Imagine if I told you that the fabric of your dizziest dreams could be yours. All you had to do is focus on your most profound desires, really, really hard; create a 'vision board' – a collage of the sorts of things you desire – and meditate on it. Then, like a nervous millennial to astrology, that elusive life-affirming romance, charming house in the country or fresh work as a roaming yoga teacher would be magnetised into your existence.
This is the promise of the Law of Attraction. An ancient idea that crashed into the contemporary mainstream via bestselling book (30 million copies sold) The Secret, it's as intoxicating as it is popular. Sadly, its core tenets: that your thoughts, positive or negative, ultimately create good or bad things in your life, do not hold up to scientific inspection.
But one neuroscientist and former NHS medical doctor believes that harnessing some principles of the idea – minus a belief that the Universe is controlling the contents of your days but including said vision boards – can truly lead to results. Dr Tara Swart is the author of The Source (Penguin, £12.99), a book in which she makes the intellectual case for new age practices.
So, how does it work? Short story; tuning into an attitude that there is plenty out there for everyone, yourself included, can change how you approach the world in a fundamental way. ‘Abundance is about overriding the default gearing of our brain to avoid loss more than to seek reward,’ Dr Swart tells WH. ‘If we practice gratitude and positive emotions such as love, trust and joy we are more likely to take healthy risks and grasp opportunities.’
Effectively, by getting your brain to a place in which it sees the various opportunities that pass us by each day, you can cause actual change. 'This relates to neuroplasticity, which is the ability of the adult brain to change itself through visualisation and chosen experiences,' Dr Swart adds. Wild, hey?
Okay. But what is a vision board?
One major idea of the book is that of action boards. This is the name that Dr Swart gives vision boards – physical collages of images that speak to the things you want to bring into your life. This re-branding is driven by her belief that these boards cannot be passive, if they are to work. Instead, they line you up to do the things that will help you hit your goals.
A fancy chair might represent the corner office for example; a sub-Saharan sunset a wish to travel.
Do vision boards actually work?
'Your brain filters out so much of the information you receive in any given second, as it's not all necessary,' explains Dr Swart. 'One example is that, for much of the day, you're not aware of the feeling of clothes on your skin.'
When you prompt your mind with an action board, you prime your brain to watch out for certain signals that might help you to get what you want. This is called 'value tagging'. An example might be an image of career success on your board meaning that you subconsciously see opportunities to enhance work throughout your day – agreeing to attend a networking event rather than sliding into your pyjamas on a Wednesday evening and inching you towards your goals.
How do you make a good vision board?
Here's Dr Swart's guide.
- Set aside a decent amount of time for this, like a whole weekend.
- Get something to make your board out of. This could be a piece of A4 or massive piece of card board. You'll also need scissors and glue.
- Grab a stack of magazines, or something you can source images from.
- Start looking for images that speak to you. As well as literal images (a nice interiors shoot, if you want to buy a house) get some that are more metaphorical, like a balloon to symbolise freedom.
- Group your images into themes on the floor. You might now like to sleep on it, and check in the morning that you're happy with them, then.
- Time to glue. Start sticking images to your board, removing any that don't feel right, anymore. Create a 'first draft,' and give yourself time to tweak until you're totaly happy with it.
- Place it somewhere you'll see it, ideally twice a day. By your bed is great, but if you don't have your own bedroom and want to keep it private, you could pop it inside your wardrobe.
- Use scent to really anchor the board into your mind. I use Aromatherapy Associates morning revive oil – rolling some onto my wrists and inhaling, as I look at my board. I can then use the oil again later in the day to remind myself of the board, to safeguard against feeling demotivated by a setback.
Dr Tara Swart is working with Aromatherapy Associates to explain the power of scent on your brain.
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Claudia is Health + Wellness Director at Women's Health and Men's Health. She commissions, edits and writes about topics including the happiness potential of less conventional relationships, what the latest wave of psychedelic research means for women and how to thrive through each stage of your life. She regularly hosts and participates in panel talks about how we live now and is frequently asked to provide expert comment for national radio.
