It was an unusually warm day in January when the board members of Muslim Woman Professional Network gathered around the clubhouse of an upscale, midtown Atlanta apartment to host their second annual Vision Board event.
Vision board events are a relevant part of modern-day American culture. All around the country, people are engaged in discussions surrounding goal development and attainment.
We are in the age of dream seekers and motivational speakers on every corner. Our Muslim youth are seeking new ways to craft a life of meaning and purpose.
They no longer want careers that are based on their family expectations or what will bring in the most financial security. Young Muslims are now looking for careers that inspire them to make the world a better place.
The art of visualization is a mind exercise often used to create a visual image of what is needed and desired in the brain. Vision boards are about goal setting and creating a very real image for what you want to see manifest in your life.
According to the popular book The Secret, “The law of attraction is forming your entire life experience and it is doing that through your thoughts. When you are visualizing, you are emitting a powerful frequency out into the Universe.”
As Muslims, we understand that visualization without prayer and contemplation to Allah is obsolete. However, there is power in creating a visual duaa. We pray intently for what we want and desire. Vision boards simply create a visual for this intentional prayer for good.
Inspirational
The 2020 Vision Board event, hosted by Muslim Women Professionals on January 13, was launched with introductions and opening inspirational talk.
Muslim women of all ages sat in the crowd and intently hoped to be inspired to create goals for the New Year. It was an inspiring experience for everyone in the room.
“It was inspiring being in a room full of accomplished women and hearing their struggles and how they overcame them. It gave me hope in a way,” Layinnah Shabazz, 18, told AboutIslam.net.
Young Muslims sat intently in their corners cutting out pictures from magazines that aligned with their life goals. They crafted poster boards into colorful visuals of their dreams and aspirations.
These boards represented their visual duaa to Allah and it was an inspiring experience for everyone in the room.
“I am only thirteen and not exactly sure what I want to do in my life, but I felt so inspired by the women in the room,” Leena Cortez told AboutIslam.net.
Visualizing Hopes
The guests of the 2020 Vision Board event were provided with some guidelines for contrasting their visual duaas.
They were first asked to identify their priorities by following a model called the Golden Circle by Simon Sinek.
The neuroscience behind the Golden Circle idea is that humans respond best when messages communicate with those parts of their brain that control emotions, behavior, and decision-making.
Participants were asked to answer three questions.
Why do you do what you do?
How do you do what you do?
What do you do?
These questions helped identify what issues or priorities come to mind first when thinking of what they do in the daily practices.
Guests were provided with a template for structuring their vision boards. This structured guide allowed the guests to identify the areas in their life they wish to establish goals for.
Areas such as relationships, spirituality, finances, and home were some of the categories recommended in the example.
After carefully crafting a wide range of vision boards, the event slowly came to an end. Participants of this inspiring event shared pictures of their boards and discussed their intentions with other event participants.
Young Muslim women gathered their completed boards and prepared to receive feedback from the more mature women in the room.
You could feel the temperature in the room rise as the air filled with laughter and positive energy. It was an inspirational day for so many amazing women.