To live consciously is to re-create our life the way we want it to be. Good health and vitality are our natural birthright. No matter what our age or our current health situation is, it is never too late to make positive changes that will help us heal ourselves, so that we may live life to the fullest.

We are constantly being bombarded with words and images through television, movies, magazines and other media that are designed to influence our life choices. Much of this is overt, such as cleverly conceived advertising created to appeal to a target group of individuals. Some is more subtle, designed to reinforce our cultural behaviors.

All of us are familiar with the barrage of commercials by the pharmaceutical industry promoting one drug or another as the solution for various health problems. Somewhat less obvious is that ever present reminder in these advertisements to “ask your doctor whether ‘drug-x’ is right for you,” perpetuating the idea that your doctor is the ultimate authority when it comes to making health decisions in your life.

To live consciously means to take charge of our own life, including our health decisions. Yes, doctors have an important role in our health care system, especially in dealing with trauma such as physical injuries. But we need to better educate ourselves as to how our bodies function, and how we can work with the natural processes of our body to support health and vitality.

Making life decisions based on inner wisdom, rather than outside influences, represents a fundamental change for many people. It is not always easy to go against the cultural currents – to be the one that is always “different” when we are with a group of friends.

Changing our life begins with clarifying our intentions. Let’s explore this in a bit more detail. Our intentions are literally a field of energy that we radiate out from the center of our being – our ‘heart’ center – as we move through the experiences of our daily life. This field of energy consists of both our thoughts and our emotions, integrated together in a unified field.

If upon waking in the morning, we take a few moments to clarify our intentions for the day, we literally pre-program the nature of the experiences that we will attract to us. For example, if we affirm that it is our intention to be kind to each person we meet, and if we take a few moments in our imagination to move into the feelings of what those encounters will be like, then we will proceed through our day radiating the energies of kindness. A resonance will occur as we encounter others who are also radiating an intention (unified energy field) of kindness. Through their “inner sense,” or “intuition,” they will be attracted to interact with us on the vibration of kindness. The interaction might be as simple as a smile as they pass by us, or something more expansive.

On the other hand, if we live unconsciously, and allow our intentions to be dominated by negative thoughts and emotions, there will be a resonance with others who are radiating similar negative thoughts and emotions. Consequently, our experiences throughout the day are likely to be of a much more negative or depleting nature, reinforcing our own negativity.

Relating this to personal wellness, if we begin our day by affirming our intention to do only those things throughout the day that contribute to our health and vitality, we will tend to live our life in a healthier manner. Making changes in our life is seldom easy or instantaneous. But, like a child learning to walk, if we begin with small steps and pay attention to the progress we are making, we can develop the confidence that is needed to take larger steps.

In his book, The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-Create Your World Your Way,(5) Dr. Wayne Dyer writes about intention as being a field of energy that flows invisibly beyond the reach of our normal, everyday habit patterns. He goes on to say that this

omnipresent power of intention pervades everything and everyone, so all we need to do to be what we want to be, and to achieve what we want to achieve is to align our intention, and then everything in the universe will assist us.

Living consciously involves the integration and alignment of our body, mind and spirit in a way that provides the courage and wisdom to make important life choices from within, rather than simply responding to external influences.