The Science & Power of Setting Intentions
The Science & Power of Setting Intentions. You’ve heard it before, and it’s true: we learn by doing. But we also learn by watching and joining others who are doing what we want to do or feel. Whether it’s a yoga teacher running through an asana sequence, or a fitness expert demonstrating proper posture and technique for firmer bottom or sexy abs, observing an expert at work is an opportunity to hone our own skills and perfect an area we wish to elevate. An intention is a directed impulse of consciousness that contains the seed form of that which you aim to create.
Research in neuroscience is beginning to show why, when we watch someone else’s motions, the parts of the brain that direct our own physical movements are activated. Observation accelerates the learning process because our brains are able to map others’ actions onto our own mental representations, making them more detailed and more accurate. Using brain scans, scientists are figuring out how this process works—and how we can make the most of what we see.
We derive the most benefit from observation when have in mind the conscious intention to carry out the action ourselves. In a 2006 study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, psychologist Scott Frey of the University of Oregon scanned the brains of participants as they watched videos of someone putting together and taking apart a toy made of several parts. One group of subjects simply watched the demonstration; another group was aware that they would be asked to reproduce the actions they viewed on the video.
Although members of both groups were lying completely still inside an MRI machine, the brains of the second group showed activation in a region involved in motor learning. Simply knowing that we will be expected to carry out the motions we observe seems to prime the brain to learn better.
Chopra shares the Law of Intention and Desire lays out the five steps for harnessing the power of intention to create anything you desire, in his book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success:
1. Slip into the Gap
Most of the time our mind is caught up in thoughts, emotions, and memories. Beyond this noisy internal dialogue is a state of pure awareness that is sometimes referred to as “the gap.” One of the most effective tools we have for entering the gap is meditation. Meditation takes you beyond the ego mind into the silence and stillness of pure consciousness. This is the ideal state in which to plant your seeds of intention
2. Release Your Intentions and Desires
Once you’re established in a state of restful awareness, release your intentions and desires. The best time to plant your intentions is during the period after meditation, while your awareness remains centered in the quiet field of all possibilities. After you set an intention, let it go—simply stop thinking about it. Continue this process for a few minutes after your meditation period each day.
3. Remain Centered in a State of Restful Awareness
Intention is much more powerful when it comes from a place of contentment than if it arises from a sense of lack or need. Stay centered and refuse to be influenced by other people’s doubts or criticisms. Your higher self knows that everything is all right and will be all right, even without knowing the timing or the details of what will happen.
4. Detach from the Outcome
Relinquish your rigid attachment to a specific result and live in the wisdom of uncertainty. Attachment is based on fear and insecurity, while detachment is based on the unquestioning belief in the power of your true Self. Intend for everything to work out as it should, then let go and allow opportunities and openings to come your way.
5. Let the Universe Handle the Details
Your focused intentions set the infinite organizing power of the universe in motion. Trust that infinite organizing power to orchestrate the complete fulfillment of your desires. Don’t listen to the voice that says that you have to be in charge, that obsessive vigilance is the only way to get anything done. The outcome that you try so hard to force may not be as good for you as the one that comes naturally. You have released your intentions into the fertile ground of pure potentiality, and they will bloom when the season is right.
A perfect place for you to start to lift yourself higher, and gain the valuable practice of intention setting is in my “30 Day Spring Into Action” Breakthrough. No matter where you are in your journey, is great to rekindle this and other tools you will learn to eat better, and incorporate self-time and other health habits.
A Lil About Becca Tebon FIT:
MAJOR life changes (Divorce, transition of my dad, and being hit by a car while on a road bike) in the last 90 days of 2009, brought me to a place of devastation, desolate and DONE!— I was done with the pain of my body (3 congenital health challenges), done with the feeling I wasn’t good enough, and done with the confusion of the last 90 days … and then through God’s grace found deliverance, my purpose and passion to guide others to a better life and healthier lifestyle. That was only 5 short years ago. I awakened (due to my circumstances) to my TRUE purpose and crafted my adversities into advantages. Are you ready to start YOUR upward climb? Let’s start crafting your intentions and get your feeling better within 30 days!