Published In the Repatterning Practitioner’s Journal May 2008

INTENTION for Holistic Health Professionals
Gail Glanville

If there’s one life-theme that’s achieved top-of-mind awareness in the personal development field these days, it has to be INTENTION.

The power of intention and its converse, the law of attraction, show up in book titles, workshops, DVD’s, TV and radio talk shows. The Power of Intention is touted as the answer to just about every problem we might have with our lives, relationships, finances, businesses and health.

Since Intention is integral to most holistic health systems, it might be timely to take a fresh look at what we know about this almost over-exposed topic. Who’s saying what, where do we stand and what can we be, do, have and learn as practitioners on the topic of the power of intention?

Intention Basics Let’s begin by looking at the real purpose of intention. Our powers of intention are innate. They are one of our greatest gifts as a species and have been recognized as such from ancient times. That’s because all significant change in the world begins with an intention. Nothing happens without some person or group of people deciding to create something new and setting about doing it. They see a need, create an intention to fill that need (either through new technology, systems, organizations, creative projects or simply a new way of preparing food) and follow the intention through to completion.

There are different kinds of intentions. Some are ego-driven and tend to be expressed as endless “I want’s.” These are usually short-lived and relatively unfulfilling on a personal level. Other intentions come from a higher state of coherence and contain qualities that bring a wider range of benefits, or benefit more people. One of our goals as holistic practitioners is to align with highly coherent intentions; those that help us awaken the best in ourselves and in others.

Here are some recent authors on the topic, all of whom add to our collective knowledge about the beneficial power of intention when it is aligned with high levels of coherence.

Napoleon Hill Author of the 20th century’s first personal success book Think and Grow Rich, one of the best selling books of all time. The secret to his philosophy of achievement? Positive beliefs, right thinking and the power of having a “Definite Major Purpose.”

David Hawkins Author of Power vs Force, used muscle testing to demonstrate that one person resonating at an intentional level of compassion can lift the resonant frequencies of 75,000 other people who are at less coherent levels. To Hawkins, an intention represents an “attractor pattern.” He describes attractor energy patterns as having harmonics, just like musical tones. What’s more, the higher the harmonic’s frequency reaches, the higher its power becomes. “Every advance in human consciousness,” Hawkins believes, “has come through a leap from a lower attractor pattern to its higher harmonic.”

Lynne McTaggart Author of The Intention Experiment. Lynne McTaggart gave an inspiring address at the 2008 Repatterning Practitioners Association Annual Meeting on the topic of intention and the science that proves its importance. New ideas from her address include the effects of solar storms and photon release on intention (they increase its effectiveness); the results of intention when projected by experienced meditators (creating higher consistent frequencies); the power of numbers (100 meditators in one room equals 800 around the world); and finally, solid proof that consciousness (focused intention) affects matter.

Chloe Wordsworth Author of Quantum Change Made Easy, with Gail Glanville. Intention has always been one of the six keys to the Resonance Repatterning system. That’s because, without intention, nothing happens in the world. This book’s addition to the topic is the understanding that intention is ultimately dependent on resonance.

Wordsworth writes “You may organize your energy, thoughts and actions around a particular goal, but if you don’t resonate with your intention there’s little chance your subatomic particles will be aligned enough to attract the outcome you want, no matter how persistently you repeat your positive affirmation or focus on what you want.” The higher you set your goals or intention, the more your fearful or angry projections show up to be healed. But, she continues, “The more you are able to transform your resonance with the frequencies that limit you, the more energy becomes available for achieving your intentions and your vision.”

The Opportunity Intention represents a moment in any holistic session when the practitioner and client enter a state of conscious presence. No longer focused on past events or future longings, the present moment awareness seeks the new intention which would make all the difference in the client’s life. The founder of Non-Violent Communication, Marshall Rosenberg, always asks in moments of truth like this “What wants to come alive in you right now? What is it that needs to be expressed?”

This is a pregnant moment, one that requires stillness, presence and respect for the client’s inner knowing. What wants to come alive? When that question can be answered from the client’s core being, then their intention is aligned with a “definite major purpose” and will carry more than enough life energy to power its positive outcomes through doubt and obstacles to a higher harmonic and quantum leap.

Fine-tuned Intention In the book Quantum Change Made Easy, there is a clear distinction made between desire and intention. The author describes desire as a state that is driven by unconscious unmet needs. No matter what we desire, we are never fulfilled because we have lost our focus on what is most important to us.

When you find yourself driven by desires, recognize that they are actually a signal, a time to stop and ask yourself what unmet need is seeking resolution and resonance.

“Intention,” Wordsworth continues,” is different from desire. Intention, rather than being a substitute for an unmet need, is like an arrow pointing straight to the fulfillment of your underlying need.” All successful intentions are based on resonance with a need that is met.

There is also a distinction to be made between wanting to have an object, a state in which that object is always out there someplace waiting to manifest, and inhabiting the quality of that object in the present moment.

