ESSENCES: The Practice of Intention Meditation (MEDITATION, REMEDIES)

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The Practice of Intention Meditation

by Cynthia Athina Kemp Scherer, Desert Alchemy

 

The importance of intention was shown to me when I was new to doing

attunements with plants. I would focus on a plant as I was attuning to,

and a lot of different impressions would overwhelm me. I couldn't tell

whether these impressions were connected with the plant, with something

from within me, or whether they were sourced from something else in the

environment.

 

My inner guidance prompted me to define my intention before I began the

attunement. The first time I did it, I was amazed. It was as if I had

turned the tuning dial on a radio, and I was clearly at one with the plant.

 

Defining your intention, whether you are attuning to a plant, to

yourself, or to another person, is the element that creates a direct

link to the subject of attunement. It is also the element that can

guarantee success in the process of selecting flower essences.

 

Defining your intention is not difficult, but it does require some

contemplation. In my book, The Art & Technique of Using Flower Essences,

one chapter is devoted to the significance of defining your intention in

selecting flower essences, and guides you through the process of clearly

defining it:

 

" What is intention, and why is it important in selecting flower

essences? Intention is the act in which we determine the result we want

to achieve. When we define our intention, we create a specific focal

point for selecting flower essences. By deciding what we want to change

or harmonize, we can effectively choose the precise flower essences that

will help us make these changes. By defining our intention for using the

flower essences, we can empower ourselves to select the ones that will

help harmonize the core or root of a situation with which we feel

discomfort.

 

" ...The few moments we spend being clear about our intention could well

be the most important part of selecting flower essences. No matter what

method you use for selecting flower essences, whether it is intuitive or

a more linear approach, you will receive high quality support if you

first define your intention by clarifying what you want the essences to

address. "

-The Art & Technique of Using Flower Essences, by Cynthia Athina Kemp

Scherer, 2002, Desert Alchemy Editions

 

Many folks who were raised in dysfunctional families have a difficult

time understanding that they have a personal will, which is, in my

experience, the part of us that inspires intention. It is the part of us

that empowers ourselves, that feels capable of having some effect on our

world outside as well as our inner world.

 

Clarifying intention is such a simple step that it is easy to forget it.

If we have a clear method to use every time we select and use flower

essences, it can give us a routine to help us keep our healing process

in view. It supplies a way to stay focused on our process without

becoming distracted by everything that happens in our inner world.

 

If you get into the habit of consciously defining your intention before

you select flower essences, you always have a place to refer to when you

are evaluating their effectiveness as you use them. You also have a

reference point in consciousness, a way to define where you are at any

time. Beyond that, the more you use intention as a foundation in

selecting flower essences, the more it extends beyond your healing work

and permeates the rest of your life. You can live your life intentionally.

 

I think there are two very important desert flower essences to consider

when we want to define our intention. One of them is the Emotional

Awareness Formula. This composite flower essence formula supports

looking within to understand what it is we are experiencing at any given

time. If we don't know what our inner state is, how can we possibly

define an intention for flower essences to address? Even if our

intention is to select flower essences so we can more clearly see our

inner state, the Emotional Awareness Formula can help us begin to

clearly articulate what it is that we want work with.

 

The second flower essence is Spanish Bayonet Yucca, one of our desert

plants that strongly displays its signature. Shaped like a bunch of

swords held at the base as you would a hand-full of pick-up sticks, the

plant pulls your focus unmistakably to its center. Its flower essence

helps us unify our courage and our will with our intention. It supports

us in clearly knowing our intention, and unifying it with the courage

and will to take action on it.

 

I find this essence an invaluable assist in cutting through any

hesitation or fear in facing whatever we must so that we can grow and

heal. The essence can help you overcome any fear of inward-looking, so

that you can resolutely define an intention that will be supremely

beneficial in selecting flower essences that will hit the bull's eye,

and make a significant difference.

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Cynthia Athina Kemp Scherer is a flower essence

practitioner with over twenty years' experience, and the founder of

Desert Alchemy flower essences. She is the author of The Alchemy of the

Desert and The Art & Technique of Using Flower Essences. Her web site

includes regularly published flower essence articles called " The Core

Issue " . http://www.desert-alchemy.com/

 

Cynthia has created a helpful tool for the flower essence user, the

Personal Flower Essence Journal which you can find at Desert Alchemy.

This free 9-page guide can be used to set goals and intentions for

essence work, select essences, and then keep track of your responses to

the mixture for follow-up purposes -- it is also linked in this issue

here from our Freebies Page.

http://www.floweressencemagazine.com/nov05/freebies.html

 

http://www.floweressencemagazine.com/nov05/intentionkemp.html

 

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