Nurturing Seeds with the Power of Intention

“When your determination changes, everything will begin to move in the direction you desire.  The moment you resolve to be victorious, every nerve and fiber in your being will immediately orient itself toward your success.  On the other hand if you think “this will never work out,” then at that instant every cell in your being will be deflated and give up the fight. Everything then will move in the direction of failure.  I want you to understand the subtle workings of the mind.  How you orient your mind, the kind of attitude you have, greatly influences both yourself and your environment.”  

This quote is from Daisaku Ikeda, former president of Soka Gakkai International, the largest and most diverse lay organization of Buddhist practitioners in the world. And it has been on or by my desk for at least 10 years. And I’m pretty sure that I first scribbled it down over 20 years ago when I first moved to Seattle, Washington in 2005.  Now after 13 years of studying esoterics and metaphysics it still rings true it just has so many additional levels of meaning and truth.  

Forbes Magazine recently stated that - “intention is a critical factor in achieving success…It provides a purposeful and strategic approach to navigating life's complexities and a guiding force propelling you toward a future of purpose, genuineness and success.” the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy shares that  Intention is “mental directedness towards objects, as if the mind were construed as a mental bow whose arrows could be properly aimed at different targets.” 

The key here that unlocks the Power of Intention is the alignment and purposeful direction of your thoughts and actions toward a desire that you really want to achieve in your life. A prerequisite then for this alignment is you must know for yourself what you desire. What do you really want for your life?  Where do your passions lie? What gives you a sense of true fulfillment? If you do not know what you want and desire in the heart of your hearts then it is really going to be hard to align your thoughts and actions to make that desire happen. And you never unlock the true power of intention.  

The definition of intentional according to Webster's dictionary is “Done on purpose; deliberate.” Synonyms include “Conscious, Willed and Purposeful.”  

In my esoteric and Kabbalistic training we are taught that the Magickian or Alchemist uses their imagination to clearly identify and describe their specific desire, and then they must set their intention, concentration and will upon the appropriate object.  None of this saying "Walk around your life like a zombie doing whatever everyone else says you should do.”  In fact, it is specifically the opposite.  Intention is “thinking ahead and making choices based on personal beliefs, values, and goals.”  Not acting on impulse, but planning ahead to choose things that create a positive impact for your life and the things you value. 

Okay, okay, Angel, you might be saying.  Great, be more positive. Be more intentional.  Those are great buzzwords but how do I do that? But that's just it.  I’m not telling you to BE MORE positive, or BE MORE Intentional.  That would be me “shoulding” on you.  Instead I’m giving you an equation that if you choose to follow it for yourself - your thoughts and actions will be the cause that results in the effect of an intentional life.  And that intentional life of thinking and doing on purpose with purpose will result in you achieving more of what you actually want, desire and desire, which will result in you feeling more fulfillment and joy and gratitude for what you have and have been able to accomplish.  Which will fuel more gratitude, and more ability to to be intentional.  It is a positive cycle of cause and effect which will in turn result in you becoming positive and living a more joyful life.  No shoulding needed. Because you will be doing it. And that is the most important thing. 

So let’s review the equation that allows you to unlock the Power of Intentional creation in your life. 

Step one and the foundational piece is that you need to get clear on what it is you want and desire in your life.  What do you really want for you? All studies and literature on this point to you identifying for you what brings you joy and passion. (not simply what brings you momentary pleasure) But what are your values, what gives you a sense of fulfillment?  What feels purposeful? 

Now if you are at this step (step one) and already stuck, don’t worry.  Start small. Identify a very short term clear achievable thing you would like in your life that you personally would feel good about if you accomplished.  This can be very selfish (or may feel selfish and that is ok, we have to start somewhere). So this could be taking a weekend trip to a place you want to see.  Or payi