One of the most powerful actions we can take for personal development and for reaching future goals is to set intentions or sankalpas that are the most important to us.

This means if want something really badly and it is important to you then you set very specific intentions with some visualisations and plans of how that intention needs to happen. This is the preparation stage, which goes on in your mind and heart.

You first think something before it can manifest.

Then the second part is to take action on those thoughts so they have power behind them. The bigger your intention the most energy and power you need to put into it.

For example if you want to buy a new car and you have the money to do so, then you make the intention of going to the dealership and then you actually physically get up and go there. This is a very basic sankalpa.

But what if you want to buy a car you don’t have the money for? Then if it is really important to you, first you think about wanting the car and making a plan of how to make the money to buy it.

So in this way you have made your desire clear and now you will put in the work to make the money to buy that car. This is a more long-term intention.

Intentions only come into physical manifestations if you work for them. They don’t happen if you only set an intention.

Here is an excerpt from The Yogi Code where I speak about how to start setting specific intentions so you can prosper and elevate your life to where you want it to be.

Intentions: The Key to Manifest

Start to make every step of your life a conscious movement of intentions. Today before you eat, first become aware of your intention. Be aware whether you are going to eat out of real hunger, boredom, pleasure, entertainment, or a desire to socialise.

Before you speak, before a word leaves your mouth, understand your intention behind saying something. Be conscious if you are speaking out of truth, fear, ambition, anger, or joy.

The next meeting you go to, question your intent. Are you going to get something, to be of service, or to share in a moment?            

Apply this way of thinking to everything you do and see the truth behind everything that motivates you. See how surprised you become when you first check your motivation and intent behind your next action. As you apply this to any situation of life, family, friends, work, and all your personal habits, a clear picture will emerge of how you became the person you are today, why you do the things you do, and where you are heading in the next 20 years.

As you get into the habit of first checking your motivations and intentions, slowly you will start to head in a direction that is preferable to you and old habits will turn into new and productive ones.

Right now, I know from my own life that I am motivated and have an intention to be productive in everything I do. My interactions all have to be specifically about growing on my path and sharing time with others who want to enter this path or advance further along it. I was not always like this and for now it is a phase of my path while I am working with people. Maybe when I settle into village life in many years to come, my intentions will be to do more practise and not have as much interaction. For now this is my reality, which I have created through my intentions.

This is a sure way of paving your old road with new asphalt of conscious intentions, where you know why you are doing something and what your expectations are.

You may still not always get what you want, but you will know for sure why you did something without any confusion or regrets. It makes for a much clearer mind and more guiltless existence.

(This is the third and last column in a three-part series. You can read the first part here and second part here)

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Author(s)

  • Yogi Cameron

    Yogi, Ayurvedic Practitioner, Author, TV host.

    Yogi Cameron first started practicing Yoga in Paris at the Shivananda center in 1987. After being mentored in natural medicine until 1999 he embarked on becoming certified in Yoga at the Integral Yoga Institute in New York City as well as the Sri Satchidananda Ashram. Yogi continued his studies into Ayurvedic Medicine at Arsha Vidya Peetam in South India under the guidance of Sri Vasudevan of the Nataraj Lineage as well as Dr. Hari Pallathery. YC has also trained at the International School of Ayurveda in Puna, India under the guidance of Dr. Sachin Aru and Dr. Sachin Kuber. Yogi Cameron has been featured on The Dr. Oz Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Today Show, Extra and Martha, amongst others. He has also been featured in The New York Times, Men’s Journal, Wall Street Journal, The London Times and ELLE magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post, MindBodyGreen amongst others. Yogi Cameron is the author of The Guru In You and The One Plan as well as the host of the show “A model guru on ZLiving. He is also an expert on the radio show Conversations with Maria Menounos on SiriusXM.