Chapter 52: Attention on the Intention
It is time once again to Stew on this! At the Equinox I always choose to examine the intentions behind what I do and how I live, so I can commit to new ones and recommit to others...
I took a bit of a “spring break” from writing this blog, including a fantastic week at the California Coast. I am hoping some of my readers noticed I was gone!
While I was away, the Vernal Equinox happened here in the Northern Hemisphere. Like the New Year, the Equinox provides an opportunity to set intentions for new beginnings. Indeed, for most of history the new year was celebrated at this time of the year. In most ways, it is a more meaningful time of year for new intentions as all of Nature shifts from the inner reflection and gestation of winter into the warm spring light of activity and growth.
At the Equinox I always choose to examine the intentions behind what I do and how I live, so I can commit to new ones and recommit to others that have perhaps fallen by the wayside.
Speaking of intentions, in the three and a half decades I have been involved in vitalistic chiropractic, I’ve heard lots of talk (perhaps not enough!) about the power of setting and holding intentions. Why is it so important?
A clue can be found in the derivation of the word.
To intend originally meant “turn one’s attention to,” The roots of the word literally mean “to stretch out, extend toward.”
Therefore, when I follow my intentions, I meet my hopes, desires and dreams halfway!
Energy follows intention. It heads in same direction and vibrates at same frequency. When my intention becomes bigger, clearer, purer and truer, the energy follows suit. It becomes greater in its power to create.
It makes it much easier for me to keep my attention on my intention.
Like you, I tend to see what I am looking for. When I am meeting my intention halfway, I approach my life with more expectancy of success.
As Dr. Dick Santo used to say, we do not get what we want or even what need. We get what we expect. I have seen this time and again in my life and practice.
When my intention shifted from chasing symptoms all over the room, getting attached to folks’ personalities, having them like me, being their hero, and holding them hostage to simply loving them, holding a vision of their Innate wholeness, giving them space to grow into it, speaking my truth, empowering them to take responsibility for their own life and health, and just removing interference, not only did our practice grow and us along with it, all of a sudden everyone seemed to want that!
Part of that was because my personal intentions changed from looking for answers, procedures, protocols, and techniques on the outside to finding my own Innate greatness and wholeness on the inside.
My intention changed to clearing the interference between my head and heart. It became less about doing and having things and more about being and loving.
Hillary and I reflect often on our practice days, and we are proud that those kinds of intentions became the foundation for everything we did and said. As a result, most of the folks in our practice also saw chiropractic as a way to heal, not just their aches and pains but their lives. They saw it as a tool to discover their own greatness and wholeness. They saw it as a way to open themselves up and let more Light in.
They saw this because we did.
Yes, the intention I bring to what I do absolutely matters. And the Panama missions, almost 30 years later, remain the most vivid examples. Because of the circumstances there, including my lack of Spanish, all I had was the chiropractic principle and my intentions to serve it. Those intentions were pure, vividly clear, and apparently very powerful.
If you are not aware of the plethora of miracles that happened on those trips, suffice it to say that an entire nation healed up – four times.
So, I for one shall continue to ponder the intentions for who I am and what I do. If you agree that is a good idea, here is a bit of a formula for you to apply:
Think about the absolutely highest vision for what you do.
Remember and feel what it felt like when you first got a glimpse of that vision.
Notice all the resistance and “yeah buts” that come up when you see yourself living that vision and simply wrap them in love.
Do something to remind yourself of that intention as often as possible every day.
And, most importantly, NEVER let the fact that your nose has deviated from following the intention (whether it happened in the past or present) stop you from bringing it right back on course.
As we all spring more into life after the Equinox, let us allow our intentions to be our guiding light, and let us watch what happens.
Stew on that, and I will see you next time.
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