If you want to get into alignment with your desires, then the easiest time to do that is to start first thing in the morning.
Abraham teaches us that the morning is one of the most powerful inflection points that determines much of your vibrational range for the day ahead. When you start the day out in a good mood, you tend to have a better day, and will reinforce your positive energy. When you don’t, stress, obstacles, and other challenges come rolling to you.
In this post I’ll outline the best morning routine Abraham Hicks teaches. It’s a three-step system of meditation, setting your intention, and appreciating your current environment.
Step 1: Meditate First Thing in The Morning
The first, and arguably the most important thing you can do to start your day off on the right foot is to meditate as soon as you wake up.
When you meditate, you release any resistance you might have and begin to create your energy from a neutral space. If you wake up depressed, or in another negative state, then meditation can do wonders to help you lift your mood before you do anything to begin your day.
Not only that, but once you establish morning meditation as part of your routine, there is an incredible sense of peace that comes with waking up knowing that while you might have a lot to do later in the day, the first few minutes of every morning are yours.
Step 2: Set Your Intention for The Day
The next thing you can do to raise your energy in the morning is to take the time to set an intention for the day. You can do this either by thinking of actions you want to take or things you want to accomplish, or simply by focusing on a general state of energy. For example, you might decide that regardless of the circumstance you face, you choose to feel peaceful, or you choose to have fun.
This is a great practice because it empowers you to take control of your day. You could even combine setting your intention with a few visualization techniques in order to imagine your day before it begins, which gives you the opportunity to use your imagination to create reality.
Not only that, but setting your intention helps you to clarify what it is you really want. It is through clarification that you can begin to align more steadily with that desire, and to begin to focus more steadily on it. The best time to do this is immediately after you finish your meditation, when your mind is clear and peaceful.
Step 3: Write A Gratitude List
Last but certainly not least is to spend a few moments writing down things that are already in your life, for which you are grateful.
When you write down things that are already going well for you, you place your attention onto positive energy, which pushes your vibration into a powerful, positive state of mind. Doing this every day entrains your mind to begin looking for the positive experiences that surround you every single day, rather than to look at the absence of “that one desire” you really, really want, but don’t yet have.
Harvard-based psychologist Shawn Achor goes so far as to explain that writing down 3-5 things for which you’re grateful, every morning for 21 days, can boost your energy and mood for up to 6 months! This claim is backed by numerous scientific studies, which prove that writing down affirmations and positive aspects has long lasting positive effects.
How Setting Daily Intentions Creates an Inspired Life
Setting intention is one of the most important skills you can learn if you want to develop conscious control over the way you feel and the circumstances of your life.
When you take the time to set a clear intention for what you want to be, do, or feel, you become far more likely to have a positive outcome result from your experience. You can apply this skill to any challenge or any goal, from identifying specific daily tasks, to acting from a place of integrity, to enjoying long-lasting and fulfilling relationships or vital health.
In this post we’ll look at the power of intention, why it’s important, and how you can use it to create the life you desire.
How To Set Intentions for Your Day
At its core, setting an intention is simply the act of taking the time to decide what you want to do, before you do it.
When you set your intention for the day, you focus on your desired state, outlining what it is you want to do that day. You may wish to close your eyes and focus on your intention through a short meditation, or you can keep a soft gaze while you allow your intention to drift inward.
You may choose to focus on your progress towards a long-term goal, a specific series of tasks you have to do that day, or even a general feeling of how you want to move throughout the day.
I find that one of the most effective ways to set daily intentions is to separate your intention from your to-do list. If you focus too much on the details, it’s easier to get thrown off course when something unexpected happens to you.
Rather than list a specific set of actions you want to take, instead focus on the feeling you want those actions to instill. I like to combine this feeling with a general idea of what the task is, while leaving out any specifics.
For example, when writing this blog post, I didn’t set an intention to sit down and write a post that is 1,000 words long and includes 5 pictures, nor did I set an intention to sit and work for 2 hours. Instead, my intention was simply to communicate the topic as best I could, in the way that would help you, the reader.
