. Get into nature without earbuds. The Earth around us is quite a symphony. When we don’t carry our phones with us everywhere, we are actually more open to experiencing others.
3) Journal. There are a million journals out there, but I personally and professionally like gratitude journals because of the research that shows that people who are more grateful tend to be more positive thinkers/happier. If you need to process past trauma, addiction, divorce, post-partum stress, caretaking, etc., there are also specific books to help guide your journey.
4) Stop spending (increased amounts of) time on social media, as research correlates it to negative mental health outcomes.
5) Have neighbors, co-workers, friends, or family over for coffee, walks, or dessert. Connection combats loneliness. Our phones can make us feel lonely because they don’t mimic the real thing (back to our senses)- eye contact, using our ears to listen and our throats to speak, or shared smiles, laughter, stories, or interrelatedness.
6) Breath. Inhale and exhale slowly five times. Closing your eyes while doing it will make you feel like you got in a micro-nap!
7) Watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKCDKAQ1oPA
That’s it for now, Friends. As we start to notice our need for order, peace, or rest, I wish that you find some child-like aliveness and an increased, intentional connection with your loved ones.
With Love,
Kim