The Art of Setting Intention(s): How to Effectively Co-Create with the Universe

Life isn’t about finding yourself.

Life is about creating yourself.

– George Bernard Shaw

As the world around us is going through huge transitions, so are many of us. Big or small, a transition presents a whole set of challenges, one of them being how to “manifest” what we really want and how to really trust that it is happening.

Even if you do not feel yourself as being in transition right now, the constant chaos of today’s world might create some anxiety or even a sense of paralysis. If that is the case, don’t worry: you are not alone. I see it in the healing room every day and I witness it around me on a daily basis.

In both cases, one important antidote is to be able to re-enter a space and mode of co-creating with the Universe. This true partnership is the best remedy I know against feeling anxious, stuck, and fearful of the future. And it starts with a huge component: the art of setting intention(s).

Neuroscience research helps understand why and how this antidote works. Setting an intention stimulates your frontal lobes, one of the key centers of conscious decision-making and motivation. It’s also where imagination and creativity take place. Frontal lobe stimulation is then going to limit emotional volatility generated by the limbic regions of the brain, allowing you to experience less neurological stress, anxiety, frustration, confusion, doubt, fear and uncertainty. In other words, intentionality is also a powerful way to actually regulate your emotions and give you a sense of peace.

From a spiritual standpoint, it allows you to shift the focus from the “have not” to the energy that you choose to put forward in your life and in the world, now. This, in itself, helps you operate at a higher vibration.

In this post, I want to unpack for you, step-by-step, the art of setting intention(s) and how it is truly an act of co-creation (more than “manifestation”).

• Preparing your intention(s):
  1. Start by writing down what you know (or think that you know) about what you “want.” At first, you might just know pieces of it. Don’t let yourself be stuck, just write down all that you feel that you would like to manifest, whether it is material or more ethereal.
  2. Support your inquiry with visual clues – drawing, collage, etc. whatever might help you explore what you may want, what might inspire you.
  3. Start unpacking each piece, as much as you can, and going deeper into the essence of what you are looking for (for instance: living a simpler life; being closer to nature; having a space to gather people… those are just examples) and keep going into what’s behind each desire until you can identify very specific energies / essences / feelings.
  4. Then, take one piece at a time and truly activate it in your body: feel it as if it was already part of your life, visualize it, smell it, hear it, taste it… depending of the senses that are the most important for you (I usually recommend to activate at least two of your five senses). And write a sentence in the present tense that captures your feeling. Associate it with an inspiring picture, a sound, a piece of music or a song, a movement or physical sensation, the smell of an essential oil, the touch of a stone or object that you are going to carry with you at all times… whatever works best for you as a reminder of how it feels to be already living that reality.

This process can take a few days or more. Don’t try to do it all at once. Take your time and revisit each piece several times, even when you feel that you are “done,” as more elements may come to the surface and surprise you.

• Setting your intention:

Then, take each element and set, in simple terms, what you are calling for. For instance: simplicity. “May I co-create with the Universe a life in which simplicity is at the core of how I live and all that I do.” And choose one sentence for each of your “desires.” The words don’t have to be perfect but they need to resonate with you, they need to feel right to you. The point is to really “feel” it and then to open up enough to trust the Universe to support you in your co-creation.

• Closing your intention with an opening to the Universe:

During a healing session, every time I set aloud the intention(s) for a journey, based on what the client has shared and asked for, I always conclude by a general sentence that you can adjust as:

“Beyond what I know and what I don’t know,

What I may think that I know and don’t know,

Beyond what I have said and not said,

I am asking to receive exactly what I need, and so it is.”

What this does is giving permission to the Universe to send you indeed exactly what you need, which might look (or not) like what you have in mind, but will fit the essence of your desire. This is where the trust enters into play: knowing that you are being held by the flow of your own life and that co-creation is happening. You set the intention and your release at least part of the outcomes.

This is my invitation to you: Re-entering a deep partnership with the Universe, one of co-creation!

Enjoy. Share. And have fun co-creating!

Béatrice Pouligny | Shamanic Healer and Spiritual Mentor

beatrice.pouligny@shamanicspiritualhealing.com