Category Archives: Power of Intention

The Power of Intention

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In our last class of the Art of Communication class, we talked about the power of intention. When we think to set an intention before we meditate, or as we start out day, it shapes what follows. We also talked about the deep intention, the intention for a life, that comes out of knowing what we care about most. I told this story, drawn from a blog post by Jan Phillips on Krista Tippett’s On Being website, and I just realized I had neglected to post it. So here it is:

Former nun Jan Phillips had been a young postulant in her first theology class when a Jesuit priest asked the students what they believed about God. One by one, the young women quoted lines from the catechism: Continue reading →

Invitations around the Power of Intention

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  1. Read Jack Kornfield’s essay “The Heart’s Intention.” Afterwards, if it feels right, journal about your own intentions: for this day, for this week, for your life.
  2. What is your intention for your mindfulness practice going forward? This, too, is something you might want to journal about. It can be helpful to reflect on your particular experiences, bringing to mind specific classes or sitting sessions. Did your emotional state or felt sense of being change from the beginning to the end? Have their been times you have been aware of the practice affecting an interaction or response? Do you feel ready to set an intention toward cultivating or recommitting to a regular practice of meditation, with a time and place to meditate on a regular basis?
  3. Henry David Thoreau wrote “Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed had been, I have great faith in a seed. Convince me you have a seed there, and I’m prepared to expect wonders.” You might ask yourself, in meditation or in journaling: What seeds are you planting? What seeds are you watering?
  4. Read “Kiss the Moment” by Frank Ostaseki, the cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project and author of The Five Invitations. This little piece is a lovely capstone for our class together, as he reminds us:

Continue reading →

The Lasting Light of John Lewis

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Congressman and Civil Rights Leader John Lewis’s passing last week felt like a great tree had fallen in the forest, shaking the ground in ever-widening concentric circles and moving the hearts of generations of people committed to justice. And like a great tree, his legacy will continue for aeons, nurturing infinite fresh growth on the moral ground he occupied with such commitment, clarity and courage.

I have just started reading his beautiful memoir, Across that Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America. We need optimism right now, we need strength, and we need faith, and John Lewis’s words—and his example—provide all three. Please read this book. You can also read his last words to us — published in an OpEd in the New York Times on the day of his memorial service, here.

A few excerpts: Continue reading →

Living with Intention: Some poems …

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Half Life
by Stephen Levine

We walk through half our life
as if it were a fever dream
barely touching the ground
our eyes half open
our heart half closed.

Not half knowing who we are
we watch the ghost of us drift
from room to room
through friends and lovers
never quite as real as advertised.

Not saying half we mean
or meaning half we say
we dream ourselves
from birth to birth
seeking some true self.

Until the fever breaks
and the heart can not abide
a moment longer
as the rest of us awakens,
summoned from the dream,
not half caring for anything but love.

Ah, Not to be cut off
by Rainer Marie Rilke

Ah, not to be cut off,
not through the slightest partition
shut out from the law of the stars.
The inner — what is it?
if not the intensified sky,
hurled through with birds and deep
with the winds of homecoming.

 

Ah, not to be cut off

by Rainer Maria Rilke

English version by Stephen Mitchell
Original Language German

Ah, not to be cut off,
not through the slightest partition
shut out from the law of the stars.
The inner — what is it?
if not the intensified sky,
hurled through with birds and deep
with the winds of homecoming.

— from Ahead of All Parting: The Selected Poetry and Prose of Rainer Maria Rilke, Translated from the German by Stephen Mitchell

Invitations: Deep Listening and the Power of Intention

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  1. Journal about the Love exercise we did today and consider setting an intention: for the day, for the week, even for your life. If it feels right, write it down, and carry it with you through the week, in both meditation and your daily activities. Allow yourself to revise or start over in whatever way feels most authentic for you.  You might find it helpful to read this brief essay on The Heart’s Intention by Jack Kornfield.
  2. Read Tara’s 8 Essential Tips for Practice and write out a brief plan for your practice going forward.
  3. When you find yourself in conversation this week, invite yourself to deepen your listening. If you would like to further explore deep listening, there are some resources here.

Invitations: Mindfulness of Breath

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THIS WEEK: LET US GROW AWARE OF OUR BREATH, AND OF OUR DEEPEST INTENTION

Three Invitations:

• How do you want this pandemic to change you? Write down whatever arose for you during tonight’s talk, and revisit the question through the week.

• Commit to a period of practice every day. It can be as short as five minutes, but even a few minutes of stillness, of following the breath, can calm and clear the mind. A wonderful resource, if you would like some guidance in this, is Mindfulness Daily, a 40-day mindfulness course that Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach are offering for free during the pandemic. Each day is a bite-sized lesson and short meditation — 10 to 12 minutes each day — and the series is deep and rich and delightfully accessible. You can access the course here: Mindfulness Daily

• Check in with your breath a few times a day, taking one or two or three breaths with complete attention. It helps to have a trigger. Some people take one deep breath each time before they check their phone or a text. Another possibility: right now all of us are washing our hands a lot. Two deep breaths takes about 20 seconds, and is a lot more satisfying than singing “Happy Birthday” in your head for the umpteenth time. Fully engage with your breath, and enjoy the sensual pleasure of soapy water on your hands.

Please share your experiences or questions in the comment section.