Getting Intentional...

...about setting intentions. In her book, "Good Morning, I Love You," Dr. Shauna Shapiro tells us:

“Intentions set the compass of our heart in the direction we want to head. They connect us with our personal vision, aspiration, and motivation.... Remembering our intention puts us back in choice. It reconnects us with our purpose, which then empowers us to make choices that move us toward what we care about most.”

Intention setting helps us focus our attention and make conscious choices for ourselves; it's one of the ways we can actively create our lives.

I follow these steps in order to really focus my attention and get intentional about intention setting. I find that taking down some notes during this process, that I later transpose into my intention journal, helps me to be fully present and then remember what key themes came out of each step.

Reverence

Being intentional about where, when, and how I will set my intentions is what I’m calling “Reverence.” A quiet time, alone in a sacred space - whatever that means to you. Some have dedicated spaces for this. You can create an altar, just for this purpose, that is a temporary sacred space, just about anywhere. Onto a simple tray, you can place stones or items from nature, things that have meaning for you, talismans, symbols - these items can reinforce the energy of your specific intentions. Symbolism and visual imagery can directly relate to your intentions and give you a focal point for your eyes, engaging the sense of sight. Light a candle, diffuse some essential oils - the vibrations of these things, can augment the energy you give to this activity, and invoke your senses (heat and smell) around the theme of your intentions. This brings you into the present moment, where you are directing your attention, focus, and energy toward really discovering and activating your intentions.

Reflection

Consider how you came to be in this moment, under these circumstances, and embodying this energy state. You can reference salient experiences from your past, and objectively observe them in the now. You can look at the joys, struggles, learnings, and the trial and error that is life. What can you take with you and what can you leave behind? Focusing on what’s most important to you helps you articulate your intentions with specificity. We’ll call these “important focal points.”

Refine

Linking your values to these important focal points will help you to refine your intentions even further. Identify your own values and beliefs around these important focal points. They’re important to you for a reason. That reason is that they are supported by values that are important to you. This exercise is about “why.” Why are these things important focal points for you?

Reset

Really being present (Reverence) and determining what your journey to this point has to offer you (Reflection); and then linking your important focal points to your personal values (Refine) allows you to Reset your focus - to yourself and to fulfilling your purpose and your heart’s desire. We gain a new perspective, give ourselves a foundation to work from in setting intentions for the future. Setting intentions this way is something we can do to create what we want. Living our intentions is an active endeavor, so now is the time to express them in active language as we write them down. Using action verbs is helpful. Words like: create, cultivate, improve, make, hold, expand, learn, grow, know, gather, accept, surrender, understand, listen, seek, discover, love, soften, rejoice, celebrate, affirm, enjoy, empower, choose, be...are a way to put our intentions into action.

Reinforce

To take it to the next level and Reinforce the energy you give your intention, state it as an affirmation. Stated this way, as though it is already real for you, is a way to energetically manifest your intention. Instead of saying "I want to make time in my day for a creative practice,"we say, "I am making time each day for a creative practice."

I hope you find this process helpful in setting your intentions. Devoting some time and energy to "intentionally" setting intentions, is, for me, an act of self-love. I always feel nurtured and grateful, whole and happy, after doing it. I would love to hear your thoughts and experience around intention setting, so leave a comment and share if you like!

Thank you for visiting my blog today, and reading this post!

Lots of love,

Sarah