Hey Dreamers!!

So rolling with themes of the New Year and manifestation, I wanted to tell you guys about a Vision Board Workshop that I had attended last weekend at a small yoga studio in Clark, New Jersey. I had never attended a Vision Board Workshop before. I mean as a teenager, I was always cutting stuff out of magazines, plastering it all on poster board, canvas, or in my sketch book. I mean I would even do this in my sketchbooks well into my 20s. I did a majority of my collage art in my L.A. days, as a way to cope with being so far from home. I always did these collage exercises as a way to express myself and to make some cool art, but I never used it as a tool for manifestation. I feel like it was always something that was super intimidating because it forced me to attempt to figure my shit out and think about what I wanted.

This class was really helpful to me because our instructor taught us a few techniques that are very simple, but really help with getting a clear picture of the life that I want to sculpt for myself. First of all, there were 5 people total in this class, including our instructor. There were 2 other girls in the class besides myself, and my mother, who I dragged along (she enjoyed it though, lol).

Here are the little activities that our instructor guided us on, and you can do these at home, on your own as well, to make the most of your vision boarding experience.

HOW TO VISION BOARD LIKE A BOSS

​1. FIND INSPIRING ANECDOTES
She opened the class with a little story about this young woman, who had caught the attention of news outlets for manifesting this dream she had. She didn’t know how she was going to obtain it, but she just knew that she could see it in her mind, she could FEEL it with every fiber of her being, and she promised herself that if the opportunity arises, she would jump at the chance to make this happen. What this woman had envisioned was opening up a book shop, but here is the interesting twist she put on it:
She would find a bookshop with a flat available for rent on top of the bookshop. She would buy the whole kit and caboodle, and rent out the whole thing (flat AND shop) to guests passing through, and whoever stayed there would be in charge of managing the bookshop, converse with the patrons, and get the whole experience of what it’s like to own a bookshop. One day she went on a trip to Scotland, and what do you know, she found her bookshop and flat situation, and she just knew that was where she needed to be. This Bookshop Holiday experience is now made possible by Air BnB, and apparently there is a waiting list to stay there and have this experience, about 5 years out. How crazy amazing is that! She held this dream for years, all in part to her vision boards.
Anyway, I digress, so that was the inspiring little example that our instructor had set for us to get us in the mindset that we can absolutely manifest anything we hold in our minds, and dream to be real.

2. YOUR WHEEL OF LIFE
​Now I bet you’re wondering how to even know what kinds of things to put on your vision board? This next exercise helps a bit with that. She then gave us a sheet of paper with a wheel chart on it. The wheel was divided into sections pertaining to the different areas of our lives. We then had to rate each part of our lives on a scale of 1-10 (1 being depleted in that area, and 10 being achievement.) Then after we had filled out our wheels, and rated our lives, we had to connect the dots, and acknowledge the map of our life as it is happening right now.

​This exercise kind of helped us physically see, which area of our lives that WE feel is lacking. We could then use those areas to figure out what we wanted to place on our vision board, so that we could manifest more of whatever we were lacking. This wasn’t something we felt glued to during our creative process – it was just an extra tidbit to help us along that journey.

3. GUIDED MEDITATION 
​The next thing we did in the class was an audio guided meditation that focused on the Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura). It’s located just above the naval and below the rib cage.

According to Meditative Mind:
“The Solar Plexus Chakra or Manipura is a center of personal strength, learning and comprehension. It guides you through life by creating a strong sense of self, setting personal boundaries and building self esteem and willpower. The ability to bring change into your life and to the world is born within this Chakra. It is where our Will Power comes from. our ability to achieve, raw emotions, and self-discipline are all governed by the this chakra. The Seed Mantra of Solar Plexus Chakra is ‘RAM’. The color associated with this chakra is Yellow.”

I couldn’t find the exact meditation that our instructor used in our class, however here is a good one. You don’t have to do it for a full hour, we only meditated for maybe 5 minutes just to get in the right mindset.

4. YOUR VISION BOARD 
​So after we came out of our meditation and intense visualization, we slowly came back to the room, mentally. Then it was time to dive into to her array of magazines, washi tape, sticker books, scissors and glue sticks, and start looking for images and words that inspired us. There really are NO rules for your vision board, other than to have fun with it, and don’t feel pressured to make it look perfect, or “what if I can’t find anything in the magazines that pertains to my life”… Trust me, I felt the same way… but once you start looking through the magazines, you just get into this really therapeutic zone, and images start to jump out at you. It might even be stuff that you never even thought you wanted in your conscious mind, but subconsciously you do. You might not recognize it until you happen to come across an image that sparks it. Cut it out, slap it on your board!
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So there really is no technique here, however, if you’re a bit anal like me… I like to cut all of my photos out first, I just got a really good bunch that I felt good about, and I didn’t glue anything down until i figured out the placement. Then once I had a good idea on how things fit on my board, then I started glueing. Once all the magazine cutouts were placed, then I started embellishing with gel pen doodles, inspirational quote and mandala stickers, markers, buttons, and all that good stuff.

