What a shaman does is wield intent in a lot of different ways, all at the same time, because they have a lot of experience in handling their personal intent - they don't waste it. They don't sit around and wish for things.

Where they are, what they are, and what they have is what they have - period.  Now, if they see a goal they want to attain, then they wield intent.  So, if you have a person who is about to give you a problem, you can get even subtler.  You can say, "Well, I can see this problem coming - it's already gone too far for me to conveniently stop it with intent this way, because if I do, it's going to take too much energy.  Instead, I can move over here, and I can apply intent to create another situation, which diverts them from me in this situation.  And while they're doing that, then I can apply intent over here to bring this situation down to where once they do get free, it's not going to be a problem."  It's wielding intent - it's very subtle - it's like it can form a net.  But, you have to be very clear, absolutely clear on what you're doing.

Start out with words in your head.  Begin with something small and apply intent.  Say to yourself, "I want to X," and eventually you will begin to feel an energy that you can discern from other energy and learn to work directly with that.  That's the secret.  If you know what you're doing, then you become even more clear and succinct, and you reserve even more energy to yourself - you don't waste it.  You look for the problem, you identify it, you determine where is the best place to push the button, and that's where you apply your Intent.

Start small; learn to understand your own intents clearly, how they compete with each other, how they manifest themselves. From there, move outward to gain an understanding of how intent functions in the human world in which we live.  Then, move from there to understand how intent is tied to the intent that moves the universe to create and destroy.  It isn't as easy as it sounds; it will take decades of diligent work to get there.

A shaman doesn't use intent in the sense of 'normal' people.  They wield intent like a razor.  A shaman doesn't waste intent.  I think it's one of those things you learn a little at a time.  First, setting small intents that you can verify, and then, larger and larger intents.

Can you give an example of unyielding Intent?

Well, let's say that you intend for your knee, recovering from surgery, to return to normal.  You set that as an unyielding intent.  You want to use the recapitulation around that to make sure that there are no issues in the original injury to the knee, and the subsequent history of the knee, that your energy has tied up somewhere.  It's just like with someone's desire to procure a better work situation.  They set an intent for that to occur, and then express it in the larger world.  It must be unyielding.  Gradually, you will work your way toward that intended situation.

Shamans clean their link to intent, constantly. My belief is that the universe itself has come in to existence due to intent.  It's not conscious, it's not self-aware, but there is intent operating.  And, it's that intent to which shamans ultimately want to create their personal link.  It's not a judgmental thing; it doesn't represent a specific thing in energy - its just intent.  It is what drives the engine of creation.  The better you are at that, the better you'll be at using your own personal intent because you're essentially working through it - and everybody has it.

How do you wield intent without some sort of attachment to the outcome?

You look at something you want to happen.  Create an intent that it will happen, and at the same time, not care if it happens or not - it's one of those paradoxes.  On the one hand, you have to intend it like you will die if it doesn't happen.  On the other, you don't care if it happens or not.

If you know what you're doing, then you become even more clear and succinct, and you reserve even more energy to yourself - you don't waste it.

I've noticed that something's aren't important that were important at one time.

Intent also changes how you perceive things that would compete with it to prevent it from happening.  For example, if you form an unyielding intent like, "I want to be able to see energy - human energy - in its totality", you don't back up from that - ever.  That is unyielding.  You reinforce it every day.  Every time you look at a human being, you reinforce the intent.  "I will see your energy - I will observe it."  And then, that intent begins to have energy of its own that you're giving it.  If it's unyielding enough - there's no "well, I'd like to", or, "I wish I could", it is, "I will" - eventually, it will happen.  It has to happen because it's an unyielding intent - it will not yield.

Keep the intent small.  Focus it on some part of a larger whole you are trying to create, don't start with huge intents.  Restate the intent all the time until you can feel it rather than think it.  Intent isn't the product of a verbal construct.  The hardest part of teaching someone to use their intent effectively is the art of teaching them something without words.

Chisel your intent, define it very crisply, and then apply your energy to creating what you hope in your future.  As you make decisions, always try to choose the ones that leave the largest number of possibilities open to you.  But, don't allow this to cause you not to make decisions, because that's a decision in itself.  Making choices that don't limit your outcomes can hone the road to an intended path.  Sometimes, you get what you intend, just not in the way you expected.

The more specific the intent, the more likely you are to achieve it. The important thing is to work the smaller intents into a larger fabric of healing, or whatever you are attempting to achieve.  In other words, if you want to set a really huge intent that will be difficult to accomplish, you do that by delineating the smaller things that must first occur through your intent before reaching the larger goal.  What is the first thing that has to happen in order to reach the ultimate goal?  Apply intent there first.  Build into the larger intent.  If you work long enough at it you begin to see where you can enlarge the intents to take in more ground initially.

Focusing intent is a feeling, a type of energy, you have it in you - it keeps you alive. Learn to connect it to a larger intent until it merges and becomes energy on a level you can direct.  The basic intent remains the same; how you focus and direct it can change, though, this is different than thinking it, or envisioning it.

Set intents in small bites.  Play the intent out like a scenario: you start with A, which is small, but A holds the possibility of moving to B, C, or D, you choose.  See the next step and create the intent for that.  You want to have an over intent, the big intent for what it is you are trying to create, then back up and work the threads that weave a tapestry where that is a reality.  I guess you could say for something like that it would be a plan of intent, it is the most secure way to create the outcome you want.

Set the large intent you want to create, then you can break it down and move in parts towards it. That would be my advice, even if the large intent you have seems impossible, try to break it down and create it, just remain fluid.  Yes, be fluid.  Remember, there are competing intents out there, so you have to be able to react and move your intent in ways that keep it going the direction you want.  This really is affecting an outcome, through your energy, so it is a shamanic act; even though it may not be toppling mountains, it's still toppling one standing in front of you and keeping you from reaching your goals.