What Are Your Intentions?

I hope you had the opportunity to enjoy a restful and relaxing Labor Day. For me, regardless of how my day unfolds, first thing upon waking, I do my best to spend at least a few moments outside, checking in with myself. I set my intentions for the day, and then it’s ON. However, there are some days when multi-tasking gets the better of me and I’m checking in with myself, emailing, texting, and setting intentions! I find that on those days it can be quite a challenge to get centered. Remembering without judgment that this is the practice, to come back to the moment, back to the breath, I can hit the reset button and arrive. The days seem to fly by at lightning speed, except for those few precious moments in the morning, during meditation, or relaxing again into the moment. I believe that it is in those moments of full presence, that we are truly aware and alive.

As we’ve been taking this journey together, I am curious to know all of the ways in which mindfulness is affecting your perspective. Perhaps you might be aware of your awareness, questioning or noticing more, less on autopilot. In considering this for a moment, what’s there for you right now?

In a workshop I conduct with acupuncturist, Jim Pastore, we explore the idea of setting intentions. Setting intentions is a powerful practice that gives meaning, purpose and direction to life.

This week’s suggested practice: setting intention.

Set your intentions for the day. 

You could have one or several intentions for the day, from the practical to expressing the deepest desires for your life:

Examples:

• I intend to finish three things on my priority list
• I intend to do the laundry
• I intend to eat healthier food today
• I intend to feel more ease
• I intend to be kind to everyone I meet
• I intend to be aware of my beliefs as they shape my reality
• I intend to speak my truth
• I intend to show up more fully in my life
• I intend to be more authentic in all of my interactions

2.  In a journal, or on a piece of paper, or perhaps a sticky note, write one or several intentions where you can easily see them. What would it be like to affirm them as if they were already accomplished?

Examples:

• I finished three things on my priority list today
• I am eating healthier meals
• In awareness, I am showing up more fully in my life

3. Notice what arises when you affirm your intentions as reality. What sensations arise in your body? Setting intentions is such a powerful practice because as a conscious, deliberate decision point, they change the trajectory of your life. Are you ready to shift the paradigm of your life? Is it possible to say yes to all of the possibilities in the moment?

Aurora Hutchinson

Aurora Hutchinson, M.A. is passionate about sharing the transformative power of mindfulness and meditation. As a certified Science of Mindful Awareness (SOMA) meditation teacher and wellness educator, she teaches group classes, workshops, conducts corporate seminars and works with private clients seeking to learn meditation for stress management, improved health, career and family support. As a PhD candidate in Psychology with training in neuroscience and pharmacology, Aurora has an understanding of the biological and psychological mechanisms underlying mind-body practices. This information provides students and clients a meaningful way to connect with the practice of meditation. Aurora is a certified Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki Master Teacher and Jikiden Reiki Shoden practitioner. She is trained in Clinical Hypnosis through the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) and is an iRest Yoga Nidra Level 1 Teacher-in-Training. Aurora is a faculty member of the SOMA Meditation Teacher Training Program, and has served as the Mindfulness Programs Director at The Mindfulness Center in Bethesda, MD. She is committed to promoting and practicing evidence-based, best practices of self-care in hospitals, wellness centers, educational and corporate settings to empower and serve others.