How to Create Intentions After Meditation

A New Routine to Your Day
If you start your day with a morning meditation, adding a few extra minutes to create a couple intentions for the day may drastically improve your life. Even if you don't meditate *yet* , it will still be a useful part of your daily practice. With the use of intentions the road to fulfilling your deeper purpose will be clearer.

Why Create an Intention After Meditating?
After meditating, we are typically more clear, focused and in line with our higher self, higher purpose, Universe, etc. etc. etc. You get the idea. Basically, it's a great place to be! Our mind has slowed in its chatter and we often feel more calm and at peace. It is likely that our emotions are not as loud and we feel more centered with ourselves.

For this reason, creating an intention for the day after meditating can be incredibly powerful. Why? When we are more aligned with our deeper purpose and we begin to create intentions, those intentions come from a deeper space of wisdom.

From this state of presence, we touch upon our deeper Truth and can more accurately bring it into Being.

Imagine what it would be like if you were to try to create an intention in a place of emotional disturbance, chaos, and distress. Yes, the intention would still be beneficial and contribute to your goal, but it may lack a certain preciseness and focus that will be present when you are more aligned with the present moment.

Our thoughts create our reality and when our emotions are clouding our thoughts in such a way that our intentions become muddled, we may be attracting things we may not really want. For instance, "I want this darned person to understand me today" may lack some important elements. Instead, a more mindful approach may look like this: "I intend to communicate and be clearly understood today."

Simple Tips on How to Create an Intention
1.) Reflect on some important short term and long term goals that you wish to work on.

2.) Briefly think about any potential barriers that may negatively impact those goals for the day. You may wish to allow the intention to be about breaking through those barriers.

3.) Breathe and connect to your breath and body. Bring your awareness inward.

4.) Close your eyes and say to yourself "I want to address [identified goal]" Pause for a moment to connect to the goal fully.

5.) Now say out loud or in your mind "Today, I will bring energy to this goal in a positive way by --------" and then simply allow the present moment and your inner wisdom to complete the sentence. If the answer does not come right away, breathe deeply, create some patience in yourself, and then ask the question again. Do not judge the response you hear and simply allow the Truth that is inside you to be heard. (This may take some practice and is another reason why doing this after a meditation will likely be easier.)

6.) Repeat this intention several times or write it down. Recall it throughout your day, each time you do so, breathe deeply, bring awareness inward, and believe in the power that your thoughts have in helping to manifesting your goals.

That's it! Try it out for a week or more and see what happens!

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

Louise Hay, Reflections: Becoming Aware of Our Thoughts

I just finished watching this brief interview with Louise Hay:





Was thinking about the message she delivers about how important it is for us to be aware of the thoughts that we have since they contribute to our future and inherently, our lives. I believe applying this concept to mindfulness has a great deal of benefit. Specifically, the more that you meditate and practice building mindfulness, or present moment, non-judgmental awareness, the more you gain awareness into the thoughts that you have.

One may think, "How can I not be aware of the thoughts that I have?" To that question, I ask "How often have you felt uncomfortable, sad, or upset out of nowhere with seemingly no source?" If that has happened to you, it means you have been unaware of a thought or belief that has contributed to your own suffering.

I am willing to argue that if you are feeling an emotion such as this (or any other emotion for the matter), it is because some belief and/or thought stimulated that feeling inside you.

Feelings are nothing more than a physical reaction to our thoughts and behaviors. How do you know you are experiencing a feeling? Through the body. The body never lies.

I reflect on these things because it indirectly highlights to me the importance of awareness. The subtleties and seemingly fleeting thoughts we have in our mind can be a great contribution to our suffering. The final point being, that the more that we can encourage awareness, the more we are able to identify the thoughts that are contributing to our own suffering and the more we are able to reprogram the thoughts that are rooted in judgment, pain, and guilt, then the more joy, peace, acceptance, love and stillness will dwell in our bodies. When we heal those parts of ourselves through awareness, our lives begin to change and so too our perceptions. A change in perception as the Course in Miracles explains, is the definition of a miracle.

Having said all of this, I do not want to discount the difficulties in creating changes in our thinking and in being able to cultivate awareness. It can be challenging, frustrating and at times it feels like we're alone in this difficult journey. The spiritual and mindful path is one that requires our attention each and every day, so it's important that we offer compassion to ourselves in the journey.

I'll end with the affirmation that Louise Hay recommends we repeat to ourselves in times of difficulty:

All is well. Everything is working out for my highest good. Out of this situation, only good will come and I am safe.