What matters more: intention or action?

This morning I got to spend a few minutes in meditation, a practice I have neglected of late -- need to fix that.

I wanted to start out with a message or thought of inspiration, so after I lit a candle, I opened my Reform Suddur (prayer book) and randomly read from the inspirational passages. One immediately caught my eye -- actually, just the first couple of lines of it...

It said (and I am paraphrasing, because I don't have the book in front of me now)

The heart must feel the effort long before the legs begin to tire.

I stopped, and re-read it...several times. The phrase "begin with the end in mind" came into my thoughts, a snippet from the many Covey classes I've attended. And I put those two quote together and I thought about how there are, or at least should be, three parts to a deliberate act...

1) The mind. The idea, the decision, the plan.
2) The heart. The commitment. The feeling that one will carry out the idea. The emotions. The soul of our actions.
3) The body. The physical component. The doing. The moving.

I think I get into trouble in my life when I forget to engage all three. For instance, I may "decide" to do something. It could be big like changing my lifestyle or applying for a better job or small like making sure the washer and dryer are empty before bedtime.

And then I jump into action. Doing. And after awhile, the effort falls off. I tire of doing whatever it is, and abandon the plan. Why? I left out the heart, the commitment.

Or I commit to do something without thinking it through, but the effort I make fails or misses the mark. Why? I forgot to engage the mind, to begin with that goal clearly in my mind.

And then there are the times when I think of something, and commit to that something, but fail to act. Without that third component, nothing happens...it becomes just "wishful thinking." Daydreaming.

Finally, there is the jumping into action before I either think it through or commit to acting. And while we can also "overthink" things and mess up that way, not thinking at all seems to be an even greater problem for most of us.

----

I finished my meditation with a visualization of the energy in my body flowing from my head (mind), into my heart, and out into my legs and arms (action) and then looping around again. And I felt calmer and better than I have in weeks.

I never got beyond those two lines in my reading, never touched on official prayers. But that's all okay. Inspiration doesn't need a certain length of words or the repetition of "official prayers." I just need to sit and listen.

G-d is listening

I had no sooner hit send on that last post than a car pulled in next to me, steam pouring out from under its hood, even in the downpour. Two women got out. I looked up, and all but laughed. Clearly when we make a promise like I did and talk about it to others, the universe listens. G-d listens.

I spent the next hour getting to know two nice women, helping them with their car, getting soaking wet. When I exhausted all I knew to do, a man in shirt with a Mobile gas logo appeared out of no-where (literally...to the point where one of women asked if he had fallen out the trees! A moment before, we had been the only ones in the parking lot!) He told them what else they needed to do before they drove away. The rain slowed down, I said good-bye and drove home.

I was astonished by the immediacy of G-d's response to my promise. But yesterday when I was helping my friend pack for her move to Colorado, I told her about it. She is a follower of Eckankar, a religion that incorporates many of the elements of earlier faiths and believes in the existence of guides or masters. She told me the right-now response was not at all weird or odd...it was the way the universe is meant to work. I put the challenge out there, and G-d responded. As it should be.

I'm curious...has this kind of immediate response happened to any of you? If so, could you please share your experiences? I would love to hear them.

I'm off to work now...same as most days. But today with a new awareness -- and gratitude -- that G-d is listening.

What a difference a day makes!!!

Okay...I pulled a poor, poor pitiful me post off the site, and look what happened!

1) The new owner of my condo called and said that I can stay on a month to month basis until I find something new. No deadline!!!!!

2) My bosses called me into the office for a talk...and gave me a raise!

3) I had an unplanned lunch with a friend (one of my anam caras!) and got to talk and laugh in the middle of a crazy busy work day.

4) I got to talk to my sweetie on the phone --- always a treat even though we talk every day. And I learned in last night's conversation that the fact that a call cut off at an awkward moment worried him as much as it did me! (We both thought the other had hung up!)

5) A couple of cool freelance opportunities have come up suddenly

6) Three promising apartment openings called me within the same hour...I will see all three on the weekend or next week.

7) I am going to the beach (not just "the" beach...my favourite beach!) to hear jazz and see an art festival for my birthday this weekend with my kids and my sweetie.

Flying high right now! I have to get back to work...end of the month deadline crazies are in full force, so it's back to the catalogs!

Tuss, everyone!