Let your heart warm within you, bringing laughter and tears, the truth of both your joy and your pain. Let your heart acknowledge all that you are, all that you have, and all that you yearn for, for it is the heart that knows and feels all. In heart centered breathing begin anew today, fully aware of yourself in the universe, connected, included, and held sacred, for that you are: cared for and sacred in the arms of love. Accept this and be at peace in this moment of loving kindness, granted to you from all that is. Accept your sacred self today and know that you are loved. Carry this knowledge within you always, but especially today.
The Shamans of Ancient Mexico make an important distinction between will and intent. Will is automatic, intent requires consciousness. Will issues from the land of participation mystique, where individuals or whole nations unconsciously follow the leader. With intent, consciousness taps into that same underlying energy as will, but assumes control of its manifestation.
Intend with the consciousness of a yogi… – Photo by Jan Ketchel
A concrete example of the distinction between will and intent is a Yogi who is capable of assuming conscious control of the autonomic or involuntary nervous system. Thus, bodily functions such as breathing, heartbeat, and digestion—generally controlled by the ‘will’ of the body—can be co-opted to function according to the conscious ‘intent’ of the yogi.
The Shamans of Ancient Mexico discovered that the underlying energy and power of manifestation of both will and intent come from the same source, the greater energy of intent in the universe that manifests all things. The only difference between them is simply who is in charge: nature’s archetypes or consciousness? Like the yogi, the shaman cultivates the power of intent at a fully conscious level, assuming control of what ordinarily happens when we function at the level of participation mystique.
The greatest obstacle to mastering intent, according to don Juan Matus, is limiting beliefs. We simply do not believe that we can manifest simply through intending a change. Abraham, as channeled through Esther Hicks, taught the law of attraction. Simply put, what we think is what we manifest. Thus, if we intend a change but constantly doubt our ability to manifest it the energy of our intent receives an ambiguous message: “change but don’t change, because I can’t change!” This compromised intent manifests a stalemate, no change.
The simplicity of simply stating an intent, of holding an intent as an agent of change, just seems too darned simple to our modern rational sensibility. We either argue about its impossibility, defeat it in doubt, or too meekly state it for it to be heard by the greater intent of the universe, which we personally tap into when we intend.
To not assume conscious responsibility for intent is to largely leave the direction of our lives in the default position of will, where we mystically participate in the rule of the archetypes. These archetypes are then projected upon the outer world where they organize perceptions and mental judgements, in essence manifesting the world we live in.
The incessant voice of ongoing commentary within the mind, what the shamans call the internal dialogue, essentially reinforces the will of the archetypes, which becomes how we experience life. Thus, when the world leader presents his view of the world in a state of the union address, world citizens are unconsciously drawn to project the archetype of the king upon him and assimilate his words as their personal intent or worldview.
The phenomenon of hypnotism illustrates the power of a message to manifest an outside intent. Suggestions from outside of us, like the suggestions we give ourselves, unawarely through our internal dialogue, become the commands we automatically manifest in our beliefs and actions.
Intent itself is impervious to morality. Intent is a pool of energy awaiting a command, a direction to manifest. Thus, for instance, there are ‘good’ shamans and ‘bad’ shamans, as Star Wars so eloquently demonstrates. If the force is equated with intent, the crucial question is, who will command the force, the light or the dark side? Intent can manifest either way, for purposes of good or evil.
It rests with the individual to decide the fate of intent, in fact, the fate of the world. Consciousness itself is the first rupture with the automatic adherence of the individual to the will of the archetypes. The Pope recently pointed to the apple in Eden as the first example of fake news. From this perspective he acknowledges that the intent of consciousness ‘sins’ against the will of the archetypes, or perhaps what he would call the will of God, as the individual is freed to engage in the ‘fake news’ of consciousness and offered the opportunity to act with intent. His concern is duly noted given the current state of affairs in the world.
