Intention, Attention, and the Flow of Your Life | Rev. John Riley

Are you having difficulty staying focused? Anybody? Yeah. Are you having difficulty feeling like you’re in the flow of life, feeling like you’re kind of moving along, that you’re in it? Anybody feel like they’ve been in the flow, when everything’s just kind of clicking? Are you having trouble doing that now? Yeah, me too.

Becoming Intentional

Well, today we’re looking at the idea of becoming intentional, being intentional about our focus, being intentional about our being in the flow so that when we go into life and we start to feel that sense of “Ah! I don’t know what’s happening. I’m struggling up against everything” that we can come back to these principles and get back into it, get into the flow.

The First Rule

Now, we’ve been going on this journey of the art of abundance, ten rules for a prosperous life. The first rule, be one with life. Know that we live in this infinite supply of wisdom, of love and life, of prosperity, of abundance. That’s just the nature of what we live in. As Jho said earlier, we call that God, we call that is-ness, we call that the universe, whatever you want to call it, that divine substance, we’re swimming in it. We’re just one with it. It’s so near us that we can’t even recognize it. And so, the first rule is to be one with that and understand our oneness.

The Second Rule

And the second rule is to be aware, be aware that we live in this expanding universe, be aware of our thoughts and our words and our actions, be aware of how we’re showing up in life and how we’re living in that oneness.

The Third Rule

The third rule is, be accountable. I knew I wanted to forget that one for a reason. Now, once you realize that consciousness is everything, once you realize that you have the ability to transform your life, that you have through your thinking, through your awareness, that you have the ability to shift how you perceive the world and shift how we’re in the world and how we interact in the world. And so, we must become accountable for our own consciousness, become accountable for ourselves, not worry so much about what everyone is thinking or doing or saying, but be accountable to what we’re thinking. Be accountable to what you are thinking.

The Fourth Rule

And then, that comes to our fourth principle. Oh, before we do that, I wanted to remind us that we’re going all of this with the foundation, we’re building this idea and this consciousness with the foundation of gratitude, the foundation of being grateful for that oneness of life, being grateful for that expression of abundance all around us, being grateful for our own awareness in it. Be grateful that we have the ability to be accountable, be grateful that we have the ability to make a change in our lives, and being grateful to each other.

So, our practice last week was to go online, if you will, or each day say to somebody “thank you”, and for something specific. Tell them thank you for something specific, something that is really meaningful for you because that’s where the real magic is. And when we open to this idea of gratitude, we welcome our good to us. We had the task of going online if you wanted to, to our website, unitypalo.org/thanku, the letter “u”, and to create a note.
And some of you did. And here are just a few of them that I’d like to share.

To Catherine Hamrick-Down from Frances Mann-Craik:

Catherine, thank you for your leadership and spirit shaping the future of #unitypaloalto. We have thrived under your gentle guidance and are growing stronger every day.

To Bob Ohlman from Karen Friedman:

Thank you, Bob, for your diligence and perseverance navigating the safe parking application process on behalf of #unitypaloalto. You are one of a kind. So grateful for you. Namaste, Karen.

To Casey Wicker from Frances Mann-Craik:

Casey, thanks so much for sharing the back row with me at #unitypaloalto. [Are you sensing a theme?] It was such fun to twinkle and twirl with you.

And to Frances Mann-Craik and Sabrina Akhtar, the creators of ThankU.io, from me:

Thank you for your vision of creating a gratitude movement and showing the world that good things do happen every single day, one kind act at a time. #unitypaloalto

And so, our fourth rule, as we move through this with this idea, this foundation of gratitude, is to be focussed. And here’s what Deepak Chopra says about being focused:

Intention. Intention is the starting point of every dream. It is the creative power that fulfills all our needs whether for money, relationships, spiritual awakening or love. Everything that happens in the universe begins with intention.

Where is Your Focus?