Some of the things to note here – the top left is a sticker that says GET STUFF DONE. So, I definitely want to do more of THAT this year. “Do What You Love” – Yes please! A black kitten, always wanted one, maybe I’ll get one someday. A new house, to travel more, to make time for playing my instruments. I really miss songwriting and recording, so that’s something I’d love to get back into this year. The reminder to “GET UP AND GO” – sometimes you just need to say FUCK IT and book that vacation. I still haven’t even taken a honeymoon. So THAT’S a priority this year. I want to eat better, I need to exercise… and to explain those macarons.

​I bought a book on baking French Macarons that I took one look at, and felt way too intimidated to attempt. As I was telling this story to our instructor, she was flipping through a magazine and landed on that macaron photo. She handed it to me and we laughed hysterically about it! This is the universe’s way of nudging us! MAKE THE MACARONS! So this year, I will attempt to make those macarons… hopefully in the new kitchen in the new house that I am manifesting as well.

There are definitely some things that I want to achieve this year that I did not put on my vision board, because well, I didn’t find EVERYTHING in those magazines, and also I ran out of space. But there’s no rule that says you can only make ONE vision board.

On November 13, 2015,  I engaged in some activities that are to be expected for someone my age. I went to a nearby city for a night on the town with my lover. First we planned to grab some dinner at a downtown hotspot followed by a music show headlined by one of our local bands.  It was a typical night unlike any other. Our dinner consisted of some gourmet hot dogs and two free cheesecake desserts courtesy of the restaurant in exchange for our vote on which one was the best. We could optionally donate any amount we’d like after participating, and all proceeds afterward would go to a local shelter and provide food for the less fortunate on Thanksgiving. We got a free dessert, donated a small amount and helped the less fortunate, it was a win win. Then my boyfriend checked his phone, to which social media had alerted him that there had been an act of terrorism in Paris, France.

Not much had been known yet at this point, other than there was a shooting at a soccer stadium, or something to that nature. It is hard to remember what my reaction had initially been. We as a society have unfortunately grown so accustomed to these occurrences, and the only way to really get through the nagging fear of what could possibly happen when you step foot outside your front door, is to become hardened by it. We have naturally become susceptible to brushing it off and applying this “life goes on” mentality, more and more with every tragedy. I chose to brush it off myself, and not let this news fill the rest of my night with worry. I think we both did.

We payed the check and then proceeded to the music venue. As the night went on, we enjoyed the music of all the bands that had played at this venue that I had practically spent a good chunk of my own years playing in bands at. Around the time of the last band, I had gotten the text from a few family members and also a friend with more details about the tragedy in Paris, and telling me to be careful  wherever I was. I had still not known too much about the details, but their worry caused me to worry more. This wave of uneasiness came over me, and I really could not wait to just go home.

As my boyfriend and I got home, we snuggled up in bed to catch up on all of the news we hadn’t been too informed of throughout the duration of our night out. I then started to see news about hundreds being murdered at a concert hall. Wait a minute, I thought this was at a soccer stadium? Not that it matters WHERE it happened, but now that one of the targets seemed to be young people just like my boyfriend and I, having a nice evening filled with good food, live music, and other social things people my age generally enjoy about life, now it just hit a little too close to my heart. Apparently the shootings had also taken place at cafes, and people were shot while dining on street terraces. It seemed like an epidemic of hatred had broken out in the city of flashing lights, excitement, inspiration and romance.

This was a city filled with young people seeking their own enjoyments of life, and it just didn’t seem fair. Seeing the news of this attack where hundreds had been killed, literally made my stomach turn. Young adults, and even lovers, just like my boyfriend and I, who went out for a night on the town, out to dinner, to a cafe, to see their favorite band, never made it home to their safe warm beds. I sat there in shock, news story after news story, trying to piece together why anyone would want to do this to our humanity. And in that moment, the rough exterior that I had in place due to the influx of recent racial wars, pointless police brutalities, public shootings, other hate crimes, and the all too close to home 9/11 attacks, had just cracked. I felt completely helpless and hurt for those poor people. I cried, held my boyfriend, and just thanked God and The Universe for all that I have in my life, because it could literally be taken away at any moment.

Over the course of the next few days it had been made more public that there had also been attacks in Beirut, Baghdad, and also an older story about an attack in Kenya had resurfaced. People had started arguing on social media about which occurrence held the most weight, and all sorts of other different angles concerning them all, which I will not get into here because you have probably already seen it all on your own newsfeed, and also that is not really what this article is about. I spent the past few days in a funk, jaded, getting sucked into the chaos as all of humanity had seemed to go up in arms, spreading their hate-fueled opinions toward one another. It really left me disgusted with the world and forced me to retrieve and be alone with my thoughts. And thoughts there were many. Thoughts like “I never want to leave my house again, I never want to travel and see all the beauty the world has to offer, I never want to do the things I enjoy if it requires me to be in a public setting, or – procreating is pointless in a world that is apparently going to shit, who wants to raise a child around all this hate?”… and the fearful thoughts go on and on.” And while I know that instilling fear and causing a divide amongst all of humanity is exactly what these assholes want, it doesn’t make things any less traumatizing, even if we have not been subjected to the actual events, or have not been directly tied to anyone who has.

