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.
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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