Setting Intentions - A Guided Visualisation

Setting an intention is like drawing a map from where you are now to where you wish to go. Without this map and clear steps along the path, we can feel lost and unmotivated without the clarity of purpose that a strong intention brings. Whether it's daily, annually or for a lifetime creating a clear vision of where we want to be can improve our overall feelings of wellbeing and purpose.

Transcript

So we're going to start by taking a comfortable position,

Whether that's lying down on the floor,

Or on a bed,

Or sat in a chair.

The most important thing is to be in a position where you can really feel safe and comfortable.

A position where you can really let go and relax.

And whichever position you've chosen,

Just make sure that you're safe and that you're warm.

Making sure that you're not going to be disturbed.

Maybe taking the phone off the hook.

Keeping your mobile on silent,

Just for the next 10-15 minutes.

And then we can settle the body by taking a few deep breaths.

One big breath.

All the way down,

Feeling the belly expand,

And exhale,

Releasing tension.

Second big breath,

Exhale,

Releasing further tension,

Sinking down into the chair,

Or onto the floor.

Third big breath.

Big breath in and then exhale,

Releasing all the tension that you're holding in the body.

Especially the shoulders and the lower back.

And the neck.

Paying further attention to the spine.

If you're sat in a chair,

Use the back of the chair to support the spine,

Sinking back further and further,

Deeper and deeper relaxation.

So we're going to be looking at intentions,

Even though it's already February,

Maybe some of those New Year's resolutions have already fallen out of sight.

We can set new intentions at any time of the year,

Or the week,

Or the day.

Very important for our overall wellbeing is they give us clarity and purpose.

Sometimes just the simple fact that we know the direction that we're travelling in,

Or we know the place to which we're travelling towards,

That focus can really help us gain clarity in our life,

It can help us get out of bed in the morning,

It can help us feel more motivated and happier.

Sometimes it's great to live without goals and intentions,

Just to be free.

And that also has a place.

But for this exercise,

We're going to be looking at how to gain clarity of vision in either one or several parts of your life.

Resolutions,

Intentions,

Goals,

However you label them,

Are only possible if we take consistent action towards them.

We need to maintain a healthy momentum and focus.

We need to identify the individual actions and steps that we need to take every single day in order for us to get there.

So our best chance of making it happen is to see the vision,

To set a few bigger goals,

And then break them down into smaller,

More manageable chunks that we can tackle one at a time.

And there are a couple of ways in which we can begin.

If you know what area of your life you're wanting to transform,

It could be health and fitness,

Career,

It could be your relationship.

You can do the following guided meditation with that particular area in your mind.

And if you aren't sure what direction to go in,

You can still follow this process by doing it several times,

Each time with a different area of your life in mind.

And that will ultimately give you several visions to work with that you can combine into one big picture vision for your life.

So first coming back to the body,

Taking a few more deep breaths as you settle into your seated or lying down position.

With every exhale,

Feel tension either leaving through the breath or being taken into the ground,

Leaving the body soft and relaxed against the supportive floor or chair.

Now in your mind's eye,

Imagine your highest possible vision for the area of your life that you've chosen.

See it and imagine it as if it's already happened and you're presently living in this energy,

In this reality.

Look at the vision in front of you and notice how you look.

How do you look living this particular vision,

This particular version of you,

Carrying out this particular activity that you want to achieve?

How do you feel?

What feelings come up as you see yourself in this situation?

What are the actions?

What are you actually doing?

What are the actions that accompany it?

Who is there with you?

Are you alone?

Are you supported by others?

What's happening around you?

Where are you and what scenes can you see?

What are your daily practices to keep you anchored in this ideal vision?

Keep adding detail to the vision.

Make it as compelling and as real as possible.

It's not something that needs to be created.

It already exists within you.

You just need to unlock the door to access it.

Continue cultivating the vision,

Brighter colours,

Stronger,

Sharper lines.

Bringing the vision into clearer and clearer focus.

Continue to cultivate the vision until it's at its brightest,

Clearest it possibly can be.

Now in your mind's eye,

Imagine a pathway of separate stones appearing before you and the vision in front.

Each one of these stones represents a step or a goal towards achieving this vision.

Steps along a path.

What do you need to do or produce or gain in order to actualise your goal?

Each one of these steps represents a different thing that you need to obtain or achieve in order to get to that final destination.

See the path out in front of you,

Making a mental note of all the steps along the way.

Now ask yourself,

Is there a practice or some other support structures that you need to put in place to assist you in getting to where you're going?

Think of these things as being skills perhaps that you need to help you walk along this path.

Ask yourself,

What do I need to put in place to assist me?

In getting to where I'm going.

Ask yourself,

What do I need to do this week to move me more powerfully forward in my life towards this goal?

Is there a daily practice that I need to be doing?

It could be meditation,

Exercise,

Adopting a better diet,

Journaling,

Something to anchor you to your vision.

Are there support structures you can put into place or enrol in a course to help fortify your resolve and maintain your focus?

Just stay with that for a while,

Exploring what comes up.

Doing to observe the vision in front of you,

The pathway and all the things you need to do in order to get there.

And now see yourself taking all these actions.

See yourself in your mind's eye,

A bit like a film,

Watching yourself taking part in all these activities,

Taking part in all these practices.

Grounding and anchoring in the vision,

Walking the path of progress towards your goal.

Notice around you how your life has changed as a result of achieving this goal as you finally make it towards it.

Notice how it feels achieving the goal.

And then merge together everything you realise that you're now living your intention.

See your intention and feel your intention as complete.

Now see this vision in front of you with the complete intention and imagine that vision going inside of you.

Drawing that energy inside.

Assimilating it into your being.

And now trust,

Now that you've internalised this vision,

That every decision you make,

Conscious or unconscious,

Is helping you take steps,

The right steps,

Towards achieving that goal.

Just stay with that feeling of integration for a moment.

Knowing that consciously and subconsciously you are now orientated in the right direction,

Heading towards the vision that you've cultivated for yourself.

And now take a few more breaths.

Coming back into the body.

Once again feeling the body relaxing with every exhalation.

Feel the body soft against the chair or the floor.

Slowly begin to move your fingers and toes,

Coming back to a more wakeful state.

And then when you're ready,

Slowly opening the eyes.

Now if you have time,

Taking a journal or a notebook and just write down before the vision fades and before the memory of the visualisation fades,

Just jot down a brief description of what that goal was that we saw.

Also the steps that appeared before us that are going to help us get there.

And then all the behaviours and practices that we need to adopt to support that journey.

As I mentioned before,

You can do this for any part of your life.

You can do this for an existing goal.

You can do it to get more clarity around an existing goal that's not quite fully formed.

Or if you just don't have any intentions or goals at the moment,

Still do this exercise and just observe what comes up from a blank canvas.

See what appears in front of you.

You might be surprised at what the subconscious brings up.

So give it a go.

Have an open mind.

Hope you've enjoyed it and I'll see you soon.