Weave Kindness Into Your Life With Intention
Adapted from The Force of Kindness, by Sharon Salzberg (Sounds True, 2005).
Simple Solution
As we wish love, peace, and happiness for ourselves and for others, we learn to include all beings and all aspects of life, including ourselves, in our hearts. It is easy to believe that we are not capable of this, but as we untangle our condition, we see the immensity and abundance within us, ready for awakening.
Here are seven ways to weave kindness into your life through intentions:
1. Start paying attention to the intentions underlying your actions. They may appear as clear thoughts in your mind, or more as urges, expectations, or yearnings.
2. Remember that you cannot control which intentions and urges will arise in your mind. Our responsibility is in whether we act them out or not.
3. When you have made a mistake or acted unskillfully, remember the importance of forging yourself so that you can gather your resolve and fully begin again.
4. If you have a strong generous intention come up in your mind--one that is also reasonable--then commit to following through with it. Even if the generous intention is at first replaced by fear, keep paying attention to your thoughts and feelings during and after the actual giving.
5. Commit for a period of time to practice greater restraint in speech. You might consider a resolve to not speak ill of someone or to not speak about a third party. If you have something to say about someone, try to say it directly to him or her instead.
6. Reflect as to whether there is an overriding dedication in your life. If so, is it manifesting in the smaller, discrete intentions impelling your actions? Resolve to bring more mindfulness to the connection between your larger goals and aspirations and your day-to-day choices. 7. Practice mindfulness meditation.