What are Intentions?

By definition, an Intention is a plan you intend to carry out. It is a goal, a purpose, or an aim that you will follow through with action to accomplish. Spiritually, intentions are used to let the Universe, gods, and spirits know that you have a plan and would like their aid to carry said plan to completion. You use intentions to work towards your goals and dreams. Your intentions should be guided by your belief, morals, spirituality, goals, and principles.

There are different types of intentions. Overall intentions are ones that are used to make changes in your life in general but will affect all aspects of your life. An overall intention could be something like: I intend to be more creative. Often, overall intentions are used for things like lifestyle changes, prosperity, personal freedom, inner peace, wisdom, or self-love.

Immediate Intentions are ones that you plan to make a part of your life at this moment or plans that you need to bring to fruition in a short time. For example, I intend to find a new job in the next month to improve my financial situation. This type of intention has a short deadline to bring into practice. This type of intention is good for anything that needs to be done within the next month or two. Think of Immediate intention as “I need this to happen right here, right now” intentions.

Long term intentions are things you plan to accomplish over a set period of time that may range from 1 year to 20 years. This is for things you are working towards such as buying a house, getting a college degree, physical health, or even long-term career goal. Often this type of intention is used for things that are going to require a longer period of work to accomplish.

You can have intentions for relationship goals, physical or mental body, Spirituality, mental health, financial situations, creativity, humanitarian, or planetary purposes. Intentions are often a part of manifesting but can be used anytime you want to change and improve your life.

PLANS, INTENTIONS, AND GOALS: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Goals are all about what you would like to accomplish. There is the idea but no steps on how you want to get from the idea to the result. While plans are the steps to get there. When you combine your plans and goals as a conscious choice to do the work to reach the goal and then follow through with those actions, then you have intentions. Intentions only work if you do all the work and stay focused on the goal. When you work with intention, you make yourself aware that you are working towards a goal, and you continue working towards that goal until you and the Universe complete the task. Intentions are the cause and the actions that bring about the effect.

LIVING WITH INTENTION

Living with intention is living mindfully and aware of what you want your life to be like. When you live with intention, you are aware of your actions and how they affect your life. You are doing your best to authentically build the life you want and become the person you wish to become. This can be a full-on lifestyle or just working towards a few intentions at a time.

Setting intentions goes beyond just telling the Universe what you want to accomplish and expecting the Universe to deliver your wish. For intentions to become reality there are steps you need to take.

• 1. Set clear goals. If you don’t know where you are going, you will never know when you will get there.

• 2. Develop an action plan and steps to manifest your intention. If you break down your intentions into smaller steps, it will not seem so overwhelming. As you work towards your goal, you can always adjust your steps, but you need to develop some steps to start the journey.

• 3. Be consistent. Put in the action and do the work to your best ability but continue to work. Tailor your affirmations toward your intentions and do the follow through.

• 4. Adjust your tack and make changes in course as needed. If you are doing something that isn’t working, try something else. As you work towards your intent, new opportunities may present themselves and planned steps may become obsolete.

• 5. Be patient and be mindful. Somethings in life take longer than we hope, just keep your focus when you feel like your quest is dragging along. Good things do take time.

• 6. Never be afraid to ask for help. No person is an island. On occasion you may need to ask the people in your life for a helping hand for a bit. A lot of people don’t like having to ask for help but on occasion we all need a helping hand. Also, there will be times you need to ask your Guides, Spirits, and even your deities for a little help. Asking for help in no way means you have failed.

There are ways you can remind yourself on a regular basis of your intentions.

• · The easiest is to write your intentions and steps down and every so often rewrite them.

• · Tailor your daily affirmations towards your intentions so you remind yourself daily of what you want to accomplish

• · Create sigils for your intentions and draw them where you can see them as a reminder.

• · Journal about your intentions. Write down what steps you are one, what you have accomplished, what you feel still needs to be done, and why the intention is so important to you.

• · Make a Vision board of your intention. Get creative and be as artistic as you feel comfortable.

• · Do spell work to help you focus on your intentions and bring in the Universe’s energy to use toward that intention.