Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 15 : Winter 2013 | Page 81

~ energy flows where attention goes; ~ treat yourself the way you want others to treat you; and ~ you were born to add value to this world. With a vision board, you can activate the law of attraction. The board is a physical manifestation of your dreams, thereby serving as a focal point to help nourish your passion and attract the feelings and thoughts that contribute to success. Creating a vision board is easy. To begin, I recommend taking time to sit quietly and reflect on what you really want. Free your mind of negative thoughts and picture the future of your dreams. When you’re ready, go through magazines or search the internet for images, photos, and words that represent what you want. You may end up creating one all-inclusive board or multiple themed boards, such as a board about a particular area of your life (work, home, relationships, etc.), one for self-improvement (knowledge, faith, skills, balance, etc.), or one that is relevant for a certain time of year (New Year’s, birthday, season, holiday, etc). Stretch your imagination! After you’ve printed or cutout your images, paste them anyway you want onto a piece of foam board or cardboard. Then display your board in a place that allows you to see it often. How it all works from there is somewhat of a mystery. Philosophers, spiritualist, artists, et al describe the process as aligning your energy with the natural laws of the universe. It’s an abstract concept with roots in some very complex theories like quantum physics and the reticular activating system. Supposedly, some of the most brilliant people, including Plato, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Newton, and Einstein subscribed to the law of attraction. While most of us will probably never fully understand it, we can still tap into it. If you want more in your life, consider making a vision board and learning about the law of attraction. (Cary Medical Center’s Healthy You program will host more vision board workshops throughout 2013.) I do not make any promises about how this will impact you. It’s a very personal process that affects every person differently. I created a vision board a few months ago and hung it beside my desk. All of my dreams didn’t instantly come true as a result, but I will tell you that nearly every day the board gives me thoughtful focus, clarity, and enthusiasm about the future that before only came in spurts. I’ve opened myself up to possibilities that use to seem unattainable. I pay closer attention to that whisper in my ear. I take deliberate steps to achieve my goals. I look for ways to nurture positive thoughts and feelings. I don’t know if my screenplay will ever be a feature film, but since creating my vision board I’ve taken it out of the file cabinet and registered it with the Writers Guild of America. As Dr. Martin Luth