Allan Johnson

How to Live Intentionally

Posted on February 25, 2022August 20, 2022 by Allan Johnson in intention, wellbeing

Living with intention means taking conscious actions that are in alignment with your deepest values and passions. It means walking through your world with a firm focus, a clear vision, and an unwavering gaze. It is about consciously choosing your thoughts and behaviours rather than allowing your thoughts and behaviours to be a product of your world. We have to choose to be intentional. Ideas, beliefs, and intentions create our environment, experiences and circumstances. We can create a world that supports the things we value and desire, or, alternatively, we can create a life that moves us further away from our values.

Intention is the seamless connection of your present situation with your highest, most meaningful goals. It is a way of being that involves daily, conscious choices. It means living wholeheartedly, without ego or fear, in the moment and without worrying about the future. It is a way of acting, of doing. Living with intention means first and foremost making a choice. When you align your thoughts and energy with your intentions, you create an environment that supports your goals or desires. When we are intentional and choose our thoughts and behaviour, we can direct our lives and we can direct them in a positive direction: the direction we desire. We can choose our thoughts and our actions because thoughts are not outside of us, and neither are our actions. This is what it means to be in the now.

There is a difference between living with intention and choosing to live your life in a certain way to achieve short-term goals. Intention is about making conscious choices for long-term happiness, meaning, and fulfilment, and working towards those goals. But intention is about realising that happiness is possible in the present, no matter what is happening around you. It is about learning to live each day with gratitude and finding peace in each moment. When you learn to live with intention, you can be fully present and attentive to the world around you. You can choose to be fully engaged with your surroundings and the people around you.

Intention is about taking action. It is about being fully present, engaging in the moment and making each day a new beginning. Living with intention is a state of engagement that leads you to make choices that are more mindful and more aligned with your values. When you act with intention, the world comes alive for you and this helps you to create new possibilities for the life you want to live. Living with intention is a way of being in the world, it is a way of being who you are and what you do while choosing to be fully present and noticing what is happening and what surrounds you. Do not wait and worry about the future, but be fully present in the moment. When you learn to live in the moment, you will find that the world lives with you.

Through meditation and understanding the processes of the mind and how the mind works, we understand the main causes and origins of our thoughts, attitudes, emotions and actions. We can understand that our actions, thoughts, and emotions arise from our beliefs and that the messages our mind sends are often not logical. This allows us to become more aware of our thoughts and feelings, understand their origins and learn from them. We can use this knowledge to choose what we believe and thus influence our thoughts, attitudes, and feelings. As a result, we can begin to act with pure intention and live with a clear, strong, and unwavering vision that enables us to make choices that are optimal for us and bring us closer to the things we really want and value in life.

You may want to reflect on these prompts about intentional living in your journal:

1) What do you want to achieve in life?
2) How will achieving this change your life?
3) How can you achieve this? What needs to happen?
4) How far along the path are you?
5) What will you consciously do today to get closer to this goal?

Download your free 21-day course in The Path of Mindfulness. In this life-changing 21-day mindfulness journey, Dr Allan Kilner-Johnson guides you through a series of self-guided mindfulness exercises and shows you how and when to bring mindfulness into your daily life.

Igniting your Creativity

Posted on February 16, 2022March 19, 2022 by Allan Johnson in creativity, habits, wellbeing

Discovering your inner creativity begins with looking inside yourself. It is about understanding your feelings, your emotions, your past experiences, and your patterns of behaviour. As you learn to tune out the voice of self-doubt and listen instead to the voice of your inner wisdom, you begin to find your true voice and express yourself as you wish.

It is not always easy to let go of the fear of judgement and failure. However, when you are creative in the way you want to be, you will feel the sense of fulfilment that comes from knowing you are ‘doing something’ rather than ‘doing nothing’ and focusing on something that is meaningful to you. You begin to live your life according to your own ideas rather than those of others. You begin to find your voice and let go of the voice of self-doubt within you. By expressing your creativity in the way that feels right for you, you get more in touch with your inner wisdom, become more self-aware and gain more confidence.

There are so many ways to express your creativity: painting, sculpture, breadmaking, housekeeping, writing, dancing, design, photography, sketching, furniture making, journaling, scrapbook, modelling, cooking, acting, and jewellery making. These creative activities teach you the courage to let go of fear and self-doubt and, instead, to listen to the voice of your inner wisdom, define your values, set goals and start living your life on your own terms.

