No Resolutions, Just Intentions
Now that we've made it through the holidays, many of us are looking toward the new year. Many of us will make resolutions for 2008; from losing weight, to saving money, to spending more time with family, we all have ideas about what we'd like to do better.
I've decided I won't make any resolutions this year. In today's society, resolutions have become synonymous with failure. If you looked up the denotative or literal meaning for resolution in the dictionary it would probably say something like "a pledge". If we had a connotative dictionary, or a dictionary that said what we really mean when we use words, the definition would probably say something like "a pledge one makes that one plans to break." Seriously, even businesses count on the fact that most people don't keep resolutions. New gym memberships skyrocket in January with all gyms seeing increased profits. By February most of those new members stop coming to the gym. All those resolutions to lose weight and stay in shape go out the window by February. So much for a new start.
I stopped making resolutions long ago for this very reason. Instead, I set intentions. Setting an intention, for me, is a spiritual process. My intentions are in alignment with who I have decided to be in life. I recognize that I am in a co-creative process with God in creating the life that I want to live. Anything I declare as an intention sets the law of attraction in motion.
I start by writing down all of my intentions. As I am a writer, putting intentions in writing is a powerful creative process. I pray over my intentions. I look for openings and opportunities that are in alignment with my intentions. I keep in mind that sometimes what I manifest, in alignment with my intentions, might look different than what I imagined. God's vision of my life is grander than my limited ego mind. So I am open and available to receiving "this or something better."
Finally I surrender to God, my Higher Self, my Higher Knowing. I keep my list of intentions in a sacred place and revisit them when the year is half over. I check off those things that I have accomplished so far and note those things that I have yet to manifest. At the end of the year, I list all of the things from my intentions list that I have manifested.
What is interesting every year is that there is a time period in which I forget some of my intentions. I am clear about the feeling tone I want to establish in my life, but I forget about the specifics for several months at a time because I have released them to God or my Higher Self. When I revisit my list at midyear, I am surprised that I have accomplished so much, so quickly. I give thanks that there is a process at work that is miraculous and beyond my limited thinking. Then I press on knowing that all is well and that the Universe or God is conspiring for my ultimate good.
This year let's resolve to release resolutions and surrender to our intentions!
I've decided I won't make any resolutions this year. In today's society, resolutions have become synonymous with failure. If you looked up the denotative or literal meaning for resolution in the dictionary it would probably say something like "a pledge". If we had a connotative dictionary, or a dictionary that said what we really mean when we use words, the definition would probably say something like "a pledge one makes that one plans to break." Seriously, even businesses count on the fact that most people don't keep resolutions. New gym memberships skyrocket in January with all gyms seeing increased profits. By February most of those new members stop coming to the gym. All those resolutions to lose weight and stay in shape go out the window by February. So much for a new start.
I stopped making resolutions long ago for this very reason. Instead, I set intentions. Setting an intention, for me, is a spiritual process. My intentions are in alignment with who I have decided to be in life. I recognize that I am in a co-creative process with God in creating the life that I want to live. Anything I declare as an intention sets the law of attraction in motion.
I start by writing down all of my intentions. As I am a writer, putting intentions in writing is a powerful creative process. I pray over my intentions. I look for openings and opportunities that are in alignment with my intentions. I keep in mind that sometimes what I manifest, in alignment with my intentions, might look different than what I imagined. God's vision of my life is grander than my limited ego mind. So I am open and available to receiving "this or something better."
Finally I surrender to God, my Higher Self, my Higher Knowing. I keep my list of intentions in a sacred place and revisit them when the year is half over. I check off those things that I have accomplished so far and note those things that I have yet to manifest. At the end of the year, I list all of the things from my intentions list that I have manifested.
What is interesting every year is that there is a time period in which I forget some of my intentions. I am clear about the feeling tone I want to establish in my life, but I forget about the specifics for several months at a time because I have released them to God or my Higher Self. When I revisit my list at midyear, I am surprised that I have accomplished so much, so quickly. I give thanks that there is a process at work that is miraculous and beyond my limited thinking. Then I press on knowing that all is well and that the Universe or God is conspiring for my ultimate good.
This year let's resolve to release resolutions and surrender to our intentions!
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