Intention 11 - Live Below My Means

Live Below My Means. Don’t buy stuff I don’t need. Always sleep on big purchases.

This intention is new to my world and will be a "sacrifice". Husband and I don't live beyond our means, but we most certainly never deprive ourselves of anything nor do we deny ourselves much. The basic point of this intention is three-fold:

1) Save more money: Save for a rainy day and save for retirement. We work like crazy; we should have a good nest egg to show for it so that we can retire comfortably and travel the world. Preferably the sooner the better!

2) Buy less: Remove the clutter from our lives. More stuff means more clutter. More clutter just means more to get rid of. Why buy it in the first place if you're just going to get rid of it?

3) Give back: There is a Rule of Tithing in churches. Although we don't attend an organized church, I believe that a rule of giving 10% of your income to those in need is a good one.

Andy Dooley - Awesome!

Intention 10 - Learn to Unitask

Learn to Unitask


This one sounds absolutely koo-koo-for-co-co-puffs, I know. I used to be so proud of my amazing multi-tasking abilities. Right now, I am not even following my intention. I am on the phone on hold; I am listening to the radio, typing this blog and I have my email up, three phones next to me, 12 tabs open on my computer and two IM programs flashing at me. That is insane. 

How to Stop Multitasking and Start Unitasking | eHow.com

Intention 9

Maintain optimism, even in the face of negativity

I have been working on this intention pretty actively for about three years now, but sometimes all it takes is one incident or one bad day or even one sideways glance or comment to throw me off my stride. When this happens, I tell my husband that someone has crushed my groove, but really my energy balance gets bumped a bit. My intention is to not allow these incidents to keep my energy in the negative for longer than it takes me to realize it has shifted, which should be only a few seconds to a few minutes. My groove should never be crushed for longer than it takes to stand up, stretch and take a deep breath, as opposed to the days, weeks or even months it could have taken before.

The glass is half full. I will find the positive in any situation. If there was a negative, there must be a positive. Yin and yang. Everything happens for a reason, although I may never know what the reason is. If a negative thought finds its way in --- I will replace it with a positive thought!!!

Your worst enemy cannot harm you

As much as your own thoughts, unguarded.

But once mastered,

No one can help you as much,

Not even your father or your mother.

Buddha

Intention 8

Seriously, I want to learn how to play my harmonica! 


There seems to be no one holding me back on this one but myself. I have plenty of support (hubby and friends) and there is even someone at work who will teach me! Is the fact that I am not doing this fear based? Do I secretly feel like it is a waste of time?  I need some serious encouragement here!


And I want to play harmonica like Ryan Adams...you have to go to minute 4.30 or so to hear that, but for us Ryan fans, starting from the beginning is more fun....

Intention 7

Make up my own mind on everything. Don't let other people influence my decisions. 

This sounds so easy and obvious, but it's not! All day, every day we are bombarded with the opinions of other people on social media sites, in emails, on TV, in the news, at the dinner table, in meetings and on the radio just to name a few places off the top of my head! After a while it becomes hard to remember if an idea, thought or opinion was really yours or if it actually originated somewhere else. This is a blendy intention with "meditation" time -- finding time to quiet my mind and pull my thoughts back to me instead of having them out there flying around the Universe willy- nilly all the time, cluttering up someone personal brain space! 

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. -Buddha. 

Intention 6

Stop eating like someone is going to take away my food! 


Below, Lilian Cheung, editorial director of the Nutrition Source website, talks about her new book, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life. Co-written with world-renowned Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, the book offers advice about using Buddhist techniques to control overeating and maintain a healthy diet.

Intention 5

Be conscious of when I'm bored and replace the boredom with knowledge.


I need to "find time" for more learning and I know it must be there. I don't want to cut into my fun time, so I'm thinking I'd rather cut into my blah bored/I'm-too-comfortable-with-life time. This makes a perfect kind of sense to me in the ying/yang balance of it all. 


"Through zeal, knowledge is gotten, through lack of zeal, knowledge is lost; let a man who knows the double path of gain and loss thus place himself that knowledge may grow." ~ Buddha 

Intention 4

Remember the Voltaire quote: "The perfect is the enemy of the good." I don't need a gold star for every move I make and every job I do. Just get it done well and move on.


Rather than suffering through life doing every little thing to the (n)th degree, I need to learn to stop and realize that I am not being judged on all that I do. I know this urge to be perfect is something that I have been dealing with since I was very young and I even know why. I can remember getting an answer incorrect in class in a vocabulary contest. The word was "vivid" and I had never heard the word before. My team needed me to get the answer correct, but there was no way. I thought the answer might have been either vague or memorable. I guessed vague. Memorable may have won the contest for us if the teacher showed mercy, but vague was definitely wrong. My "row" really gave me a hard time for missing that answer and to this day I can still feel my cheeks blush with the embarrassment of it. Since then, I have wanted to always be prepared, always know the answer and always be right, so that I can prevent that kind of embarrassment again. Of course, this is subconscious, mostly, but yet, I live it every day. 


Since today is a new day, and the scoreboard is wiped clean, I am going to to take that memory and put it away. And I am going to keep doing a good job, but stop worrying about being perfect. 

Mr. Voltaire Himself

Intention 3

Listen to my intuition. That gut reaction always seems to be the right one.

Who said that? What? Where did that voice come from? Ahhhh, my INNER voice.

Five Pathways to Listening to Your Inner Voice

Is your life out of sync with your priorities?
Do you feel like you're a hamster running on a wheel?
Have you forgotten who you are?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, read on. Learn to listen to your inner voice - the essence of who you are - by following these five steps:

1. Check in with your heart.
   Social conditioning teaches us to be logical and "use our heads". When you only use your head, your experience of yourself and the world is limited. You miss out on the vital information the rest of your body, heart and soul is giving you.
   
   Benefits: The same neurological tissue found in the brain is found in the heart. The heart is a second "brain" and our emotional center. Listening to your head and your heart is crucial to good decision-making about your life, your business and your relationships.
   New Focus: Put your hand over your heart and focus there - what is it telling you?
2. Connect with your body.
   Your body gives you a tremendous amount of useful information that you may not be conscious of. For example, when your mother-in-law visits, does your stomach tie up in knots? When your boss yells at you, do your shoulders turn into stone? When you feel passionate and alive, does your chest feel warm and open? When we ignore the body's message, we lose out on valuable information designed to let us what works for us and what doesn't.
   
   Benefits: For many people, fear manifests as a tightness in their chest. This is valuable information, especially if you aren't aware that you are afraid. Your body alerts you to what makes feels passionate and what doesn't. The body is a fount of wisdom designed to tell you when you're on the right path and when you aren't.
   New Focus: Notice the messages your body is giving you right now. Try a self-massage to find areas in your back, neck or shoulders that are tense or knotted. What other areas of your body feel tight? Which ones feel relaxed and loose? Use this information as another key to listening to your inner wisdom.
3. Listen to your intuition.
   Intuition is simply knowing something without knowing exactly how you know it. Connect back to a time that you had a "gut feeling" about something - the job that you knew you shouldn't take, even though it looked good on the surface or the relationship that just felt right for you. That's your intuition talking to you.
   Benefits: Gut feelings are a wealth of information. Remember, your intuition is never wrong, although your interpretation of it may be incorrect. When your intuition calls to you, trust it. Practice makes perfect when it comes to using your intuition effectively.
   New Focus: The next time you need to make a decision, check in with your intuition. Experiment with trusting it. When you follow your intuition, what happens? When you hear it and disregard it, what's the outcome?
4. Notice your self-saboteur^*.
   Each of us has our very own special saboteur. The saboteur is the voice in your head that says, "You are not good enough." "Who do you think you are?" "If you take this new job, everyone will find out what a fraud you are." The saboteur's job is to "protect" you from taking risks and making changes.
   
