The Art of Setting Intentions with Carol Wilke

[00:00:03] So tonight I want to talk about the art of setting intentions, which I'm calling

[00:00:09] the journey of purpose. And Gene Houston has a great quote, just as you would not

[00:00:15] neglect the seeds that you planted with hope that they will bear

[00:00:19] vegetables and fruits and flowers, so you must nourish the garden of your

[00:00:25] becoming. And so Gene Houston says we must attend to nourish the garden of

[00:00:31] our becoming. And this can be a daunting prospect in the times that we live in.

[00:00:37] Many of us have such full and rewarding lives, and it's a wonderful thing, but

[00:00:42] often we're so busy that we don't even have a moment to stop and pause and

[00:00:48] think about setting intentions. We're so very busy and so often we don't have

[00:00:53] breaks to rest or set boundaries or move into a space of a deeper

[00:01:00] contemplation. We've got texts and tweets and emails and Facebook and X and

[00:01:05] tweets and we look at all of that and say yes I get I'm supposed to nourish

[00:01:14] the garden of my becoming and I want to, it's just I don't know when I'm going

[00:01:18] to have time to get around to that. And then we wonder oh my gosh is there

[00:01:23] such a thing as work-life balance? Does that even exist anyway? There's

[00:01:27] something called sacrifice syndrome in which we move beyond burnout and we

[00:01:32] accept this chronic busyness and hecticness as a way of life. We're moving

[00:01:37] through life so quickly that we miss the moments of enjoyment and

[00:01:41] opportunities to nourish the garden of our becoming. Author and speaker

[00:01:46] Polly Campbell says I like thinking back on the goals I've achieved

[00:01:50] and those that I'm still chasing after. I'm an accomplished type A to

[00:01:54] do-lister. That organized planned approach helps me get things done. But

[00:02:00] when I reflect on some of the so-called bigger things that I've accomplished,

[00:02:04] it's almost always the people and experiences I've encountered en route

[00:02:09] to that goal that leave me feeling the most fulfilled. Within each of us

[00:02:15] lies such an extraordinary capacity to manifest our aspirations into

[00:02:20] existence, to sculpt our destinies and to co-create with the universe itself.

[00:02:26] Through the power of intention, we can unleash boundless possibilities

[00:02:31] and infinite potential. At the very core, intention serves as an internal

[00:02:38] compass of our consciousness guiding our thoughts, our emotions, our actions

[00:02:43] towards a specific aim or goal. And so tonight we're going to look at how

[00:02:48] can we harness the transformative power of intention?

[00:02:53] The first step in setting powerful intentions is reflecting on our values

[00:02:58] and desires in order to create some clarity around what it is that we want

[00:03:03] to achieve. Intention in its purest form is the conscious

[00:03:09] direction of our focus and energy towards a desired outcome.

[00:03:13] It's a movement beyond wishful thinking and belief that our thoughts possess

[00:03:20] powerful energy to create our world.

[00:03:24] Clarity, then, is an essential ingredient in manifesting our intentions

[00:03:29] and what we seek to create in our lives, whether it be a career change

[00:03:34] or new or enhanced relationships or simply a state of inner peace

[00:03:39] when we can specifically articulate our intentions, we allow the universe

[00:03:45] to conspire in our favor. We then must infuse our intentions

[00:03:51] with an unwavering belief in their realization.

[00:03:55] Belief serves as this amazing and incredible catalyst that bridges

[00:04:00] the gap between intention and manifestation.

[00:04:04] When we cultivate a faith in our success, we align ourselves

[00:04:09] with the vibrational frequency of our desire.

[00:04:13] To fully harness the power of intention, we must combine it with inspired action.

[00:04:19] Each step we take towards our goals serves as an affirmation

[00:04:24] of our commitment, bringing us closer to their fulfillment.

[00:04:28] Action transforms intention from a passive concept

[00:04:33] to an incredibly dynamic force.

[00:04:37] It's this dynamic force of creation that empowers us

[00:04:42] to take control and ownership of our destiny.

[00:04:45] And so it's helpful to break down our intentions into actionable steps

[00:04:51] and commit to taking consistent action towards their realization.

[00:04:57] Once we set our intention in motion and take action,

[00:05:01] it's important to be open and receptive to whatever comes.

[00:05:05] It's so important not to limit ourselves to thinking that there's just one way

[00:05:11] that our lives can change or that our intentions can manifest

[00:05:15] by recognizing that we have all the creativity of the universe at our disposal.

[00:05:20] We can become aware of all the help and resources

[00:05:24] that are placed on our path and realize that this manifestation

[00:05:28] of our intention may not actually look like we think it's going to look.

[00:05:34] Jean Houston in her book, The Possible Human,

[00:05:36] tells this great teaching story of a man who is in want of a new driveway,

[00:05:42] but he can't afford the cement.

