Vision Boards: A Quick Story - Christine Kane

It’s early morning, and I just walked out to my deck to see what spring brought into the world last night. I live in the woods on a river, so there’s always something to see. (I came face to face with a bear two nights ago.) I live in a house I sometimes can’t believe I live in. I’d say it was the house of my dreams, but it came along so unexpectedly that I never really had a chance to actually dream about it. My last post had a brief mention of vision boards, so I thought I’d share my own experience of vision boards and my house.

At the time I did my first vision board, I owned a bungalow in an “up-and-coming” neighborhood in downtown Asheville. (I’ve since decided that “up-and-coming” is realtor-speak for “Personally, I’d never live here, but you look like you could handle it.”) I loved the house itself, but over time, my then-boyfriend-now-husband and I were getting increasingly tired of the energy of anger and violence. The neighborhood was slow to up and come. Though I believe in being a light in the world no matter where you find yourself, I questioned whether that really meant I had to keep making every condition so hard for myself just so I could prove my capacity to shine. (The clincher was the guy standing there peeing in our front yard in broad daylight.)

At that time, I was meeting once every two weeks with some friends of mine — it was a kind of coaching group, where we each helped each other work on goals and think through challenges. One of the women, Cheri Britton encouraged us to do vision boards as an activity one morning. She said that they had helped her a lot as she grew her new business.

I’ve already written some about the power of setting intent. When I talk about living consciously, it will rarely have the excitable “Go out there and get yours!” vibe that a lot of the more success-driven types would preach. That’s because my life and success have been more of an unfolding and an allowing than a “getting.” Some of the best things have happened unexpectedly because I deeply knew the what but I didn’t push the how.

In this case, I knew the what — It’s no longer okay for me to live among such anger, and I want to live in a peaceful space. Without giving it much thought, as I was chatting with my friends, I cut out a picture of a small contemporary house with lots of windows reflecting light onto a body of water streaming past. The ad said “Beauty Lives Here.” And I crossed out the word “Beauty” with a sharpie pen and wrote over it “Christine.”

In the meantime, my boyfriend and I had mentioned to a realtor that we wanted to move, but that we didn’t want to be pushed. (We decided that we had the time to be picky because we really loved our house itself. Just not the neighborhood.) The realtor would occasionally call to show us something. We’d look, but were never moved to move. One day, about two months after I had made the vision board, the realtor called up out of nowhere and said, “I want you to meet me this afternoon to see this house. It’s not at all what you said you wanted. But my intuition tells me you need to see it.”

When we walked into this house, we both just looked at each other with a deep knowing that it was perfect. It was contemporary, surrounded by rhododendron and woods, and right on a beautiful river. We moved in within a month after looking at it. The process was easy and, with a few exceptions, went smoothly.

It wasn’t until several months later as I was going through my writing-room closet, that I saw my vision board with the cut-out of the house and the text “Christine Lives Here.” It dawned on me that I had unknowingly envisioned this amazing house.

This is teeny-tiny stuff. There are way bigger stories than this. I encourage you to set aside your emotional self and your cynical self and dive into activities like this because they work. When I took a prosperity class at the Center for Creative Living, my inner cynic was writhing at the whole idea of affirmations and positive thinking. But then I told myself that I should just see what happens. If nothing else I’d be a little happier. (And if, after eight weeks I remained unconvinced, then I could go back to being Gollum.)

I love the example that Buckminster Fuller set by making his life “an experiment to discover what the little, penniless, unknown individual might be able to do effectively on behalf of all humanity.” That’s how I trick my ego into letting these ideas in. I make my life an experiment. It’s a great game to play, especially if you tend to take things personally and get bogged down by emotions and discouragement.

Maybe it wasn’t the scissors, glue and magazines alone that led me to this place… then again, maybe it was. I choose to think it was, because in my life experiment, magic is more fun than proof.

