Welcome to the first real day of the New Year - a work day, the day we really own 2011. Hope your holiday has been a happy time for you and yours and you are feeling cheered by the hopes of the coming year.
It's been a couple of years since I made a vision board and I thought 2011 was the perfect time to create a new one. I've been clipping photos for a few days now and staring at that big, black sheet of foam core. A little daunting, but very exciting. There are stacks of magazines all over my dining room and I have my "rough draft" laid out on the dining table.
A vision board is based on the idea that what you think about is drawn to you and you are drawn to it. I look at it as a way to focus my mind on what's really important to me, where I want to go, who I want to be and what I want to add to my life. So I've been clipping photos and words that inspire that vision for me. When I'm done I set it up in my bedroom where I can lie in bed and look at it. Looking at what you want your life to be is amazingly calming and inspiring. It's great to wake up to those images and let them guide your day.
At the beginning of a year I like to create a vision board that encompasses every part of my life. I include pictures of things spiritual, financial, social, physical, emotional and material. I like to create a vision of the balance I am striving for in my life.
I created my first vision board in 2006. At the midpoint in the year I took some time to review where I stood in regards to the desires I had expressed on my board. It was amazing to me to see that more than half of the things I had on the board had come into my life. Some things came by direct effort on my part - I stuck to my morning study ritual, took better care of myself, worked on creative projects I enjoyed, I spent more time outside. And other things, came with no effort on my part other than expressing a desire for them.
That was the part that most surprised me. A loved one surprised me with a bike for my birthday, I received a financial gift I never would've expected, I met fun and interesting people who brought new ideas and activities to my world and it continued that way. I love the idea of manifesting a beautiful life by making my desires clear.
It's fun to see how my desires have been fulfilled and have changed over the past few years. On my last New Year vision board I wanted to travel and have more adventures. After a year with a lot of travel and adventures of both the fun and terrifying kind, this year my greater desires are settling into a house with a washer and dryer, a kitchen organized in a way that makes room for both food AND kitchenware, storage space, a garage for two cars and a small yard with room for a garden. This year, rather than wanting a bigger life, I'm craving a simpler, smaller life. I'm enjoying pulling that together visually.
If you'd like to join me in creating a vision board this month here are some great links you'll enjoy.
How to Make a Vision Board, by Christine Kane.
A Gallery of Other's Vision Boards
An Explanation of How Vision Boards Work from Oprah.com (quantum physics - love that)
How Vision Boards Affect the Brain by Tristan Loo
Happy Monday. Hope you are easing into the new year in a way that feels comfortable and peaceful to you. I'm trying to do the same, while looking at that To Do list and seeking peace that I can handle it today.
photo via microsoftclipart
3 comments:
That is so interesting! Working at a publishing company for multilevel marketing companies (yes, we do sell "The Secret"), I had always thought that vision boards were for MLM whackos wanting to strike it rich. Knowing that a normal person whom I admire makes & uses them changes my perspective completely!
Are you going to share your finished board? I'm so curious to see how you put it together!
Vision boards are awesome!
I've been doing them forever and they really work!
I look at mine everyday when I get out of bed and visualize all the things I need to do that day to make my vision board a reality.
Think big!
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