‘Intent is a force that lives in the universe’ Carlos Castenados
Does every day feel like groundhog day? Are you stuck in negative patterns wondering when things will start to change? Perhaps your career is draining your creativity, you want something more but don’t know what it is. Maybe you do know and you’re afraid to take the necessary leap of faith? Perhaps you’re a square peg in a round career or it could be a relationship that is slowly sapping your self esteem adding to your feeling of disconnection. Maybe you’re too scared to leave. Or you feel that wherever you are or whoever you’re with, you will never be enough.The truth is, as Einstein observed ‘Nothing changes until something moves’. That something is you. And the movement you need is intention. Intention enables you to live with heart rather than habit.
Notice anything about the above questions? There’s no intention there. No agency or control over direction. It’s all playing out in front of you. Happening to you. When you’re being swept along by unfulfilling work, dysfunctional relationships or repetitive habits you’ve already lost your power of intention. Being stuck in the negative plasticity of habitual thinking and ingrained habits can leave you feeling overwhelmed before you even begin. Start small. You’re building your intentional muscle here. Just like using weights at the gym, practice and repetition is required. Start where you are.
What is intention?
Intention is your GPS. Your guide. Your purpose. Your inner knowing turned into action. Intention is all of these things and the good news is, however disconnected from it you may feel right now, the quiet knowing of intention is already there, within you.
How can you find it?
Stillness is key. Take time out or create a silent space to reflect upon where you are. Clear your diary. Go somewhere that you feel peaceful and safe, a favourite place, park or a quiet room. Ask yourself these questions and wait for the answer;
What brought me here?
How does it feel to be me?
What do I truthfully want?
What is important to me?
Have I accepted less because I am afraid?
Am I living my life in the way others want rather than creating my own path?
If I were living my life as if these were my last days, what would I be doing differently?
Are the people around me supporting my intention?
Do my close relationships nourish or deplete me?
Am I extending compassion to myself in the way that I live my life and the daily choices that I make?
Have I created the conditions for my true intentions to flourish and thrive?
Making time for yourself to answer these questions will begin to provide clarity around your intention. As you create the space to consider your intention you’ll see that it was always there, freely available to you. Always present for you to tap into and connect with. As you begin to focus on your intention, clarifying it and acting upon it daily, it may change. Be open to those changes. Remember there may be an intention that you haven’t unearthed or allowed yourself to imagine yet.
Your next step is to ask yourself; what small step can I take today, how can I act in a way that will move me towards my intention? In Goethe’s words
“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it;
Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.”
