In Paulo Coelho’s book, “The Archer” the main character, Tetsuya, teaches a boy the way of the archer. Tetsuya compares the bow to life, while the arrow is the intention. If our life is in alignment with our authentic truth and our intention is to live to the fullness of who we are, when we draw back the bow—life, then release the arrow—our intention, we will always hit our mark.

Intentions are powerful sources of energy. We can intend anything to work out for our best interest, yet for this to happen our intention must align with our true selves. Often times we think that life is in control. We believe we have to take it as it comes. But what if before we did anything, drew back the bow of life, we set an intention for things to work out for our best, then released our arrow with the intention of everything working out for us?

Many would think setting an intention is nothing more than wishful thinking. Yet they would be wrong. The issue is most people have little experience with setting an intention then releasing it to the universe. Imagine shooting arrows into the air with no real target in mind. What a waste of good arrows.

Life is much the same way. We go about our day with little thought as to what we are doing or where we are going. Autopilot seems to be our normal way of moving through life, but we feel little satisfaction for how life is unfolding.

This is where setting an intention can benefit us. Think of it as asking for the perfect parking spot at the market or gym, before leaving the house. Then with faith in our intention we draw back and release it into the world. Just like envisioning our arrow in the bullseye, we intend the right spot when we arrive at our destination.

Intending is not only limited to parking spots. We can intend anything that aligns with our truth. We cannot intend a negative outcome for someone who caused us pain. This would go against the love that is the foundation of who we are.

Like the archer practicing for many hours to hone their skill, we may have to practice our ability to intend. Beginning with parking spots and a nice row of greenlights, we can move onto meeting the right person at the right time, the perfect house, horse, car, weather. As long as our truth and love are at the core of our intention we will hit our mark.

There will be times our intention falls short. This may frustrate us causing us to throw this powerful manifesting tool aside. One thing to remember, if an intention doesn’t work out there is something better in the works. There may be a reason we have to park out in the hinterlands at the gym. Think of the relationships we thought were “The One” only to be grateful they fell apart. When this happens we must remember that there is always something better out there.

Intentions may also come up short when we think they align with our truth, but upon closer examination they really don’t. Our truth is the energy that fuels our life. As Tetsuya teaches, life is the bow, the arrow our intention, when these two align, we will hit the mark every time, even if we cannot see the target.

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How have you incorporated intending into your life? Let me know, please leave a comment below. I’m always open to hearing your point of view.

Here is some exciting news. I just published my book, “Abundance to Zen, Wisdom for a Fulfilling Life.” This book was fun to write and is unlike my other books. Each letter of the alphabet is a chapter. Within each chapter are mini chapters with titles beginning with the same letter as the main chapter.

Chapter “A” has Abundance, Accountability, and Authenticity, for example, all the way to “Z”. It may seem like a lot but each mini chapter is no longer that 800 words or two and a half pages.

My intention was to have short chapters that could be quickly read for a bit of inspiration or clarity. There are chapters on monsters, villains, warriors, and service. Click the link to read more. This link will take you to the Amazon page. An eBook version is also available.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735766917/ref=sr_1_1?sr=8-1

Thank you for your support, I am truly grateful to share my journey with you.

Peace and well-being,

Paul