I am not an emotional wreck. I am fully human and proud of it. This is the first thing that came to mind while writing this post. 🙄😬🤪😨 So yes, the plan was for this post to be about my daily ritual of setting intentions. The whys and hows. But as we know, our heart, as life, rarely sticks to plan. So let’s see where this takes us. I am free flying it. The sky is clear right now, but I see lots of emotion in the forecast. Here we go…
My Starting Place -Setting Intentions As A Writer
The starting place of my intention when I write is to always be honest and just let myself write.
Flowing on and off my yoga mat is a huge thing for me.
And it turns out that this starting place is almost always either from enormous gratitude or some level of discomfort. There is no middle place when I write. Because as I see it the rawness of being fully human doesn’t come in shades of gray.
Gray is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is “without color”.
It is the color of ash, lead and a cloud-covered sky – it can feel soothing up there and felt on our skin on a lazy day –
not so much inside a human heart.
Because darling friend, gray just doesn’t look good on fully human beings like you or me.
I like to take on the tremendously heartfelt. Write words that move us. Emotionally and physically.
This is the stuff that may be holding us back from loving fully, living fully, feeling full.
And this is also the stuff that has the ability to show us the way. Give us a nice, big shove when we need it the most.
It is the stuff that makes us more human in this human experience. Fully human. Fully human experience.
Full color.
The heartfelt stuff – it is the stuff that makes us remember that we are ALIVE.
It reminds us to scream out: I am. I am. I am.
Heartfelt tells me that despite my mistakes, despite all those moments of overwhelm, challenge and doubt, and despite the fact that both I and my life will continue to be full of cracks, my heart will continue beating, reminding me of this intention: I am. I am. I am.
Or rather this is my life and I am so blessed to be alive.
How beautifully amazing is this – this alone!
Too Many Dead Intentions Walking Among Us
There is so much of our life doing the opposite of this. So much not alive. Numbing. Sterilizing. Graying us from within and without.
Pulverizing us, dull like ash. And rendering us as heavy as lead. Stifling our emotions when our emotions are meant to be in motion.
Making us believe that we are in so many ways not enough. That we are feeling wrong, That – crazy as it sounds as I am typing this – we are doing our life wrong.
Big-time bullying going on.
There is no life that is not valuable. There is no life that doesn’t deserve to be acknowledged and cherished.
Even the most horrific life holds the hope of an awakening, even the most tragic life can be a lesson received intentionally by another.
Life, just because it is life, is the divine.
So I really believe that we need to talk about the hard things as much as the glorious. On the top of the list, our difficult emotions. Scared, uncomfortable, uneasy, confused, stuck, lonely.
This is what I often write about. And for a good reason.
We need to own up. Normalize our feelings. Stop ignoring. Pretending. Being ashamed. Caring what others will say or think. And instead, embrace more and be brave enough to share what is really stirring up inside.
We simply do not grow through always wanting to appear perfect. And we do not connect when wearing these masks of perfection or repeating, everything is fine.
So this is the intention that I am setting for myself today: To be even more honest about my feelings.
And I promise to also speak about why setting intentions is the most important thing to do every morning.😉🥰
In the meantime…
What Does Setting Intentions Mean?
Life is way too short not to be aligned with what matters to us most. And this is really what setting daily intentions is about. Setting ourselves straight when we lose ourselves.
When we set intentions each morning we are asking:
- What matters most to me today or in this phase of my life?
- What do I want to focus on?
- How can I shape my mind so that I shape each day, and ultimately my life?
- What do I need to truly be who my heart says I am (besides courage, of course!)?
- How clear and specific can I get?
Setting intentions involves bringing to mind a word, words, phrase or phrases that represent what you want to devote yourself to.
It is then practiced like a reminder. Whenever you realize yourself not acting in alignment with your intention, you come back to your word(s) or phrase(s).
Just as during a meditation practice (where the mind wanders away from our breath), when we drift away from the intentions we set for ourselves, we just need to call ourselves back.
As often as necessary, with love, compassion, and patience.
EXAMPLES OF INTENTIONS:
WORDS: Presence, Joy, Equanimity, connection, Kindness, Inner Strength, Confidence, Discipline, Passion, Rest, Self-Love
Personal mantra or affirmations:
- I AM LOVING AWARENESS TODAY
- I AM BEAUTIFUL, KIND & STRONG
- I SHALL BE FULLY PRESENT TO THE PEOPLE I ENCOUNTER
- I WILL GET THINGS DONE AND I WILL TAKE MY TIME
Emotionally Charged Examples of Intention
So I have been really emotional lately or haven’t you noticed? Family. Impermanence. Transitions. The world. Moons maybe. Lots of rawness.
