Creating a Vision

*give yourself permission to dream!

Dear Kula Diaries,

A few weeks ago, I was digging around in the Kula Diaries Vault, and I discovered a question that needed to be answered (well, several questions… but don’t worry, those are coming too!). This question was around a fun topic: making a vision board!

Specifically the question was: Can you help me make a (digital) vision board? How do I get started?

Making a digital vision board—or any vision board, for that matter—is a really powerful practice, and one I’ve been using in some form or another for the past seven or eight years. My visualization practice truly began in 2017, when I started seeing my coach, Hasna. She guided me through a series of mental visualization exercises that helped me cultivate the images and feelings of the life I wanted to create. Up until that point, I hadn’t realized how much of my focus was on what I didn’t want—and unsurprisingly, I kept creating more of exactly that.

Working with Hasna was one of the first times I allowed myself to imagine a new reality without needing to know how it would be possible. That’s the first big piece of putting together a vision board: letting go of any limiting beliefs about whether what you want is “realistic,” and opening yourself up to the infinite ways your creations could unfold.

Before you begin creating your board, I recommend starting with a prompted or guided visualization meditation—something that helps you tap into the feeling behind what you want to create. Because at its heart, a vision board isn’t just about slapping pretty pictures on a page. It’s about cultivating the feelings you’re longing for through the creation of the life you desire.

Most of us think, “I’ll feel abundant once I have more money”, or “I’ll feel secure when I have a better job.” But visualization flips that. It helps you recognize that you are the creator of those feelings, and that seeking them outside of yourself only leads to a never-ending chase.

Try doing an “ideal life” visualization (I’ll link my favorite one below), and just see what comes up. Let yourself imagine anything that feels good to you without judgment. If you see yourself living in a van and traveling the world, don’t argue with your vision mid-meditation. Don’t get caught up in “how” or “what about retirement?” Just let yourself enjoy it.

This is a great visualization to start with (click on the image!):

Afterward, spend a few minutes journaling anything that came up—especially the random feelings or images that bubble up from nowhere. Those are often the most important pieces to pay attention to, even more than the things you think you want logically.

There are two types of digital vision boards I recommend. The first is a static vision board. I like using Canva because it’s super easy, but you could use Photoshop or any other tool you like. Create a document (8.5x11 is great if you want to print it), or go bigger and have Canva print it as a poster.

Start by choosing a backdrop that captures the essence of what you want to feel—maybe it’s a tropical island, a backcountry campsite, or your dream home. Then add images that reflect the life you want to be living. The key here is to build your board from the perspective of, ‘this has already happened’. This isn’t a vision of what you hope might happen someday. This is a snapshot of your actual life—your done deal life.

For example, if your dream is to be a backcountry hiking guide, don’t add a photo of someone daydreaming about it. Add a photo of you with your pack on. Maybe even throw in a logo for your guiding company near your head as if it already exists—because in this vision, it does. The more real you can make it feel, the more powerful the emotional response will be when you look at it. And those feelings? They’re the secret sauce.

I am sharing an example of a vision board that I made for this post.

In it, I have a picture of me and Aaron in our motorcycle gear with pictures of our motorcycles, a little bit of a nod to Kula with the creepy cat, and I placed us on a relaxing beach—not because I’m trying to necessarily manifest a trip to Tahiti (although I wouldn’t complain, because it’s wonderful there), but because the beach in Tahiti is the closest imagery that I can get to finding a feeling of being caught up and feeling a sense of relief and freedom and abundance and, in general, a sense of letting go and a sense of ease.

That’s the feeling that I really wanted to capture with that image.

I also have an image of me and my mom on one of our backpacking trips, which is representative of connection and love and being able to share adventures with the people I care about.

I put a treasure map because adventure and exploration are really important to me and Aaron. We love going on little expeditions or finding back roads, and we both crave the feeling of discovering something new or finding a hidden treasure.

I also have the violin and the ukulele on the board because music and creativity are so important for me, and also some watercolor paints, because painting, again, ignites my creativity, brings me a feeling of stillness, ease, and relaxation.

You can see that the vision board is not necessarily about getting these things but rather focused on the feeling of what I want to create—and being open to the infinite and surprising ways in which I can cultivate this feeling in my life right now and in the future.

Hang your vision board somewhere you’ll see it often or put it in your phone as your wallpaper or in an easy to find spot… and don’t just let it blend into the background. Set aside five intentional minutes each day to sit with it and consciously cultivate the feelings you want to radiate. That’s where the magic happens—not in the board itself, but in the active practice of tuning into the frequency of your future life. That’s where a lot of people miss the mark—they make the board and move on. But this is meant to be a living, breathing practice.

