by Rev. Elizabeth Rowley,
Spiritual Director
January 7, 2021
By definition, a resolution is a firm decision to do or not to do something, while an intention is an aim or a plan. Intentions allow us to be wildly creative, more keenly aware, and mindful of the area of our lives in which we would like to experience a transformation.
I love the word sankalpa, which is a Sanskrit word meaning resolve or good intention. It is a harmonization of heart and mind, resulting in the laser-focused aim on a specific area of transformation. By setting your sankalpa, you make it clear to yourself, others, and the Universal Intelligence, which I call the Divine, not only what you plan to do, but who you plan to be while doing it.
Resolutions are precise goals focused on the outcome, whereas intentions are more focused on the journey. A resolution sounds like this: “I’m going to lose ten pounds.” A sankalpa sounds like this: “I make healthy eating choices for myself.” By living your Sankalpa, you will experience the release of excess weight, which could be ten or more pounds, as well as increased self-esteem as the result of respecting your body and nourishing it with healthy eating choices.
Given that we are now in the first week of January, you may have already declared your resolutions. You can fine-tune them now. Please email me if you need help making the adjustment from resolution to sankalpa.
The collective consciousness of our planet endured much in 2020. We were all reminded how things can change instantly and that it’s not so much what happens that matters but what we do with what happens that matters the most. As I reflect upon my year, I see the infinite ways I adapted in my own life. The Central Coast Center for Spiritual Living began livestreaming all of our services and programs, and my husband and I adjusted our wedding guest list from 150 to 14. When I accepted what was and acted as if I chose it myself, there was an ease and grace about it all; an effortlessness in the unfoldment of things which felt liberating and powerful. Flexibility was my key to thriving in 2020.
I’ve heard many people say they are fearful of setting intentions for 2021, given what happened in 2020. I’m reminded of Martina McBride’s song, of which the first verse follows: You can spend your whole life building; Something from nothin’. One storm can come and blow it all away. Build it anyway.
Friends, the invitation for us all is to continue to build our dreams, transform our lives, and open our hearts to more love than we could have imagined possible. Dream, open, build, pray, believe, love, and know that everything is always changing.
We live in a progressive universe. Resolve to evolve with it. Decide firmly to develop gradually to see the vision of a world that works for everyone, awakening humanity to its spiritual magnificence, come to fruition.
And so it is.
