Vision Boarding 101
Here are some universal suggestions and directions for successful vision boarding and visioning in general. Expect blessings and synchronicity that will surprise and delight you. Enjoy!!
*I borrowed some of my inspiration from Oprah Daily as well as 12 years of making vision boards and marveling at the power of this practice!
Okay, ready? First, consider what matters most to you. Take a moment of self-reflection and figure out what’s most important to you. Think about the one or two (or more) segments of your life you really want to change and focus on the words those sectors bring to mind. I often feel like I’m walking into the new year with a theme or mantra from lessons learned or inspiration (Calm, slow down, walk in nature…). If you have a singular goal for the year (promotion, bedroom sanctuary, island vacation, etc) then a vision board is a powerful ally indeed!
Then, get out your magazines. It's time to enjoy cozy moments hunting through your old stashes of magazines. You may need to purchase a magazine or two. Either way, magazines are the quintessential way to curate visual representations of your goal. I like to invite friends to all bring tons of magazines over and make it a vision boarding party! You can always print images you see on Pinterest and Instagram. For example, If you want to make improvements to your kitchen, you can clip a picture of a beautiful kitchen that inspires you. I also like to clip lots of words that catch my eye and represent my vision.
Don’t “should” on yourself! Only paste down what brings you life. Sometimes we fill our goals up with what we “should” do. That feeling of lack, strain or dread will fill us with negative feelings when we look at our board and render its manifesting power empty or worse. One strategy can be to find the images that might imply “the wish fulfilled”. You want to travel? Find images of a plane in flight, or a family like yours smiling on a beach. You can even clip out / print the words “travel” or “walk in nature” if that's what's calling you this year. **Do not add a pic of folks hiking up a tall mountain if you don’t want that and what you’d really love is a beautiful meadow or loop around a lake. Positive energy and vibration is the secret sauce to the magic of a vision board.
To make your vision board work, put it somewhere you can see it. Often! Put your vision board in a place that's within your regular line of sight—your wall, your nightstand, your home office, alter space or even by your television—because the key is to look at it as often as possible. *** The trick is to make sure any words you use are short and the images you choose are vivid, attractive, and glossy, so your vision board regularly catches your eye.
Now you are ready! Helpful tools are: poster board or cardboard, glue sticks, scissors, lot’s of old or new magazines (ask friends to borrow or invite them over to join you!). Don’t forget your vision! #1! When making a “magic book”/journal cover, I often use Modge podge - gloss. You can find this at any craft or art store. I use this with a fan like paint brush to past on and over my images to create a glossy lasting image for my sketchbook cover. Example of one I made this year below!
You have options!
If you're not comfortable making such a statement with your vision board, you can try creating a smaller version. You can cut your poster board in half, or use the largest photo frame you have on hand, or trifold a piece of heavy standard size paper. Here are a few examples of other ways you can do it:
Use online images. You can make a digital vision board as your laptop's backdrop or your phone's home screen. If you prefer to go the digital route, there are plenty of free online programs to help you make your vision board. For simplicity, you could create a board on Pinterest or closer to the real thing on an app like Canva.
*I still believe that a physical board that is there in front of you when you wake up or go to sleep is more powerful but depending on the screen digital could get the job done.
Adorn a “Magic Book”. A few other options are making a Magic Book or book cover. Here you past images in your journal or sketch book for the year that inspires you. You can continue manifesting by filling the book with inspiration all year. Or just use it as you’d use any journal or sketchbook.
Take a baby step with a Mini board /alter piece. Finally, for many of us time is an issue. If so, you may enjoy this simple fun starter approach. The mini alter piece or inspiration page! Take a single letter size sheet of paper and give it a tri fold so that it’s able to stand up on it’s own on you nightstand, personal alter or area in your space where you meditate or sit to replenish (if you don’t have such a place in your home consider creating it this month. A place of concentrated inspiration, motivation or renewal.) Once you have folded your paper you can now add a few clippings of words, phrases and images that magnify a handful of the deepest dreams and desires you want. I’ll tell you this format was my very first board. I did it without knowing its power but did add powerful wishes on that paper. I was taken by surprise when a year or two later I came back to the board to see that almost every aspect had been fulfilled in some way.
Please enjoy this practice that has now become a powerful sacred tradition in my life and now my family and close community
To your wonderful health & wonderful New Year,
Makini
