Intention at the Core
Hiking without intention is like walking with the aforementioned notion; that being outdoors is healing in itself. That’s true and important for sure, AND I’m claiming my unique gift of being able to guide others through a healing process that is unapologetic about going inwards for personal growth. I’m focused on my connection to support you in living your their best life and to walk through the trenches and climb up the mountains. In a sense, I’m taking hiking from a recreational activity into a deep healing process. And that requires and demands intentionality.
Intention at the Core
How healing hikes are not your typical experience in nature
My healing hikes go deeper than a walk in nature with a group of like minded folks that seek an escape from the everyday hustle and bustle of life. We go inward from the notion that being outside/doors is healing in itself. During my healing hikes you are actually engaging in a contained self healing process. And it’s a process I guide with ritual and ceremony throughout; from before the hike is scheduled to the moments when we close and I, myself must engage in my own self care to realign my energy.
What I mean by intentionality
From my perspective, hiking with an intention is the most accessible way to reconnect to nature to a point that we are RELEARNING OUR COMMUNICATION to the elements. And to reconnect this way is to practice the very ways our ancestors lived with nature, pre-colonization.
One of the most important steps during the hike is the pause to really think about your intention. “What exactly are you here for? What are you needing from nature today?” I always remind hikers, the more direct (or bottom-lined) your intention, the more access nature has to send you its messages. Hiking without intention is like walking with the aforementioned notion; that being outdoors is healing in itself. That’s true and important for sure, AND I’m claiming my unique gift of being able to guide others through a healing process that is unapologetic about going inwards for personal growth. I’m focused on my connection to support you in living your their best life and to walk through the trenches and climb up the mountains. In a sense, I’m taking hiking from a recreational activity into a deep healing process. And that requires and demands intentionality.
The importance of intentionality being at the core of my hikes is that it heals us as a people on so many levels.
Having an intention during my hikes…
creates a clear purpose for why are you’re even here and you know something is going to happen
creates meaning in the experience and doesn’t waste energy. Nature never wastes energy, it’s just transformed into something else; a law of Nature we often don’t realize or remember. For instance, when we release our trauma/negative energies from our bodies, we ask Nature to take it and transform it to something new
brings back the importance and process of paying more attention to the world around you, resulting in better navigating your world. Essentially it creates more awareness
allows us to practice and reclaim our pre-colonial ways of connecting to nature. It acknowledges that we ALL are indigenous to some land on this planet and ALL had some way, form, ritual, ceremony, tradition that honored and worked in accordance to Nature’s laws and elements. Our ancestors practiced specific rituals and ceremonies, many of them in direct connection to seasons, cosmic events, patterns in the environment, etc… There was intention in everything our ancestors did
allows a process that requires the reconditioning of our instincts and beliefs as our personal power because we’re going back to basics. Instincts, looking at nature, feeling the universality of it, and applying it to your life with intention can heal any broken relationships in our life as well as the disconnection from nature and land caused by colonization. We are a part of nature, so we function as it does.
Intention in all the things
Intention at the core of my hikes is important in getting the most out of the experience and I also want to emphasize how intention is needed in all the things we do, especially for the choices you make for your wellness. Just as I mentioned our ancestors had intention for everything…in today’s world of hyper information, abundance in ways to go about things, and the capitalist system…our ability to hone in on an intention for any one thing gets more difficult.
I see our struggle to regain our ability for intentionality when I see the need for rituals to come back into life. For instance, when clients are challenged with overwhelm or a heavy work load, often times its routine, structure, or balance that is wanted and needed to manage the chaos. This, to me is call to bring in ritual to the day. As a universal approach, ritual is like your quick morning meditation, your breath exercise to ground you mid-day, your soothing stone…whatever it is, we all have a need to find an anchor.
It starts with your intention for that anchor
So, what exactly do you intend to get out of ______________ [insert wellness activity here] _________________?
If you’ve picked up a healing tool like a stone or amulet, what exactly is your intent in using it? How exactly are you connected to it?
Giving yourself permission to take time to really connect to the things we do and choices we make, allows for more power to engage with the tool and its support for us
THANK YOU FOR READING!
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Intention at the Core
Hiking without intention is like walking with the aforementioned notion; that being outdoors is healing in itself. That’s true and important for sure, AND I’m claiming my unique gift of being able to guide others through a healing process that is unapologetic about going inwards for personal growth. I’m focused on my connection to support you in living your their best life and to walk through the trenches and climb up the mountains. In a sense, I’m taking hiking from a recreational activity into a deep healing process. And that requires and demands intentionality.
Hiker: Kaya Sattva
Photo: Raynelle Rino
My healing hikes go deeper than a walk in nature with a group of like minded folks that seek an escape from the everyday hustle and bustle of life. We go inward from the notion that being outside/doors is healing in itself. During my healing hikes you are actually engaging in a contained self healing process. And it’s a process I guide with ritual and ceremony throughout; from before the hike is scheduled to the moments when we close and I, myself must engage in my own self care to realign my energy.
