Intention is the starting point of everything we do in life. It is the seed from which our actions grow. Intention represents our will, our purpose and our desires. It is the guiding force behind all of our behavior and the energy that propels us towards our goals.
Intention is so powerful because it shapes our reality. It focuses our mind, marshals our internal resources and mobilizes energy for action. Intention transforms possibility into actuality. It’s the difference between simply thinking about something and actually making it happen. As the saying goes: “Thoughts become things.”
Intention is powerful because it activates the reticular activating system (RAS) in our brains. The RAS filters incoming sensory information and brings to our conscious awareness things that match what we’ve been focusing on. So when we set an intention, we tune our minds to notice opportunities and information that can help us fulfill that intention.
Intention also attracts support from the universe. When our intentions are strongly held, it’s as if we send out an energetic beacon that aligns us with people, resources and events that can aid the manifestation of our desires. Synchronicities occur, chance encounters lead to breakthroughs and obstacles start to dissolve.
In this article, we’ll explore in more depth how and why intention is so potent. Understanding the mechanisms behind intention gives us greater ability to work with this creative force consciously. With focused intent, we can achieve what might seem impossible and create the lives we truly desire.
The Science Behind Intention
Modern science is validating what spiritual traditions have long taught – that intention has tangible effects on ourselves and the world. Let’s look at some of the research:
The Placebo Effect
In clinical trials, patients receiving placebo treatments often experience real improvement in symptoms. This demonstrates the ability of belief and expectation alone to facilitate healing in the body. When we intend for a placebo to work, our brains release neurotransmitters that can reduce pain, stimulate healing and even mimic the activity of real drugs.
The Maharishi Effect
Studies on groups practicing Transcendental Meditation have shown decreased crime, violence and accidents in the surrounding population. Coherent intention radiates out and can reduce social stress and discord. Other experiments have shown significant increases in community well-being indicators when as few as the square root of 1% of the population holds an intention together.
Random Number Generators
Scientists have been able to use focused intention to influence the output of random number generators. These experiments demonstrate that mind can affect matter on a quantum scale. Our intentions send out ripples that shape our physical world in ways science is only beginning to understand.
Brain Imaging
Neuroimaging reveals that setting an intention activates various structures in the brain related to willpower, goal-setting and working memory. Intention focuses our neural activity in ways that are conducive to bringing desired outcomes into reality. Intentions prime our minds for success.
How Intention Works
Now that we’ve seen evidence of intention’s power, let’s unpack how exactly it exerts its influence:
Intention Aligns Energy
At a quantum level, everything vibrates at different frequencies. Intention helps align our personal energies with a desired outcome. That coherent alignment generates a momentum that attracts the people, resources and synchronicities to manifest our intention.
Intention Focuses Attention
Where attention goes, energy flows. Setting an intention acts like an energetic homing signal drawing our focus to thoughts, perceptions, and behaviors related to our intention. This focus of attention reinforces and actualizes the intention.
Intention Structures Action
Intention is a mapping process that prescribes a course of action. It coordinates and motivates behavior towards a desired goal. With focused intention, we take the necessary steps to make an intention a reality.
Intention Shapes Identity
Our intentions shape how we see ourselves. When we set an intention, we declare something to be true about who we are and who we aim to become. This self-identity directs our actions and decisions accordingly.
Factors That Strengthen Intention
Certain factors help make our intentions more powerful:
Clarity
The clearer and more detailed the intention, the better. Define exactly what you want to create. Get specific and concrete.
Passion
Heartfelt excitement about an intention gives it more energetic force. Intention fueled by passion and inspiration is almost magnetic in its attractive power.
Mental Imagery
Vividly imagining the fulfillment of your intention imprints the energy more strongly into the subconscious mind. Make your intentions come alive through visualization.
Repetition
Reaffirming an intention regularly keeps it front and center in your consciousness. Repeat it often enough that it becomes implanted as a permanent fixture in your mind.
Belief
An unwavering belief in the attainability of your intention helps override doubts and activates your internal goal-manifesting resources. Believe it and you will see it.
Letting Go
There is an art to balancing intention with detachment. After clearly defining your intention, release any fixation on how it achieves manifestation. This frees up energy previously tied up in expectation.
