Do you ever wake up to a very clear memory of a dream or message? This happened to me recently, when I woke suddenly to a clear voice speaking from within. It said -
Intention - Action - Reflection.
That is how I heard and saw it through my mind’s eye. It felt like a teacher had shaken me awake to pass on a message. I clearly and instinctively knew this message was not just for me, but to share widely. I got up, wrote it down, and went back to sleep alongside a feeling of awe, and gratitude at receiving this gift.
Today, I’m focusing on step 1: Setting the Intention.
When I was a new client working with a somatic coach, I learned that the first step in the process of transformation was to make a commitment. My somatic commitment was a declaration of who I wanted to be, or the future I wanted to live into. This was then broken down into visible behaviors that would demonstrate that I had, in fact, developed the ability to act in ways that I wanted and chose to. These were actions I could not previously take, that I wanted to be skilled in. Developing these new behaviors formed a new self, and the road to this self was built upon daily and weekly practices. I literally practiced being my new, desired, future self.
Transformation begins with grounding in purpose. Before jumping into the What or How, we need to center in Why something is important to us. This was the foundational question my coaching teachers asked whenever we stated a goal or desire - what we wanted from that coaching session.
The POP model created by Leslie Sholl Jaffe and Randall Alford is another popular tool used widely in organizations to ground in purpose before beginning anything. POP stands for Purpose, Outcomes and Process, or simply put the Why, What, and How of a project, meeting, activity, or anything really.
For example, I hear a lot of people talk about wanting to meditate. So ask yourself - why is this important to you? If you meditate daily, what will you have? (Peace). Who will you become? (Calm). The “Why” questions can unearth deeper meaning behind intended actions. My mom says that intentions count for 70% of our spiritual credit, and implementation is only 30%. So however imperfect* our actions may be, having a clear and positive intention first really matters, and infuses all that follows.
If/when we don’t set our own intentions, we are letting the world happen to us. If we don’t ground in our own purpose - of who we want to be, or what we want to create - we are more prone to be reactive, rather than proactive. We limit our own agency. Each of us is powerful - we have the ability to impact others and the world through our words and actions. And I really believe that grounding our actions in our intentions reaps much deeper benefits than action-based goals alone can do.
So I invite you to set your intentions now, for what you want to invoke or amplify. Some questions to consider -
What is it that you want more of in your life? (peace, connection, creativity…)
What is a quality you want to embody? (patience, courage, confidence….)
What will you have/become if the above needs/desires are met?
What will be different in the world because of that?
Why is that important to you?
Once you get here, you are in the bedrock of your own being. This is where the seed of vision is planted, where our values are embedded, what anchors us deep when the going gets hard, and what holds us true to our intentions no matter how much conditions on the surface change. This is a place of solid self-knowing and self-trust, that you can return to over and over again.
May our liberation be as communal as can be, even as we navigate the particular terrains of our individual lives and soul journeys. May we be surrounded by community even if still far from many of our loved ones. May our summers be as restful as they are joyful.
P.S. - The next two blog posts will focus on Step 2: Action and Step 3: Reflection.
*Imperfection Footnote — I acknowledge the imperfectness of our actions not to excuse bad behavior or harm, but because as a woman of color, we are much more likely to lean towards perfectionism and over-accountability, holding much more than our fair share of labor and responsibility. Let us let go a little.