Intentionality summary

Becoming familiar with the intricate connection between your body, mind, and spirit – your system – is the essential first step on your journey to intentionality.

Central to this connection is the breath, which not only sustains life but also bridges the conscious and subconscious minds. Unlike most automatic functions of the body, breathing can be consciously controlled, making it a unique tool. Through mindful breathwork, you can create a moment of pause and presence, helping you respond to life’s challenges thoughtfully rather than reactively. Achieving this sense of pause and presence is vital for reaching a state of heart coherence, where your emotions, thoughts, and physical state exist in harmony, allowing for optimal decision-making and learning.

Optimal decision-making also requires an understanding of the mind’s different layers. The conscious mind, which governs your rational thinking and deliberate choices, serves as the guide and protector in your day-to-day life. However, beneath this lies the subconscious, a powerful reservoir of ingrained behaviors and emotions largely shaped during your early years. These subconscious patterns can unwittingly steer your actions. So, if you want to attain true inner peace, it’s crucial to align your conscious desires and the deep-seated programming within your subconscious.

Beyond the conscious and subconscious mind is the universal mind, a limitless source of wisdom and energy that connects you to a higher plane. Tapping into this universal mind allows you to access profound insight and unconditional love, facilitating and strengthening your spiritual experience.

Here, it’s important to distinguish between the brain, a physical organ, from the mind, which transcends the material. Similarly, it helps to become aware of the body’s energy centers – which also transcend the material – and how they influence your overall well-being. These energy centers are commonly referred to by their Sanskrit name, chakras, and each links to specific physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of your being. When these energy centers are blocked, it can manifest as mental, emotional, or physical distress. Engaging in practices such as bodywork, asana yoga, or sound modalities can be hugely beneficial, and are effective means of uniting the physical and spiritual aspects of your system. These practices needn’t be labor-intensive, either. Fifteen minutes of yoga or chanting meditation can go a long way.

Understanding your system – your body, mind, and spirit – equips you with the foundational insights to living more intentionally. In the next section, you’ll extend this insight so that you can develop a greater awareness of what’s making you operate.