Setting Powerful Intentions
Here are some best practices for harnessing the power of intention:
Make Them Positive
Intentions should be stated in the positive. Focus on what you want to create rather than getting rid of something. Energetically, it’s easier to move towards images of the desired outcome.
Get Specific
Be detailed in defining your intention. Specify who, what, when, where, how much. This precision charges your intention with more momentum.
Align With Your Values
Intentions that reflect your core values have more emotional firepower. Make sure your intentions resonate with your soul purpose.
Set Realistic Timeframes
Break large goals down into smaller intentions with defined time parameters. This structures intentions into manageable chunks that can be tackled one step at a time.
Write Them Down
A written statement makes an intention more concrete and official. Keep your intentions visible by placing them in places you will see often.
Supplement With Imagery
Reinforce your written intentions by vividly envisioning their completion. Make your intentions come emotionally alive through mental imagery.
Speak Them Aloud
Hearing yourself declare an intention adds to the imprinting effect. Voicing it also expresses self-confidence that it will come to pass.
Areas Where Intention Is Powerful
There are certain life domains where setting focused intentions can have especially potent effects:
Health & Healing
Numerous studies attest to the power of intention to accelerate medical treatments and recovery. When directed towards specific symptoms or the overall healing process, intention activates the body’s self-repair mechanisms.
Relationships
Setting an intention for your ideal mate activates the law of attraction to draw that person into your life. Intentions can also help create deeper connections, understanding and intimacy within existing relationships.
Career & Finances
Intention helps align you with your soul’s purpose. It also attracts opportunities, people and resources to accelerate success in your chosen field. Intention is a key ingredient in manifesting abundance.
Personal Growth
Any intentions set for self-improvement harness intention’s inherent power for transformation. Making intentions for positive habits, skills or qualities you wish to develop activates internal and external forces to support your growth.
Contribution
Intentions focused on contributing to others in meaningful ways tend to manifest quickly and powerfully. Intention creates ripples of goodwill that spread positive effects far beyond ourselves.
The Power of Collective Intention
There is exponential power in collective intention. When a group of people set the same intention, their amplified energy benefits both the individuals and the larger community. Some positive effects of collective intention include:
Increased Motivation & Focus
Aligning with others towards the same outcome creates peer accountability, enthusiasm and mutual support. Progress comes more quickly.
Expanded Possibilities
A group can hold a vision larger than what a single person might conceive. There is power in tapping into collective wisdom and creativity.
Accumulated Momentum
Each person’s energy combines towards a unified wave of intention. Challenges that may stop an individual get washed away in the tide of momentum.
Morphic Resonance
As more people direct attention towards a specific intention, a morphic field develops. This informs and attracts support from the surrounding environment.
Synchronicity & Serendipity
The combined coherence of a group intention creates ripples in the quantum field. This leads to unpredictable synergies, coincidences and luck which accelerate results.
Intention In Practice
While the mechanics of intention may seem mystical, its application is meant to be practical. Here are some suggestions for putting the power of intention to work in your life:
Start Your Day
Set a clear intention in the morning to align your energy for the day ahead. State what you want to create, learn or experience that day.
guid meditation
Before meditating, set an intention for the practice session. This could be an insight sought, a habit you wish to cultivate or a feeling tone to anchor in.
Simplify Goals
Break large goals down into daily or weekly intentions. For example, if your goal is to run a marathon, your intention for today might simply be to stretch after a 30 minute jog.
Meetings & Events
Set a group intention before meetings, conferences, parties or any gathering. This unites and focuses the energy in the room.
Appreciation & Gratitude
Regular intentions of appreciating your life and feeling grateful will attract more blessings to appreciate. Intention shapes your reality.
Conclusion
Intention is the invisible force that shapes our lives. It sets the trajectory of our personal growth, relationships, health and life purpose. Through intention we direct our inner potential towards what we wish to create. With practice, we can learn to harness this magical power consciously.
Focused, positive intention clears limiting beliefs about what is possible. As science has validated, our intentions energetically inform the quantum field of what we aim to manifest in the world. Aligned powerfully enough, our intentions can transform reality itself.