Eckhart Tolle, in A New Earth, says “You cannot manifest what you want; you can only manifest what you already have.” This means that your intention becomes empowered and empowering when you resonate with the frequencies of the intention in this present moment. It is as though you have already moved into your new home and are able to inhabit its qualities of light, beauty, spaciousness, good company, safety, etc., long before your new home actually appears. It is your resonance with these qualities (as states you already own) rather than the tangible object (you don’t yet own) that helps you manifest your intention.

The Science of Intention We are energy beings who exist only in relationship with the frequencies in the unified field. Our physical bodies operate as antennas. We broadcast and receive frequency information all the time. In the unified field, frequency waves have an infinite capacity to encode information, to form patterns, to create a memory bank of what McTaggart calls the shadow world. This shadow world may be chaotic and “always becoming” but it is the place where our coherent intention, our consciousness, has a direct effect on the order of subatomic particles. Consciousness is an energy that affects matter. It is this intentional energy and process that powers quantum change.

As McTaggart told us: “All it takes is one great thought to change the world.” (And a critical mass of people who come together and resonate with the harmonics of that thought). Aren’t we fortunate to have holistic healing systems that give us every tool we need to create high-level intentions, clear out our resistance and amp up our resonance with them through modalities and positive actions. This is what the Taoist masters referred to as the kind of activity that brings good fortune. It requires that we pay attention to the form and correct action behind our conscious thoughts and intentions. It requires that we create highly responsible intentions that consider our personal awakening as well as the global good.

Why is the gift of intention important?
Coherent intention is how we will get to the next generation of life on this planet. We will require increased consciousness, compassion and collaboration. We are united through energy in the unified field; we cannot thrive as separate and competitive Darwinians. In the shadow world, in the zero point field, we are already cooperative and oriented to the endless cycles of birth, growth, decay and new birth. In short, to the essence of life itself.

In all the flurry and chatter of our lives, let’s not miss the point and power of our Intentions. The reason we have the gift of intention is to be able to create something new and better in our lives. To create positive change, to correct an injustice or imbalance. To create something new that will serve us and all of humanity in a better way.

Bottom line If you are working with an ego-driven intention, the change you get will be short-lived and impermanent. If you are working with a divinely inspired intention, it can bring lasting change. That’s what McTaggart meant when she said all it takes is one great thought to change the world. One divinely-inspired thought becomes a divinely-inspired resonant intention leading to higher levels of being and meaningful service around the world.

How to craft an intention
There’s a format for creating the kind of statements that fuel great intentions. A positive intention is always written in positive language, in the present tense, and usually conveys both the desired outcome and the emotion attached to it. Using tips from the field of Conscious Languaging, here are some words that empower our intentions as well as words that propel them to certain doom!

Intentions to avoid: “I don’t want to overeat anymore.” Or “I stop getting into fights with my spouse.” Or “I wish that someday I could find work that makes me happy.” Anytime you hear or make a statement like this, know that you have created a disempowered intention. The key words to avoid: I don’t, I can’t, I stop, I try, I wish. Even beginning your statement with the words “I intend” insures your goal will stay somewhere off in the future.

Here’s some empowering language and empowered intentions: The most powerful active verbs to use in intentions include I am, I have, I create, I enjoy, I do, I love, I grow, I expand. So improved intentions for the above statements might be: “I enjoy preparing and eating the right amounts of healthy food.” “My spouse and I create honest communication from our hearts. I have the courage and presence to stay in my heart when I communicate with him/her.” And “I grow my interest in (_____) into a conscious business I love.”

Let’s add some color and emotional qualities to these positive intentions.

For example, why is “I enjoy my abundant fulfilling lifestyle and bring joy to many” a more effective intention than saying “I want to earn more money?” Because it is more specific, it has emotional content (enjoyment) and establishes a vision for an abundant fulfilling lifestyle service you can imagine inhabiting. Another point is this: when you say “I want” you are really saying “I lack."

Here’s another example: Notice the difference between saying “I want more money with less effort “and saying “I love finding ways to multiply my reach, knowing that my work brings more than enough income to me and provides a meaningful, life awakening service to others.” See the difference? The more you infuse your intention with emotion and inhabit its beneficial qualities with your imagination, the more powerful it is.

To strengthen your resonance with the frequencies of coherent intentions:

Consciously choose language that gives your intention a boost rather than holding it back.

• Consciously choose present-moment actions that, like Gandhi’s spinning wheel, create a tangible, practical and/or symbolic form to bring the good fortune implicit in your high-quality intention into manifestation.
• Consciously focus on the quality inherent in your intention, meaning resonate with the frequencies of your intention rather than obsessing about the tangible outcome itself.
• May fortune surprise you!

Copyright © 2008 Gail Noble Glanville.

For more information on Intention, see the book Quantum Change Made Easy by Chloe Wordsworth with Gail Glanville. To discover what wants to come alive in your life, email gail@changebistro.com or go to www.changebistro.com.