You see… we are suffering as a society. We have all adapted to this sense of walking PTSD, especially those of us who are of the empathic nature, who FEEL things like this so very deeply that it takes every ounce of our being just to get out of bed the next day and function. Some of us may even feel a certain sense of “survivor’s guilt” as if we had actually been there, like what right do I have, to stress about the ego-based trivial bullshit of my everyday life, when those poor people who didn’t make it out alive will never have the pleasure of being grateful for ever again? We’re walking around like zombies with our heads so far up our own asses, being directly influenced by everything we see and hear in the media. We have all been molded by it, swayed every which way by bias news outlets without doing the research for ourselves about the one sided story they choose to display. We’re so quick to hit that “SHARE” button, most of the time without even reading the actual story, but just based on the headline alone. While it’s important to be in the know about current events, it is also important to not let ourselves be consumed by it, and that comes with the ability of self-awareness. That hit me pretty hard tonight before I sat down to write this. I was letting it all consume me, and that is what fuels that feeling of depression and overwhelm.

It was very clear to me that I needed to begin healing myself from the strain that the world has put on my heart and I’m sure anyone else of empathic nature could relate to this feeling as well. These feelings are very real and although I feel the need to submerge myself in my introverted state and hide away from this very flawed world, I realize that it is so essential as a human being to talk about the issues that are making me feel this way. It is also very essential as a human being, that when we feel helpless, we need to HELP SOMEONE ELSE. We are of NO use to anyone if we remain hidden in fear. Now is not the time for the trivial bullshit that is designed to divide us in our humanity. Now IS the time to come together and be a crutch for one another through all of this fear, confusion, and pain. We may not be the victims of these physical crimes, but being exposed to it all in mind and spirit eventually takes its toll on the soul.

It is with all of this heaviness in my heart that I have decided to create this mini-workshop for anyone who is having these same feelings as I, to help them heal and deal with the grief of the global losses our world has suffered in the recent days, months and even years. We are suffering as a world, and no one tragedy is worse than another. A tragedy is a tragedy, and it is all over the place. All we can do is spread our love where we think could use it the most and stand together as the light workers we are, because it is OUR LOVE that will save this world.

Join me in this FREE Art Therapy Mini E-Course that I have created in order to help us heal from the tragedy and loss all around.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE “GOOD” OR A “REAL” ARTIST TO PARTICIPATE. ALL YOU NEED IS YOUR HUMAN EMOTION AND A FEW MATERIALS!

So my friend Shannon usually hosts a lot of shows at this VFW up in Warren, NJ, and they usually always have to do with music, which is AWESOME! But this particular show was a lot of fun cuz she had tons of bands play, as well as showcase original art by local artists. I was excited when she had asked me to be a part of it, and it didn’t take me long to jump onboard!

For this show I entered a lot of framed prints of sketchbook pieces that I have done over the last few years. Back in 2009, while I was in LA for 6 months, I didn’t have access to all of my paints and craft supplies which I had left back home in NJ, so I had bought a small Crayola watercolor palette, a few ink pens, some color pencils, and a glue stick. These few little items actually kept me very busy, as I did watercolor washes in my sketchbook, and then did magazine collages over the color wash. I embellished these pieces with crazy ink line drawings, and color pencil shading. I think it was then when I had started to find my sketchbook style. I still love a lot of those pieces I did in LA, to this day, and continue to do more of the same type of sketchbook pieces. They are just so colorful and fun, and when people see them, they go WOW, that ink work is awesome! I love that feeling…

More recently, before the whole Walking Dead craze had started to sweep the nation like a zombie plague (pun intended!), I was obsessing over zombie inspired art so I decided to create zombie like portraits, where I would take model faces from magazines and paint over them to turn them into zombies.

This lasted for a short while, and then I moved on to something that was even more fun! Sugar Skulls!

Below are a couple pieces that I had done, where I used the same technique. I would just take models faces out of magazines, paint over them to make them look like sugar skulls, and then I would ink line over them to give each one a unique detailed look! I would also collage the background with newsprint and magazine print to give it a bit more texture, and I’d sweep over it with some acrylic paint on a brayer.
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The art show was overall a BLAST! I chose not to sell anything, cuz I felt like I couldn’t really part with anything just yet. I think that is my biggest downfall as an artist. Naturally I want to keep every single thing I create, but truth is, I am running out of room to keep these things! 😛