Where is your focus on right now? Are you present in this moment? And are you inviting this present moment to unfold beautifully for you? I am reading my teacher and mentor davidji's newest book, Sacred Powers, in which he discusses the secrets to awaken transformation in your life. In the Bhagavad Gita, the ancient Indian holy book, are the words yogastha kuru karmani which essentially means 'establish yourself in the present moment, and then perform action'.
We all have experienced by now when we place our attention on some negative person or draining event in our lives that it seems to take on a life of it's own and become even worse. By focussing on the negative, we tend to find ourselves attracting more of the same, backing ourselves into a corner of unfortunate events as unwilling participants in the whirlwind of our tumultuous lives. But can you think of a time when you really desired a goal, a change within your environment or life circumstance, and just by focussing on it, you made it happen? You may not have been aware of HOW you did that, but this is essentially bringing into play the forces of attention, intention and action.
My teacher davidji often says that whatever we focus our attention on 'blossoms and grows' and whatever we turn our attention away from 'withers and dies'. But what if you want to take this to the next level, and begin to really make permanent change in your life?
I can remember my earliest experiences working with Attention, Intention and Action while I was a Shiatsu Massage Apprentice in Japan over 25 years ago. I was taught the power of setting a powerful goal or Intention by talking about it as if it had already been achieved. In fact, I can remember now the intensity of the culmination of our New Year's Celebration with the Master and his Senior Therapist, as we yelled out in a large business square in the middle of Tokyo our strong intention. We were taught at that time to 'Go Big or Go Home', so I wildly yelled, "By the year 2000, I AM the greatest Eastern Therapist in North America!" It makes me laugh with hilarity now, and I am not really practicing Eastern Medicine anymore, but the power of declaring my goal outloud, and in the present tense 'AS IF' it had already happened set the course and trajectory for this perfect present moment I am in right now. It brought me deep into my Soul to retrieve and bring Attention to my sincere desire to help others heal and find a more peaceful and expansive version of themselves.
There are many ways to set intentions, and we may declare them quietly or in front of others, but it is how we continue to place our Attention on those intentions that make the true difference. This year I had chosen as one of my guiding 'Soul Words', the word magic. For me wanting to feel, see, notice and create more magic in every moment was a huge kind of intention. And it continues to guide me forward. One of my dear friends would frequently show up saying, 'How's life? Are you feeling the magic?', and I have to thank him dearly for that, because I AM feeling the magic. I adopted his beautiful question, as it was so deeply connected to my Intention of MAGIC, and I awake each day to say to myself, "I feel the magic. I feel the magic as my life unfolds today...my life is full of magical coincidences, every moment flows and I know what I need to do. I feel the magic." Or some version of this. And you know...I really DO, FEEL THE MAGIC because that is where my attention is placed.
In these last few years, since becoming a davidji Certified Meditation Teacher, I have experienced the expansion of magic personally as my dear colleague and friend Glenda van Koot and I created meditation and transformation retreats. And I have also witnessed the absolute magic and joy of seeing our participants take-off on new and powerful trajectories through the use of clarifying their intentions, placing attention on them, and taking action to move the energy around them. And it was through Intention, Attention and Action that I have been fortunate enough to create a new Healing Arts Studio that will allow me to touch the lives of even more people in an authentic and magical way! I have been honored and in awe! The Universe is an amazing place!
So, what are you intentions? Are you visualizing, talking about them, writing about them, focussing your attention upon them? Are you taking action? Let the Magic begin!