I’ve been drifting along for the last year or so, with not a lot of intention, other than simply getting through the next big thing that lands on my plate! It’s been a case of breaking down the big, overwhelming load into smaller chunks and literally just focussing on that tiny bit before moving onto and worrying about the next thing.

If I’ve thought about everything I need to do or achieve to get my life running smoothly, it has simply been too overwhelming and sends me into a spin. That’s not good and it doesn’t feel fun either.

Staying present

I have to keep reminding myself, over and over, to stay present in the here and now, and not rush off into the future and freak out.

And to be honest, that seems to work quite well. Those wise people that say “focus on the present” are on to something! If I look at where I am right now, in this present moment, everything is fine. I am safe, I am nurtured, I have a roof over my head and food to eat.

It’s not always easy to stay present, but when I do manage to drag myself back to the present I find I feel calmer and more grounded. Everything falls back into proportion as opposed to the hugely out of proportion scary scenario’s my ego pops up with, and my body does a little sigh of relief as tension eases from me.

New moon and new year

So, now that I feel a little more under control, the whole idea of intentions popped up again. Mostly because there was a New Moon and it was the Astrological New Year.

Now, I don’t know a lot about astrology, although I do find it interesting from time to time. However, I did think it was fitting that now I’m feeling a bit more settled, it would be good to set some intentions at this time.

If you are unsure what an Astrological New Year means, basically it’s similar to the calendar year in that the Astrological year starts with Aries and finishes with Pisces, just like the calendar year starts with January and ends with December. Once the year is finished we start again at January, and so with the Astrological New Year, we start again at Aries - and we did that on 20th March.

Setting intentions

New Moons are always good times to set new intentions as they herald new beginnings. Aries is also about new beginnings, identity, self and individuality. So, it seemed fitting as I begin my new solo journey that I set some intentions at this time.

I sat down to write these intentions, thinking I would need some time to really think about things and be clear what my intentions were.

Instead these just flowed out of me within a couple of minutes and then stopped. There was simply nothing more to add.

The result

So, what did I end up with?

1. Follow my heart

2. Listen to my body

3. Trust that all will be well

4. Allow things to unfold

5. Believe in myself

You’ll notice there is nothing in there about ‘buy a house’ or ‘grow my business by x%’. The intentions noted above are all much deeper and more meaningful to me. They reflect how I want to be, not what I want to do.

If I can work towards all of the above, then I will experience more happiness and peace. That, in turn, will help me with the ‘doing’ things but I’ll be coming from a better place if I’m at peace.

Keeping these intentions at the forefront of my mind will be important. I need to write them somewhere I can see them to keep them in mind.

I have been known, in the past, to write intentions and then forget all about them. Not this time. I want these to stick and I want to start off my Astrological New Year on the right foot with great intentions.

I’m realising more and more how much intentions affect our experience. It’s like setting ourselves some clear guidelines that we can come back to time and again.

They are the reason we do things.

Intentional pain

A study was conducted by Kurt Gray on how our perception of intentionality impacts our experience in the world. They explored whether our judgment of intentionality impacts how we perceive physical pain (operationalized by electric shocks).

To test this, participants were split into three groups. One group thought they were receiving an electric shock by accident, the second group thought they were receiving it on purpose and for no good reason, and the third group thought they were receiving the electric shock on purpose because they were trying to be helped to win money.

Even though everyone experienced the same level and frequency of electric shots, perception of positive intent significantly decreased physical pain, whereas perception of malice increased pain.

So, intentions do matter.

They keep me in the here and now

For me, these intentions are important because they keep me grounded and present, remind me not to rush, and also remind me to listen to the wisdom of my body’s own inner guidance system.

How about you? Are you aware of what your intentions are or do you just bumble along like I’ve been doing over the last wee while? If so, maybe now is a good time to set your intentions to get the future you desire.

Karen