I needed an internet break this weekend. But I did continue this intention game, so I’ll share them because I’ve heard a few of you sweethearts are using them yourselves. Which is pretty rad. I’m trying to keep this up for myself for at least 30 days, to see which ones end up being most helpful to my days. Kind of a self-experiment. Anyways…
Friday – Feel What I Feel
This one is first in this blog post… but I’m actually writing it last, because I was racking my brain trying to remember what it was. All I could remember was how frustrating the first half of my day was when it hit me. It took me a few hours of frustration to realize what I needed my intention to be that day… but finally, it was to feel what I feel. Sounds trite. But it worked. I was getting worked up because my day wasn’t going the way I had wanted it to. Things I’d planned got rearranged, places I was trying to go were closed, classes were at different times then I thought, I forgot my keys at home… you know, that kind of day. So finally I just let myself uncontrollably whine (in my head, work doesn’t take kindly to whiners). I mentally let myself scream “I’M FRUSTRATED!!!!!!” And then after a minute or so, I’d try and let it go and go on about my business. When I’d feel the frustration come up again, I’d purposely go through the mental tantrum again. Whether it was an hour later or a few minutes later. Again, and again. Until eventually… I started to (mentally) yell, “I’M SOOOOOOOOOO FRUSTRATED!!!!!!!”… when I stopped… and realized I wasn’t really anymore. I’d tantrum’d myself out of my own frustration. haha! Who knows if that will ever work again, or if my mind will have wised up to my game, but it worked wonders that day.
Saturday – Enjoy
Today, I nearly forgot about my intention setting game. I had such a fantastic day with my family of three (poor Ruby had to stay home), that I didn’t want to do anything else but enjoy myself and our day. So I went with that. And it was perfection.
Sunday – Stretch Time
Manipulating time is always a fun one. Because anyone can do it on a whim. Did you know that? Have you tried? I’m sure you have. If you think back to one of those moments that sticks in your mind very clearly. From the feeling and the mood, to the colors of the scenery and the placement of objects in your line of vision… it’s usually one of those moments where you take an internal pause, lean your energy back a bit, and make that mental realization that this is a moment to remember. A moment where you’re living. And the time seems to stretch, momentarily. Expand, and almost sit outside itself. It happens when you start to really pay attention to the present. To your senses. To the sights and sounds and smells and tastes and the weight of your body in this place and the feelings that are coming up for you in that very moment. It can be a great moment, it can be a painful moment, it can be an utterly boring moment that you can make suddenly come alive with just a little bit of attention. It’s a rad phenomenon. And it’s a cure for wishing that time was passing differently. When you’re afraid time is passing too quickly, it often does. And when you wish that it would speed up already, it usually drags. This thing, this playing with time… it can go either way. It can be stretched in a way that makes it seem to slow and it can be molded in a way that makes it feel less arduous. Try it. You’ll be hooked.
Monday – Be UN Self-Conscious
This is a hard one to define, and had a lot of layers initially, but I had to strip it down to make it less intimidating. One day I’ll try the original intention… though I think it will need more than a day of practice. It was inspired, again, by that book on Creativity by Osho. (It started out with three alternate titles, which I won’t explain right now, but maybe it’s a little self-evident, or at the very least, food for thought. Be UN self-conscious or Forget Yourself or Remember God.) The base layer of the intention, which I tried out yesterday, was to be UN self-conscious. Maybe this doesn’t need to be stated…. but even though I consider myself a fairly confident individual… this was HARD. I believe that I was only really able to pull it off a few times that day. (And to be honest, forgot about it half of the day) But it did make me very aware of how often I do act, with other’s perceptions in mind. Whether it’s to seek silent approval from other’s, or in quiet defiance of other’s… it’s still a self-conscious act. So interesting to think about. And definitely one I’ll have to try again. ugh!
Conversations 
Lovely. With practice, you can be Aware of surroundings in the moment whenever you wish, reducing anxiety. Paying attention to feelings means they do not need, like a persistent toddler, to tug at your sleeve all the time- doing the shouting internally is a wonderful skiill. I have not managed to deal with self-consciousness, it is an effort I am making now, but it helps to remind myself that other people don’t actually think the things I think they think about me.