And so, we will begin this idea of becoming focused by going back to our intention for life. So, where is your focus? Is it on the principle of abundance, or in the belief of not-enough-ness? As Jho said, this idea, this third principle really comes down to that idea of conscious mind-action, of being aware of our thoughts, being accountable for our thoughts, and setting an intention to live life abundantly, to live life from this potential innate within us, an intention to create a relationship that is meaningful whether it’s important relationships or casual relationships or intimate relationships or relations at a hand’s distance, keeping it intentional so that we show up in the way that we want to show up.

The Wonderful Thing About the Principle of Abundance

The wonderful thing about this practice and about this principle of abundance is that it’s always working. Isn’t that wonderful? Yeah, until we’re not thinking good things, because it’s our intention that drives how we show up and drives how we experience that, and drives what we manifest in our lives. The universe doesn’t care whether you’re thinking good thoughts or bad thoughts; we’re just labelling them as good thoughts or bad thoughts. If you’re New Thought, we label them as good thoughts and “my lesson”. So grateful for my lesson. The universe always says “yes” so it really comes down to being conscious about our intentions. It really comes down to really intentionally saying “this is what I stand for, this is what I believe in, this is what I would like to see in my life, this is what I’d like to create in my life” and then holding that intention.

You know, so often we are living in this world — and I don’t know about you but it’s a little difficult to be focused between the TikToks and your timelines, between your stories and the continuous news feed that we get now. I mean, before we had to wait til the news or read the paper. You had to go buy something and then read it to get the news or in front of our television set around 6:00. Now it’s continual, it’s on our phone.

I don’t want to tell you what I do but when I’m sitting down with the door locked, I’m on my phone reading the news. And it’s like how did all of these stories about all of these tragedies or all of these things in our life get on my newsfeed? Well, it’s because I read them. Apparently, they know what I’m reading. It’s because I like them, because apparently, they know what I like. So it just feeds me more and more. And so, are we intentional about what we’re ingesting? Are we intentional about what we’re taking in?

So, one task you can do is just say “Okay, when I pick up that phone, when I – if you still get a paper; does anybody still get a paper? Yeah, okay, there’s some old school people here that get papers. Whatever. Someone said it was fun. OK. Yeah, I just don’t like paper. I see you have your paper. Thank you. Whatever. Be intentional about it. What’s my purpose for opening it? The comic strips, that’s my purpose most of the time. The sports page. What’s my intention when I open that phone? Can I be really specific about why I’m doing something so that I can say “Okay, I’m going to look at this intentionally to see what’s happening in the world. I don’t need that, I don’t need that, here’s something that I might be interested in that will really empower me” as opposed to flicking through the endless TikToks, just barraged with information.

I just started, I just downloaded TikTok. Everyone take a deep breath. Because – I don’t know why. I just did it. My kids were doing it. They kept showing me, “Dad! Look at this one!” And I should have just left it that way because they’re better curators than I am. It’s like, just flick and flick and flick and, oh my gosh, it’s an hour later. And what have I learned? Where have I grown?

Living in a World of Distractions

In this world of distractions it’s important for us to really begin to become aware of where we’re putting our intention and attention, where we’re putting our focus. You may wake up in the morning and say, “This morning, I read the Daily Word, here’s my affirmation and here’s my intention for the day” but how much attention are you giving that throughout the day? Did it once, I’m done. Thank you very much.

We have to put attention to our goals in life. We have to move our feet if we want to create something in the world on purpose. We’re going to be creating one way or the other. You might as well have it be something that you really like, yeah? That’s all I’m saying.

So, there’s a formula that the author, Dennis, gives us. The first, he says, “Our minds are scattered because of the lack of focus and mindfulness to be fully present in the moment”, which is our only point of power. Right now, in this very moment, where is your attention? What is your intention? Because right now you are creating. This is the only moment that you have, right now. Every moment of the day, you are creating something. Your energy is at work. The energy does not stop. The energy continually flows. Our thoughts continually flow, our breath continually breathes us.

So, in this moment is where your point of power is. In this moment, you have the ability to change your view on the negativity in the world, to change your view on that experience that you’re having. It’s not saying you’ll never have bad experiences, you’ll never have bad relationships. They will happen. But we can change our view about them in this present moment.