If you have not thought much about developing your creativity, getting started can be the hardest part. Often it is the thought of starting something that stops us from starting at all. Starting on something new does not mean that you can not make any more mistakes. It is about stepping out of your comfort zone and going your own way and realising that it is okay to make mistakes along the way. In fact, it is okay to make mistakes. It is about learning from your mistakes, paying attention to what is happening around you, how you feel, what is important to you and what you need to do to get what you want. It’s about stepping into your power and living your life on your own terms

Here are some things to think about:

What is your passion?
How would you like to be remembered?
What would the world look like if everyone had the courage to live life on their own terms?

Answer these questions openly and honestly. Take your time, write down the answers, and let your ideas flow. When you have finished, take a moment to read your responses. How do you feel when you look at what you’ve written? Do you feel excited? Do you feel encouraged? Do you feel motivated? If you have any of these feelings, then you have already taken a positive step towards becoming a more creative person.

There are so many ways to be creative. Think of the things you like to do and the things you do regularly. Are there ways you could be more creative in any of these areas? Is there something you hear on the radio or see on TV that you could create or do yourself? Is there something you already do that you could change or do differently? Is there someone you know who you could help to develop their creativity? Is there something you could do to make yourself feel more alive, excited, or energised? Explore these feelings and consider what steps you could take to become more creative in the way you want.

Today is a new day to be creative! Now that you have taken some time to self-reflect, you are in a position to shape your life according to your own ideas. Make it your mission to be creative every day. Choose a project, take some time for yourself, and do something you enjoy! Let go of the fear of failure and instead enjoy the moment. Express yourself. Be creative. Become the person you want to become. If you have not already, take some time to write down your creativity goals that will help you take action and start making positive changes in your life.

Take the time to listen to your own heart, discover your own truths, express yourself in the way that feels right for you, act and do something. Be creative in the way you choose and take the time to follow your own path. Through creativity you learn to live your life on your own terms, to trust yourself and let go of fear, to listen to your inner voice and come into your power.

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What is Psychosynthesis?

Posted on February 13, 2022August 20, 2022 by Allan Johnson in Psychosynthesis, wellbeing

The term Psychosynthesis refers to a process of psychological and spiritual development that takes place at the conscious and unconscious levels of the human psyche. Psychosynthesis was developed by the Italian psychiatrist, philosopher, and esotericist Roberto Assagioli (1888-1974), who was influenced by the work of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, with whom he was in regular correspondence. However, Assagioli’s thinking differed in several ways. While Freud focused on the impact of early childhood experiences on the formation of the psyche and Jung on the common collective unconscious inherent in human beings, Assagioli recognised that a complete approach to the mind must take both aspects into account. Assagioli developed a scientifically based psychospiritual system that he eventually called psychosynthesis, an approach to self-development in which individuals perceive themselves and the world from a new perspective. It involves a comprehensive theory of human development and a unique methodology for self-development.

Like other talking therapies, psychosynthesis emphasises the value of regular conversation between the therapist and the client about their experiences, which can help the client progress in their personal and spiritual development. The main tools of psychosynthesis are reflection, art, journaling, dialogue, active imagination, and contemplation. These tools facilitate critical awareness of the contents of consciousness, especially the motivational aspects of consciousness, in a non-judgmental and compassionate way. It encourages us to see thoughts and feelings as transient events that arise and pass within us, rather than fixed, unchanging realities, and it encourages us to enter into dialogue with these inner phenomena. Psychosynthesis also encourages dialogue with the deeper levels of the unconscious. In this sense, psychosynthesis is an approach that encourages critical self-awareness and the development of a capacity for self-observation and self-regulation.

Psychosynthesis is a complete and holistic philosophy and psychology of the human being. It includes a theory of human nature, an understanding of the development of consciousness and a methodology for psychological and spiritual self-development. Psychosynthesis approaches human development by emphasising the transformative potential of the deep self and seeks to enable the individual to live a more complete and satisfying life. Psychosynthesis is not necessarily spiritual, but it is a practical approach to looking at the human being from a spiritual perspective. It is an approach that aims to integrate the mind, body and spirit and help us develop a more fulfilling, compassionate, and meaningful life. It is an approach that seeks to help us all awaken our spiritual potential and bring it into alignment with our daily lives.

