10 Tips to Achieving Your Intentions for the New Year

A while back I had an argument with my partner and it got to a rare point that we were not even speaking to each other. I went out for an appointment, and found myself complaining to a friend about some of the things he was doing that really upset me. I felt really unsupported, as I imagine he felt also.

After ragging on a bit, I heard myself and realized I was putting so much negativity out there about our relationship, even though what I was observing was truly not nice. I recalled a phrase from Esther Hicks and Abraham “If you don’t like something about your life, it is the result of your sloppy vibration.” Period.

Okay then, I was bored with my complaining and ready and willing to stop participating that way. But what was my sloppy vibration here? It really seemed that the facts would support my complaints! I noticed the underlying feeling for me was that I didn’t feel fully supported, and lo and behold, it was happening in a lesser way with an assistant of mine too. So before I went back in the house, I decided to work on my “sloppy relationship vibration” and reset this feeling of “not being supported” to this: “All my relationships are harmonious and support me at the highest levels.”

It took me about twenty minutes till I really could feel a shift. When I went in the house, he greeted me happily, as if nothing ever happened! Like he totally forgot that we were really mad at each other and not speaking….the whole scene just vanished from our space!

I was once again truly humbled and amazed at the power of intentions. At the beginning of a new year, we are all focusing on our “resolutions” and what we want to shift so we can feel renewed and rejuvenated. So I wanted to share with you some of the reasons why they have not always worked for me, and the ways that I now use to really make the practice of affirmations or intentions much more effective.

There is fascinating research that our very DNA can be influenced and reprogrammed by the frequency of words. Interestingly, our genetic code follows the same structure as human language. This research claims to directly or indirectly explain phenomena such as clairvoyance, intuition, spontaneous and remote healing, affirmations and much more.

“Esoteric and spiritual teachers have known for ages that our body is programmable by language, words and thought. This has now been scientifically proven and explained. Of course the frequency has to be correct. And this is why not everybody is equally successful or can do it with the same strength.”

When teaching any of my energy healing or intuitive development seminars, I emphasize the importance of working with the mind in the form of language and intentions to support making and sustaining a more lasting shift.

However I didn’t always have great results. For years I read every prosperity and affirmation book available. While I resonated with the concept in theory, I would try things for awhile but often felt awkward, and ultimately they didn’t seem to work very well in my spotty practice. Over the years I have learned some refinements that have made all the difference. Today, my clients and I have great success using intentions.

TIPS TO PUMP UP YOUR INTENTIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR:

1. State things in the positive.

Many years ago most of my resolutions were centered on what I wasn’t going to do any more or didn’t want in my life; in other words — negative. We all know how well that works.

Even with animals it is much more helpful when we focus on what it is we do want. I often use the example of telling a dog to stop chasing cars. What is the dominant theme and image here? Chasing cars. The “stop” gets lost.We are often sending the opposite message and wonder why things aren’t working. If you state that you want the dog to sit calmly on the curb, and begin to really picture it and how happy your will feel when he does it, then you are sending the action and image and positive feeling you do want and are much more likely to get the desired results.

2. State things in the Present

Often I hear people say “I want to be…” It is much more powerful to create from the present moment. “I am” or “I have” or “I intend that I am” work in the NOW moment; not in some future time that never arrives.

3. Add pictures and images

This is where the fun begins. Many people do vision boards where they cut out pictures of the things they want in their life, and refer to it daily to help bring things into the physical realm. When you add a picture of what it is you desire to create, it really pumps up the manifesting process. Just make certain to add YOU into the images!

Animals often are helped when we add pictures to what we are trying to communicate. This happens naturally as our language has mutually-agreed meaning, so I generally don’t need to “think in pictures” when I speak to any animal. However if I am dealing with an abstract topic, like the time I am returning home, I will consciously add pictures to it (e.g. three sunsets or three dinners to signify three days).

The same is true when we are trying to manifest a situation we have never experienced before…like being a millionaire. This is where adding detailed pictures of what it would mean to us to be wealthy: where would we live, what type of housing, our daily routine, etc. will really enhance your manifesting. We all have different ideas of what would make us happy so it helps to be as clear as possible what your happy looks like.

4. Add the feeling of the desired outcome

Thoughts are electric in nature and emotions are magnetic. Just using the thought process is only half the manifesting process. You must keep the thought long enough for you to totally align all parts of yourself to that reality; that is, to step into the idea or concept fully, with all your senses. The feeling of freedom and joy that will come from having that new house or more money is what really becomes the magnet for the new experience.

