Your Deepest Intent: Letters from the Infinite

By Deborah L. Johnson

Deep in your soul lies something beyond all desires and motivations. It is your truest intent. Do you know what yours is at any moment in time? According to Rev. Deborah L. Johnson, this is your most important creative force.

Through a series of letters revealed to Rev. Johnson by Spirit, Your Deepest Intent takes you on a guided journey to Oneness. It navigates you through the peaks and valleys of inner excavation and outer integration to pure intent—the place where thoughts, words, and actions align, where cross-purposes are ended.

"Your intent arrives at the door before you do," she teaches. "The energy is so strong that no matter how you try to hide or camouflage it, it will always shine, even in the dark." With Your Deepest Intent, readers will explore:

• "Possibility consciousness"—how to relinquish your perceptions, transcend your expectations, and enter the flow of divine unfoldment
• How to be at peace with the process of living—including its complexities, nuances, and mysteries—to find the strength to take action and the fortitude to remain centered
• What it really takes to break the illusion of "otherness" and to integrate our spirituality into every aspect of life, from the most personal to our international affairs

Rev. Deborah L. Johnson shares 43 messages that reveal the limitations of our existing paradigms and challenge us to look in new directions as individuals and as a nation. Although the messages “ruffle” our comfort zone, they inspire us, individually and collectively, to seek further communion with the Divine. They teach us how to understand, purify, and actually live our deepest intent.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sounds True
• Release date: May 1, 2007
• ISBN: 9781591798453

Deborah L. Johnson

Rev. Deborah L. Johnson is the founder and president of Inner Light Ministries—the omnifaith spiritual community of more than 1,500 people in Northern California. A dynamic public speaker, she is an MBA consultant to Fortune 500 companies, and travels the nation teaching, training, and consulting on cultural diversity. Rev. Deborah is a lifetime civil rights activist, and her work has been featured in numerous books, magazines, and television programs including appearances on Showtime's Black Filmmaker Showcase: Jumpin' the Broom, The Phil Donahue Show, and Nightline.

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PREFACE

We say we want a world living in harmony. We say we want equality and prosperity for everyone. We say we want to live united in a democracy. But do we really? We often forget that the macro is simply the micro magnified, that what we see in the outer world is a pure reflection of the inner. We want to have love and peace, but the question is, "Are we willing to be love and peace?"

Since we cannot have what we are unwilling to become, social change is not possible without personal transformation. What we are is demonstrated not in what we say but in what we do, for our actions speak louder than our words. Just what are our actions, personally and collectively, saying about what we are harboring in our hearts and minds? What is our deepest intent?

This book is designed to help close the gap between what we desire and what we manifest. We tend to focus on the desired result and simply try to make that happen. Yet it is the initial creative energy, our intent, that most needs our attention, for the consciousness that obtains, sustains. If something is acquired through deceit, then deceit is required to keep it. If a relationship develops through loving-kindness, then loving-kindness will be its sustainer. Too many believe that a particular end can be so important that it justifies any means. However, the flower is contained within the seed. If a certain flower is desired, then that particular seed must be planted. The processes used predetermine the end result. Condemnation does not produce reconciliation. Compassion never springs forth from judgment. Peace is not the fruit of war.

In the physical realm we all breathe the same air and share the same atmosphere. We forget that this is also true in the spiritual realm. Our thoughts, words, deeds, and emotions set something into motion that seeks agreement. The larger the number of people who resonate with a given idea, the greater is its outer manifestation. Whatever we harbor in our hearts—what we think, say, feel, do, and the like—has energy patterns that vibrate into the ethers, the shared collective field in which we all live. In a sense, we are all breathing in each other’s internal musings, as well as external actions. Just as no one has private air, our private lives are not so private.

Our lives, moreover, are not merely the reflection of what has happened; at every moment we are making things happen. In this world of cause and effect, we tend to perceive ourselves as effect, forgetting that we are also cause. This book reminds us to be consciously aware of how we are always setting things into motion. Although what is set into motion cannot be rescinded, it can be neutralized by a counter-action. This book essentially calls upon us to clean up the ethers, the psychic air. Everyone must be involved in cleaning up both the physical and the psychic air. In both realms we all must do our part to not only reduce additional negative emissions but also plant new trees, literally and figuratively, which help all living things to survive.

