CATALYST NEWS

Eva Dahm, CPCC, MA

September, 2004

Dedicated to your growth and exploration

CREATE YOUR FUTURE USING INTENTION

When I lead the eight-week workshop on self-growth using the chakras, I ask participants to set a personal intention. The more specific intention is better. Some examples are: To open my heart to meeting and knowing others more deeply and to forgive my past. To speak my truth with my friends and family. To ground and center myself, so I can handle work stresses without getting pulled off course.

Frequently, workshop participants have reached this intention by the third or fourth week (halfway through the class). They are surprised to see how quickly changes have occurred. The dictionary explains that intention is "a determination to act in a specified way".

Wayne Dyer's newest speaking tour is "The Power of Intention" He says intention is "the force in the universe from which all things emanate". Dyer explains that intention allows you "to create love, endless abundance, and all you desire". So what is the power behind the intention?

INTENTION CREATES EVERYTHING

Deepak Chopra says, "Everything that happens in the universe starts with intention. The world is like a Rorschach blot we convert into a world of material objects with synchronization orchestrated by intention. The world before it is observed and the nervous system before the desire or intent to observe something, both exist as a dynamic (constantly changing), non-linear chaotic field of activities in a state of non-equilibrium (unstable activity). Intent synchronistically organizes these chaotic activities." Chopra summarizes, "Intent is the very basis of creation."

The Vedic texts (Upanishads) declare, "You are what your deepest desire is. As is your desire, so is your intention. As is your intention, so it your will. As is your will, so is your deed. As is your deed, so is your destiny."

The sample intentions above are ways each person believes he or she will improve their lives and their happiness. So bottom line: intention is a way to find more joy in life.

Chopra points out that from past experiences, "we create memories as a basis of imagination and desire. Desire is the basis of action, once again. So the cycle perpetuates itself."

Imagine for a moment, I concluded in the past that I could not speak my true feelings in my family. Many people do form this conclusion for one reason or another. And perhaps at the time this conclusion is formed, it is a valid one to create safety for me. However, this long-past memory may limit my present actions. But I'm still operating under the previous conclusion, so I don't risk speaking up to express my feelings. I have already concluded I will be happier if I keep quiet. Despite the fact that in my current life, this conclusion and withholding of my emotions may not serve my highest good.

If I decide another course of action is better and am open to change, intention is a valuable vehicle. The truly awesome power of intention is we can dream "impossible" dreams or decide anything is possible. And then the present behaviors and past beliefs can shift relatively quickly.

WHO IS SERVED?

Chopra says the true test of an intention is how it serves you and everyone else. If the intent is good for everyone and is a desire of yours, it is possible to create it. And the converse: every possibility you dream which is a desire of your higher self (not your ego wanting recognition or status), will serve others well, too.

"Intent is a seed in spirit" and Chopra says and as such it has it's own fulfillment within it. A seed has all things needed to sprout and grow grain or a flower or a cucumber with sun, water and time. Your intention is blessed with potential, too.

Chopra also explains that our intention creates coincidences. One example is when we think of someone and they call. Another is when we ask for an insight and stay open to hear an "angel" share an idea or a divine nudge with us. I've told the story before about asking my dreams to give me a suggestion for relief of morning stiffness. I awoke one morning with several voices screaming the word "turmeric." At the health food store, I discovered indigenous people have used turmeric for hundreds of years to reduce stiffness.

A church member shared that on the way to church she was thinking of taking a retreat from her busy family life this fall. When I first saw her at church, I was moved to ask her to join our October retreat group even though the registration had closed. And a room opened magically when another registrant informed me she had to cancel due to a conflict. Talk about synchronistic.

When I run my workdays using my intuition, I more frequently reach the people I am attempting to contact. I wait until I get a nudge to call someone (his or her name comes out of the blue), then I call and we talk. Things move easily in a flow.

I am certain you have your own stories of desires appearing at your front door. Being open to the quiet messages of the Universe plays a big part in hearing these nudges. Getting specific about what you want is important. Then imagine the intention, and you are on the way.

Chopra describes the strength and effectiveness of imagination and affirmations. Dreaming a new way and repeating the image and words over and over create habit. Holding both the thoughts and visualizations of a change and the words of a change are powerful ways to create the change. And feeling the emotions of the change as if it has already been achieved increases the power.

"The more the intention is repeated, the more likely it is that the universal consciousness will create the same pattern and manifest the intention in the physical world," Chopra explains.

MAKING SHIFTS

So what do you want to change?

· Write an intention statement for yourself. Once you have it specific rather than general (General: "I am happier." Specific: I have more friends and spend more time doing fun activities like hiking and biking with them."

· Visualize yourself in the changed situation already.

· How does it look in detail? Add in what you see, feel, smell, taste, etc.

· How does it feel to have made this change for yourself? Get in touch with the emotions.

· Revisit this picture and these emotions daily along with your statement affirming the intention.

When my marketing director's position was eliminated at Memphis Cablevision years ago, I made a list of the general qualities I wanted in my new job. I wanted to supervise 4-5 people, work on marketing strategy, do some traveling, join an organization that valued my aggressive, hard-working style, and be rewarded for making things happen. When I arrived at my new job at The Disney Channel in Chicago three months later, I was astounded to find all the elements I had listed. Now I know chalk it up to the power of intention!

Complimentary Coaching Session, Email Eva

The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire, Deepak Chopra, 2003.