intention: The Power of focus
Dear Ones,
Hello Loves, it’s good to be back with you, again. There has been a lot of heaviness in the news, lately and I’ve been thinking about ways to remain in touch with myself and present through it, so that I neither run from it nor collapse under the weight of it. Sometimes it seems like it’s hard to catch our breath and find our center when so much we care about is on fire. Those of us who are sensitive and connected can easily feel overwhelmed by the everyday stuff on our plates. Add in the knowledge of war, hate crimes, environmental destruction, and more and the effects can devastate and paralyze us. Yes, rest is important, but so is the ability to act and use our forces for change.
How do we shift our focus from the things pulling us off center so that we can be better agents for healing and change in our own worlds and the world at large? How to we stop ourselves from withdrawing in order to protect ourselves, when we need to remain engaged to be change makers? There are no perfect or complete answers to this question. What I can offer is one of the practices I engage in to help move me in that direction, intentionality. What is intention? I define intention as the purpose to which we are putting our desires and energy. You could think of it as a reason for your action, a prayer, focus, etc. There are multiple ways to use and focus our intention for personal healing and regulation. You’ll recognize some crossover between how grounding/earthing helps me and the benefits I experience from using focused intention.
HOW INTENTION HELPS ME
Promotes calm and steadiness
Improves focus and clarity
Elevates and stabilizes mood
Encourages feelings of physical connection, inner strength, and centeredness.
Brings a sense of purpose and inner-power
Focusing our intention costs us nothing, requires no special tools or training, generally becomes easier and more effective the more we practice it, and can have instantaneous effects (sometimes). It is something I often discuss with and teach new clients to use as often as possible in their daily lives. In may energy healing circles, “intention is everything.”
That said, an important note is that intentions are never for power-over another or for that which may cause harm. In fact, my intention setting always includes the caveat, “for the greatest and highest good.” I release attachment to outcome and affirm that my deepest intention is for the best for the highest-purpose and my highest-self.
HOW TO USE FOCUSED INTENTION
Every-day:
One of my favorite is to simply put my intention into my sources of nourishment.
When preparing a meal or anything you are taking into your body hold in your mind
The intention that the meal nourish your body and spirit, replenish and connect you to Source and planet.
The knowledge that it took many elements (sunlight, water, earth, wind…) to grow the food that will now become a part of you and your cellular make-up, connecting you to Source and planet.
Knowledge of the efforts of others (seed-savers, farmers, harvesters, transporters, etc.) and the many hands that your food passed through to get to you. Focusing on how you are connected to them and offering them gratitude and reciprocal benefits - sending them that which you are receiving from their hard work and love.
Place intentions into the garments and objects with which we adorn ourselves.
Focus specific prayers, desires, needs into the item before or when putting on. Some things you might intend could be:
Protection
Easeful travel
Awareness of a situation
Help with problem solving
Gentleness and kindness (towards self/others)
Good boundary setting and holding
Patience
etc. The list is endless
Place intentions into medications.
It can be hard sometimes to reconcile the need for pharmaceuticals with our value systems and desires. I, for instance, no longer have a thyroid gland. It was removed years ago after over a decade of trying to heal it with both allopathic and alternative medicine and intense resistance to surgery and medication dependence. Ultimately, the time came when removal was the best possible decision I could make, after which I could finally swallow food without pain and breathe while lying on my back (it had grown large enough to restrict my esophagus and airway). I still hated the idea of being forever bound to a medication and initially resented each pill I took. What I didn’t consider, at the time, was that the energy I focused at those pills was going INTO MY BODY when I swallowed them. Thankfully, I figured it out and made a change in my approach that included not only gratitude, but intention as well.
Before or when taking medications some ideas for possible intentions to place into them may be:
Rapid resolution of the health issue
Full and complete healing in all dimensions of well-being and health (mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical)
Insights into one’s health
Messages your body/the illness has to share with you
Reduced side-effects
Excellent absorption or use of the medication
Anything else that feels appropriate
Place intentions into actions, words, thoughts…
Imbue your day with an intention
Set an intention for the day and reaffirm it throughout the day
Ask yourself how your words, actions, thoughts contribute to your intention or diminish it and adjust accordingly
practice practice practice
Special Occasions, Altars, Ceremonies + Rituals:
Sometimes intentions deserve or could benefit from a more formalized practice. This could be for something long-term, especially tender and painful, huge transitions, major life-altering events, etc.
Create and tend an altar space dedicated to your intention.
Create and perform a ceremony or repeated/regular ritual with your intention in mind.
Make or assign an object or item imbued with your intention and return to/use it solely for this intended purpose, to remind you of or reaffirm your intention, regularly, or as needed (the object can later be released of the intention and returned to normal use, destroyed, ceremonially retired, etc.)
GET CURIOUS
Once you start using focused intention I invite you to get curious about what sensations, feelings, experiences you have.
Do you see more serendipity or coincidences in your life?
Do you feel less at loose ends, out of control, or helpless and more aligned with your purpose, regulated, and powerful?
Do others notice a difference in how you approach the world and how the world approaches you?
Do you experience any of your intentions manifesting with greater ease, clarity, speed, etc…?
As you can see, there are many ways to use intention in your life, and those above are just a few. It’s a deceptively simple practice and anyone can benefit from it. I hope you found this guide a helpful jumping off point or curiosity sparker. Trust yourself and if incorporating focused intention into your life or expanding your practice feels right to you, I’d love to hear about your experiences and how this guide has helped you.