Yet this book is not merely a call for us to commit random acts of sanity. Pain pushes until vision pulls. We must stand for, not merely against, things. We must take the time to season our sense of possibility and to cultivate the taste for Oneness. The prime assertion of Your Deepest Intent is that we heal the old patterns of dualistic thinking—them versus us, right and wrong, black or white—and learn to start with the assumption of Oneness. For, in truth, there is only One of us here; we are created equally out of the same essence.

Consider yourself warned, however. Understanding Oneness will shift the lens through which you view yourself and the world thereby altering the landscape of your life. Oneness moves you past the human tendency to judge by mere appearance and opens your eyes to the Goodness that is everywhere at hand. The ego self, however, is threatened by Oneness, for Oneness blurs lines of distinction and the ego only knows itself through contrast and comparison. There is no longer a them over there because there is only One of us here. In this vein, the messages in this book are not merely transformational; they are revolutionary on both the personal and the global level.

What would life be like if Oneness were the ruling paradigm? What would the world be like? How would we treat each other? What choices would we make in foreign policies? How would our domestic programs be revitalized? What would our education systems look like? How would our economy operate? How much reconciliation would take place in our interpersonal relationships? How much would we heal the fundamental existential sense of separation that nags us, if we knew that we were all sons and daughters of the Most High? Oneness holds wealth we have yet to discover; its fruit is sweet with a nectar that we have yet to taste.

What is unique about Your Deepest Intent is the way in which universal spiritual principles, presented in the form of letters, are applied to every aspect of our lives from our most personal interactions to our foreign affairs. However, the letters are not mere abstractions or news flashes; with ancient wisdom they address the challenges of our individual and collective journey within the context of contemporary issues and current events. The messages explain how each of us is integral to every circumstance as both part the reason it exists and how it will be healed. Nothing happens at a global level that is not first happening at the individual level, and nothing can be healed globally without healing on the individual level.

This book is an invitation to go deeper in our relationship with the Divine. The letters are current yet everlasting, specifically relevant without being confined to the particular. They instruct us in a very direct and conversational way. At times they are like intimate fireside chats with our most revered mentor, who is also our biggest fan. Sometimes they are like a classroom of life where the curriculum is essentially the same for all yet the lessons are tailored to meet the needs of each student. At other times the messages are like being in group therapy or conflict resolution mediation where we are learning how to choose Oneness over polarization. At still other times, the messages are edicts of epic proportions, like a Sermon on the Mount or a Gettysburg Address.

Although the letters came through me, the underlying content is universal and applicable to all. The messages are to us individually, as spiritual travelers on the road of life, and to us collectively, as members of a global community. There is an urgency to the messages that makes them particularly relevant to the American public at this great moment in history. They speak of our potential to either bless or blow up the planet and its inhabitants. The choice is ours.

Your Deepest Intent is the hero’s journey. Perhaps the strongest and most universal archetype in storytelling, the hero’s journey beckons us with a promise of adventure, victory, and transformation. Proceed with eyes wide open, remembering that we repeat this journey throughout our lives. Section One, Life is in Session, captures the initial awakening to the awareness that the world is bigger than the environment to which we are accustomed. The stirring in the soul that will not be denied calls us to travel to unknown territory to find ... something. Although we rarely know what we are looking for, we sense that we will simply recognize it by its sacred virtues—truth, wisdom, compassion, and power.

Some of us are excited about the prospect of leaving home and exploring new territory. We assume that the grass is greener somewhere else and look forward to the surprises along the way. Others of us have no desire to go on a hero’s journey. Comfortable where we are, we either fear or resent the call to change. In both cases, the summons to the journey is equally strong and irresistible. Maybe there is a personal sense of destiny, maybe there isn’t. Regardless of our sentiments, we are acutely aware that staying where we are is not an option. Life has a way of simply moving us along, kicking and screaming if necessary, but moving nonetheless.

