Intention

goal vs journey

What does it mean to have a pure intention? A pure intention is of course no intention at all. No goal, no premise, no promise, no expectation. Just mere openness to what the moment holds. All intentions are born out of a wish to change things, or to influence things - most often originating in the mind. Even in the most humble of hearts an intention is a wish for something specific, even if it is ‘merging with God’. Intentions can serve to bring our attention to a deeper place, to focus our witnessing, but most often the flip side of intention is expectation. Both limit our perceptions from seeing what truly is present in each moment, as if we are waiting for something specific to unfold.

In many spiritual circles manifestation and visualization are part of the inner work, however we need to be clear and honest with ourselves enough to see where that all comes from, inside of ourselves. Usually an intention holds the fragrance of a desire. A wish for an outcome, even if we can’t verbalize or conceptualize what the outcome may be, we just know we have a deep urge to set an intention for change. Ask yourself, why change? To be frank, intentions are projections. However, these projections can serve to show us our underlying desires, where we wish to be in control, and where we are stuck. If we have intentions to change bad habits to better habits, it serves our life in many ways, no doubt. And that is of course beneficial. But there is still an identity there that is holding onto being in control, wanting to change things in a certain way, and at the end of the day even that identity will have soften and be let go of.

It all boils down to us letting go enough, surrendering at every level of being, and accept everything as is. Once we rest in that complete acceptance, life shines forth, as is, perfect in its brilliance. Setting intentions, having goals, brings our attention to a certain place - and in a sense, that creates limitations. In order to see beyond the particular place of intention, we need to completely surrender and trust that we are cared for and that we will be guided - that life will happen as it should. You' have probably heard the saying ‘It is about the journey, not the goal’. Acceptance and appreciation lies at the heart of that. When we are looking this closely at our motivations and intentions, it is important to not judge what we see, and at the same time be completely honest with ourselves so that we can get to the root of it. Satya - truthfulness and honesty - ultimately means being true to ourselves, when witnessing the layers of our being. We invite you to make this type of inquiry part of your inner journey, as it will deepen your relationship with life itself.

Intention is not all bad. It can serve as a resolve - sankalpa - to move beyond certain difficult obstacles or phases in life. It can be a way for the mind to befriend the uncertain, as the mind gets something to play with, to refer back to and to feel familiar with. However, it requires a keen eye and a bold heart to stay equanimous to whatever life brings us and to stay free of expectations of the fruits of our actions. Intention setting can be a controversial topic. We aim to highlight its facets here so that you can deepen the relationship with your own intentions and motivations, as a way of living in peace.