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Every month, I choose an intention to set the tone for my month. I have been practicing this for the past 3 years and have found myself benefiting from this intentional focus. This month, I chose “Shine” because I want to shine brightly and start the year off with light.
Since January experiences less light in the Northern Hemisphere, I wanted to infuse this month with inner light. Winter is a time to reflect while the days are shorter and clouds cover the sun. During this time, it is important to shine even brighter and illuminate from within.
My intention is to shed light on confusing situations where I have not been able to see clearly and take the time to reframe negative thoughts into positive ones. Reflection and meditation offer clarity and in the quiet, I can find the answers I may have been ignoring or overlooking.
Instead of hibernating, I want to awaken and work on solutions and plan for the year to come.
Something that I have noticed from setting these monthly intentional themes is that once the intention is set, the universe offers plenty of opportunity for me to learn and grow in that particular area. For instance, the month I chose “Focus”, I noticed the amount of distractions increased and I really needed to work on focusing. The month seemed to start off with struggle, but the more I committed to my intentional theme, the easier focus became. By the end of the month, I was able to block out time for projects and put aside distractions.
This month I was hit with stress and negative thoughts after setting the intentional theme to “Shine”. I recognized this as an opportunity to work on reframing my negative thought patterns surrounding a few areas and create a healthier outlook. One of the practices is immediately reframing with gratitude and looking for the lesson or opportunity in each trial. I am excited to see where this theme takes me.
I encourage you to set a monthly intention and encourage friends to join you. Create an accountability group where each person shares their themes and encourage each other throughout the month. Consider the following when choosing your intentional theme…
- Is there a quality I want to emulate or enhance?
- Where would I like grow this month?
- Is there something that I have been putting off?
- What is on my schedule for the month and what theme would help me optimize my experiences?
If you chose a theme or create an accountability group, email me: emily@soulsadventures.com and let me and share your experience.
