HOW TO SET POWERFUL INTENTIONS

Whether you’re aware of it or not, everything you do starts with an intention. From waking up, to falling in love, starting a business, to turning in for the night… it is sparked by a desire. Learning how to set powerful intentions is the key to making your dreams a reality.

In the classic Vedic text known as the Upanishads declares, “You are what your deepest desire is. As your desire is, so is your intention. As your intention is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny.”

In the field of high performance and human psychology you often hear the word “intention” thrown around. As a teacher of yoga I have started a class asking my students to set an intention for their practice and then release it into the universe. Sound woo woo? Perhaps.

I’m a believer of all things metaphysical and drank the energy kool-aid years ago before The Secret ever came out so at this point it takes very little to convince me to try out new tools and techniques for improved wellbeing. But sometimes these words and ideas seem ambiguous when it comes to practical application. Tools are only as good as their application. You can have all the knowledge about something but until your put it into practice it does your body and and mind no good.

In this article I want to explore what does it actually mean to set an intention? How do you do it? When to do it?

At the end you’ll find a a bonus new moon intention setting meditation.

Why set an intention?

The simple answer is to feel fulfilled in our lives and to live a life of purpose. I have been told before that as a yogi I shouldn’t desire anything. To that I say I’m human first. It’s natural to have desires and even more so to have your desires fulfilled. The person that is responsible for fulfilling those desires is you. Setting an intention helps you layout the roadmap of your life and decide where exactly you are headed. How you get there is not the point of this exercise, we are focused on getting clear on where you are headed.

Power Intentions Compass

What is an intention?

The English word intention comes from the Latin root intentio which means “stretching, purpose”. By definition an intention is an aim or plan.

Sounds kind of like a goal, right? It is and it’s not. Like goals, you get very clear on what it is that you want to achieve in your life. However unlike goals intentions are a mental, physical, and emotional exercise. All of the senses are engaged in setting the intention.

Setting intentions starts with this one question:

What do you want?

How do you set intentions?

Now you’re ready to set your intention. Start by finding a calm, comfortable, relaxed seated posture either cross legged on the ground or sitting on a chair. Then close your eyes and begin to connect your mind with the breath. Notice yourself breathing in and out through the nose. As you continue to practice this breath focused meditation your mind will slow down and even have short moments of pause. In this calm state the mind becomes fertile ground for planting your seeds of intention.

When you’re ready pose the question to yourself

“What do I want?”

Allow the answer to come to you without force and without too much thought. Remember this is your deepest desire, which means it may not be practical according to your mind… that’s okay. We aren’t concerned with how you’ll fulfill this desire, we just want to hear what the desire is.

What makes intentions powerful?

As the answer comes to you begin refining it by following these guidelines:

Keep your intention in the positive. We tend to focus on what we don’t want easier than what we do want. If answers in the negative “don’t want” come to you simply reframe them into the positive. For example if you’re answer is “I don’t want to work my 9-5 job anymore” reframe this to what you would want instead “I want to be a fashion designer and create beautiful conscious clothing for women”

Be specific. This is important. Remember you intention is your roadmap, in order to get somewhere you need to know exactly where you want to go. Continuing with our example above you don’t want to say “I want to be a designer” this could lead you on a path to becoming an graphic designer when you wanted to be a fashion designer.

Get even more clear by answering these questions:

Why do I want it?

What positive impact will it have in my life?

How will I feel when it happens?” **

The last one is a big one. Use all of your senses, invoke your emotions. How will you feel when it happens. What sensations will you have, who else will rejoice with you, how will it smell to have it. Experience yourself fulfilling this intention.

Summarize with one word. Now that you have experienced how it feels to have this intention fulfilled summarize it with one word. One word that when it comes to your mind you immediately invoke all of those feelings of fulfillment again. It doesn’t have anything to do with the intention itself it could be any word like – patience, expansion, love, joy, etc etc.

Release it. It’s time to cover your planted seed with the soil of the universe and release it. Just like you wouldn’t sit and stare at a planted seed waiting for it sprout so to you don’t want to obsess over your intention waiting for it to happen. Instead nourish it with right action and discipline. Set goals that will nurture the intention, take actions that will nurture the intention, and make choices that will nurture the intention. Listening to your inner voice and allowing it to guide you is what manifests intentions.

When to set intentions?

The beauty of intentions like goals is they are yours and you can plant them whenever you want. With that being said as you read above intention setting is a mindful process that requires time and space.

Personally, I like to follow the rhythms of nature to guide my intention setting rituals. For me it feels right to align with nature and feel supported by the ebb and flow of energy that is already in motion.

The specific days I do intention setting rituals are:

New Moon: Once a month

Full Moon: Once a month

Winter Solstice: December

Spring Equinox- March

Summer Solstice: June

Fall Equinox : September

Balance your intentions. I use the Solstice and Equinox to do big long term intention setting work similar to quarterly goals. I use the moon phases to set short term intentions and to continue refining my big intentions.

Find what works for you. There are so many different guides and rituals for setting powerful intentions. Read through a few and find what works for you. You can make it as simple or intricate as you’d like with having an quiet day to your self intention setting party to having an intention setting party and everything in between.

However you choose to do, the biggest takeaway from me sharing this with you is to inspire you to do it. Your mind is a powerful tool that wants you to have your deepest desires fulfilled. You do your job of planting the seed so it can do its job of manifesting it.