By Marissa Ingrasci
“Believe with all of your heart that you will do what you were made to do.” – Orison Swett Marden
Visioning can open our minds, expand our perspective, and unlock our creativity. In one of its most powerful forms, it can even be used as a compass to guide us toward our life’s purpose. Sounds pretty great… and it is, if we utilize this tool effectively.
In the Hoffman Process, visioning is primarily used in two ways:
- To expand perspective, depth of feeling, and to gain insight (i.e., imagining the Right Road vs. Left Road, pre-cycling and recycling).
- To gain clarity on elements of our lives where we have a decent amount of control (i.e., imagining how we want our home space to be; maybe de-cluttering or rearranging furniture will help reflect our newfound wholeness).
By using visioning in both of these ways, we can continue to get major benefits from this tool.
What Do You Really Want In Your Life?
If you could do anything, what would it be? Allow yourself to sit in total possibility. Write down everything you can think of; be specific, no matter how absurd you think it might be. Start to observe where your perspectives are expanding, where possibilities are opening up and the way it is making you feel, then observe what parts of the vision you have some amount of control over now. This is the element that can begin to translate your vision into reality. Maybe in your vision you’re a painter and what you have control over now are your Saturday mornings – get out the paint brushes and get going! What is one thing you can do to incorporate this vision into your life right now?
Visioning Pitfalls
Visioning without incorporating an action – This isn’t terrible, but it’s also not super effective. It certainly still has benefits, and some may even find that the visioning in and of itself provides enough clarity that subtle changes will naturally develop. Let’s just say it’s a more passive use of the tool.
Attachment to your vision being a “certain way” – Visioning is best used as a compass or a guide to direct you toward what your heart desires. If we become rigid about our vision being a certain way, we can close ourselves off to possibilities right in front of us, which sometimes means closing ourselves off to something better than we could possibly imagine.
Becoming a victim – We can become a victim when we use our perceived life circumstances to keep us small. Saying things to yourself like “I’d like to do that, but I’m too old”, “I don’t have time”, or “When my kids are older…” is evidence that you are looking at yourself as a victim. Remember, you’re just asking yourself to take one step that is within your control.
Translating Dreams Into Reality
The magic of visioning comes from our desire and our curiosity to grow into the vision. It can point us in the right direction and the path is ours to discover as it unfolds. By visioning and understanding what we really want in life and taking action towards it, we unlock a creativity that can even lead us toward our life’s purpose.
Marissa Ingrasci is a Life Coach, filmmaker, and actor. She is the daughter of Hoffman directors Raz and Liza Ingrasci. For more information about Marissa, please visit www.therealizedlife.com.
To learn more about visioning, please visit https://www.hoffmaninstitute.org/practices/