365 Challenge Day 250 – Intention

It’s funny that I’m debating about whether I should buy bird seed or not.

This weekend my yoga teacher told a story in the training and in class.  She went to visit her brother, and there were all sorts of birds and animals that came to his backyard all week.  She said it took her about five days to realize that he was feeding all of them and had about 24 bird feeders in his backyard!  (well, she tends to exaggerate, lets say he had a lot.)  This was such as powerful metaphor for her.  If you want birds, you have to put out the bird feeders.  She even quoted the Field of Dreams, “build it, and they will come”  (personally I thought that was a really stupid movie, but I like the quote.)

I’m thinking about that.  What are the areas in my life that I want something to happen, and I just need to create the right conditions for it to happen?

365 Challenge Day 149 – Intention

40 Days to Personal Revolution – Day 39!!!

I want to share something  about the power of intention. A few months ago I went for hike in the woods, and a guy on the hike told me he was part of a rowing team. They met three times a week, practiced together, and then raced on the weekends. My immediate response was, “I wish I had a yoga team that would get me to practice three times a week!” At that time I was going to class very rarely. I imagined how motivating it would be to have a group who would be waiting for me to show up, and care whether I made it or not!!
Well, I did it!! Without even realizing what I was doing, or making the connection, I created that team, and that regular practice! I started the Personal Revolution group on FaceBook, friends joined, friends got other friends to join, and we’ve all been practicing and sharing or results.  It was only recently that I remembered the conversation and realized that my wish, which seemed completely random at the time, had come true!

Day 39? Awww.. I’m getting all nostalgic!!  Part of me is so ready for break, but part of me doesn’t want the group to end!!

Yoga: My yoga teacher kicked my butt at class tonight. I thought it was just me, that I must have been more tired than I realized, but then eventually figured out that the room was 5 to 10 degrees hotter than usual, and ujjiyi breathing was NOT happening, it was all mouth breathing tonight! My mat was near the door and there was a steady stream of people stepping out to get more water, or get a break, that doesn’t usually happen! Anyway, it was good!!
Meditation: Did 20, didn’t want to stop, did 10 more ; )
Food: Assorted vegan foods, all good, but my daughter caved and had a tuna sandwich and I was quite envious. Day after tomorrow…

365 Challenge Day 29 – Intention

The Universe works in mysterious ways. Haven’t you ever wanted something, and then almost magically it seems to happen?  Have you ever asked a question and then years later you get the answer in an unexpected way? That kind of serendipity happens to me all the time, almost daily.

There are many people who believe that if you put out your intention, the Universe will align to make it happen.  But today I’m talking about something much less metaphysical than that.

Even if you if you don’t believe in the magic of the Power of Intention (The Secret, or the Law of Attraction), there is no denying that having a clear goal or aspiration, and stating that goal, will help you achieve it.  Being clear on what you want puts you in line with that goal, so you can head in that direction, or at least know when you’re heading the other way!

I’m just reflecting on this in a very mundane way.  I had stated in this blog about three weeks ago that I should probably cut back on coffee, and on Sunday, when I ran out, I spontaneously decided not to run out and buy more like I normally would have.  Two days ago I said I should probably switch from black tea to green tea, and well, yesterday and today I’ve been home instead of at work and I only have green tea here, no black tea.  Of course I could have easily gone out and bought some Earl Grey, my favorite, but because I had just stated my intention to drink more green tea, I just shrugged and made the switch.

So I am now on day four of no coffee.  It’s okay.  I’m home today taking another four-day weekend using up some vacation days, and I definitely could have used some more caffeine today to do the cleaning I wanted to do.  Mostly I just sat on the couch, staring at the mess, and feeling the temperature in my house rise as it’s above 80 today and I don’t have AC.

I did actually have kind of a productive day, I made some important phone calls, made some doctor and dental appointments I’ve needed to do for a long time, and ran some errands.  I also finally managed to cook a meal!!  Not sure why I chose the 82 degree day to cook, but that’s just how it happened.  I needed some lunch and decided to make rice pasta, I don’t eat pasta very often because I usually cook dishes that go with rice.  As soon as I realized I had pasta sauce, I also realized I had broccoli, cauliflower, celery and carrots in the fridge.  I even had garlic and onions, olive oil, and some firm tofu to complete the sauce and make a full meal.  Those were just about all the ingredients I had in the fridge and it was a pretty nice coincidence that they happened to go together.  Some of the veggies were supposed to be for salad, some for smoothies, and some for Indian food.  It definitely wasn’t the tastiest thing I’ve ever made, but hopefully it got me out of my cooking slump because I’ve been spending a ridiculous amount of money on take-out and need to make some changes!