13 Aug The Massage Lesson

Once upon a time, at a lovely resort in St. Lucia, I had a two person massage. That’s not two people having a massage at the same time. That’s two people massaging me at the same time. The masseuses were different sexes and different sizes and their technique was so exact that I never knew whose hands were where when. Sounds dreamy, yes?  Yet after it was over I felt a rumbling in my gut brain that was powerful enough to taint my experience. It took me a while but I finally realized that although these folks were expert practitioners, what was missing was intention. The intention to heal or whatever it is that good massage therapists intent about when they are working on their clients just wasn’t there.

Intention is a pretty powerful tool. Thinking intentionally can actually tip the needle towards what you are intending. Intention can make the difference between landing a client and not. It can make the difference between a satisfied customer or not. For healers, like those massage therapists, it can make the difference between healing and not. And it’s one of those things that contribute to that all important authenticity. Assuming, of course, that your intentions are honorable. People can sense whether you are really trying to help them, or just trying to sell them.

Intention isn’t one of those things that is processed in the left rational thinking side of the brain. People sense the energy of intention, even though they may not be able to verbalize it.

We all know the phrase “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Intention alone won’t get us far. But intention paired with right action can be a magical combination.