So,
It's that time of year,
That time of year to set intentions.
December is about holiday music and big red mugs of warm beverages and decorations and of course holiday gnomes.
It's about all those things.
It's about seeing friends and cards.
But for me,
December more than anything is about setting intentions.
It's about thinking about what I really want for the next year and what is still true to me about what I want for next year.
Thinking to myself,
Finding stillness amid all the holiday bustle and writing down what I really want for the year to come,
Which is different from what I might have thought a year ago because we get to know ourselves more and more with every year.
And to get far in 2024,
You need to know where you're going and you need to know where you want to get.
That's where intention setting practice comes in.
Where you're going,
Where you want to get.
And the year of the wood dragon,
More than any other year in the calendar,
Is the year to dream big.
It's the year of a mythical animal.
We're talking the stuff of legends.
So there are 12 different animals in the Chinese zodiac.
You have the rat and the tiger and the ox and the bunny and the dog.
And then you have the dragon.
The dragon is different.
The dragon is in a different realm.
So all those other animals exist in the regular mundane world that we know.
The dragon can do magical things.
It's on land.
It's in the air.
It's in the water.
It flies.
And as you move through the year of the dragon,
You'll see that it's more dynamic.
It's more focused on action.
And there's something very special in terms of scale and in terms of possibility.
So we're talking about the animal with the highest vision and the broadest reach.
So in 2024,
In the year of the dragon,
We'll be challenged to action.
We'll be challenged to be reaching beyond.
And that includes reaching toward life the way we want it to be.
To be striving and pushing our limits,
Pushing our limits of what we think is possible and truly growing from the inside,
Including growing in our vision,
Finding a vision that is about compassion,
That is about benefiting ourselves and others.
The year of the animal that can fly higher and further and accomplish more,
That takes a lot of leadership of self.
Making a positive difference in your own life takes a lot of leadership of self.
Making a better world a positive difference in others' lives,
That also takes first leadership of self.
So it's that leadership of self I want to work with when you set your intentions.
It includes believing in your path,
Being able to hear,
To understand what is your path.
And this applies to all of us because we will all be moving through the year of the dragon.
But even more so,
It applies if you're born the year of the dragon.
We should all get ready for a year of passion and intensity and vision and a year that asks us to be leaders.
And to be leaders of ourselves,
First,
We set intentions.
By nature as humans,
We are all creative.
We are all creators in some way.
There's that divine in each of us that wants to create.
When we start,
We launch the creative process through intention,
Through vision.
It's a tool for changing reality because your intention changes yourself.
So let's just bring in some more voices other than my voice.
And let's look at what past traditions,
What ancient wisdom has to say about intention.
As the ancient Chinese proverb goes,
When your intention is clear,
So is the way,
So is the path.
So it is where you're moving,
Where you're flying.
This is similar to another idea I like,
Which is when you know the why,
All the hows fall into place.
Buddhism always has a lot to say about intention.
It's at the center of Buddhism because our intention is our karma.
So in Buddhism,
The intention behind the action,
Why you're doing it,
Is actually more important than the action itself.
And your happiness comes from the strength of your internal experience of your intention.
So right intention in Buddhism is the heart's intention.
The intention that is right for you is what the heart really wants.
In Christianity,
In Judaism,
In Islam,
Prayer is a way to structure our intention.
Praying to God makes it clear to you what your intention is.
This is where a lot of the world religions agree.
Change movement starts with your inner state,
Your intention.
And every thought changes our life.
Every word we say changes our life,
Especially when we write down our intention,
That can really change our life.
And I find this very exciting because all the external wars and conflicts and what other people do is totally not under our control.
But our intentions are completely in our control.
And that's the way that we can change our lives.
And it doesn't depend on anyone except for you.
The first thing that intentions need to be is authentic.
I want to share with you something very meaningful from African American theologian Howard Thurman,
The leader of the social justice movement.
There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself.
It is the only true guide you will ever have.
And if you cannot hear it,
You will spend your days on the end of strings that someone else pulls.
So don't be a puppet.
Don't be a marionette that's pulled by your partner and your boss and your best friend and your kids and society and politics.
Once you set intentions that feel true to you,
That are truly yours,
That are true to yourself,
That have to do with what you want,
That gives you independence,
That gives you strength,
That gives you autonomy.
And that's also very,
Very healing.
The most important thing to know about intentions is that you're creating something new.
The year of the wood dragon,
You'll especially be able to create something new and create something that links to your core.
So something new that lets you be more you.
So this is where the new and the old kind of interrelate.
In South Asian religions,
There's a belief that the divine self never changes.
It lives many lives.
It's reborn again and again in many forms.
And with every new existence on this earth,
It just comes closer to its core.
So let your intention do that.
James Joyce in Ulysses has a similar idea,
That every life is many days.
We walk through our lives meeting robbers,
Ghosts,
Giants,
Old men,
Young men,
Wives,
Widows,
Brothers,
But always meeting ourselves.
So meet yourself through your intention when your intention is truly honest.
And don't doubt that in the year of the dragon,
It will be possible.
And be creative about it.
Living life is a very creative process.
Living a happy life is a very,
Very creative process.
You are always interacting with the world in new ways.
You're always creating something new with what you do,
With what you say,
With what you dream of.
You're always doing something to change the world around you.
When two things clash,
Right,
When two things meet,
Both are changed.
So you are changing because of the world.
The world is changing because of you.
Create those intentions from an open heart of wanting something good for yourself and also wanting something good for the world.
The intentions that work best are wanting your happiness genuinely,
Not like wanting to look a certain way or impress someone,
But just wanting your own happiness,
The happiness of this heart.
And also wanting to create something good and beautiful and new in the universe.
And of course,
You're part of the world.
So wanting something good for yourself,
You want something good for the world as well.
So I just want to end by saying that whatever your intentions are for 2024,
Let yourself wish freely,
Imagine that you are that dragon flying through the sky and everything is possible for you.
You are strong.
You can see everything.
And you can really create any change that you want to create.
Write down your intentions.
So if you haven't already,
Get a pen,
Get paper,
Write it down with pen and paper and don't look at it for a whole year.
Write down all your wildest dreams and intentions and then put them away.
These are practices I use daily.
They are core practice of my life,
Setting intentions,
Not just for the year,
But the day,
The month,
The week.
It's very useful.
And I've been shocked myself a year later,
How many intentions come true.
So get a piece of paper,
Write down everything that comes to mind and know that the year of the dragon,
Everything is possible and more.
So set intentions boldly,
Let your intentions reach far,
Far beyond what you think is possible.
And if you feel bad wishing things for yourself and you feel like it's selfish,
Just remember that the more joy you feel,
The more joy you will spread,
The more joy you will create.
And we're here on this earth to find joy and spread joy and bring joy and experience joy and to grow along the way.
We are definitely here to enjoy and to grow and to give and to receive.
So use your words to write down what you want,
Including what you want to feel.
Build your world through this endlessly creative process.
Don't miss the opportunity now before December 31st to set those intentions.
And you will thank yourself later that you did that work now.
So I want to end this video by just sending you some wishes so you can just receive.
May you have clarity to listen to yourself and to what you really want.
May every intention you set bring you new joy.
May you have intentions that connect to your core and feel 100% true to you.
And of course,
May your wishes come true.
And may you feel happier,
Healthier,
More joyful,
More spacious every day this year.
Bye everyone.
Happy December.
Bye.
