The vision board is a powerful tool that allows our subconscious to manifest itself through intuitive, creative expression. Simultaneously, it provides clarity on what we wish to attract into our lives, what is truly essential to us, where we want to direct our focus, and how we want our energy to flow. In my experience it works most powerfully if we create a vision board at the end of a profound inner journey, letting all the insights culminate into this creative expression. The vision board serves as a creative process that transforms insights, inspiration, and intentions into a tangible representation, bringing visibility to a vision that aligns with our intuitive life path. In this blog post, I would like to share some key insights into this process and offer a glimpse into my own experience with it.

The power of the Vision Board: my personal experience

At the beginning of 2020, I embarked on a Medicine Walk through Kinsa Cotcha, 4,000 meters above sea level, nestled in the embrace of the Andes in Peru. As I walked around the lake in the heart of this mystical valley, I surrendered fully to the almost surreal and ever-changing nature around me: the sun felt closer than usual, radiating a dazzling light that suddenly dissolved into a storm, with rivers of water cascading down from the celestial world. As I journeyed with my drum through this utterly beautiful and otherworldly place, I began to feel a profound sense of familiarity, as though I had been here before. In an instant, I realized that I wasn’t just physically present in Kinsa Cotcha; I was standing in the very center of the vision board I had created weeks earlier, a vision I hadn’t consciously recalled until that moment.

When I created that vision board, I had no thought of Peru. I simply chose images and symbols that I felt drawn to from the vast array of materials before me. At the time, I had never been to Peru, nor to the Andes, as my spiritual home in Latin America had always been Mexico. But in that moment, I realized that everything had come to fruition. The women swimming in the lake—this was us, right now, in the Sacred Valley of Peru, as we entered the waters of Kinsa Cocha, surrounded by the majestic mountains. I had written the word “Wissen” (knowledge) on the board, and it, too, had manifested. The wisdom I encountered during my time in the Sacred Valley, especially during the Medicine Walk with the other women, was beyond anything I could have ever imagined.

The garden house on my vision board that later became my sanctuary during lockdown.

My vision board features a garden house. Intuitively, I placed it there, without ever consciously thinking about a wooden garden house. I simply liked the feeling of the image I found in a magazine. Little did I know, in that moment, how this would become a reality just a few months later. After coming back from Perú, in April 2020, I was offered a garden with a wooden garden house. Typically, these kinds of opportunities are highly sought after, and you wait years on a long list of people interested in such a lease. Without much hesitation, I immediately said yes, even in the midst of the first lockdown. I renovated the wooden house and began cultivating medicinal plants. An old friend came to visit, and, as a joke, I said, “Clara, you can become the godmother of the garden.” A few days later, she called and said, “Yes, I want to. And I want to build my yurt in your garden for us both to use.” The yurt is also depicted on my vision board. It had always been my dream to have a yurt and work with its circular structure. However, building one yourself or finding a place for it is no small task. But everything fell into place naturally, and only later did I realize that it had all been visually written into my vision board.

Here you see me with the yurt on my vision board.

At that time, I also felt an urgent need to move out of Berlin. The city had become increasingly challenging and overwhelming for me. On my vision board, I placed an image of a romantic, castle-like house made of red bricks. In May 2020, I was offered a rental in an 18th-century red brick house, featuring a room with a chimney and historic, castle-like paintings on the walls (this room I would later call the “Jade Room”). Yes, this is where I moved. Clearly, 2020 was meant to be a year of many changes and new beginnings for me.

I also experienced something emotionally challenging that was depicted on the vision board. When it happened, I realized I should be more precise in what I wish for. I am thankful for the experience because it allowed me to grow internally and become very clear about what I want and what I do not want. In that very moment, however, I found myself looking at the vision board with a mix of fury and astonishment, as it suddenly seemed like a map of manifestation to me. It surprised me many times with its literal manifestation.

I began to wonder: Was it the vision board and the manifested dreams on it? Or was it the well-facilitated sessions that we held during the Rauhnächte (Dreamtime) that helped prepare us to manifest so powerfully? Or was it that everything had already been written in destiny, and through the sessions and spiritual practices, it had simply become accessible to me—allowing me to draw from the board what was already in alignment for me? I stay open and curious to the question and feel though, it is a good mix of all of these mentioned things.

It’s not that everything happens exactly as you expect it to. Of course not. The vision board revealed to me the playfulness of life and manifestation from a grounded, aligned and open inner place. You call something in, and it will come—perhaps in a slightly different form than you envisioned. At some point, it will make you laugh, it will make you wonder, and it will surely astonish you.

Now that 2020 has come to a close, there is no element on my vision board for which I cannot recount a story like the ones above. Every detail came to life. Inspired by my own experience, I now wish to share with you how you can create your own vision board.

HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN VISION BOARD

THE PROCESS

The vision board I am describing was created through an intuitive process, within a short time frame, during one of my retreats where we focused specifically on unlocking intuitive capacities and unconditioning the mind. This means that the actual creation of the vision board took only about two hours. However—and this is crucial—the energetic and logistical preparation took much longer than the actual creation process. Why is that? Read on. I am truly excited for you to create your own vision board, and feel free to share your experience with me afterwards.