The many obstacles along the way provide a training ground to prepare us for the honor of receiving the treasure. How we perceive and respond to the challenges is, therefore, an integral part of the journey. Overcoming the obstacles requires us to embody the virtues we are seeking, as outlined in Section Two of this book, The Surrender to Be. The specifics of our journey merely provide the catalysts and contexts that enable the real us to shine. This is, of course, the great discovery of Dorothy and her traveling companions in Oz. What they were looking for they were looking with; they needed only to believe in themselves.

As Section Three makes clear for the journeying hero, there is No More Comfort in the Comfort Zone. The foreign territory through which we must travel is not merely different but strange. Our familiar maps, vehicles, tools, and modes of analysis lose their potency and relevancy. We are forced to tap into powers within us that we never knew existed. This new gain is always at the expense of the tactics that our ego selves have been clinging to as identity. A metamorphosis of sorts happens; what the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the butterfly calls but the beginning. This seeming dying to our old way, our own way, is inherent to the process. However, releasing our self-perception is not without strife. We get mired in our internal struggles—self-discovery, releasing our fears, reconciliation of the old and the new, contrast and comparisons to others, and so on.

The road through this new land is confounded by detours, forks in the road, circuitous routes that seem to only lead back to where we have already been. It is filled with gullies, ravines, mountaintops, valleys, rivers, and oceans of emotion. We wonder how we will make it from A to B, simply to discover that there really is no A or B. The illusionary aspect of life captures our attention and it becomes increasingly difficult to discern what is real. Each step requires faith that the path knows where it leads and that the challenges are not insurmountable.

Invariably, an animate barrier appears, a demon, dragon, or monster that wants to prevent us from reaching the treasure. There’s no turning back and no way around; the only path out is through. The more warlike depictions of the journey, grounded in the classic dualistic protagonist/antagonist paradigm in which good always wins over evil through death or destruction, portray the hero as gallantly battling the dragon and slaying it in victory. In more harmonious depictions, the hero tames, befriends, or outwits the foe. Sometimes the demon is the projection of our own fears or shadow side and doesn’t actually exist. Then the conquering that must be done is in the realm of perception; we must free ourselves from the illusion of the demon.

In Section Four, Deconstructing the Duality Demon, we confront our society’s biggest demon, the illusion of duality. Duality is a non-holistic, compartmentalized approach to life that polarizes everything because it fails to see interconnection and interdependence. Being a construct manifesting everywhere, as opposed to a single entity, duality cannot be slain or put to rest; it can only be deconstructed. This book declares that our most sacred charge is to deconstruct duality at every level, from the most personal to the most global, and live from a place of Oneness.

Once the demon is disarmed or destroyed, we are free to return home with the sacred gift, the discovery of our True Self and its connectedness to the whole. The sacred treasure is an understanding of Oneness. The journey has proved us capable and worthy, and a new era in our life begins. The foreign land is not as foreign. On our return journey we travel with more grace and ease, even appreciating aspects of the journey that have been troublesome. As we share our new skills and insights with friends, family, community, and region we transform our homeland and restore it to a place of beauty, honor, and integrity. Section Five, Restoring our Legacy is a restoration handbook for our nation.

There is often a great deal of curiosity about the origins of these letters and the process through which they are received. As I explained in the preface of the first volume of the series, The Sacred Yes, they come to me from pure Spirit as a conversation in the form of a letter complete with punctuation. Thus, what you read here is a transcription. Unfortunately it is impossible to capture all of the nuances of voice on paper—the tenderness, levity, passion, concern, humor, wit, sternness, compassion, and engaging nature. However, every effort has been made to preserve the tone and style of the voice, which are quite different from my own. Some personal references have been deleted, but the letters are void of any cut and paste.

