It can be challenging to make choices, especially if we are working to align ourselves with our highest potential. We may bounce back and forth between decisions and the perceived outcomes they bring, but this quickly becomes exhausting. If we allowed the mind to run its course, we would never make a decision. Our desire to have control over life, the masculine dominated world we live in, prohibits us from being receptive, a feminine quality. These two polarities are contained in the natural world everywhere one may look. When we’re receptive, the choice we make will ultimately bring us exactly what we need, but if we don’t have a clarity of direction we may find ourselves lost. So, I would say that in order to make a decision we need to bring this masculine-feminine polarity into balance.
The masculine principle can be seen as the center point of a circle, the feminine the circumference of the circle. Given this, the masculine is connected to intention, focus, and will. The intention creates the center point of the circle and from this point we have the ability to make a circle. In other words, it is with our intention that we create a pathway for ourselves to walk. Do you remember those compasses you used in geometry class to draw a perfect circle? You always started with a point that became the center. Same things applies here with your intention.
So, then we can pose the question, is the intention more important to focus on than the perceived outcome of the choice (i.e. the path)? The paradox is that they are not separate. The circle includes the center point. If we work backwards from what we want to create with our choice it brings us back to our intention, and if we move forward from our intention it brings us to what potential is there to be created. Therefore, the answer to the question above is that there’s no one that is more important to focus on because they are not two different things, they are one in the same.
Then, what’s the best way to make a decision when you are uncertain of what choice is best for your individual path?
Do you have a clear vision of what you are looking to achieve with this choice? Or is the intention more clear? I believe this is where you begin. You start with what’s clear and work to resolve what’s unclear. Where there is no clarity you are not seeing something, so if you dive deeper into the unclarity you will most likely end up more confused about your decision.
Start with what’s clear. Either you have a clear intention or you have an idea of what you want to create. Again, these are not separate in the end, but we create distinctions in our mind and the distinction I’m posing here is between why and what. Intention is your ‘why’ and a future perceived from a choice is your ‘what.’
If neither of these are clear when you have a decision to make, drop the decision and zoom out to the macrocosmic level of your life. What’s your overall intention in life and what things are you desiring to create? From here, you can slowly zoom back into the current moment decision, which is in some way connected to the macro scale of your life. One thing I will say is that you will know for sure if something is clear. If there's still a question, it’s unclear.
Given all of this, we could say that intention is pre-creation. It is what comes out of stillness. So, while it may be valid to start in either direction, from finding intention or envisioning a creation, I believe that the sustainable way to make decisions is from intention. We can easily dream up an ideal future and walk towards it, but it's likely that our vision of what we want will change. However, intention is quite static, as in the center point of a circle. The circle can always get bigger or smaller while the center can remain the same. In other words, our desired outcomes can change while the intention remains the same.
Therefore, anytime you’re challenged on what to choose it may be helpful to look back at your intention. It allows you to empower yourself in your choice, regardless of what outcome may arrive. In the end, it will always be different than expected, but the intention gives you the pathway, the why. To do this you must slow down, find stillness, and take the pressure off yourself.
The intention arises out of infinite rest, like the big bang, something is created out of nothing. If you’re having trouble locating your intention, empty yourself. Do less. Clear the clutter from the mind and allow yourself to sink into the body. Your intention is what illuminates the mind. It gives you the spark to walk passionately in life.
Wherever you are in a decision making process, know that you can’t get it wrong. Life is a process of learning/unlearning and any choice you make will inevitably bring you to a lesson that creates a deeper connection to a true and authentic Self (if you choose to look for it). In most cases, it’s better to choose without 100 percent clarity than not at all because at least out of the prior you can improve.
The choice is always yours. Clarity of intention and receptivity to life will provide a solid ground to feel empowered in doing so.