Watering The Seeds…of our Intentions
Let’s face it. We all have fears! No matter how successful we become, many of us are still visited by the pesky little voice of fear. I’ve found that trying to get rid of fear is a tiring (and hopeless) endeavor. It seems to me that success is not determined by our level of fear, but rather by what we do in response to it.
My step dad used to coach me in wrestling and would say, “If you want to move somebody to the right, move their head to the right. Wherever their head goes, their body will follow.” It’s so true. Try it. Have someone take your head in their hands and then (carefully) focus it in a direction. Now move forward. You’ll notice that your body naturally wants to move in the direction that you are pointed.
My step dad was right. People’s bodies do follow their heads. Mine did. My family laughs to this day about my short-lived wrestling career that began when I was 6. My Grandma loves to remind the whole family every holiday: “You were so cute… there you’d be on the mat in your little red wrestling outfit. And you’d be wrestling with another little guy and you’d be doing pretty good and, then, all of the sudden you’d see all of us in the stands. You’d turn your head, look up and wave… And just then, that little opponent would grab you and flip you over on your back and pin you, just like that…”
Thank you Grandma.
I’m not sure which is more embarrassing. Getting pinned so easily or the fact that I wore an outfit that closely resembled a 1940′s women’s bathing suit. I share this story not because of how cool I looked in that candy-apple speedo, but rather to illustrate how my focus led to the circumstance that followed. “I mean he flopped you over like a ragdoll.” Grandma, we get the idea. “You were like a wet noodle.” Grandma, that’s enough! “I’ve never seen anything like it. It was like you weren’t even trying. Just this red, limp flash of spandex flying through the…” GRANDMA!!!
You don’t have to be humiliated in front of a crowd of people like I did to learn the power of your focus. But if you are experiencing challenges in moving forward on important life goals, you might ask yourself: Where is your head pointing? Where is your focus?
Often times we have exciting aspirations and inspiring goals, yet our attention is focused on distractions like our worries or fear of failure. Jerry and Esther Hicks speak of the power of our focus in this way, “Where we place our attention, energy flows. . . what we place our attention on expands.” (Ask and It is Given, Jerry and Esther Hicks.)
As you know, it’s not my style to articulate a challenge without offering an effective tool help you avoid or transcend that challenge. So here goes! This technique is called “Watering The Seed.” In a garden, the seeds that get watered grow. The ones that don’t… well, don’t. It’s that simple. Even though there may be weeds of fear growing in the soil near our desires, we must only water our desires if we are to be successful.
I want to offer you a simple little game designed to support you in Watering The Seed of your desire so that it can grow:
STEP 1: Relax your body and close your eyes.
STEP 2: Get clear on the intended outcome you desire.
STEP 3: See yourself experiencing that successful outcome as if you were living it right now.
You want to place yourself firmly in the center of this vision and see the scene through your eyes as it is happening. Allow yourself to feel all the good feelings that surface as you successfully realize your desire. Breathe that sensation in…. Now, while your eyes are closed, describe out loud the experience you are having, as it is happening. Use the words “I am” as you describe yourself in this scene. You can do this with a supportive friend as an exercise or just alone. You can also do this exercise by writing the experience down as you are envisioning it.
What science tells us is that our subconscious minds cannot differentiate between reality and imagination. So if you imagine that you are winning a race, your brain releases the same chemicals and, physiologically, reacts in the same way as if you are actually winning that race. In fact, this is how many Olympic athletes train for their success.
I want to show you how simple doing this exercise can be. I encourage my clients to participate in this fun little exercise. Below is an excerpt from one of my coaching sessions, which demonstrates how the tool of “Watering your Seed” can support YOU in focusing on what you want rather than on what you don’t.
——START OF COACHING SEGMENT——
CLIENT - I’m frustrated with my business. I want more clients. I’m worried about the economy and I’m struggling to change my circumstances. I feel frustrated and I don’t know where to start.
COACH - So what is it, exactly, that you want?
CLIENT - I want more clients and I want to increase my bottom line.
COACH - Okay, great! Exactly how many clients do you want and what, specifically, do you mean when you say, “increase my bottom line?”
