An intentional life.

　
We are, as a general rule, guided by our wants and desires. However, what we perceive as our desires are not necessarily of our own creation. More often, our parents, peers, churches or the media have instilled them in us. Which helps to explain why so many of them contradict each other. We become so focused on achieving these assumed goals and meeting our short term targets that we don’t even pause to consider the possibility that there might be a higher, more fulfilling agenda for us to pursue.

It's through clearing the slate, by attuning to our silent selves, that we come to know our deepest wishes – our sacred path, if you will. This requires dedicating time, not only for quieting, but also for deep reflection, in order to see behind the veil of imposed (and expected) goals. The logical mind, due to its desire for defined order and routine, has a knack for deceiving us. So, we must repeatedly spend substantial periods, as a life long practice, to ensure that we reach our conclusions, without the distortion of our preconceptions and adopted priorities.

It can be uncomfortable to admit to ourselves that we’ve been moving in the wrong direction, and to accept that our energy spent along that path has been for naught. When we begin to change our ways, it can also create conflict with others in our lives who have long held beliefs about who we are, what we care about and where we’re supposed to be going. But the alternative is to ignore our deepest wishes, which will inevitably lead to a myriad of negative psychological symptoms: confusion, anger, depression, fear, resentment, etc. These can then possibly manifest physically as hypertension, illness, arthritis, degrading eye sight or even something as severe as cancer.

Further more, the ideal goal is to become familiar enough with being in the present, that we can attain this perspective at will - eventually, continually. Through this, we gain the ability to act with genuine consciousness, moment to moment, rather than leading a life of programmed reactions. Once we’re practiced, it takes only a moment to ask our "higher selves" what the ideal course might be, at any time and in any situation.

The challenge then becomes a matter of having faith in our personal guidance system, allowing us to act accordingly. The directives we receive present themselves to us more like feelings than thoughts. It becomes a dance. A situation arises. We reflect on possible courses and outcomes. We look inside inquiring as to what feels like the appropriate response. We wait and feel for our guidance system's advice. Possibly, followed by further consideration and introspection. In the end, the cognitive mind is responsible to either initiate or allow any action.

Consider this scenario: A business traveler who flies across the globe on a regular basis, one day, inexplicably cannot bring himself to board his flight - the plane later crashes. There are many recorded accounts of people's “instincts” leading them to remarkable acts or insights, well outside of what their rational minds could have logically foreseen.

It can be scary to relinquish control to unknown and inexplicable factors. But once we're trained to really listen to that silent voice within, can recognize its unique "language", and endeavor to trust in the guidance that we receive, our lives become truly intentional and can grow more meaningful and fruitful, in ways that we’d never have imagined.