What kind of life do you want to live? One of reaction, where circumstances and knee jerk reactions seem to move you from day to day, feeling as if you have no control? Or would you rather create your days and thus your life, making choices every moment of every day that reinforce your values and move you in the direction you choose?
A lot of people go through life with the first mentality. We all do. Days, weeks, months go by and we have followed routines and engaged in activities just to entertain our own minds. And that can be ok. Sometimes we need to run on autopilot for a bit to get through some things. We are all doing the best we can based on where we currently are in our journeys.
Sometimes, however, we spend months or years in a pattern of life that we know doesn’t really resonate with us. We feel we are merely victims, powerless to change our lives or create lives that express our inner truth. We move through life just to get through the days. Sometimes, we rarely stop to even think about why we do the things we do. We get stuck in a rut of complaining about our lives without looking inward to consider how we are contributing to the circumstances of our lives.
In my life, I have experienced many, lets call them curve balls. I have been moving through life, minding my own business, when WHAM!!! I am totally knocked to the ground. Wind knocked out of me, I struggle to get up. Now there is an unexpected situation I am going to have to deal with. Whether I wanted this, or have the energy/resources/time to address it is really irrelevant. It must be faced. What I can control is my response to this new situation.
One can argue these situations are beyond our control. Whether you agree with this or not is not the important part for this particular conversation. Our reaction to them is always in our control. We control how we view them, what we learn from them, how we shift our values in relation to them, and the actions we take around them. This is where the power of setting intentions can become your ally.
An intention is by definition an aim that guides action. It is the why behind your choice. It is the direction you want to consciously expand into. Opportunities are constantly coming into our lives for us to grow. Every conversation, activity, experience and even thought holds the power to shape your life. For example, let’s say my intention is to have more love in my life. Every day, I have countless opportunities to practice the skills of showing love and receiving love. I can’t control other people and their behavior, but I can certainly work on mine.
Lets take this example. I stop on the way home from work to pick up the eggs I forgot yesterday but is the main food source of my 18 year old. Exhausted after a full work day, I find myself standing in a long line with all of the other people buying those forgotten essentials. Finally getting up to the cashier, I am met with an attitude that is snappy and rude as she turns on a heel to leave and help a co-worker. Maybe a small thing, but my patience/energy is spent at this point of my day. What do I do?
Do I snap back with my own rude comment?
Do I not say anything and roll my eyes at the person behind me and say unkind things in my brain?
Do I remember my intention of expanding love and bite my tongue, and keep my mind neutral?
Do I take a deep breath, tapping into a greater source of love and offer a kind word and smile,?
When the cashier is short with me, I have an immediate choice to make. I can do it unconsciously or consciously. In 5 seconds, I will be walking out of the store. Do I want to leave this situation grumbling and complaining or would I rather carry forward a feeling of love? It is always my choice.
Was the cashier rude? Yes. Does that mean I have to be rude? Absolutely not. Could I be? Sure, and I could justify it a million times over in all of my conversations for the rest of the evening and into tomorrow with others and in my own head. Could I catch myself and at least grit my teeth and leave the store with my tongue half bitten off from holding back my own rude reply, but know I did not continue the flow of rudeness externally. Could I leave the store smiling knowing that I offered a smile and kind word to a fellow human who obviously was having her own bad day to work through and recognize she too was just doing the best she could in the moment?
All of these scenarios are possible. No judgement on any of the reactions. That is not the point. The point is we all have a choice. We are consciously creating our lives, moment by moment. Not just the big decisions like moving or changing jobs or entering/leaving relationships. It is in our small decisions that we lay the groundwork for our lives. If we are always emotionally reacting to others and being pulled into their mindset during small interactions, how can we be strong enough to stand up for our beliefs in the big moments? Or what if we never even realize we have a choice? Humans are creatures of habits. Our brains will generally follow the same path that is ingrained into our patterning and nervous system unless we consciously choose to make a change.
This is the most beautiful concept of all: we all have the capacity to change. We all hold all of the powers within us to deprogram our old beliefs and upgrade to ones that reflect our current values. And then repeat. To me, life should be an upward spiral of growth and expansion. Life is a beautiful playground, filled with opportunities to learn about ourselves and then use this knowledge to decide who we want to be.
The point again is not one of judgement – we are all doing the best we can based on what we believe and our current set of tools in our tool box. But there’s always more if we are open to it. More to learn, more to explore, more to try, more ideas to consider, more techniques to learn. This is the deliciousness of life – trying on new concepts, experiencing new ideas, keeping what resonates with us and throwing away the rest. YOU DECIDE. Its simple and yet revolutionary.
An intention is like a thread you follow through your day. Or a lens through which you view the experiences. If the intention is to be more loving, then every interaction you have that day is geared toward moving you in that direction. You try and keep your thoughts coming back to expanding love. You frame experiences as opportunities to be more loving. Life becomes your path of expansion, with everything working to increase your intention in your life.
And yet, sometimes you forget (because you are indeed human). After flipping off the driver that cuts in front of you and being irritable to your kids and griping about work, you remember you are trying to expand love. But you do indeed remember. Eventually. And then maybe you realize that those reactions could have been more loving. And you think, maybe I could have handled this differently. And that, right there, is the expansion. It starts merely with the awareness and the openness to look inward, to be open to change. And when you lay down to go to sleep, you are a different person on the inside than you were when you woke up. Because you have looked into your life to consciously decide who you want to be.
Is changing easy? No. It is uncomfortable and frustrating and awkward. That is also the point. Our human brains and bodies are designed to take the familiar and easy route. So be gentle with yourself. Depending on your chronological age, you are replacing patterns that you have used for a long time. To expect immediate change might be setting your self up for a fall. The power of belief is not constrained by time. Of course, the missteps are ripe with all kinds of opportunity for growth as well. Your process is your process and it is beautiful in its own way because it is yours. An intention is merely a tool to keep you anchored and guide your path in the direction you choose.
If your intention creates your reality, whose reality are you living? Are you consciously making decisions so your life reflects your current values and beliefs? Or are you following outdated programs that no longer serve you and need to be updated?
I want to help you on your journey. I believe we are all collectively moved forward as a society as each individual consciously creates his/her own authentic life with intention. I want to create a bracelet for you, that supports your intention. This can be a tangible reminder that you wear through the day, to pull your attention back to your intention as you move through the day. For example, as the cranky clerk leaves you look down at your watch to check the time and see the bracelet. And you remember your intention to consciously create your life in the direction of love. And then you choose your response.
The vibration of different crystals support different frequencies of emotions and attributes. I want the bracelet to be something you enjoy and makes you smile as you are reminded of your expansion. To further personalize it, we can add charms that are meaningful to you in your journey. I will infuse the bracelet with Reiki energy, but please know you have the ability to cleanse and charge your bracelet yourself moving forward.
I am so honored that you chose me to create this with you. I will guide you through the process, but it is all about you – what you are looking to create in your life right now. And, hopefully, this is constantly changing as you grow and expand. For me personally, I cycle through intentions sometimes daily or even moment by moment and need different support based on where I am this day and what I want to move toward. This is the beauty of the flow, the expansion of the shift, the joy of embracing my role as a conscious creator.
I invite you to a conversation about collaborating on your own uniquely designed bracelet to reinforce your intention and alchemize your life, moment by delicious moment. Click below to start the process. I may reach out to you for additional clarity so that the bracelet truly
Ready to create your own personal tool for transformation and creation of your best authentic life? Click to begin the process.
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