It is my belief that the soul speaks in image. And it always has something worthwhile to say – if you’re ready to see it.
The first collage I ever made was for German Class in High School. I went a little overboard with it, and it was bigger than the average vision board full of images of the muppets, Martha Stewart, veggies and horse paraphernalia. Then, I had to talk about the whole thing – auf Deutsch.
Fast forward 5 years to the Rocky Mountain West and you’ll find me sitting in a friend’s dorm room with many other dorm-mates paging through her stack of old magazines and building some collage poetry. That was the intention. Once again my college collage was a magical conglomerate of things and themes I loved. And I loved to look at it. It lit me up.
I kept doing vision boards whenever a pile of magazines bound for the recycle bin would cross my path. I was with an Architect at the time and adored how DWELL makes for beautiful collages. (I am partial to the Patagonia catalogs, too.)
When I look back through the big vision boards that I’ve made, I see notable themes – no matter what magazines are at my disposal. Each time, there is more refinement and more of a reflection of where I’m currently at – and what my hopes for the future are at that moment in time and space.
Since 2009, I’ve been keeping a manifest journal – starting with a black hardcover book with blank pages – and pouring into it all my thoughts, visions, dreams, fragments from the day, inspirations, to-do lists and mini-collages. This process has its own sort of magic that lends itself to the personal process of transformation – and the planting bed for grounding ideas in the world. In this way, the whole book (or set of books) becomes one continuous manifesting exercise.
The vision board process is nothing new. It is, however, a wonderfully accessible medium for fearless play in the creative space. And if the intentions behind the experience are set, the process is fuel for igniting positive change. As a montage of clippings from magazines of images that grab your attention and text that speaks to you, vision boards can be a reminder of what lights your fire, can make you smile and light you up from the inside out.
Whenever I need to create something, to shift energy or get out of my headspace I always turn to the stack of magazines until I have collected enough images to make play in the pages of my journal. I’m always amazed at what happens just by giving myself time to listen to that inner voice. When I look back over the seemingly random collage of text and image fragments, I read it like a soul map with a regained sense of affirmation and clarity – and most often new insights that create a positive shift towards what I want or where I want to be.
Like life itself, the process of creating is what is important and can be used to facilitate a myriad of results.
- a space for creative play
- to shift or spark creative energies
- to create space for focusing on intentions
- to realign with what lights your fire
- as an exercise in starting and finishing a creative project, fearlessly
- to see just what the soul has to say in the space between…
There is much magic in that space of play and creativity.
The size of the board is entirely up to you – and the materials that can be collaged are vast. I like to use foam core for my workshops because they are sturdy and nice looking if someone wants to display it at home. For Express Sessions, I like to use 5×7 cards as the time limits (often 1 hour-ish) lends itself best to a smaller, focused project. And these cards are easier to take with you, put on the fridge or tack to a bulletin board. Don’t let the size deter you: the littlest pieces I’ve made have been the most moving. I’ve also worked on boxes big and small which add new dimensions to the exercise – as more surface area with both inner and outer surfaces. Cardboard, shoeboxes, journal pages – if it can be collaged, it will work.
RECOMMENDED SUPPLIES
- eXacto knife, scissors
- glue stick, clear tape
- a board to cut on (or use a magazine) to protect your working surface
- a pile o’magazines
- fresh water
- raw chocolate truffles (optional)
THE PROCESS
- Turn off your brain as you page through the magazines. If anything strikes your fancy, rip it out or slice it out. Pay attention to first impulses. This is a sign of intuition speaking, not your noggin.
- Keep a pile of images and text until you feel like you have enough material to work with
- Sort through the pile and trim images as needed and begin laying them on your board or card or journal page.
- Secure them down with gluestick or tape in any way that seems most fitting to you. You can play with this and make an artful piece blending images and text, or just arrange things lightly. It’s all up to you.
- Then, sit back and look closely at all the pieces, where they fell, what they seem to say… and how it makes you feel.
“SEE WHAT I DID THERE…?” – your soul
Afterwards, display it in a prominent place, file it away, burn it, or save it for later or for reference in your journal. It depends on what you need to do. I like to revisit all of mine after I make them, and meditate on them in a way – to make sure that see all the messages – hidden or not. Each time I come back to a piece, there’s always another insight gained as if there was something left to reveal.
When I move on and forget about a piece, and really let go of the desires that piece was attached to, things start to happen in real life that correspond in the most uncanny ways… As If the whole time, the universe has been percolating to bring me to what I need, or perhaps the process opened me up to what I needed. Regardless, something integrates within me during the process and then things start happening as if they’ve been lining up to move into those intentions. But it always starts with the self, with my way of thinking and with re-imagining reality.
You can download the whole Manifest Sessions inspiration book here. 30 pages just for you.