The uniqueness in grammar, notation, and sentence structure that appears in the The Sacred Yes also appears in Your Deepest Intent; it is a trademark of this Letters from the Infinite series. Here is an excerpt from the volume one preface:

The first publisher interested in these letters described them well: They’re like jazz; they have their cadence, their own rhythm and beat. Original and authentic, they quite often defy literary conventions. The letters contain double entendres, paradoxical imagery, mixed metaphors, enmeshment of verb tenses, fluidity and nonagreement between the singular and plural, and unique applications of words that stretch their meanings. However, my dear connoisseurs of grammar, be not dismayed; all irregularities are purposeful and instructive. Every effort has been made to preserve the integrity of the messages as they move from an oral to a written medium. Parenthetical phrases, repetitive words, and ellipsis dots have been retained as delivered. Capital letters reference spiritual concepts in their absolute. Italics emphasize intensity and urgency. Rather than speed read through the letters, I strongly suggest that you slow down and take the time to hear the letters as though they are being spoken to you. In fact, reading them out loud to yourself will help you catch their rhythm and will enhance your appreciation of their syntax and storytelling quality.

Though these letters are addressed to me, they are not exclusively for me, nor are they meant to set me apart or above in any kind of way. I share them with you as evidence of what is possible for each of us as we find a unique connection to the Divine. I am very linguistically oriented; I am a poet, preacher, teacher, professor, public speaker, lyricist, spoken word artist, writer, cultural diversity trainer, facilitator, organizational consultant, and social change activist. Language is my medium, thus, I connect to the Divine through language. You will connect with the Divine in an authentic way that reflects your passion. You may be a musician, gardener, athlete, chef, caregiver, or carpenter and you will sense the Divine in a medium that reflects this. Find the place where you lose yourself, in a healthy way, to the grandeur of Oneness and Divine Order and go there frequently.

As you will see, a number of letters reference my life partner, Valerie Joi Fiddmont, and me either by name or as Reverend Daughters. The third volume of this series, Walking the Walk, currently in the initial draft phase, will be a compilation of letters through me to numerous individuals. You may see your own journey reflected in the various messages. Although the specifics of any particular letter may not parallel your own personal experience, listen for the deeper meaning; the overall message is universal. Don’t dismiss a message because of its context; apply the content to your own life.

The letters are not meant to convert or to proselytize. The frequent references to the Bible are not to imply that the Bible is the only legitimate sacred text. Quite the contrary. The letters instruct us to honor all paths that lead to Truth—that lead to Oneness with the Divine and with each other. As a Bible instructor, I teach people how to interpret the Bible within its linguistic and cultural context. The original Old Testament Scriptures are written in Hebrew. The earliest New Testament documents used by the majority of Bible scholars are in Greek. Both Hebrew and Greek have nuances that cannot be found in the English language, and the letters often refer to these subtleties in order to illustrate a point.

In some respects, American culture uses Bible stories as its folklore. We refer to being in the lion’s den, David versus Goliath, the patience of Job, reaching the promised land, eating the forbidden fruit, being crucified or nailed to the cross, washing our hands of the situation, walking on water, and so forth. These references create paradigms that deeply influence how we think. In this respect Your Deepest Intent has much to say about the story of the Garden of Eden, since of all the Biblical stories it has the greatest impact on our collective psyche—our understanding of God’s relationship to us, of free will and choice and their consequences, of dominion, sexuality, and the role of the female. The letters invite us to take a fresh new look at these stories in order to both liberate and empower ourselves.

Having grown up gay in a fundamentalist, Pentecostal, charismatic, evangelical church, I know how agonizing and rewarding the struggles for reconciliation with Biblical material can be. Now as an ordained minister in the metaphysical Ancient Wisdom New Thought tradition, I help people heal their relationship to the Bible—people who feel they have been abused by it.

My life’s work has been about making the world a more loving and equitable place in which to live. The letters give much advice on how to accomplish such a transformation. I have had concerns that the messages would not be considered genuine because they affirm many things that I have been saying for as long as I can remember. One day I was deeply humbled by a gentle but firm reminder from Spirit: Exxxcuuuuuse me. I am not backing you up; you’re just saying what I have been telling you. I am the one who has been teaching you and preparing you all of your life for such a time as this. This completely rewrote my story; my authenticity wasn’t just mine anymore but part of some larger Divine Design. Initially, my ego was bruised to discover that its ideas were not even its own.

