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On Saturday, I attended The Women’s Mosaic’s spring Visioning Workshop. Visioning is an intensive personal collage-making process that inspires people to use creativity and intuition to tap into their subconscious dreams and desires. The goal is to capture images – abstract or literal – that represent the life you want; by interpreting and embracing those images, you empower yourself to make the choices that will lead you there.
I’ve participated in quite a few visioning workshops over the past five years, and each time, the collage process seems to have something different to offer. Sometimes it manages to invigorate or refresh me. Other times, it leaves me feeling reflective. Or inspired. Or challenged by the thoughts that surface when I really give myself time to be alone with what I feel.
The magic of visioning, for me, lies partly in its familiarity, but just as much in the fact that you never can know exactly what to expect. The point, of course, is to reach inside yourself and grapple with questions like “What do I want?” and “How do I get it?” without allowing yourself to pre-judge or discredit the answers based on so-called logic or practicality.
When I’m able to enter the visioning space with a truly open mind, I never cease to be surprised by what emerges. At times it can almost be as powerful as seeing yourself through new eyes.
When I look at my latest collage, I see spaces of beauty. I see strangeness, and passion, and promise. I see adventure – not the reckless kind, but the kind that unfolds slowly and fills you with richness. I see myself at a moment in time where there are many possibilities, but many uncertainties. Where there’s a delicate balance between things hoped for and things earned, between embracing the things that truly define me and recognizing the things I allow to represent me that are merely shadows.
It seems these images are telling me to get out in the world and just be me.
Do you have a Visioning Workshop story? Even if you haven’t done the workshop, what do you see when you picture the future?
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Monday, March 30, 2009
Reflecting My Vision
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4 comments:
This was my first Visioning Workshop and I had no idea what to expect. It was a mix of meditation, time alone and interacting with the group. For me it was a good first step in trying to get my act and life in better order. I can not wait for the next one.
Kerry
This was my first Visioning Workshop and it definitely left me a lot to think about! I loved "getting into the zone," just letting go control of my thoughts, and following my intuition. I've looked at my collage each day and although I'm still working through it, I am finding clues to the person I want to be. There were many images that seemed to deal with exploring space, like horizons and lofty rooms. Well, it has been on my mind recently whether to travel abroad to new places to learn, expand, and improve my language skills. Well, revisiting my collage and thinking about our day at the Visioning Workshop has encouraged me to create and pursue the life I dream of... Just today I bought tickets to Berlin, Germany to participate in a language and culture summer program! Of course, it's a little scary to move away from home, even if briefly, bu I am proud that I am taking action to do what matters to me. As my collage unfolds, I look forward to what else the future brings!
-Bridget
Thanks, Kerry and Bridget! It's great to hear your thoughts. Interesting, that you both also felt a new sense of direction coming out of the visioning workshop. I think it's neat that such a personal experience can also be a shared experience.
I've become a visioning workshop regular (I actually changed travel plans this year so I wouldn't miss it!). It's fun for me to see the similarities and differences in my own experience over the years. In the past, my collages have represented a lot of external goals. This time around, I am realizing more and more that the collage is about me. I am going through an odd transformation (I believe this is to do with having had a child). There is even a butterfly on my collage - the image was important to me, but I didn't know why. Maybe now I do! :)
As always, this was a great experience and I am already looking forward to fall. ;)
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