The intentions are things that come totally from inside. They may be influenced by past actions, but you can train them here in the present moment to be something new, to keep the mind acting in skillful ways.

"Then there are the intentions. These are things that come totally from inside. They may be influenced by past actions, but you can train them here in the present moment to be something new. This is a freedom that’s available to all of us, and that we don’t take advantage of as much as we should.

Simply in the way we breathe, we can have a sense of well-being in the body. By the way we talk to ourselves, which the Buddha calls verbal fabrication, we can totally change our mood. And then in terms of mental fabrication — the perceptions and feelings we focus on — we’re totally free to perceive a situation in lots of different ways, all of which are true. Then we can ask ourselves: “Which of these ways is the most conducive to keeping the mind happy, keeping the mind acting in skillful ways?” Choose that perception; choose those feelings. Then you can feed on those. That’s the food of intention."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Food for Endurance"

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