Step 1: Setting Your Intention

Connect deeply to the purpose of your vision board. Why are you creating it? What is your intention? What do you want to call into your life? Try to move beyond the mind's typical “I want this and I want that” and instead focus on the commitment you are making to yourself: “I want to feel this, attract that energy or state.” The vision board is not a materialistic wish list, but a map of what your soul truly desires and seeks to attract energetically. You can create a vision board at any time. The stronger and clearer the intention, the more powerful your vision board will be.

Here are some ideas for a meaningful vision board purpose:

The Turn of the Year – At the beginning of a new year, create a vision board to set your intentions for the months ahead.
Femininity/Masculinity – Clarify what you want to experience as a woman, man, or simply as a human being.
Dream Big – Perhaps there’s a dream that has been quietly resting in your heart, something you deeply wish for, no matter what it might be.

To work with your intention, you can ask yourself these questions:

What is it that my heart (not my mind) is truly longing for?
What do I need to call that in?
What are my key values related to this vision? (For example, if it’s about “healthy relationships,” your values might include open communication, heartfulness, and intimacy; or if it’s about “femininity,” your values might include intuition, inner sovereignty, and softness.)

Take some time to feel into these questions, create your intention, and write down your thoughts and values.

Step 2: Sourcing Materials

This is best done a few days before creating your vision board. Once you created your vision board you might be inspired to keep on collecting interesting material throughout the year so you have a plethora of material at hand whenever you want to create a new one. If you want to be surprised and allow Great Mystery to take over instead of relying solely on your rational mind, I suggest not searching for "nice pictures" on the internet to simply glue onto paper. Instead, gather a variety of materials from all kinds of sources, without knowing exactly what you'll find. The more material you have, the more freely your creativity can flow, allowing you to be guided by intuition. You can collect flyers, magazines, postcards, newspapers, books to cut up, dried flowers, and any other materials you feel drawn to. I enjoy working with different media, as it brings a sense of freedom and endless possibilities. The more you open yourself to diverse materials and styles, the more dimensions you can add to your vision board.

Step 3: Selecting What You Feel Drawn To

Once you have gathered your materials, or if you prefer to start with what you already have, go through everything and tear out or cut out what you feel drawn to. Choose anything that resonates with your intention, anything that makes you feel good.

Step 4: Creating Sacred Space

Create a space for yourself where you can be fully present without any interruptions. Light candles or set up anything that makes you feel cozy, centered, and at ease. It’s important to create an open space to work in—allowing room to spread out your materials and get creative. If you don't have a large desk, working on the floor can be helpful. Before and during the process of creating your vision board, you may want to play music that supports your focus. I recommend classical music or any instrumental music with minimal lyrics, so as not to interfere too much with your creative flow.

Find my playlists here. I recommend the “DREAMTIME” playlist

Step 5: Let Go of Expectations

This is not a Pinterest board or an Instagram feed. This is not for anyone but yourself. Allow yourself to fully enter the creative process—don’t overthink it. When the rational mind becomes too dominant, it can block the intuitive and imaginative flow. That’s why I prefer to have plenty of materials on hand and simply add or remove items from my board based on what I feel intuitively drawn to, without overanalyzing.

What isn’t visible in the pictures, but still contributes to your vision board, is the energy you bring and the intention you hold while creating it. This is my personal experience. Let it emerge from a place of heart consciousness and intuition. In my workshops and retreats, we practice meditation and certain rituals before engaging in creative processes. Sometimes we also do rituals or sharing circles to clarify the intention and understand what the essence of that intention truly means for you. This helps us step away from everyday consciousness and enter a more intuitive space. You can create your own home retreat or join one of our online offerings before beginning the creation of your vision board.

Step 6: Creating the Vision Board

You have your materials (and/or preselected items) in front of you—your paper, scissors, glue and any tools you wish to use. Play some uplifting music or enjoy the silence. Keep your intention at the forefront of your mind. And by this, I mean very present. You may want to take a few minutes for meditation before you begin, re-engaging with your intention and letting it flow through your entire body. Allow it to fill you from within.

Now it’s time to begin. Go through your materials and select what you feel drawn to. You can simply place the items on the board to map them out or glue them right away. Start with the images. Later, you can add colors, writings, or words. Be creative. Feel free to cut parts of images, combine them, and add colors to complete the vision. Try not to overthink it. Perfection is not your goal.

Step 7: Working with the Vision Board After You’ve Created It

In my in-person retreats and workshops, I enjoy working with the vision board in a poetic way, which for many people is often the most mind-blowing part of the process. This is a ritual inspired by techniques I learned from the surrealist teachings of André Breton and his peers. While it’s somewhat complex, it’s also quite simple, and would be beyond the scope of this article to fully explain. The interpretation and ongoing work with your vision is a separate topic, which I explore in workshops, emphasizing the idea that “a vision is merely a dream without action.” For now, let’s focus on the creation of your vision board. You can also trust your own intuition and find unique ways to continue working with it afterwards. If you need support to activate your vision or look deeper into it, you can have a look at my mentoring programs where we work on precisely that.

What you need for the vision board

A plethora of material
A4 or A3 paper to create the vision board on (you can take white paper or cardboard or whatever you have)
Scissors, glue, pencil, colors to paint with if you feel like
A quiet place where you can fully enter your creative process
Most importantly: a clear intention

Share your experience

If this Blogpost has been of service for you, I am very happy to read about your experience. You can simply leave a comment below or use the contact form on my webpage.

Maybe you even want to share a photo of your vision board with me.

I wish you all the best on your journey.

Alisa.

HOW TO CREATE YOUR VISION BOARD