And I have been intentionally slowing it down.
Giving myself time to process emotions as they come. It has become a huge part of my living practice lately.
I have been intentionally resisiting the urge to check out.
One of my go-to daily intentions is to be extra present with all that is – good and bad, easy and difficult. We need this duality to grow accepting, compassionate, and whole.
So there is the intention of embracing this balance between the sweet and the sour of my personal life and the globe.
And the intention to reap the value of every emotion, even those I would rather not have to feel EVER.
And also the intention of practicing forgiveness. Towards the Universe too at times.
And remembering to thank the SUCK.
Don’t pray for the same. Same is gray. Even always yummy and sweet.
Just imagine eating only ice cream or donuts your entire life.
I have been writing alot about all this. Slowing down. Compassion. Forgiveness. Taking care of ourselves. Checking in. Duality.
I have been choosing myself, along with every emotion, first. Creating my intentions around this decision.
And I am inviting you to come along for the slow, compassionate, completely here ride. You can make it one of your intentions too. 😉
Superhuman Is Not My Intention
The truth is that I have been experiencing everything so intensely. My feeling body feels like it has been power charged.
Does this resonate with you?
When I get honest and listen, I acknowledge that this is what scares me. The honesty of what being fully human really means.
From The Post, You Are Doing Your Life right – How to Embrace Our Vulnerability And Fear
This intensity once scared me. I thought that I needed to strive for a 24/7 state of balance. Never too high or too low. Be superhuman instead of fully human.
This is just another unrealistic expectation of ours. It is one of those gray areas that work better in theory.
I now know that acceptance is more important than balance because it is actually attainable. Actually ACCEPTANCE IS BALANCE. (write this on a post-it)
Accepting the highs and lows as necessary for a complete life experience is a major part of us caring for our authentic, imperfectly human selves.
It is a really important intention to set.
We remember that we look amazing when our lives are felt in full color.
Setting Intentions – My Personal Objective
While I set my intentions with others in mind – the world too – the objective of my intention setting is not to do good for others. I truly believe that we must focus on ourselves.
So I have been on an emotional roller coaster as I care for family matters and silently sit with world events that disturb my sleep. It feels like alot. Honestly.
And I am focusing on me, remembering to take my time.
And I am setting lots of intentions. I always set intentions, but I’m really stepping it up. Power charging them.
More Honesty (opening a parentesi here)
Some people have told me in the past that my posts are too long, my emotions are too heavy. I seem depressed. I am not depressed. Ever. It is not in my DNA. Do you remember the first line of this post? CLICK HERE to read it again.
I love to smile as much as I love to cry, especially when I am smiling while doing it.
I am a believer of positive attitude. Manifesting through your inner shine.
I believe that beauty is everywhere. We just need to hunt for it a bit more some days.
And I love to love…
And I love slow. Slow talking and slow sipping. Slow music and yes!, slow reading (aka long posts).
Heartfelt cannot have a limited word count or be rushed. My goal is fully human, not crowd pleasing.
Not Gonna Sugarcoat – This Will Never Be My Intention
And I do not sugarcoat. When life is hard I say it or write about it.
When I am feeling down I am incapable of faking it (ask my husband how many times I cancelled dinner plans or I dumped my junk out before the water was served).
I do not want to pretend that my life is perfect or ever has been.
I see the world for what it is. Unfair. Violent. Fake. Difficult. Heartbreaking. And magical.
Being human is challenging. Treacherous at times.
But I wouldn’t want to be anything else, except maybe a mosquito once in a while so that I can torture the bad guys of the world.
This is because I consider mosquitoes the most annoying creatures alive. I love all that is living and I am sure mosquitoes serve a purpose although I have never discovered one good enough to justify their existence. 🤨
I wouldn’t intentionally hurt a fly. But a mosquito in my bedroom. It could get ugly.
Of course, this is my unawakened self speaking.🙃
Now getting back to the topic. I said I was free flying this guys!. 😋
Intentional Facades Of ‘Just Fine’
So my point is that we walk around with these facades that everything’s fine. I do it. You do it. And everyone else is doing it.
This is what much of our social media dependency is sustained by. Beautiful photos. Smiling faces. Champion moments. Lots of absolute truths. Lovely background music. Everyone seems so put together. All figured out.
And then in our homes we are feeling overwhelmed, doubtful, detached and lonely.
