Financial guru Dave Ramsay famously said "a budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went." I liken life planning to this sentiment; goal setting means we're intentionally setting a course for our life instead of wondering where all of our time has gone.
I like to make a mini vision board for each month to come. This visual aid helps me focus on the experiences I'd like to call in and also provides a tangible "home base" for me to return to when I'm feeling a bit off track. This can be old-school cutouts from magazines pasted into a journal or digital images collected and compiled together in a collage app.
My March Vision
I have quite a few celebrations upcoming in March including two charity events, a baby shower and two brunches already on the books. I also know that I'll be working with Piscean energy and spending lots of time by the water, dreaming and writing. I'll be taking part in my first-ever Ayurvedic cleanse at the end of the month so I'll definitely be focusing more on my health leading up to that. Detoxing with infrared sauna, salt baths and getting back to spin class are on the agenda to help accelerate the release of excess toxins.
I also like to recreate a mini version of the New Year Sweetness Ritual at the beginning of each month. This helps bring my immediate goals into focus - remember Energy Flows Where Intention Goes! You can use flowers again as we did for the New Year ritual or you can choose shells, small twigs, feathers, crystals or any other natural element that resonates with you. We typically have beach weather year-round here in south Florida so I usually do this at the beach but this can be performed close to any water source - a river, creek, lake or stream will all work beautifully.
As I focus on each experience I want to call in for the month ahead, I hold the object and visualize each experience in great detail, trying to hold the image for at least 17 seconds. I repeat with the next object and vision until the process feels complete. As the water rolls towards me, I visualize with gratitude each experience I'm calling into my life, then as the water retreats, I visualize the ocean taking with it what's no longer serving me. I find that this is a helpful ritual to help me begin each month with clear direction and a sense of freedom.
(a note about vision boards: please be sure to choose images that resonate authentically with you. For example, if you'd like to lose weight and choose a picture of a swimsuit model which makes you feel unworthy, "less than" and awful about yourself every time you look at it, this will end up working against you and perpetuating the negative cycle you wish to break. The images you choose should genuinely inspire and uplift you and create good feelings in your mind and body.)
What things are you calling into your life in the month of March?
Whether it’s love, good health, a solid relationship, serenity, freedom, a title, respect, or a certain number in the bank or on the scale - anything you chase will always be outside of you.
Apart from you.
A Perpetual Separation.
The energy of chasing by nature keeps you in pursuit and the desired "thing" running away from you. This creates more resistance & frustration and actually widens the gap between you and what you want.
Andrea Pacini
Author