It all sounds so easy.
“All you have to do is think positively.”
“Just visualise it.”
“Set your intention.”
We’ve all heard the drill. We’ve read the self-help paperbacks, downloaded the e-books, watched the YouTube videos, each one promising a shortcut to enlightenment, abundance, or the ideal partner (sometimes all three, if you act now and pay in full).
The recipe is familiar:
Step 1: Buy the book.
Step 2: Enrol in the course.
Step 3: Attend the weekend seminar with the grinning guru.
Or, as the truly advanced might say: “Just Be.”
Now, I can hear the gears turning in your mind, “Here we go again. Another one of those.”
But you’d be mistaken.
This isn’t another self-help pitch, and I’m not here to add another title to your growing pile of spiritual homework.
This is about awareness.
Yes, I know the title is “The Power of Intention,” and yes, I will get to that, eventually. But before intention, before manifestation, before chakras and vision boards and cosmic ordering, there’s something more fundamental: awareness.
We all think we’re aware.
We like to believe we’re plugged in, conscious, present, switched on.
But how often is that true?
Let’s take one of the most popular “intentions” people like to set when they’re chasing that elusive more (and no, we’re still not at the intention part yet):
The Power of Attraction.
You’ve heard of it. You’ve probably read The Secret or something like it. You liked the message, maybe even felt a little buzz of possibility while reading. You might’ve shared the idea with friends or posted a quote or two on social media. “Sounds good,” you thought, and then you put the book down.
Maybe you even imagined things going your way for a few days.
Maybe you tried to think more positively, catch yourself when you were slipping.
Maybe.
But here’s the kicker: liking an idea is not the same as living it.
Understanding a concept is not the same as embodying it.
Having the intention to change is not the same as the awareness required to see why we haven’t.
And that’s where we begin.
So, let’s talk about this thing we call awareness.
Not the kind that makes you nod along in yoga class or repost quotes from Ram Dass.
I mean fundamental, honest-to-goodness, boots-on-the-ground awareness. The kind that stares you in the face when you’re halfway through a bag of crisps, wondering how you got here… again. That kind.
Because awareness isn’t a philosophy, it’s a practice.
It’s not something you own; it’s something you do.
And like any practice worth its salt, it’s hard, inconvenient, and a bit annoying,
See, we tend to think that awareness is about being “in the moment.”
Mindful. Present. Focused.
Which sounds lovely.
But awareness, when it’s real, also shows you the bits you don’t want to look at.
The self-sabotage.
The auto-pilot loops.
The silent contracts we’ve signed with fear, doubt, and comfort.
It’s the awareness that notices:
- You’re scrolling when you’re supposed to be sleeping.
- You’re saying yes when your gut’s screaming no.
- You’re visualising abundance with one hand, while clinging to lack with the other.
And here’s the part most of those self-help manuals leave out:
Awareness often arrives before change.
Long before.
It doesn’t come with fireworks or instant downloads of divine clarity.
It often just shows up as a quiet little voice whispering, “This isn’t it, is it?”
And that voice? That’s where intention begins.
Not with a pretty affirmation or a scripted vision board, but with the raw, sometimes uncomfortable, always necessary realisation:
“I see what I’m doing. I see where I am. And I can no longer pretend I don’t.”
Intention, then, isn’t something we set as much as it is something we step into.
And we’ll get to that… in a moment.
But first, let’s sit with the discomfort of awareness just a little longer.
Because if we skip that part?
We’re not intending.
We’re just pretending. Ah, finally, we arrive at the promised land: Intention.
Not the Instagram version. Not the manifestation-by-moodboard model.
But the deep, inner, soul-thumping kind that doesn’t float, it roots.
Let’s go there.
Intention
The Real Kind
You’ve likely heard the phrase, “Where attention goes, energy flows.”
Nice. Poetic.
But let’s not mistake it for a shortcut.
True intention isn’t just focusing your gaze or writing a wish in cursive on a sticky note and leaving it on the fridge.
It’s not about trying to get something.
It’s about aligning with something.
Intention is a commitment, not a craving.
Let’s be real: Most of what we call intentions are preferences in disguise.
“I intend to be wealthy.”
Translation: “I really hope I get rich, but I don’t want to change anything.”
“I intend to find love.”
Translation: “I want someone else to make me feel whole, but I’m not ready to do that for myself.”
Hard truth? Maybe. But that’s what makes it powerful.
