Consider the steps you take to plan your day. Perhaps you organize your thoughts on paper or use a calendar to keep track of each daily task. You may even move through your day on a whim, moving from goal to goal as inspiration strikes. No matter the method you use to achieve your daily aims, the root of everything you do is intention.
Intention is everything. Without a daily intention, you’re wandering aimlessly through your life without a plan. Take a moment to check your intention, right now. What is it that you want out of life today? What do you want to gain today? By consciously setting an intention, you can start to examine the motivations behind each intention. Our goal is to help you take that examination one step further by identifying types of intentions. Deciding to set an intention to have peace, compassion, joy, to be more present in your interactions with people, perhaps to be on time to your commitments? The bottom line is when you set an intention, you’re in turn tapping into a higher consciousness, slowing down your mind and ultimately transforming your life.
Richard Seaman, founder and director of Seattle Life Coach Training (SLCT), has spent decades teaching students how to identify their intentions and indeed their goals and motivations so that they can achieve their highest and greatest selves. Richard has identified two levels of intent:
Low-level intention. This is an intention that’s all about you. What am I going to get? How does this benefit me? It is self-centered and the only person who will win is you.
High-level intention. A High-level intention is about glorifying God, Universe, Spirit to bring your greatest gift into the world. You can take your high-level contribution into the world with the intention to up-level the world through your unique God-given gifts and talents that only you have to offer. You are your own unique life force and when you decide to use this force within you for the greater and higher good of all, then everyone wins versus just you.
Richard’s intention today is to open your consciousness, and in doing so, show
you how you can elevate your life in the service of others and the world at
large. The act of shifting your focus from yourself, and toward the greater
good is part of what Richard calls ‘spiritual labor.’
We all need to be in spiritual labor. We must be seeking to give birth to our highest self. Spiritual labor is work. It’s the work we must put ourselves through to become our greatest and highest selves so that we can perform miracles in the world. If everyone was seeking to give birth to their greatest and highest self the whole world would rise!
Spiritual labor can be broken down into 4 types of work:
Physical work. Your body is the vessel you have been given. If you don’t take care of the gift of life you can’t help yourself, nor can you help others. Nourishment is not just of the soul, but of the body. Treat yourself kindly. Give yourself the right nutrition and rest and work daily to achieve health. A nourished vessel is a nourished Spirit.
Mental work. Keep your mind in the right space. You must seek to be in alignment with your greatest and highest self. I like to call this mental dieting. You stay awake and aware of the things you are speaking and thinking, and if you find yourself having sinking thinking thoughts you quickly reframe them into a positive.
Emotional work. Often referred to as ‘heart work.’ You must be open to love, empathy, sympathy, devotion and perhaps the most important thing: forgiveness. Forgiveness for yourself and for others. If there is anyone outside of your heart space including you simply close your eyes, place your hand on your heart and love them from a distance if it is unsafe or tell them you love them, forgive and move on. You do this for yourself more than for them, as you free yourself from anger, bitterness and grudges you will find your life transformed.
Spiritual work. This is a daily connection to your higher power. Every day that you intend to be your greatest and highest self, you must strive for this connection. Spiritual work is about prayer and meditation. To pray is to ask. To meditate is to listen. Your spiritual work is to take your problems, to take your ‘asks’ to God. But that’s not enough, it’s not the complete picture. Too often we as humans fail to listen. Prayer and meditation must coincide. Ask – Listen – Do.
As we approach the notions of work and intention, ask yourself: if God were an employer, would I be hired? The first requirement for the job is to be spiritually reliable. As with any employer, God needs someone who will show up every day, ready to give labor, ready to be called upon to act with their life for the greater and higher good.
The second requirement is commitment. Spiritually Reliable people are 100% committed to their divine purpose and the job given to them. It is an honor to be called, it is an honor to be alive and when you choose to live your life in the right ways you transform your life and the lives around you.
The final requirement is attitude. Someone who has anchored themselves in their spiritual work has what Richard calls an “activated attitude.” Their intention is present, and they have aligned their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual self with the greater, higher good. They show up each day ready to participate. This active attitude and acknowledgment that you are here to do the divine work are what God is searching for. You can be a vessel that God needs to do the work in the world.
Everyone can be a capable vessel, you are thereby spiritually reliable and ready to be hired by the divine. The next step is to raise your intention.
Your job as a spiritually reliable person is to have a high-level intention that serves the greater, higher good of all. When you pursue higher-level intentions, you enrich not only yourself, but you give birth to a power in the world that will transform the world.
Consider for a moment the power in elevating not only yourself but those around you, just by shifting your intention from one that looks to serve only you, to one that looks high above the world around you and wants everyone to win. Your goals, hopes, dreams and wishes for yourself can be achieved and shared with others, simply by raising your intentions.
Raising your intention is directly tied to the core message of spiritual reliability, which is to simply do the right thing. When you do the right thing, the world around you rises to meet your success, and everyone around you benefits.
Many times, in his life and in his work, Richard has come across the word, ‘righteousness.’ People tend to wield this word in a context that rubs many of us the wrong way. The sharpness of the word ‘righteousness,’ the way it tends to sink in your chest, stems from false conceptions of what it means to be righteous. Richard set out to redefine the word and isolate the true meaning of what it means to be righteous. Righteousness, at its very core, means “right use.” The right use of your mind, your body, your spirit – Your Life.
You may be asking, Am I righteous? How can I tell if I’m doing the right thing? How can I make the right use of my life using the inherent good and love that I was born with? How do I find my way back from the fear and the trauma of life, and assert myself in the pure love I had when I came into this world?
As Marianne Williamson writes. What you were born with is love, and what I have learned here is fear. The only thing that is real is love, therefore, your answer is always to come from a place of love, the best question you can ask yourself is “how can I apply love right here”. Then raise your intention, shift your focus to “right use” of your life. Show up as a spiritually reliable person with the sole intention to elevate the greater and higher good in the world.
Hopefully, you feel inspired to act upon and raise your intentions today. As you go out into the world, remember that a higher intention doesn’t have to be an attempt to solve the world’s ills. Not every high intent has to be monumental. Your intent must simply manifest into the world in such a way that you’re using your gifts for the greater good of those around you.
Remember that even the smallest shifts can make a massive difference in the world. Consider an action as routine as getting a cup of coffee. Perhaps the daily intention for you is to be kind and acknowledge someone who serves you. Raising this intent is as simple as acknowledging the people who woke up today, went to work and labored to give you your coffee. The gratitude you show to those employees is in fact a manifestation of serving the higher good in the world. It can be as simple as that.
By approaching each day with a high-level intention, you’re transforming yourself into the person you were put on this earth to be. You are then making a positive difference in the world, and in turn, helping the whole world to rise.
Feeling inspired? Share your thoughts with Richard. Richard has helped thousands of aspiring life coaches earn their certification and share their gifts with the world through life coaching. Fill out the form below. We want to hear your dreams and goals for a better you and a better world.