What I mean by intentionality
From my perspective, hiking with an intention is the most accessible way to reconnect to nature to a point that we are RELEARNING OUR COMMUNICATION to the elements. And to reconnect this way is to practice the very ways our ancestors lived with nature, pre-colonization.
One of the most important steps during the hike is the pause to really think about your intention. “What exactly are you here for? What are you needing from nature today?” I always remind hikers, the more direct (or bottom-lined) your intention, the more access nature has to send you its messages. Hiking without intention is like walking with the aforementioned notion; that being outdoors is healing in itself. That’s true and important for sure, AND I’m claiming my unique gift of being able to guide others through a healing process that is unapologetic about going inwards for personal growth. I’m focused on my connection to support you in living your their best life and to walk through the trenches and climb up the mountains. In a sense, I’m taking hiking from a recreational activity into a deep healing process. And that requires and demands intentionality.
The importance of intentionality being at the core of my hikes is that it heals us as a people on so many levels.
Having an intention during my hikes…
creates a clear purpose for why are you’re even here and you know something is going to happen
creates meaning in the experience and doesn’t waste energy. Nature never wastes energy, it’s just transformed into something else; a law of Nature we often don’t realize or remember. For instance, when we release our trauma/negative energies from our bodies, we ask Nature to take it and transform it to something new
brings back the importance and process of paying more attention to the world around you, resulting in better navigating your world. Essentially it creates more awareness
allows us to practice and reclaim our pre-colonial ways of connecting to nature. It acknowledges that we ALL are indigenous to some land on this planet and ALL had some way, form, ritual, ceremony, tradition that honored and worked in accordance to Nature’s laws and elements. Our ancestors practiced specific rituals and ceremonies, many of them in direct connection to seasons, cosmic events, patterns in the environment, etc… There was intention in everything our ancestors did
allows a process that requires the reconditioning of our instincts and beliefs as our personal power because we’re going back to basics. Instincts, looking at nature, feeling the universality of it, and applying it to your life with intention can heal any broken relationships in our life as well as the disconnection from nature and land caused by colonization. We are a part of nature, so we function as it does.
Intention in all the things
Intention at the core of my hikes is important in getting the most out of the experience and I also want to emphasize how intention is needed in all the things we do, especially for the choices you make for your wellness. Just as I mentioned our ancestors had intention for everything…in today’s world of hyper information, abundance in ways to go about things, and the capitalist system…our ability to hone in on an intention for any one thing gets more difficult.
I see our struggle to regain our ability for intentionality when I see the need for rituals to come back into life. For instance, when clients are challenged with overwhelm or a heavy work load, often times its routine, structure, or balance that is wanted and needed to manage the chaos. This, to me is call to bring in ritual to the day. As a universal approach, ritual is like your quick morning meditation, your breath exercise to ground you mid-day, your soothing stone…whatever it is, we all have a need to find an anchor.
It starts with your intention for that anchor
So, what exactly do you intend to get out of ______________ [insert wellness activity here] _________________?
If you’ve picked up a healing tool like a stone or amulet, what exactly is your intent in using it? How exactly are you connected to it?
Giving yourself permission to take time to really connect to the things we do and choices we make, allows for more power to engage with the tool and its support for us
THANK YOU FOR READING!
IF YOU FOUND THIS RESOURCE HELPFUL
AND WOULD LIKE MORE LIKE THIS, SUBSCRIBE
TO MY NEWSLETTER BELOW!
"Waiting For Them to Leave or Die..."
I found myself saying this a lot in my career as I made an effort to climb into organizational leadership. Coming from an industry where progress was stalled one way or another by leadership, new ideas were met with skepticism and fear,…
I found myself saying this a lot in my career as I made an effort to climb into organizational leadership. Coming from an industry where progress was stalled one way or another by leadership, new ideas were met with skepticism and fear, it was an easy excuse to just get through the day to day. It was that last ounce of hope I would give myself saying, "I can just wait for them to leave or die, then things will change, it will get better"
But knowing me, that wasn't going to last long. I needed to leave or it would crush my soul to stay! Now, don't get me wrong, if you're feeling the frustrations of a stagnant organization or one where your values aren't aligned, I'm not saying you should leave, but what I AM saying is
THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO BE IN A SITUATION
For me, I realized that I can either be in REACTION to the situation or I can TAKE ACTION ABOUT the situation. So, what action did I take? I started to pay more attention to the PATTERNS that were showing up in my overall career as well as personal life experience. I realized that those patterns were actually messages telling me where I should or shouldn't be. And I say this to a lot of folks seeking their purpose,
"Whatever dims your light, move away from it. Whatever brightens or gives more light,
move in that direction."
