How to Create a Powerful Intention (Sankalpa)

I hope you are feeling well today and are in the groove of Springtime! The bluebonnets are finally out here in the Texas Hill Country, which always makes me happy. They’re not as spectacular as last year, but they’re doing their best, I’m sure! 

And now with the New Moon behind us, I’ve been reflecting on our last Chakra Savvy™ Intention session.  It was so powerful!  As we went through the process of setting our intentions, I realized something that I wanted to bring to you here, and that’s how to create a powerful intention that will bring about the changes you truly desire. There is a skill to this, and I’m here to help! 

First, it really helps to settle the mind. If you ask your active mind a question, you won’t get at your deep heart answers, which are closer to your soul’s desire. So begin by settling your mind with some simple breath and movement connection. (In this week’s Chakra Savvy podcast episode 57 I take you through these steps more in-depth, so tune in wherever you listen to podcasts or on my podcast page!)

Once you’re settled, put your attention in your heart space and ask yourself what you truly desire, or whatever question would suit your intention topic. Then journal any response that comes up. This is not the time to edit or judge–just let it flow like stream of consciousness. 

From there, it’s time to edit down your words and find the true sankalpa (intention) of your heart. 

I have a few good guidelines for sankalpa, and they are that a strong intention statement should be:

-stated in the positive.

-succinct.

-in the present tense.

-a strong/declarative statement.

When you’re deciding to DO something or BE a new way, it’s best to make a positive statement because the body, and its connection to the mind, doesn’t understand a negative. So rather than, “I will not tell a lie,” say, “I will always tell the truth.”

Next, be succinct. How succinct they should be is up to you, but the guide I like to use is the breath. There’s a beautiful Rumi poem with the line “I will set you on my breath, and you will become my life.” This is also the approximate tempo of one breath: inhale “I will set you on my breath…” Exhale: “and you will become my life.”

So I think if we’re creating something to become our life, we should set it on the breath. If we set it on the breath, it can only be so long. So that’s my first piece of advice when you’re editing: make it as long as a full breath, or less.

Next, put your intention in the present tense, as though it is already happening. So for example:  instead of “I will engage with others with love and compassion” it is “I engage with others with love and compassion.” This means to the brain that you are stating and defining who you are and how you operate in the world currently. This is who you say you are, therefore it becomes who you are. So change any “I will” future statements to present statements and see how it feels! 

Finally, make your statement bold and strong. There is power in simplicity, so get as close to an I AM statement as you can with the fewest number of words. So for the last example, “I engage with others with love and compassion,” this gets more powerful when you distill it to the mantra “I am love and compassion.” Now it’s really who you are, not just how you act. 

One last thing, if you really want to have some fun and make it a breath mantra, you can divide it into two parts:

Inhale: I am love.

Exhale: I am compassion. 

I don’t know if you’ve ever tried working with intentions or affirmation statements, but I hope you decide to try. It’s a powerful practice, and one that can become a valuable practice for living life with thoughtful action, rather than reaction. We’ll focus on the heart chakra, Anahata, at the next New Moon Intention session on Sunday, April 27, at 10am Central. Those who show up live get some extra coaching about their intentions, which proved very powerful last week. I hope to see you there! 

May you tune in to your greatest desire, may set it on your breath, and may it become your life.

Much love