One of my favorite New Year activities is to create a vision poster for the coming year. A vision board (also called a treasure map or dream or goal board) is a collection of images and words designed to represent what a person wants to be, do or have in her/his life.

Why Create a Vision Poster?

Because it’s fun. And by focusing your attention on and getting excited about what you really want, you are in the process of drawing it to you by law of attraction.

“We are magnets attracting to ourselves the way we feel at any point in time.
When we feel clear and in control, we will attract circumstances of clarity.
When we feel happy, we will attract circumstances of happiness.
When we feel prosperous, we will attract circumstances of prosperity.
When we feel loved, we will attract circumstances of love.
The way we feel is actually our point of attraction.”
~ Esther Hicks, Ask and It is Given, P 221

I particularly love creating my vision poster as part of a group, so I usually start mine during my year-end vision workshop.

Here’s the process I use.

Gather Magazines and Supplies:

• Magazines, travel brochures, catalogues and calendars with images you like. You can get magazines from thrift stores, hair salons, doctor’s offices and library sales.
• Images you like from the internet (Google free images or buy stock photos)
• Photos printed of family members
• Scissors, paper cutter
• Crayons, felt pens or paint brushes
• Poster Board (usually 22” x 28” in assorted colors available from Staples, Michaels, Target and most dollar stores) or Foam Core. If you want to laminate your poster, then choose poster board.
• Rubber cement, glue stick or double-sided glue tape (I prefer using rubber cement for gluing because it’s easy to reposition the images and the rubber cement rubs off easily when dry)

Create a Fun, Inspiring Space

Set the mood for your creation by bringing in sights, sounds, smells and tastes that delight you. Put on some uplifting music. Turn on the fireplace. If you love aromatherapy, diffuse essential oils to spread their scents – bergamot, lavender, and orange. Work on a surface that is well lit. Drink and eat to stay nourished. Work alone or with a buddy.

Set an Intention for What You Want

Set an intention for how you want to experience the process of creating your vision poster: how you want to feel and what you want the outcome to be. I intend to thoroughly enjoy the process, attract images that thrill me and complete my poster within three days.

Creating vision posters

Follow Your Guidance

While you are flipping through magazines, let your feelings guide you to what you want to cut out. If your heart thumps or you do a double take – pull that picture. Sometimes you won’t know right away why something appeals. Feel for the essence of what you want and you may be surprised and delighted at what shows up. Move pictures and words around on the poster board until they feel right to you.

Any leftover clippings that don’t get on the poster can go into an inspiration file for next year’s vision poster.

Organizing the Vision Poster

There is not one right way of doing a vision poster. You may have one theme or several themes, one category or many (eg. family, health, career, finances and/or spiritual goals).  One of my clients likes to organize her vision poster according to the bagua map used in feng shui, with nine different zones corresponding to nine major areas of life – skills and knowledge/wisdom, family, prosperity, fame and reputation, relationships, health, creativity and children, career, and helpful people.

You could be very specific with exact amounts you want to earn and the specific home you want or more general with images and words that evoke the essence of what you are looking for.

You could do a joint vision poster with a partner.

Laminating, Sharing and Displaying

When your poster is complete, get it laminated. This helps the images stay in place and makes the colors pop.

Display your vision poster where you can see it as a reminder of what you want.  Near the desk where you work perhaps. Allow it to inspire you with ways you can have what you want.

Share your vision poster with a friend or two if it feels good to you.

Vision Board Alternatives

Here are some other ideas for illustrating and displaying your heart’s desires

1.    A scrapbook with pictures of what you want
2.    A placemat of inspirational pictures and words about the health and body you want
3.    A digital vision map of what you want on your computer desktop
4.    A dollar-shaped card of things you want in your wallet or purse
5.    A letter sized vision poster for behind the bathroom cabinet
6.    A wall or desk calendar filled with dates and images of what you want

The possibilities are endless.

The main thing is to enjoy the process of creating.

Now it’s your turn. What’s on your vision poster?