Category Archives: Self-improvement

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THE POWER OF INTENT

THE POWER OF INTENT

Have you ever wanted to achieve something, but you just couldn’t seem to focus on it? You may have started out with a clear goal in mind, but then your mind started to wander and you got sidetracked. This is because it takes a lot of focus and intent to achieve anything worthwhile.

Intent is the ability to focus your mind on a single goal or purpose. It’s the ability to block out distractions and stay laser-focused on what you want to achieve. When you have intent, you’re able to tap into your full potential and achieve anything you set your mind to.

Here are a few tips for developing intent:

1) Be clear about your goals.

The first step to developing intent is to be clear about what you want to achieve. Once you know what you want, you can start to focus your mind on it.

3) Remove distractions.

When you’re trying to focus, it’s important to remove as many distractions as possible. This means turning off your phone, closing your email, and finding a quiet place to work.

3)Take breaks.

It’s also important to take breaks when you’re trying to focus. Getting up and moving around, or taking a few minutes to clear your head, can help you to stay focused and motivated.

Developing intent takes time and practice, but it’s worth it. When you have intent, you’re able to achieve anything you set your mind to. So what are you waiting for? Start developing your intent today!

Here are some additional tips that may help you to develop intent:

1) Visualize your success.

Take some time to visualize yourself achieving your goals. This will help you to stay motivated and focused.

2)Believe in yourself.

It’s important to believe that you can achieve your goals. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will.

3) Take action.

The only way to achieve your goals is to take action. Don’t wait for the perfect moment. Just start taking steps in the right direction.



Developing intent is not easy, but it is possible. With time and effort, you can learn to focus your mind and achieve anything you set your mind to.

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Opening up to the perception of others.

I opened myself up for the input of others in my life asking them three questions. Usually I will be shy but I committed to the journey:

What was your first impression when we first met?
  1. Seemed a bit boring.
  2. First impression- friendly humble guy, eager to learn.
  3. Well travelled
  4. This is a serious, no-nonsense kind of guy.
  5. My first impression is that you’ve worked really hard on yourself to get this far.
  6. Early to bed campers
  7. Interesting person. A scholar
  8. This guy is sincere
  9. Shy but friendly
  10. I felt at ease being around you. Your were friendly. I felt you listened deeply in our conversations. I felt we had a connection. I also felt you did not totally reveal the full you, there was something being held back
  11. He is a driven and focused person who brings an amazing passion to achieving objectives and meeting customer needs.
  12. My first impression of you when we met was that you seemed quite calm and self-assured. At peace with yourself, as if nothing much ruffled your feathers. You also seemed quite spiritually advanced. Hence the reason I asked you what belief system you practiced.
What particular qualities do I posess that makes me stand out as who I am?
  1. Your intelligence
  2. Hardworking, open to new experiences and your also a passionate teacher and always willing to share.
  3. Kind and fair person
  4. Calm, grounded and fully committed, positive presence.
  5. Your humility and willingness to step in where needed makes you unique.
  6. Quality togetherness
  7. Quiteness. A sense of presence and peace.
  8. Your spirituality
  9. Calm, attentive, open to listen.
  10. I feel you are a big hearted and kind man, who is responsible and have integrity as a man. You are very passionate about the things you love and enjoy. I love that aspect.
  11. I worked with you for few years and have a great deal of respect of your capabilities and competencies, and hope to have the opportunity to work with you again in the future.
  12. The previous responses are also the qualities that stand out to me about you
What do you think holds me back from manifesting all the things I want in life?
  1. Indecision
  2. Not sure. I think you’re a gogetter and can’t imagine anything keeping you from achieving your dreams/targets.
  3. I dunno
  4. Possible limiting beliefs in the self, related to desires and dreams.
  5. There’s absolutely nothing that holds you back, you’re already manifesting what you want.
  6. Uncertainty holds you back
  7. Lessening the subtle sense of distance between yourself and others.
  8. Apathy, meaning you don’t easily acknowledge your emotions.
  9. Control, logic
  10. This is always a difficult one! From the outside you appear to have and do the things you like and enjoy doing, although I am not sure if these are all the things you want though? The question begs the knowledge of what is it you truly want? Material possessions, spiritual fulfilment and connection, a loving partner? (The list can go on) It is difficult for me to answer this without knowing what it is you want? Are you attaining your wants already or not?
  11. What is holding you back is believing in yourself; that anything you put your mind to will be achieved.
  12. And, as for the last question, i think that that is something that only you can answer for yourself. I can’t see what’s holding you back from manifesting your true heart’s desire. Only you can know that, I think.
——-
1: Karen: Close friend
2: Zubair: TRE and Tai Chi colleague
3: Shereen : TRE, Yoga & Tai Chicolleague
4: Desireé : TRE instructor
5: Zubeida : TRE and Tai Chi colleague
6: Graig : Fellow Jeep
7: John : Rosicrucian Frater
8: Johan: Oldest friend
9: Kah: Old friend
10: Paul: Close friend and coach
11: Geoff: Old Colleague and friend
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Factors of initiation

