“Expect nothing and you’ll never be disappointed.”

“All things, indeed every single thing is created by intention.”

On their surface, both sound right, so which is it? What’s the difference?  If we create specific ideas about how we want our relationships, work, finances, etc. to look and apply the law of attraction to manifest that, how is doing this different from expecting specific outcomes?

Spiritual teachings reveal that expectation creates attachment to results, making expectations the root of all suffering. How then do we live with intention and not have expectations?

I’ve been playing with these questions in thought, meditation, and discussion for some time and learned a lot exploring them.  I’ll share what I’ve come up with and invite you to please share your thoughts below and carry this conversation further for all our benefit.

I have always felt that I’ve been here before.  I now believe I am a soul experiencing many lifetimes on this planet, each only one experience along a journey in which I take on a specific body and circumstances for my soul’s growth and evolution.  In any given moment, what I may set as an intention for myself is done with extremely limited perspective as to what is truly in my (soul’s) Highest Good.  As such, I go around setting intentions without knowing what is truly best for “me”.  Before long, my ego (this body’s human mind) that always believes it knows best begins expecting my intentions to manifest, and I become emotionally attached to the outcome.

Every day I ask for spiritual guidance in all that I say, do, think, and feel to be aligned with my Highest Good.   Now imagine that I set intentions for a new house or car, a specific type of romance, certain physical conditions, or whatever.  Taking it further, imagine I come to expect it.  If my soul (“Higher Self”) knows I came here to have a different experience for my overall soul growth and Highest Good, the results will not be what I intend or expect.  At that point, whatever might have simply been a joyful intention becomes a disappointing, unhappy expectation.

Put simply, intention is a powerful living prayer to the Universe, and expectation is our idea about how the results should look.  Intentions are created by us and may be created continuously in joyful faith that all is perfect in each moment for our Highest good, regardless how it appears to us here and now.  Expectations presume we know best and all material and Divine forces should align to our wishes and perspective, bringing a wide range of feelings based on results that are beyond our control. Intention is spiritual creation from a place of joyful possibility.  Expectation is ego involving a rollercoaster of unpredictable emotions.  Learning to observe our minds as they perpetually create expectations without getting sucked into believing them…now that’s the journey!

In Love & Light,
Sheryl Sitts
Founder ~ Journey of Possibilities