However, this insight put my spiritual journey into perspective, enabling me to move through apprehensions about being publicly identified as a prophet. I was reminded that a prophet is a messenger who discerns society’s nuances and is able to connect the dots between what we call the past and what we refer to as the present in such a way as to clarify the direction they point to in the so-called future. A prophet is one who sees and articulates the self-evident, which often goes unnoticed, something that I have been known for all of my life. How arrogant I was in my youth to think that it was my own understanding. For the record, however, this book is not exclusively an affirmation of how I have connected the dots. A substantial portion of the book addresses the places where I and/or all of us have missed the mark, in ways that I would never have figured out based on my own paradigms.

Your Deepest Intent is the second volume of the Letters from the Infinite series. Although the letters do not appear in chronological order, I received the majority subsequent to the publishing of volume one, The Sacred Yes. The latest letter in volume one, Safety and September 11, was received on September 12, 2001. Since that time, our nation has been preoccupied with terrorism, religious conservatism, and militaristic interventions, all of which have led to a tenuous and alarming global climate. The letters have much to say about America’s role in world affairs. On a more personal note, since the first initial publication of volume one in 2002, I have been formally ordained as a minister, and the church I founded, Inner Light Ministries, has purchased its own home. The book makes references to the processes involved in both of these developments, as well.

Volume one has two companions, a 4-CD audio program by the same name, The Sacred Yes, and a music CD entitled Singing the Sacred Yes, by Valerie Joi. She and I cowrote many of the songs on the CD, which has a jazz, R&B, and gospel feel. She performed some of the songs at the Monterey Jazz Festival last year. They chronicle the hero’s journey in song and spoken word, creating a deeper place of receptivity within us. The music helps to open the heart and to soothe the bruises. The audio program enables you to hear the messages similar to how I hear them; you can essentially listen to what I am listening to. Both of these companion products are released by Sounds True.

Allowing these letters to go public is always a bit stressful for me. Although meant for a larger audience than myself, they are nevertheless quite personal, more personal than a diary of my own reflections, an equivalent to therapist’s notes. However, not releasing them would be like hiding one’s light under a bushel so that others do not benefit from its rays. I am deeply committed to my personal calling to be a voice of Oneness in the world. If anyone is inspired by this book to go deeper in their connection to the Divine, then putting my life in the public eye is worth the risk and the exposure. I take solace is Jesus’ saying, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. I have no control over what people do with these letters, nor is that something I desire. My role is simply to make them available, to give unto the people that which has been given unto me.

May this book bless you and help to illumine your path. Purify your deepest intent so that you may walk in the Yes!

Rev. Deborah L. Johnson

December, 2006

Santa Cruz, California

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost, I thank God for simply being God. Truly, truly no one does it better!

I give thanks to Life itself—I love you so much with all of your intricacies, mysteries, processes, and paradoxes.

I bless all of my teachers, who come in so many forms and disguises. Your lessons, whether inspirational or painful, remind me that God is Good all of the time and drama really is optional.

I am forever grateful to my family and my extended family for your consistent love and embrace no matter what. You truly model leave no one behind.

Deepest gratitude goes to my spiritual community, Inner Light Ministries, for your immeasurable caring, support, and encouragement. Thanks for giving me the space to find my way as a spiritual leader. I am so proud of you for walking the talk and daring to live in Oneness.

To my life partner, Valerie Joi Fiddmont, thanks for your love, dedication, and commitment. Thanks for the magic in our music and co-ministry.

To my executive assistant, Coleen Douglas—there truly are angels among us.

I thank my spiritual mentor, Michael Bernard Beckwith. Congratulations on Agape’s twenty-year anniversary, and thank you for the privilege of helping to birth something so magnificent.

Deepest gratitude to Susan Johnson and Susan Reintjes for keeping me healthy and sane.

I send my warmest appreciation to Iyanla Vanzant, Susan L. Taylor, and Kaylie Dugan for believing in me and in this series. Thanks for opening doors and helping these letters to find their wings.

Thanks to Reverend Dr. Elizabeth J. Rankow for your vision of these works as a book and naming them so.

To everyone who opened their homes to me or provided other support services during my writing process I say thank you.

Thank you to Tami Simon and Sounds True for partnering with me in this series.

To Carolyn Bond, my fabulous editor, you are "all that and a bag of chips!"

