Think of and write about what you want. The most common error people make when writing intentions is that they list everything that they don’t want rather than focusing on what they want.

For example:

“I no longer have debt” is an affirmation which still includes a focus on “debt” in your reality. Substitute such affirmations with what you do want, for example, “I owe nothing and I am financially free.”

The second most common error people make is that they write their affirmation/intention in future tense, for example, “I will be going to New York” or “Money will come.” This way of writing keeps your intention in the future.

Instead, write as if the intention is happening NOW, for example, “I am in New York”; “My money is here. I have more than enough money in my bank accounts.”

The levels of consciousness you are working with tend to bypass the negative tense. Reframe your affirmation into something that you can do and that you do want. For example, when you write “Today I don’t think about a pink elephant” your mind skips the “don’t” and you are already thinking of a pink elephant. You are more effective if you write what you are thinking about that day to assist the manifestation process.

If you use the words “try” and “but” in affirmations ensure that this is actually what you want to do. “Try” is a very different verb than “do” in that you never accomplish what you want and you never do it; you simply try. You are always in process of “trying” to get what you want. For example, the affirmation “I try to write my journal pages every day” is very different than “I write my journal pages every day.”

“But” is another word to be cautious with because it is a conjunction which wipes out everything in the sentence that you have written that comes before it. Ensure that this is what you want to do when you catch yourself using the word “but”. For example, the affirmation “Today I spend at least 40 minutes managing my money but first I make my calls” only affirms that the writer will make their calls. The first part of the affirmation is “butted” away.

You can increase the power of your stated intention by beginning with “I am grateful for ... ” and then stating your intention. Gratitude is a very high vibrational frequency feeling and is responded to and reflected in a positive sense.

Start with where you are and make your intention believable to you. When your intention still feels unreal to you it may be helpful to begin with “I am willing to ... ” or “My intention is to ... ”. For example, if it is your intention to be financially free and you are starting from a place of having nothing, writing “I am financially free” may feel untrue and you may feel disconnected from such a reality. In such a situation, find an affirmation which you have a positive feeling connection with, for example, “I fully intend on being financially free quickly and easily.”

Carefully note “blurts” and rewrite them as affirmative statements. Julia Cameron in her book, The Artist’s Way, describes “blurts” as negative self-talk that may pop into your head when you are writing your daily journal. Their purpose is to stop you from change. They are based on old belief systems you have which need to be changed if you are to open to new possibilities and unlimited potential.

When you have “blurts” begin by becoming aware of them and then telling that part of yourself, “Thank you for sharing.” Next, draw a circle in the margin of your journal page and write down the blurt in the circle. Finally, take the time to re-write the blurt as a positive affirmation or intention.

For example, you write your intention “I am a wildly successful soulful entrepreneur whose business sells products like hotcakes!” Inside your head you hear a part of yourself say, “Sure you are. You sold so much you don’t even have enough money for that bill sitting on your table.” That is a blurt. It is a negative inner voice who wants you to be “realistic” and knows that you will “never amount to anything more than what you are so why bother.”

It is extremely important to catch these negative belief systems and make them obvious by writing them down inside the circle that you draw. Treat them like they are toxic waste and imagine that the circle you draw is a toxic waste container built to contain the poison. Once you can see them ask yourself, “Is this thought helpful? Will this thought get me to where I want to go?” and finally, “Do I want to change it?” If so, go and rewrite your affirmation in a way that can satisfy the inner critic and change its belief at the same time.

The original intention might now be: “I am grateful that I fully intend to be a wildly successful soulful entrepreneur whose business sells products and services like hotcakes!”

Once again on the rewrite, carefully and continually monitor for blurts as you write. If you hear more inner blurts repeat the process described until that inner critic part of you on the inside is satisfied and you can feel good about your intention.

Write your intentions until you get the “feeling” of the daily statement. Mark Braden is one of the many scientists that note that it is actually the vibrations caused by your feelings that attract new realities on a quantum level. Adding more and more detail in your writing about what your affirmation would feel “as if” it is happening right now tends to accomplish this.

For example, your intention might be “I practice self-care in my life.”

Now keep writing and imagine how your life would be if this intention was fully operative right NOW. For example you might write: “I consciously work at economic self-care in order that I am able to take holidays, get regular massages and practice self-care so that I always operate at the highest level of my potential.” Keep writing connected ideas until you get a feeling of the intention operational. The more details you write the more you can get the feeling of how your life would be if the intentions were current reality. The more you get the feeling, the more powerful and magnetic your intentions become.

If your daily intentions involve other people directly you must take caution to ensure that you align with the highest of integrity when you write them. If you are unsure of the effect on others of your daily affirmation it is highly recommended that before your intention you write, “If it is in the highest interests of all involved/concerned ... ” One always wants to practice with the highest of integrity at these energetic levels of relationship and connection.

For example a counselor in business many want to put out a business intention requesting funding to be able to continue a woman’s group that she is running. She might write the intention “Funding comes in and the group can keep going.” But how do we know for sure that the group is meant to continue? Maybe it is meant to end and the group members meant to move on. In cases like this where you are unclear on motive, simply adding a preface to the intention like “If it is in the highest interests of all involved ... ” can help prevent messing with any possible plans destiny might hold for others. Her affirmation might look like this: “If it is in the highest interests of all involved, funding comes in and the group keeps going.”

Be careful what you ask for; you just might get it.

Enjoy.