Spiritual Solutions

WELCOME TO:
Lesson Two: Visioning

(Note: This is the second lesson adapted from the series “Steady in the Wind,” by Ann Strong, www.thrivingcoaches.com, about the application of twelve life principles.)
 

Please listen to the audio first by clicking on the link below, and then come right back here as we read the lesson together.

http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WgtmvjMQ

Lesson Two: Visioning

In this lesson, we will cover visioning to support us in having more of what we want and less of what we don’t want in our lives.

Visioning allows us to live proactively rather than reactively. It also gives us the opportunity to work more consciously with All That Is (Indwelling Christ, Your God-Self, the Christ Mind, Your Higher Self, etc.), tapping into all Universal forces, both seen and unseen.

Visioning can especially serve us when a situation in our lives doesn’t feel good or doesn’t seem like what we want.

TO CREATE A VISION FOR SOMETHING YOU WANT IN YOUR LIFE

The best time to create a vision is when something isn’t going your way. Start there. Look squarely at the situation and begin to determine what you would like ideally. Do not censor yourself because what you want seems impossible, selfish, or unrealistic.

So you begin to think about what you would want ideally. You decide what you would like your outcome to be. Immediately, you notice the voices in your head saying, “Yeah right! How will that ever happen?” Just tell the voices to stop. Then, continue visioning.

Now, write a short story about exactly how you will feel, what it tastes like, sounds like, looks like, etc.

Write your story as if your vision has already happened. Make it really juicy, with as many details as possible. Make it come to life for you, as though you are in the midst of a movie of your life. Use phrases and concepts that feel powerful and motivating to you. Have fun with it and let it feel great as you experience it in mind in advance.

THE PURPOSE OF VISIONING

The purpose of visioning is to get your mind off what you don’t want (your current situation) and onto what you do want (your vision). It is true that whatever we focus upon expands. Since you do not want more of the situation you don’t want, you need to focus on what you do want so that it can expand.

You may want to read your vision every morning. You may want to keep it with you and read it on an “as-needed” basis. You may want to create an affirmation to support it. You may want to re-write it as you think of more details.

CREATE A TREASURE MAP

You may want to create a treasure-map, an image book, an I Am map, or a vision board. These are all similar in nature. Basically you will glue or paste pictures and words that represent you, your surroundings and possessions as you want them to be, as a collage onto a poster board or a series of smaller collages on individual blank pages of a homemade book.

If you decide to do this, make it a fun project. Gather a whole bunch of magazines, catalogs, and so on, and then cut out words and pictures that represent your goals and dreams for your life. In selecting the pictures to cut out, reach far beyond your present concepts of yourself and your world.

As well as outer “things” you might desire, remember to let those pages or your overall collage describe your positive inner qualities, such as your emerging self-confidence, your warm and loving nature, your femininity or masculinity. With representative pictures depict yourself as an effective and caring spouse, parent, or friend.

It is a good idea to have at the center of your collage a picture which represents your spirituality or the Source of All Good. (In fact, the stated purpose of an “I Am map” is to create a new you, based on the image of your I Am that you desire to hold for yourself,  such as “I Am prosperous,” or “I Am healthy,” or “I Am a wonderful and unique expression of God.”)

Let your unfolding spiritual nature express itself as it creates a description of the desirable visible outer part of you, so your concept of life can undergo a dramatic transformation. This will be true for your physical appearance, your clothing style, your surroundings and everything else in your world.

I recently came across an amazing tool that you can use to create a virtual “vision board” on your computer. You can include personal pictures, affirmations, and power words, and select your own background. You can incorporate mp3 music and voice recordings which, if you wish, will play anytime your vision board comes up.

There’s a special poster creation program which allows you to copy your images and text onto a poster on your screen, which can then be taken to a print shop. These are just a few of the many features of this great tool. You can even display images on your mobile phone or Ipod.

I went ahead and got a copy of the system for myself, and I highly recommend that you take a look at their site. The vision board also comes with some great bonuses, which in themselves are more than worth the investment.

Check it out at Vision Board

Whichever method you choose, be sure to take a few moments each day to review the images and affirmations you have put together. As you look at the pictures and read the words, feel that you are this person now and that everything has already come into your life.

Feel that your vision is an accomplished fact, even if it isn’t so yet. For it to become you and part of your life your vision board or treasure map needs to be a present-tense experience, not a future one. Feel it now!

Focusing your attention on your vision board, image book, or treasure map daily causes the Law of Mind Action and the Law of Attraction to work for you. Be sure to join your conceptions with feelings of gratitude, excitement, and a sense of already having accomplished these inner and outer goals. Create abundance and prosperity in your life!

KEEPING YOUR FOCUS ON YOUR VISION

If you notice yourself thinking about what you don’t want or how you’ll never get what you want, then STOP. Read your vision, look at your vision board or treasure map, and refocus your attention.

If, for some reason, you cannot get excited about your vision at a particular time, at least distract yourself from focusing on what you don’t want. Instead of thinking about the slow economy or whatever, take some time to do something that will make you feel good. Take a brisk walk, call a friend, sit in the sun sipping lemonade, make twenty entries in your gratitude journal or play with your pet.

Then, when you feel happy and centered again, get back to work. Do not let yourself spiral deep into the story of what you don’t want.

Visioning helps hold us steady in the wind because we know we have connected to the highest part of ourselves and that we can create our lives rather than live as victims of the wind, however and wherever it blows.

Whenever you ask for something, remember to ask for “This or something better.” Also, pay attention not only to what you want but also pay attention to why. We always want things for some kind of internal experience, such as feeling more secure, more appreciated, more loved, etc. There are many paths to the internal experiences we desire. You may even get the internal experience without getting the outer thing you think you want.

PRACTICE VISIONING THIS WEEK

Begin to integrate visioning into your daily life.
- Practice writing visions for “problems” big or small.
- Record how your visions unfold in your evidence journal.
- Continue to focus on and track your visions over the next weeks and months.

CONTINUE PRACTICING DEEP LISTENING

At least once this week, set aside time for listening within and at least once this week, practice deep listening with another. Begin to integrate both into your natural, regular routine.

CONTINUE PRACTICING YOUR OBSERVER ROLE

Two or three times this week, consciously observe yourself and record your observations in your evidence journal. Begin to view your relationship with observing as a natural part of your life and work.
Next week, you will receive Lesson Three: Commanding.
Until then have fun visioning, listening deeply and observing.

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham
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Rev. Alan Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-six years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions or you can go directly to
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