Living With Intent: Five Ways to Grow Your Spiritual Self

by John Maney, Jr.

Have you ever been unfulfilled after obtaining something you thought would make you happy?

Did this make you wonder if there’s more to life than accumulating things?

Have you ever thought about why you’re here?

Many of us may have asked ourselves one or all these questions at some point. We’re more than the flesh and bones of our bodies, so these questions come naturally. In our essence we’re spirits, and it’s through spiritual development that we begin to understand.

Of course, great mystics and the religions that grew from their teachings have sought to guide us in this area. Each time a Christian takes Communion. . .or a Muslim turns toward Mecca to pray. . .or a Buddhist closes their eyes in meditation. . .or a Jew recites from the Torah, it is this understanding that they seek.

But which one is right? Which path should we choose? While a spiritual (or intentional) life may involve religious practice or affiliation, it is not limited by that.

The great mystic Jalal al-Din Rumi once said “what you seek is seeking you”. The thing about increasing your spirituality/intentionality is that as you grow, it becomes clear you’re part of something bigger than you. Your essence exists as part of a greater essence, which has been waiting for you to plug your awareness in. This greater essence can’t really be confined in the practice of any one religion, but is found in many. The key is in how any practice connects you to it, and the thing that connects is love. Religions, practices, and faiths that teach you to love are leading you in the right direction, because love dissolves illusionary barriers. The Apostle Paul from the Bible wrote “but now faith, hope, love abide these three; but the greatest of these is love”.

You may be asking yourself what does that mean? Love who? Love what? The real question however is, what is there you shouldn’t love? If we’re part of a greater essence, as is everything, then shouldn’t we love everything? The answer is yes, except things that bring separation.

So, whether you practice a specific religion or not, here are five things you can do to help develop your spiritual as well as intentional self:

1. Engage in Daily Acts of Kindness

It can be volunteering for organizations that help those in need; or giving money without judgment to someone begging on the street; or maybe giving your seat to an elderly person on a crowded bus or train. Try to find something unselfish to do.

2. Give thanks

Say thank you sincerely, with a smile, even when someone may not be expecting it

3. Be appreciative

Take delight in the natural things that contribute to beauty and delight in the world. Before bed take time to reflect upon the stars, and when morning comes, the glow of sunrise. And again, say thank you, not to these things, but the force that connects you.

4. To err is human…

If you’ve done anyone wrong apologize, and seek to make amends. Similarly, if anyone has wronged you be willing to forgive. Don’t be imprisoned behind bars of resentment.

5. Humour

Keep a sense of humor, even when what you’re laughing at is you. Humility helps us take that first step on the road to a more spiritual self.

By developing your spirituality, you move closer to a life of intent. Your sense of consideration or appreciation for that which is outside of yourself or immediate interests grows.  This will allow you to expand your regard to include other living and non-living things, and an appreciation for the ways they enrich the world.

Changing Your Intent

Growing Your Spiritual Self: What You Can Do Now!

1. Try practicing these five things each day for a month.
2. What changes do you notice?  Are you happier? More at peace? Have greater appreciation for your family and friends?
3. Whatever it is, let us know! Share your experiences here or start a discussion on the With Intent Facebook or Google+ page.

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John Maney, Jr is a poet and creative writing workshop leader.
He has been published in several anthologies and magazines. You 
can connect with him at jmaneyjr@gmail.com or his website maneywords.

Three More Building Blocks: Spirituality, Philanthropy, Arts & Culture

In last month’s five-part “Living With Intent” series, we looked at three underlying philosophies for creating an eco-intentional lifestyle: permaculture, cradle-to-cradle and feng shui. Then, last week we looked at three basic building blocks you could use to expand on that foundation and begin creating your own unique approach to living with intent. This week we’ll look at the remaining three (spirituality, philanthropy and arts & culture).

1. Spirituality

Let me be very clear in saying that it is not my intent to prescribe, in any way, the manner in which anyone chooses to pursue his or her spirituality. Whether that ends up being through formal religious affiliation and worship of whatever denomination, or one’s own personal practices or observances, that is best left up to each individual to decide.

However, what I do want to emphasize is the need to realize and understand that there are consequences to the actions we take, and we need to give them our mindful consideration, as much as possible. A spiritual base helps us to do that by infusing our thoughts and actions with a sense of moral respect and regard for the wellbeing of others and the world around us.  When coupled with an impulse towards service, you have a very powerful tool for building a life of intent.

2. Philanthropy

Philanthropy can be thought of as the material manifestation of one’s spirituality.  Unlike organizations in the private sector, consider the almost impossibly, contradictory imperatives under which non-profits (and more recently, social enterprises) typically operate:

1. they address problems (both locally and globally) of often staggering magnitude or dimension, such as the alleviation of conditions associated with issues like poverty, the environment or injustice, to name just a few
2. as a result they have limited discretion in the selection or make-up of the "markets" they serve, as dictated by their underlying missions
3. particularly in the case of non-profits, they have relatively modest or uncertain sources of revenue, without benefit of market driven forces to ensure their ongoing viability, in order to meet the first two challenges!

Non-profits and social enterprises are often at the forefront of building, repairing and sustaining community. Therefore, supporting them affirmatively acknowledges and makes tangible the spiritual principles by which we aspire to live, and is an inherent act of intent. 

3. Arts & Culture

Finally, we come to arts & culture. Now, you may not have previously thought about the arts as being particularly green or sustainable, but they are an extremely important component of eco-intentionality. For one thing, cultural organizations and institutions are themselves often structured as non-profits or social enterprises, the significance of which we just looked at in the preceding section.

Additionally, as I have continually pointed out, economic health (see Center for an Urban Future’s "Creative New York", 2005) plays a critical role in a community’s vibrancy and resiliency, and the arts deliver that in spades. Earlier this spring the Municipal Arts Society’s (MAS) hosted Arts Forum: Building Resilience Through the Arts.  MAS President, Vin Cipolla noted in his remarks that

Arts and culture unite communities—they provide the glue that brings neighbors together and are a key ingredient in the recipe of neighborhood pride, cohesion, economic activity and vibrancy,”  and that artists regularly “. . .cross disciplines, foster neighborhood growth, activate creativity and engage in social activism,”

You can view video of the full panel discussion here.

But most importantly, as McDonough & Braungart have also noted (see Living With Intent - Part 3: Cradle-to-Cradle), deprivation and austerity only get you so far.  Such an approach has little to offer in the way of long-term motivation or incentive for most people.  The artist, on the other hand, provides society with beauty and delight, which are far better incentives for keeping people happily engaged with the world around them.  Additionally, the unique perspectives that artists bring to living can also offer creative solutions to the persistent problems and challenges we face.  For this reason, more than anything else, I believe arts & culture to be as green a tool as any we might typically think of as such, when it comes to creating a life of intent.

The arts are truly the spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down!