A question I’m sometimes asked is do gloomy images appear on vision boards and, if so, what do they mean?
Having watched thousands of Intuitive Vision Boards being made, I can confidently say that negative images do not appear on the intuitive vision board. Even if people are ambivalent about certain images that have ‘asked’ to appear on their board – they’re not sure if they like them or not – I encourage them to retain them anyway and to see what meaning might emerge.
Here’s what happened when three board directors made their own vision boards at the same time and a similar image appeared for two of them. What looked to be a little curious and disturbing at first turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Each director produced their own vision board.
I worked with three directors each producing their own Intuitive Vision Board. I then coached them afterwards as a team. We discovered two of them had the same eruptive images on their vision board. One of these images permeated the entire backdrop to their vision board. The other director’s eruptive image appeared to push upwards from the baseline.
Neither of them had any rational explanation for this, which is what I would expect immediately following the workshop anyway. The images that are chosen for the board arise from the unconscious imagination, creating a bridge between what the creator of the board knows or is already in existence and that which is yet to happen. In time the significance of this eruptive theme would become clear to all of them.
Three months later the relationship between the three partners erupted. The two partners with the eruptive images on their vision boards were left reeling. The third partner walked out of the business.
You could says the aforementioned images on their vision boards as negative portents. Or you could view them more constructively as a sign that something needed to come to the surface and dissipate to enable the company to move forward in a different, stronger way. This is not negative in my view. It is very helpful because while it stays hidden, it will undermine the growth of the business frp, the inside.
Why is the intuitive approach to vision boarding more likely to reveal this kind of information? Because it is real and authentic, made from an entirely different mindset that used for day to day activity.
Head versus heart
There’s a difference between a vision board made with the head, driven by the wants and desires of the Ego, as opposed to one made using the intuition and led by the Heart and Soul.
The former led by the Mind produces a predictable outcome and information limited to that which is already in conscious awareness. While a vision board led by the Soul is connected to the wider field of infinite intelligence, beyond the scope of our rational mind.
In my workshops (which take a 1/2 day) I use a number of exercises designed to relax the hold the Ego has on our decision-making process. If not the Ego will always step in, only too ready to contribute its views on what we should or shouldn’t be doing with our lives. To hear the quieter voice of the Soul above the noise of our 21st century lives, we must be mindfully attentive and wholeheartedly present in order to receive a vision. And why the preparation that takes place in the Intuitive Vision Board workshop is so essential before you let rip on the vision board itself.
Soul v Ego
I don’t claim to have the absolute definition of Soul. The more you attempt to pin it down the more elusive it becomes. However Soul is more likely to described the spiritual or immaterial dimension to being human; the part that is immortal. It’s our spark of individuality which comes complete with quirks, imperfections and the dysfunctionality – also essential aspects of being human.
Soul is more concerned with the process of life and the quality of our experiences. It’s trajectory rarely follows a straight line which is pre-determined in advance. Soul is attuned to what our universal assignment is. What we are uniquely here to do and contribute to society as a whole.
When it comes to making the Intuitive Vision Board, Soul likes to peruse magazines at leisure. It loves to dawdle, not looking for anything in particular. It favours pictures to words because these are less definitive and offer more scope to engage the imagination.
The images appear of a more poetic and mystical nature. Less black and white; more shades of grey. If we grasp at their meaning too soon and ascribe a literal meaning the vital lifeforce dissipates and the guidance it contain remains elusive. We may not fully understand what was predicted on our intuitive vision board until after it has happened. Then comes the ‘aha’ moment.
Ego v Soul
I don’t have a absolute definition for Ego either. But I do recognise it as the constant chatter of the Mind that goes on in our heads, delivering a whole string of thoughts and ideas we take to be the absolute truth but is oftentimes false evidence appearing real (FEAR).
Ego is the voice of “I want, I deserve, I am entitled to, this is mine.” It’s also the voice of judgement, criticism and opinion, totally convinced that its perspective is the only valid one.
The Ego focuses on the needs of the self with a small “s”. The master planner at work, predetermining what our life should look like and what accoutrements must be gathered as evidence of our success. It loves to compares us to others to feed its self-importance (or make us feel inferior).
If left to its own devices the Ego will already have decided what should be on the vision board and is looking for images to represent this. It will go straight to the expensive car or the branded handbag it believes you must have. But the satisfaction is superficial and short term. As soon as you’ve acquired it, it will have you chasing after the next item to fulfil short term gratification.
The ends justify the means from the Ego’s point of view. It might even be prepared to walk all over another – or rape and destroy the planet – to get what it wants. This is a reptilian mindset at worst and a lower level of consciousness and evolution.
Rejoice at the negative images on a vision board
So when something that looks negative appears on you intuitive vision board and doesn’t look pretty, I say rejoice. And leave it be.
It may have a darker connotation and point to what in psychotherapy is called the ‘shadow’ side. It doesn’t mean it’s negative – to be avoided and censored. It’s a mystery to be embraced, which is currently hidden from conscious awareness. Yet it could be exactly what needs to happen next to unlock the route to your destiny by exposing something that is blocking your light.
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