“Visions Manifested”

Have you ever manifested anything?

Last week I shared that I wasn’t setting any true “new year resolutions” this year. This year I am striving to do everything in my life in EXCELLENCE. To take my current obligations seriously. And I mean that. One way for me to do that is to manifest certain things in my life — envision myself in a position that is different than where I am now. That is better than where I am now. Because that’s…. well, that’s LIFE. Life is about growing, giving, and changing. With those positive and fresh thoughts on my mind over the past few days, I made the conscious decision to practice MANIFESTING.

What is “manifesting?”
Manifestation (or manifesting) refers to various pseudoscientific self-help strategies intended to bring about a personal goal, primarily by focusing one’s thoughts upon the desired outcome. The techniques are based on the law of attraction of New Thought spirituality. While the process involves positive thinking, or even directing requests to “the universe”, it also involves action-steps on the part of the individual.

The rabbit hole in my mind took me from practicing manifesting this year to recircling back to creating a VISION BOARD. January 2020 was when I first made a vision board. And we all know what happened just two short months after that. So I got frustrated and resented vision boards. But after having conversations with a few ladies in my village, I changed my perspective on vision boards and chose to create one for 2022! Have you made one this year, or plan to?!

For those who are curious and never made one before, or for those who have but are feeling a little discouraged to make one this year because we are still in a pandemic (etc.), here are a few pointers to keep in mind when creating a vision board:

PURPOSE: WHY are you creating this vision board? What do you want to accomplish with this piece of art? Many people feel the purpose of a vision board is to manifest your dreams and visualize your goals. If you read into manifestation more, you will see that “visualization” is a big part of it. SEE and IMAGINE yourself in that new job, in that bigger house, traveling to that beautiful city. (Here is a Motivational Message I shared on this topic). Creating a vision board is an additional opportunity (in addition to daily journaling or prayers, for example) to remind you of what you want to attain this year and beyond! Before you begin, sit down with your thoughts. Reflect on the past year. How will creating a vision board make you feel and do better?

PLANNING: HOW do you want your vision board to look? What resonates with you more — various images that symbolize your goals, or words and language that articulate your goals? If you were to do a Google search on vision boards, I am sure a variety of poster boards with random magazine clippings plastered to them will appear. That’s how many people choose to create their vision boards. But, *spoiler alert!* your vision board is YOURS. This board is YOUR daily reminder of the goals you want to achieve this year and beyond. If seeing in big bold letters your goals written in word form on a poster board above your bed will keep you motivated to put one foot in front of the other and have hope that those goals will come to pass, then grab you a Permanent Marker and get to work! If seeing different photos of characters and metaphorical art will keep you motivated, then grab you some scissors and a glue stick and get to work!

Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to planning your vision board is whether you want to make a whole party out of it, or if you want to keep it really intimate and have a solo vision board session? In 2020, I was so excited and I hosted a vision board party. My friends truly enjoyed it and I loved seeing the wheels in their brains turn as they flipped through donated magazines to create what would hopefully be a guide to them getting to where they want to go. However, this year, I chose to keep it lowkey and had a solo vision board session. I like how my board turned out, and I’m going to put it up where I can see it every day!

PERSPECTIVE: I just mentioned how I am going to put up my vision board in a place where I can see it every day. Manifesting requires you to think and even act on that thing daily. It’s not just a measly wish, “I wish I had one million dollars fall into my lap,” where the words escape your lips without a care or a thought. It’s letting that “wish” marinate in your mind on a regular basis. It’s actively putting things in order to be at the right spot at the right time so that when that one million dollars fall, your lap will be right there to catch it! So, what will fit best into your daily routine and in your household in order for you to see your vision board daily? (Sometimes the things you put on your vision board aren’t meant for everyone’s eyes, because they may have thoughts or opinions and remember this is your vision board. So those with families will need to think about where to place the vision board).

If you are someone who is barely home or gets out the bed with just 4 and a half minutes to get ready in the morning, maybe a physical poster board isn’t the best option for you. We live in a world where basically everything is electronic in some way. Maybe creating a vision board with words and images on an app like Canva and setting the final project as the wallpaper on your cellphone will be best for you. Lastly, I recently watched a YouTube video where a woman shared the benefits of creating a vision book! I thought that was creative — cut out your magazine clippings, write your words real fancy in colored markers, and place it all in a journal-sized book where you can (1) grab and read it during your daily reading/prayer time and (2) keep it personal and secret from others.

PATIENCE/PRAYER/PERSISTENCE: Rome wasn’t built in a day. The one million dollars isn’t going to fall in your lap in the next 10 seconds (if it does, slide a few dollars my way lol!). Anything worth having doesn’t come easy. Manifesting and visualizing are acts that require patience. They require prayer. They require persistence. I’ll share that on my vision board this year I have “low A1C indefinitely” written on there. If the act of writing that on a poster board and hanging it up on my wall would instantaneously keep me in good health and away from “prediabetes,” then I think I would put many doctors and pharmaceutical companies out of business. Me monitoring and manifesting a life-long low A1C level is going to require some WORK! Lol. I have to continue to do what I began in July 2020 — healthy eating habits, regular workouts, etc. My manifestations and things included on my vision board are going to take some major faith. It’s faith that I will know what to DO when it’s the right time to do them and how to do them. Trusting in God/the universe that those things will come to pass. Trusting in yourself to be at the right place at the right time for those things to come to pass. Trusting you will have the right people in your corner to celebrate with you when those things come to pass!

What are you going to manifest this year and work to make it come to pass??

Below is a photo of my 2020 vision board. In hindsight, I see that I included all of the positive, wonderful words and images that would describe a happier life for me. Well, a happier life for just about anyone really. In hindsight, I see that my 2020 vision board wasn’t specific enough. And to me, that’s important when it comes to prayer and manifestation — to be specific. (I never made it to Greece by the way…yet). And I think I achieved that specificity with my 2022 vision board. I am excited to see how things play out for me this year and beyond! 🙂

“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we shall be like Him.” — 1 John 3:2, NKJV.

Moni Jay, Off the Record