57 COMMENTS ADD A COMMENT
  • Tom Carroll

    Thanks Christine, I enjoyed reading your article. Your new house sounds great. Your article reminds me that I need to get my vision board out of my head and on to paper! Thanks again, Tom

  • Marla

    I seem to have a hard time making myself sit down and cut up magazines for the pictures — I collected magazines for this for a year and never got a vision board made — so I’ve found a shortcut that works for me and might be useful for others.

    In my case, I use my android phone and its built-in photo gallery widget (you can do this with iPhone, Windows, Mac, Linux, pretty much anything that comes with or you can install an easy-to-use photo gallery app). All I do is put pictures that I take with my phone’s camera or download from Google images or whatever into one specific gallery for my vision board, and use the gallery widget to make it easy to look at all these fabulous things I have in my life or soon will. I love having a vision board that goes everywhere I do!

  • Anna Barlowe

    Great post. I think I need to try this myself. I’m at the point in my life where I really need to make a big change, but I’m not sure exactly what I want yet, so it’s hard to take those first steps. Maybe a vision board would help. I don’t own any magazines at all, but maybe I could get pictures online, as it looks like someone is suggesting above. Good idea!

  • Vicky Watt

    Hi there, I know this is an old post and I’ve read all the great comments since 2006. I’d like to add my ‘vision board’ experience…of sorts. At the weekend, I was spring cleaning out my campervan. It was the first proper spring clean since my sweetheart and I quit our city jobs in 2007 and went travelling round Europe in the van. Anyway, during the clean, I got right to the bottom of one of the storage cupboards. I found that I had – back in summer 2007 – lined the cupboard base with 4 old magazine pages – images of places that I thought looked beautiful and inspiring and watery – I’ve always been a bit obsessed with moving to the seaside. Now, cleaning the van in 2010…two of those pictures jumped out at me. One was of a pristine white beach and clear blue seas, just off the Scottish west coast – it looked just like our favourite camping spot on the Isle of Mull, where we lived for an incredible 3 months after our trip round Europe. The second was of a picturesque fishing village. Back in 2007, I had no knowledge of the village. Now, I recognised it as Pittenweem on Scotland’s East coast – which, on the map is a straight line across country from the Isle of Mull. The reason I recognise the village is because today, we live in a house overlooking the sea about 1.5 miles up the road from the village. 🙂

  • Sarah Marshall

    Dear Christine,

    This isn’t exactly a vision board, but when my ex and I broke up two years ago I created a list of all the qualities that I wanted in someone else for my next relationship, and then tucked it away in my draw and forgot about it. Two years later, that perfect guy came along and every single quality that I had asked for was ticked, which was amazing! However, we were both at different stages of our lives. I’m only 23 and he is 31 and I’m saving hard to travel with my friends and studying for a career in health, something that I am passionate about, and didn’t really want to settle down yet, so things didn’t work out.

    Now I feel confused. I manifested this, but by the time I got what I asked for, I had other things that I was focusing on and wasn’t really ready for it. Do you know if this has happened before? Does this mean that I gave up an opportunity to be with a perfect partner by rejecting my wish list, and not find another one again? Or should I just create vision board to focus on travel and a career in health, something that I’m very passionate about at the moment?

    It’s a complicated one, I know lol.

    Sarah

  • diana lohman

    I would like information on starting a vision journal and what supplies are needed? thanks in advance for your help. be well diana lohman

  • Catherine Franz

    I wrote an article on how to create computerized vision board you will want to read:

    http://abundance.blogs.com/intothelight/2009/10/creating-a-computerized-vision-board.html

  • Bruno Vigneault

    Hello Christine,

    Your story is a great example of how vision boards can help manifest your desires. You are sceptic like many people as if the vision board made a difference or not. In my personal experience with vision boards, I had so many positive results that I know for a fact that my visualisation had a great impact in the life I’m living right now!

