The Spiritual Practice of Visioning

Being still to receive ideas beyond our own

Group Visioning Season

Rev. Dr. Joan Steadman, Senior Minister at Oakland Center for Spiritual Living in 2008, had been taught by Rev. Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith, Founder of Agape International Center and author of Life Visioning. Dr. Michael is an open inlet and outlet for divine expression all the time. He’s always visioning. That’s not true for most of us, so he developed a structure that enables the rest of us to stop and listen to God who is always speaking.

Rev. Joan learned visioning, which is what this practice is called, from Rev. Michael and she required anyone who wanted to start a new ministry at Oakland Center to vision, to use Rev. Michael’s visioning structure, for 6 months. After that, they develop a vision and mission statement.

A group of us wanted to have a prison ministry at Oakland Center, so we met in the library to vision.Through this spiritual practice, we were to move beyond our personal ideas and opinions and open our hearts and minds to God’s ideas. A church member more experienced in visioning came each week and led us.

Steps in Visioning

First we would be still and meditate on love. When we were deeply immersed and rooted in love, the first question would be asked:“What is God’s highest vision for the prison ministry at Oakland Center for Spiritual Living?” People can use this method for anything, even for life direction, health, healed relationships or abundance. We focused on the desired prison ministry.

After the question is asked, everyone sits in silence and notices what comes up in their minds. It could be one or more images, or words, sounds or physical sensations. Some people, like me, wrote down whatever came to them right then. Others waited until the end. After a good long pause, the second question is asked.

“What must I become to empower this vision? What must I be?” A quiet period followed this question as well. Some people write down what came to them. Others waited. Then came the third question.

“What must I release? What must I let go of that no longer serves me? What limited thought or limited being?”