I'm going to do a very New Agey thing.

I don't do a lot of them.

This week I am going to start building my own "personal treasure map."Here is the logic behind the effort: One gathers up pictures of things/conditions/states of being that one would like in ones own life. These images and any relevant text/ sayings are then glued onto a larger sheet of paper, forming a collage of wishes and dreams for ones life. The notion is that by accepting and gathering these things together, that I would be signaling God or the Universe or both in some way. It is like a visual prayer. It is an announcement, a gesture of hope, a projection into the future.

It is claiming what I want "in front of God and everybody".

Shakti Gawain, author of "Cretive Visualization", suggests the following:

A treasure map is an actual, physical picture of your desired reality. It is valuable because it forms an especially clear, sharp image which can then attract and focus energy into your goal. It works along the same lines as a blueprint for a building.
You can make a treasure map by drawing or painting it, or by making a collage using pictures and words cut from magazines, books or cards, photographs, drawings, and so on. Don't worry if you're not artistically accomplished. Simple, childlike treasure maps are just as effective as great works of art!
Basically the treasure map should show you in your ideal scene, with your goal fully realized.

I have said before that creative visualization appeals to me...that by imaging a possible future we create the psychic room inside us for it to arrive. So I am going to think of mine as not just a treasure map, but a prayer. I want to claim what I want, and ask God to help me get whatever is on there into my life (I'll add a disclaimer at the bottom...."Either this or something better, for the greatest good of all concerned".)

I've begun to give some thought to what I want to find pictures to represent.

1. World peace.I am sick of all the war. I am going to join those who, in addition to other activism, "visualize world peace".

2. Excellent and available world-wide health care.

3. Excellent and available world-wide education.

4. I want people to love each other, to see the relationships we all have with each other, to treat each other with compassion and dignity.

5. I want people to feel valued and useful at every age.

6. No more famine.

7. I want to be healthier and thinner.

8. Lots of wishes specifically for un-named friends.

I'm thinking there will be quotes by Rumi and Leonard Cohen.

I decided to do this when I realized that a harmonious world starts with a harmonious me -- so my world and I will both be on the map.

Really, seriously, what do you think might happen if we all wished the same things at the same time? Have any of you ever made such a "treasure map"? Did it focus your attention?

I invite y'all to do a map over the next few days/weeks. Let's discuss how it goes.
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Millionaire Mommy talks about her treasure map for personal wealth.

The Artful Craftertells how her treasure map efforts helped her leave corporate life and strike out successfully on her own.

Tickled Pink displays pictures of her personal treasure maps. She also quotes from Sarah Ban Breathnach's Simple Abundance. She writes: "A personal treasure map is a collage of your ideal life that you create as a visual tool to focus creative energy in the direction you want to go...When making your personal treasure map, think fun. Think delight. Think seven years old. This is not an intellectual exercise in existentialism. This is a wish list to the Universe."