Intention, Part 1

The theme for today is Intention.

Intention is a subtle topic but let's see where we can go with it....
where we want to go.

Take a moment ... did you notice
whether you organized yourself in a particular way
in relationship to the theme and to what's going on here / now?

Whether you had a tendency in one direction,
but not in others?

There's a concept in philosophy, in phenomenology
called "intentionality"
which refers to the idea that whatever happens
happens in relationship to a specific person
and their unique character and life-world.

Like most of what we do
intention may be largely unconscious or implicit

Each part of the body may have its own way
of being intentional
of contributing to the whole
like different members of a group
do different things for it

As we "face" things
"grasp" a situation
"hold" a belief
"stand on" a principle or assumption
"reach" an agreement or conclusion

Whether we're asking a question
or undertaking an action
it's not random
not just going with the flow of external events
nor is it completely controlled
but we're improvising
perhaps trying to get a theme to emerge
in collaboration with the parts of reality
we think of as "not me".

Intention sounds relatively active,
attention sounds relatively passive
but they might be said to be
different qualities in the field of awareness.

In meditation, we may "drop" a lot of our intentions.
Are they all gone?
Are we intending to be still and quiet
or is it just happening?

This is different than the also-common idea that intention
is represented by the idea of a goal or destination or state
like, "I intended to go to the grocery".

When we ask a question
or undertake an action
it expresses a background of beliefs
about what is "the case"
and what is "possible".
Interestingly, that depends
on what we intend to "do"
in relating to those conditions
or possibilities.

Intention is something we like to hide
and perhaps rightly so.
Why is that?

Because not all intentions can or should be enacted?

Because of a social convention
or a feeling that the intention
would not make a very good story?

Because some of them are secret or sacred
and take time to mature slowly
protected from interference by others, by other parts of oneself, by the current reality?

Because we revise the story of intention to match what happens,
giving rise to a clearer and stronger story
and sense
of "self"?

On the other hand
some say the "self" is forged
at the edges
where inner self and reality meet and mix
and have a conversation
that changes each of them.

Sometimes we "edit" the story of what we intended
to match what happened "instead"
and if it is "close"
it's even easy not to notice the difference.

Sometimes we have learned through experience
to set certain possibilities aside,
to dis-allow certain types of intentions.

When we have an intention
and it is not supported by reality
and we cannot accept that
then this is called suffering.

Sometimes we have intentions for how we would like to be
or to do particular things
and we might make some rules about these
and attempt to follow those rules or patterns;
make them into practices or habits
and thus construct or influence what we become,
or the quality of that becoming.

Sometimes we have a specific intention
to swim upstream,
to go against the current,
the habit or default that would otherwise "happen".

How could intent influence the outcome of what you undertake?
How could intent influence the quality of what you do?

How could intent be part of the "story" that you live out,
maintaining a sense of "myself"?

What are some of your intentions
(or the quality of your "intent")
in the actions and activities of everyday life?

We might speak of some of the ones
that are not "secret".