Returning to heartfelt is seeing clearly. Not only do we see the need to heal from our own pain, but from a global suffering.
It is insane because all we have to do to turn this around is to set the intention of sharing our real emotions with one another. Showing up as our fully human selves. Heartfelt and screaming in crazy color.
Once again, this is my intention here.
My Changing Examples of Intention
Our greatest intentions change during the course of a lifetime, a year, a day. Of course they do. We change. Life is definitely changing around us. So remember to observe and listen.
When setting intentions, living life fully is a big one for me.
But lately, I am calling out for patience and love – compassion – this feels full. Filling my need to show up higher for myself and my people.
Life doesn’t always give you what you want, but it always provides you with what you need.
It is then up to us to embrace the experience, see value in the sucky, and cultivate it. Reset our daily intentions.
Setting Intentions – The Practice
Every morning I reset. Repeat my words.
How can repeating words work? Well, they don’t without a practice. They work when we get specific. When we are devoted.
So I get clear. I keep repeating. I give my intentions time to enter my body. And I proceed.
Until I inevitably lose them. And this is when I remember to repeat them some more.
Some days it is easier or maybe I am better. More devoted. Or maybe I have the Universe on my side!
Once you make a decision, the Universe conspires to make it happen.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Some days I am unable to keep hold of the intentions that were so greatly embedded earlier that day.
I am tired or I am being more challenged. I am not in the mood.
Lots of reasons can affect the effectiveness of setting intentions. And yet, it is always a loving ritual.
Devotion & Discipline
The power of daily intentions is not in the words but the devotion offered to the words.
The vibration of the dedication as we form our greatest desires and release them into a larger space where they then transform into our reality.
Greatness requires discipline over each and every thought.
I think Winston churchill said this one.
Much of the power is in the discipline, as it often is. How devoted are we?
Devotion is discipline. Discipline to take it beyond theory.
Take my ritual of setting intentions off my mat and into my life. The discipline to ask. Check in. Take it past the set up phase.
- Am I showing up – not only by getting on my mat every day or doing some other practice of self study – but am I taking this discipline into my life?
- Can I be the same steady, joyful, peaceful, compassionate, and forgiving person during my day as I am during the bubble of a practice?
- Can I show up as this person?
Because this is the living practice I refer to.
It is easy to feel really confident about your intentions when you are early morning fresh or have just finished a meditation.
However, when I can be this person when interacting with others, during real life challenges, during disappointment and discomfort – emotional trauma even – then I know I am breaking through.
Living with intention.
This is where the discipline serves us. In the real and really messy.
Discipline allows us to resist checking out.
When we are falling out and away from our greatest intentions. the discipline with the practice comes to the rescue.
Other Examples of Intention
Setting Intentions For The First Challenge Of The Day
Intentions are invisible but they fuel everything you do or don’t do.
So I am on my mat for two hours. I am deep in the zone. Feeling not only great, but invincible.
I roll up my mat thinking, Nothing is gonna touch me today.
And then, I step into my life. The kitchen actually.
And there is world war Bizzo going on. Everyone is tense. Everyone is speaking louder over the other.
And they all look at me. The designated mediator of all internal litigation.
I feel that invincible feeling fading away quickly. Inside I am thinking, oh no.
This is a common scenario for me. (The teen years aren’t making it any easier.🙏)
And in this moment I can lose it.
It is easy to do when plates are almost flying and you know there is no escape. You are gonna be dragged in, and in the end, you will be held completely responsible.
OR I CAN TAKE A BREATH. And take another.
Remember my intention of patience, love and compassion. Remember the lessons.
And remind myself that I got this. It is just the first challenge of the day. This is cake walk for invincible me today.
And proceed from this space of steadiness and ease.
Examples of Intentions – The Right Choices are Intentional
When I choose the first by not choosing the second everything goes under at lightening speed.
However, when I choose to stick with my intention. With how I want to show up. I listen. I listen some more. And then I cultivate beautiful speech. I lead with patience, compassion, and grace.
And this does make the experience better. End better.
We cannot fix other people. Not even our own family. We cannot make every encounter perfectly joyful. We definitely cannot fix the world.
All we can do is focus on ourselves. Our discipline. Our living practice.
Checking into our greatest intentions one day at a time, one moment at a time.
3 Reasons Why Setting Intentions Is The Most Important Thing I Do Every Day
There are may reasons to set daily intentions. Here are the main reasons I reset my intentions every morning.
TO PRESERVE AND RELEASE
In order to show up as my best self I need to be presentable. And this involves preserving what is strong and serving me and washing away everything else as best as possible.