The Formula

So, here’s the formula that he gives us: Intention plus attention, the two of those multiplied by our belief equals manifestation. Our intention plus our attention, multiplied by our belief equals manifestation. Let’s talk about this for a little bit.

You, each of us – raise your hand if you have at one point in your life set an intention, set a goal, set something that you want to achieve or be or show up as. Most of us, most of us have. We’ve said, “Yes, this is who I want to become, this is who I want to be, these are the goals I have in life. This is what I want out of this relationship, this is what I want in my career, this is what I want in my post-career, this is what I want out of my health, my spirituality, how I want to show up”. And then how much attention do you put towards it?

Now, you’ll notice those two things are in parenthesis which means that you add your intention and your attention together and the sum of those two things will help you move along your path of creating a life of prosperity, of creating a life worth living, of accomplishing your dreams or at least showing up. So, if you’re lacking in one or the other you’re a little short in one side. But really focus your intention and your attention on it on an everyday basis, and taking the time during the day. You know, “Okay, where am I at?”

I’ve got my alarm, I’ve got a calendar set just for this purpose and it goes off at certain times to remind me – it’s my God calendar – to remind me to think about God, to remind me to focus. I’ve got this wonderful application on my phone that every once in a while says, “breathe”. Do you know how annoying it is? I mean, all those things, it’s like “breathe”. “Alright, I’m breathing” but, you know what? I wasn’t. I found myself holding my breath. I exhaled and I wasn’t really breathing. Okay, you caught me that time, watch.

But sometimes we need those recurring reminders that just wake us up, just for an instant. And that’s all it takes to get back to our awareness. That’s all it takes to get us back into that flow, to get us back into remembering.

Sorry, I didn’t hear that. Say it again. Oh, thank you! It was a great idea. Well, I like it. And I hate it. It’s a “both” and there are times when I’m just like “Okay, enough of this.” And then if I really think about it, it’s like “Okay, why am I feeling that way?” Because I’m out of it, I’m out of my intention so it’s bringing me back and I’m upset about it. So, it’s an opportunity for us to really get back into it.

Now, you’ll notice that’s intention and attention and it’s multiplied by our belief, so belief is pretty important. Any mathematicians in here? It’s a really hard question. What happens when you multiply a positive number with a negative number? What’s the result? A negative number. So you may have the best intentions, the greatest attention in the world, but your attitude towards yourself is negative, your attitude toward the situation is negative, you’re always thinking about the worst things that can happen. And guess what you experience? Negativity in your life. You experience that over and over again simply because your belief is a belief of not-enough-ness. It’s not a belief of infinite abundance. It’s not a belief of knowing that you have within you everything that you need. It’s a belief of lack. And so, that lack drives us, draws us down.

Thoughts are Energy

The interesting thing, I like how he talks about this in the book as energy, because thoughts are energy. If you really think about it, everything is really energy when it comes down to it. So, our thoughts are energy and this whole process is like energy. Energy is constantly flowing, abundance is constantly flowing, always available to us. The problem is we start to restrict it, we start to restrict that flow of energy.

The Fifth Rule

And that brings us to our next rule, rule number five, be in the flow. Be in the flow and understand that flow of energy. Understand that it’s always flowing and all we have to do is open up to it. And we’ll be opened up to it with our intention, and we open up to it with our attention. And when we have that, carry that belief that there’s a beneficial presence in the universe, that the universe is always lifting us up, that Spirit is always lifting us up, that we’re always being guided to that higher state of consciousness, when we become aware of that, it’s like we’re allowing that energy to flow.

Now, there’s this idea that we are conduits of that energy. It flows through us. As he puts it, be in the flow. And I’m going to bring it back a little bit to be the flow because we’re on with Spirit, we’re one with the universe, we’re one with this energy. So, raise our consciousness up out of the duality of victim/victor consciousness where we’re stopping and starting our good, where we stop our energy, and we seem to prevent the flow from happening to us. We’re victims, “Oh, this is never going to work for me”. We’re just closing ourselves off, and guess what. It’s working for you. You’re closed off and you’re going to experience that. It’s working because it’s a perfect law versus opening up and thinking, “Okay. Let’s see how I can be a conduit for it. Let’s see how” – which raises us up a little – “let’s see how I can be that experience, be that energy.