  • Patricia

    I know old post BUT …

    Kristi Hedberg posted on her blog May 13 a copy of your weekly letter. So I subscribed and have read a LOT of your articles. I made a vision board the very next day. I’d been wanting to make an inspiration board for at least a year and this gave me the push to do both. It sat in the corner of the office and my kids pulled everything off of it and I laboriously fixed it and asked my sweet hubby to please hang it up this time before they ripped it off again. I also bought a hanger to hang book bags and coats (4 kids=a lot of stuff) and he surprised me by putting it up also. The very next day(today) I got an email and 3 of my photos are going to be seen in an upcoming Disney movie! I’ve made a lot of changes in my life over the past 6 months and slowly but surely things are coming together. Thank you for helping it along.

  • dee

    Christine: you must have “happy” people all over your vision boards…lol, I am reading, smiling, laughing and thinking, that all of you are the happiest people in one place I have ever seen (or read). I am such a big believer in the law of attraction, and I too googled you, “vision boards”, I am also going to check out all of the urls that are in here…thanks for such a pleasant place to be tonight…may all of your “boards” come to fruition! Tomorrow!…

  • Nick

    To Cindy above,

    Physical vision boards are frustrating because it’s hard to find the exact picture you want quickly from magazines and when pasted on (or tacked which looks tacky), it can mess up your vision board.

    Digital vision boards solve both of these problems as a vast number of pictures can quickly be found on the Internet, and adding and removing pictures is as simple as the click of your mouse.

    That’s why I created The Ultimate Vision Board. It’s the fastest and most powerful way to create your dream vision board. And it’s completely free! Give it a try here
    http://apps.facebook.com/ultimatevisionboard/add_invites.php?refuid=1212898

    Christine,
    Try it out and if you’re interested, we could do some publicity together!

    Nick

  • Cindy

    Hi Christine,

    I love this site! I have a question about the vision boards. I think I want to start a vision book (this way I can keep it private). If I start it and paste things on it, what happens if I don’t want a particular item anymore? Do I go back and tear it out? Or do I leave it in and just continue on. I have difficulty making up my mind and I see myself changing my mind alot.

    Thanks

  • Christine Kane

    hi sharon – there aren’t any rules. and i say, as long as it feels good to look at the vision board, then keep it up. some people say it took seven years to manifest some of the stuff they wanted. it’s not so much about patience as it is about following your feel-good stuff. have you ever read “ask and it is given” by esther and jerry hicks? if not, i highly recommend that you start there!

  • sharon

    Hi, I call them “treasure maps” I learned of this years ago and some things happened like going on trips. The marriage map never worked and I’m 43 but so happy that I never married any of the boyfriends that I had. I just made a treasure map this past Nov. after watching Oprah and I finally went to the Library and got a copy of the Secret. After checking it out 3 times I decided to but it. This is the first map I’ve made in over 15 years and I’m so excited to have the hope return. What are the time limits (if any) someone said 1 month. Then put it away and forget all about it. I like my map so much I have been looking at it all the time since Nov. Money and and my own house with my son is all I want for now. I drew a picture of a house with an ocean view, and I look at that all the time to because it makes me so happy. Should I put it under my bed and forget, or think of something else. I drive alot and the home and money thoughts are on my brain to keep the thoughts of bad people and their actions out. Sometimes I scream with glee because I am believing so hard. It is fun to have happy thoughts. I am a positve person naturally, but the people I live with tease me and think I’m goofy so it is hard for me to relate things to them. They mostly talk of the horrors in the world and sad news. I really need this map to kick into high gear to get me in my own happy home because the way they think gets to my son, he’s 10. For now all I can do is be patient. But I am so anxious too! What are the right rules? Are their any? Thanks, for reading my blabbing. Sharon

  • Dorie

    Hi, I created a vision board this time last year, and am still adding to it. It is one of the most powerful tools I have ever used in shaping and creating my life and dreams. It is a living, breathing element–two boards that represent what I want to feel and become. And my life has just been getting better and better because of it!
    Dorie

  • Bridey

    Hi Christine

    I’m loving your blog! I just stumbled upon it recently and find it so positive, it’s great there are people like you in the world 🙂

    I really like the thought of living life as an experiment, it sounds like fun.

