Why I'm Offering this Challenge

In high school, as I walked 3 miles home from the bus stop (yes, this is true… I checked the mileage later in life) I used to fantasize what I’d say to people if they asked me a question while I was walking home. ie. “Excuse me, can you help me find the Adray Camera store?” “Why, yes, sir, it’s around this corner and 3 blocks ahead on your left.” The strange thing was that soon after I started this practice - people started doing what I imagined. They asked for directions for this exact store on my walk home, job openings, invites to parties, etc. What I noticed - what I paid attention to and focused on - became real. 

This continued in my life, from things like the job I wanted at the mall, to the experiences I wanted to have, to the friends I wanted to have. Fast forward to future years, the manifestations kept coming, the times I remained incredibly focused, my dreams and goals came to fruition; the college scholarships lined up and I got a dorm job that gave me free rent, I won the full, 100% paid summer scholarship I applied for.

The reality was, when I stayed in my zone, opportunities opened up for me, many times beyond what I envisioned and/or exceeding my expectations. The key was to stay focused in the moment and the intention.

This continued for many years - but soon enough - more variables in the equation diluted my vision. So I started making literal vision boards - magazine cutouts pasted on a board that reflected my intentions. They were a visual roadmap I could now look at to center me, make me happy, and become a subliminal guide post. At first I kept these vision boards hidden - private. Who was I to post these hopes and dreams out for everyone to see? At first I was too embarrassed to show anyone. I mean, really, these boards reflected my true dreams and visions in all areas of my life - health, wellness, relationships, money, family, travel, etc.

They were private and personal. I didn’t want the judgment and opinions of my spouse or my kids. My soul’s journey was reflected on these boards! Yet - slowly, I realized a few things:

1. They had their own lives to live - they really didn’t care about my magazine cutouts
2. If I hid the boards and didn’t reflect on them daily - they might as well be hidden. Wasn’t the point to manifest the vision?!
3. Once I shared my goals and dreams - my family actually wanted to support me! Imagine that!

So, I began to hang my current vision boards front and center in my yoga/stretching/meditation space. As I did my morning routine - the poster boards were right in front of me. I’d start at the lower left and make my way around the board, really reflecting on the images with feeling. “Wow, that avocado toast looks really tasty - the salt crystals on top will make a nice crunch against the smoothness of the avocado.” “Jumping over those rocks on the Maine coast will feel very empowering and satisfying as I smell the ocean air and feel the salty breeze.”

As the seasons passed, so did my desires. I’d work on a new vision board and tuck the old one away so I could focus on the newer version. One day, I pulled out all 8 and looked at them in a chronological timeline. What I began to notice was how many of the images had become my reality. I went on that cruise, I drove that tractor, I worked on that farm, we bought that travel van, we took that vacation, I wrote that book.

Because I had dates on those early boards, I knew the time line of when things manifested for me. Most often - when I refreshed my boards and made a new one, the older version still remained active in the universe, manifesting into my life as I was looking at the next board. On average, once the board was made, the reality took about 2 years to manifest.

They weren’t all big things - sometimes the images were simple ones - a woman enjoying a glass of wine in front of a barn door translated to the farm picnic I attended. The Image of the bookstore, which stood for becoming a published author, translated to the summer of writing that I did (in the end - the book wasn’t something I wanted to publish - and that’s ok!)

Point being, in all of this, vision boards work. They help us uncover our own innermost dreams and visions and then assist us in the physical manifestation of them.