http://www.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/01/28/davos.bill.clinton.haiti/index.html
This man can really advance his vision. Regardless of your politics, there’s much to learn from his ability to articulate and move forwawrd.
copyright 2010 Destiny Rising
http://www.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/01/28/davos.bill.clinton.haiti/index.html
This man can really advance his vision. Regardless of your politics, there’s much to learn from his ability to articulate and move forwawrd.
copyright 2010 Destiny Rising
These have been weeks of overwhelming tragedy and loss, in the nearby country of Haiti. Just a few days ago, I was pondering what I can do to shift my energy in the wake of the devastation and loss that the country’s people have suffered. I responded early with contributions to international aid organizations that I trust, but I was still left with a void.
A colleague of mine once told me that what she preferred about getting her news from a newspaper rather than the television and the internet is you generally read a story once and then engage in processing the information. In today’s media focused world, images, photos and stories are repeatedly replayed, their graphic images always on the screen. It leaves many of us feeling helpless and emotionally wrought.
I have decided to take the information that I have seen, give it its due process, and create a vision board of a rebuilt Haiti. I’m not intending to erase the pictures of the sad reality of Haiti. I simply cannot continue to look at what has happened in the recent past. I need to get a picture of a possible future and spend my energy there. Over the next few days, I will be creating a vision of a new Haiti. I will share my vision and post it on my website. If you’d like to join me in putting energy toward a vision board that is related to this theme, send me an e-mail at tess@destinyrising.com. Let’s see how we can shift the ways in which we process what happens in our world.
copyright 2010 Destiny Rising
“You have to see it to believe it.”
Literally? No. Figuratively? Yes. Your vision board is a terrific tool that serves as a bridge between the literal and figurative interpretation of the saying.
Every invention begins with a an idea. The idea, the possibility always comes before the reality. When you get an idea about a new direction for your life, be it a new job, a home, a new relationship or a new path in life, you take yourself to the end result – the outcome.
We generally start with “as is” – how our world looks today, and the outcome is the “could be”. Holding yourself in the vibration of the “could be” is a place where your vision board can take you during all of the process and challenges between here and there.
The outcome is often thought of as “there”. In actuality, the outcome is right inside of you – It is the activity of accessing your imagination.
The idea is a spark, and it brings incredible energy to your start.
The outcome is the act of engaging your imagination and holding it in a sustained place over a period of time.
In order to get to “there”, you need to be able to see “there” in your mind. Is this easy for you to do?
If so, great. If not, the following five suggestions will likely strengthen your ability to see the outcome you desire for your life. Visualizing your outcome is a very strong magnet.
1) Make your picture of your preferred future in the present – the “now”. Some call it “acting as if”. Don’t try to trace your path to how you got to your future picture – just accept it for the moment. You’ll have plenty of time to pave the path in the weeks and months to come.
2) Put yourself in the picture. Become part of the landscape and the experience.
3) Include as much detail as feels real. If too much detail doesn’t feel natural, then hold yourself in a general place – It’s got to feel organic, not forced.
4) Engage multiple senses – smell, sound, touch and taste into this exercise. Sound is a great start – if it’s a tranquil beach, play some wave sounds. “Our sense of smell is 10,000 times more sensitive than any other of our senses and recognition of smell is immediate. The olfactory response is immediate, extending directly to the brain.” (von Have, Serene Aromatherapy)
5) Hold yourself in your picture of your future as long as you are connected with the experience. When you start having thoughts of improbability or impossibility , come back to the present. It’s better to make a few short visits than to let negativity dull your picture.
6) Once you return to your present, immediately work with your vision board to adding more pictures and vision statements to your board. Now that you’ve visited your future, these additions to your picture and how you see your outcome will strengthen your connection with your vision. Visit your vision board and outcome regularly to speed the future.
Feel free to share your comments about how these six steps work for you ☺
copyright 2010 destiny rising
Many people ask me for advice about how to get started with their Vision Board or Vision practice. Today, I continue my New Year’s series of perspectives on building effective Vision Boards (and simple ways to approach change without a Vision Board.)
Have you ever heard the term “set point”? It’s your stating point – the place from which you will judge what is happening around you. For the purposes of this discussion, let’s call it your vantage point, your perspective on the likelihood of an outcome, your angle of observation.
In looking at those I work and play with, I notice that life happens to some people while other people happen to life. Which of these describes you?
If you’re going on the adventure to create a revised future, one that matches the picture in your mind, you’ll have to forge new territories and develop some tools to help you stay he course.
I’ve identified four steps to setting positive expectations for the vision you’ve built in your vision projects:
1. Focus on what’s good or beneficial in your life before you spend time working on or spending time focusing on your vision board. Spend 20 – 30 minutes with an enjoyable activity, with music, or surfing the web for stories of inspiration of people who have overcome obstacles. The goal is to get to a neutral or better spot.
4. If you’ve already created a Vision Board, consider it a work in progress. Paste over neutral statements with WOW! Statements. Your vision board won’t be offended. It wants to be a powerful tool for you. Layer it with boldness.Make it better than it was the day you created it.
Best of luck in trying this out. I welcome your questions and success stories.
A vision board can be a call to action, heralding a new era of self-expression for you. Some people are highly visual, and don’t naturally trend toward using words in their vision boards. As a highly verbal person, I find that my boards look as much like sonnets as they do pictures of how I’d like my life to look.
If you’d like to rev up your vision board and add some action… Make your board action oriented as well as visually appealing.
There is a term called “embedded commands”, which describes short, direct, action oriented statements. Embedded commands are frequently used in advertising, and they’ve been used for centuries. The Ten Commandments are embedded commands, in fact. Embedded commands move you to action.
Examples of embedded commands that may inspire you are:
Reach for the stars.
See the world.
Stage a comeback.
Be the change you want to see in the world.
Be a star.
Choose happiness.
Make an impact.
If you include a few inspiring statements such as this in your vision board, then each time you see it, the command will be reinforced. Repetition and reinforcement can create a thought habit for the changes you want to make in your life.
The action based embedded commands are powerful in their simplicity. They also keep you safely distanced from energy draining language. Review the list of embedded commands above, and compare them to these statements:
If I could find a way out of my crappy job, I’d be able to reach for the stars.
If I had more money, I might be able to finally see the world.
If I were so afraid that people would view me as a has-been, I’d make an effort to stage a comeback.
I’d like to make a difference in the world, but realistically, I doubt I could make it happen.
Once upon a time I wanted to be a star.
I wish I could be happy.
What can I do to make an impact?
Remember when you were in grade school and your teacher would drill your class about the parts of speech that make up sentences? Creating your action-based sentences is like taking all of the adverbs and adjectives, direct objects, and participle phrases out of the language, and using simple subjects and predicates, with limited nouns and verbs.
Keep it simple and your simple commands will help you make great changes.
Tip of the Week: Make a file of powerful words. Piece together words into phrases that have meaning to and that tell the story of what you’d most like to have happen in your future.
copyright 2010 Destiny Rising