    It’s funny how the act or writing down goals can make them happen. About a year ago I wrote down some short, mid and long term goals and promptly forgot about them. Recently I found them and was quite surprised to see the number that have actually happened. Especially some long term goals that I thought would be at least five years away.

    Thanks

  • Christine Kane

    hi vedrana! (what a great name) I’m so glad to hear you’re rediscovering that magical part of yourself. Thanks for sharing this with everyone! I’m anxious to hear the outcomes and insights that arise.

    Hiya Jana! Wow. I’m so grateful that you shared all of that. This post gets the most visits of all my blog posts I think, and you’ve provided great insight and inspiration. And congratulations on all of your success and all that you’ve manifested!

  • Jana

    Dear Christine,
    I created my first vision board as a teen. I have used visions boards and dream
    books since then. I have accomplished almost everything from all my boards and dream books, but I continue to make new visions boards to help me accomplish new goals and dreams. The law of Attraction has been known for a long time like karma what you put out is what you receive, what you put out into the universe is what you will recieve. It doesn’t matter what we call it. Its always been there and if you focus on your intentions they will lead you to the opportunities and the people who can help make your dreams come true.
    I have always believe this because when I was child my parents were told that they might have to put in a group home when I grew up or they would have to find someone to watch me when they weren’t around because of a severe seizure disorder. But I was determined not to end up a prisoner to my siezures and not be on social security disability for the rest of my life.
    I finished College, got married, bought a home, met great people and now I’m working on becoming a creative coach, business woman, mutimedia artist among other things. The most important thing is to believe in yourself and do something everyday that takes you one step closer, even if its just a thought or prayer.
    People give up to easily on their dreams because of personal circumstances. The road to a dream is not always easy but when you reach your dream it’s that much sweeter.

    Keep dreaming
    Jana

  • Vedrana

    Dear Christine,

    Like many who wrote to you already, I too discovered your site by Googling “Creating Your Vision Board” . A few things came up, but I was drawn to your site and immediately felt that I found exactly what I was looking for. I also just purchased “The Secret” which compelled me to start the vision board of my own, although I have known of the concept for years. I can’t believe I allowed for so much time to pass without utilizing this incredible tool. I have manifested many things in life, particularely when I was younger and things I wanted sometimes came to be agains unbelievable odds, the experiences humbled me. I know it works, yet somewhere along the way I have allowed my dreams to shrink. I am starting to dream big again and things seem to line up again just the way they need to… Even finding your web-site is a part of the process. It was like opening a beautiful tresure box. What a joy!! I wanted to thank you sharing this insightful, inspirational and precious material with those guided to your site. I will share it with a few of my friends who I know will be delighted to visit your site as well.
    Best Regards,
    Vedrana

  • Christine Kane

    Hi Jason. My answer to ANY question like this is “if it’s not an absolute yes, it’s a no.” If you have any hesitation to showing your board to anyone, then don’t do it. It’s the same thing with playing new songs for people. If you’re hestitant…most likely you’re going to attract criticism that’s based on your own uncertainty. Then it gets hard to untangle the mess. Hold it close to you for a while. Then, if someone sees it and asks, you can get excited, let them read my blog, tell them what it is and what your dreams are!

  • Jason

    I love what you have to say about vision boards. I am just starting one myself. I’m not sure yet which type it will be, I will decide that when actually putting it together (I’m still compiling images at present).
    One thing that came to mind that has not been mentioned, is whether or not to show your vision board to other people. The way I see it, a board is a very personal thing, and letting others view it is like letting them read your journal. There is more of a chance for others to put doubts in your mind (most friends would not do this intentionally) and for a person to start tayloring what they put on it to appeal to others. I think a person may get self-conscious about it, if it is shown to other people.
    Sort of like making a birthday wish, and not saying it aloud 😉

  • christine

    Thanks for the note fellow Christine! It’s always great to read other people’s experiences with these!

