Having a vision for your life.

It is a subject people seem to really resonate with when it comes up, whether in live calls or here on the blog. It may be because of how much *I* resonate with it.

I get the sense that my making a living as a jazz musician for 2 decades now, an extremely impractical path, plays a part in that resonance.

I’ve always approached the subject as being core to our sense of fulfillment, having something of depth and meaning in our lives.

My biggest inspirations, role models and mentors in the field of music made me feel connected to something far bigger than myself or any traditional objectives. When around them, especially in the act of creating, it helped me to see the value of life and how amazing the experience of it can be, in a way that could never be well articulated.

Reducing a vision of your life down to material possessions you’d like to own or a ‘catalog’ never really spoke to me by itself. I see that as sort of a fun and interesting aspect, but not the meat. I love the idea of having a Tesla and a bunch of great studio gear (and will include those in the process!), but would get bored of them, and everything else, very quickly without that deeper essence.

There’s a particular challenge with that vision right now. I’m sure I’m not alone in it.

There are no gigs.

There may be a few out door things here and there, but FAR from what could sustain a living.

Things were getting increasingly challenging and climates were changing even before COVID.

There’s also a LOT of what you could say are more important things happening in the world right now, something talked about previously here, where everything related to your own life and challenges can feel selfish in this climate.

It can be particularly hard to try to connect to a vision right now.

Many of your goals may not even be applicable as it currently stands.

Also, as often as the subject is emphasized by so many different experts from so many different fields, relatively few people seriously put time and effort into the vision thing even before this hit the fan.

It may feel harder, more abstract, and maybe less relevant now.

I would argue, however, that it may be more important now than ever.

It is important to remember that a vision is about what you want your life to feel like, not just what it looks like. 

A lack of performances and my leg being in a brace does not inherently destroy my capacity to feel inspired to study and practice, to feel connected to my instrument, to derive satisfaction, and to find other ways of connecting and growing.

Also, the point of a vision is it is a creative act, not a reactive one.

If things have to be going well, or going a certain way, in order to connect to a vision, then the whole premise is somewhat pointless.

• If you believe in the creative power of the mind,
• In the ability to direct and redirect your attention in a way that serves you
• In the ability to generate, cultivate and feel positive, inspiring feelings from within
• In the ability to question, see through, and let go of non-useful belief systems
• That this can actually change your experience of reality as well as what happens

Then there is no time like the present to start to flex that muscle.
Or at the very least, to begin to explore the reality of it, to see if there is some validity to all of this, to put it to the test.

What To Do

I believe that right now, this starts in one, potentially two ways.

First is just a decision. It’s the decision to say I’m going to investigate and put energy into this because it is worth it, as much as I may be dealing with right now (the how-to is coming).

The second is if the subject of vision feels completely inaccessible, and you are too overwhelmed or uninspired to approach it.

In that case I recommend first: try it anyway, just to make sure it is not your mind telling you a story that is not accurate. There are many things that feel completely inaccessible until you jump in and try anyway.

If it proves to be the case, then it is time to create a space for yourself to process some of the overwhelm. Take some slow deep breaths, welcome up the feelings and thoughts that are overflowing right now. Observe them as you continue breathing and connecting to your body, allowing the emotional charge to process and other thoughts to simply pass through. Use tapping, journaling, whatever further helps you facilitate the processing. Reach out to others, attend some of the free support calls and do guided work together.

Vision How-To

It’s a popular subject and there is no shortage of material on it.

As far as my own, there is this post about connecting to a vision.

I also did a class that is dedicated to the subject. First we clarify and explore together what a “vision” really is, in terms of being useful for you. We continue with guided exercises, visualizations, asking questions through self-inquiry and more, and this class was very well received. It is about 80 minutes long and can easily be done in segments, both audio and video.

For the time being, you can get that for $10 here.

Get The Vision and Purpose Class for $10 Here

This subject will also be the theme of the next free support call on Wed 6/24.
You can click here to sign up for that

Because I feel that this subject (and many elements of inner work) requires consistency, I will be doing something different to approach this.

A series of what I’m calling “inner workouts” livestreamed, and also recorded for repeated access.

I realize not everyone has 1-2 hours to do the usual programs or calls.

These will be 15 minutes or so, to try to really reinforce the idea that this belongs into the category of a daily workout, like cardio – not a thing you read a book on, or do the occasional hour.

To participate in those when they happen or get the recordings immediately, go on over to the Inner Workspace YouTube Channel – subscribe and click the bell to turn on notifications.

Click here for the YouTube channel and subscribe to be notified about the live “inner workout” sessions.

Thanks as always for your support, and please share any thoughts, questions, challenges or more in the comments below