This intention is broad, and includes the end goal, not the means, mechanisms, or methods of achieving it.
5 Guidelines for Setting Intentions
While the general act of setting an intention can be tailor made to fit any circumstance you choose, there are a few guidelines that will help you to make your intention setting process more effective and help you to truly master the art of intention.
#1. Focus on the Feeling
Firstly, intentions are best when they focus on the feeling-state you wish to achieve, rather than a specific physical objective.
Similar to the tip I mentioned above about keeping your intention general, this point takes it a step further. Ideally, you want to get to the place where your physical set of circumstances is less important to you than the way that you feel.
From this perspective, you understand that your goals are merely symbols for your true desires, and what you really want is to feel the emotion, the state of being, that the goal represents.
If you can identify this feeling-state and focus your intention on it, rather than on worldly events, then you can achieve your intention immediately, and maintain it more consistently throughout the day. This helps you to live more fully from your place of intention, rather than allow the world to dictate your mood based on events that happen.
Discover new ways to increase your happiness.
#2. Internalize Your Intention
The second guideline is to do your best to internalize your intention. This is why you may choose to enter a meditative or pseudo-meditative state when establishing what your intention is for the day.
The more you can draw your awareness inward, the more easily you can internalize the idea and draw upon powerful energy and intuitive guidance from your subconscious.
This is a form of programming your mind to achieve whatever it is you choose, before it actually happens in the physical world. You can train your mind to be, do, or have your goal first, so you can more fully enjoy the pursuit of it.
Learn more about how to follow your intuition.
#3. Begin with the End in Mind
In order to use intention effectively, you must also begin with the end in mind. This is another way of saying that you should keep your intention open to more general, perhaps longer term aims, rather than set an expectation of one specific thing you want to happen that day.
As you do, you keep yourself more open to allowing positive energy into your day, in a way that balances your current desire to feel good with the longer trajectory you set for yourself.
Read more about visualization techniques for success.
#4. Clarify Your Vision
As you are beginning with the end in mind, you should also take the time to clarify what it is that you want.
Clear intentions are more powerful than vague ideas. As you clarify your desire in your mind’s eye, you focus energy like a laser, which helps to create favorable conditions in the world around you. You become more attuned to the positive aspects that are already before you, see additional opportunities, and acknowledge more readily the progress you are making.
Note that clarifying your vision is different than identifying specific actions you want to take or events you expect to happen. In other words, you are not clarifying how your intention will arise for you, you are clarifying what it is you want to feel.
#5. Set Your Intention Frequently Throughout The Day
Lastly, remember to set your intention frequently throughout the day. This is one of the most often overlooked elements of intention: the power of intention comes when you stick with it.
While setting your intention each morning before you begin the day is, by itself, incredibly powerful, you can make the process even more effective by taking a few moments to re-center and remember that intention as you move throughout the day.
This could take anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes, as you simply take a moment to breathe, draw your attention inward, and remember what it is you actually want to do, and how you want to feel.
Re-centering on your intention throughout the day can also be really helpful when you are switching between different types of tasks. Your intention when you begin the day at work, for example, is different than the intention you have when you are driving home to see your family. Abraham Hicks calls this process segment intending, and outlines it as one of the best ways to stay in alignment with your goals.
Explore more Abraham Hicks Processes to help you raise your energy and maintain a state of alignment.
Example: 3 Daily Intentions for Gratitude and Success
There are many, many different types of intention, and the most important point is that you always choose something that works for you. However, I wanted to give an example of a three-step intention process that I find very effective.
This process combines gratitude and appreciation with intention.
The phrases are:
Thank you for helping me…
Thank you for expanding me…
Thank you for inspiring me…
To do this process, fill in the end of each sentence. I like to use the first sentence for something I have recently achieved or improved and feel grateful for; the second sentence I use for something I am currently progressing through; the third I use for something towards which I aspire.
Then, read these sentences to yourself, using the positive affirmation exercise I describe in this video.
Working with these phrases can be incredibly powerful, and I hope you give it a try.