You’ve probably heard the word “uncertainty” at least a hundred times by now. It’s on the news and all over social media. Without a doubt, these are uncertain times. However, in the midst of the unknown, we can utilize our intentions to combat the feeling of uncertainty.
What are intentions?
You’ve probably heard of “intentions” from other spiritual practitioners, seen pictures on instagram of brightly colored intentions written on paper, or maybe you’ve even attended a New Moon Circle where you participated in an intention setting practice. Maybe the concept of intention setting is entirely foreign to you. As a trained shamanic energy medicine practitioner, nutritionist & coach, my work is fueled by intention. Intentions are our plans, what we are “aiming for”, and lay the groundwork for what we desire to do. Intentions can take the form of goals, thoughts, I am statements, mantras, you name it.
Why should I set an intention?
At this point, you might be asking yourself, “Why should I set an intention?”. Intentions allow us to connect with a vision. Intentions can serve to support our life purpose. Intentions fuel our desires and lay a road map for the things we want. I’ll give you a simple example here by working backwards. Let’s say your desire is to feel really good in your home (we are all spending a lot of time in our homes these days). Your intention then maybe to clean out unnecessary items, finally get to the dusting you have been thinking about for days or it might even be to rearrange the furniture. Let’s piece it back together now. Your intention is what you intend to do (finally dust) and the desire is to feel good in your home. You set intentions as a road map or the fuel to get to your desires. This is why we set intentions, to get closer & closer to what we want.
How do you set an intention?
You might be asking yourself now, “Is there a how-to or format for intention creation?”. I’ve been writing intentions for years and I have them distilled down to a science. Let’s break them down. Your intention may be anywhere from one sentence to a small paragraph. Here’s the step by step process.
1. Kick things off in the present tense. Great starts are “I am” or “I gracefully find myself”.
2. Decide on what you intend to do (this is the action).
3. Make your intention time bound (day, week, daily practice, for the month, etc).
4. Attach the action to a feeling (you’ll see this illustrated in the example below).
Here’s your example: “I gracefully find myself meditating 5 days a week for 5 minutes a day. This allows me to feel calm and peaceful”.
Just for good measure, we’ll break down the example with the steps.
1. “I gracefully find myself”. Here I kicked things off in the present tense.
2. “Meditating”. This was the action.
3. “5 days a week for 5 minutes a day.” My intention is time bound.
4. “Calm & Peaceful”.
The feelings associated with accomplishing my intention. Remember, you don’t have to physically write intentions down daily. You could bring an intention forward during a mindful meditation, before stepping into a task or think about your intention during your morning routine.
The best part of intention creation?
There’s no one-size fits all method. I’m here to lend you suggestions and you get to transform this practice into something that works for you.
How can I infuse intention into my day?
Infusing intention into your daily routine is easy. You can think of your intention for the day in the shower or write it down in a journal. You can map them out weekly in a calendar or notebook. You can even create larger scale intentions for the month.
How does intention combat uncertainty?
Daily intentions can shift your mindset to “one day at a time” which can help to move your thoughts away from dwelling in future doom and gloom.
Intentions allow you to focus on things that are within your control and what you can handle in the present moment. Intention setting also serves as self-care, which is deeply needed during times of uncertainty. Finally, intentions shift your mindset, allowing you to focus on positive goals and feelings. I encourage you to create your own practice and see how it changes your view of your day, week or month.
Happy Intention Setting.
With infinite light,
Paige
Bio:
Paige Kane is a spiritual mentor, shamanic energy medicine practitioner, nutritionist and intuitive. Paige created Feed Your Intuition after experiencing her own journey through healing modalities and personal growth. Now, she supports others by teaching them to utilize their intuition and connect to their purpose in both life and business. You can connect with Paige on Instagram @itspaigekane or by visiting her website, feedyourintuition.com.
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