EPISODE #1
Today I Choose… What’s it all about?
Transcript ““Today I Choose””
Conversation with Melissa Bingham and Sam Buti
1-12-2021
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
intention, practice, meditation, choose, people, day, life, world, co-creation, listen, podcast, spiritual practice, hear, moment, meditative practice, event, whispers, called, idea, family
SPEAKERS
Melissa Bingham, Sam Buti
Melissa Bingham 00:08
Welcome to the inaugural episode of “Today I Choose”. I’m your host Melissa Bingham. In today’s episode, our producer, Sam Buti, interviews me about how this podcast came about and the practice of daily intention setting. Let’s get started.
Sam Buti 00:32
Well, hello, everyone, welcome. I’m talking to Melissa Bingham. And what we’re doing here today is to introduce Melissa to the world through this podcast and introduce her show “Today I Choose” Melissa, welcome to the show.
Melissa Bingham 00:48
Thanks, Sam. Thanks for hosting my first “Today I Choose”. I figured the best way to help people understand what “Today I Choose” was about was to hear my story. And so I am happy to have you interviewing me today for this inaugural episode so that people can understand how “Today I Choose” started and why we’re here and what they can learn and experience when they’re listening.
Sam Buti 01:12
Speaking of “Today I Choose” what do those words mean?
Melissa Bingham 01:16
Those words to me mean that I am in Co-creation of my life with the universe, the Divine Source, God, energy, whatever word resonates for you. I know some of those words can be triggering. So but for me personally, it’s that I get to choose to be in Co-creation with Source for my day.
Sam Buti 01:36
Where did they come from? How did you get to these words, “Today I Choose”?
Melissa Bingham 01:40
I’m a writer. And I’ve been a writer since I was a little girl. I I’ve written poetry and fiction and lots of nonfiction and lots and lots of marketing material. About nine years ago, I was in a place where I was feeling very stuck. I was a blocked writer as it would as it’s called. I remember we were in Florida, we were coming home. And that entire trip, I had been trying to figure out how to unblock myself and why I wasn’t writing. And I just I just couldn’t do it. And I was sitting on the plane, we were literally taking off from the Key West airport. And I heard in my head, give yourself permission to write one sentence a day. And start with “Today I Choose” as I had been doing a lot of study and work around intention and spirituality has been a part of my life. For as long as I can remember I’ve I’ve was raised in a metaphysical home. I’ve studied lots of different world religions and spiritual practices, the mystical and the magical. And I just I just listened. And so “Today I Choose” was born on an airplane and on the leaving the tarmac in Key West Florida. And since then, almost every day for the last nine years, I have started my day with this practice of writing one sentence and setting a daily intention.
Sam Buti 03:04
Metaphysical, spiritual. I heard all these words. How would you describe yourself?
Melissa Bingham 03:09
I would describe myself as a spiritual practitioner, a spiritual experimenter, a spiritual space holder. I grew up in a family that practiced a metaphysical religion. And although I don’t follow that exact path, it gave me an understanding of the world. And really, really this, this idea that everything is energy, and that, that we’re in this co-creation with Source. And so as I’ve studied other practices, and I’ve learned deeper meditation, and I’ve had different trainings, I feel like I have experienced the Divine, that Source energy on such a profound level that I know that I’m working with that in every moment with every breath. I used to say that spirituality was the underpinning of everything I did, because I, I used all of my tools, I used meditation, I used prayer, I used spiritual counseling, I used divination, I used that to propel me out into the world into whatever I was doing. I had an event company for a long time, and I’ve done a lot of marketing work. And I was always using that in how I was showing up. And I decided about 11 years ago, to move into sharing that with the world and , making that be more my my life.
Sam Buti 04:37
You were just talking about the event company that you used to run. It seems like a training ground for everything that you’re doing now.
Melissa Bingham 04:44
Yes, very much. Spiritual practice and event production, to me can be very synonymous. You have a kernel of an idea, you have a seed, you have an intention with an event, and you visit realize, I mean, we drew storyboards and we pick color themes. And we visualize and we pull in all the pieces, and we call our audience to us, there’s the physical manifestation of it, and then you roll with what happens and what changes and you have to be unattached to the outcome. And so it’s that rolling with it and being open and listening to what needs to happen next, and what needs to occur next, it’s very similar in life, it’s about non attachment. The biggest difference between this and an event is the outcome piece, not being attachment to outcome, because unfortunately, with events people are way attached to the outcome.
