What am I even doing, really?

Describing intention, Jake's take and anchoring to gratitude.

My friend Danny and I stop on the Via Lido bridge hovering between Newport Beach and Lido Island. The Sunday morning sun peeks over the marina in the distance. It warms us and highlights the scene. Lighting up sailboats, Duffy’s and yachts scattered across the harbor’s calm water.

“Your Student of Intention emails are ending up in my spam folder.” He says.

I let him know a few others mentioned it and refer him to Substack’s instructions.

I find myself oddly unconcerned.

Danny still reads the emails once he marks “not spam” in his Gmail.

Last week, 315 other people read the email. I suppose I trust the emails find their way to whom they are meant to find.

Later, I sit to write this post and think to myself,

What am I even doing, really?

I speak with my wife often about what I think I’m doing. I’ve shared many conversations with friends and family. I’ve written posts about it. And launched a podcast about it. Even so, I have trouble describing the gift I am trying to give you. The gift of living with intention.

In his book, The Power of Intention, Dr. Wayne Dyer writes,

Intention is something that I believe we can feel, connect with, know and trust. It’s an inner awareness that we explicitly feel, and yet at the same time cannot truly describe with words… It’s my hope that you too will begin to recognize what you personally need to do to begin activating intention in your life.

And there is the answer. Living with intention is something I feel and I trust. It’s an inner awareness I want to share with you. Something I hope you begin activating in your life. It is also really tough to describe with words.

Later in the book, he suggests we continuously contemplate ourselves as being surrounded by the conditions we wish to produce.

Essentially, he suggests we create the reality we want by being in the reality we wish to create. Like I said… tough to describe with words.

He then offers seven faces of intention to imagine what it (intention) might look like. You can make them a part of your life to connect with the power of intention. To align with The Universe:

Be creative

Be kind

Be love

Be beauty

Be ever expansive

Be abundant

Be receptive

Seven seem like a bit too much? Perhaps start with a few.

What are three or four faces of intention you can make a part of your life this week?

I’m happy to lend you his book if you want to continue learning. Just reply to this email and we can coordinate.

I’ll also continue to share what I learn from my experience and others I investigate. But remember, this is all challenging to describe. The best way for you to understand is to seek it for yourself. To name intentions using The Intention Guide. To reflect on your experience. To make Dr. Dyer’s seven faces of intention a consistent part of your life.

There are plenty of ways to begin. Above all else, begin.

Don’t wait. Start small. Learn as you go.

Jake’s take

Last week, my friend Jake Goble joined me for Episode 2 of the Student of Intention Podcast. We discussed health, creativity, play, work/ life balance and how to be present in conversation. He also offered this take on living with intention:

If something is important to you, write it down. Speak it out. Pray on it. Meditate on it. You have to get your vision into the ether in as many forms as you can if you want to increase the likelihood of it coming to fruition.

Check out the full episode on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Anchoring to gratitude

As I study intention, gratitude continues to come up as a key component. Perhaps the key component.

I’ve written about it in other SOI posts and on LinkedIn. I’ve defined living with intention as enjoying the pursuit of purpose. With enjoy being “the glue holding the process together”.

Last week, a couple other messengers surfaced to help illustrate this finding.

A message from Jeff Kober’s Daily Thoughts email:

And Ben Greenfield on his Instagram:

I’ll wrap by calling gratitude a practice. It requires awareness and a deliberate focus. It takes consistent reinforcement from friends like Jeff, Ben and others.

I am finding gratitude in the smallest of moments. Slicing fruit for myself in the morning. Biking around Back Bay. Reading Elizabeth Gilbert. Writing to you here.

But it takes practice.

How will you practice gratitude this week?

For next time (possibly):

My moment with Chris

Self love VS Self-ish

Kevin’s story

Until then,

Don’t wait. Start small. Learn as you go.