My Intentions Are Good

 

Farmers have been doing it for centuries, planting crops by the new moon, and harvesting when it’s full. The moon phases are even named, such as the Buck Moon, the Harvest Moon, and the Hunter’s Moon. We make resolutions on New Year’s Day, which is timed to the position of the Sun. Even the Farmer’s Almanac, that much-revered guide that was first published in 1792, has whole sections and calendars devoted to sowing crops and doing household tasks based on the phase of the moon. So when I say I set my intentions by the New Moon, why is that such a surprise?

I started setting specific intentions a couple of years ago, using the format of my One Little Word project and my Cultivate What Matters PowerSheets, but it wasn’t until last year that I started doing so in a ritualistic way. What is my ritual and why ritualize it, you might ask? Allow me to share…

Setting my intentions by the new moon is a reminder to check in with my goals now and then. I try not to miss a new moon, but if I do, it’s okay because I know I’ve done it almost every other month. I like keeping in touch with my goals; sometimes I need that subtle reminder to get to work on making them happen, and it’s always good to refresh those goals and realize I’ve made some good progress.

My rituals are pretty simple – I try to find a nice quiet place to do some meditation first. It’s good to clear my head of all the distractions so I can really concentrate on what I want to achieve. I sometimes add a candle or some ambient music, but not always. A comfy chair is a must. I do like an occasional cup of tea, but coffee works, too. I start out with some breathing exercises and try to relax all over. Once I’m in a good mental and physical space, I start thinking about what I might want to manifest. I imagine it in as much detail as possible, and once I have that full picture, I can start to write it down. 

I write my intentions in a composition notebook that I covered with pretty scrapbook paper. Before I ever wrote my first scripting in it, I wrote my manifesto where I stated that my intention for this book of intentions was “to do only good and to do no harm.” That part was very important to me because we all know the phrase “be careful what you wish for.”

Sometimes my scripting is long. Sometimes it’s very short. Sometimes it’s in paragraph format, and sometimes it is just a bulleted list, but I mostly write about the same things, such as my intentions to spend more quality time with my family, to strengthen my relationship with my husband, to grow my business along with this blog and our podcast, and to be a healthier, happier person.

Is there a right way or a wrong way to do it? I don’t know. I’m still very new to the whole idea, but I figure it can’t hurt, right? Christen is much more knowledgeable about scripting and setting intentions than I am. Everything I know, I basically learned from her. In fact, I’m looking forward to learning more about it when we go on our GreenMan Holistic cruise in October. One of the classes being offered is “Journaling for Magical Purposes” (Scripting), and I’m excited to see what new things I can learn from our expert, Arthur Graye. Until then, I guess I’ll just keep doing it the way I’ve been doing it and hope that it’s working more than it’s not.

Do you script or journal your intentions? We’d love to hear about it.

For more information about our GreenMan Holistic cruise, click the link here: Cruise Info