Sam Buti 05:44
Yeah, I think of it in terms of acting, it’s a matter of setting the stage, then you can play and then let whatever happens and it’ll be great. So “Today I Choose” is the framework to bring the event into reality.
Melissa Bingham 05:56
And “Today I Choose” the framework to bring your life into reality. Hmm, me stepping into kind of this arena of spirituality and spiritual teaching and spiritual practice as a career. And as what I was really going to do with the rest of my life kind of happened by accident, in a lot of ways. I was actually working with my assistant, one afternoon planning out the summers events that we were going to be producing, when I got a phone call asking if I would be interested in working at a spiritual center that we had been attending. And it sparked something in me, although it didn’t work out exactly the way I thought it would work out. It eventually did. But what it lit in me was a fire to know that I wanted to really bring spiritual teaching and spiritual practice into the forefront of what I was doing in the world. And so I ended up closing my business and stepping into this career of and this this work, I don’t want to call it a career because it’s not really career, it’s it really is a calling. And it’s what I feel like I’m here to do is to help people utilize spiritual practice and in particular intention about how to live life from intention and with intention by using all of these different spiritual tools. It’s evolved over the last eight or nine years, and I was doing a lot of work I kind of outwardly facing in the world. And then I chose for the last few years to really be at home and focus my energy and my teachings on my teenage kids, and in my family, because I got to the point where I was like, I have a responsibility to teach these practices to my kids, and however they choose to use them. I’m not attached to that. But I was like, if I felt like, why would why was I teaching everybody else out there? If I wasn’t teaching them, I do feel this responsibility to set them up for the best lives they can have. Now they’re getting older, and I’ve got a little more spaciousness. So, I’m excited to be bringing this podcast out into the world and to do more work in the world and work with people.
Sam Buti 07:59
When you left. Bodhi, were you already doing the “Today I Choose” practice?
Melissa Bingham 08:04
Yes.
Sam Buti 08:06
Did you write it that day?
Melissa Bingham 08:08
I did.
Sam Buti 08:29
I guess what I’m driving at with this question is what you got out of the practice. And also, these huge decisions and shifts that you made in your life came out of this practice, or were in tandem with this practice is, which is what it’s intended to do provide a framework for these decisions.
Melissa Bingham 08:45
Throughout all of this practice. I have shifted my work in the world, I have moved my family across the country. I have changed how I work in the world and how I show up, I’ve used it to help me determine like, what, where I needed to go next and what I needed to learn next, or what I needed to remember, or unlock within myself. And I think this power of this tool of intentional living, is is is a key, and it goes in and it helps to unlock those truths and that wisdom within ourselves.
Sam Buti 09:22
That’s awesome. So if I’m, if I’m using “Today I Choose” if I start this practice, is it just as simple as me writing a sentence down every day? What do I do?
Melissa Bingham 09:31
So, I’ll tell my experience of how I set my intentions. And to me, it’s part of a meditative practice. So when I wake up in the morning, before I get out of bed, most days, sometimes I’d get up and pee, but most days, it is fair? Drinking a lot of water to hydrate. But, it is this idea. So, so what I do is I’m laying there usually bring my hands to my heart. And I just take a few breaths breathing in. And I asked the question, what is my intention for today? And I listen, because this is to me intention is not something I’m thinking, it’s not, I’m not in, my mind’s not already going, Okay, I have to do X, Y and Z today. So, my intention is to accomplish, whatever, towards that. What I’m doing is I’m listening for where I’m being called to show up most days, a lot of days, it is more of maybe what we’d say an esoteric or “Today I choose joy” or “Today I Choose” love. And then there are other days that I get really specific, but it is this idea i as I’m listening for, where I’m being called, to place my attention and intention for the day, and I let it I always say it’s either going to bubble up from my belly, or drop in from above and I just allow that and then whatever usually pops into my mind. Sometimes it’s a picture, sometimes it’s words, but I get a sense of what it is. And then I just write “Today I Choose”. And today my intention this morning, when I woke up, I really heard this idea of “Today I Choose” to create something new”. And, that’s this, I am putting a lot of new things out into the world and doing a lot of new things with the holiday season this year with the way things are now with COVID, and all of that. But again, I didn’t I didn’t like sit in my head and think, Okay, what am I going to choose today? It was this slowing down, getting still. And I usually actually I always I have a meditative practice in the morning, I usually meditate for about 30 minutes every morning. And I usually actually do it before I even do my meditation. It’s usually the first thing I do when I wake up. So I’m still kind of in that dreamy state, just to listen and to see what maybe comes out of a lucid dream, or just what spirits is wanting to emerge through me. That’s how that’s how I do it every morning. And then the next thing that I do, because the other piece that I didn’t talk about within when I started this practice, I started by posting my intentions on Facebook every day, because I needed to be witnessed I needed to be and I needed to be held accountable. And I and I told the story that I’m doing this because I’m I want to live with intention. And I’m a blocked writer, and I’m going to just start and this is how it’s going to work. I have a Facebook group called “Everyday Living with Intention.” You get to post your intention there and be witnessed by whoever sees it that day. And we give people lots of likes and loves and hearts and some just, support when they need it. Yeah.
