Transcript (.pdf, 225 Kb)3m 56s
Method in 6 Steps
The Intrinsic Practice is a method with tools that can be useful to enhance one’s ability to experience happiness.
The method consists of 6 steps that have been designed to build upon one another in a set sequence. This video will give you an overview of each of the steps.
All of the Intrinsic Practice resources are available for free on an open-access basis for anyone who wishes to use it.
If you would like to find out more about the Intrinsic Practice, please read the foundation paper (.pdf, 1940 Kb).
The Method
The Intrinsic Practice offers a method for experiencing happiness. It is based on the idea that happiness has an intrinsic source within each individual—that what you feel depends on you more than on external factors. You can achieve happiness by lucidly and deliberately choosing to embrace what is conducive to happiness and letting go of what is not conducive to happiness.
The method consists of 6 steps that build upon one another to help enhance happiness from within. Each step offers a number of tools and templates that will be described in the Tools section. In order to decide if the Intrinsic Practice is right for you, you should try all the tools for all 6 steps.
The 6 steps are
- Setting up my practice
- Defining my happiness
- Knowing myself
- Knowing my world
- Envisioning my happiness
- Opting for my happiness
Let’s briefly review each of the 6 steps:
Instructions: Click on each step for a snapshot.
1. Setting up my practice. This is where you determine if you are ready to commit to the Intrinsic Practice and, if you are, you make a schedule to spend time to learn the method and use its tools in places that you will especially select for this purpose. This step also involves learning to be sufficiently emotionally and mentally attentive in order to engage with the practice.
2. Defining my happiness. In this step, you are invited to start defining (using five elements) what happiness means to you personally.
3. Knowing myself. This step offers you a tool to observe yourself and to use your observations to know yourself better—both generally and in specific situations. Self-knowledge will help to enhance your experience of happiness. The tool consists of 6 dimensions of self-observation and self-knowledge.
4. Knowing my world. At this step, you will learn to use a tool to observe and to build knowledge about the world you live in—both generally and for specific situations. The tool consists of five different aspects of observation to acquire knowledge about the world.
5. Envisioning my happiness. Armed with tools to know yourself and your world, you will learn, very specifically, situation by situation, how to evidence experiences that are not conducive to your happiness and to envision experiences that you could have instead that would be conducive to your happiness.
6. Opting for my happiness. You will learn, very specifically, situation by situation, how to let go of experiences that are not conducive to happiness and to opt for experiences that are conducive to happiness—all based on your definition of happiness and knowledge of yourself and your world.
Tools
The Intrinsic Practice offers three types of tools: (1) mnemonics and (2) templates created for each of the steps, as well as (3) techniques borrowed from related fields to be used mainly in step 6. The mnemonics are memory aids that will help you recall, in acronym form, the instructions for each of the 6 steps. The templates are designed to help you learn and implement the instructions. You may either print the templates and fill them out or copy them manually into a diary or workbook. The techniques for step 6, where transformation occurs, have been borrowed from fields such as psychiatry, psychology, philosophy, spirituality and leadership development, or created specifically for the Practice.
You will find below, on the left, the schema for the 6-step method presented earlier. The schema on the right describes the mnemonics and number of templates for each of the 6 steps.
Here are the mnemonics for each of the 6 steps:
- Setting up my practice.
START, which stands for Strength, Time, Agreement, Resolution and Thoughtfulness. It is supported by one template. - Defining my happiness.
PEACE, with stands for Purpose, Ethic (values), Attribute, Care and Enjoyment. It is supported by one template. - Knowing myself.
MINDSET, which stands for Mechanism, Intrinsicness, Notion, Doing, Soma (body), Emotion and Thought. It is supported by three templates. - Knowing my world.
WORLD, which stands for W5, Organization, Relationship, Law and Duty. It is supported by three templates. - Envisioning my happiness.
The mnemonic is SEE, which stands for Situation, Envision and Evidence. - Opting for my happiness.
The mnemonic is GO, which stands for Give up and Opt for. It is supported by one template.
Note that even though the terms used below are singular, they often refer to plural entities (for example, emotion can refer to many emotions).
If this description is clear to you and you are interested in trying the tools of the 6 steps, carry on.