The Manifestation Zone

In the beginning there was a thought. Creation begins with a single thought. Each of us continuously creates our future with every single notion we have. Say to yourself that you don’t have any money and voila, you don’t have any money. Tell yourself you are late and you will be late. Tell yourself you are successful and that will be true. Bill Gates once had a thought and look what it has become. Microsoft is the leading tech company in the world. Do you think Gates sits around telling himself what a failure he is? Of course not. He knows he is a success and therefore he is indeed successful. What about the light bulb? Without Thomas Edison’s original idea, we would be sitting in the dark, perhaps even without a computer to work on. His brainchild came from a thought. God is not the only Creator in the Universe. Each of us creates our own realities with every thought we have.

What is the next step after an initial thought? Visualization. Athletes repeatedly utilize visualization techniques to achieve their goals. Football players don’t just run out to the field without any idea of what they want to achieve. Coaches draw formulaic patterns on their scrimmage boards for players to use. They see themselves conquering the game with each individual play running through their heads. Boxers watch old fights to improve their techniques. Michael Phelps sees himself winning each race. He perceives each move before he gets into the pool. Stage performers rehearse and see their performances in their minds so that they can accomplish their gift of entertaining people. Movie directors not only visualize, but plot out their story line on storyboards before production ever begins. This concept of utilizing drawings gives vision to how the final picture will look to audiences later on. It’s not just athletes and entertainers that utilize visualization techniques. Ask any successful person in their respective field how they became successful and they will tell you they “saw it” in their minds first.

The same idea applies to vision boarding. I was first introduced to this concept in a psychology class in college. We were given the assignment to create a unique vision board that represented what we desired for our futures. In essence, we were asked to create our reality by plotting out with pictures and words how we saw ourselves in the next decade. As a 19 year old, I certainly did not believe that vision boarding actually helped to manifest my desires, but I had a wonderful time playing artist. I remember enthusiastically sharing my board with my classmates. It was fun.

Fast forward almost 2 ½ decades and while flipping through the channels, two little girls in the audience of The Oprah Show were sharing their vision boards. Oprah enquired if anything they “asked for” on their boards had come to fruition yet. They showed the picture of Oprah and how they wanted to be on the show. They got their wish.

Those two little girls inspired me to create a vision board when I remembered that I had already done one so long ago. I rummaged through the old boxes in the basement and found the right box. Folded up was my old homework assignment. After looking at the pictures I had almost forgotten, I noticed that what I asked for did happen in my life. This journey down memory lane created a time warp for me. As a teenager, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted. I thought I wanted what everyone else wanted me to have so that is what I created…and that is what I got. The old adage, “Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it,” rang through my head.

This time I would create a vision board that represents me, the real me, not some formulaic version of me that my family, friends and society at large would like to see. I am a Spiritual Being and want spirituality to be the focus in my life…the picket fence and being a soccer mom just isn’t what I want in my deck of cards. So, with scissors in hand I started on my mission of creating.

After completing the first board which generally spoke of my desires, I realized that I wanted to manifest the perfect partner. So, off to the cutting board one more time. I was having so much fun on my second board that I created a third one to manifest where I am living in the near future. They are all artfully hanging on my manifestation wall.

How do you make a vision board? It’s simple. Start with old magazines lying around the house. Any magazine will do. Peruse them looking for pictures, drawings and words that narrate your intention. Tear them out and cut them to the shape that inspires you most. Can’t find enough of the right pictures from magazines? That’s ok…the internet can come to your rescue. Twenty years ago it wouldn’t have been possible, but now with the advent of the ubiquitous search engine, you can find and print pictures of just about anything. After you have gathered and cut all the images that interest you arrange each of them carefully onto a poster board of any size and color. Once you find the arrangement that speaks to you, apply each of them by using a glue stick. That is all that is needed to create your masterpiece.

Some people fill every spot of the board leaving no empty space. Some might conceptualize each image over a colored board, using the distinct color as unifying the total piece. On one of my boards, I cut out colored construction paper, to frame each individual picture. It looks like a gallery wall in a museum. As an artist, my preference is the latter, but each of us has a little artist inside demanding to get out. Be creative. Who says you even have to use a poster board? Maybe adding pictures to a 3-dimensional item is more your cup of tea or perhaps you want to utilize objects instead of pictures. Nobody is stopping you. Be true to your Self and go forth and create!

Want to take a vacation to Europe? Create a European board. Cut out pictures of the assorted tourist destinations: The Coliseum, The Eifel Tower, Buckingham Palace, various cafes, pictures of the local people, whatever works for you. There is not limit to your creativity.

Want a red Porsche? Cut out pictures and words with as many red Porsches as you like.

Want world peace? Peace signs never looked so good.

Want to get married and have a family? Well, you get the idea.

Once you have finished your board, you can hang it up, meditate on the images or put it away for safe keeping. My suggestion is to hang it up, so you can see your handiwork being done.

First is the thought then visualization which leads to visioning. Visioning physically affirms to the Universe by exclaiming that you are serious about manifesting your ideas into reality. With each level of commitment to your idea, the Universe takes it with more earnestness, creating your desires in what I call the Manifestation Zone. Be your own magician. Spring forth your Divine Ability of Creation that already resides within you and say YES to the Creator…You!

Thank you for reading and Namaste! (The Light in me recognizes the Light in you!)