Photo by Zun Zun on Pexels.com

Starting on a true transformative journey requires three things: imagination driven by passion, excitement with desire,  the inspiration of the moment.  These are also the three components related to developing the will to move into action.  So lets do a bit of analysis and reflection for the purpose of self discovery.

I have always realised the importance of passion and I think my life is defined by spurts of passion. The name Zeal4living has not been chosen in vain. I have often been accused of being too passionate about something I start. I tend to go all the way once I made a decision to invest time in something. The result of such an attitude is the depth I gained in practices like Tai Chi, Yoga etc. In each one of the different spheres of interest I have fully thrown myself into an activity with the aim of mastering as much as I can into it. The victories certainly outweigh the failures in being passionate. But we need passion driven by imagination. Why will we need imagination?

Imagination makes us bigger than reality for it is not constrained by the limitations of reality. Within our mind’s eye everything is possible and a well trained imagination can even begin to use that imagination to even overcome what was perceived as a physical constraint or even an impossibility in reality. Imagination opens for us the door to discover new and interesting paths of discovery. With an imagination driven by a passion even failure is no longer a threat but seen as something that can be overcome through creative action. Imagination restores our confidence in ourselves that we are equipped to innovate our lives to overcome failure with success.

Excitement with desire is maybe the same context using different words. Excitement is the closely associated with passion.  But desire is different from imagination…desire is a deep need or a strong will to achieve something. Passion can still be stopped but desire is that thing that you simply cannot ignore. In our dyadic world desire can be driven either by the physical existence or the spiritual essence. The mystic of course tries to find a balance between these two with the golden mean pointed to the spiritual side of the equation. There is something dynamic when the soul drives desire for the it drives us to see beyond the physical benefits to the attainment of higher more noble goals in our life.  Personally I think my passion is stronger than my excitement. Maybe especially true for being Stoic in philosophy. Equanimity is more my game than excitement. I feel excitement but I would be reluctant or slow to show that excitement.  Desire is also not a strong point. My will can be extremely strong when I put my mind on something. But deciding on that direction often is a pain staking process of hesitation, hopeing for more information or greater quality.

I can relate to “Inspiration of the moment” and have for a long time claimed that I am an opportunist. I resist closing my mind to only a single path or direction but have always maintained that one must be open to that moment when a new opportunity arises and opens up the door to a new path.  Again there must be a balance…if you jump from one thing to another then you will get nowhere, similarly if you stay on a path rigidly you might miss an opportunity that presents itself openly as a better path or option. The secret is to always be in the moment, see the opportunity and have a means to judge whther that opportunity should be taken or not. We must ever have an open mind and a willingness to go with the flow and change direction.  I am fairly good at seeing opportunity and even have the grasp to change course but I might not be as strong in doing it in the moment. I am far to eager to weigh up as much as possible evidence before making a decision. Since most opportunities can have a limited window for action it might mean loosing that opportunity.

So if I have to score myself in a point out of 10 for these six elements what will it be:

  • Imagination (7/10)
  • Passion (8/10)
  • Excitement (5/10)
  • Desire (6/10)
  • Inspiration (7/10)
  • In the moment (5/10)

In term of these it seems my ability to be excitement and express the virtue of enthusiasm is an area for improvement for me. I can also gain a different life experience by at times give preference to act in the moment and do something different rather than act from clarity.  These are areas of learning and experimenting for me. Things I can actually on a practical level play with to enrich the textures I experience in my life.