Intentionality and Homemade Hummus

During our Fuel the Body, Fuel the Soul meeting on February 13th, Sister Lisa Lazio, CSJ spoke with participants about the power of intentionality. For fueling the body, Sister Renee Adamany provided her recipe for homemade hummus. Find the hummus recipe and a recording of Sister Lisa’s presentation below!

Fuel the Body, Fuel the Soul is a monthly series held on Zoom. Each session features an introduction to a healthy recipe presented by a sister, a presentation focusing on a spiritual topic and discussion and prayer with a community of women from around the country. There is no cost to attend. Join us for our next meeting!

Time: 5 minutes

Yield: 1-2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1 tbs sesame tahini
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Lemon juice (optional)
• Sundried tomatoes

Directions:

Drain one can of chickpeas, saving the juice in a separate bowl. Blend the chickpeas, half the juice, garlic cloves, lemon juice and sesame tahini together in a food processor. Spoon hummus into a serving bowl and gently mix in sun-dried tomatoes. Enjoy!

It has been shown through any number of scientific experiments that the power of our intentions significantly influences our ability to accomplish what we think we want to achieve. Along with our intentions is our ability to live consciously. Together, these two phenomena affect our ability to choose to say yes to fully living our lives, over and over again. None of these are one-time occurrences. Each works best when done on a cyclical basis as often as an individual is capable of doing them. Four questions that sum these up are:

1. What is motivating me to consider this choice?
2. What is my fullest intention and where does it come from?
3. Do I daily consciously reflect how I am living out my intention?
4. How often do I prepare to re-choose, to re-commit to my yes?

When I first seriously considered my own life choice, I remember I had three intentions. I can’t tell you how they came to me, but they have remained with me for over 60 years. The first was to love God as fully as I could. The second was to get to heaven (I had marvelous ideas about what my heaven would be like!) The third was to have a good time.

I made my vocational choice with much trepidation. One day I felt sure, the next I was filled with doubt. In the end, I opted for a religious vocation. But my questions were relentless. Would the community accept me? Would I have the chutzpah to live it to the fullest? Would I find happiness? And would I feel good about myself through all the trials and tribulations that were associated with becoming a member of a religious community? How would I know if it was the right choice for me? I enjoyed dating and thought I would love to have a family of my own. What would my response be if someone I had seriously cared about, invite me to spend my life with them? How did I hold such opposite ideas in my mind? And how would I ever make a choice?

Many people would dismiss my questions with the phrase “If it is God’s will for you, you’ll know.” That didn’t help me much. I didn’t understand how I would know. And I wanted certainty—because then I didn’t have to bear the responsibility on my shoulders about whether or not it was right choice for me. And in one sense, that way I didn’t have to choose.

The idea of living consciously was something I have witnessed deepen and grow as I developed into an adult. At first, I wasn’t interested in taking time to think about my life—I just wanted to live it. Times and ways that other people took to figure out their lives didn’t much interest me. I think that was because I thought those times were only supposed to focus on where you were not living up to your potential.

I don’t remember anyone ever telling us that we were really supposed to consider how we had experienced God or God’s love through life’s circumstances. Or that we were to focus on where we had grown and succeeded. It took me a long time to grasp that that was where I had to grow to know and love myself, and through that I discovered a personal relationship with the God of my heart. I felt like I had really become my own person—and could be mindful of where I had failed—but I also began to see where I had perceived myself acting in love. And more than anything, I felt free enough to make a choice for myself—a choice that I felt would bring you happiness and fulfillment.

In all honesty, it really does boil down to what is my intention for my life? What am I drawn to? What will help me fulfill my dreams and bring me happiness? Added together, these questions are essential for formulating your intention for your life. A bit of background such as what brought me to this idea—did I choose this freely, how do those closest to me react to my choice, who has influenced my decision—all need to be considered carefully.

In today’s world any of us can be distracted from our true intention to our vocation and our commitment to it. And in truth, there have been times when we wanted more than anything to turn and walk away. I always promised myself that if I found myself feeling that way, I would talk my decision and questions over with someone whom I trusted before I would actually do anything. And it was through those graced conversations that I am where I am today.

I do know that the decision regarding your life choice is never made only once. It often needs to be chosen again and again. When two people really love one another, they will often refer to the fact that they had to grow into that love—often choosing to say “Yes” when they weren’t sure they felt like it. Intention and living consciously, as well as choosing to say yes, are essential to making any lifelong commitment.

Intention

What am I choosing to do? Even more importantly, why am I choosing to do this? What are potential outcomes of this decision?

Living Consciously

What are the signs that I am pleased with what I am becoming? How do others see me? Is there anything missing? Is there anything I need to ask for help with? Can I be that honest with myself? Do I need to talk my choices over with someone who can help me see the whole picture?

Choosing to Say Yes

Any yes is good. It may be for a lifetime. It may be for 50 years. It may be for 5 days. Sometimes, we need to understand ourselves and our circumstances well enough to recognize that Yes’s are not large or small. They are a commitment. As we grow into the persons we’re meant to be, the Yes’s become stronger and so does the relationship.