Sam Buti 12:59
So speaking of meditation, what will somebody get out of listening to this podcast,
Melissa Bingham 13:04
My hope with this podcast and and , I’ve been, as , Sam, I’ve been feeling into this podcast for about five years. The biggest thing calling me forward with it is this idea of telling stories of people who are living intentional lives. There are so many people famous and not famous, just all over the world that really are, in my opinion, living life with intention. And so my hope and goal is to start to tell those stories so that other people can use that experience within their own life. And part of this podcast too, is going to be me leading meditations. Leading meditation is probably my favorite thing to do ever. I love it. I have a weekly meditation group on Mondays at 7am pacific time that we meet over zoom with people all over the world. And we do about a 20 to 25 minute meditation partially guided partially in silence, and it’s become a great community. And so part of this podcast will also be meditations included with the interviews, sometimes the podcast will just be a meditation. Sometimes it’ll just be an interview, but then other times that will be both.
Sam Buti 14:14
So if someone wants to join in this practice, what can they do
Melissa Bingham 14:17
If they want to join in this practice, they can go to “Today I Choose”.me and sign up for my email list which then will give them the information about the meditations. They will receive information about the Facebook group which you could just go to Facebook and find Everyday Living with Intention as a group and be admitted there and it’s a completely free of promotion space. Other than me promoting what I’m doing just so I can tell my the group what I’m doing. But it’s a safe place to just literally write whatever your sentences that’s what people write “Today I Choose” and then whatever it is. And then of course listen to this podcast. Cast. It’s we’re excited to see where it goes and I’ve got some great people’s stories that are going to be coming in the next few weeks.
Sam Buti 15:10
The thing that’s coming to my mind now is if I’m new to this, I’m starting to listen, I am starting to write “Today I Choose” what might I experience? What might I expect? what might happen by participating,
Melissa Bingham 15:23
One of the biggest benefits that I have gotten that I have experienced from this daily practice is this feeling of groundedness and, and this connection to that Inner Wisdom that I know lives within me. It’s those Divine whispers, and those Divine spark ideas that I get that I attribute to this practice, because it is when I recognize and acknowledge that I am in this co-creative environment. It’s this idea that we’re not doing all this alone. And my personal belief is that we have guides and with us, and that we’re working with this Divine energy, even just that simple act in the morning of putting your hands on your heart. And just listening for the question as opposed to getting in that mind. And the good thing is that I don’t I have to come up with a perfect answer. That’s not what this is about. This is not about perfection. And this is not about willing something or forcing something, this is about flow. This is about allowing, this is about co-creation. And so as you start the practice, and you take that moment to slow down, and even if you have a meditative practice, and you’re steeped in spiritual practice, I just think this, it’s so powerful to really like, listen to where it is, you’re being called to place your energy each day. I’ve said this before, and writing and things that, there are days that I will set my intention. And it’s funny, I was talking to somebody about this yesterday about their days. I do my meditation, and I do my morning pages, and I’ve done my energy work and set my intention. The door to my room is closed. And I am so happy and feeling just authentic, and I’m grounded and all these things. And I opened my door and go out into my family. And it all goes to hell in five minutes. And that’s but that’s life. And so this again, this is a practice, this is not something to perfect, it is something to help us navigate our life. The other piece that I’m started and I mean, I’ve personally been bringing it in for a while but starting to talk with other people about to is we talk about it and teach about learning to respond, not react and taking this practice of “Today I Choose” into the moment? How do we use this practice when frustrations are rising? Or when something’s heated? If you can catch yourself even for a split second and think what do? What am I choosing now? What is it in this moment that I