Is your family starting to talk about Christmas plans? Discussing who is buying for whom and sharing wish lists?
The wish list is important, because if you don’t make one, you’ll get the same stuff you’ve always gotten based on who your mother-in-law thinks you are and Voila! You can add some more stuff to the GoodWill pile.
Or there’s the other Wish List dilemma – you don’t actually know what you want – so you put down the same old stuff – bath stuff, books, slippers, new gloves, candles – being careful not to ask for too much, or ask for something hard to get, and eventually you just ask for gift certificates so you don’t need to think about this anymore.
Exhausted by thinking of what you want. So sad.
But really, the Christmas Wish List isn’t so different from how we consider what we want for our lives – we give up on dreaming, because we’ve decided we will never get what we want anyway. Why bother?
Or we make the list so limiting that it’s just no fun at all.
In actual fact, the experience of dreaming of what you want could be (should be!) uplifting, delightful, fun and mind-blowing.
Indeed, it could be thrilling if you could …
- allow yourself to dream without expecting someone else to deliver the gift (you will deliver it to yourself with the support of your Divine Partner)
- let go of relying on your past to determine what you want for your future (you know, trying the same thing over and over, and wanting a different result)
- clear your mind of what others want for you or expect you to want, or any cultural “norms” that keep you stuck (it’s not about you then, is it?)
- comparing what is on your list to others’ lists (because it’s still not about you)
So many of us ask for what we think we should want instead of what we really want to have. For example:
- Returning to the same kind of job over and over, even though you know you are “done” with the role or industry
- Continuing on a path of study or professional track even though it’s not working because you don’t feel free to change tracks (you’ve already invested so much, what will my family and friends think?)
- Staying in a toxic job or relationship long past it’s “best before date” because you can’t see beyond the current situation for so many reasons (others’ expectations, children, finances, self esteem, security etc)
- Never giving yourself time to dream because you just never stopped to consider what you really want (it’s not something you ever needed to think about before)
- Fitting into family expectations for your life instead of connecting to your own vision, which may be quite different if you told yourself the truth (married with kids by age 30; need to be a doctor, engineer, lawyer; need to own a house; need to take care of kids and parents before you can have your own fulfilling career)
With such a tired old list, you end up feeling lacklustre (hello, low grade depression) or abandoning the list because it’s no fun opening presents that don’t truly bring you joy. (Get back to cooking that turkey!)
But how do you know what kind of gift will inspire you when you don’t know what it is? How do you put it on the list?
You engage in visioning.
Visioning is a spiritual process – reaching past the logical mind, into the vastness of your intuition, the great matrix of creativity. You engage with aspects of your being you might never have met before.
Visioning is discovering a scent of what might be created – a wisp of a dream, a tiny germ of a seed that has yet to be planted. Apple tree or Oak? Lily or Gardenia? Rutabaga or Carrot?
Visioning allows a glimpse into the limitless view of Divine Possibility … bypassing the mind that only knows where you’ve been and taps into the greater mind where anything can happen.
Visioning is free from all the past stories of how you’ve been hurt or failed and goes to the birthplace of life itself – that which dreamed you – before you existed.
It’s not a place we visit very often.
In fact, visioning is not something you do so easily by yourself though sometimes it happens when you are deeply relaxed and dreamy – perhaps upon waking from a big nap or during meditation – or occasionally, you might be overtaken with an idea that seemed to come from nowhere. That proverbial bolt from the blue.
- You see yourself on a stage speaking and people leap to their feet, clapping
- You see yourself in a brand new city, exploring an art gallery feeling alive and inspired
- You see yourself holding a baby you thought you could never have (could be metaphorical)
- You see yourself in front of your computer, on fire with your book project
- You wake up, feeling your lover’s arms around you and it feels like home
- You see yourself going for a simple walk in nature, healthy, vital, energized and whole
- You see the name or face of the person you need to call next to break open the next level of your business
- You suddenly see what you need to do next to find your new love
The possibilities are absolutely endless – and even better news – you don’t have to wait for a random bolt of inspiration to happen.
You can go there with the support of a guide (hi!) who can take you gently by the hand into an awakened dream state … a state where you enter into the limitless realm where that germ of an idea can be captured, and planted.
Or the next gift on your wish list is revealed …
How is visioning different from visualization?
Visualization is a mental/emotional process where you see yourself successfully achieving that vision. For example – running a marathon, giving a great speech or presentation.
First comes the Divine Idea, the vision, the seed that inspires you to plant that garden and keep it growing.
Then visualization fertilizes the soil – an important part of gardening, but later in the process.
What do you need to “catch” your vision?
All you need is willingness – to make time and space for the mysterious experience and allow yourself to surrender to it.
And to take the hand of your guide who will keep you safe along the way.
That’s me.
On Sunday, November 19, 2023, I will be leading a 2 hour visioning workshop called Your Divine Idea: Opening to a Greater Vision – all the details to register are here.
It’s only $37 and it includes some private time with me for discernment following the workshop.
If you want a bigger life, you need a bigger vision … join me!