In two words: intention setting.

That's an easy answer. I mean that sounds great, but what's the catch, right?

I'm going to give you some real hard truth right now:

From adolescence to adulthood, we are easily programmed to believe that life is meant to be hard. I mean we are human - we come installed with radar to protect us from pain and suffering. We do not like to be in pain and, to be honest, our brain wants us to simply be comfortable.

BUT - for those who NEED proof (and I understand wanting proof), a negative feeling can sweep us up and take us away. It's much easier to believe in the bad, or what others would call, 'preparing for the worst' because we have been trained that bad things are happening all around us and we need to brace ourselves for all those terrible things that are on their way to us. Here - we subconsciously set the intention that life is going to provide hardship.

HOWEVER! What if you flipped the script and constantly thought about bracing yourself for impact with all the positive things you are receiving on a daily basis? Setting your intention that life is going to work in your favor.

This is where setting intentions becomes FUN and changes from a subconscious effort of living our day-to-day life, to a conscious-MINDFUL action of taking our power back and creating a life that we truly desire.

When we live life as if it's happening to us,

we choose to give away our personal power.

When you decide to set an intention, you focus your mind and therefore, your energy, towards it.

And I'm not going to lie to you - this goes much deeper than one article and one mindful practice! Setting intentions can come off as not easy when you first start, and it is a mindful practice that may take EVERY second and EVERY thought to reclaim as you're getting started. However, I've used the intention setting method to completely change my entire life and existence. I've seen it transform other people's lives DRASTICALLY! So yes - without a doubt in my mind - intentional living WORKS! This is not an opinion, it's a fact through my own experimentation, witnessing it for others, and data analysis.

When I say that it goes deeper than simply setting intentions,it's because there is another half to the whole. The other part of setting intentions is that we must LIVE in gratitude. Remember earlier I said, "thoughts, words, actions, and feelings are what manifest and attract things to you?" Well, the keyword in this is the FEELING.

Let's break this down:

• IF you are feeling LACK of something, let's take money as an example because we could always use more 😂, and you're 'setting the intention' of receiving more money, but that FEELING of not having money at the moment creeps in, well that causes money to be blocked from coming into your life. (WHAT A DOUBLE EDGE SWORD! I KNOW)
• Words and thoughts are super important because they can help you create a feeling, but in the end, if you are not FEELING as if you deserve money, or that money will come easily, well no matter what you say or think, that will objectively becomes factual.
• This is where gratitude work comes into play.
• Through gratitude, we can identify what we already have to help release blockages of lack. When we understand all that we have already, we shift our perspective and energy to abundance.

I'm already hearing people say, "I've had to work hard for everything in my life..." "I don't have anything..." "I've only experienced harm or trauma..." 

I don't want to sit here and downplay anything you have experienced or been through. However, even if the only thing you've experienced is your heart beating, and given another day to roam this gorgeous planet, you, my friend, can still live in gratitude and in-turn, abundance.

You have the chance at any given moment in time to CHOOSE to be grateful... Give thanks for simply your heart beating, the air you breathe, the meal you were able to eat today, the people you were able to talk with, the roof over your head, whether that be the sky, tent, car, or home... Gratitude for even the "SMALLEST" thing(s), shift our energy to abundance.

This is a choice that we make with every action, thought, word, and feeling.

Let's set some intentions then...

Firstly, there is no right or wrong way to set your intentions when it comes to the physical act. As long as you are living abundantly through gratitude, how you decide to set intentions is completely personal to you.

Through my own work and experience with manifesting, setting intentions means, being mindful of the moment and making the conscious decision to do or receive something.

Mindfulness plays a huge part in this process. 

An intention can be anything you'd like. Just to name a few 'obvious' ones: love, wealth, and health. There are other intentions you may think about setting that might not be as obvious but, in my mind, are even more powerful as they generate indirect energy to other areas of your life. These may be intentions such as: building, healing, generating, creating, connecting, studying, and balancing - the list goes on and on.

