The Power of Intention | 10/9/21
Yesterday, I manifested something I had set an intention for two years ago when I was planning my move to Los Angeles. The intention was to find a fun, welcoming, functional training fitness community to workout with. One of my favorite things about LA is the healthy lifestyle, yet the community I was looking for didn’t immediately appear. Nevertheless, I kept setting and resetting intentions to find it, knowing it was here. It was only a matter of time.
Yesterday was time. I had my first workout at a gym with a community and trainer and equipment that matched the exact feeling I’ve been looking for.
While I’m pumped about this new fitness path for myself, I made sure to slow down and relish this moment, instead of barreling into the future filled with new, fun workouts. I spent dedicated time with my journal to express gratitude for an intention that turned into a manifestation. An intention that manifested better than I had even expected, and right at the perfect time.
It got me thinking how the power of intention is one of my favorite tools. And one I’d like to share with you.
Here are two of my favorite ways to use intentions:
For big, long-term goals: like the intentions I set when moving to LA. Intentions around my business, body, health, wealth, community, family, future.
For small, shorter-term goals or experiences: such as intentions around a weekend getaway with a lover, an important conversation, a creative project, or even a mushroom trip with friends.
How are you using the power of intention?
Over the summer, on a trip to the mountains with my then-boyfriend, before we left LA, we set intentions for our time together. I said something along the lines of, “I want to breathe the mountain air. Reset, relax, enjoy, connect. Be/feel/express love. Flow.” He responded with a lot of the same, then added that he wanted to feel the complete, utter exhaustion that comes from pushing your body to the limit.
Um… what?? I knew we were planning on hiking, but… complete, utter exhaustion?? I laughed and said, “Okay, you do that. Not for me though. I’m all for exerting energy and using my body, but I want to feel alive, not dead.”
Intentions set, we headed north to Mammoth Mountain
After two nights of settling into the mountains and our campsite, we woke up and set out on our big hike. We started about a mile high in elevation and then hiked even higher, up an entire mountain, clocking twelve miles total. It was awe-inspiring, gorgeous, and hard.
Even though it was intense, challenging terrain, for the most part, I felt great. I felt fit, connected to the environment, and supported by my body and the mountain and the air.
As for the boyfriend? Well… he died. He was totally spent and dead and could barely keep up. Which was very uncharacteristic because he had more long-distance mountain hiking experience than I did.
Yet, the mountain totally worked him, and he struggled to breathe the thin air and keep up as I set the pace and said mantras to help us keep going. At one point, I turned to him with a good-humored laugh and said, “You know you asked for this right? With your intention. It worked. It’s here.”
To me, it was such an obvious example of the power of intention
Two people with similar fitness levels on the same trip, the same hike, with wildly different experiences. Experiences that directly matched our intentions.
It served as a real-life example of how powerful intentions really are, even when they can feel so innocent. They have the power to create divergent experiences because of what they set in motion. A reminder to set intentions that are aligned with what we really want. Aligned with what truly matters.
Another intention I’m thinking about it the intention I set to visit Egypt. Something seemingly so innocent when I set it, when I said it to my teacher, back when I was living in San Francisco and I learned she lead tours to Egypt.
“Oh, I’d love to join one day. One day, I’ll be there, with you in Egypt.” My teacher nodded and smiled.
Me in Luxor, Egypt, 2021. Photo by Ahmed Yousry Mahfouz
Fast forward several years later, and there I was, in Egypt, having one of the most potent, powerful, healing experiences of my life. A massive awakening. A divine gift. Grander than what I could have ever imagined when I agreed to tag along.
I’m still unpacking the lessons from the journey, determining what pieces are meant to be shared. Until then, I want to remind you about the power of intention. Whether big or small, they set things in motion. They stir the pot. They change the course, alter the direction and energy flow.
Intentions affect where we go, how we feel, what we do
Which can be beautiful when the intentions are around fitness, resetting the body, building something meaningful in our work. Exploring the world, ancient remedies, the mind. We can also make our lives harder for ourselves when we intend that it needs to be hard, that we expect to feel pain. Like my ex did when we set to climb the mountain. Pain is part of the process. It will happen on its own time. How about intending for it to be gentle, instead? What impact would that have on you instead?
In Egypt, during one of our practices, a group member was struggling with the intense energies that were swirling. Instead of fully surrendering to and accepting the intensity, I reminded her that she could ask for it to be gentle. She could set the intention for ease. She could impact the flow.
While the broader messages from my desert journey are becoming clear, I’ll leave you with these thoughts:
