I read once online, while scrolling through a spiritual website, that if you bury a crystal during a full moon with a list of your intentions, the power of the full moon touching the earth, along with your buried goods will bring about great change. Although the author was also skeptical of the full moon ritual, she still advised it because she knew that positive things can arise from writing down your intentions, which in turn can open a door to the possibilities of change. This article quickly floated to the back of my mind, stowed away but meant to be unpacked during the next full moon. Well, many moons passed and I did not attempt to save myself through the crystal ritual until the day I had trouble falling asleep. The moon light was searing a hole into my eyelids, the big, bright, full moon that stood between me and my precious sleep was peaking into my room like an uninvited guest. Suddenly without reason, I had the urge to venture outside, I grabbed the only stone I owned, a Rose Quartz, given to me by a wizard one hazy freshman year night. With my stone in one hand, and list of intentions I had written spur of the moment in the other, I began my journey. I had to somehow find a patch of earth close to where I lived that would be able to bask in the full moon’s powerful light. I had 30 minutes to do so before the clock would strike midnight, I felt like a modern day spiritual Cinderella. It took quite some time, but I eventually settled on the sandy volleyball court that awaited me. The sand had been touched by many barefoot soles, which symbolized my connection to the earth and its people, it was perfect. How sand evolves from large rocks into smooth possibilities I wanted to be recreated within myself. I dug a hole as deep as the sand would allow and placed my precious gem along with my raw paper into the dark abyss. I very well knew that my location choice meant that my intentions would one day be discovered, but that was also the whole point. The more people to read my list, the more times it would be put out into the universe. The more times it’s shared, the more awareness is brought to the importance of recording your intentions. After the crystal/full moon experiment, it’s difficult to say how much of a difference it really has made in my life. There’s no denying that writing down my intentions changed the way I looked at myself. Sitting down and letting your inner desires flow on to paper points out very clearly the things you need and want in order to be content with yourself. Before I wrote my list I thought I had an understanding of who I was and what I wanted in this life, but as the list grew I realized there were so many details that would eventually lead to my happiness. It’s freaky to reflect on, but I do believe that since this summer I have been evolving into a person I had pictured myself to be. My true desires became very clear and have guided many of the decisions I’ve made since.
Anecdotes aside, an intention must be something that you can attain by working daily to achieve it. It’s not just something you write down in the hopes that it will one day magically fix all your problems. By writing it down you are actively thinking about the things that you would like to change or work on. It is something that must be acknowledged, thought about, and nurtured. It can be as basic as intending to be patient when faced with a dilemma, intending to forgive yourself, making an effort to be more outgoing, anything that could benefit your wellbeing. By writing it down you are taking the idea out of your mind and altering it into a tangible form, one that can be read out loud and visited frequently. There is a new thought philosophy called the Law of Attraction which describes the idea that with positive thoughts comes positive outcomes, and with negative thoughts comes negative outcomes. By taking a moment to vocalize what needs to change in your life, in a positive way, you are also learning to be aware of the energies that may come along with a negative thought pattern. A simple exercise to try is to sit comfortably and fill your mind with statements such as “I am capable, I am smart enough, I am strong.” Notice how your body buzzes with energy. Now, take a moment to fill your thoughts with negativity, just briefly, speak hurtful words to yourself, in time you should notice a sense of numbing, apathy, your body is no longer buzzing. If you can physically feel the difference between the way you talk to yourself, the power of thought quickly becomes apparent. By working on dismissing pessimistic thought patterns and replacing them with positive ones, your brain can learn to rewire itself in order to prevent the habit of negative self-talk. By working on censoring the mind and writing a list of goals or intentions, with practice, you are sure to see improvements.