TavBlog Conflict/Intention Weeks Winter 2020
What can I say? During this Winter 2020 session, these 2 weeks (and as I’m reflecting, all of the weeks!) have blended in a way that I can only describe as universal magic in the house:
When we first began practicing ORM, we designed some meditations to go along with the trial. The intentions around the meditations were to keep participants focused on each week’s subject matter, consciously in the mind and subconsciously in the body - mostly just to keep the week’s subject fresh, new and in focus. These recordings were meant to be a first step towards finding ease in using your own body as your meditative instrument. I am, and continue to be, inspired by the content of each week’s meditation and firmly believe they deserve a place in the ORM curriculum. Our recording efforts, however, came with a learning curve that left some glaring technical issues. We anticipate re-recording them soon so that they are available as a reference to anyone who’d like to use them, but for now they are offline. Same token, If you have any interest in volunteering technical skills, please raise your hand!
This brings us to the Intention behind The Effort (writing/thought prompt) on the website for Intention Week, which encourages you to experience the meditation before engaging in the exercise. Since the meditation isn’t available, we are going to suggest that you go ahead with the writing/thought effort with personal guidance this time. Try a meditation where you are just quiet within yourself for as long as you feel you need and pull in any or all of the following thought trains:
Think about the things that you want for yourself. Imagine having them.
Think about the things that you want for others. Imagine others having them.
Think about the things that you need. Imagine them showing up as needed.
Think about the things that others need. Imagine them showing up as needed.
Think about your negative feelings. Imagine them resolving themselves with the tides.
Think about your negative feelings. Imagine them replicating with the tides.
Why didn’t we change the exercise to reflect the situation at hand? It was our intention to change the effort for this week, but during conflict week, our efforts were thwarted. A health issue with Camille, our dear friend and technical/sound advisor landed in the middle of that intention, rendering it difficult to resolve without a lot of extra effort. The universal intentions seemed to be pointing towards the bigger picture and I chose to listen. I put my energies toward Camille’s health and recovery, aware that the transition between conflict week and intention week can give us pause to reflect on what is important if we choose to embrace it. The conditions can also set us up for opportunities to be disappointed at the ways in which we have fallen short.
I am not leaving the last 2 weeks as the same person I was when I entered them. I am forever changed by events in my life and those close to me, as well as the defining changes our country continues to navigate. Intention Week creates the space to become better acquainted with defining our own needs and wants, so that our individual intentions line up to our values and ideals more often than our emotions, giving them strong roots to weather every storm that enters our concept of wholeness and threatens to disrupt the balance. Conflict happens. Intention pulls us through it if we can allow it to lead...
