How to Create A Vision For the New Year (Vision Bowl Ritual)

What if there was no "better you" to be? What would it feel like if you could accept that you weren't broken after all and that there is nothing to fix?

Instead of making resolutions based on this idea that through changing yourself you can finally be happy (which is awfully similar to the religious idea that you're sinful and need to be fixed), what if you could create a ritual that gently holds your intention for the upcoming year in a more accepting way?

That's how our Vision Bowls were created.

Think of it as a literal container for your desires for the year. It's like a vision board in bowl form (but without the arduous task of finding the perfect photo from a sea of magazines). This ritual serves as a reminder for whatever word(s) you want to focus on and how you can better come home to yourself after leaving religion.

Cara's Vision Bowl, photo by Cara Ansis

How to Make Your Own Vision Bowl (4 Easy Steps!):

Step 1: Reflect

Before you begin creating your Vision Bowl, start with a moment of reflection on what you desire for this year ahead. What word(s) do you want to choose to focus on? How do you want to relate to yourself this year? How do you want to feel? How can you come home to yourself this year? Choose however many words best describe what you want.

Step 2: Gather

Once you have chosen your word(s), it's time to gather a decorative bowl (or jar) and items for the bowl. You are looking for things that remind you of what you are hoping to bring more of into your life. Here are some things you could consider:

Meaningful/personal objects
Photos (of you, loved ones, that represent what you desire)
Strips of paper (where you write down the words you chose and/or your intentions)
Objects from nature (like pinecones, rocks, shells, crystals, etc.)
Anything you want

Step 3: Assemble

Now it's time to set the mood! Light a candle or incense, play some music (maybe your favorite deconstruction anthem--choose a song from our playlist!), and create the kind of environment that signals to you that this is a special and meaningful moment.

Next, you simply place the objects you collected into the bowl. As you place them think about what each object meant to you and how it symbolizes the ways in which you want to nurture yourself this year. There is no "right way" to do this, you are just looking to create a visual representation that you can look at everyday as a reminder of the new way you are viewing yourself and life.

Step 4: Place Where You'll See it Daily

Once you have completed steps 1-3, find a spot in your house that you can place your bowl in where you will see it every day. And each time you look at it, take a moment to breathe as you are reminded of the words you've chosen (maybe even utter the words to yourself) and how it is your intention to create a more safe home within.

If you create your own Vision Bowl, we would LOVE it if you take a photo of it and tag us on instagram @happywholeway. We're rooting for you and a gentle new year! Here's a few from the past year: