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Keeping The Visualization, 
Nurture the Vision

By Kim Whiting

Another tricky thing about visions is that they can be signs, symbols, metaphors, or just plain visions of what is to come, and it's often tough to discern the difference. Agape church is a church in Los Angeles with over 8,000 members. About 25 people received the vision for Agape over the course of several months of visioning. Agape was founded in visioning and they continue to use visioning for each change they make. In the early stages the visioning group repeatedly saw a tree. They were all seeing a tree and weren't sure what it meant. They looked at their vision from all angles and even came up with slogans about the tree like, "You've got to put down roots before you can bear fruits." It wasn't until a couple of years after receiving the visions that they moved into a new property and saw what they all recognized as the tree. The tree let them know this was the place God had chosen for them. The point is to let visions come without analysis. All we need to know will be made clear as we need it, as long as we keep our minds open. This is how we nurture a vision.

You don't need to "keep a vision" in mind, because it's already in the mind of God. Your greatest dreams are already created, already real, they're simply waiting for you to open yourself to them, embrace, and feel worthy of them. Keeping a vision in mind simply keeps the mind occupied, when it could be open to further guidance and inspiration. In visualization the trick is to make things happen by thinking of them over and over again. In vision, the trick is to LET things happen by keeping ourselves open and quiet as much as possible. This can be challenging because people are often so inspired and excited after receiving a vision they immediately want to take action. One of the ways to take action on a vision is to focus on the areas that we saw needing change or growth in Step 4 of the visioning. In step 4 of my first visioning process, I clearly felt I needed to do two things in order to manifest God's dream for me I had to be quiet - and I didn't hear "be quiet!" in the way that I heard so many teachers say it when I was a child; instead it sounded or felt more like "peace." I think positively, but I'm always thinking, dreaming, scheming and trying to figure out what the Universe is up to. I feel certain that I have blocked my highest dreams by so powerfully keeping my ego's dreams in mind. The other thing I heard or felt was "YES!" I remembered a Sunday school story I learned as a child. You've all probably heard it The home of a religious man is being flooded. The man sees the flood as a test of faith and tells himself that God will rescue him. A four-wheel truck manages to reach his home and the driver says, "The water is rising! Get in!" The man says, "Thank you, but God will rescue me." Later, a row boat comes by and the rower says, "Get in, the water is getting higher!" The man again replies, "Thank you, but God will rescue me,"...and so on. The point is that God was rescuing the man, but it wasn't coming in a form he could recognize as God. He was getting his miracle, but couldn't see it. I'm a lot like that man, except I turn down God's help because I don't want anyone to go to any trouble over me. I would probably have told the guy in the rowboat not to worry about me because I'm a good swimmer and to rescue some people who really needed it. Why don't we take what is being handed to us on a silver platter for God's sake? It's time to say, "Yes!" "Yes!" to assistance, "Yes!" to serendipity, "Yes!" to money and resources, "Yes!" to all the peace, and love and joy God tirelessly tries to offer us. Feel the "YES!" in your heart and mind, and you will be nurturing the vision.