Set Your Intentions for the New Year
Oh the last day of 2020! And since it’s Thursday, today’s spiritual law just so happens to be The Law of Intention and Desire. What a PERFECT day to set intentions for the New Year!
When I set intentions at the end of 2019 I had no idea what 2020 would behold. None of us did. I connected with my heart, set my intentions for some big things, and let it go. Despite the chaos, confusion, uncertainties, and difficulties we all faced, as I reflect back on the year, I realize almost all of my intentions came true in 2020 – and the ones that didn’t may take longer than a year to come to fruition and that’s okay.
Setting an intention from your heart and writing it down is more powerful than you might think. The desire for material possessions comes from the ego level, whereas intentions are desires aligned with your mind and heart.
Intention is desire without attachment to the outcome.
According to this spiritual law, “Inherent in every intention and desire is the mechanics for its fulfillment.” The universe supports our intentions and desires, but the trick is we have to learn to get out of the way. This means you consciously put attention on what you want, set your intention, and then let it go, and let the universe handle the details. The secret key to making this work is detachment. Don’t be attached to the outcome. Easier said than done when it’s something you really want, but it just takes practice. When we connect with our heart, we gain clarity in our intentions.
Take a moment to get your journal or a piece of paper and a pretty pen, because you should feel good about writing your intentions!
Meditation is an important part of the process. Silence is the birthplace of happiness, creativity, and infinite possibilities. From this field of pure potentiality we get our bursts of inspiration, our most intuitive thoughts, and our deepest sense of connection to the universe.
Meditation and Journal Prompt
Please sit comfortably. Bring your awareness to your breath, simply observing the inflow and outflow without trying to control it in any way. Take a few long deep breaths, allowing your body to settle into wherever you are sitting. Wherever you are is perfect. With each breath, allow yourself to become more relaxed, more comfortable, and more at peace. As you inhale, be aware of how your body feels, breathe into any tension or tightness. Check in with your mind, your thoughts, and your emotions. Remember, your thoughts and emotions are not who you are. Notice anything you need to release. As you exhale, let go of everything that doesn’t serve you.
Now bring your awareness to your heart. Be aware of the breath there.
Imagine planting a seed. We don’t dig it up every day to see if it’s growing. Instead, we plant it in the fertile ground and nurture it with water and sunlight. Then we’re patient and simply let it go, so it can grow. This is how we treat our intentions. We plant the seeds. Then let them go and trust the universe to handle the details.
Now with your attention on your heart center, ask yourself the question: what do I want?
Just listen to what comes without judgment or evaluation. If nothing comes, just be with the silence. Whatever happens is perfect. What do I want is an experience but you don’t force an experience. You ask the question and then allow the experience to come to you right now in the form of a sensation, image, feeling, or thought.
What is my deepest desire? What do I want? Just be open to it. You can close your eyes and sit with that in silence for a moment.
Make a list of your deepest desires. You can set your intentions with statements such as “I intend to…” or “I want…” What do you want to manifest in your life? It can be big or small. Write them down.
New Years resolutions are just not a thing anymore. So let’s take the typical New Years resolution and break it down into actionable and manageable intentions.
Old resolution: lose weight
New intentions:
I intend to balance stillness with movement.
I intend to eat nourishing meals.
I intend to become more physically active.
I intend to take a nature walk every day.
I intend to wake up 10 minutes earlier and use my elliptical machine.
I intend to eat more fresh foods.
I intend to remove toxins from my diet.
I intend to incorporate an Ayurvedic lifestyle.
I intend to stop eating when I’m full.
I intend to discover and try new healthy recipes.
Don’t those actually sound more fun than losing weight? If you commit to two or three, you just might lose weight easily and effortlessly and have fun doing it!
Intentions work when you do the work upfront to connect to your heart, get clear on what you want, plant the seeds, and remember to let it go. You’ll be surprised at how easily and effortlessly things just show up for you. Without you even sharing your intentions, a friend might send you a cookbook with healthy recipes. You’ll start to meet and follow people on social media who support your desires and spontaneously share tips in their stories that really speak to you. You’ll be excited about the potential and the infinite possibilities when you let go.
You can practice detachment with something simple and small. For example, “I intend to connect with an old friend.” To test it out, resist the urge to call up an old friend. Simply let the intention go and notice how and when an old friend shows up in your life, because they will.
When you let go and don’t try to control every little detail, infinite possibilities will unfold in ways your finite mind never could have imagined.
In the wise words of my teacher Dr. Sheila Patel, Chief Medical Officer at Chopra, “When you set intentions from your heart, it will always show up for your highest good.” Let that sink in.
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success says, “Make a list of desires. Trust that when things don’t seem to go your way, there is a reason.”
Let’s close with gratitude.
What am I grateful for?
Take a moment to remember the good things that happened this year. Bring to mind some of the blessings already present in your life. Have a sense of gratitude at your heart center. What am I grateful for?
Close your eyes and sit with that question in silence for a moment.
Write down 3 or more things you’re grateful for.
Always come back to gratitude. Gratitude always lifts us up.
Inhale…
Exhale…
Release those questions and answers back out into the universe. Allow the universe to sort out the details. We’re just planting the seeds.
It doesn’t have to be the beginning of a new year to set intentions. I add new ones all the time. I encourage you to keep this practice going. Write down your intentions and give them attention by reviewing them regularly with detachment before you meditate.
Om Ritam Namah: My intentions and desires are supported by the Universe.
Sending you lots of love and wishing you a happy, healthy, and joyful year! May all your intentions come true!
Namaste,
Michelle