[00:05:44] And so he decides he's going to move ahead with the project anyway.

[00:05:48] And so he goes and gets two by fours and he frames out his driveway

[00:05:52] and he lays everything out.

[00:05:54] And as he goes to bed that night, he looks out his window at his framed out

[00:05:57] driveway and he looks at this mold that he's created.

[00:06:01] And he says to himself, where is the cement

[00:06:04] that's going to come to fill out the frame of this driveway?

[00:06:08] And an inner voice replies, don't make it happen.

[00:06:12] Just make it welcome.

[00:06:15] The man goes to bed and the next morning he's awakened by the sound

[00:06:18] of these two huge trucks outside on his street colliding together.

[00:06:23] And he looks out the window to see that these two trucks have crashed

[00:06:26] into each other and landed in his front yard.

[00:06:29] And one is an overturned cement truck that now overflows into his driveway,

[00:06:34] framing out what he laid the day before.

[00:06:38] Don't make it happen.

[00:06:41] Just make it welcome.

[00:06:43] And so the secret here is that God expresses into the mold of intentions

[00:06:48] that we create when we follow the steps of one,

[00:06:51] reflecting on our values and desires, two, clarifying our intentions,

[00:06:57] three, visualizing the desired outcome for evaluating our beliefs

[00:07:04] and infusing our intention with emotion and five,

[00:07:07] releasing attachment to the outcome.

[00:07:10] When we can do these five things, we can begin to create

[00:07:15] the mold into which our garden of becoming will form.

[00:07:20] Rituals and ceremonies also serve as very powerful tools

[00:07:24] for anchoring our intentions into our consciousness.

[00:07:29] Perhaps you might consider creating a ritual that symbolizes

[00:07:32] your commitment to your intention, such as lighting candles

[00:07:35] or meditating or journaling or writing affirmations.

[00:07:39] By engaging in these practices regularly, it reinforces our intentions

[00:07:45] and it keeps them active vibrationally in front of us.

[00:07:49] And finally, by cultivating an attitude of gratitude,

[00:07:53] we can for both not only our current circumstances,

[00:07:57] but our future blessings yet to come.

[00:07:59] We infuse our intentions with energy and abundance,

[00:08:03] drawing them into our lives.

[00:08:05] The secret about gratitude is that it's an incredibly creative energy.

[00:08:11] It's a generative force.

[00:08:13] And so the more that we can stay in gratitude about our current

[00:08:18] circumstances and what is our yet to be garden of becoming,

[00:08:23] we create this powerful intention to manifest our dreams and our goals.

[00:08:29] So intention serves as the catalyst for amazing transformation

[00:08:34] not only within us personally, but globally as well

[00:08:38] by collectively focusing our intentions towards the highest

[00:08:42] good of all beings and our planet.

[00:08:45] We can unleash a tidal wave of healing that has the power to transform

[00:08:52] the power to shape our destiny lies within us.

[00:08:55] And when we can align our thoughts, beliefs and desires

[00:08:59] towards a specific outcome or goal, we can truly change our lives

[00:09:06] and we can create this amazing and beautiful garden of our becoming.

[00:09:12] Let us pray.

[00:09:15] And so as we move into prayer, we just move into that space of centeredness,

[00:09:22] of stillness, that quiet space within.

[00:09:28] Just remembering and recognizing

[00:09:32] that there is a transformative power all around us.

[00:09:39] There is a creative intelligence that is always co-conspiring with us

[00:09:45] to unleash and create our most powerful intentions.

[00:09:49] And in this moment, we allow ourselves the space

[00:09:54] and the consciousness to connect with God, with our higher power,

[00:09:59] with that creative intelligence, with spirit, whatever we choose to call it.

[00:10:03] We remember that it is always present, always in through and around us in every moment.

[00:10:11] And so we set the powerful intention in this moment

[00:10:15] that we are creating the mold of our becoming,

[00:10:18] this beautiful garden of our being.

[00:10:22] We allow all of those amazing qualities of the divine

[00:10:27] love, peace, compassion, kindness, intention

[00:10:35] to just infuse every cell of our body,

[00:10:38] knowing that those qualities create the beautiful mold

[00:10:45] in which our intentions are being formed.

[00:10:50] And so we just allow this to be

[00:10:52] just giving thanks with great gratitude for the many blessings in our lives,

[00:10:58] gratitude for this powerful practice of intention setting,

[00:11:02] knowing that this journey of purpose is so blessed.

[00:11:07] And it's in this space of gratitude that we release these words,

[00:11:11] these truths, these intentions

[00:11:14] into that powerful, amazing alchemy of love and law,

[00:11:18] knowing that all is well because all is God and so it is. Amen.