  • Christine

    Hey fellow Christine! I love this post. I had recently blogged about setting up my vision board for this year. It is amazing how it somehow subconciously works. It’s like voodoo or something. A lot of people don’t belive in vision boards, or affirmations, etc but there are a ton of stories proving it.

  • christine

    Hi Brendan, Thanks for the great site, and for letting people know about it!

    Hello John… yes, I believe you are right! Thanks for stopping by!

    Hi Cornelis, Love your site and the idea. I’m sure you’re helping many thousands of people! Thanks!

  • Cornelis Boertjens

    Hello Christine,

    I came across this article on your website when I was looking where my webpage ranks for “Vision Board” on Google. Your article topped my site so I had to read what you wrote about Vision Boards.

    What you are saying is amazing. My company created a product called “Vision Board” which is a digital vision board that helps people to visualize what they want to achieve in life way before The Secret got created. However, now that that movie is so popular, people start to really take on using the law of attraction and manifesting great things and that is such a positive shift.

    If you are interested, have a look on http://www.visualizeyourgoals.com

    Best Regards,

    Cornelis

  • Rev John Moore

    Excellent – we can be do and have anything. Thank you for sharing. I believe that when more people “get” this there will be no war, or poverty, or disease.

  • Brendan

    Hi Christine, I’m enjoying your articles and want to share with you and your readers a powerful website I recently created. I’ve bee using these techniques for years and decided to make a web application to assist people.

    The Intention Engine uses the vision board techniques as well as many other details required to manifest what you want.

    http://www.intentionengine.com

    Hope you all find it useful.

    Cheers,

    Brendan

  • christine

    Hello VB-TW… Hey, I have an on-going book now too! I don’t do the boards anymore. now I just add to my cool book that I got at the Paper Store. Thanks for the note!

  • Vision Boards – They Work

    I totally beleive in vision boards, I’m actually in the process of building a “dream book”, same idea as the vision board but in a book. I did this in a smaller scale years ago when I was looking for a job. I typed a list of items I wanted in a job and posted on my cork board and looked at it everyday as I was searching the internet for a job…. I got what I wanted, basically 99% of the items on the list came with my new job, great boss, perks, growth… I couldn’t beleive it! But it works!

  • christine

    Thanks Stefan! Great links! I’m sure they’ll help many readers. And I’m glad that your life is moving along such a great path…

  • Stefan

    Hallo Christine,
    I read your story about vision boards and can confirm it work after we started using it. We also have a copy of “The Secret” and can confirm it work magic for us too. The Secret will change your life completely if you study the contents. I watch it over and over again and all the time discover new aspects of life as it should be. I can also recommend studying the book “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace D Wattles. You can get it for free at http://www.scienceofgettingrich.net. Finally, to be really able to apply this in your life to the fullest i recommend you visist the website of Dr Tony Quinn, http://www.educomindpower.com. He mastered the technique to apply these principles completely and i can recommend it as it work for me.
    Regards
    Stefan

  • christine

    Hi matt. yes, i saw The Secret. But I didn’t see it until recently. I’ve been doing Vision Boards forever! Well, I’m glad I got Googled. I haven’t done any SEO stuff. So, it’s total luck!

  • Matt Di Pasquale

    Hi Christine.

    Thank you for your story. I recently watched the movie THE SECRET, which I got from http://www.thesecret.tv … It’s an amazing DVD.

    Anyways, I’d known of vision boards, but this movie helped convince me of their power. I did a search for “vision board” on google and your site came up.

    Thanks for another great vision board story. Totally watch the secret if you haven’t already. I can see you already understand the secret… still the movie will definitely open your eyes to even more.

    Dear God, please put my vision board up on my wall in front of my desk.

    Thank you,

    -Matt