I intend to only give my best . . .

The best you can do for anyone is to thrive fully and be willing to explain to anyone who asks how it is that you are thriving, and what it is that you've discovered—and then, just relax and trust that all truly is well. ~ Abraham

I finished my first IntenSati 4-week workshop last night. Like I wrote in my first IntenSati entry, I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into when I took the first class or really, even when when I signed up for the entire 4-week workshop. I trusted my instinct that told me "You're gonna fucking love it! Just do it!". So, I signed up and you know from my first post that I did indeed love every second of the classes.

(Erin Stutland photo courtesy of www.erinstutland.com)

For those of you that might not know what IntenSati is about, please go here: ErinStutland and here: Sati Life And you can also visit this NY Pix Morning News blog to see Erin in action: IntenSati

Great! So now you know that the class also involves spoken affirmations that you say sometimes OUTLOUD, at times in a whisper and other times to yourself. Speaking the affirmations throughout the workout is a great gage on how well you are doing with the physical part. As a certified Urban Rebounding & Spinning instructor, I'm a firm believer in the fact that you should always be able to carry out a conversation while doing aerobic work. Maybe not a full out debate about Gay Marriage but at least a few coherent sentences that lets you know you're still alive! :-) So, that's one great thing about the spoken affirmations and of course, the other is the intentions behind each affirmation as it ties in to the work you are doing, both physically and spiritually.

How the class works is you start with one affirmation that corresponds with specific movements and then you continue to add until it becomes a full cycle of affirmations and movements. It's quite a journey. Towards the end of the journey, during lower body work, my favorite affirmation is spoken:

• I intend
• To only give my best
• My best gets better
• I'm leaving all the rest

Those words are the ones that stay with me every time I leave class and for the next few days, they become my mantra. How wonderful that is! I keep being reminded that in all situations, my intention is to only give my best. As I do this, my best gets better, meaning I do better, I feel better and in turn whatever it is I'm dealing with gets better. While focusing on doing better, I then leave all the rest. Everything else just falls behind me and I'm able to let go of it. I'm able to let go of the negativity that can try to seep into my every day. I let go of self-doubt. I left go of habitual thinking that has only kept me trapped doing things I don't enjoy. I let go . . .

When I started the IntenSati practice, I was asked by Erin, our fabulous teacher, to pick three or four intentions for the month. Things I wanted to work on. This being my first workshop, I decided to work on a few things that were important to me but not anything too major. This was a testing of the waters in a sense. I intended to have FUN every single day of the month. I also intended to do my Ah Meditation every day. And, I intended to get my Whirling Art products to a new level. I have to say I did pretty well on each of my intentions. I did have fun every single day this past month. I did do my Ah Meditation almost every single morning. That's alright though. I loved every time that I got to do it and it showed me that it is something I enjoy so much, so of course I'm going to make time for it. I was able to create beautiful clothing with the help of Zazzle and my clothing line, along with a few other more personal items, will be ready for a full out launch very, very soon . . . hmmm this weekend perhaps!

Therefore, IntenSati was a success for me in the sense that I was able to follow through with the intentions I set out for myself at the beginning of the course. And for that I am grateful. But, I'm even more grateful for the way the practice spilled over onto other areas of my life that I had not included in my intentions for the month! That's where the real excitement for me has come from. As those words above kept repeating in my mind, I noticed the areas in my life where I wasn't doing my best because I wasn't giving it my best. This way of thinking then leads you to a myriad of questions that can unearth some pretty startling revelations about why exactly you're not giving your best! For me it all boiled down to a few fears that I've had to come face to face with. I'm still in the process of working through them but I'm so glad to have gotten here.

I'm definitely continuing with IntenSati. The next set of intentions that I'm going to work with and focus on for the next 6 weeks are huge for me! I can't say that I'm not scared but I'm not as scared as I think I would have been before starting the practice. I now know that I've got a great group of people that have my back. Being open to the flow of positive energy and a strong connection with Source will only make the work easier to handle.

Through it all I intend to give my best and that's all you can do really. Always give your best in every situation. Lean into the things that you need to work on. Nice and easy does it. Always giving your best. As you give your best, things will get better. As you focus on your intentions, all other things that aren't serving the higher purpose of these intentions, will fade away. The path will open up for all the goodness in life to come through for you.

Just remember to always . . . give . . . your best.

Peace and Light to you and KEEP DREAMING!

Namaste,

Gene-Manuel