Life Lessons & Philosophy
7 Powerful & Life-Changing Ways To Live Your Life With Intention
Become the sculptor of your experience and turn your life into a work of art.
“Our intention creates our reality.” — Wayne Dyer
For the first 20 or so years of my life, I believed that life was a series of events that happened to me.
I accepted that whatever good or bad came my way — whatever life had in store for me — the significant events of my life were molded and shaped more by happenstance and luck than anything else.
Then one night during my senior year of college, I retreated from the blaring stereos, the stench of stale beer and spilled bong water, to dive deep into the library’s stacks for some quiet and introspection.
Quite by chance, I read something that challenged my view of how life could unfold for each of us, and it changed my outlook forever:
“Act as if what you intend to manifest in life is already a reality. Eliminate thoughts of conditions, limitations, or the possibility of it not manifesting. If left undisturbed in your mind and in the mind of intention simultaneously, it will germinate in the physical world.”― Wayne W. Dyer, The Power of Intention
Dyer was suggesting something completely contrary to my understanding and experience.
He seemed to be saying that if we are intentional about it, each of us can make life happen for us instead of to us.
This was an epiphany!
Like a sculptor starting with nothing but an idea, a lump of clay, and a handful of tools, each of us can begin with the intention of what we want our life to become. Then it’s just a matter of creating the conditions for that to happen by cutting away the unnecessary bits and molding the remainder into our vision.
As I launched myself deeper into the subject and expanded my research beyond Dyer, I discovered that many great minds had contemplated the same topic.
Just a few examples:
Master Hsing Yun:
“Intention is the core of all conscious life. Conscious intention colors and moves everything.”
Friederick von Goethe:
“The moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred… unforeseen incidents, meetings, and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.”
Henry David Thoreau:
“Thought is the sculptor who can create the person you want to be.”
Carlos Casteneda:
“In the universe there is an immeasurable, indescribable force which shamans call intent, and absolutely everything that exists in the entire cosmos is attached to intent by a connecting link.”
Deepak Chopra:
“Intentions compressed into words enfold magical power.”
These philosophers and writers were interesting, but none of their work sang to me the way Dyer’s writing did.
Dyer didn’t just philosophize; he suggested some components for leading an intentional life, and it has made all the difference for me.
He called them “The 7 Faces of Intention.” I think of these as the tools to carve and shape your life into the masterpiece of your intention.
Perhaps it will work for you, too. I want to share my interpretations of these with you now.
1. Be Creative
“You get what you intend to create by being in harmony with the power of intention, which is responsible for all of creation.” — Wayne W. Dyer
At the core of Dyer’s philosophy is the knowledge that there is a deep well of creative energy within each of us. You don’t have to be an artist to tap into it because we can be the creative genius of our own lives!
Each of us was born with the capacity to imagine our ideal future.
Just imagine the future you want, and then create the conditions in your universe to make it happen.
But we can’t attract wealth into our life by daydreaming about winning the Powerball lottery!
Michaelangelo didn’t just imagine sculpting masterpieces like the David or the Pieta. He imagined the figures, and then he worked — with hammer and chisel — for years to free the figures from the stone.
You have a choice. You can sit on the couch and daydream about the life you want, or you can intentionally bring it into existence by imagining it, banishing thoughts of why you can’t have it, and GETTING TO WORK.
2. Be Kind
“It’s through giving that we receive; it’s through acts of kindness directed toward others that our immune systems are strengthened and even our serotonin levels increased!” — Wayne W. Dyer
To be clear, both sides of the kindness equation experience increased levels of serotonin!
When you are kind to others, it makes them feel good. And when you are kind to others, it makes you feel good. Win-win!
The universe will reward your kindness with displays of kindness of its own. How?
That will be unique to you. But it will relate to the intentions you set for your life.
Have you ever heard of the “Butterfly effect?” This is the idea that small changes (like the tiny amount of air disturbed by the beating of a butterfly’s wings) can have enormous consequences on the environment later on.
I believe acts of kindness are like the beating wings of a butterfly. Even the smallest act of kindness sends ripples of positive energy into the universe. In turn, the universe will reward you with positive events, people, and tools that align with your intentions.
3. Be Love
“Just watch babies. They’re in a constant state of love. How could they possibly be so joyful? Because they’re in harmony with the source. They have no resistance to being joyful — unlike adults. You didn’t come forth into this world to suffer, to be anxious, fearful or depressed. Remember, your thoughts, not your world, cause you stress. And you can change your thoughts.” — Wayne W. Dyer
When we are loving in our encounters with the people in our lives, whether its the checkout guy at the local supermarket who puts the bread at the bottom of the bag, the woman who renews our license plate at the DMV with a scowl on her face, or the child who just spilled milk all over the Thanksgiving table, we remain free from the negative energy that would otherwise block our path to our intentional life.
Yes, things go wrong. The laws of physics reflect that the universe naturally moves from a state of order to disorder.
Our loving intentions have the power to turn our disordered and chaotic life into a masterpiece.
The key to blocking negativity? Practice engaging with the people in your life in a way that is non-judgemental and void of anger.