   Benefits: Learn to distinguish between your voice and the saboteur's mumbo-jumbo. Notice how the inner critic drives the choices and decisions you make.
   New Focus: Simply notice the negative voices playing in your head. Notice the times when they crop up. Recognize that the voices aren't you and they aren't true. Learning to separate your own voice from that of the saboteur is a powerful and life changing tool.
5. Identify limiting beliefs.
   We each carry a set of beliefs that we live by. Certain beliefs you hold consciously, while others are mainly unconscious. Beliefs develop out of past experiences and our interpretations of those experiences. Some of the conscious and unconscious beliefs that you develop limit your ability to grow and move forward in your life. For example: One of your goals as a successful entrepreneur is to make a lot of money. You discover that you have a belief - a limiting one - that it's wrong to make a lot of money. Until you begin to alter your beliefs about money, it will be more difficult for you to achieve that financial success you desire.
   
   Benefits: Learning to notice a limiting belief allows you to become conscious of it, and then change it. Releasing a belief that limits you puts you back in the driver's seat of your life. You, rather than an old belief, make the choices that are right for you and allow you to fulfill your potential
   Ways to spot a limiting belief:
   • You tell yourself that you only have one or two choices in a situation, or "no choice" at all.
   • Your inner critic expresses his or her opinion. The inner critic's opinion is generally based in a limiting belief.
   • A decision may appear to be black and white to you, or an either/or situation.
   • You have decided that "this is the way the world is."
   • You make a decision based on fear.
   • You feel constricted and notice that you lack clarity about a specific situation.
   New Focus: How does a particular belief allow you to attract what you really want in life? How does it prevent you from attaining your goals? When you reach an obstacle in your path, make sure that it's not an old belief in your way.

When important questions like "What do I want?" or "What's the right choice for me to make?" surface in your mind, consult your inner voice. You possess the answers you need to live a life that feels successful and fulfilling. Listening to your inner voice can lead you on a path that feels deeply satisfying. Your business and personal lives will flourish with this new level of trust in yourself.


(From http://www.metavoice.org/articles/article1/)

Intention 2

Remember that I have everything that I need.

In fact, I have more than many people will ever have or can even imagine. I will not say I don't deserve it. I do deserve it. I deserve to be happy, healthy and materially comfortable with no anxieties about my physical well-being. It is just good to keep in mind that what I need is here already. There is no reason to seek it elsewhere. The grass-is-always-greener is an actual syndrome that I have had and I will not go over that fence and cross that road again.  To improve, I will improve what is here, not look externally from my current life for change. 


I do not need everything I have. This doesn't mean I don't think I should have more or deserve betterthings; I do think that for myself and for all of you. But on those days when I feel all boo-hoo sad and sorry for myself, I need to remember, I have everything I need. It also helps me remember that some of this abundance of mine would be more appreciated by someone else, so the de-clutter and purge is also on as an intention along with gratitude.

The Five Big Questions

Intention 1

Be present, available; put yourself "out there". 


I did this today by first posting my intentions on Facebook and asking for assistance from all my friends and family, then by starting this blog.  Within five minutes, a good friend responded:


"i watched the Secret last night and not that I didn't already understand the concept, but i found it neat that i've had the netflix dvd for over 5 months and never watched it. so why the wild hair up my ass to watch it last night, on 1/1/11? i don't think it's a coincidence, as i don't believe in those anyway. so, my friend, i will join you on this journey and truly be present everyday. ♥"


I also received other words of encouragement and support. Then, by no coincidence, this quote came up on the SAVOR. Mindful Eating. Mindful Life. Facebook page: “When we appreciate and honor the beauty of life, we will make every effort to dwell deeply in the present moment.” - Thich Nhat Hanh


I will make every effort. I will dwell deeply in the present.