With freedom comes responsibility, what the world is faced with assuming right now. It begins within the individual. How will I use my personal power of intent? Many entities have a powerful interest in commandeering my intent for their own ambitions. As malevolent as this might sound and be, simply watch nature; watch the birds. All life feeds upon life. The dark side is part of life.
Nonetheless, with consciousness we are freed to intend balance within ourselves and balance within our world. Balance, like the Tao, finds a place to incorporate all that is, light and dark. Of course, consciousness can equally choose to align itself solely with the dark side, thereby delivering to the light side a great challenge for growth. Here we see the value and necessity of the dark side.
Intent is the message you choose to deliver to the greater pool of energetic intent to manifest in your life and your world. Keep it simple, repeat it often. Grapple with your ambivalence, face the shadow of your intent, incorporate its truth into your intent. When doubt seeks to sell you its wares acknowledge it then shift to stating your intent, incessantly. Don’t attach to outcome, free intent to set the course of the journey, wherever it takes you. Suspend judgement of the current state of manifestation of your intent. Remain persevering. Hold your intent with the lightness of a feather as you gently send it off on the wings of intent.
Respect your own nature. Let it guide you and work for you and not against you by understanding it for what it is, the truth of you. You are nature, as wild and free as the oceans, as strong and sturdy as the land, as dark and mysterious as the night, as bright and sunny as the day. All of this and more lies within you, for you are a spark of the Great Mother, the Universe from which you come. You are part of the everything and the nothingness of it all, equally composed of all that is, the infinitely great and the infinitely small. Make room for all of that!
I cannot have what I envision… – Photo by Jan Ketchel
I dream of a small house. I design it with a certain style in mind. I go to the lumber yard and pick out the wood I want for the exterior. I want the wooden panels to be laid vertically. I see the house in my mind’s eye. It’s so perfect. After leaving my design and exact instructions for laying the boards, I leave the construction to others.
Just as I had visualized the house, I now visualize a giant golden goose egg. I set out to attain this egg. I see it in the distance, large and glowing, but I never reach it. I’m disappointed.
I return to the construction site. There sits my new house, but I see immediately that the exterior has not been done to my specifications; the boards have all been laid horizontally rather than vertically. At first I’m angry; it’s not what I wanted. Why didn’t they do what I asked? But then I see that the house is a much better design than the one I had envisioned. With the exterior boards laid horizontally the house has a palatial, expanded look, a more open look. Even the wood is different from the wood I had chosen; it’s lighter and has more intricate lines and patterns. I decide that the house is actually much better than the one I had planned. Now I really like it!
It suddenly dawns on me that the search for the golden goose egg offered a similar process. I was not going to be allowed to have the golden egg of my vision! I went on a wild goose chase, but in the end I received something much better!
As my dream points out, sometimes our ideas of what should be are not right for us. They may, in fact, be limiting and containing rather than advancing us in new directions. Sure, the idea of attainment of a golden goose egg implies a great spiritual achievement, but sometimes we just have to acquiesce to the energy of what is.
As my new house implies, if we allow ourselves to expand and change we allow something else to take over and lead us, perhaps achieving that golden goose egg in a different, unplanned way. This, I believe, is how the universe brings us what we really need. In learning to let go of control we naturally learn to accept what comes to greet us in our daily lives. We can struggle all we want to make things happen, but often the energy of the world gives us something else, an alternative that might just be the best thing for us. In our disappointments we might actually find the golden goose egg, just in a different form.
I receive the golden goose egg, just in an unexpected form… – Photo by Jan Ketchel
The truth is that we aren’t really in control of anything, and if we can accept this and trust the energy of nature and the universe, we might find ourselves in a much better place in the long run. We might find that we are being guided to where we need to go, or to what we must face or receive next in our search for wholeness.
Can we accept the guidance of the universe and let go of our need to plan and control? It’s really the only way to truly change.
And so, I gladly step into my new house, constructed by the energy of change, offering new and different horizons. Yes, there’s a golden goose egg in here too. I just have to see it for what it really is!