As an example for setting intentions:

(and this is just how I do it, and works for me, you may choose to set your intentions completely differently)

• I use my Periapt candle to light up an intention, because to me, the energy of lighting a fire underneath something I want to come to fruition, makes sense.
• You may find that you only need to pray and give thanks for an intention you want to receive. It's a deeply personal practice that works differently for everyone.

How does this work?

• Let's come back to the money example. If I want to attract more money into my life, I light a 'Money Tree' candle and visualize money coming to me easily. I can see my bank account growing bigger and bigger, effortlessly. I give thanks immediately for all the money I have received my entire life (I'm in my 30's (!) I've used and received a lot of money, even indirectly through my parents as a child). I give thanks for being a money magnet and never having to worry about having money when I need it. I feel gratitude in my heart, it pounds strongly for all the financial abundance that is on it's way to me now.
• Then I personally take a moment to sit back and look at the flame on my candle. As if the flame is lighting up my financial desires, growing and flickering, easily and effortlessly. The flame is attracting exactly what I desire.
• I also say, "And so it is." After I've decided on an intention. This is a very subliminal and subconscious way for the mind to also get on board and believe in your intention is true. So it is - it's an exclamation, not a question, not a thought, it's is happening and there's no other outcome.
• The Universe will catch up to you, once you set forth that focused energy.
• This is the part that comes unnaturally to humans at times as we MUST have faith that the Universe, or God, will provide. This is faith.
• I'll let my candle generate even more energy by keeping it on for a few hours, having faith that all is working out in the way I desire, that it harms none in the process, but that all I need to do now is wait to receive my intention.

But wait, there's more...! 😂

It is IMPORTANT to remember that having faith with action and having faith with sitting still are two VERY different things.

When we set an intention, we have faith that it will come to be, but we can generate even more energy and focus by actually doing something. What I mean by this is, having faith and doing nothing - just expecting something to materialize out of thin air, well I'm not going to hold my breath.

There are people that can manifest like this, no doubt, but I've found in my personal experience, doing something makes things happen faster. Manifesting something you desire, especially something GRAND and BIG, that is maybe the opposite of your life now, will require patience and transformation on the receiver's end. For example, if you have $5 in your bank account but you're manifesting $1,000,000, I'm not going to sit here and say you can't do it, because I trust and believe that you absolutely can, BUT it will take time and that requires releasing the need to have things quickly and setting in the intention of stability and concentration.

Going back to the money example:

• After setting my intention, feeling gratitude for already receiving it, and stating that it's going to happen, I would go to work, write a business plan, meditate, or create something.
• After setting my intention, I would not turn on the television and wait for money to be deposited into my bank account.

This is not me judging what you do in your free time or how you set intentions as I said, I have witnessed people doing nothing but set intentions, tapping into their own power, and manifesting everything out of what seemed like nothing. But to be realistic and honest, it's much EASIER to manifest your intention while working towards it.

Money is an easy, tangible example because we can physically go to our jobs or create something.

If you were to 'work' on mending a broken heart, setting your intention to healing, 'work' may look like crying and rolling on the floor, screaming, moving your body through exercise or focused projects. This is a much less tangible idea of 'work', but just as powerful & potent.

In intention setting, "work" is not necessarily meant in the traditional term of laboring in return for wages. It truly means directing your efforts (energy) to produce or accomplish something.

We all have the power within us to set intentions & manifest the life we desire.

It's about using our own energy as it comes in the form of actions, words, thoughts, and feelings.

I am a super-spiritual being that could get extremely woo-woo on you, but in all honesty, science, and quantum physics are now providing concrete data that energy can be worked with and that we, in fact, have control of our lives at a quantum level.

We are able to manifest the life we desire and setting intentions is the start to everything we've ever dreamed of.

So, what intentions are you setting today?