I’ve been thinking and feeling the power of intention lately as plans come together for a weekend away. The first time in a year, we are leaving the safety of our home and venturing out with several goals in mind.
Respite is the first. Shifting into a new perspective is always energizing. I have enjoyed mental and emotional changes in perspective and now this is an opportunity for a physical change in perspective.
As I plan this getaway, I set an intention to use it as an opportunity to stage a private ceremony of commitment I make to myself, with nature as my witness. By my thoughts and words alone, I create a simple but meaningful rite of passage or threshold I will step over that signifies the surrendering of the emotional holds I have held of my identity as a child, girl and woman and step fully into my role as a wise woman elder healer.
If I was going to change my name, now would be the time to do it, but I choose not. I welcome all of me to participate.
Rites of passage come in all forms in our society from christenings, memorials, weddings, showers, bar and bat mitzvahs, and the list goes on. In my limited life, I can’t list all of them. Rites of passage are important steps in our human lives and they are all united by the power of intention set in place by our thoughts and actions.
I’m remembering a day back in the late summer of 1970 when my dearest friend, my horse named Betsy, chronically-ill for several years, transitioned out of this world. My parents made the decision to euthanize her without my knowing because they wanted to save me the pain of her loss. It’s easy to imagine the devastation of this news and the anger that ensued. I was so emotionally upset, while sitting in a car in a parking lot of an apple orchard, I decreed I would never get my hopes up again for anything or anyone.
I still remember feeling the world stop for a moment, like I could hear a pin drop, as I vowed this intention and it became law in my body. For the next 15 or so years I lived by that rule having deadened my will to look forward or get my hopes up about anything.
Intentions are formed in many ways with the power of our voices and the power of our words. What we decree becomes our personal law. The personal decree I made so many years ago became a filter I lived my life through until I recognized its limitations and spoke its release.
I am made of energy; my breath is energy; my words are energy; my actions are energy, all tied in with my existence as a spiritual being in my human body. This weekend I choose to gather my energy and focus on my commitment to my identity as a healer in this world. I chose to be a Wise Woman Elder Healer. The power of my words grants it so, and so It is.
“Isn't it great to know that you cannot control your world from the outside? To try and control things on the outside feels impossible because it would take so much work, and in fact it is impossible according to the law of attraction. To change your world all you have to do is manage your thoughts and feelings on the inside of you, and then your whole world changes.” - Rhonda Byrne
“Meditation is the progressive quieting of our mind, until we reach the source of thought, which in wisdom traditions are the realm of our soul and spirit. In this domain of awareness there is infinite creativity, synchronicity, the power of intention, and freedom from limitations.” Wayne Dyer
Participants’ Reflections:
Thank you. That was a beautiful reading today. Today is the funeral of a very dear friend of mine. I was thinking about the power of intentions. This person was always compassionate and loving and the best she could be. I appreciate the reflection of that. It’s a hard day to see her transition but she had a beautiful life and she was a wonderful friend.
Thank you for sharing. As I’ve learned from Matt Kahn, when loved ones pass into another world, they merge with us in our hearts. We live on with them in our hearts. Your transition and her transition happen at the same time. She will always be there in the memory of your mind and the emotions in your heart.
During the meditation, I thought of the loss of your horse and how you didn’t have closure. It reminds me of a story about a time when my kids were growing up. We had a dog that we had to put up (not down) and we wanted to make it a nice ritual for the kids because it was their first experience with death. We arranged with the vet to come to the house. A week before, we laid a bedsheet on the dining room table and had everyone sign it and we would wrap the dog in it. We made it a big ritual with detail after detail in order to make it beautiful and spiritually deep experience for us and hopefully for the kids. A couple of days later, my son expressed his anger and he wrote a letter to the vet and said how much he hated the vet for murdering his dog. As a parent, I was trying to create this spiritual ritual infused with meaning, and it wasn’t what he experienced. As parents, we do our best and we don’t always know what the experience will be. Safe travels for your weekend and I’ll be thinking of you as you set your intentions in ritual.
Days like today are magical and happiness oozes. On other days, I feel like Sisyphus climbing the mountain with that pack. We do it, we get up, we climb again. Working for that inner joy in the midst of pain is hard. Today it is easy. I’m taking a course with Eckhart Tolle. One of the people told a story about a monk whose son died and he’s sobbing. Another monk asks him, ‘you understand this is all an illusion, why are you sad? You know the person hasn’t gone anywhere.’ The monk answered, this is the saddest illusion.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this reading. I’m sad because of the change in my friendship with someone. I listened to a talk last night about how this is all a dream. I decided I am going to regard this part of the relationship as a bad dream. This morning, I realize the depth of wounding I am feeling from judgments that have come my way have me sitting like a blob. This is not normal for me. I labeled it. Then I decided to take a Himalayan salt shower, something I learned from this group. I gave my heart extra salt and put some in my hair to change my thoughts. It gave me the energy to come to the group this morning and it allowed me to be present and to participate in the celebrations of the group members. I also knew I could ask you all to surround me in extra light at this time. And I love your focus on the power of intention. I’m going to the beach soon and perhaps I’ll have my own affirmation ceremony.
What a wonderful intention of taking those sad feelings—because those are real—and letting them go down the drain as they are washed away. When a shower is not available, and I’m stuck in negative thoughts, I put the thoughts in an imaginary toilet and I step on the toilet pedal and flush it. The thoughts I absolutely do that because this is not serving me and it makes me sad and instead of looping it around again and again, out it goes. Thank you for sharing that. It’s very powerful and transforming.
Thank you so much. The key is to feel the feelings and not deny them. Really feel them and then let it go. It’s a two-step process. That’s what ritual is all about. It’s bringing it up to a higher level of awareness and intention, to acknowledge something. I honor the ritual you are going to do this weekend. It’s powerful. I still remember the rituals I’ve done in the past. They are stronger in my memory than what I was trying to release. The ritual stands out as a powerful moment of intention with lots of energy. It empowers me.
Thank you. Thank you for bearing witness to my words, for taking the time to sit with yourself and honor your presence. This is the journey we are on individually together. It’s an amazing process to witness, the learnings, the sharings, the authenticity and the presence. I am grateful. I hope you all have a gentle day.
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