Why are we so scared to say what it is we want?
A student recently expressed what his intentions were for his career and he was unspecific. He said something like, “I want to get into rooms.”
Now we understand what that means at one level. He wants to get opportunities. He wants to be seen. He wants casting directors to know who he is.
But at a deeper level, that intention is general. He was standing in a room when he told me this. He already is in a room, so his intention had already been fulfilled.
You have to get specific. How else can the universe-and an extension of it-in the form of people, help you if you aren’t?
Getting clear on an intention helps us understand what an intention actually is. It’s just energy and information.
We know that at a scientific standpoint, our bodies are really a bunch of atoms (which are made up of 99 percent space) coming together to form you. So you’re empty space- which is alive wit-h information and “conversations” if you will, with the universe itself.
Think about the human body. At a cellular level, all processes of the body are in communication with other parts to complete their tasks. It’s all information, energy, and communication. Can you imagine if you had to tell your liver to detox itself after a hard night of partying at Soho House? Your cells already are communicating with one another to do that which you don’t have to be conscious of.
But you have to think of the universe itself as an extension of that information, because it is. As we become more conscious of what we’re thinking about and discussing and expressing, we start to get clearer in our intentions.
I understand why we don’t sometimes declare what it is we want. We hedge our bets because saying it makes us feel vulnerable or receptive to ridicule or puts us out there in a very real way. As another student told me, “It’s embarrassing.”
But you have to stay in relationship with the universe. If you’re too scared to say it, how can you achieve it? The universe isn’t judging your dreams. No one is actually. (Except for those people who are too scared to actually live theirs!) But if you don’t get clear, then what you end up with are lots of hits-and-misses, lots of confusion, and lots of mixed signals.
It’s like dating someone who’s into you one day and the next day they’re out. And then in again. It’s very, very confusing.
A helpful way to get over the hump until you get clearer is to work with intentions that don’t get you so worked up. All of these are more specific than continuously doubting yourself, while simultaneously make you feel better along your path.
This or something better. It’s all working out for me. It’s not about a job. I always ultimately get what I want. I’m really standing in my power now. Isn’t this exciting how it’s all unfolding? It’s safe for me to let go. I don’t have to hold the reins anymore. I’m letting the universe do the work. My work is to put out a clear intention of what it is I want-and then take action to get there, and then let something work out the details for me.
Now that’s clear.
*First published on Backstage