LETTER TO THE READER

Introduction at a Glance

I. INTENT IS A PLACE OF INTEGRATION

1. This book is a road map and a tool for excavation

2. This book comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable

3. Your high-tech, low-touch society leaves the human soul in angst

4. Understand how to be a miracle, not just have one

5. Intent is more than a goal; it’s a place of integration

6. Intent encompasses many factors

7. On your spiritual journey, what is your deepest intent?

8. America needs to consider its deepest intent in national and global affairs

9. What are you looking for and why?

I. INTENT IS A PLACE OF INTEGRATION

1. This book is a road map and a tool for excavation

This book is a tool for living. It is a roadmap of sorts that can guide you into places within that have been too little explored. This book is a tool of excavation that will help you to unearth great treasures within you, too long buried beneath infertile soil. This book is a prayer, a conversation with the Divine that takes place with all of you always. The specifics within any given letter will be unique; however, the underlying message is universal. Don’t let context eclipse the content.

Above all else, this book is a companion, a comforter and a friend. Commune with it often and allow your path to become illumined. There is no need to read from cover to cover in sequential order. It is perfectly fine to simply drop in at any place, at any moment in time. There are rich messages on every page, in every paragraph, in every sentence. You may choose to just be with, sit with, contemplate a single phrase for awhile. This is fine. There are no ought-tos or shoulds here. It is simply available. The only question is, How available will you be?

2. This book comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable

Although the book comforts, it will at times afflict the comfortable. Its purpose is to assist you in increasing your capacity to express your divine potential. It will help you to see things, including yourself, in a different light. It will challenge some of your existing paradigms. However, with every challenge comes a choice to move in another direction, physically, emotionally, and energetically.

These letters are not arranged chronologically. Their message is timeless, in spite of both contemporary and ancient references. They have a rhythm, a flow, a cadence. It is highly recommended that you read the letters out loud, as they were first delivered orally, and voice inflections and nuances are difficult to capture on paper. Reading out loud will help you to appreciate the syntax and storytelling quality of the letters. As you read, you will tune in to their vibration and get your own fresh revelation.

3. Your high-tech, low-touch society leaves the human soul in angst

Your American society is a very goal-oriented society. It puts a high premium on activity and accomplishment. Individuation and personal success are an important part of this mix. The striving is always for more, faster, and better than before. Yet this high-tech, low-touch society of yours leaves the human soul in angst. In fact, it is more important for your intent to be pure than for all of your goals to be met. It may be difficult at this point in time to understand why this is so. These messages, however, will make it more than self-evident. In your society, there is little or no real investment made to integrate the mind, body, and soul in such a way that your emotions, thinking, and actions are in alignment with one another. Yet it is in such a profound state of integration that your true spiritual integrity shows up. Integrity is living in an integrated state.

Take your time with this book. Do not be forlorn or discouraged if you do not grasp all of the concepts immediately. It may take a few times of reading the same passage before your awareness can wrap itself around a new approach it offers. Just be with the materials. It is highly recommended that you also read the first volume of this series, The Sacred Yes, though not entirely necessary since each volume of this series stands on its own. There are references made here to that volume, and the two reinforce each other well.

4. Understand how to be a miracle, not just have one

In the letter entitled Miracles in The Sacred Yes, I began by saying, A miracle is where your deep intent meets my Inexhaustible Supply. Notice who brings what to the equation. The first volume, The Sacred Yes, speaks greatly of my Inexhaustible Supply; this volume two, Your Deepest Intent, helps to clarify how you can show up in life with higher degrees of intent. So-called miracles are an everyday occurrence. Most people are waiting for things to happen. You are the happening. This book will help you to understand how to be a miracle, not just receive one.

Be the miracle that you are. I am the Inexhaustible Supply. Come to me in earnest with your deepest intent to be a place of pure possibility.

Perhaps one of the most important things for all of you to understand is the concept of intent. I use the word intent and not intention because it carries more of a sense of action. The word intend is a verb and thus an action word, yet it has a more diluted impact. In your society when you say that you intend to do something, you are acknowledging that there’s also the possibility, perhaps even the probability, that you will not actually accomplish what you say you intend to do.

