intension in meditation

My errors in life, have often come at times when I wander away from my intensions because I haven't been meditating. I don't consciously think about what is important to me when I'm following the breath, but when the noise of life dies down in meditation, there's an inner voice that can be heard, I see more pure vectors of action, my brain just produces better fixes for my behavior and intension.

The famous cliche that the road to hell is paved with good intensions points out that actions are pay dirt, and that often times intensions only get you so far. I am an unintegrated person who has cross currents and undertow. So many times I set out to do one thing, and do another. And quoting Whitman about being larger, and containing the multitudes has become an excuse for me, not in the spirit of inclusiveness that Whitman intended. I think it points out that psychology isn't always consistent. Even so integration and integrity are something that just naturally happens when you meditate frequently. It's one of the many benefits--and I don't need science to articulate them for me, thank you, I know they are there, I have that confidence. 

And yet sometimes I don't have a regular meditation practice. Why don't I always act in my own best interest? I have that book on my shelf, Menninger's Man Against Himself. It's a very evocative title for me, I see in myself and other self confounding behaviors all the time.