What Do Light Bulbs and Vision Boards Have in Common?

“Never go to sleep without a request to your subconscious.” — Thomas Edison

Here is a picture of the famous inventor, Thomas Edison. I love the light emanating over his head! Contrary to popular belief (or at least my own itty bitty belief all of these years) he did not invent the incandescent miracle — otherwise known as a light bulb — by sitting all by himself in the corner of a dark room. He employed a team of 40 researchers who worked tirelessly for over a year and conducted approximately 1,200 experiments. Edison, who had already invented the phonograph, knew there was something out there that could light up our lives, so to speak. He also knew he could call upon his subconscious mind to help him along on his arduous task.

I have been a big fan of vision boards (vbs for short) for many years. They are a tool to access our subconscious and conscious desires. Our very own lightbulbs! The beauty of them is that they can be as detailed and elaborate or as clean-lined as your heart desires. I have been crafting vbs for over fifteen years…with only one year (after my husband passed away in 2011) as the exception. At the New Year of 2012 I was numb and lost. I had no vision of the future at that moment. Only survival. Fortunately, that dark period gave way to the light and I created a vision board the following year.

Typically, vbs are created at the New Year. Though don’t let that stop you! If on July 4th you decide that there are a few goals that you need to shine the light of day on, then go for it! For me, vbs give a focus for the year ahead. They are obviously more elaborate than my “Word of the Year” that I wrote about previously. I tend to follow the Feng Shui method which employs the use of a Bagua Map as a guide. I get kind of weird and woo woo about this. This Feng Shui map is often used to arrange rooms, if not entire homes. However, I use it as a springboard for my humble visions:

More or less, I follow the quadrants and even the colors that go with them. Usually, I buy about a half dozen magazines that interest me and spend a few days cutting out my favorite pictures before I even begin gluing. A few times I did vbs with a friend and her daughters, and those were very fun as everyone was cutting and gluing with great glee. I also took a class on how to make a vision board (believe it or not it was in the Santa Clarita Seasons catalog many moons ago). This year, I found a book that had pretty paper and stickers with a botanical theme; I splurged on that to add extra “umph” to my board. You can see where my mind is at with this selection: home decorating, food, health and beauty, travel (West Coast and in my dreams, Italy and the UK), and gardening. Within these publications lie endless images of abundant gardens, cozy fireplaces, romantic dinners, and women in yoga pants doing perfect sun salutations. Ah, my lofty goals know no bounds!

Last year’s board was fairly minimalistic. Admittedly, I didn’t put a lot of effort into it, as I was in the throes of the COVID malaise and was singularly focused on helping my daughter graduate high school during a lackluster senior year. (Yes, she graduated!) I honestly didn’t have a lot of personal achievement goals. For some reason, this year I went all out and almost filled in every square inch. This year I’ve got my mojo back, am rebounding from a mother’s anxiety, and am eager to tap into some dormant dreams and skills. This is the ebb and flow of life, right?

Here is my 2022 Vision Board in all of its glory:

Kind of scary, isn’t it? Actually, this is the first time I have ever made a vb public. Wow!

You can see my upper right corner is about love. I have my husband’s and my own initials. Awwwww! As we move down there is the block for creativity and further down the right corner is travel and “helpful people.” As I am trying to reach more readers this year, any helpful people I meet along the way are greatly appreciated! Words about writing, light, joy and serenity rear their pretty little heads. I found a unicorn for a dose of extra magic. I won’t explain every picture, and some of them I can’t explain…they just appealed to me for whatever reason and so I included them. That’s the fun of it, too; not to be too precise. Spontaneity and whimsy are also part of the process. Life needs mysteries and surprises, too.

If you are not the cut and paste type, there are websites that sell Vision Board planners. I found one such website called “Lovet Planners.” You can actually buy a book and they have a lot of cool words and pictures you can use. Might be a huge time saver. I have never bought anything from them before, so I cannot attest to the quality of their products, however. Here is a link if that approach appeals to you. And you will receive 15% off. Such a deal. Let me know if you use them and what you think.

http://lovetplanners.refr.cc/cherylthattburbank

Back to the subconscious. The point of a vision board is to trigger your subliminal mind to pursue those things/places/people/unicorns/lightbulbs/whatever it is that you want. Hang it somewhere you can see it and perhaps a few of those lovely items or experiences will come your way! I have had it happen a few times — big and little things — too many to name. But I have read stories about people who have used vbs to manifest homes, husbands and vacations, not in that order. If anybody can attest to the power of the subconscious, our man Edison can.

Wishing you many happy visions that become reality!

Also, I am experimenting and adding a donation option if you feel that you would like to contribute to my creative output. Many, many thanks for your continued support, whether monetary or not, and for your encouragement. It truly means a lot.