Setting My Field of Intention: Choosing Goodness

A Note From Angela Woolcott (2025)

This post is shared for historical reference to help document my journey as a writer and author. It was originally published in 2017 on my first blog and reflects my personal and creative journey at that time.

I’ve learned that a spiritual principle is simple and powerful, and I love the way James Redfield captures it in The Secret of Shambhala: “The important thing is how you set your field of intention…your prayer field.”

For me, this means focusing on the energy I carry because I know it affects everyone else in the room. I’ve noticed how one person’s great mood can instantly lift a whole group; now, I try to do that consciously.

I Release the Need to Control

I realise I can’t control the outcome of the goodness I send out, even if I aim it directly at a specific person or tricky situation. It’s truly wise for me to release the need for control. I’ve had to accept that I can’t change anyone; I can only choose how I react to them.

When I choose to be loving and act kindly, I’ve chosen to stay aligned with what is right and good for me. That kindness might not be reciprocated by the person I sent it to. They might still choose to act with anger, fear, or a negative emotion toward me. I sometimes think, “What good is my positive effort doing if nothing changes?”

The key is that I made the choice. I chose to stay good and send good out. Whether they ever change is entirely up to them, but my peace is up to me.

I Choose My Circle

It’s entirely my choice not to keep negative people in my life. Being discerning about who I spend time with is simply being wise.

I can still send them love from a distance and hope they make better choices, but I don’t have to stay close to their pain. I tap into the energy of love by being loving, forgiving myself and others, living in a state of gratitude, and staying humble. By living with joy and giving my time to others, I align myself with that positive energy, and good things naturally flow toward me.

The Gifts Flow Back

Kindness may not return from the exact place I sent it, but gifts of goodness appear elsewhere in my life.

When I happen to see a dolphin jump from a wave right as I look at the ocean, or spot a rainbow on my way home after a weary day, or notice a beautiful bloom open in my garden, I recognise it all as goodness flowing back to me. It might also be a sincere compliment from a stranger or a perfect parking spot opening up just as I arrive. These are the unexpected returns of my positive choice.

When Others Are Hurting

When someone is being hurtful toward me, I choose to look at them with compassion, knowing that their actions come from a lack of love, joy, and gratitude in their own life. I pray that they find these things so they can come to a place of inner forgiveness and act with kindness, starting with themselves.

It is vital for me to know that when another person lashes out, they are really hurting themselves and are trapped in a cycle of fear, loneliness, and pain. I know it’s essential to be discerning and keep myself and my loved ones safe if necessary. I remove myself from a person or situation, but I still choose to forgive them in my own heart and recognise that they are lost and need my prayers, not my judgment, to find their way back to love.

| “Choose Fear and it will embrace you.” Lao Tzu |

My Choice is Leadership

When I choose love, I am choosing to be a leader. I am choosing to rise up and show the way for others. I use my free will to be good. 

I choose to embrace love and allow it to embrace me. I am learning to set my field of love around me and make a positive impact wherever I go. When I choose to be good, I am taking care of my own peace. And as the saying goes, “What goes around, comes around.”