The Invitation That Changed My Life
"Come over and let’s do a dreamboard!”
This simple yet heartfelt invitation is what changed my life. You see, during my mid-twenties, the life I had dreamed of and built up to had completely fallen apart. Yet, it lead me towards discovering my purpose and living a more empowering life. At the age of 25, a huge shift took place as I was going through a divorce, said goodbye to our dogs, our cars, our home and my business. Surfing was put on hold. Anything that I loved to do was dropped (except for my weight) because I didn't feel like myself anymore. Within six months of the divorce I had gained 30 lbs. When I did surf, I made sure to wear a shirt over my swimsuit because I did not want to be seen in my bikini. I didn't look like myself. I didn't feel like myself. I didn't know who I was, and I felt stuck and totally alone.
During this time, a friend of mine, Noelani, invited me to join her and another friend to create a Dreamboard. Some of you may know it as a “vision board” from the book “The Secret.” I took her up on her invitation because doing a manifesting project sounded like a fun thing to do. And I was curious after she urged me to do this with her because she felt we both needed it, especially since we were going through very similar situations in our lives.
"Look for images in these magazines that you want to attract in your life. Cut them out and glue them onto this paper." were Noelani's simple directions. The evening started off with excitement being that I'm spending time with my girls. Shortly after there was a sense of peace as the room turned silent. It was as if we were in a meditative flow. Some time during that moment of silence, a sense of liberation took over my body, because I realized that at this very moment, I was fully in charge of my future, of my reality! This was huge for me, because after all these years, I had built up this limited belief that I needed to ask for permission in order to make big choices in my life, even if I believed it would bring me happiness. This realization brought me a sense of empowerment and I was determined to finish this thing.
I found myself in a trance as I spent hours flipping through the pages of magazines, searching for images. About three hours into it, I looked up and realized that I was surrounded by hundreds of images and there was no way that they would all fit on that tiny 8" x 10" sheet of paper. A large cardboard diaper box was the biggest thing I could find in the house that would make for the perfect foundation for my vision board. But, even then, there was no way all of the images I had cut out were going to fit.
I went from having zero ambitions to having an overwhelming load of aspirations.
So, naturally, being the organized freak that I am, I started to categorize and prioritize all of what I wanted to attract in my life that would fit on the board. I chose to only add the images that I had the strongest desire for. This was the beginning of how I began creating my own personalized style of vision boarding. I worked on my dream board up till the break of dawn, a total of eight hours!
You must be wondering, why in the world would anyone spend so much time making a "collage?" Well, I can explain...You see, something magical happened during those eight hours. I gained a sense of clarity, liberation, and inner strength. I was designing my future and the person I wanted to be. This fueled me and kept me focused until my dream board was completely full.
And to my surprise, no more than two and a half weeks later, a number of my major dreams actually manifested. With every dream that came to fruit, my confidence and my believability level instantly heightened. I became a stronger manifestor and a more conscious, decisive, decision maker, because I would attract opportunities that continued to be in total alignment with what I had placed on my vision board. I was hooked on manifesting and had so much fun with this new way of living. That night, a seed was planted that would eventually lead me towards creating a more loving and healthier relationship with myself, attracting a happy relationship with the man of my dreams, becoming the mother I wanted to be, and discovering my life's purpose.
So, what lead me to turning this discovery into a business?
One afternoon, I met up with one of my close girlfriends. She voiced to me that she was feeling stuck and going through hardship in her relationship and career. I couldn't bare to see her suffer any longer and so the idea of sharing with her what was helping my life popped up. And I extended that same invitation that Noelani had given to me months before, "Come over and let's do a Dreamboard!"
I dragged my friend over to my house and went straight to working on her Dreamboard. About three solid hours went by and I had watched my friend go from feeling overwhelmed with despair to feeling empowered and motivated towards making big changes in her life. Through getting clarity on her new life desires, she eventually built up the courage to leave the industry she had known so well to venture into an industry that was fairly new to her, yet more in alignment with what she had placed on her Dreamboard. From that afternoon, her entire world began to change. And I am proud to share with you that seven years later, she has gone through a huge transformation. She chose a path to wellness and to pay it forward by making the most of her gifts through being of service to people who are in need. And through this philosophy, her yoga business she started continues to thrive. It brought me so much joy to see her growth since our very first session. Since that day, we’ve continued our sessions, updating both her Life Board and Business Board yearly.
After our first session, I continued to help other close friends in the same way. I enjoyed watching their growth as well as receiving their feedback on my style of Dreamboarding. In time, one of them asked me to consider holding a workshop to share this special tool with more people who need clarity in their lives, too. And so, one day, everything fell into place and I just made one up!
After sharing my workshop idea with a friend, who happened to be the owner of Fresh Cafe, an artsy and hip venue in Honolulu, she graciously offered the space to me. I took that as a sign and decided to go all out and created my very first workshop. I started off inviting everyone I could think of that would be open to this idea of a Dreamboard Workshop. Excited and nervous, I wasn’t sure what people would think or if they would even show up. So, my first round of workshops were free of charge! I funded it all, as I was curious to see the possibilities of what this work would do for others. I remember how full my heart felt during and after my first workshop. Watching people light up and hearing them express how they went from feeling stuck to feeling liberated, reinspired and motivated in my class, felt so good. People were recognizing the value in my style of guidance. Soon after, I would receive surprise texts, emails and phone calls with manifesting shares. “I attracted my dream job!” “I met the woman of my dreams!” “I’m pregnant!” “I received a huge promotion!” I light up and get inspired from their wins. I can’t help but smile real big and feel energized. Manifesting shares are still my favorite part about the work that I do.
After they continued to encourage me to keep teaching this method I decided to create a business out of it! I eventually began, collaborating with other mindful coaches and businesses. And expanded out to holding workshops, seminars, and retreats on the outer islands, California, Las Vegas and Japan. (Japan being one of the images I had glued on my very first dream board, because I love Japan!) As my business grew, I made a commitment to continue working on my own personal growth, where I discovered unique and powerful tools that I’ve mindfully adopted and merged into my style of Dreamboarding and coaching including, Feng Shui, guided visualizations, intentional writing exercises, NLP, and meditation. If you'd like to get clear in your life, I created the "Lifeboard," where we focus on nine core areas of your life. And if you are looking to create or refresh the foundation of your own business, I created the "Businessboard," using the same foundation of the Lifeboard, but focusing on a different set core categories. These boards are a visual representation of a blend of your conscious and subconscious thoughts, strategically placed to help to create more harmony in your life, keeping you focused and on track. It’s your mindful accountability partner. A tool I passionately share with friends, leaders, teams, entrepreneurs, mothers, fathers, teachers, healers, teenagers, and children.
I am currently building a team of dreamers, who are eager to help people like you, across the globe, to get clear, discover your purpose in life, design the life you choose to live, and have the courage to turn your dreams into reality. All it takes is having an open mind and making a commitment to investing in your own self growth. You see, my dream is to be a contributor of universal happiness through doing what I know best, which I’ve discovered on my own path towards self growth, thanks to my Dreamboard. And with gratitude, my heart continues to pay it forward, as I extend the invitation to you, "Come over and let's do a Dreamboard."
With Love and Aloha,
Tiare Thomas Harris,
Aloha Dreamboard Founder & Dream Coach
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