Our intention can be very powerful. It is powerful because we can liken it to sowing a seed in our consciousness. What we sow, we reap. Many of us know this to be called Karma. Karma literally means action. Karma is the law of cause and effect. It is intimately linked to our intentions and the choices we make every moment.
”Be mindful of intention. Intention is the seed that creates our future
Buddha
What I have come to realise is that the future is the next moment.
I love Gil Fronsdal, a meditation teacher’s analogy. He says we live in a sea of cause and effect.
It is like when you throw a pebble into the pond and watch how the water ripples out. If you throw one pebble, then the wave pattern of the ripple is quite concentrated and simple but if you throw many pebbles, then the waves created by the pebbles are more complex as the ripples hit each other.
This is the way things are in life. Our intention and the choices we make determines how complex those big or small the ripples will be. I believe this is why some people have more sufferings and dramas in their lives. By dramas I don’t mean illnesses or tragic accidents. I meant sufferings in the form of emotional storms or dissatisfaction with life which arise from conflict within ourselves or with others due to expectations, judgements or self-preoccupation. This is largely due to social media, scarcity mindset and the constant pressure to perform better in schools and improve bottomlines in organisations.
If we do not regularly check in with our highest intention, we lose sight of the big picture and what is important to us. We can get caught up in the heat of the moment and say things we regret later or put unnecessary pressures on ourselves and our loved ones just to keep up with the jones.
Mindfulness allows us to clearly see the way things are. When we couple mindfulness with checking in with our deepest intention, our wise heart will give us the wisdom to know how to respond in situations that give rise to emotional storms. Ultimately, we will find that our deepest intention as human beings are to have peace, love, deep connection with others and happiness. When we stay true to this intention, the choices we make will align with integrity, generosity, compassion and kindness.
