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Welcome to the Buddhist Boot Camp Podcast. Our intention is to awaken, enlighten, enrich,

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and inspire a simple and uncomplicated life.

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Discover the benefits of mindful living with your host, Timber Hawkeye. 

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A really great way to avoid decision fatigue, eliminate any and all internal conflict,

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and keep harmonious balance within, is to set one intention behind everything you do.

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Because if everything you do is fueled by a single intention, life not only becomes

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simpler, but also more congruent with how you want it to be. 

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The alternative is to have multiple intentions going on at once for different areas 

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in your life that might not only contradict one another, but clash with your values.

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Like having one intention behind your job to make money, for example,

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a different intention motivating your dinner plans just to suppress those hunger pangs,

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another intention behind buying clothes, perhaps to keep up with the latest 

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fashion trend, and a whole other intention while watching TV,

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strictly as a form of escape or numbing.

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It would be like wearing one mask at work, another at church, a third behind the wheel,

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and so on; it can get exhausting!

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But what if you have one intention, and it's, for example, to always pick

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the healthier option in front of you regardless of what you do. Be it your job, 

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at the dinner table, when you shop, or in front of the TV. Would your choices be different 

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than the ones you're currently making?

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I'm a big fan of making a single decision that makes many of my future decisions for me.

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Like shaving my head and only having five gray T-shirts, are both examples of one-time

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decisions I made so I never worry about my hair or what to wear.

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Now, imagine making a similar decision to always be kind, for example, or to be content

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with 80% if you're an overachiever, or to actually strive for improvement

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if your tendency is to give up too easily.

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You see, it's not about everyone having the same intention, it's about each of us choosing

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a unique motivation to propel us forward in a positive way.

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If we always buy the most expensive stuff in order to impress other people, we might go

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bankrupt because the intention itself was detrimental to our own wellbeing. 

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Conversely, if we always buy the cheapest option available, we might forego 

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our wellbeing for the sake of a few pennies. So either way, be mindful of what drives you.  

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When I took the monastic vows, for example, published the books, or even started this

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podcast, and so on, I set one intention as the motivation for all of my actions. 

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You hear it at the beginning of each episode, it is written on the website, on bookmarks, 

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everywhere: My intention is to awaken, enlighten, enrich, and inspire a simple 

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and uncomplicated life, by offering food-for-thought so we can live at peace

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with the world, both within and around us.

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So regardless of where I'm invited to speak, be it at a bookstore or a church,  

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at a corporate retreat or in a maximum-security prison, I never do it for money

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or fame, I do it with that intention in mind. 

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In addition to keeping me grounded, focused, and purposeful, it also stops me from doing 

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what isn't congruent with my values.

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Now, you've probably heard me talk a lot about the importance of living in line 

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with our core values, and some people have told me that it sounds like a daunting task.

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So perhaps setting a single intention is a way to simplify that process.

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Keep in mind, however, that intention and impact don't always correspond.

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We can only control the intention with which we do something, and have no control

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over how our actions are perceived or received by others. And that's a great

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opportunity to practice letting go of outcome, focusing on the journey, doing the best 

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we can, and taking nothing personally. And if this sounds like a hybrid of teachings

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from the Buddha, Toltec, Christianity, and psychology, that's because it is. 

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So let's take those teachings a step further and actually implement them 

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into our daily lives. I mean, why wait until we die to rest in peace? Let's set the intention

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to be peaceful while we're still alive!

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I recently posted online that an angry person chooses to respond to the world with anger,

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a peaceful person chooses to respond peacefully, a loving person chooses love,

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and a fear-filled person chooses fear. What kind of person do you choose to be?

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A few people used that question as an opportunity to reflect and even admit that 

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apparently they've been an angry person their whole lives, but can now set

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the intention to respond to life differently from this point forward.

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So, if you and I were to meet and instead of asking you what you do for a living,

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I asked, "What's your intention?" What would your answer be?

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Each podcast episode is an invitation for us to contemplate our way of interacting with

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the world around us and the world within.

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So if you find value in my online posts, these podcast episodes, my monthly emails,

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our Books-to-Prisons Project, monthly events, and so on, and your intention is to use

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your social media or online platform and email to spread positivity, then please share it

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with all your friends, and consider showing your support for what we do with just 

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one dollar a month through Patreon.com/BuddhistBootCamp, 

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where our intention is to keep offering more tools for a mindful 

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and considerate society made up of mindful and considerate individuals.

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Timber Hawkeye is the bestselling author of Faithfully Religionless

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and Buddhist Boot Camp.

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For additional information, please visit BuddhistBootCamp.com,

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where you can order autographed books to support the Prison Library Project,

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watch Timber's inspiring TED Talk, and join our monthly mailing list.

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We hope you have enjoyed this episode,

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and invite you to subscribe for more thought-provoking discussions.

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Thank you for being a Soldier of Peace in the Army of Love. 🙏🏼