6 Easy Steps to Make your 2017 Vision Board

Ready to receive everything you desire?

Let the Universe know by making a vision board!

I just finished doing a vision board workshop over the weekend. Together, we cleared away what we no longer wanted from 2016 and opened the door to 2017.

Once we knew where we wanted to go, we set out to make boards!

If you missed my class, here is a brief explanation.

What is a Vision Board?

It’s a pictorial representation of your year, what you would like to manifest or be inspired by in the upcoming year.

Why do a Vision Board?

A vision board helps you to see exactly what you want to manifest for your year. We know that what we focus on expands so we always want to focus on what we want. A vision board helps that happen.

Ready to start? Here are the steps:

Step 1 – Get Clear

Spend some time making a list of goals and intentions for your year. Think about every aspect of life: career, health, finances, relationships, learning, creativity, spirituality and- don't forget- fun!

Most of all, think about how you want to feel this year – happy, expansive, clear, vibrant, positive, loving, grateful…

Step 2 - Get Your Supplies

Stop by the craft store and look for the following:

• Something Flat - poster board, foam board, cardboard or canvas panels
• Glue – the best one is Elmer’s Rubber Cement. It’s smelly but doesn’t buckle your paper or come off
• Scissors
• Images – Get a pile of magazines to thumb through. You can also use photographs that you have or grab online
• Words or Phrases (from magazines, online or stickers)
• Anything Else Fun – markers, stickers, glitter, ribbon, stencil lettering, craft paper

Step 3 -  Rip & Cut

Cut out images, words, and phrases that speak to you and relate to your goals and intentions. Make a big pile. Then trim and neaten each piece up.

Step 4 – Lay Out

Take your words and images and begin to lay them out onto your board until you’re happy with the style and placement. The look and design is up to you and your creativity! Allow yourself to relax and let it flow.

Some people keep it really simple with their word for the year and a few images. Others (like me) tend to cover every square inch.

The look and feel is entirely up to you. Just remember to think holistically – and incorporate every aspect of your life – mind, body, emotion, spirit…

You may not use your entire pile of images and words. Feel free to save those for next year in a Ziploc bag.

Step 5 – Glue

When you’re happy with the layout, glue everything into place.

Step 6 – Placement

Find the PERFECT location in your home or office for your board. Somewhere you’ll see it all the time. I put mine on my desk where I look at it throughout the day.

Some people put it on their altars or sacred spaces. Others prefer the kitchen or bathroom!

Find the place that’s right for you – somewhere you can see it everyday.

This is your opportunity to have fun and manifest your dreams in 2017!

When you’re done, post your boards below or on my Facebook page so I can see them!

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Ready To Get What You Want?

In New Age circles, one hears a lot about intention.

“Set your intention. Be clear about what you want. Ask for the what, let God figure out the how.”

And like most things, we do it and have mixed success, right?

But here’s the thing. Intention isn’t enough.

I can have the intention to learn how to ride a bike or to lose 20 pounds. I can think about it, visualize it and imagine it but unless I’m willing to take some action towards achieving my goal, it’ll never happen.

Am I going to learn to ride a bike from saying I want to? Not likely. But I’ll master it if I get on it and practice. It’s the same for losing weight. I can write down my intention or say it out loud but unless I do something, nothing will change.

I first heard Marci Shimoff talk about a secret formula for success in her book Happy for No Reason. In it she says she learned this from performance consultant, Bill Levacy. To me, it encapsulates exactly how to use intention and harness its power to create results in your life.

And the best part, it’s really easy to remember.

Here’s the formula: Intention, Attention, No Tension.

How does it work?

1.     Intention

The first thing we have to do is set an intention. Just like above. What do I want?

a.     I want to lose 20 pounds

b.     I want to have a successful massage practice with 20 clients a week.

c.      I want to get As in all of my classes.

Make sure to be specific. Once you’re clear about your intention, write it down. Say it out loud. Hang it up somewhere you can see it. Now it’s time to activate step 2.

