• Welcome
• Meet Mia
• Mia’s Books
• Blog
• Recipe Box
• Press
• Classes
• Contact

Visualizing 2010: Crafting Your Future

Posted on | December 14, 2009 | 1 Comment Leave a comment | Print This Post   

You’ve probably heard about vision boards. Basically it’s crafting your future — literally and figuratively. It got a lot of press when The Secret was out a few years ago, and Oprah even partnered with Getty Images to create an O Dream Board desktop application so people could make vision boards without ever have to leave their computer.

I’m a fan of doing it the old fashioned way — grabbing a bunch of old magazines, scissors and glue, then finding a piece of sturdy cardboard or card stock (I use a 5″ x 7″ inch mat board). When I first starting doing this back in the 1990’s, I didn’t use the term vision board. I knew it as a neter card, or soul collage, which I believe first came from Seena Frost. It’s tied into the work of C.J. Jung, James Hillman, and Roberto Assigioli. There’s something about doing it by hand, some kind of wiring that goes from the brain to the hand and vice versa as you’re flipping through the magazines and tearing out pages of whatever catches your eye. You’re not going for “pretty” or deciding on a “theme” or trying to create anything specific. You’re going through and pulling out whatever calls to you. You collect all your images and phrases first, without thinking or judging. Hmmm…you know, that’s a lot like getting ready to write a novel!

Technically I am supposed to be in very heavy edits for book 4 right now. I suppose the term “heavy” is relative, but it feels overwhelming and unwieldy. I know everything will be just fine in the end, but getting there … yowza. Yesterday was supposed to be spent writing (I paid for a babysitter and everything!) but instead I visited with a friend for HOURS. I didn’t get home until almost midnight. I felt completely guilty but was having such a great time I couldn’t stop. And thank goodness.

Now everything is starting to flow. I look at yesterday (and the past 41 years) as my gathering time, when I gathered what I needed to visualize my future as an author, noticing people and relationships, words spoken and unspoken. When you go through magazines and see images, it’s the same thing. Who knows why you like a picture — it actually doesn’t matter. Just tear it out and keep going. Don’t stop, don’t trim, don’t reconsider. Go until you’re tired of doing that, then spread the pictures out in front of you and let your eyes lightly skim over everything.

Pull the ones that are calling to you strongly, and begin to cut and piece them together on your board. What I like about the 5″ x 7″ size is that you have to really think about what’s going to go on and what’s not. If you love a big image, do you love it enough not to have enough room for something else? You have to make some decisions about what will fit, just like you have to make some decisions about what kinds of goals you want to achieve in 2010. How will everything fit together? This clarity will serve not just now but in the year to come.

As you cull through everything — phrases as well as images — it will become apparent what is supposed to stay. You’ll feel it, too, when you choose something you think you should choose, but it really isn’t working for you. We’re looking for connection here, for resonance. Trust it.

2010 is almost here and I cannot wait to see what it holds. If you want a hand in creating your future, think about making a neter card or vision board (do an image search on Google to see what other people have done–it’s inspiring!). My very best to you and yours as we move into the new year — I look forward to sharing some exciting book news with you in the months to come!

hugs,

Mia

PS. Remember my first novel, Good Things? It was on my neter card for 2005. I made it in March and envisioned that I would sell it by December. I got my offer from Berkley Books (Penguin USA) in October 2005, two months ahead of schedule!

For Readers

Comments