11 Steps to Subconscious Vision Boarding

My Subconscious Vision Board

I’m sure you’ve heard of Vision Boards – collages of pictures and words of things you want to have or be. But have you heard of subconscious vision boards (SVB)? They’re not made in your sleep; they’re made fully awake by your passionate, creative, inner self.

Traditional vision boards are based in conscious thought and their purpose is to reprogram your subconscious with subliminal messaging. When you look at it like this it’s a little like clever advertising in a way… You buy it but in the end you’re left wondering if it’s what you really wanted.

I recommend circumnavigating your conscious mind and gaining access to your subconscious and letting that lead your direction. I’m basing this on the belief that our mind is like an iceberg. The conscious is the visible tip… The subconscious is the real driving force – the bulk of the iceberg under the surface. So if you really want to manifest your direction and express your true self then your answers lie here.

That’s a lot of consciousness babble. So let’s get down to brass tacks, or paper and scissors as is the case may be… Let me explain how I arrived at this idea and how you can make your own SVB…

Coffee!

I made my first SVB a few months ago. I did set out to do it consciously in the beginning. But soon, with a floor full of old magazines and a plunger full of coffee I lost myself in the process… Well actually found myself to be exact.

I flicked through the magazines (copies of Vogue Living, Gourmet Traveller and other pretty pages) initially looking for certain items, but soon and easily I got lost in the aesthetics and feel of it all. The colour, the layout, the collage elements, the people and the places…

I began cutting out anything that jumped off the page, suspending my conscious thought brain department and engaging the creative team of neurons. It was such a pleasure to sit on the floor, legs akimbo, snip, snip, snipping and sip, sip sipping.

Pretty soon I had a delightful pile of colourful snips… After some time I looked around me and noticed I was sitting in a pile of

Colourful snips

rainbow snow. Bits of colourful paper everywhere, and me and my aromatic coffee pot in the middle.

I abandoned all ideas of conscious vision boarding and lost myself in the colours, aesthetics, transporting places, and the simple pleasure of creating something pretty.

I assembled my snippets on a sheet of cardboard. Some pictures were left whole, other’s had their outline cut out. I then spent time arranging, rearranging, layering, matching, contrasting…collaging until I had a finished SVB.

Once it was finished (well, figuratively… Da Vinci said that “art is never finished, just abandoned”) I sat back to look at it… I hadn’t looked at the forest yet, just each individual tree so it was a revelation to sit back and look at the entire creation.

My SVB

I looked upon it, and then felt drawn into it, like a swirling pool filled with flowers.

The more I look at it now months after I made it, the more I realise the pictures I chose are reflections of passions, pleasures and plans. Quite a few of the images in my vision board have come to fruition.

And other elements have confirmed things that I love but haven’t made much time for. Since creating this, many of these things have become more prevalent in my life.

Make your own Subconscious Vision Board

Materials

Magazines
Scissors
Glue
A sheet of cardboard (A1 is a good size)

Method

This is very scientific so I’m going to step it out for you:

1. Find a quiet place with plenty of floor space.
2. Make a cup or pot of your favourite hot beverage. (I guess it could also be cold, I think serious work such as this requires a steaming cup but this step is flexible.)
3. Skillfully ‘dump’ your magazines in front of you.
4. Grab your scissors in one hand and start leafing through the nearest magazine with your other.
5. Disengage your conscious mind and let your subconscious direct you to snip what it is attracted to. Don’t think about it too much or second guess, just snip.
6. Make a lot of mess. The more the better.
7. Once you’ve got a pleasing pile of snips go through and decide how they will be refined for the finished board. Some pictures you will want to leave whole…as a square or rectangle for example. Others you will want to cut out as outlines. Anything from a flower to a chainsaw for example.
8. Then arrange them all on the board, until you get them looking how you want them. (Again, don’t over-think this, just flow with it.)
9. Once you’re happy with the arrangement stick it all down.
10. Take a long sip of your beverage, take a sigh break, then…
11. Sit back and admire your masterpiece.

Conclusion

A vision board created in this way will give you information from your subconscious. So look at it and think about how it makes you feel. What elements are recurring? What themes are present? Over time keep checking in with your vision board and see what has unfolded that at the time of creation was not yet manifested. It’s quite an amazing process.

So, my advice on vision boards is, rather than seeking to control your subconscious with subliminal imaging and affirmations, be led by your subconscious which will put you in touch with the true you.

…And yes it is a possibility that none of this is true and my theories are completely faulty but I can absolutely 100% guarantee that you will make a delightfully colourful mess and that it will be fun until you get to the cleaning up part.
This is Day 28 of my 30 day writing challenge
inspired by Matt Cutts on TED Talks.