Call in the frequency or vibration or resonance of the intention—if you intend to be happy, take a few moments to totally feel it in your body. If you can’t get there directly, use a memory of being happy just long enough until you can remember the feeling, and bring the feeling forward into the present. Eventually as you consciously reset to the vibration and energy and experience of “happy” you will carve out a new neuro-pathway in your brain that allows you to connect with the “happy” feeling more easily and quickly.

5. Take Aligned Action

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.” – Henry David Thoreau

Once you have stated your intentions clearly and positively with great enthusiasm, you then need to take aligned action and move forward in the direction of your dreams. Years ago, when I was just starting out as a healer and had very few Reiki clients, though I felt certain it was my path, the reality of having a practice that supported me financially was quite dim. This is the place most people quit their dreams.

So I decided I must spend time every day staying in the Reiki energy in some form in order to take aligned action toward my goals. Whether I was giving myself Reiki, or taking care of a loved one in need of healing, or putting up flyers, or getting a booth at a health fair, I would dedicate time each and every day to being proactive and doing what I now would call “building it and they will come.”

Exercise: What steps can you take right now, today, to get a new client, create a workshop, offer your services to someone in exchange for referrals, or take time for self-care and reflection to restore and reenergize yourself and move confidently toward your dreams? Write them down. Better yet, schedule them directly into your calendar!

Advanced Play with Intentions

Once you have stated your intentions clearly and positively, in the present with great enthusiasm, here are a few more tips to cement the intention process so you can create much better results more quickly and easily.

6. Conscious Language

I don’t know about you, but I was uncomfortable repeating phrases like “I am a millionaire’ when I had only $97 in my account. Somewhere the gross unreality of it was dissonant and made me feel like a liar. The phrase “I am” or “I have” when I am trying on a specific new concept or lifestyle was not working, because it was not resonating with the practical part of me who was saying “no, you are not a millionaire, etc.”

“I intend that I am or I have…” is much more aligned with my integrity. No matter what my experience has been, from this moment forward “I intend that I am or I have______” always rings true. This more precise language has completely shifted affirmations for me and now I find I use them easily and frequently. One of my students finds it more heartfelt and less mind-driven when she uses “I love that ____”. She can slip into the feeling of the new creation more easily, and upon graduation quickly manifested a beautiful place to live rent free, wonderful work as an artist and much more.

7. Raise your frequency

Why do some have better luck than others with intentions? And why do some communications go smoother than others? I now have a very easy time making intentions and communicating with most animals. I can speak the same exact words that a client has said to their animals with very different results.

This is in part due to my vibration; I have spent 25 years mastering meditation, Reiki energy healing, and other energy tools and practices that raise my consciousness and energetic frequency and make shifts much easier. More than just thinking about what you want, you need to become a vibrational match for the new experience or state of being that you are craving.If you are not getting results from your intentions, you may have to raise your vibration to resonate more closely to the desired experience. This is where consistent practice of energy tools and conscious practices to elevate your state really make the difference.

8. Consciously Release

If you say “I intend that I am happy” but are carrying around lifetimes of despair (a lower frequency), you may need to add practices that will help release the old negatively charged emotion, as that is also creating your reality. I love energy work for this reason as it is effective in areas where the mind may have some difficulty getting to. This is why traditional talk therapy has some limitations, as understanding something mentally does not always shift the old frequencies in the physical, emotional and spiritual levels.

As you become aware of certain unwanted recurring patterns, begin to consciously clear these negatively charged emotions and thoughts. Reiki and the even more precise Rays of Creation work incredibly well for this purpose. This is where it may really serve you to get expert assistance. A gifted energy healer can help you release old stuck energies and emotions that are still in your space, or better yet find someone who can teach you to do it for yourself!

9. Keep it short and simple

Like anything else, if we try to take on too much we get overwhelmed. While I highly recommend setting annual goals for the seven main areas of life (spiritual, career, finances, body/health, family/relationships, mind/education and social/fun), having too long a list of affirmations can be difficult to work with. So what works best is what you will use consistently.

If I am working on a particular important intention, I type it into my online calendar so it pops up at the beginning of each day. This way I can focus daily by reading it aloud and feeling it before deleting it. It barely takes a minute.

10. The “Maha Mantra” (the greatest mantra) aka my favorite shortcut)

“I am happy, healthy, wealthy and wise.” I often sing and dance this in the shower in the morning until I feel really energized, and it covers all the main bases. So for this New Year, I intend that you too are Happy, Healthy, Wealthy and Wise! May you also experience great Ease, Freedom and Accomplishment in all areas of your life as you become more intentional.