Absorbed in the moment, I don’t recall picking the images for my vision board. It was a shock to see what was on there when it was complete.
Retreat for me
Recently I cosseted myself away at my friend’s farm in Somerset – in fact the very farm where we hold the Soul Alive Retreat – but, on this occasion, it was for our own self-retreat.
My focus was to make a new Intuitive Vision Board. 15 years on I still find myself as excited as ever at seeing what my latest vision reveals and the overtones of what will be my next mission. When you invite your mind to step aside and allow your intuition to guide you, you never know what will happen. This time was no exception.
My first response to my completed board was: “I don’t like it!”
Breakthrough coming up
Quickly I corralled my thoughts before they ran away with me. “What you are experiencing is is a good thing”, I coached myself. “There are people who come to your workshops and experience this too occasionally – or prefer another person’s board to their own. Now you are reminded of what it feels like and how to reassure them for the better.”
It had been the voice of my Ego speaking. Beyond voicing its opinion about the board I’d created, the Ego is not the expert in these matters and I shouldn’t pay too much attention to it.
The intuition, on the other hand, is worth listening to because it encompasses the much wider field of universal intelligence, way beyond what the Ego mind has thought of already.
The bigger the gap between the expectations of the Ego and what has been created, gives me all the more reason to believe I am onto something exciting, new, different … and, in all probability, a breakthrough for me.
What’s on my vision board that is so disturbing?
For instance:
- I couldn’t relate to the predominance of dark, saturated colours that I felt ‘clashed’ alongside one another.
- The image of the elderly Vanessa Redgrave felt quite deathly, dressed in white, over-sized men’s clothes. Quite bizarre. And the pink backdrop behind her chair, makes me feel sick.
- To be immediately drawn as I was to the black footwear of a man dressed for the City carrying a large, expensive, black leather briefcase. The rest of his body cut it off. Why?
None of these may have the same jarring effect on you and you may be wondering what the fuss is about.
I left my vision board in peace and wandered off to make a cup of tea. Twenty minutes later, Sharon and I reassembled to review our creations. She too had made an Intuitive Vision Board – but unlike me, she was delighted with hers immediately. When she saw mine, in all honesty I could tell she had a similar reaction. Not a pretty sight on the face of it.
Ear to the ground
I am trained in Somatic Arts Psychotherapy, to see ‘below the ground’ what others don’t see, while holding what’s currently occuring for them as the context in which they have created their board.
Even so, Sharon will be my ‘witness’ today, at the start of this visionary journey. It truly helps me the creator to speak out aloud what I see, feel and imagine in this moment. I am too close to this vision to comprehend its fullness objectively and having another set of ears apply themselves to this task, is significantly helpful.
Be cautious about voicing your observations with just anybody – even if it is a good friend or your partner or your children. It’s unlikely they have professional listening skills, so you must pre-warn them not to think they have the answers to what they see. You don’t need anybody inseminating their unseasoned opinions onto your newly hatched creation. It can deflate you.
Their observations are more likely to contain insights they have received from your board and are more to do with them than knowledge they may have to impart about yours. Your perspective as the creator has primacy over others because you were the one who showed up, you were the channel for this gestalt of images and the spiritual wisdom it contains.
Intuitive Review
Over the years of being the listening ear for many who have attended the IVB workshop I’ve noticed that those who do, build a deeper connection to their board and continue to receive value from what they’ve created.
That’s not to say I am quick to reach conclusions about the content of their board. Rather, I’m there to gently prise open the lid and allow the content more visibility and depth. This makes it easier for the creator to make intuitive and synchronistic links between events they might otherwise have missed.
These sessions are designed to leave the client with even more than they arrived with.
By the time we’d finished tea I was in love with my board, very excited by what it was pointing towards and flabbergasted, as always, by my intuitive awareness – available to all who dare to look.
Rounding it off
Once our retreat was over, I’d allowed extra time for my thoughts and feelings to settle before returning to the frontline of life. I’d recommend you do the same. An afternoon at a minimum. Or a couple of days is ideal for integration.
When Sam joined me by train, we headed off to the nearest coast for fish and chips and then to witness the sun fading in a wintery sky. Lyme Regis was sublime and quiet. A flood in the high street kept visitors at bay while a few brave souls swam in the calm sea.
The only blot on the landscape was the seagull who swooped down from nowhere and snatched my salted caramel ice cream out of my hand. The warning flap of his wings by my ear came too late. He was gone.
Life Change Alchemy
I am a creative alchemist, championing the power of the intuition to help you to vision a wild and wonderful life, using my proprietary method, the Intuitive Vision Board. To promote its manifestation, I use Intuitive Feng Shui, aligning your outer environment with the energy of your vision to create a life you love from a space you love. To encourage more of the authentic you to be seen and heard, I invite you to uncover more of your light and let it shine at the Soul Alive Retreat.
BA Anthropology. MA Somatic Arts Psychotherapy
Feng Shui professional & Reiki Master (since 1995)
Author of ‘Awaken Your Intuitive Vision’. Available on Amazon, your local book store – or purchase a signed copy from me.
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