Fully Engaged Intention

One of the most overlooked and misrepresented aspects of spiritual and mental practices is that of intention. The incredible power of intention cannot be underestimated or ignored. Without focused and fully engaged intention, the hidden components of these practices are never activated.

Intention is that special something extra, that magical spark that takes place between thought and action, that allows us to accomplish that which we set out to do. We must take great care to focus and align our intention with the practices, for without intention, failure is eminent. It’s intention that drives our success. Intention is when we focus our mind upon that which we are determined to do with full resolve. Once the intention is set some form of action should immediately follow. This is often confused with willpower, which is the strength to carry out our desires, yet implies forcing our will upon the situation.

What I refer to as “Fully Engaged Intention” is the focused and conscious intention that arises from Mindfulness. Once we’ve attained a state of Mindfulness our intention is more easily focused and held due to the dramatically increased state of awareness. A Fully Engaged Intention does not originate from the ego, but from our consciously aware and awakened mind.

What are the things that weaken our intention? Distractions of any kind serve only to weaken our intention, taking our mind and focusing it elsewhere. Relying on others to do things for us weaken our intent by never providing us with the opportunity to struggle and rise above life’s obstacles. Mindlessness is at the root of weak intention as we cannot focus our intent when the mind is in this state.

Now I’d like to offer some things that strengthen our intention. Attaining clarity for whatever we seek in life, including spiritual practices and what we’re seeking to gain from them helps us to align our intention. Engaging in activities that strength our mind and mental focus helps us to set our intention and follow through with the practices, even when they become uncomfortable. We must put our whole heart into it, focus our mind upon it, and take action to bring about success. Mindfulness helps us to by becoming more astutely aware and capable of focusing without being distracted by anything.

If our mind is weak, then we’ll likely lack the ability to focus our intention. Many people talk a good game but lack the follow through to ever accomplish that which they talk about. Its seems that the more a person talks about, the less likely they are to do it. We all know people who talk about traveling abroad, but as a general rule, they never follow through with the adventure.

To understand intention a bit better, let’s examine its role in Karma. If I walk down the sidewalk and accidentally step on a fat, juicy caterpillar I acquire negative karma right? Nope. Now, if I were walking down the sidewalk, saw that fat, juicy caterpillar and made the conscious decision to stomp it, and my intention was to do just that, and I followed through - then I’d be acquiring negative karma. Intention is an important and often overlooked aspect to understand the teachings of karma. If my intention is to senselessly take a life, then that may result in the accumulation of negative karma. If I have no intention of causing harm and the act accidentally happens, then that’s different.

To better understand the hand postures (mudra) of spiritual practices, we can understand that they’re referred to as “seals” as the purpose of mudra is to “seal your intention” upon a particular goal. That goal may be to increase your sense of compassion, holding a strong and steady mind, and so on. Intertwining your fingers into one of these hand postures without focusing the proper intent behind it, leaves it powerless.

The same goes for holistic healing. To be effective as a healer, we need to be capable of focusing our intent upon a patient. The intention is very specific focusing on positivity and abundant health while holding the high vibrational frequency of love and appreciation. If this intention is not developed and present then no actual healing can occur.

Whether it be spiritual arts, martial arts, or living a fully engaged life, a fully engaged intention is crucial to our success.