Live Intentionally

Featuring: Alison Brownell
Interview & video by: Catie Menke
Copy by: Shannon Holt

Living intentionally is defined as “any lifestyle based on an individual or group’s conscious attempts to live according to their values and beliefs.” Sounds simple enough, but in today’s day and age, living intentionally can be a lot harder than it seems.

Art Direction by: Catie Menke. Photograph by: Shannon Holt. Location: Scottsdale, AZ.

We are constantly inundated with new ways we “should” be living our lives that we can very easily forget to listen to ourselves. It’s not something that comes easily for most of us. Living intentionally is something that needs to be practiced and consciously thought about on a daily basis.

In the first Brunch episode of 2020, Catie is sitting down with Alison Brownell, an Astrologer here in Phoenix, to discuss what it means to live intentionally. Alison breaks it all down and provides us with 5 (somewhat) simple steps to help us live a more intentional life this New Year.

Set Healthy Boundaries

Setting boundaries can be hard, “it is something a lot of people struggle with because we aren’t taught how to do this as kids,” Brownell explains. However, if you are wanting to live more intentionally, setting boundaries is key.

“Recognize when you don’t feel good in any given moment and put that firm boundary in place, “ Brownell recommends. Pay attention to what and, more importantly, who makes you uncomfortable, take note, and set boundaries so you are better equipped to handle or avoid that situation (or person). Most importantly, as Brownell points out, “setting boundaries teaches others how to respect you.”

Listen to your intuition and follow your gut feeling

As Brownell points out in the video, we often avoid listening to our gut/intuition because we fear what people will think when we say we had a “gut feeling.” But as the definition of intentional living points out, living intentionally requires us to live life according to our values and beliefs.

“Your intuition is really, really powerful and being able to tune into that and then live your life that way is such a great way to align yourself.”

Being able to not only listen to your intuition but also trusting yourself enough to go with that feeling, is so powerful and key in living life intentionally.

Do something that brings you joy

Living intentionally isn’t all about the difficult tasks like setting boundaries or learning to trust your gut feeling, it can be as simple as finding what brings you joy and making sure you fit some of that into your daily life.

Brownell explains, “just doing something that you love and that brings you joy will help to bring yourself into the present moment and into a really high vibe place.”

This doesn’t have to be anything extravagant or expensive, just find something that you know makes you feel good and keep doing it.

Be present in your life

We all know that living in the present moment is not as easy as it sounds. Between our constant scrolling through Instagram or binge-watching the newest Netflix series, we spend a lot of time completely zoned out of the current moment.

Brownell recommends finding something to pull you out of that technology trance, “do whatever it is that will bring you back to experiencing the moment through your senses.” Once you find what that is, stick with that rather than just numbing yourself with something distracting.

Get an astrology reading

When all else fails, turn to Astrology. If you are unsure of how to set boundaries, how to follow your intuition or what brings you joy, Brownell recommends getting an Astrology reading.

An Astrology reading is a great way to tune into these types of things, especially if these are things you’ve been denying yourself your whole life. “It’s a great way to understand the blueprint of your soul and will bring you back into a space where you recognize yourself.”

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