Hi, I'm Joanne Cary, welcome back to Embodied Soul Podcast, a multi-dimensional space intended to support you in mastering living, being, and thriving as the embodied soul you are. In today's episode, I want to talk about intentions. And I don't know whether you're like me or not, but I remember when I was first opening up and I was doing a lot of classes, self development, and I was always asked to state what my intention was. And it was a bit confusing to me, because I really just thought, well, you gave me a syllabus, and I'm going to learn these things. That was my intention. And I didn't really understand until I started to understand the idea that everything is energy and how that impacts what we're creating, what we're manifesting and the lives that we're living.
So today, on today's episode, I want to talk about intentions. Why they're important in creating the life that we love. Why they actually work. Expectations versus intentions, so going back to last week's episode, and a few positive ways, you may wish to use intentions in your life. So if you're ready to join me, please pull up a comfy chair, invite in your Soul, and be open to receive exactly what you need to live, be, and thrive as the embodied soul you are.
So why are intentions so important in creating a life that you really love and really want? And I think one of the foundational pieces is that if you are not setting an intention for your day, your week, your life, you’re very much rudderless. Our intentions help us provide some direction to our lives, so that we're not just sort of being, floating, floating in the waves of the ocean going willy nilly, going way over here to one side and then floating back to the other. And I know that some of you may be saying, well isn't going with the flow good? And there's a difference between moving with the ebb and flow of energies like we've talked about in a previous episode, versus just getting caught up in: “Oh, there's a shiny thing. Oh, another sparkly thing. Oh, I need to do this. Oh, I want to do that!” versus actually knowing what are some of the foundational pieces. Where are you wanting to go? What do you want to experience on the general? Then, allowing for the flow to go, still, within that same direction. So you know whether you're going to the Arctic or the Antarctic; to the East or to the West, so to speak. And they keep us really sort of focused and motivated, because we're constantly reminding ourselves with the intention that this is what I want to work towards, this is where I'm going. So this action is aligned with where I've planned to go, which is your intention. The intentions are the energy that we are coating everything in. And I’ve I don't know that I've actually mentioned this on one of the other calls before, but what I know with like when I'm creating a project or an event, or I'm intending to go somewhere. I will set the intention for the experience that I'm going to have, or what is looking to be experienced in a personal call that I'm holding, or an event that's being held, and that is the energy. So let's just pretend that you're not paying attention and you are forcing it, and you're just.. you're anxious, and you're filled with anxiety, that anxiety goes into whatever it is that you are doing or creating or saying.
But when you set the intention that everything you are going to speak to or create to is filled with love, is for the highest good of all, is looking to support and to empower, that’s a whole different energy. And people can feel that. And that's all done through your intention, which is the directed focus of your energy.
And so why do intentions actually work? Is it just sort of made up stuff? Is it just new age, whatever? Well, and the answer is no. So on a sort of metaphysical level, we know that everything is energy and your energy flows where your focus goes. So wherever you are focusing your attention, that's where the energy is going, and it's your intention that is directing that focus. So if you're wanting to create something, your intention is like that rocket fuel that then moves the energy to what it is that you're creating, what you're wanting to experience, what you're wanting to feel. And so that is in super powerful, all by itself.
The reticular activating system is the other thing to know. So that's the part of the brain that is actually bringing to you what you expect. It's the part of the… you've created this frame to live in, which we've talked about in a previous episode. And the reticular activating system brings in what you're expecting, or what you're intending, right. If you don't have intention, you're just on autopilot. You're just getting whatever it is that you're expecting. You're getting your beliefs, your patterns, the underlying sort of indoctrination. And so, as you set an intention, you are telling your brain, this reticular activating system, to begin looking for that. Begin providing evidence for what you're looking for. And so whatever you plan to happen, which is your intention, that is what your brain is now bringing to you. That is what you are now going to start seeing everywhere. That's what you're now going to start bringing to yourself. And so that is why your intentions are important. You're focusing the direction, amplifying it through your intention, and then having that intention, get your brain supporting you, to bring what it is that you are looking to achieve, experience, do.
So, I was contemplating expectation versus intention, and I thought that some people might be interested in that too. Given we just talked about expectation, and we always get what we expect. So if we always get what we expect, how do expectations sort of work, or how are they related to an intention? And what expectations are, are those, what you believe is gonna happen. And there they can be both conscious to you and unconscious to you. But there's no action to it. It is like a program playing in the background, right? So you're always getting what you expect. That's the foundational belief or foundational programming you have that is bringing to you what you expect. On the other hand, you've got intention and intention is what you want to happen. It's your aim or your plan, and it is action.
