Creating Intentions for 2020
The New Year is full of excitement, potential, and big dreams. Often we feel pressured to write down our resolutions on the New Year for fear we will miss the energetic boat. It can be an overwhelming time when we lose our grounding and forget that the universe is always supporting us- even if that means we take a few extra days to write our intentions.
As you feel into the vibrations of this New Year, give yourself plenty of time and space to craft your intentions. These are not resolutions which generally are a list of goals. Intentions develop new lifestyle choices and hold space for energetic shifts. They are gentle daily reminders about what we are calling in and manifesting in our lives. They are not hard and fast, but flexible and yielding to changes in the energetic vibrations of our lives. Intentions serve as a guide, not as a pressure to change or a list of never-ending to-dos. For instance, a resolution is “to meditate every morning” where an intention is “to create more feelings of calm in my life.” Your intentions may include things to do, but they are not the main focus. The focus is on the vibration you are cultivating, may it be calmness, joy, gratitude or love.
Before creating your New Year’s intentions, feel into the vibrations you want to carry throughout 2020. How do you want to feel each day? How do you want your life to make you feel? How do you want others to feel when they are around you? These are the places to start when writing your intentions and New Year’s affirmations. Below are some suggestions on what you can do prior to writing your intentions to help you gain even more clarity. They can be done on New Year’s day or you can practice them for the next 10 days while the Moon is still waxing and supporting you in designing your life. After the Full Moon, Jan 10th the energy will lean towards release. Until then, though, take your time with your intentions and give yourself space to design the next year.
1.Meditate Every Morning
Meditation is the number one way to become clear in your energy and hear the voice of your intuition. It is from this place of clarity that you will know, from deep within your soul, what you truly want. If you feel lost, or distracted, start with meditation. It may not seem that way in the moment, but five minutes a day can add up to a grand vision of exactly how you want your life to play out.
2. Write the Daily 5/5
This daily exercise is recommended for the days leading towards writing your intentions, as it will help you craft them. You can also continue this practice daily throughout the year as a way to check in with yourself and the dreams you are pursuing. I personally have been creating this list daily for over 15 years and it has changed my life.
Make two columns on a piece of paper. On the first, write 5 things you have to do that day. These can be errands, to-do lists items, or simply reminding yourself to eat lunch. This piece will give clarity to your current daily commitments. You may feel excited about your day or you may feel resentful for your obligations. With all of this information, begin to make mental or physical notes of the tasks you truly enjoy and the ones you dread.
Next, write 5 things that you want to do in your life. They can occur at any time and there are no limits. These are your deep resounding yes’s. Things like “Buy a house in the mountains”, “Travel to the Maldives”, or “Develop unconditional love for myself and others.” Do not worry about how or why at this point, just write about the things you want to do or who you want to become. As you write these lists every day, you’ll begin to see a pattern. Some things will change, while others will stay the same. Keep up this practice through months or years, and look back to see what was consistent versus what was just a fleeting desire.
3. Know your No’s
Knowing what you don’t want is just as important as knowing what you do want. Before stating your intentions, write down what you are not allowing into your life in 2020. Consider this an exercise in creating boundaries. Through addressing these energies which are not invited, you will make yourself more aware when they do try to enter your world. This awareness will give you the power to stop what you don’t want before it has a chance to distract your focus. Write down your no’s. These can be habits, limiting beliefs, actions by others, addictions, and comfort zones. Write on what you are not willing to tolerate in your life in 2020.
4. Feel Your Dreams
You may find your list of desires changes every day and you don’t know which dream you really want. This uncertainty is natural. It’s also natural to want something one day, then get it, only to find out you want something different. Often times we need to “try on” different dreams before we can know which one is best. We can do this by actually trying them out or we can get a taste of how our body and energy reacts to the vision through daydreaming. Even when our mind can’t decide, our bodies never lie.
Say you want a new job, but you’re unsure of where you want to work. You have two companies in mind, maybe more. Sit back and allow your body to relax. Before you start the practice, do a quick body scan by mentally going through your body from head to toes. Notice any existing tension. Don’t try to change anything, just notice what is already present in your energy. Now begin to imagine, in detail, a day of work at the first company. After you’ve gone through your imaginary day, go back to the body scan and notice if anything has changed. Observe any new tension or the release of previous tension. Feel how your body reacted to the dream, were there any blocks or openings? Take a few breaths to reset, then start the process for the second dream. Afterward compare how you felt in the two different scenarios. Your body can tell you a lot of things, like when something doesn’t fully resonate with you or where fear is hiding. Spend time exploring and use this information from your energetic field to form your resolutions.
You can do this practice as often as you like and with as many different scenes you can dream up, just tune in and let your body lead the way. Once you begin to understand your body’s messages, these signals can become part of your intuitive knowledge- always with you and capable of giving you information the mind can’t sense.
5. Ask the Cards for Guidance
Pulling cards can help you access your intuition to a greater degree. When we pull cards, we really are using the cards to guide us to our own personal truth. You can use any cards you like. Some of our favorites are; The Moon Deck, The Wild Unknown, Biddy Tarot Cards, Dreamy Moons Affirmation Cards, and Inner Compass Cards. To learn how to pull cards please refer to the Card Pulling blog here.
6. Write your Intentions!
There are plenty of ways to write your intentions on the New Year. You can simply make a list of goals you plan on achieving in 2020. You can also write powerful “I am statements” or affirmations which state the energy you are calling into your world this year. These are intentional statements about the vibration you are cultivating in your life. You can also write dreamtime sequences that I create for each New Moon Workbook. This form of intention setting asks you to visualize the life you want to live in detail as if you are watching a movie. You write in stories, creating new realities for yourself and believing with every ounce of your being that this vision is your truth. You, in essence, embody the vision of your new life and new self. For further detail on how to write this sequence the please refer to the New Moon in Capricorn workbook. There is also a section in this workbook that gives space for writing different affirmations for each area of your life.
Enjoy this process of getting to know yourself on a deeper level. Do not feel rushed in making your intentions, the New Year energy will be around for a while. Also, on January 10th, the Full Moon in Cancer, we have all planets moving forward, helping to catapult you to the next level of you. Ground through your body and your intentions before we reach this fast-paced cosmic energy. Remember, anything is possible this year and every year.
Happy New Year, may it bring you magic, abundance, love, and your best life.