Intention Is All

From one of my dear friends and a faithful Daily reader, Sonja Higgens:

“allow me a little feedback please.
what you write these days touches me
your writing has changed. you are not “trying” anymore and I can sense you much better when you write from your Self”

Thank you Sonja – your sensitivity has picked up on a conscious and intentional act.

But before I get to that, let me wind back. 

I am a rather serious, practising Buddhist of the Tibetan variety. To the point that in 1997 I sequestered myself for 3 months on a mountain top in Nepal to recite a hundred-syllable mantra 108,000 times.

Yes, THAT serious. The stories I could tell you!

Anyway, one of the things that struck me about Buddhism is that you base your judgement of an action not upon the act itself, but upon the intention that empowers it.

This becomes tricky when it comes to letting others know about Alexander’s Discovery. In my day, I endured sustained criticism from many of my colleagues during the heydays of creating BodyChance in Japan:

“Jeremy just wants money” was the biggie.

And it was true - I had a family to support: a mortgage, a car, school fees, living costs, insurance and visits back home to Australia. It all adds up.

But a second intention drove me too: to spread the word, to encourage people to spend money to gain the benefits of Alexander’s Discoveries. That’s why I choose Alexander to make money rather than becoming a coder or selling insurance - both of which could have been a lot easier!

In the end, I was successful. 

Before COVID hit, my school managed 140+ trainees in varying stages of development. I ran two studios together with 7 full-time staff, 4 Japanese Directors of Training and 5 international Associate Directors (Moderators?) who visited the school annually and gave feedback on my trainees. Teachers who headlined Congress gatherings and have significant international respect. Yes, they came to Japan too.

But today, I have none of those intentions as I write my Daily. 

My children are adults and surprisingly thrifty, with healthy bank balances and part-time jobs while they study. Their mother went back to University, gaining High Distinctions while studying in her non-native language and now supports herself independently of me. And although my school continues on with a more modest 49 trainees today, I now feel the withering effects of ageing devouring my desire to expand and grow the school. We are both slowly dying.

And there you have it - I’ve nothing to gain or accomplish anymore. 

I have a new kind of intention and a sensitive reader who feels it between the lines.

Intention matters - it shapes your material world and actions. So before you judge anyone’s action - including your own - develop the habit of asking the question:

What is my/her/his/their intention?