Intentions

Lets define it first shall we. Websters Dictionary  tells us that the root word for Intention is Intent and that is defined as : the thing that you plan to do or achieve : an aim or purpose.
Many of us have set Goals before -New Years Resolutions- though most of us are not  very resolute in those resolutions.   When we think of Goals we think   of something you are trying to do or achieve
Or we might  think of  a motion that needs to happen or a space. Sports illustrate that well. Think of  an area or object into which a ball or object  must be thrown, hit, kicked, etc.,  into in order to score points.   To me Goals are focused they are contained. I think of  a Soccer Goal its a designated boundary or space, it is  resolute it doesn't move, and it is the same for  every game. There are specific steps that are required to achieve that "goal"  in sports those are called "the basics" or fundamentals. So lets think beyond goals for a minute and discuss  the difference between goals and intentions.  Intentions unlike most goals are broad, all encompassing, and can be achieved in any number of ways with many different  outcomes.  Intentions are more relatable to art or music than sports.
 A piece of  art or a piece of music  can have  the intention of making people happy or sad or think or or, or, or, or, or...  there are  millions of trillions of possibilities on what  the creator WANTS to happen when you look at, hear, or experience their  art.   They can  use any combination of notes, instruments, voices or any combination of paint, clay, or pen  to create their art.  Yet  they can  produce the same intention using different modalities.  Think broad, or expensive, but effective.

Why we need an intention when we meditate?
Because you get what you project.  This works for goals too... in sports they say "visualize the ball going in the net".   Intention adds power to your meditation. You have added reason, motivation, and incentive to your meditation. Well that is all well and good but WHY? Why should I do this? So I will answer that  question with a new one. Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect?  Edward Lorenz who was a mathematician and meteorologist  is accredited with the theory of the butterfly effect.  So in his theory a butterfly flapping his wings in ( pick any place ) lets say  Beijing  changes the weather in Kansas.  Or as Wikipedia puts it

in chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependency on initial conditions in which a small change at one place in a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state

So the small act of setting an intention can manifest great differences in the future, In many different parts of your life.  So set a broad intention something Macro. Here are a few examples:

•  I want to have and exercise more faith
•  I want  to recognize and live  up to my divine potential (A side note:  I did that one for my very first intention- wow- it was wonderful !!!)
•  I want to see the world/people with my spiritual eyes or how God sees
•  I want to act with more charity...

These are all broad statements that can be realized any number of ways and can be manifested in all parts  of your life.

When Should I Set my Intentions?

I love how sprouting seeds look like a brain.

The new moon is a great time to plant seeds. The  pull of the moon (you know the  pull that causes the  tide change in the ocean)  pulls the  moisture  from the earth  to the surface of the soil making the ground more moist, thus making it a great time to plant seeds because there is more moisture.  Or the conditions are more favorable for seeds to sprout when the moons energy is influencing the water in this way.  Ideas are the seeds of  the mind and  fully formed intentions are  good seeds  to plant.  A good time to plant your mind seeds is the  new moon it happens  once a month so its a good reminder and it comes often  enough for you to check up on  your intention and  see how it has manifested itself or see if you  need to tweak it or not.  The  new moon  is the beginning of the moon cycle so think of  birth  or rebirth of new ideas and a  new and better you.

How often should I Change it?
 Its good to keep an intention for at least 40 days. Give it time to stick its OK to tweak  it a bit but keep the basic concept the same long enough to feel its influence strongly.  A great way to do this is pray. Ask God to help you  find something to focus on. God has Great Intentions for you and they are all over the scriptures. Ask God to help you find one that would be best and then stick with  it until  you feel prompted to change.  This could be a  long time so review it now and again.

How often to I need to  review my intention?
Just set your intention and  then think about it when you think about it.  That is the power of the subconscious you don't have to think about it every min of the meditation you can set it at the start and then  not think of it for weeks but it will still influence your  meditation and out comes of it. But  a honest review of it on the  new moon,  or full moon, or every 3rd Tuesday, or whatever works for you would be good too.  The point being you don't need to have it at the front of your brain for every meditation and during every moment of the day.  Writing it down in a journal and  writing down ways you have seen it come to pass is  a great way to review.

Can I set MORE than ONE intention?
Yes! Its good to have an Overall intention - lets say that its to recognize and use the atonement more  in my life. But  a few weeks  into  meditating with this intention and I have a family member who  is sick. I can  set a underlying intention  of  sending  light, love, and healing to  this family member as I  meditate.  Both intentions are in effect but  I will drop  my intention on  helping  Jethro or Skippy or whomever  once he is better. Oh, and don't over do it. You Can set Too many intentions. Keep them Small and few.

Caution
OK now that you have done all that I will caution you against setting intentions and then planing  out results or how  this intention will come about or be displayed. If you place limitations  or  plan a road map for your intentions than  that is most likely what will happen and you will miss out on  filling your life with  blessings of this intention in every angle of your life.  Think of it this way. Say your intention is to fill your life to the brim with good things.  So lets make your life a cup a great big tall

cup. After setting this intention you decide the best way to fill your  life or cup  up is with  a steady stream of  scripture study.  So you turn on the tap and  read your heart out and study until you are  full to the brim with the good things of the gospel  that are contained in the scriptures. There!  Intention was met! Hurrah,  my cup is full and all is good!!!  -True- your cup is full- True you are full of good things- True you met your  intention.
Now lets do this differently. Lets take the same intention Of filling your life with good things and the same cup and lets  let God fill it.  He takes your cup/life and rolls you  down to  Antarctica.  What!?  That wasn't part of the plan-  its OKAY because we have no plans, we let God fill our intentions. Then  he takes our cup and plunges it into the ice cold waters. These waters are pure and filled with more than just scripture study.  They are complete  they have service opportunities, temple work, self love, repentance, faith, love, charity, new ways to understand the magnitude and importance of the atonement, and much MUCH more.  These pure,cold, clear waters don't just stream in  the bottom of my cup, like it does from the tap, They flow over the rim of every side of our cup, they run down the edge of the glass and come crashing at the bottom of the cup they continue to mix and connect as they rise in our cup , enveloping and filling the cup with  goodness, clean pure goodness from every angle of our lives.  When we are done we are full just like we were when we filled our cup up to  the brim with the tap, but  we are filled more completely.  Every aspect of our life that could be touched and reached is influenced.  So don't map out your intentions let God "fulfill" your intentions and make note when he does.

MORE FUN READING
The Intention Experiment 
5 Steps to Setting Powerful Intentions
Set the Tone for Your Meditations with an Intention