Intent is not merely about goals. Intent is beyond objectives, plans, or strategies. Intent is beyond hopes and expectations. There is a tendency to objectify intention. However, intent resides in the depth of your soul. Understand what it is that I am saying here.

5. Intent is more than a goal; it’s a place of integration

Your intent is a place of integration. It is the place where your motives, fears, anxieties, possibility awareness, surrender (in contrast to willfulness), desires, and determination all come into play. Do not confuse desire and intent. In desire there is a longing, but the longing itself, if too intense, will convince you that the desires of your heart are not possible. There may or may not be any commitment to bringing about the desires of your heart. However, intent is further down along the continuum. By the time someone reaches a place of intent, there is clarity about what one is co-creating in the world. I use this word cocreating because by the time people reach the place of intent, they realize that they are an important part of the unfoldment. They are not just sitting around waiting for something to happen. They understand that they are intricately a part of the process of manifestation.

Intent is phenomenally important, more important than you could ever imagine. Your intent arrives before you do. You could do something that outwardly appears to be the most generous of gestures. However, if your real motivation behind it is to manipulate, to control, to camouflage, or the like, it will be felt. Furthermore, the generosity will not be perceived as genuine. It will not be received as a blessing, nor will you be blessed by it. Again, you may do something that turns out to have a completely opposite impact from what you had anticipated, or perhaps was even counterproductive. However, if your intent is pure, everything will, in fact, turn out all right.

6. Intent encompasses many factors

Your intent concerns not simply what you plan to do, but why you plan to do it, how you plan to do it, with whom you plan to do it, what you expect to accomplish on the back end, and all the underlying motivating factors that may not be apparent to the naked eye. You, all of you in humanity, are motivated by so many things.

You may buy your child a gift, and on the outside it may appear to be that you are simply fulfilling your child’s request. However, perhaps your real intent is not only to fulfill the child’s request but to retroactively fulfill your own requests that were never filled by your own parents. If your parents are alive, it might even be a way of rubbing their nose in it. It becomes your opportunity, through contrast and comparison, to try to prove that you are a better parent to your child than they were to you. These kinds of hidden agendas have very strong vibratory patterns. Everyone may not always know what the specific motivating factors are, but they will be able to sense it when a gesture is cluttered with impurities. There is a discounting that happens at that point in time.

Your intent impacts your attitudes tremendously. As you go about your day, what is your deepest intent? If you show up for a job, for example, are you there to do your best? Are you there to work cooperatively with whomever else is there? Are you present? Is your attention present? Is it your intent to really make a contribution, or are you just passing the time away? Are you just punching a time clock? Are you just doing your hours so you can get your benefits? Are you just tolerating the other individuals with whom you would really rather not work? What is your deepest intent?

7. On your spiritual journey, what is your deepest intent?

As you travel on your spiritual journeys, what is your deepest intent, my children? Are you really searching earnestly for a deeper understanding of our Oneness? Are you acknowledging me as the Source of all things and turning to me with the understanding that that’s what I am? Are you exploring your own experiences for the purpose of letting go of the stories that do not align with the Truth of your being, or are you looking for validations for your own interpretations of your life’s circumstances? Are you looking for the evidence of just how hard and stressful life can be? Are you walking around angry at what you consider to be injustice, inequalities, and downright inefficiencies in how the universe operates? What is your deepest intent as you travel this thing called life?

It is more important that you clarify your intent than it is that you accomplish your goals. It is more important that you allow yourself to be pulled by vision and not pushed by pain. It is important that you transcend the material facts and understand the bounty of the Spiritual Universe that is yours. It is important that you rise above, and desire for everyone the good that you would seek for yourself.

8. America needs to consider its deepest intent in national and global affairs

This is particularly true at this great moment in history. Much is said in the letters appearing in this book about America’s deepest intent on a national level, especially regarding global relations. It is imperative that you, individually and collectively as a nation, pause to consider your deepest intent in the world. Are your actions in alignment with your highest values? Are you using your power and your might to create a kinder, gentler, more compassionate and forgiving world? Are you making your best efforts to reconcile with your so-called enemies with the understanding that they are your brothers and sisters in Spirit? Is Oneness what you seek above