You know, so many of us, we think about this idea of flow. Flow. There are three laws to it, there are three actions to it. It’s to receive that flow, it’s to use or utilize that energy, and then it’s to release that energy or allow it to flow from us to others, to the world. We receive, we utilize, and we release. We’re in that flow.

Now, so many of us want to restrict the flow. We want to receive and receive and receive and “Here’s a little bit for you. Here’s a little bit for you. Here, I’ll give you a piece of paper, Jho. I’ll buy you a Sunday Times, whoever that was out there who likes the paper, but just one. This one’s free. The next one is going to cost you.” But I know you’ll be back because you want that, you want that little bit of flow.

In electricity, in the flow of energy, there are things that do that. They’re called capacitors. We create capacitors out of ourselves. And a capacitor, what its purpose is, is to store energy. But guess what. It can only store so much energy, yet that’s what we’ve created in ourselves, capacitors. My bank account is the reflection of my stored energy.

Instead of looking at it from that perspective, because my bank account is always flowing and so is yours, right? You earn interest, so there’s always flow. It’s not stagnant. It goes up, it goes down, it comes in, it goes out. It’s always flowing. Instead of being a capacitor, be the conduit through which it flows. Instead of limiting yourself in that flow by your thoughts, be open and aware. So, when you receive, joyfully, gratefully receive.

How many have ever experienced getting a gift that you really liked? I had to preface that. Yeah, okay, we’ve all gotten a gift that we really liked. And how much joy did it create for us? And then we utilized it. And how many of those gifts are sitting in the box in the attic today? Maybe it’s time to let it flow. We are always living and growing. We’re always moving through life. The formula, intention plus attention equals belief, equals manifestation.

Holding Your Intention

I’ve got time for a story. We know this is true, instinctually we know it’s true. So, I see it in my kids. One kid is in football, my 16-year-old son. My daughter is in dance. And any time either of them are starting off something new, they may have the intention, they may be putting in the attention, but their belief at that point is like “I can’t do this”. So, my son was a receiver and a defensive D-back and when he was a receiver the first couple of times, he’d get the ball, and you could see he’d be kind of like tentatively running with it because he didn’t have the belief that he can go far with it, he didn’t have the belief that he could survive those 200-pound kids rushing at him, until he got his first hit. That knocks some belief into them. It’s like, “Oh, hey, I got up. That wasn’t so bad.”

And over and over again, he built up the belief that he could do it. And along the way, he – now, he has perfect intention. And he has perfect attention. I think all of my kids actually have an incredible work ethic, much greater than me. It must have been their mother that they got it from. My work ethic was more like, “Oh, I’ve got a paper due tomorrow. I guess I’d better start it. It’s 12:00 at night.” I got mostly A’s on those papers, by the way. Yeah! See? Don’t reinforce that. I don’t want my kids to hear that.

But all of them have great work ethics. My daughter, Erin, is in UC Irvine and she got there because she left her old university in Arizona and took a few years off and went through life and discovered her belief in herself again through that process. And now she’s on the Dean’s List because she’s always there. Her belief is so high and her intention is so high and her attention, if you look at her notes – my notes look nothing like those ten pages of notes that are there.

Whatever your intention is, hold that intention, hold that intention for your good and allow it to be part of who you are throughout the day. And throughout the day, make sure you focus your attention on that which you want to create, not the things that we don’t want to create, not the things that are holding us back, but focus our intention on what you really want to create. And then hold the belief, the understanding, the knowing, the faith that you are one with the universe. The universe is infinitely flowing through you, and all we have to do is open up to it and go with the flow.

Prayer for Protection

And now, let us go to our Prayer for Protection. Together:

The Light of God surrounds us;
The Love of God enfolds us;
The Power of God protects us;
The Presence of God watches over us;
Wherever we are, God is!
And, all is well.

Love and blessings everyone. Have a wonderful week. Namaste.