You’ve probably heard of vision boards…a common New Year tradition. Using pictures and poster boards, you paste together a vision of what you want in the New Year. Personally I found them to be tedious (too many hours spent looking through magazines to find the perfect images) and questioned their effectiveness.
Last year I revamped how I created mine and the result was profound. It consisted of words (feelings, intentions, goals), but no pictures, laid out in a nine-box Feng Shui bagua map. The bagua map is used to release blocked or imbalanced energies in our space (work or home).
Let me out myself by saying that I am by no means a Feng Shui expert. Interested in it, I began reading about it and playing with some of the concepts. I noticed some immediate, positive changes in my life. For example, I submitted a consulting contract with a client and heard nothing for two months. I moved a circular copper plate (representing coin) into the power and wealth section of my home, and within 24 hours my contract was accepted and signed! Things started flowing better in the different areas of my life.
A few months later, my friend Jen introduced me to the idea of using the bagua map with vision boards. Brilliant! If it worked in my home, why wouldn’t it work on my vision board?
The bagua map consists of nine boxes correlating with different areas of our live and different colors: power and wealth (purple, red), fame and reputation (red, orange), love and marriage (pink, red), family and health (green), balance and well-being (yellow), children and creativity (white, pastels, gray), growth and knowledge (blue), career and work success (black), and travel and helpful people (white, gray, black).
I sectioned my vision board into nine boxes with the corresponding color as the background of each box. Then I simply wrote how I wanted to feel in each of the boxes. A couple of them had specific goals, the rest were intentions. “No pictures” worked for me – it shortened the time and made it less cumbersome. Admittedly, I have very little patience, so please carry on with the picture clipping if it works for you! You can still incorporate the two aspects that made mine a success.
The key is to identify the feeling you want to experience in each of these areas of your life. Feel what it will be like when your desire manifests. Close your eyes for a few minutes and picture it happening. What will it feel like? Who will be with you? What will you be wearing? Where will you be? Who will you share your good news with? What will you say? The more you do this, the more you connect with the energy of your desires.
I hung mine in my closet, where I was reminded of it each morning as I selected clothes for the day. Occasionally I’d spend some time reconnecting with it. Feeling each of the words I wrote. At the end of the year, I looked back and realized the majority of what I’d envisioned had come true – and then some!
As you embark on your vision boarding this year, experiment with overlaying the bagua map and experiment with feeling what you’re envisioning. From an energy perspective, both align you to the results you’re seeking.
