The Interplay of Intentions and Goals
Gently bringing your 2021 dreaming seeds into manifestation.
Greeting Sunny Optimists,
Well now!
We are into 2021, and more of the same appears to be out ahead of us. I send you my appreciation for being with me on this adventure to sustain our optimism. Knowing that you are out there is helping me to cope with yet another lockdown.
Each week as my writing cycle begins, I imagine you in your homes doing your best to stay in balance in these challenging times. It is such a gift to be in a relationship with you. I am even more determined to do my bit to bring a little sunshine to your email box.
Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year.
Winter Dreaming - Nurturing our Wishes for 2021
Over the last few weeks, we have been on a beautiful Winter Dreaming journey together.
We looked back over the year to remind ourselves of what happened month by month, and we identified the highlights and lowlights. We then decided what we wanted to 'let go of' and also what we wanted to 'take forward' with us. This review process created space in our awareness to seek out our wishes for 2021. These wishes, our dreaming seeds, are foundational to our wellbeing, and they fuel our optimism too.
We then entered our inner cave of stillness, silence, and spaciousness to touch the dreaming seeds that are stirring within us. We created the seed bundles that will guide us through 2021. In this week’s Newsletter, we move into a process of gently nurturing these beautiful dreams into manifestation.
It has been a great experience participating in this Winter Dreaming journey with you. The photograph above is the altar that David and I created for this time. You can see our seed bundles there.
The Interplay between Intentions and Goals
As we emerge into the daylight from our inner cave of dreaming, we are now ready to let our insights move into form. Imagine that these beautiful seeds are germinating in your awareness. It is now time to nourish them into their fullest potential.
To do this, it came to me today to explore the contrast between intention setting and goal setting. These approaches both play their part in helping to touch into what lies within the seeds. There is a blueprint within each that guides us in how to bring them into manifestation.
This exploration should be energising. If you feel any reluctance, then please stop and have a cuppa. Often this drop in energy tells us some perfectionism may be at play. I find being in the 'good-enough' mode is helpful. This way of ‘good enough’ appreciates that our wishes will take their own time and space to burst forth. Be at ease is the best motto at this stage.
Intention Setting
Intentions are the first translation of our dreaming seeds into form. They weave together heart and mind as they unfurl into what we wish to bring forward this year.
Often I find there is a story within each intention. This story connects what has 'gone before' with what I am 'dreaming of' now. Intentions touch into the emotional realm and bring with them a lovely sense of warmth and optimism. They craft a positive understanding of ourselves as we move towards what we wish to manifest in our lives.
Here are a couple of my intentions from this year's dreaming time.
This year I will live more fully into my identity as an Elder in the Earth Wisdom tradition I carry. I am committed to relating to others from the insight my connection with this Wisdom offers. I do this in the service of the people, the projects, and the communities I love.
I will continue my journey to find healing to my Hashimoto's condition. I will maintain my learning in nutrition and supplementation. I will stay connected with my professional advisors while trusting my own knowing of what is needed for my wellbeing.
Can you see the narrative that I am creating in each of the statements? It feels delicious to establish the essence of what I want for this year. One of the intentions is quite lofty, and one much more practical, which makes me smile.
I recommend that you begin with intention setting and then move to goal setting. I find that once I have confidence in what I have set as intentions, the goals follow more smoothly.
Goal Setting
With goal setting, we move from the internal motivation of intention setting to the seeking out of results-orientated action. We are beginning to externalise and bring concreteness to the what and the how. I am a bit more comfortable with the intention setting process, if I am honest. Yet, over the years, I have learned to respect the focus that goal setting brings.
Again remember to watch your energy, and if it starts to drop, stop, and see if you are trying to make your goals too perfect.
So here we go with the age-old mnemonic SMART. (Been around a while but still has juice.) (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timebound).
Here are some tips for ‘good enough’ goal setting. To make the goals specific and relevant, I tend to play a bit with the verb at the beginning of each sentence. If I get that right, the rest of the goal usually follows quite smoothly. Since these are annual goals, you can take your time and be gentle with the timings and attainability. Ensure they are challenging enough to bring focus without feeling too heavy. Measurable can come in many guises. From 0 to a number as in my goal one below, or I have identified external test results to determine progress, as you can see in goal 2.
Here are a couple of goals I have set related to the intentions above.
Over the next six months, I contribute as a facilitator to 10 programs dedicated to healing our planetary ills. For example, Bright Future Now, 100 years, Choosing Earth, and The Pachamama Alliance.
Every quarter of 2021, I will conduct blood tests to monitor my progress with Hashimoto's disease. I will use this information to inform conversations with my trusted advisors.
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So there you go my buddies, this newsletter has a different flavour from the last four weeks which has been fun to craft for you. I so appreciate that we are moving forward in the creation of intentions and goals that bring us closer to a happy and healthy 2021.
Let me know how you are getting on, If you find the two processes tricky, please feel free to send me a comment. I am very happy to support you to bring your dreaming seeds into form.
I think that just to be able to think more gently and more clearly will help me. It can be a beautiful time of year just to think. Yes one can make resolutions. What I’m trying to do is stagger them. I began by my first resolution of January 1st to write a short story each day for the year wgich is quite ambitious I think. But the discipline shall help me to then start the next resolution of January 8th onwards to go for a walk each day. And then if I can do that to gently and the word gently is important - to discipline myself to do a good healthy cooked meal each day from the fifteenth onwards
Ten years ago my support worker endorsed my maxim of “ being disciplined about relaxation and being relaxed about getting more disciplined.
It can be a bright time of year. Even with few hours of daylight there’s still lots of room for hope
Very best wishes Anne. Look forward to the next posts as always. Richard. 😊
Thank-you for making the distinction between intentions and goals. I had a conversation today with my partner about the futile nature of me creating any goals as I never seem to follow through. I decided that I would set aside this weekend to review 2020 in the way that you suggested in the Winter dreaming series as the nights are still very long here for a while yet! I have been holding an idea for the last few years and I am wondering about next steps that will be manageable. My experience is always to do something as creating a step by step plan has never worked for me! Hopefully, planting some seeds will help keep the why, high in my mind!