​Living with Intention

Sparkle and Shine
​Living with Intention
By Joan Bender

---

How do you start your day? Do you drag yourself out of bed, startled by the intrusive sound of the alarm clock, eyes half closed, barely feeling your feet on the ground? Do you end your day in a similar way, dragging yourself back to bed, exhausted from the day and regretful that you couldn't knock one more thing off of your to do list or with your thoughts already living in the next day?

So many people live their lives this way and it can wear us down quickly. I fall into these habits sometimes too, but over the past couple of years, I have been starting and ending my day by setting intentions, and it has been a game changer, not only for me, but for many of my clients as well. Setting an intention is different than a to do list. It is a way of setting your tone for the day or night, and it gives you something to return to when you feel yourself getting off track.

In the morning, before getting out if bed, I set my intention for the day. One of my favorites goes something like this: Today, I will move through the day with grace and ease. This helps me to start the day on a positive note, feeling confident about how I will approach things that come up. As the day progresses and I find myself out of alignment with my intention, I remind myself of my intention and I think about whether I am approaching obstacles with ease, or if I am contributing to resistance. If things feel hard or difficult, I pause to examine what I'm doing, and how I can proceed along the path of least resistance.

At bedtime, I set another intention for my sleep and dream life. I try to remember to take a moment to write my intention in my dream journal and then upon waking, jot down any dreams that I remember. As I drift off to sleep, I rest my hands on my heart and set an intention for how I want my slumber to go. Some of my favorites are intentions for a dream to help with a problem, a healing dream, or restorative sleep. I also add a statement about how I want to feel in the morning when I awake. Doing this has helped me to appreciate and value my sleep and dream life and helped me to feel as if I am a more active participant in my dreams.
​
Try for a week to set intentions like these and notice the impact. I have heard from others that setting an intention in the morning, has helped to improve their mood throughout the day, has helped them look forward to the day ahead rather than feel stressed out about it, and helped them to feel more in control of their lives.

​www.jbenderwellness.com
[email protected]
New York, USA

---