Spiritual Skills - Intention

Intention

Intention is a core spiritual skill. In the spiritual context intention is not about setting goals that have the right level of specificity and a realistic timeframe to them. Intention is much more. The skill set isn’t so much about understanding cause-and-effect, as it is replacing that thought pattern with skills in ‘intention-and-manifestation.’

Intention is often considered identical to goal setting. I’ll set the target and then take the actions needed to make whatever happen: cause-and-effect. I decide, take action, and get the results I seek.

But often with goals, we have our ego fully engaged; we set about defining some perceived lack in our life we want fixed. We want a thing, a person, or an event of some kind to occur because we define it as missing in our life. What’s missing doesn’t support our ego’s definition of self as what we have, what we do, who we know, and so forth. When we intend something with a sense of lack, we know from our understanding of the Law of Attraction that the Universe delivers exactly what we’ve asked for – more lack! The landscape of intention has no space for negative diversions or resistance to allowing source to please you. The choice, however, is up to you.

Intention in a spiritual context is about connecting to source energy. It is about realizing the truth in the statement, ‘With God, all things are possible.’ All things. No exceptions. All we need to do is make the connection with source energy.

Wayne Dyer has a wonderful book and did a speaking tour on the ‘Power of Intention.’ He talks about the ‘connectedness’ of everything in the Universe, and our fundamental ability to manifest exactly what we need because we are derivative of source energy and part of source energy. We are what we seek. We already have available to us that which we seek.

Intention is not that we have a lack of something. Source is all there is. Intention is about understanding our connections to all there is. There is no lack. We connect to the abundance of the Universe every instant … unless we resist. As Dyer says, “Every thought that doesn’t acknowledge the unlimited potential of source is resistance. Thoughts that are unkind, uncreative, full of judgment, fearful, depressive, or carry a belief that something ‘can’t happen’ are resistance to seeing your connection to source. If that’s how you feel and what you believe, source will provide that world to you. You get in return what you think about.

Tune your mind away from the infinite abundance of source, away from its healing powers, away from infinite and unbounded love, and you get limitations, health problems and loneliness in return. After all, that’s what you ‘intended.’

Once we set establish intentions – and reaffirm our connection to source, some wonderful things happen. First, we behave differently. Our behavior and actions take us in the direction we’ve selected – towards source, and towards kindness, love, creativity, and a flow of joy in the Universe. Second, we become committed, and thus we give up choices that might take us away from source energy. Although commitment appears limiting, it really brings freedom and depth to our actions and thinking. Third, we become focused on being open and on allowing things to unfold before us, as we need them. We trust in source. Things once important or interesting, become distractions to our moving on the path that puts us in harmony with source energy. We become more motivated to move in the direction we’ve committed to.

The paradigm of intention involves seeing things as you know they can be, should be, and are in a source-directed Universe – a friendly and supportive Universe of infinite possibilities, unbounded creativity, health and happiness, and love. As Dyer says, "Contemplate yourself surrounded by the things, people and events you want to produce."

Intention, the connectedness to source energy for our needs and happiness, is one of the great spiritual gifts and great skills.

Go in Peace. Go in Love.

Namasté

PS. Watch Wayne Dyer's two-hour PBS special on the Power of Intention. Click here for the YouTube version.

This website is to stimulate your spiritual thinking in the hope that it will contribute to your spiritual growth. The author invites your comments and critiques by reply e-mail to bob@futuremoons.com.