This is a portion of an old interview that Gary Zukav did, where he talks about intention (it's awesome and I wish everyone would read it)

Interviewer: Jesus said pray without ceasing. Gary Zukav: Yes, but pray for what? Interviewer: Well, understanding prayer as being in communion with the true self, or God, or however you want to term it. Gary Zukav: That's right; that’s what we all long for, that's what we all want. But what happens when you become angry, what happens when someone pushes your buttons? Interviewer: It goes out the window. Gary Zukav: Out the window, for the moment, but what comes in the window? The experiences of a frightened part of your personality. And that's what you were born to deal with, that's your life, that's your curriculum in the earth school. Everyone has a unique one, just like every snowflake is unique. Some people, when they become angry, need to dominate, need to shout louder, need to beat someone else into submission emotionally, intellectually, physically. Other people, when they become angry, withdraw emotionally. So, for some people, challenging their anger means being able to experience anger without speaking, without expressing it; and yet for other people, challenging their anger means being able to begin to give it some articulation. There is no formula, but there are tools; there are tools that everyone can use, that Buddhists can use, and Hindus can use, and Christians and Jews and atheists, that Native Americans and Zoroastrians and Baha'i can use. And these tools are necessary if you are going to move into your fullest potential, which means to give the gifts that you were born to give, to fulfill the sacred contract that you have with the universe. Interviewer: Talk more about these tools. Gary Zukav: One of them is emotional awareness. Another tool is intention, knowing what your intention is. When you make a choice, what you're actually choosing is an intention, and intention is a quality of consciousness that you bring to an action. It's your motivation, it's your reason for doing it. You can smile at someone and have many different intentions for doing that. The smile is irrelevant, the intention is important. Did you smile because there's something you want, did you smile because you were frightened and you wanted to disarm someone, did you smile because your heart filled with joy, did you smile because you saw something beautiful in the other person? Those are all different energies behind a smile. The same thing with physical actions: suppose you donate some money to a charity. Did you do it because it's close to the end of the year and you want a tax benefit, did you do it because you want to look at yourself as a philanthropist, and a good person, did you do it because you want other people to look at you that way, did you do it because you feel guilty, did you do it because you want to support what that organization is doing and this is a way that you can do it? Interviewer: It might be some of those reasons, simultaneously. Gary Zukav: Go to the deepest one. The deepest one is the one that is creating your experience, which in the East is called Karma. You can experiment with this in your life. For example, have you ever given a gift to someone who, like a child, says, "I don't like it." Do you feel any pain, do you feel disappointment, do you feel anger, do you feel used? If so, then you had a second agenda that you weren't aware of. You thought you wanted to give something to the other person, but actually you wanted something from the other person. You wanted appreciation, or acknowledgment, or indebtedness, and when you didn't get it, you got a reaction. So, if you thought that you were giving to give and you have an unexpected painful reaction, an emotional experience like that, then that's your signal that you had a second agenda. And that's what's important to discover, because you are a powerful creator. In every moment, you create with your choices, your choices of intention, and your power as a creator is a constant. You create strongly whether you are aware of the intentions with which you are creating or not. That's why it's wise to become aware of the intention with which you are creating.