17 Powerful Questions for Connecting to Gratitude

Posted on January 23, 2021August 20, 2022 by Allan Johnson in gratitude, habits

What are you grateful for? Listing and affirming gratitude is one of the best ways that we can begin to bring positive change for ourselves and those around us. As we begin to become more aware of the many blessings already present in our lives—from the small things, to the overlooked things, to the big and important things—we are better able to see and connect to the abundance that is around us.

A fantastic way to begin is with a formal gratitude listing practice. There are a lot of really great gratitude journals available on the market, but you don’t need to buy a new journal to start recording the things you are grateful for. Any notebook will do, and all it takes is a few minutes at the beginning or the end of your day to make a list of the things that you are most grateful for right now. Your gratitude journal can include anything, big or small. There will be some days when things are not going especially well and you struggle to find anything to be grateful for. These are the days when the most important invitation to you is to return to the simplest gifts that are with you all the time: fresh air, beautiful sunlight, clean water. On other days your list of gratitude might be more plentiful.

I’ve been keeping a daily gratitude journal for over five years and have seen immense benefit from it. A study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology called ‘Counting Blessings versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-being in Daily Life’ showed that ‘a conscious focus on blessings may have emotional and interpersonal benefits’. Starting your day with a list of gratitude sets the tone for the day, and once you’ve turned gratitude into a daily practice you’ll begin to experience greater awareness, acceptance, and compassion. These powerful questions can be a great starting point for connecting to gratitude and starting a daily gratitude practice:

When did you find inner strength to overcome a great challenge?
What has made you smile recently?
Who helped you to achieve a recent accomplishment?
What inspires you?
Who has shown you kindness this week?
Where are you best able to express yourself?
When did you feel cherished?
Where do you feel most at home?
What part of the natural world inspires you most?
What wishes have come true?
Who brings joy into your life?
What negative experience ultimately led to something positive?
What can you see outside your window?
Who really listens to you and hears you?
Who or what has recently entered your life that you are grateful for?
What room in your home most inspires you?
Who has helped you to make a difficult decision recently?

Self-Compassion and Unconscious Contracts

Posted on January 12, 2021March 19, 2022 by Allan Johnson in compassion, mindfulness

It’s extraordinary the number of positive changes that come to us as we begin to connect more fully to an expression of compassion and kindness. I don’t mean only compassion and kindness towards others, but also self-compassion and feelings of compassion and kindness towards ourselves that enable us to live openly and freely. As we move through our day-to-day activities we have a tendency to operate through a series of what the British economist Michael Allingham called unconscious contracts. Unconscious contracts are systems of rules, regulations, and expectations that we unconsciously set for those in our immediate sphere and subsequently expect them to follow. Unconscious contracts that we set with others, for instance, might be that one should not block the aisle with their shopping trolley or that parents should raise their children in a certain way. But the most important thing about unconscious contracts is that these are fundamentally systems of power that we apply to others without their understanding or awareness.

We also form a complex network of unconscious contracts with ourselves. We might, for instance, have created an unconscious contract with ourselves that we must never be wrong, or that we must always be perfect, or that we must always be the first to speak, or that we must never speak in a large group. If we don’t begin to identity and question the unconscious contracts we have set with ourselves that might limit certain behaviours or overemphasise behaviours that are not supportive to us and those around us, we begin to lose sight of our own compassionate connection to ourselves and can find it increasingly difficult to move through our lives freely.

In order to bring positive change in the world around us, one of the first things that we must do is enter into a compassionate relationship with ourselves by identifying ways in which we might begin to dismantle the power of these unconscious contracts with ourselves. And in the same way that self-compassion can be further developed by recognising the unconscious contracts that we have developed, so too are we able to develop a more positive, compassionate and kind relationship to others by recognising the unconscious contracts that we have set with them. Compassion toward others begins with compassion toward self.

Martin Buber, the great twentieth-century philosopher, writes about ‘I and thou’ relationships. Very often we operate from a position of ‘I and it’ relationships where we view the other people as an object, but in ‘I and thou’ relationships we’re speaking from our highest self to their highest self rather than applying unconscious rules and expectations to either them or to ourselves. Through stripping away all of the challenges created by unconscious contracts, we’re able to bring about more positive changes in our own lives and in the society around us.