Every morning I remind myself to reset and reinforce qualities that feed my authenticity and to let go of the poison – negative emotions and fear – through the practices of intentional compassion, acceptance and forgiveness.
TO CONNECT
Connection is a big deal for me. I believe that we cannot love or live fully without feeling deeply connected with ourselves and our life.
My practice of setting daily intentions is time I dedicate to reconnecting with myself, others, and the world. Reconnect with my gratitude.
It is a practice of reminding myself who I am and that I am not alone in this world that is pulling us away from this basic human need to feel connected.
It is also a moment to remember that everything is connected and that everything we experience belongs in this full life.
TO CLARIFY & RESET MY PURPOSE
A satisfying life -one wthout regret- must be meaningful.
Going through our days without creating a specific intention for ourselves (intention of kindness, connection, joy, gratitude) signifies living a life without intention. And without intention -purpose- we cannot feel whole.
We will always feel as if something is missing. A void. We feel alone.
It is our purpose that keeps us company throughout a lifetime.
Setting Intentions As A Full Human Being
Our Responsiblity To Live Our Practice
Each one of us has a responsiblity to live our practice so that we can evolve. Noone else can do this for us. Not a coach, mentor or the most beautifully written words ever read.
Our life is our practice.
My husband has always told our daughters, Think with your own mind, Do not believe anyone, not even us.
Know yourself, your experience of life, and what matters most, and go from there.
This is how you create an intentional life.
Life is real when personally experienced and reflected upon. This is the only true source of knowledge and wisdom we will have.
It is intentional when your beliefs and choices are authentically yours.
Living our practice means being vulnerable and brave enough to discover a new version of ourself over and over again.
Setting intentions on a daily basis is a tool to formulate fundamental questions, unfold the truth, and redefine our wholeness.
Intentions Of Greatness
We are so much more than most of us acknowledge. And this is the goal of our practice here on earth. To see this. To feel this.
So can we set our intentions from this greatness?
Every morning we set an intention. Your trigger word or phrase may change, but the goal remains the same.
- Can we be more fully human today?
- Can we handle the intense color of our lives?
- Can we resist the urge to check out?
- Can we do love better?
This will always reveal the highest version of you whether you are on a high or low or anywhere in between.
This is you putting down the books, placing aside the expectations and fear, moving away from mere theory, and showing up to your living practice, for yourself, with yourself.
Fully human and stupendous. For this glorious floating world.
Final Note
I don’t know what you received from this post. Emotions are not organized. Mine are a hot mess. But they are knowledge nonetheless.
My posts are never meant to be theory. I do not write theory. Nor do I write absolute truth.
In a lifetime theory will always remain theory and personal truth changes.
So if you received nothing else, I hope you are setting an intention to be more active, compassionate, and honest with your emotions.
We need to speak about our pain and trauma as much as our joy and achievements. There is nothing to be embarassed of.
When we set the intention of being truthful first we create a space of universal love and acceptance.
We can set other intentions from this place of truth. Not to impress, fake or hide.
We are no longer trapped in an unintentional, unauthentic existence and experience of life.
We set the great intention to set great, heartfelt intentions every day. And with this we open the door for everyone else.
My fully human experience connects with yours. (Doesn’t this image just make your heart open!)
This perhaps is the greatest gift of setting intentions. When we focus on ourselves, our fullness pours out into the world.
This, and being able to say, I am honestly living with intention.
My heart reaching out to yours,
Resources
Further Reading
- HOW TO CHOOSE YOURSELF FIRST – Lessons On Paying Attention
- HOW TO LIVE IN THE FLOW – Accepting Impermanence of Life
- HOW TO TRANSCEND FEAR & ANXIETY – On Becoming Fearless
- 10 DAILY REMINDERS THAT YOU NEED TO USE
- 7 MINDSET MAKEOVERS – Switching From Self-Sabotaging To Best Self
- 35 PERSONAL MANTRAS TO LOVE YOURSELF & YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW
- HOW TO UNDERSTAND WHEN YOU MUST REDEFINE YOUR LIFE
Guided Meditations For Your Highest Self
SET YOUR INTENTIONS to Return To Your Highest Self & Create The Day You Desire, 8 Minutes
DEVOTED TO SELF Guided Meditation, 14 Minutes
SHAPE YOUR MIND for Calm & Clarity Guided Meditation, 20 Mintues
LIGHT IN THE CRACKS for Embracing Imperfection Guided Meditation, 15 Minutes