CLIENT – I want 10 clients who pay me in full and in advance for my services.
COACH - Great specificity. Now, would you be willing to play a little game with me?
CLIENT - Sure. ..
COACH - This game is called, “Watering the Seed.” It’s intended to support you in focusing your attention on what it is that you desire. So what I’d like to invite you to do is describe to me, in detail, what you want and the experience you’d like to have as your 10 clients come to you gracefully and easily. I’m also going to invite you to describe this to me as if it were actually occurring right now. So, rather than telling me “I want this and I want to experience that,” I want you to express your desire as if you were living it, in this very moment, starting with the words, “I AM.”
CLIENT - Okay, I can do that. . . (closes eyes). . . I am in my home office and I’m looking out of the window at the beautiful jacaranda tree with its purple blossoms. I’m feeling so inspired as I prepare for my third phone client of the day. I’ve just finished my 30 minute daily meditation and I feel so peaceful and clear. I’m powerfully connected to my Inner Knowing and excited to work with my client today. I’m experiencing a lightness in my chest as I think of how my clients came to me so effortlessly. I’m looking at my list of 10 active clients and I’m filled with such gratitude! I feel so much love and joy as I think of how much I enjoy working with each one. Oh! My next client is ringing in! She sounds so happy and excited. A smile crosses my face as we connect and she tells me of a recent win she experienced as a result of our last session together. She is acknowledging me and telling me how much she loves her appointments with me. “I’m getting even better results than I imagined,” she says. I’m listening to her as she shares with me that her relationship with her husband has also blossomed from all of the work she has done with me. Her husband is so excited about the changes he sees in her and their relationship that he wants to work with me too! Clients are coming to me so easily and I have more than I ever imagined I would. I am joyfully recommending clients to friends who are practitioners and it feels so good to share in this way. And what’s funny is the more that I share, the more clients come to me. I love it! I feel so abundant and prosperous. Oh! There is my next client! I love my job!
COACH - Great, how was that for you?
CLIENT - That was fun and I feel awesome! I actually feel as if I already have those clients. I’m not feeling any of the anxiety that I was feeling before that exercise. I feel good, but what do I do now
COACH - That’s a powerful question. When you were imaginging yourself in that scene, having clients and looking out your office window at the jacarandas, did any inspiration come forward around how you might attract clients?
CLIENT – Actually, I felt like my clients found me because of my speaking. I felt like they heard me speak and wanted to work with me because something I said resonated with them.
COACH - Would you like to explore this idea of speaking to attract clients?
CLIENT - Yes, I love speaking and would enjoy that very much. Hey, I can do the “Watering the Seed” exercise with speaking, too!
COACH - That’s a great idea. I love your enthusiasm and willingness to focus on what you desire. Excellent work!
——-END OF COACHING SEGMENT——-
O.K., I’m back. That was a powerful session don’t you think? And you can see why I love working with my clients! I want to acknowledge and thank my client for allowing me to share this portion of our session to inspire all of us who are reading this.
You see, often times we unknowingly thwart our intentions by placing our attention on our fears, rather than on our dreams. By “Watering The Seed” of your intentions, you will allow your dreams to prosper, while the weeds of fear will fall away from lack of nourishment. What we focus on expands and by giving our desires our attention and focus, we begin to experience the uplifting feelings that we also desire.
In fact, as you witnessed in the above coaching session, my client experienced the very feelings that she thought would experience when she successfully reached her goal. She experienced them while she was envisioning her dream, in that very moment. For all her brain knew, she was actually on the phone with her client and had a full practice. She was living the full desired outcome– right then and there.
We are no exception. The qualities we want to experience through achieving our desires are available to each of us in every moment, no matter what the circumstance may be–even if you are wearing a red spandex wrestling uniform! And we can summon them by connecting with the vision of what we want for our lives. However, it’s not necessary that we reach our goals to experience those qualities and feelings… but that’s the subject of our next conversation.
Where are you placing your focus and attention? What qualities do you want to bring forward in your life? How can you begin to experience those qualities right now, in this moment, and not at some distant point in the future? Comment here and share your thoughts!
Filed under: Intention Tagged: | attention, focus, Intention, jerry and esther hicks
