Do you begin the year making resolutions or intentions? Do you find it difficult to maintain the momentum over time?
If you are like me, you make every effort to start out the new year on the right foot. I review the previous year, and then I write my intentions for the coming year. Some years, I’m more successful in manifesting my goals than others. Over time, I’ve discovered that what makes all the difference when I set my intention is how I hold it.
Here are some questions I have found to be useful to keep in mind with anything you are trying to manifest.
Is it a should or a desire?
When you think about your intention or goal, does it feel like a should, or a desire? The difference between the two is how it feels in your body, and what your motivation is. In the case of a should, it generally stems from a feeling of lack. The sense that there is something about you or your life that you need to change in order to be OK. The body usually feels tight and contracted around it. In the case of a desire, the energy behind it is generally expansive. The exact same goal could either be should or a desire, depending on how it is held. While one is not right or wrong, the expansive energy is more likely to be sustainable over time. Because whenever we “should” ourselves, some other part of us may either resist or collapse.
Are you attached to getting what you want?
This is a tricky one. We have all been told that in order to realize our dreams, we need to work hard and be persistent. However, I have found that when I cling too rigidly to what I want, the road to getting it is often arduous and filled with hard-learned lessons. I know I am attached to the outcome when there is a certain quality of desperation around it. What I have found to be most effective is finding a subtle balance between stating what I want and working towards it, while simultaneously stepping back and allowing for what wants to unfold. Because sometimes, the biggest learning and transformation came from not getting what I wanted.
Do you have “yeah buts” and “what ifs” around it?
Especially when we had experiences in our youth that taught us that it isn’t safe to want too much, many of us have protective mechanisms to keep us from our deepest desires. And so even if our intention is a deep desire, and we hold it lightly, we may have some self-sabotage strategies that show up in order to avoid disappointment or to keep us safe. It is often when we are closest to getting what we want that something comes up to interfere.
I now invite you to think of a goal or intention you have for yourself. Now feel into your body as you invoke it. Do you contract? Do you feel expansive and joyful? Or a little of both? When you imagine not getting what you want, how does that feel? If there is any tightness or clinging around your desire, please listen to the following guided meditation for clearing any obstacles to manifesting the life you want. And see if anything shifts so your deepest desires can become a reality.
Guided Meditation to Manifest Your Intention
© Jenny Brav