choose? How do I choose to show up? And listen, again, it’s just that momentary pause. It’s that momentary connection. I’ve likened this to like a calling card to the Divine. It’s like, Hey, here’s kind of what I’m thinking, what do you think and like, how it all comes about. And as you continue this practice, and the Facebook group has been around for about, I think about five years, I have people that have been with me the entire time, and they talk about and you’re going to hear some of their stories and you talk about how it has is really shifted their life and even the intention of just “Today I Choose” gratitude and how when you look at the day through the lens of gratitude, how that shifts, how you show up how that shifts, how you experience people. And the other thing I would say that you start to experience these synchronicities, . You’re you see signs of things. There also, is this just peace of connectedness to your own inner wisdom. And so it’s I think that there’s so much richness and so much opportunity with living an intentional life.
Sam Buti 19:06
You mentioned earlier about your family and your kids and retreating from quote unquote, career and re focusing because you develop this practice, you develop this ability to communicate with Source, but you felt like you were giving the same thing to your kids. What did that teach you doing that?
Melissa Bingham 19:26
So much. Learning to choose myself is probably the biggest benefit I have learned out of this practice. Just like that day I was on the airplane, of course, they said, Put your oxygen mask on first before you put on anybody else that you’re with that needs help. It took me a lot to be able to say I have to choose myself first. and choosing myself first meant choosing my family and this daily practice has given me the opportunity to be true to myself, I remember talking to a friend several years ago, after I had stopped really doing much outside of the family, she asked me, “Are you happy?” And my gut reaction was to say. No, my first reaction actually, it wasn’t my gut reaction. My first reaction was to say, “No, I’m not.” But I caught myself in the moment. And I said, “If I let go of what society thinks I should do, or what other people think I should do, then the answer is yes, I’m very happy, I made the choice that was for my family, and for me, in that moment, and it has, there are days that my ego gets completely inflamed. And you should be further along, and you should be doing this or you should be doing that. I just want to give my ego a great big hug and say, I hear you, I love you. And that was not the answer.” For me at the time, by using this practice, this daily intention, my intention is to be true to myself. My intention is to show up for my family, my intention is to be present every day, one of my teachings and teachers we teach about presence. And it’s this idea of being present. We have a mudra, and a mantra of, “I am here now.” And when I was out doing all this other work and traveling and all these other things, I wasn’t present to my kids. I wasn’t present to my family. And I’m fortunate I had the opportunity to make that choice. And, and I did do some other work and different things, but I was around more than I wasn’t. And that’s what I know I needed to do for me and for our family. And a lot of people can’t do that. And so it I feel a little triggered when I say that. A lot of people aren’t able, they don’t have the luxury of doing that. I understand that. And so it’s figuring that part out. What is true for you? And so I do think though is the biggest piece of this practice for me personally is being true to myself.
Sam Buti 22:25
I feel like the family thing has been a very big part of it. I remember us sitting in that coffee shop and sunflower cafe. This is like four or five years ago, we were having a meeting, I can’t remember what the meeting was about probably
Melissa Bingham 22:36
A podcast probably.
Sam Buti 22:42
The podcast that we’re doing now, five years later, one of your kids was having like their I was irritating them. And they like came over. They were sitting in a separate table they were playing and they came over and started rubbing their eyes and they’re like, my eye, my eye hurts. And you’re like, yeah, I’m gonna take it out of the socket. What do you have to do? I’m sorry. But like the levity that you approach them until the kindness like I know that, that I’m being flipped, but there was such humor and understanding in that moment of where they were and what they needed. And what was going on. It was it was a lot in the simple thing. So, I guess that’s the illustration that I’m trying to make.
