Intention & Calm Attention
If you’re a student of the Law of Attraction, perhaps you’ve heard the phrase “where your attention goes, energy flows” or “what you resist, persists.”
Well, if we consider the energy behind all things, acknowledging that our thoughts are also energy, it makes perfect sense that our experience would reflect where our thoughts have been, particularly the thoughts we’ve chosen to think about most often and regularly.
I’ve highlighted the word ‘chosen’ here because, whether we are fully aware of our thought life or not, we always have a choice. Even if our thinking has become habitual, I am a firm believer in our free will and option to choose – and change – both our thoughts and responses to life circumstances.
In the same vein, we can choose what types of thoughts to entertain: either life-promoting thoughts, which cause us to feel good, or limiting thoughts, which invariably cause us to feel bad.
Questioning the validity of those limiting thoughts, such as “I can’t do that,” takes us one step closer to eliminating ideas that are self-defeating or self-sabotaging.
It may require some digging, but behind those thoughts there is usually, simply, a thought of fear. Once you can notice the fear, though, the limiting thought can be worked through, released, and replaced with a more empowering thought.
With practice, this strategy of noticing your thoughts will allow you to feel more centered, confident, and aligned and less divided in thought and feeling.
By accepting the thoughts that build you up and dismissing the ones that tear you down, you’re choosing where to place your attention.
While it may not be easy at first, setting the intention to focus more on the good, on what’s going well, and on how you can enjoy the journey as it’s unfolding will bring more experiences into your life that reflect your change in mindset.
That is the power of intention and attention. They are tools we use to direct our energy.
We use intention to get clear on our desire, while attention is all about maintaining that clear focus in spite of what our senses may be telling us.
A commonly used and useful analogy here is the idea of planting a seed, which is your intention, and providing it with enough positive attention, which would be likened to watering and caring for the seed, until it sprouts and grows.
What can sometimes happen while we’re intently focusing on our desires, though, is that we bring resistance into the mix. This usually happens without our conscious realization.
This inner resistance can come in the form of impatience or doubt, which then causes us to lose faith that what we desire can be truly ours. But this only causes more division in our energy, which slows down the manifesting process.
It is as if you planted the seed and then became frustrated that it wasn’t growing fast enough! Or that by planting the seed and not seeing it immediately manifest into a full-grown plant, you doubt it’s ability to grow at all.
I’ve made this mistake (painfully) many times… but, fortunately, I now fall back into the acknowledgement that if it weren’t possible for me to see the desire manifest into my experience, I wouldn’t have had the inspiration to desire it in the first place!
Still, it helps to have practical solutions at the ready when we find ourselves in the place of fear, doubt, and resistance.
One such solution is to develop the ability to view our desires with a feeling of calm expectation and receptivity, knowing that they’re in a state of germination and getting ready to sprout forth out of the soil, so to speak.
Another is to feel gratitude for the desire, as it’s yet another stepping stone toward further expansion and understanding.
Meanwhile, doing what we can to trust that the seed of desire will grow into a healthy plant (manifestation) given the proper attention and patience will lead to greater contentment and peace of mind in the present moment.
And once you begin seeing evidence of the power of intention and undivided attention, you’ll develop a deeper sense of knowing that the universe is always working in your favor.
All you have to do is be clear on your intention, maintain your attention, and enjoy the process!
As we bring more awareness to this cycle of desire and manifestation, we eventually come to learn that the best part of life is not in the actual receiving of our desires but in the unique journey each of us takes toward actualizing them.
This, in turn, reveals more of who we are to ourselves… now isn’t that beautiful?
So, my questions for you are these:
What have you learned about yourself by following your desires? Is there possible inner resistance – such as fear or doubt – that could be slowing the manifestation of your desires into your life experience?