The second type of digital vision board is something I learned from a Joe Dispenza book and it’s called The Mind Movie. It’s basically a digital vision board set to music, like a reel of your dream life. Choose a song that means something to you, and then layer in images and phrases that reflect your future. Watching it with music activates emotion even more deeply—it can be incredibly powerful.

Watching your Mind Movie is a special experience. As you observe the images go by, they’re anchored to a particular song—and music has this incredible ability to help us tap into deep emotion. I created my first Mind Movie a couple of years ago. I used Canva to design a bunch of images, and I also included video clips from my actual life—snippets of moments that embodied the feeling I wanted to create more of.

For instance, I added footage of Aaron and me riding motorcycles, clips of us outside in beautiful places—not necessarily because those exact moments or destinations were my specific goals, but because the images captured the feeling I was seeking. Joy. Freedom. Connection. Ease. That’s what you’re after. And with a three-minute song, it’s easy to watch that Mind Movie daily and give yourself just a few minutes of soaking in the emotional experience of living the life you want to create.

I made a new mind movie just for this post! I had so much fun putting this together and finding and making images that help me feel the feelings that I want to create more of. Remember: when you create a feeling in your heart NOW… it sends out a strong signal to create more of the same.

Creating something new—anything new—begins with allowing yourself to tap into the feeling of the new thing. Not the other way around. We don’t wait for something to happen and then finally feel the way we want to feel. We practice feeling that feeling now, right where we are. And yes, I know that’s easier said than done—especially when where we are doesn’t feel great. But that’s where it starts. It starts by simply letting yourself dream. Letting yourself feel. And letting yourself believe that the feelings you long for are already within you.

This might sound a little loosey-goosey or abstract. And, it really is. It’s intuitive. It’s emotional, not logical. Because you simply can’t create a life you love if your attention is laser-focused on all the things you don’t love. If you’re struggling to access the feelings you want to cultivate, start small. Find gratitude for your heartbeat. Lay on the ground and feel the support of the earth underneath you. Notice your breath. Place your hand on your heart and say, “Here I am. Alive. Breathing. Free.” Do that over and over again. Practice tapping into those small, simple feelings—relief, safety, presence—and gradually, more expansive emotions will become available. As that happens, your entire life begins to shift.

I can’t emphasize enough the power of vision boarding and visualization. Many years ago, at the beginning of my own journey, I wrote down my own dream. I made a vision board and stuck it on our fridge. At the top, in bold letters, it said: “Read this every single day.” It described a home with big windows, near water. It said I owned an outdoor gear company. It said I had retired Aaron from the railroad. At the time, that vision felt wild and totally outlandish. In fact, when I told people about it, they usually rolled their eyes and laughed at me. I had no idea how it could possibly happen. But I didn’t worry about the how. I just practiced feeling it. I read that statement every day. I let the feelings of it live inside me. I trusted. I kept showing up, even when I couldn’t see that reality in front of my face.

And now? I live in a house with big windows on a small lake. I started an outdoor gear company. I retired my husband, and we work together full-time. And let me be clear: achieving those things didn’t magically solve all my problems. The things were never the point. It was never about the house, or the lake, or the job. It was about the feeling—freedom, love, connection, creativity. And I now know that those feelings don’t come from what’s outside of me. They were inside me all along. I just had to learn how to access them.

Even now, from this place in my life, I could choose to look around and wish I were further along. I could focus on what’s missing or imperfect. But I know where that path leads—it puts me right back in the loop of dissatisfaction, always chasing something else. Instead, I can come back to my vision board — which reminds me that I already have these things. I come back to presence. To gratitude. To feeling the feeling now.

A vision board isn’t just about dreaming of what’s next. It’s not meant to be a linear ‘goal’ — i.e. “I’ll be done when I create these specific things”. Rather, It’s an artful practice of being exactly where you are, with grace. As you tap into the feeling of what you want to create (using the specifics of your vision board as touchstones), you open yourself up to the infinite ways in which you can create endless experiences that match those feelings within your life. A vision board isn’t just about a static list of ‘stuff’ … instead, it’s an active process of intentionally summoning your own creative power — and letting that be the process, rather than just a means to an end. It’s about becoming the source of the very feelings you’re longing for. That’s the true purpose of a vision board: not to get the thing, but to remember that the love, the joy, the peace you’re seeking… is already inside of you. The more you tap into that truth, the more beauty you create—both in your own life, and in the world around you.

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Friends — as you embark on your journey to create a vision … most importantly, give yourself permission to dream and give yourself permission to reach for joy and to feel the feelings now! They are not in some distant place, and there is nothing wrong about finding them exactly where you are. It’s OK to want to create goodness in your life, because it is through the creation of goodness that you bring more of that to others. Have fun with this practice — keep it light and playful, and see what happens. When you are open to the infinite ways in which things can unfold, you leave space for magical moments to arrive.

Sending you all so much love today, and all days!