Attention and Intention

By Patricia Cates

The first time I read a Deepak Chopra book was back in 1996. I own six of them now. My most recent purchase was in January. I bought a book of his entitled “The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga.” It is co-authored with David Simon, MD. The reason I bring this up is because it is extremely enlightening, and it’s motivating me to write!

So I’d like to share a few brief but sage words from a specific yogi principle. It comes from the sixth branch of yoga, and is known as the Dharana. The book tells us that Dharana is the mastery of attention and intention. It teaches us that, “Whatever you place your attention on grows in importance to you.”

So…Where are you putting your attention? (If you have small children you get a free pass because you deserve a break as it is.)

The same chapter goes on to say, “Be aware of your intentions. Make a list of the most important things you would like to see unfold in your life.” The book suggests that through this we are activating things with our attention, and then our intentions can in turn manifest this in our lives. Apparently intentions have a powerful influence. It is such a simple concept, yet so true.  Sometimes it is nice to be reminded.

Maybe we do intend to work on our books but our attention and time is placed on something entirely different. A book cannot manifest itself. There is a lot more in this chapter but I will just leave you with that for tonight. This is just something fun to think about.   

I know I feel inspired to focus my attention towards my newly clear intentions. Thanks Deepak.