Setting Intentions

A few years ago I stopped setting objectives and started setting intentions instead. While objectives are often concrete, specific, and measurable goals, intentions are about cultivating a particular mindset, embodying values, and aligning actions with a broader purpose. They focus on the journey and the qualities you want to embody.

They are present-moment focused vs outcome focused, they encourage mindfulness and being fully engaged in the current experience rather than solely fixating on the future outcome. Because they are rooted in the now, they are adaptive and evolving. They are responsive to changes and can guide you through unexpected twists and turns in your journey. They are what I like to call emergent.

While objectives require a certain amount of doing and control, intentions rely on trusting the process and letting go. Intentions are very connected to being and a heightened level of consciousness.

In his book "The Power of Intention", which I read a few years ago, Dr. Wayne Dyer dives deeper into this concept. According to him, the process of allowing, just being and embracing this heightened level of consciousness, goes back not to attracting what you want, but attracting what you are.

“You have to just be. You have to let go. You have to allow. You have to be free and make this your consciousness.”

“Basically, what you would see is a frequency (of energy) that manifests itself through the process of giving, of allowing, of offering and of serving. It asks nothing back.”

Dyer illustrates the concept of giving without expectations by quoting the great poet Hafiz:

“Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth ‘you owe me.’”

So the notion of seeking what you want, or think you need, is not what the Power of Intention is all about. “The ego’s mantra is ‘What’s in it for me? How can I get more? I want a BMW in my driveway next Thursday,’” he explains. “All of that is what most spiritual teachers call the false self—the ego.”

Intentions carry a transformative potential. As you prepare to cross the threshold into the new year, I invite you to connect to your deepest soul desires and set intentions for who you would like to be in 2024 and beyond.

But before moving forward, start by pausing, sensing the ground you stand on in this moment, and ask yourself the following questions:

• What got you to where you are? Whose shoulders do you stand on?
• Who are you grateful for?
• How can you count your blessings?
• Where have you spread love and kindness and whose forgiveness do you need to seek?
• Have you allowed yourself to dream enough? Or were you just too busy working and focusing on getting things done?
• How often did you do something spontaneous that brought you joy?
• What do you need to bring into your life today that will allow you to look back at the end of 2024 and know that it was a year well lived?

I will also take a moment before the end of the year to look back at my journey. This past year has brought many gifts with it and also many lessons. I will connect to my heart and set my intentions and I promise to come back with more.

As this year comes to a close, I pray for peace, for healing and for light to shine through the darkness of these times.

May this light carry us all forward together into a new co-created reality.