Vision Quest

People don't do vision quests anymore and that is why everyone is sad all the time.

Vision quests, historically, were solo, spiritual adventures taken to connect one with their purpose. 

When we don't have a vision to connect to, we feel disoriented. Having a vision gives us direction. Our vision is what lifts us back up when we fall into an inevitable rut of life. 

Having an orientation is all you need. 

In order for your life to feel like playful expression and participation instead of an incessant grind of the same shit different day, you must be oriented towards the vision. 

If you don't have a vision yet, that is no problem at all.

Your current mission is to create/ find your vision. (Create/ find because it requires searching as well as building.)

Starting point

Who is someone on social media that you are genuinely jealous of?

You see them on social media and you are like “fuck you so much i want to be inside your life.”

This is where you start. 

It can also be a combination of a few people. Or someone you know. Or a movie character.

What about their life are you jealous of? Is it their career? How they get to spend their days?  Where they live? Their partner? How they look? Social media is so beautiful because it is a looking glass into what is possible for us. When you are able to identify people that you are envious of, this is a perfect starting point for your vision. If it feels too big and too unattainable, remind yourself that this is just the orientation. The crystal vision. It should feel too big. You don't need to analyze how that couldn't be possible for you or why it's not possible for you. That is shadow work and while that is necessary for goal attainment, it is not needed for vision crafting.

Right now we are vision crafting. 

Making it your own- The Japanese Concept of Ikigai

Nobody else's life is going to fit your soul. That is why this person or combination of people from social media is simply our initial orientation. 

In Japan they use a concept called Ikigai which loosely translates to “reason for being”. Using the Ikigai method will help you customize your vision.

Filling out your Ikigai chart may take a few days and requires you to be extremely honest with yourself. 

Sections:

1. What do you LOVE?

   1. What do you genuinely love doing? The thing that you choose to do in your free time. It is probably something that you loved as a child as well

   2. You should come up with at least 10 of these. Even if you feel like it's stupid or trivial or insignificant. Write it all down.

   3. Example- listening to music, the smell of the air in autumn, talking to old people in lines, doing intricate new makeup looks, partying, flirting, dancing alone in your room, watching sunrises.

2. What are you naturally good at?

   1. Not the things that you could be good at if you tried really hard- what are you naturally good at?

   2. It doesn't matter if you like it, if you are naturally good at it write it down.

   3. What is second nature to you but other people may find really difficult?

   4. Examples- speaking to large groups of people, remembering names, remembering faces, giving compliments, giving gifts, making new friends, small talk, deep talks, cooking, hairstyles, outfits, smooth talking cops, training dogs, training horses, posting aesthetic photo carousels, knowing what to say to make someone feel better.

3. What can you be paid for?

   1. Get creative here- people will pay for literally anything. 

   2. Don't be precious about it, just be very pragmatic.

   3. What is a skill that you have that you could be paid for. You don't have to love it- it's an audit of what you've got in your actual toolbox. Skills you've been educated with or certifications you have. Even if you think it's not special or like anyone could do it.

   4. Examples- copywriting, any writing, filming videos, posting on social media, teaching about social media, welding, car stuff, training people at the gym, babysitting, substitute teaching, producing music, writing music, playing an instrument, making art, crocheting, doing people’s makeup, teaching kids soccer, excellent customer service.

4. What does the world need?

   1. This connects you to the big vision. What is something you are noticing is missing out in the world that really would help people?

   2. These can be very broad or very specific.

   3. Even if you feel like you aren't able to provide it.

   4. Examples: connection, self love, understanding, higher quality skincare, longer lasting red hair dye, better fertilizer for tomato plants, yummier coffee creamer, self awareness. 

Be as thorough as possible in every section.

Ikigai is not a perfect science- there may be something that overlapped in all of the sections, but there most likely won't be. The point of Ikigai is to get your mind opened to what will get you closer to discovering your true vision.

Vision and purpose are not the same. Purpose is not something that you will understand until you are looking back on your life. One of my favorite spiritual teachers describes your life purpose as a big, delicious pot of soup. Each action you take and mission you complete adds an element to the soup. At the end of your life your purpose soup is complete and you would have never guessed everything that made up that soup but it will be perfect, complex and complete. 

Having a vision is having a North Star. It is the orientation that guides your days. Your vision should be so big that you know if you were to tell people it they would internally scoff. Vision is how you make choices. Is a choice getting you closer to your vision or further away? Once you have an initial vision and start taking actions towards it you start understanding yourself better and better. 

Allow your vision to change. Your soul expression doesn't change, but your understanding of your vision gets clearer. As you discover more about yourself your vision should change. 

Vision is the North Star. The orientation. 

Mission is the mountain you are currently climbing. (big goals)

The path is the steps you are taking that take you up the mountain.

How do you ensure you are taking the right steps? Alignment and flow, of course.

If more information on living in aligned flow would be of use to you- sign up for my “In Flow” workshop on February 14th! It's on Valentines Day because it is an act of self love and self adoration. It's like going on a date but way better.