“Be mindful of intention. Intention is the seed the creates our future.”
– Buddhist Proverb
As the weeks of quarantine and isolation continue, finding daily purpose is becoming more difficult. I struggle to maintain focus on larger creative projects, so listening attentively to my body and leaning into deep self-compassion and forgiveness is relaxing me into a broader definition of productivity. At the root of our productivity is intention, or purpose. If we plant the seed of positive purpose and nurture that intention with our actions, we create the best possible garden in which to bloom and thrive.
The Growing Seeds of Intention in the Heart Meditation encourages us to plant our seed of positive purpose in our heart, visualize its steady growth, celebrate its maturity in gratitude, and share its prolific abundance with others.
Growing Seeds of Intention in the Heart Meditation
- Sit up straight in a chair, spine tall and feet flat on the floor.
- Take three deep breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.
- Think of your intention as a seed in the palm of your hand. What does your seed look like? Repeat your intention yourself or aloud.
- An intention could be love, joy, compassion, patience, tolerance, kindness, forgiveness, active listening…
- Close your eyes and place the palm of your hand over your heart. Imagine your seed of intention being planted in your heart. Repeat your intention and water your seed. Imagine it beginning to take root and grow.
- Continue repeating your intention as you imagine the seed growing in your heart. It is beginning to blossom! What does it become? Perhaps its blooms are your favorite color, or its leaves a unique shape.
- When your seed has finished growing, acknowledge your gratitude for its presence in your heart.
- Take one big breath and open your eyes.
- Remember: The true power of your purpose is inside of you and your garden is unique!
During this unprecedented time of isolation, setting intention can create a path to change or simply keep us focused on the present. I have facilitated this meditation at the conclusion of workshops and implemented it in weekly and daily meditation practice. Intentions can be set as a group or individually. When I was teaching, my students journaled daily. We set our group intention weekly and would discuss the actions that would support our intention, or purpose for the week. What actions support our intention? What does that intention look like? How do we hold ourselves accountable in our purpose? In their journals, they would draw a flower with the intention written in the middle. Each petal listed a supportive action to the intention. In addition, we created an intention garden on the wall, adding a new flower each week. In this time of quarantine, I encourage families to participate in this activity – perhaps create a colorful, window intention garden as a reminder of your collective purpose.
