To live intentionally takes an internal fire that is built by you and God. Every fire needs kindling. The kindling usually comes in the form of ideas…stirrings of heart thoughts that form a dream. It’s a co-creative experience between you and God.
This is my year of living intentionally. It’s not that I haven’t lived with intention before, it’s just now I’m making a declaration – a manifesto of sorts – to more fully live out my dharma. My intention is to inspire as many people as I can for positive growth and change – even with myself. My intention is to use my God-given gifts to manifest more goodness in the world. I want to spread more of the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 “But the Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control. Against such things there is no law.”
In order to live intentionally, it’s a good idea to define what that means. Intention is an act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result. It is to have purpose or attitude toward the effect of one’s actions or conduct. There is meaning and significance in being intentional.
Being intentional is being on purpose. It includes designing or planning. It means to be deliberate in action – carefully weighed and considered, studied.
The word dharma is difficult to define because it has a variety of meanings stemming from Eastern Philosophy. For the purpose of this manifesto, we’ll say that dharma is all the actions a person takes which align with universal laws and the internal makeup, gifts and abilities a person owns. The ability to live out one’s dharma requires some self-actualization, self-study and self-growth. Oftentimes, life experiences (much of which is out of our control), can hamper self-growth. People who are in survival mode tend to grow much slower and have a more difficult time connecting with their own hearts. But it’s not impossible and I want to encourage you to dig deep – even and especially if you are struggling with matters that prevent you from doing exactly what you want at this time.
I have known people who have an innate ability to hone in on their gifts and use them from an early age. I see this as pretty rare though. A person has to be really emotionally even and sure of themselves, anchored by strong self-esteem to build a dream life at a young age. Don’t allow yourself to envy these people. We are each on an individual path with different things to learn. Some of us are late bloomers – and I include myself in that category!
There is a series of steps that you mentally and physically have to take to make something come to fruition. Sometimes it requires reading or studying. Sometimes it requires developing a new skill.
Here are 5 Steps you can take to begin living intentionally – on purpose – every day of your life.
1) Every day, acknowledge God, His sovereign care over your life and say a prayer of gratitude for this day. Thank God for your blessings – all the good in your life. Ask for wisdom and light to be infused into your consciousness throughout the day, so you can be directed from that light within. Ask for guidance and what it is you are supposed to do to manifest more of the Fruit of the Spirit – Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Self-Control. Do this every day.
2) Develop a deeper awareness of your body – the sensations you feel as you go about your day. Also, begin to notice your feelings more – your emotional body. One way to do this is to practice yoga. Yoga helps to develop a keen awareness of various parts of your body at different times. Hatha yoga is the physical or purification process for strengthening and stretching the body, creating better circulation. It also helps to calm the mind.
An even quicker way to build awareness is to sit in meditation. Here you can breathe deep, scan your body, notice sensations and quiet the mind. Somehow quieting the mind allows divine thoughts to enter and act as guide and counselor. It gives you an opportunity to just be you without any outside influence or stimulation. This quiet time is necessary to get in touch with your heart, mind and emotions.
3) Write down on paper or type on a computer your thoughts. Share your innermost thoughts, dreams and desires. Write down why you feel so moved to have a certain dream. Write down the details of how you envision your life in its fullest capacity. Don’t hold back. Dig deep into your heart and examine what is most meaningful to you. Don’t hesitate to include your thoughts of what you think might be holding you back. It’s good to acknowledge your innermost thoughts – even if they are negative. You can always adjust your thoughts based on reality. Keep in mind that many of our thoughts are truly erroneous. Here’s where you need to examine your thoughts regularly and determine if they align with reality or not.
4) Set a course and plan of action. Determine what it is you want and how you’re going to get it. If you want joy on a more regular basis, plan out how you will attain more joy. It could be tethered to your spiritual pursuits; it may just be you want to experience a certain type of vacation. Perhaps you want to lose weight (get healthy), or maybe you want to build a dream business. Something as simple as getting back to nature can bring you more joy. Whatever you are dreaming about, list what it will take to achieve your dream. You may have to go back to school, take a course, hire a health coach or give something up to save for what you really want. I recently talked to a young mother who is currently a nurse. She has a dream of becoming a nurse practitioner. She knows it’s going to take another 4 years to get that degree. Right now, she is in the process of figuring out how she’s going to work part-time and go to school full-time while caring for her baby girl. Luckily she has help from her mother with her daughter, but it’s going to be a tough road. Still, she’s determined this is what she wants and is going to figure out how to do it.
5) Take ACTION. Remember ACTION is the key to following through with deliberateness. For example, if you want to gain more wisdom, find 5 books of Wisdom Literature. Begin reading daily passages to inspire you. If you’ve always wanted to learn to speak Spanish, buy that course and start utilizing it, memorizing and practicing your new language. If you want to lose weight, begin by studying yourself in relation to your eating and physical habits. Know that your body, mind and emotions are so tightly interconnected that they affect each other. Your thoughts affect your physical body. Your physical experiences affect your thoughts. Your emotions are messages from your brain that affect the body. Getting to know yourself and learning how to overcome any negative thoughts about your dreams is part of the growing process. Take the necessary action steps to achieve your goals.
Here’s an example of living intentionally. Doug decides to run a marathon. He thinks he can do it. He’s done it before but would like to better his time. Doug sets a plan to train for the marathon by running a certain number of miles per day. He gets up before work and runs. By marathon time, Doug is ready. He runs the marathon, beating his previous time. He wasn’t competing with others; he was competing with himself. Now, Doug feels empowered to do just about anything because he knows that if he puts his mind to it, he can accomplish what he sets his mind to doing.
No matter what your goal or dream is, you will have to be deliberate, be on purpose and set the course. The key to attaining your goals is in the action. Just Do It! – as Nike is so famous for declaring.
If you are already happy doing what you are doing, good for you! If not, spend a few hours, days or weeks with yourself assessing your life, what you want and how you’re going to get it. Remember, it’s a process. Not to be rushed, but to be put in motion.
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