And then I got pondering, if we have the expectation as a sort of a set belief or program and our intention is what we want to happen. And we're focusing our intention on what we want next. If we continue to focus on that, then that can actually become a new expectation. And it's just a shift in the programming. It's like reprogramming your beliefs, so you can use intentions to support you in reprogramming what you want to have, versus what is already playing in your in your mind or your experience.
So how can you use intentions to support you in living a better life, and I think one of the first ways that many people use it for — They set intentions for their manifestations or the things you want to experience. And I'll throw out a couple of examples, maybe beyond what you have thought. But I set the intention to connect to my Soul, my Higher self, my Guides. I am setting the intention to be open to more of my extrasensory abilities. I set the intention to align my energy systems to the highest frequency that they can be right now, so that I can bring forth the most positive experiences for me and my Soul. I set the intention to have a joyful and gentle ascension process. I set the intention to receive the energies that are for the highest for me, and you know, back in one of my earliest episodes, I talk about my most powerful & the intention that I use all the time, and if you haven’t seen that episode go back to, I think it's Episode 2.
You can also use it for setting your intention to be in positive service to humanity. So I align myself. I set the intention to align myself to my highest service. I set the intention to align to love, and to have all the interactions to come from my heart. I set the intention to be filled with compassion even in circumstances that I may not find agreeable. So there’s ways for you to direct your own energies to support you in having this highest connection with your soul self, your Guides, to be able to be in support to humanity on top of all the ways that you may do it in in terms of manifesting what you want.
Now, the other thing is that you can use your intentions to become aware of something. You cannot change what you're not aware of. So set an intention to become aware of the blocks, the limitations, the judgments that you may have that are limiting your growth. Where you need to change the words or your focus. You can also become aware of what opportunities are coming. I set the intention to be aware of all of the opportunities that are leading me to my next highest step. Actually calling to you what it is that is for your highest benefit, and again directing your attention and your reticular activating system to bring those things to you.
And in terms of the next step for what you become aware of, then you can also set the intention to release those things. I'm now choosing to release this block that I became aware of. I'm now choosing to release this limitation. I'm now choosing to allow for myself to be free of judgment. I set the intention to release those things that are not serving me any longer.
All of these ways are just ways for you to begin taking back or fine-tuning your ability to live in the highest state, to move more easily through this shift in consciousness, this evolution in consciousness, so that you can have the most joyful, fun, expansive experience that's completely aligned with your Soul. I set the intention to be open to all of my Soul lessons with open arms, even when they're not as I think that they should be. I am open to the new. I set the intention that I'm open to the new so that I can be carried to my next highest step.
I invite you just to reflect on how are you living your day? Do you set intentions? Every morning I get up and I set the intention to speak to the higher selves of all I come in contact. I set the intention to lift all those I see before me. I set the intention to be aware of the synchronicities and information that is, that was leading me on my next highest step. Those now become the expectation, because I've been saying them for so long. I've been intending them, and every day when I say them that rocket fuel, that extra fuel, that focus of intention makes it so.
And you know and the Guides' say, on one last point, the Guides talk about how we create outside of form, and it's through our intention, and you may experience this in your dream state. Right? You may go from this scene. You'll be walking on a beach, and the next thing you know you're in a mountain, and next thing you know, you're at a mall. You're not having to walk to all of those places. It is through your intention, your conscious direction, of your energy, that you move. And so sometimes people will say in my events, if I say, move down to your heart, and they'll say, “but, like how do I move down to my heart?” Your intention to place your focus in your heart is all that it takes to move you there. That is the intention. That is the power of your directed focus. So I now intend to place my energy in my heart. I now intend to feel the connection I have with the Source of me. and I do. Just like that, and you can too!
Begin working with your intentions more consciously. Set the intention of what you want your day to be like what you want to experience. Set the intention to be aware of those limitations or spaces that are keeping you feeling stuck or off balance or unease, and then set the intention to transmute them, release them, or simply become aware of them so that they can dissipate on their own. It's a really powerful process. And for me, it really, it's really important to understand why I do something, because it really supports actually the intention of doing it.
If you've loved this episode of embodied soul. Please share it, follow it and leave me a 5 star review. It really does help get the messages out to those who need it. And I look forward to seeing you on next week's episode of Embodied Soul.
