Tag: intention

How We Contribute

by Raquel Rios, posted in Uncategorized

Each year we consider best wishes and pathways that lead to happiness. We evaluate the past and heave sadness and regret, for now it becomes clear what overshadows. Another year gone by and we think the future looms… such daring resolution, gleaming before us like a crystal wine glass unsure of itself, half empty or half full.

We watch the ball drop, pour a drink, put on the TV, stuff our mouths with fine dining or grapes, coloring our reality– and yet, we find ourselves alone and unsure, especially about how we got here and what does it all mean?

There is an illusion in our aloneness and in our solidarity. This is non-duality. How when you really think about it, our entire existence is both/and, a multilayered, relational experience, involving yourself and society, starting from the very beginning when we slide out of the womb and fall into space-time called life. We are an individual and a contextual reality, forming part of and coming from another, a person and a tribe, an interconnected species and in this way, very early on, we learn to move through life in an earth body with an infinite (and wild) soul flailing and we’re left to our best judgement to try to figure it out, this non-duality of an existence, this not two, but One being.

Oh, the great mystery of life and how to do it right…

Each year, I try to think of one word to define the upcoming year, like an intention of sorts, a symbolic planting of a seed. This year this activity felt constraining and tricky and I wondered what could be happening because I couldn’t settle on just One thing.

I kept thinking two words actually, a pair of two things, a both/and thing and it was what I was really wanting so I hesitated for some time as if splitting my thought energy into two would have some sort of negative repercussion on cause and effect theory.

My words are Gratitude and Generosity.

Gratitude and generosity. Gratitude and generosity. This is what came to me, these two words, but they’re not two thoughts really, they’re One interdependent idea, One energy. It’s like a new element on the periodical table of my mind:

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Gratitude is for all that I am, for all that I can be, for all that I’ve received by the grace of God and magical circumstance, for all that I’ve inherited, for all those who have passed on before me, for those who continue to walk alongside me, sharing.

Generosity is for the spirit of giving and receiving, offering vulnerability, give unto others what they need, giving away freely and generously without fear, becoming an instrument of hope and offerings.

Nonduality of mindset requires trust, a leap of faith and a knowing that there is enough in love and space for both/and, for non-linear reality, for the retracing of steps, to go back in time and say: thank you, thank you! and to always put oneself back out into the world where there is abundance.

Nature’s Intention is Always New Life

by Raquel Rios, posted in Uncategorized

Spring is here! From my window, I see tree tops blooming. Delicate white blooms that are simple and white, bursting buds from within. There’s green and other soft colors adorning the once gray street. The air is warmer now and moist on my skin. There’s a ripeness and a rightness and I gulp it all in. People are out more now checking things. They’re a little less cautious, daring, see? A faintly urgent smell drifting. I spot a nose out of a mask, ever so gently. A young girl’s arms go free from sleeves. It’s the miracle of nature like every other Spring. But this time, this time, well, it’s really magic, isn’t it? This time, we’re all so very raw and aware of nature’s power.

There’s nothing more mystical and humble than this. Pay attention to Mother Nature’s rising, her gentle reminder that rebirth and newness are built into everything. We’re a resilient bunch, aren’t we, human beings? It’s inside us and outside us, these regenerative cycles of ingenuity.

Go out. Look around. Then look inside and breathe. See? No matter what age you are, where you’re at or the depth of your grief— you have the gift of nature to sprout new wings.

Guilt Free New Year’s Resolution

by Raquel Rios, posted in Uncategorized

A few years ago I started a new tradition in my family to replace the dreadful New Year’s resolution, which was always a good idea but often left people feeling guilty, ashamed or empty in a matter of weeks.

The tradition is somewhat like setting an intention because it asks you to look deep inside yourself, but it’s more than that because it implants a powerful extended-release capsule of a message in your mind, like a dream or a memory. Perhaps you will try it and see what I mean.

The idea is really quite simple, although it may take some time. All you have to do is come up with one word that you would like to define or attach to the new year. That’s it. One word that will be the word of the year, that when you see it, think of it, say it or read it—it will trigger a memory of where you are in your journey and what you’re meant to be paying attention to in your life.

For example, the first year I started the tradition, which took place on New Year’s Eve in the kitchen standing beside my husband and brother—I chose the word Rejuvenate. That year I had been feeling low on energy and not connected in mind, body and spirit so that word resonated. It felt in sync with my whole being. Last year, after my husband died, my word was Surrender. Again, totally different circumstances, but I had the same feeling. The word just surfaced and fit, like it was meant for me. It was a warm blanket of a word, enduring.

Each year is different. Sometimes, the word takes time to surface with deep thought. Other times, it appears instantaneously, in a love-at-first-site sort of way. When you’ve found your word (or the word finds you!) it may help to write it down or share it with a loved one. When a word resonates enough, that is— if its properly incepted, there will be nothing you need to do other than trust it. It will visit you throughout the year like a memory or a dream and any action that results will simply come.

Happy New Year, everybody!

Oh, and don’t forget to sign up for Mindful Bardō, meetings start January 9th, 2021!!