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Making Vision boards – Popularized by Oprah and Martha Beck
In Career and Life Development class Webb Garrison kicked off the vision board project by leading us through a long meditation where we walked into a forest and eventually came upon a treasure chest. We opened the chest to see what was inside. These dreamy treasures gave us insight into what we wanted to include in our future.
I came out of the mediation with only a few clues but used the relaxed, open state of consciousness to try and clarify ideas about my dreams. I pictured a cozy little green office where I could see myself practicing therapy. I imagined a large open loft studio where I could lead workshops exploring the magic of the creative process. I could see myself writing a book about Art Therapy one day. I like being with people who are expanding their minds. So, maybe I would like to teach. With these fantasies floating around in my mind, I flipped through magazines looking for images to concretize these imaginings and create my vision board.
I wanted to use the collage process to help clarify my goals, involve the subconscious and then orient myself to the life I want to create. But none of the job related ideas appeared in the magazines I had in front of me. I found a new refrigerator and a cute puppy, but the rooms I wanted didn’t show up. I clipped here and there but I was struck by how few things I wanted that I don’t already have. The glamorous bodies, luscious lips and sleek cars just didn’t excite me.
Mostly, I gathered pictures of beautiful places that made me breathe deeply and feel grateful. That feeling of gratitude is connected to a sense that I have enough. So, instead of what I want, or what I am lacking, I focused on what I already have and want to celebrate.
So now I have the background full of pictures describing the states of being I want to maintain and cultivate. And, I am keeping an eye out for images of cool spaces that might hold my future. It might be some idyllic retreat in Dwell magazine, or it might be a For Rent posting. The visionboarding practice will help me recognize “it” when I encounter “it.”
