Activity

When you feel ready to begin…

Get present: 

– Take a few deep breaths in and out. 

– Remind yourself that whatever unfolds during this time is honorable.

Why do we create an intention altar?

Intentions are an opportunity to align yourself with your purpose(s), and can support you in guiding your actions as you create the life and healing that you want to have. They are similar to goals, but can feel different because they are less about the tangible or evaluation-based outcomes and more about your personal thoughts, values, and feelings about how you want to move through the world.

 “What you pay attention to grows,” and by creating a sacred space for your intentions you are bringing loving attention to that which will move you into alignment. You may choose to set intentions for the day, the week, the year, or for any other period of time that feels appropriate. As you move through this activity, consider that you are creating the intentions that are right for you at this time, and they may shift as you continue to grow, change and heal.

Let’s Create Your Altar

It’s time to invite in your intentions with gratitude and thoughtfulness.

Take a moment to reflect. You might do this by writing, drawing, meditating, moving your body or talking out loud to yourself. Reflect on some (or all, or none) of these questions:

• What do I most care about?
• When do I feel/have I felt most grounded in my purpose?
•  How do I want to feel in my healing? In my work?
• What might I need to let go of in order to create, nurture or build the life I want for myself?

When you have reflected on these or your own similar questions, you are ready to build your altar.

Start by placing the fabric or cloth you chose on the location that you chose, remembering that this can change. Place in the center of the altar the candle, unlit. Now, start filling your altar with the intentions that you hold sacred at this moment. Based on what you reflected on, use the notecards to write up intentions that you’d like to set for yourself. As much as you can, use one notecard for one intention. When you write them, affirm them to yourself (out loud or silently), and place it on the fabric or cloth. Move through this as many times as you’d like, until your altar has the intentions that you are setting. Something to consider is that by putting too many intentions on the altar, you might not actually be able to recall each of them as reminders for yourself throughout the day or week. Start by writing out your plan of action with a few intentions. You can always add to or change the intentions on your altar.

Light your candle and affirm that by lighting this candle, you are sparking the power and presence of each of these intentions. Sit or stand or kneel at your altar space and read the intentions again, it might feel good to affirm each of them out loud. Don’t rush this time, try to be as present as possible to your intention practice and altar.