Video Transcript [edited for clarity]
I want to say a little about the practice of working with daily intention. What I think is precious about exploring intention by way of daily intention is that it gives us a practice space in which to learn how intention works, and to get a feel for the kind of intentions that are important to us.
If we can identify an intention that matches who we are on waking with the things that are precious to us, then we have that little process of self-consultation to catch the spirit of how we want to approach the day and to give us something to lean into. This actually gives us a really good training ground and an anchor for what is precious that day.
What I am finding myself is that when I can return to the intention that I have anchored in the morning, it becomes a harbour or orientation-point in my day. And if I am feeling overwhelmed or if there is a flood of different impulses or demands, it's very easy to feel easy to be de-centred. But if there is an anchoring intention, and we can sense into 'am I honouring that intention?', it realigns things.
There is also something quite creative about taking our orientation from this fresh daily intention. It allows us to feel the quality of different days as quite distinct from each other, oriented by this humble, local intention. It's not that our intentions are going to be completely random; all of them probably align with our deeper value system. But there is something precious about uniquely sensing, 'Okay how am I?; What needs my care today?'
I'll give a very practical example: yesterday I was very underslept, and one element of my intention was to be gentle and respectful of my tiredness. So many times during the day I could feel the support of that. The drive I would normally have and the slight frustration I'm used to if I can't live up to it was replaced by a relaxation when I remembered the intention.
That's just an example of how, if we are true to the realities of any given day, and to who we are, we can actually nourish each day with a particular quality. And we can feel the support of that carrying our lives which really has genuine value, and also has its own gift.
If I return to my experience of being tired - I've never had an intention connected to tiredness before - but I found I could experience something new: 'Oh this is what it feels like when you are generous with yourself about tiredness'. It was like a mini education in that. So I really want to encourage us to experiment with these bespoke daily intentions as a way of feeling into how it can be to have a simple intention for a specific period of time.
