Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The Principle of Intention


In my Master’s program, Teaching and Learning, I read a chapter entitled The Principle of Intention by Paul D. Houston.  Intention is a transforming process that moves from thought, to verbalization, to written word.  Once a thought enters the mind, it can turn into an intention or return back to where it came from.  I believe worthwhile thoughts, which turn into action, come from the Devine.  This can be seen personally and in the classroom.  Since I was a youth minister in the 90’s, I have relied on listening to the Divine voice or the Holy Spirit.  I have heard both the whisper of the Spirit in prayer, as well as opportunities that have lead me to new and satisfying opportunities.  My life intention has always been to make a different in the world.  At one point in my life, I had a part time job that I didn’t feel was fulfilling my life intention.  I quickly moved on and a teaching position opened up that aligned with my desire to make a difference and help others.  I have continued to be able to live my life intention by working with struggling readers.  I often here a whisper in the back of my mind that helps me reach out to challenging students throughout the day.  My list of intentions or beliefs include going to bat for students who struggle, being friendly and fun, challenging students to believe they CAN do it, and holding them to high expectations to name a few.  Having put these intentions and other intentions on paper, continue to breathe life into them.  An area that I struggle with when it comes to intention is allowing me to be open to energy vampires.  I can easily be reactive when people come to me with problems or situations.  I feel like I have to jump in and solve their problems.  Instead, I could allow people to delegate their problems upward, rather than giving their problems to me.  Thus, this would allow me to be proactive by aiming my energy towards what I want to see happen. All in all, I truly believe my personal will is aligned with my divine will.  Thus, helping my intentions become more focused as I walk my journey.

1 comment:

  1. I love the idea of the "whisper" - I too hear that whisper, often in the back of my mind. Intention has helped me make those whispers a reality, just as you mentioned. You seen to live your life with intention already, and I look forward to reading more of your reflections and ideas of how this all fits into our roles as teachers.

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