Bring More Intentionality

Practice of the Week
Bring More Intentionality

Liberation is about waking up! Hour by hour, we give up intentionality and let life happen to us. This exercise invites liberation by waking up to what our hours actually look like.

What you'll need:

• A device such as a smart phone with an alarm clock app that you can set to chime every hour on the hour.
• A journal or notepad, which you'll carry with you through the day

Here’s what you do:

1. Set the alarm/chime to go off every hour on the hour for the entire day, from the time you get up to the time you go to bed.

2. Every time the hourly alarm goes off, make a one-word note in your journal or notepad that captures what you are doing in that moment. For instance, one day’s worth of entries might look like:
worrying,
staring,
working,
working,
working,
eating,
complaining,
daydreaming,
emailing,
working,
commuting,
cooking,
washing,
emailing,
dog-walking,
nodding-off.

Do this for 3 days.

Then:

3. Notice the pattern and figure out how you want to change it. Don’t over-plan it. Just give your day a little bit more intentionality. Keep your hourly alarm in your head and tell yourself that you want to end the day with a list that you can be proud of. Imagine what kind of list would make you smile, feel in control or feel free. For instance this kind of list:
snoozing,
jogging,
enjoying,
planning,
working,
experimenting,
advocating,
working,
dreaming,
laughing,
cooking,
reading,
connecting,
talking,
loving,
breathing.

Or this kind of list from a day off of work:
sleeping,
sleeping,
soaking,
painting,
painting,
varnishing,
indulging,
napping,
painting,
painting,
dining,
dancing,
dancing,
gazing,
dreaming.

It’s all about consciousness. It’s all about liberating yourself by simply noticing. It’s all about living life rather than letting life live you!

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