Vision board can we use it

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I guess it depends on the persons beliefs surrounding it. If they are just using it as a motivational tool (like someone trying to get in shape looking at pictures from fitness magazines) then that’s fine. If they think it has some kind of magical power, then no.
 
Separated from all the New Age Deepak Chopra hoo-ha, it’s just a visualization tool where you take pictures or reminders of stuff you want, put it on a bulletin board, and look at it every day. We do the same thing every day when we look at pictures of Jesus or picture in our minds goals we want to achieve as a way of helping us get there. People have been putting a picture of a skinny outfit on their fridge, or a new car on their dresser, or something else they want somewhere else, and looking at it every day to help them get there, LONG before some doofus decided to name the whole exercise “Vision Board” and probably overcharge gullible people to sit in seminars or buy books where they learn how to use one.

Visualization is fine and helpful, just don’t associate it with any non-Catholic spiritual garbage. When you look at the board you can say a little prayer like “Jesus, I humbly ask for these things, in Your name. Please help me achieve these goals and receive these things if it be Your will. If it’s not Your will, please show me what I should want instead. Amen.”
 
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I have a bulletin board in my office filled with photos of friends and dogs and holy cards and postcards from friends. It reminds me of good, holy, loving things. It is a great vision board 🙂
In fact, one dog is on there, a dog I miss very much and I often say out loud “what would Monkey do?”
 
Loud-living-dogma said:
It seems to tie in “Law of Attraction”, so that seems pretty New Age-y.
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As Catholics, we have icons, sacramentals and a million other things to keep us focused. Far better than that, we have our Lord, truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

A dissection of most new-age pursuits reveals only an alternative to the Christian faith. I would avoid it, since the Catholic faith possesses almost innumerable devotions which far exceed our ability to participate.

I looked into this current fad of “mindfulness” and it occurred to me that it was essentially the serenity prayer with God removed.
 
The problem arises when people take virtually every behavioral-thinking mental-health-help out there and try to claim that it’s something New Age and apart from God.

I’ve been doing completely secular behavioral mental health exercises for decades. I don’t have to do them so much any more because my thinking patterns have changed as a result and I don’t fall into the mental traps I used to. There is nothing “new age” about any of this, rather it’s a rational way to overcome bad thinking habits without the use of medication or reliance on a doctor or counselor. It might not be for everyone, but it worked out great for me.

Many of these so-called “mindfulness” principles have also been around forever in both the Christian and secular worlds. Some “guru” picks up on them, promotes them and all of a sudden we’re supposed to avoid a perfectly good activity because Guru Whatsisname associated himself with them. I don’t think so. Simply remove Guru Whatsisname from the picture, and practice the technique as a secular or Christian technique, and if it works for you, reap the benefits.
 
Omcc256 said:
is ok to use or create vision boards?
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If you mean is it OK to focus your goals or identify your interior desires by using methods such as writing them out, visualizing them with pictures, and so on? Yes, it is OK to do work to become self-aware and it is OK to use what is known about human psychology to focus our use of time and attention. Psychologically, using planning methods that make your goals concrete is very effective.

Do you mean some kind of magic means to bring the universe around to your desires? That’s not such a good idea. God alone is the source of our help. Neither should we spend time dwelling on material possessions or positions of honor that we covet; rather, we ought to detach ourselves from desires that are rooted in the flesh.

That’s not an exhaustive list of what you ought to keep in mind, but it is the kind of consideration you ought to use when discerning psychological or emotional or professional methodologies proposed by secular culture or by other religious traditions. It is fine to learn from people who aren’t Christian, but we have to do the work of reconciling the natural plane to the supernatural. Only the supernatural will endure eternally; the rest will burn away in the end.
 
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Omcc256 said:
hope u don’t mind me asking. what do u mean by interior desires?
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I probably should have said unexamined, I suppose? We tend to carry around attitudes, fears and desires that we act on without being as aware of ourselves as anyone who has to spend time around us would be, lol. It is worthwhile to spend some time to face up to what we really think, feel and what our real motivations are. If we try to act on pretend motivations that we think we ought to have but which aren’t our real motivations, that doesn’t work too well. We have to learn about ourselves, accept that that’s what we are today, and move on from there.
 
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