Even after I reflected on the many things in my life that brought me joy and invigorating challenge, I still didn't now how to step forward. Now, as a coach, I realized what was missing in the process was a step I'll call
"NAMING"
Sometimes all it takes is just one quick and highly impactful session to simply NAME what life is placing in front of you to take the next step forward.
If you're at that stage in life of wondering, "what else could I be in life?", I encourage you to reach out to me for just a quick 20 minute talk to determine where you are in your journey towards a happier more fulfilling life's work and to set some goals!
Today, I know for sure that the "naming" step is just one of the three beginning steps I've laid out for the introductory level of work I do in supporting others through their journey. As we begin with naming what life is presenting you, we can get deeper into your knowing of Self and build your AWARENESS.
But I didn't get to the "naming" on my own. I had help. With the guidance of many others with their own life and professional experiences, I found those names. They knew the names of situations, they new the names of similar behaviors I was experiencing. And I took those as my tools to move forward.
I had to NAME my situation. I had to NAME what I was feeling, experiencing, and reacting to. Because without naming, I wasn't able to validate my situation or experience and contain it into a thing to work on. Without a name I would have no direction to look or walk towards. I was goal-less.
Curious to know what happens after
you name it?
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When My Dreams Started Coming True
Naturally, I thought I should bring up dreams during sessions because they were just so intense. Little did I know they were messages guiding me towards my path.
I don't really speak openly to too many people about my lucid dreams, although they've been a significant part of why I'm here doing the work I do.
While exploring my spiritual identity, I was seeing a spiritual healer and going to therapy. I would say at that time in my life, I really needed both types of support to help me through both personal and professional challenges. Naturally, I thought I should bring up dreams during sessions because they were just so intense. Little did I know they were messages guiding me towards my path.
Take for instance this featured photo. I took this picture at Point Reyes, on the Tomales Point Trail earlier this month. I had the dream about this place about 8 months before I actually hiked it. So when I get there, I decided to take the photo exactly how I remember seeing this trail in my dream.
I knew it was this location I dreamt about because of the distinct cliff sides on either side of the trail. In the dream my feet weren't exactly planted on the ground. I was flying over the point seeing people happily enjoying their time on the beach (probably Stinson Beach) on a hot and sunny day. I was also with a group of women walking back towards the trailhead at the end of a long hike. Of coarse, at the time I had the dream I had no idea this was an actual real place. I just knew I went to this amazing location, with women, on a very gorgeous an joyous day. And I FELT like it was near.
So here's where this summer dream comes true this winter: Not knowing much about Point Reyes area, one of my dear friends requests that I lead a group of women for a healing hike several miles North of Point Reyes as a part of their retreat. Going about my usual planning process, I look up trails in the area and find recognizable pictures of Tomales Point. Bingo! "I've been there before"
Now, that's just one simple example of how one of my dreams materializes into my real-awake conscious life. And you can probably say that was meant to be that I be there and lead a hike with the women. But this happens to me often and with dreams that are much more vivid and intense in situation.
Earlier, when my spiritual awareness was just waking up, I would feel so overwhelmed by the dreams and the intensity of my experience that it would really spook me out. I would wake up with such clear, intense emotional residual from being in the dream that I couldn't help but write it down or share it with my partner, and reflect deeply on why that came to me.
I remember having an intense dream while I was working with adjudicated youth. I was also questioning why I loved the challenging work so much because I was torn about leaving my students. In this dream, I was with my students at a near by beach, when an old indigenous man walked slowly up onto the shore of a lagoon, pushing onto the shore, a mummified young boy on a rafter. He had been shot. As this man stopped on the shore, he looked me square in the eyes with such intensity, non-verbally telling me to "look at what's happening to them". Then I woke up.
That intensity is why I actively sought out council and guidance. And that guidance really put things into perspective for me, affirming for me that the ancestors are speaking to me, guiding me, and showing me messages I need to see, process, and connect to what I'm doing here on Earth. The guidance also helped me realize that the communication IS TRUE and a gift I should hold with reverence. Now, I live in more confidence with my dreams and reflect on them with more discipline and awareness that there's a deeper message available for my spirit to guide me through this real-awake-conscious life.
My dreams are really just extensions of who I am and how I'm walking in this world in communication with the ancestors and The Divine.
Why share this with you now? I truly, truly believe that we as a society are hungry for spiritual connection. In times where we're experiencing extremes in dualities, ideologies, violence, climate, we're facing the options of spirituality to find our answers, or to find our calm center, to stay grounded and not lose hope or faith. I live as that example to surrender to anything your spirit is guiding you towards. Because it's the magic our souls are crying for these days and the magic our ancestors are looking for us to RECLAIM.
The dreams I have and me sharing what it means for me to experience my dreams is my way of validating that our thoughts, believed to be abstract, are REAL.
Pay attention to them and how they show up in you because I know they are ways in which your true gifts are showing.
Do you know how your gifts are showing up in your life? I'm curious!