Because here’s the thing:
Real intention has weight. It has depth. It reshapes you.
Intention Isn’t What You Want; It’s What You’re Willing to Live
When you set a genuine intention, you’re not just asking the universe for a favour.
You’re declaring what you’re ready to become.
You’re choosing a frequency and saying, “I will meet it halfway, every day if I must.” And that gap that you allow yourself to meet “Halfway” gets shorter every day, and your goal has less distance to travel; it arrives quicker.
That means your thoughts, your habits, your speech, even your silences… all start to bend around that central force like stars around gravity.
And if they don’t?
Then maybe it wasn’t an intention.
Maybe it was a daydream with good PR.
The Myth of Control and the Magic of Surrender. Here’s where intention gets beautifully paradoxical.
To live with intention doesn’t mean to grip life tighter.
It means aiming with precision… but releasing with trust.
This is where most people struggle.
They think intention is a command, “Make this happen!”
But real intention sounds more like:
“This is the truth I choose to walk in. And I trust what comes when I do.”
It’s not about controlling the outcome.
It’s about embodying the direction.
You don’t manifest the life you want by demanding it.
You manifest it by matching it, step by small, humbling step.
At its core, intention is internal alignment.
It’s when your words, actions, and values all face the same way.
It’s not always loud. Often, it’s a quiet daily fidelity to what matters.
When you live from intention, you don’t need to shout it.
People feel it in your presence.
You’re not just “saying” what you want, you are what you mean.
That’s what makes intention powerful.
Not the wish. Not the ritual. Not the crystal.
But the consistency of your being.
Intention Lives in the Body First
Before a word is spoken or a thought is formed, true intention has already registered somatically.
You can feel it.
It starts as a stillness, a centring.
You might notice your shoulders drop. Your breath deepens.
There’s a sensation, often in the chest or solar plexus, like something is gathering itself, not outwardly, but inwardly.
A quiet, embodied “yes.”
Unlike craving, which creates tension, real intention creates coherence.
Your nervous system isn’t buzzing with need. It’s humming with alignment.
There’s no grasping. No rush. Just readiness.
“Fake intention buzzes like caffeine. Real intention grounds like gravity.”
How Energy Shifts When Intention Is Real
You don’t need to announce it.
When someone lives from genuine intention, it alters the room.
You’ve felt this before: someone walks in and doesn’t say much, but their presence has weight.
Not ego. Not performance.
Weight.
That’s because intention, when it’s true, organises your energy.
Scattered thoughts start lining up.
Frantic desires slow down.
You stop leaking attention in ten directions. You become a tuning fork, vibrating at the frequency of what matters.
And this is where the magic begins.
Because everything outside you starts responding to that frequency.
Not always immediately. Not always in the form you expected.
But steadily. Accurately. In time.
Real vs. Performative Intention:
The Tell-Tale Signs
Now let’s get brutally honest.
Because we’ve all performed intention. (Guilty as charged.)
Performative Intention:
- Feels exciting, but short-lived
- Needs constant external validation (“Look at my vision board!”)
- It is often tied to outcome, image, or identity
- Collapses the moment results don’t appear
- Sounds like: “I intend to write my novel!” … (doesn’t open the laptop for 3 weeks)
Real Intention:
- Feels quietly serious, almost private
- Doesn’t seek applause, just alignment
- Is process-oriented, not outcome-dependent
- Endures discomfort, distraction, even failure
- Sounds like: “I will write today.” (and you do, even if it’s a single paragraph)
Performative intention wants to be seen.
Real intention wants to be true.
Why Most Intentions Fail (and It’s Not Laziness)
Here’s a twist:
Most people who fail to live out their intentions aren’t lazy.
They’re just disembodied.
They think the intention.
They say the intention.
But they never feel it all the way through.
Never drop it into the body.
Never sit long enough in silence for the clutter to clear, for the truth to rise.
That’s where the work is.
Not in more vision boards. Not in louder affirmations.
But in quieter alignment. FEEL IT!!
Try This: The Embodied Intention Check-In
Before setting an intention, ask:
- Do I feel this in my body? Or is it just a nice idea?
- Where do I feel it? (Chest? Gut? Throat? Tension in the jaw?)
- Does this bring me peace or pressure?
- If I didn’t tell anyone about this intention, would I still do it?
If your body tightens, hesitates, or tries to rush through the question, pause.
It may not be a true intention.
It might be a borrowed one. Or a reaction. Or a need in costume.
