About 15 years ago, I went to a vision board class in a yoga studio. A bunch of us sat on the studio floor with piles of magazines between us. We were each given a blank poster board and told to cut up magazine pages looking for images and words to paste on our boards. We were told to make a vision collage of our “dream life.”
And while everyone got all busy flipping through magazines, all I could think about was how the heck I was gonna spend the next three hours in that room without going completely bonkers.
How I flunked vision board class.
For whatever reason, there weren’t enough glue sticks and scissors to go around. This meant you had to tear out magazine pages until you got a hold of some scissors. And then you had to cut like mad until you could exchange your scissors for a glue stick.
Keep in mind that most magazines are 80% ads for beauty and luxury products. So while I was frantically flipping through some magazines and looking at all those ads, it dawned on me that I had no idea of what my “dream life” looked like. Of course, I could tear out magazine pages of beautiful cars and homes, sculpted bodies, and perfect smiles.
But if I’m gonna make a poster to hang on my wall as a visual reminder of my “dream life,” it’s not gonna be a collage of luxury products or perfect people.
Now don’t get me wrong, I too want an abundant life surrounded by beautiful things. I too want to feel good about my appearance. I simply think of those things as the by-products of having a vision. And not as the vision itself.
To make a long story short, I ended up tearing out lots of magazine pages without even looking at them. And then I proceeded to cut them into flower-like shapes. So instead of ending up with a collage of happy people, pretty homes, and beautiful travel destinations like everybody else, I ended up with abstract flowers.
That was my first and only vision board class. I totally flunked out. And I’m not ashamed to say I’m a vision board dropout.
Because with hindsight, I can see that I was on to something. Namely, there’s a big difference between identifying your intentions for the life you want versus your goals for the things you want to have.
The first step of creating a vision of our “dream life” is to focus on who we want to become in the process of getting what we want.
Why I’m bent on teaching creativity.
A lot has happened since that fated vision board class 15 years ago. Now I know that my vision for who I want to become is all about teaching creativity. And it’s been a long time coming.
To begin with, I started teaching kids English via art and play a little over twelve years ago. And when the pandemic hit I figured out how to give my classes online. That’s something I’d never imagined possible for the hands-on classes I teach.
And about four years back, I discovered that I absolutely love learning via online courses. I love going at my own pace and being able to re-watch lessons whenever I want. I also love courses that come with downloadable material like audios and worksheets.
I had to become a teacher and student of online learning before I could envision myself teaching an online workshop.
Everything I've done in my life so far has prepared me to combine my love of art-making, process, writing, self-discovery, and inspired living into a workshop I can teach.
My teaching truths.
It won’t surprise you to find out that as an artist my preferred method for teaching is play immersion. Yep, it’s all about having fun with your creative side. Because immersing yourself in the creative process of play leads to flow. And flow is just another word for alignment.
The way you get to experience alignment is by trusting your intuition, getting clarity on what you want, expressing your creativity, and feeling excited about what’s possible for you.
Through play immersion, you learn how to get aligned with your desires which leads to taking inspired action.
My teaching truths go like this:
1. Everyone is a born creator. And everyone can express their creativity.
2. Everyone can play. And play is productive.
3. Through the creative process we can learn to trust our intuition and honor the present moment.
There are lots of courses that can teach you about making art. And there are lots of courses that can teach you about growth mindset and alignment.
But my calling is to use creativity as the spark for your inner shift. The way I see it, you can’t have inner growth without creativity. And although you can try to understand your creativity conceptually, you are meant to experience it personally.
Creative play is a means to express yourself for the sheer pleasure of being alive.
My new workshops:
And now you'll find me full on obsessed with developing three mini workshops that build on each other. They're about letting go, collage-making, and art journaling:
• Letting go is always the first step to allowing something new into your life
• Collage is a playful right-brain activity that can help get your creative juices flowing
• Art journaling (writing combined with doodling and collage in a journal) is a great way to get clarity
Click here to learn more on the course offerings page.
Worry Dolls Play Time:
A Guided Mini Workshop For Letting Go And Worrying Less
Paper Collage Play Time:
A Guided Mini Workshop For Getting Unblocked And Creating Momentum
Creative Journaling Play Time:
A Guided Mini Workshop For Getting Over Perfectionism And Anticipating Joy