The anger and petty resentments that seem to rise so quickly in our daily lives are, in fact, detours from our intentional path. Why stray when it is in our control not to?
Your example of love and kindness has a positive influence on everyone (even the unpleasant DMV worker!) and may help open a pathway to happiness in their lives.
You’ll be doing them a kindness that they probably won’t recognize, but that will pay you dividends many times over.
4. Be Beauty
“Beautiful thoughts build a beautiful soul. …There’s always something beautiful to be experienced wherever you are..” — Wayne W. Dyer
When we stop clinging to the petty grievances and insignificant annoyances that serve only to distract us from the happiness that is all around us, we can instead spend those moments contemplating and enjoying the beauty that is everywhere.
One of the most important messages here is that when we accept the world as it is, we see it as it is:
Beautiful. Miraculous. Infinitely amazing.
You and everything in the world are precisely as the universe intended at this moment. And yet, you have the power to mold what your life can be in the next moment.
Begin by recognizing the beauty that is everywhere now, and use your imagination and intention to bring more beauty into the world with your very next breath.
5. Be Ever-Expansive
“It is my intention to express the genius that I am. This source is an expanding power. Look also at the genius in others, and remind them about that. — Wayne W. Dyer
Most of us are taught from an early age how to place limits on ourselves. We’re told that we’re not good at math, or that we’re not fast enough to run with the track team, or aren’t “cool” enough to eat with the in-crowd at lunch.
Craziness!
Not only are these things hurtful to us, but they also stifle our natural desire to uncover those gifts that we have hidden inside us. These hurtful lessons teach us (wrongly) to be wary of the world. We are led to believe that the world is inherently a hostile place.
It is not!
Imagine yourself living without limits. Imagine yourself with abundant potential. Imagine your power to shape your future increasing every day, and trust that with each breath, you inch closer to creating all that you intend in your masterpiece of a life.
6. Be Abundant
“Abundance is not something we acquire. It’s something we tune into.” — Wayne W. Dyer
Some cultures believe in karma — the idea that events from past lifetimes influence your current one.
But you don’t have to wait until your next life to enjoy the rewards of abundance today, because the love and positivity we send into the world comes back to us in greater and greater amounts in this lifetime.
You can afford to be generous — abundant — with your creativity, love, kindness, etc. In fact, not being generous is the surest way to find yourself lacking in those things that you desire in your life.
The positive energy we project into the universe is paid back with interest. And when this energy is connected to our intentionality, the universe rewards us by putting the right people, tools, and events in our path that bring us ever closer to our ideal future.
7. Be Receptive
“By being peaceful, quiet, and receptive, you pattern yourself in the image of God, and you regain the power of your Source.” — Wayne W. Dyer
I had a wonderful teacher, a Korean Buddhist monk, who taught me perhaps the most valuable lesson of my life. He called it, “Beginner’s mind.”
“For the beginner, everything is possible. For the expert, very little is possible.”
My teacher helped me understand by this statement that being receptive to new ideas, rather than holding on tightly to my views and opinions, is the way to fully experience the world.
All things become possible when you believe that all things are possible.
In the early years of the 20th century, Albert Einstein believed that it was possible to understand and describe gravity more profoundly and accurately than physicists before him.
While other physicists were constrained by Isaac Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation, which Newton first described in 1687, Einstein allowed himself to be receptive to the possibility that there was more to the universe and gravity than Newton’s work described.
The result was arguably the most consequential physical theory in the history of science: the General Theory of Relativity, which Einstein quietly published in 1915.
The point here is that you don’t have to be a super-genius to be willing to see the world in a new and fresh way. Each moment is fresh and new, and each moment opens doors to opportunities and possibilities that didn’t exist a moment ago.
If you intend it, you can be like Einstein and see the possibilities that other people don’t.
Relax, and let it happen. Intend it to happen.
“The law of attraction is this: You don’t attract what you want. You attract what you are.” — Wayne W. Dyer
Conclusion
Would you do something a little crazy with me right now?
I want you to say the following phrases out loud and believe what you say.
I am creative. I am kind. I am loving. I am beautiful. I am ever-expansive. I am abundant. I am receptive.
Feels good, right?
Now plan on repeating these phrases over and over again throughout the day. And again tomorrow, and the next day too. Now you are sculpting your masterpiece: your life!
When you live your life with the 7 Faces of Intention, the universe will reward you by providing the right tools and the right people at the right time in the right circumstances so that you may achieve your most deeply felt desires.
Living intentionally challenges you to be focused on creating the conditions in your universe for your intentions to become manifest in your life. When you approach each day believing that you — and those around you — have the choice to be creative, kind, loving, beautiful, ever-expansive, abundant, and receptive, why would you choose any other tools to sculpt your life?
Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself, and let me know how the universe rewards you.
Maybe we’ll even meet at the Louvre sometime to see your masterpiece and talk about it over a cup of coffee.
May I give you a “Thank You” gift for reading my work?
Download my FREE Stories Management Tool for Medium writers. It’s your choice of an Excel or Google Sheets spreadsheet that will help you organize your stories from first draft through publication. I hope that you will love it.