Melissa Bingham 23:15
Yeah. And that’s all about presence? It’s like being present with absolutely what is in front of you. And I knew, and I know, I know now, I know still that that my presence with them was an is part of why they are the people that they are. And it’s a huge piece of who I am. Because I because I was able to say, this is what I need to do for me. And this is how this is my work in the world. And this is how I show up
Sam Buti 23:44
and imagine what they’ll do with that.
Melissa Bingham 23:46
Yeah, I’m excited to see
Sam Buti 23:47
Yeah, me too. I can’t wait to see what they do. In a nutshell, what is this show about
Melissa Bingham 23:52
The shows about intentional living. My work in the world is to help spiritual seekers unlock the magic of intentional living. And through the podcast “Today I Choose” will be sharing inspiring stories of people living lives with intention, and different tools that will help the listener live intentional lives, including how to do intention setting and meditation.
Sam Buti 24:17
So, who is the show for Melissa?
Melissa Bingham 24:19
“Today I Choose” is for spiritual seekers. It’s for people that are curious about living life a different way. People are looking to be more peaceful, more grounded, and maybe have more clarity about their life and, and their purpose. The thing I hear from people as I talk to them, and especially young people, and especially during this COVID time is this idea of not i’m not living my life, I’m not living my purpose. I’m not living with intention and creating that intentional life and living with purpose.
Sam Buti 25:02
There was something about a whisper. Can you tell me more?
Melissa Bingham 25:05
It’s back to that intention setting practice we do in the mornings. It is in those moments of stillness that we hear that I call Divine whispers. I used to call it a gremlin. I used to have a little Gremlin that would sit on my shoulder and tell me things. And then somebody, one of my teachers said, I don’t think it’s a gremlin, I’m like, but I like Gremlins. Gremlins are cute, before they get wet. But, but , It’s, those moments of this practice for me, I think, that has intensified or brought more to light these little, these whispers or nudges that I get from the universe. I remember very specifically one time hearing, “Ask that person if they coach. I recently I had a Divine whisper of just reaching out to somebody. And I get those throughout my day, throughout my weeks, and I’m just more aware. And so, I think as you continue this practice, and you develop this practice, those little Divine whispers become more accessible. I think they’re always there. I think sometimes we get too busy or too distracted or too disconnected to hear them.
Sam Buti 26:19
And if you add water Oh,
Melissa Bingham 26:22
- Yeah, the other thing that the other thing that I would just say about… you, asked me about what else people can receive from this. And the thing one of the biggest things I have received from this is community. Community through Facebook, through my books “Today I Choose”, which is a daily, it’s like a page a day book that can be used as a journal or an Oracle or inspiration that gives you an intention for the day. And Volume Two will be coming out soon. Hopefully, by the time this goes live, it will be out. I’ve been able to build community through our meditations, our Facebook group, my books and through talking about this practice with other people.
Sam Buti 27:13
I can’t wait for the second edition. Where should everyone go? What should they do? What places can they find you?
Melissa Bingham 27:19
Well, they can find me at my website, which is “todayIchoose.me/books.” They can find me on Facebook and Instagram. There’s a Facebook group “Everyday Living with Intention.” I also have a Facebook page Melissa Bingham, and then on Instagram, we have Everyday Living with Intention page where I put up some pretty graphics every day with whatever my intention is. And they can listen to this podcast wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. You can find us here with the new episodes.
What would you choose today?
Sam Buti 27:52
Me?
Melissa Bingham 27:53
Yeah. What was your intention today? Did you make a choice?
Sam Buti 27:58
I didn’t but I can I can feel into it now. I saw yours recently of “Today I Choose” to let go. That would definitely be mine today.
Melissa Bingham 28:08
Yeah. So I just invite everybody to just try it. Just see what happens. Try it on your own. And if you want more help or more guidance, or just some inspiring stories,
Sam Buti 28:19
reach out I can’t wait to see more people reaching out and more people hearing this podcast.
Melissa Bingham 28:24
“Today I Choose” to reach a lot of people and help a lot of people. Today I choose to have fun.
Thanks for listening to this episode of “Today I Choose” with Melissa Bingham. To learn more about what I’m up to or to sign up for our mailing list. Please visit todayichoose.me.
May your day and your week be filled with intention.