Yes, there’s more to manifestation and creative collaboration with the Universe than setting an intention. (If you missed last week’s post, you might want to read it first.) An intention is a clear, distinct point of focus. It’s a defining objective around which actions, decisions and attention revolve.
Yes, attention. Question: what exactly are you attending to when you pay attention to your intention?
Think about it.
It’s not enough to develop an intention for what you want to create and manifest. You have to align behind your intent. You have to take steps forward to advance your way toward your intention.
If you want a new job – you do a resume, consult a career coach, join Linked In, network with colleagues, find a headhunter.
If you want a relationship – you network with friends, join a dating site, ensure you have a couple of decent outfits for meeting people.
I know you know this already.
But is that enough? I don’t know. It might be. It depends on how you’re attending to your intending.
Are you:
- Monitoring your thoughts so that they align with your intent?
It’s no good to want a new job but think that the economy is so terrible you’ll never find one.
- Observing what you say?
Joking with friends that your dating of losers quotient is off the charts may impede your alignment with finding Mr. or Ms. Right (or Right Now).
- Hedging your bets?
One student recently shared that she was putting equal effort into focusing on her intent and building a fallback plan just in case her intention failed to materialize. Splitting focus.
- Controlling the outcome?
Creating lots of rules around how something manifests in accordance with your intention renders the Universe and serendipity sterile. If you rob the fertility of organic creation, you’ll get what you’re capable of creating and nothing more.
I’m not saying that the attention piece is easy. It’s not. It’s simply worth doing if you want to create what you want to create. And it’s the place where intentionality, affirmations and manifestation can easily derail.
Understand that the flow of creation is organic and coherent. It’s up to you to be in alignment with the coherent and organic flow of creation. In other words, you derail – the Universe is just fine.
The Universe doesn’t sit around with a Magic Sorting Hat shuffling people off to Granted and Not Granted polarities in Intention Land.
You Shuffle Yourself. You are the Grantor and the Grantee.
So pay attention. Notice, observe, modify, expand, validate your intent. Calm the voice that says ‘you can’t.’ Validate the voice that says ‘Of Course You May.’
Use your intentionality to galvanize your vision and breathe life to your desire. Take appropriate steps.
And leave room for the serendipitous and outrageous generosity of the Universe.
What are you attending to today? (If you know someone who’s not quite on track with their intention/attention quotient, consider sharing this post with them.)
Keep your vital, intentional and attentive energy flowing!
Great post, as usual. Question on “hedging” so if one were to pursue work because they know that the passion project won’t generate the desired income to pay rent on Day 1, is that still considered alignment with intention? isn’t there some balance between “letting go” and practicality of the matter?
Love those inner voices and also helpful to identify who they belong to and say see ya vis a vis clearing cords. 🙂
Hey SS – Great question, as usual! It’s always great to have the clarity that you’re expressing in your inquiry. The interim work is a means to an end. Pay the bills, stay in flow, experience ease through self-care. If it were me, I’d incorporate that right into my intent. ‘As I take appropriate steps toward creating X, I effortlessly meet my needs through Y.’ Then keeping the eye on the prize, take actions and steps that are clear and aligned toward what’s desired and in creation.
Hope that’s helpful!
Thank you, Jill. I love all of your posts but these last two especially have helped me tremendously at just the right time. Sending blessings for ease in aligning intention and attention to all!
Hi Linda, I’m so glad that the recent posts on intention and attention are useful to you. They felt like just the right thing at just the right time to me, too! May your intentions manifest through your attention. And stay tuned – next post has another ingredient in the manifestation recipe…
I love this post, Jill! As I was reading I was nodding along thinking “yeah, take aligned action towards what you want” but the points you end with are so clear and powerful. I was so struck by the student that told you that equal effort was going into her fallback plan. That’s like a huge lightbulb flashing about our time, energy and focus. Thanks for helping me to focus my attention and encouraging me to ask myself if my attention is holding me back or propelling me forward towards what I say I most want in my life.
Alli – I’m glad the post has been useful to you. It’s amazing the ways in which we want what we want and then attend to something else (often worrying about getting what we don’t want – a negative spin cycle!). I hope you’ll place your intention and attention firmly on what you’d like to create and observe, notice and lovingly regroup as needed. Thank you so much for your remarks!