By Maria McCullough

“IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL COME …” The idea in the movie “Field of Dreams” was that if you create a place where your dreams and goals have a home, they are more likely to manifest themselves.

Last month I wrote briefly about creating a Vision Board for your Helpful People and Travel Area to help you achieve your travel goals. Having recently participated in a Vision Board Training by Liv Kellgren, program director at the Western School of Feng Shui, I wanted to go deeper into creating these powerful tools.

Vision Boards are simply a collection of images, words and objects that represent a physical manifestation of your feelings and thoughts, creating a doorway from the unseen to the seen. They are known to produce profound results, both expected and unexpected.

How to create a Vision Board

A Vision Board is a very personal, individualized representation of your hopes and dreams, so no two are alike. Begin with a board (11 x 14 or 8 ½ x 14 are the most practical sizes, but anything goes). Think of your life in the course of a year, a season or an event, or even a loftier lifetime goal, then close your eyes and visualize exactly what you want to happen, how you want to feel.

Cut out images from magazines, calendars, maps, postcards and photos that represent these goals. Make it three-dimensional by adding glitter, string, stickers, shells, rocks, magnets, beads, etc. (Remember, you have freedom in creating your board.) Use a glue stick, glue gun, tacks, white glue, tape, etc. to affix items to the board.

Add inspirational words that are very specific to your goals. Words are very powerful; they turn ideas into action, so they need to be always kept in the affirmative. Positive, uplifting statements only. Focus on what you want your life to look and feel like, not what is happening at the moment. Picture what achieving your goals would feel like, and use words and pictures to capture that feeling. Add specific affirmations that you write yourself, as if the goal has already happened.

If you want to create a board with quantitative goals, add sticker dots to each one as you achieve it. (A real estate agent had a goal of selling 10 homes that season. She placed a dot on her board each time she sold one. This way she could honor her achievements and watch her goal manifest itself.)

The key is to keep it realistic. Can you say “yes” to everything on your board, or do you need to set a more achievable benchmark for the yearly time frame? Your board has to have substance and you should be able to check off benchmarks as they are achieved.

You also can create a Vision Board for a loftier goal and look at it often as a reminder to stay on track. For example, if your ultimate goal is to be president of a company, as you go through daily life ask yourself, “Is this what a president of a company would do?”

These are just guidelines; there is no right or wrong in creating a Vision Board. It is a personal representation of YOUR goals; therefore it has to speak to YOU.

Connecting your Vision Board to the Bagua

The Bagua, represented as a grid of nine sectors, comes from the Chinese philosophy, “The I Ching,” and literally means “eight trigrams,” with the 9th area being the ever-important Center, or hub. It is known as an environmental treasure map that helps you locate specific energies in your home. Incorporating these areas in your Vision Board helps to connect with emotional energy.

No matter what your goal is, placing a picture, affirmation or word in the area of the map connected to the Bagua area will make it more powerful.

• Health/Friends/Family — Represents strength, vitality, growth

• Wealth/Prosperity — Gratitude and abundance

• Fame — Integrity, how you are seen, where you glow

• Love/Marriage — Receptivity and intimacy

• Children/Creativity — What makes you happy, childlike, creative

• Helpful People/Travel — Synchronicity, being at the right place at the right time

• Career — The power and depth we have within, following one’s bliss

• Knowledge/Self Cultivation — Personal growth, honoring the ability to self-enrich and be at peace

• Center — Grounding and centering

Chi flow

Chi is the life force that flows through your home and energizes you. Keep the vital energy in your board by facing pictures and pointing words toward the center, which represents you. If you want a specific amount of energy to be focused on one area of your board (for example Love), your pictures and words can point to that area.

You’re done! Display your board in a location where you will see it every day. This will keep you grounded, help you grow and remind you what you are grateful for. It will help create order out of chaos. Once you have achieved the goals on the board, update it or create a new one. This is not an event — it’s a journey. Enjoy it and the unfolding of your life!

Feng Shui at work

We’re in the throes of a kitchen remodel. I have already placed affirmations for a smooth project in my Helpful People corner, but after the training decided to create a Vision Board. In the Center I placed a colored version of our architectural plan on a yellow background, representing the finished product and grounding element. Most importantly for this project, in Knowledge I put the business card of our contractor. In Wealth I put a log of our budget and the word AFFORDABLE. In Love I placed pictures of our pair of lights over the sink and two hand-blown glass love birds, as well as the words WE LOVE OUR NEW KITCHEN. In Children/Creativity I have the card of our kitchen designer. In Helpful People I have a picture of our quartz countertop (representing the metal element) with the names of all friends and contractors who have advised and worked on the project.

Once completed, I placed the board in our current kitchen. Up to then we had reached a plateau and felt stuck with the cabinet and countertop choices. The minute it was hung we felt a shift in energy and positive changes; we had a meeting with a plumbing supply company and bought our sink and fixtures for a great price. Our kitchen designer called saying that she just received a unique set of oak cabinets that would really make our kitchen stand out. When we had a hard time finding the right quartz countertop we decided to expand our search to granite. We found the most beautiful color that matches perfectly and is under budget. Everything is falling into place. I’m sold on Vision Boards!

My daughter created a Vision Board years ago. In the center she created a fictional biography of herself 15 years into the future. Her ultimate goal was to be a respected project manager consultant. She envisioned having Toyota as one of her clients, so she included that in her biography. Four years later she received a senior position at a consulting firm whose flagship client is Toyota. She has been consulting at the Toyota headquarters in Southern California for more than a year now and loving it.

Affirmations

Remember that in Feng Shui, intent plays a significant role in enhancing any area of your home or business. All enhancements need to be made with intentionality; written or stated affirmations are very important. It is also important for them to be expressed as if they are already happening. Examples or affirmations for a Vision Board event:

“The kitchen project is completed smoothly, without a hitch, and within budget. Every contractor is efficient, reliable, courteous, flexible and willing to meet our needs. Our kitchen is vibrant and beautiful. We love it!

Feng Shui on a shoestring

Feng Shui enhancements do not have to cost a great deal. The Western School of Feng Shui offers many free materials. Browse and enjoy! westernschooloffengshui.com/materials/

Learn more

For questions or home consultations email me at mtmccull@aol.com and put “Feng Shui” in the subject line; visit my website, where you can read past columns; or Facebook “Feng Shui by Maria,” where I post pictures as examples to enhancements. You can also check out my blog — just go to the website and click on “Blog,” where you can view many pictures and where I will respond to your questions quickly.

And come to my next class and receive $40 off a home consultation!

My next class, Saturday, Aug. 17 at 9 a.m., will be on Balancing the Elements, for those of you who feel comfortable with the Bagua, have taken a previous class and want more advanced instruction.

If you’d like to register, the Parks and Recreation Guide is now available. Participants will receive $40 off a home consultation. Mark your calendars and invite friends!

Until then … Blessings!

Benicia resident Maria McCullough is the owner and founder of Feng Shui by Maria. She is a speaker and educator with more than 15 years’ experience specializing in residential, landscape and business consultations.