How to Make a Vision Board (Treasure Map)
Saturday, February 7, 2009 at 05:04PM A number of people have asked me ... "What's a treasure map? What's a vision board?"
I've proven over and over to myself that there is a larger consciousness within me that see's the future. That is guiding me to choose wonderful expressions and experiences, that shows me the way. I've proven it in my written morning pages (thanks to Dorothea Brand - from whom Julia Cameron got the idea and made it massively popular through the Artist's Way). I've proven it over and over in the collages I've done daily when I've tired of writing morning pages. I have journals filled with page after page of pictures I simply was attracted to in magazines. I never focus on what it will cost - never - it is NOT about the money, it is ALWAYS about the experience. The universe twirls at my fingertips to provide the experience I demand - either consciously or unconsciously. 
Example: this page is from a 2.10.99 journal page (I date everything) during a transition time, when I was employed in a very low paying job just to put food on my table while I figured out what I really wanted to do. The airport at the top of this collage is Hong Kong (where I arrived on business 6.24.2004, my company paying my expenses). The bird is a cockatiel (I'd never had a bird as a pet - cats are my thing). I was given Jewel in fall of 2007 (see below), when my granddaughter moved to NM and couldn't take her. I have yet to get to Tokyo.
HOW TO MAKE A TREASURE MAP/VISION BOARD:
1st: COLLECT WHAT YOU NEED: Pictures: a bunch of attractive magazines with lots of pictures. I tend to favor Smithsonian, National Geographic, and all sorts travel magazines for a more global reach. Catalogs are cool. I save old calendars - they have great photos and many are sent free each year to people who donate or subscribe. Glue sticks: or adhesive of some sort - I prefer removable so I can move them around until I'm happy with them. Card Stock: 8 1/2 x 11 for a Focus Board (see below) or for larger boards - 11x14 is a reasonable size, then you can always go very very large like Martha Beck showed on Oprah. You can find poster board in drug stores, art stores, or cut from boxes...recycle materials. You can read below in my first post on this page - the smaller, the more focused, the faster results I've had. Scissors: tiny clippers for perfectionists, or skip scissors and rip the edges for an artsy edgy effect.
2nd: BOOK 2 HOURS FOR YOURSELF: Then BREATHE. RELAX. Find a WHOLE BRAIN state - one technique is laying flat on the floor while you do this; or meditate a few minutes; or sit cross meridian like Rodin's the THINKER (see photo taken at the Rodin Museum in Paris in February 2007). I've recently discovered I've cut and pasted numerous Eiffel Towers over the years completely from a random brain space, and voila...business trips taking me to places I had never consciously dreamed. Twice.
I recommend crossing wrists and ankles for 2-3 minutes while you breathe. I also recommend finding some friends to do this with and describing what you want to envision, pictures you need and everyone rips out and passes around what they think others may want. Group energy dramatically magnifies your focus.
3rd: RIP and STACK for 15-20 minutes. Set a timer or you will spend hours doing this. Rip out pictures/words of what you want for your future and what attracts you: color, shape, texture, words, etc. No censor. Just rip it.
4th: CUT & PASTE into a pleasing ensemble. Place somewhere you see it every day. Refrigerator doors, bathroom mirrors, thermostats, on an altar.
5th: LET GO, and let the magic unfold. It might take years, it might show up next week or tomorrow. Understand we are far more powerful than we give ourselves credit for. We create. With every thought, every visualization. We create. It's why we're here. Go for the gold.
Reader Comments (1)
Lee.....I love your writing, your positive energy and your intuitive input to life!
thanks for sharing with me....it means so much....
I 've got a fun new project to work on thanks to you...
best regards,
Lisa Margherita