Wait until the answer falls into place like a key in a lock.
Then move.
Beautiful. Now that we’ve felt the difference between a hollow wish and a soul-aligned intention, let’s talk about how to set an intention properly. Not in the Pinterest-perfect, moon-circle way (though go for it if that’s your jam), but in a grounded, embodied, no-BS way that actually sticks.
This isn’t magic.
But it is sacred.
And it works, if you’re willing to show up.
How to Set an Intention Properly
(The Real Way)
1. Get Quiet First
Before setting any intention, clear the noise.
No phone. No playlist. No multitasking.
Because if you set your intention while distracted, you’ll create from distraction.
Sit still.
Close your eyes.
Breathe, not to relax, but to arrive.
Ask yourself:
“What is actually important to me right now?”
Not what you think you should want.
Not what you’re supposed to be manifesting.
But what your inner stillness already knows.
Wait.
Let it rise.
2. Feel It in Your Body
A true intention has a somatic signature.
You’ll feel it land somewhere, maybe in your chest, your gut, your spine.
If it feels tense, pressured, or performative, it’s probably not quite right.
A real intention feels like a knowing, not a pushing.
It may bring up resistance (that’s normal), but under that, it should feel like truth.
Ask:
“If I never told a soul about this, would I still commit to it?”
If yes, you’re onto something.
3. Speak It Simply and Specifically
Clarity is power.
If your intention needs a paragraph and a PowerPoint, it’s too vague.
A real intention is short, sharp, and to the point.
Not poetic. Not dramatic. Just real.
- “I intend to write with honesty every day.”
- “I intend to honour my body with movement.”
- “I intend to forgive, even if I never get closure.”
Avoid fuzzy abstractions:
“I intend to be more aligned with my higher self.” (Beautiful. But… what does that mean on Tuesday morning?)
Instead, name the embodied behaviour your intention implies.
4. Align with It Daily
Intentions are not one-and-done wishes.
They’re living agreements.
You don’t just set them, you return to them. You live them.
Here’s how:
- Revisit your intention every morning, even for 30 seconds.
- Ask: “What does this look like today?”
- Don’t aim for perfection. Aim for honest practice.
If your intention is “to be present,” then maybe today it means turning off your phone at dinner. That’s it. That’s everything.
5. Let Go of the Outcome
Once your intention is set, release your grip.
This isn’t a contract with the universe to deliver results by Friday.
This is a contract with yourself to walk a certain way.
You don’t control the weather. But you do control how you sail.
Stay in alignment. Keep your sails set. And trust that the current will carry you.
When you cling to the outcome, you sabotage the process.
When you trust the process, the outcome tends to surprise you in better ways than you imagined.
6. Adjust When Necessary (Without Guilt)
Life isn’t static. Neither is your inner landscape.
Sometimes, what felt like the right intention last month is no longer true today.
That’s not failure. That’s awareness.
Check in with your intention weekly or monthly:
- Is it still aligned?
- Is it still true?
- Have you outgrown it?
If so, bless it, and set a new one.
Growth is not betrayal. It’s the point.
In Short:
Set your intention in stillness.
Feel it in your body.
Speak it clearly.
Live it daily.
Loosen your grip.
Course-correct with love.
Done properly, intention is no longer something you “do.”
It becomes who you are.
Conclusion:
The Quiet Power That Changes Everything
In the end, intention isn’t about becoming someone new.
It’s about remembering who you already are, beneath the noise, beyond the roles, under the weight of everything you thought you had to be.
Setting an intention, a real one, is one of the most radical acts of self-respect.
It says:
“I choose to live on purpose.”
“I choose to show up, even when it’s inconvenient.”
“I choose to move toward what matters, even if I’m afraid.”
This kind of intention doesn’t need vision boards or incense (though it won’t complain if you have them).
It needs you, present, honest, awake.
The power of intention isn’t in its drama. It’s in its consistency.
It’s the small decisions you make in the quiet moments.
To pause.
To speak gently.
To finish the thing you started.
To walk away when something doesn’t honour you.
To begin again, without shame, when you slip.
So don’t worry if you’re not “manifesting miracles” this week.
That’s not the measure.
The real question is:
Are you becoming someone your soul recognises?
If yes, even just a little, then your intention is working.
Keep going.
No more pretending.
No more performing.
Just presence.
Just the truth.
Just you, aligned, aware, and quietly powerful.
Robert A Burns
5th July 2025