2.     Attention

How am I going to achieve my goal or intention? What actions, steps, and imagery can help my intention to manifest? Try to make these specific too.

a.     Losing Weight 

Researching diets or finding a local support group might be a great first step. Once I have some help, the next step is changing eating and exercise habits, slowly. Set goals that are realistic, safe and feel attainable.

b.     Successful Massage Practice

Have I tried advertising my massage business locally or attended a networking event? What about referrals from other healthcare practitioners? Have I made a brochure?

c.      Getting all As

Am I utilizing a planner to ensure that I get all my work done? Do I have a quiet place to study? Have I scheduled time to get work done?

Putting attention on what I want to accomplish focuses the mind, emotions and actions towards the goal. Think about step 2 like action steps to get a desired outcome (intention). We can write them down and check them off one by one.

Now for step 3. Some people think this is the easiest step while others think it’s the hardest!

3.     No Tension

What’s that? Another way to say this is relaxing into the process. I relax, knowing that all my thoughts, visioning and actions will produce an outcome.

We can’t push the river. What do I mean? We have to surrender and allow things to unfold in divine time not on our timeline.

If you’re anything like me, who wants everything done yesterday, it’s often difficult to wait and allow things to unfold naturally. Sometimes when I’m in the middle of striving for my goal it can be hard to grasp why it’s taking so long. Yet, despite my impatience, when I do get results, I always see the magnificence and perfection in the timing.

When I remember to NOT push the river, I can actually float down in it, knowing that divine action is moving me exactly where I need to go. And it feels infinitely better and more fun than being uptight, annoyed and irritated that I’m not getting results fast enough.

Step 3 is about learning how to relax and enjoy the ride, enjoy the wait, enjoy the process.  After all, this is what life is, a process.

So try this great and easy to remember formula for success. Use it to manifest what you want. Be sure to let me know how it goes!

Leave a comment below sharing how you'll use this technique!

I'd love to hear it.

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What do YOU want in your New Year?

Hello everyone! Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Are you ready? Okay, okay, so I don't mean party plans, champagne purchases and designated drivers. I mean, are you ready to start your year with clarity, with purpose and with intention?

This is the perfect time of year to release that which you no longer want and get clarity about what you want to attract (all that we desire). Want to know how? Let's start with letting go...

This is my board from 2013

There are lots of ways to do this. If you like fires, have a roaring bond fire. Write down anything you're ready to let go of or release and then one by one throw those words or phrases into the fire! If you can't go to the beach, don't have a fireplace or suitable backyard, try a barbecue or a burning bowl! You can even do it with firecrackers by thinking about what is leaving you as you light it and then watch it blow up in front of your eyes!

Now how about attracting the good stuff. I really love vision boards. A few years ago we started doing this as an annual tradition with our children. Last January, my 19 year-old took hers back to college with her while mine sits on my desk at work. A vision board can be anything that inspires you- words, pictures, objects. People go about them in different ways. Some like to start with a list of goals for the new year- "what I see for myself." Others are more organic and surf the internet, browse magazines or newspapers for words and images that appeal.

Last year I learned about a similar concept to the vision board from Robert Holden. It's a compass to orient you. In a workshop I attended, he handed out these paper compasses. So last year, that was the theme I used, placing joy at the center of the compass, reminding me of where I always want to be. Then I oriented mine so spirit was in the north, fun and grounding in the south, family and emotional needs in the west and intellectual pursuits in the east. This year, I think I might allow it to be more flowing but I will start with making a list of goals for myself because even though I want my board to be more free-flowing, I will choose precise and specific objectives for myself this year just as I do every year. 

Actually, if this is something you already do, a great way to check in is to review the list from last year and see all that has been accomplished, all that has manifested in 2013. Celebrate and honor it! That list can often help dictate 2014 too because sometimes goals continue or deepen. 

Having a vision board enhances that goal/objecive list, provides visual imagery to it and is a constant reminder, when you see it, of what you want. When we decide how we want our lives to be, the universe helps make it happen. It's so much better than letting life happen to us and way more fun not to mention satisfying. An expression I heard Marci Shimoff say that I just love is that we have to set our intentions - that's our goals, our objectives, then we put our attention to these things by making a vision board and by writing them down and seeing them often and finally we breathe in and allow for no tension- letting the universe (or God) support us in manifesting our dreams.

So, what are you waiting for? 2014 is just about here, are you?