I am less and less a creature of influences in myself which operate beyond my ken in the realms of the unconscious. I am increasingly an architect of self. I am free to will and choose. I can, through accepting my individuality, my ‘isness,’ become more of my uniqueness, more of my potentiality ~ Carl Rogers
How many times have you heard it’s back to school? Or there are only four months left of 2020 and so the inference even if it is not said is what is your focus going to be for the last quarter of this year? I know there’s been a lot of conversations about this and in the same breath discussions about setting intentions.
I was part of a group of about sixty people recently and we were given about five minutes to set our intentions by doodling, writing – whatever would help us to identify them. I was in a flat spin because I couldn’t find my journal so that was not a great start. I will be honest in some ways I went through the motions.
What changed?
The insight came in the small group chat later on. The person that went first reeled off what amounted to a to do list. In other words we were given goals masking as intentions. How often have you caught yourself doing that? What I paid attention to was what was unsaid? It became apparent that there was a joylessness in the recital and that the list was driven by fear and anxiety. There was such a stark contrast between what the first person said and the second person shared. So I commented on this and the first person confirmed that they felt anxious.
The power of the group
I learn so much from hearing from others. So again in this particular exercise the plenary session helped. What I loved was one participant’s decision to institute a “lockdown day” every week. In this way she would have the space to be and do whatever she felt like doing for her self. By scheduling it she was giving herself permission to explore or develop her own ideas. There would be no formal agenda. This felt freeing and is an example of accepting the moment as it is.
What are you noticing with all this? Hopefully you can feel the sense of peace and spaciousness in that. And your ego may be having a field day because it does not like to lose control. And that’s okay too.
The power of the group consciousness
You can do this for yourself but then there is no one to bounce your ideas off; and other ideas are few so who knows how far you will get with it. What I loved was in hearing others’ ideas I realised that I had fallen into some of the same traps and by the end of the plenary time, I had come up with a whole new intention.
Gifting myself time to get to know my new environment where I am living will have a positive impact on my business. I asked the group if there was anyone who lived in Bedford and discovered that one of the people I had shared space with lived in Leighton Buzzard and we are going to meet for coffee.
I was reminded of something else that’s very important when setting intentions. Get clear about what’s driving your intention. If we go back to the first response I heard, it was clear the person was being propelled by fear.
What quality sits behind the action?
When the money has dried up, it can be hard to have faith. You may find yourself grabbing at whatever comes along. If you can re-member that in this age of Aquarius, there is an emphasis on Divine Will. We are seeing the return of magic which is necessary to bring science and religion back into harmony with one another.
The Gift
When you accept that it is what it is which can also be interpreted as not my will but thy will, it takes the pressure off. In that moment others will see you in your essence which is what is most attractive. For example I was sharing the horrors of my recent move; and yet what my partner appreciated was my calmness throughout. I can almost laugh about it now.
The events that happen do not define you; it’s your response to them. What helps me is knowing that I am not in the driving seat. The Divine has it all in hand even if I cannot see where it might lead. So the more I let go; and let God, the more I see the every day miracles showing up in my world. And for a practical tip on how to create heaven on Earth why not doodle or write down a picture of what your best week would look like.