(Photo Copyright Terrah Lozano ‘Stone Road’ Gocek, Turkey)

In this article which is organized in three parts, I discuss the steps in creating a vision binder, intention list, and a regular manifestation practice to create the life you want.

Part 1: The process of creating the Vision Binder.

One of the greatest things you can do to imagine and create your ideal life is to create a vision board (or actually a vision binder as I will discuss!).

A vision board is essentially a canvas of images that remind you of the life you want for yourself.  We first learned about this from watching The Secret and hearing John Assaraf talk about the importance of visualization.

Many great teachers explain how to do this. They tell you to create a large board you can look at and meditate to often that contains visual images of ideas and/or objects you want or desire in your life.

This all makes sense in theory but for us there were a couple logistical problems.

Problem #1

You are supposed to keep your desires to yourself or, at most, to yourself and your close partner/husband/friend. If you show your visions to others your ego becomes involved and that is exactly what you want to avoid. Having your ego involved means your goals are no longer about what you truly want; it becomes what you want to show other people you are or have.

For us, this meant that anytime we had people over (which we like to do often) we had to take our vision boards off the wall.  To make matters worse we had two cork boards each, so four total (we have a big vision, lol). This was very cumbersome and you feel that you are blocking your visions by turning them backwards to hide them from others (and yourself).

This could be different if you have an extremely private bedroom in which there is no way anyone other than yourself and your partner would walk into your bedroom.

However, there are still exceptions to when people would still have to enter your bedroom such as maintenance people or friends/relatives that like tours of your home.

Problem #2

Once vision boards are filled they are filled and you are out of space, unless of course you add another board.

Solution: Vision Binder!

Therefore, with consistently having our boards turned backwards sitting on the carpet in our bedroom, we decided on a much more personal and MOBILE solution: Vision Binders!

The beauty of using a binder or scrapbook is that you can have extra pages to add things as you see fit. The idea as compared to a vision board is the same but you can stick it in your bedside drawer ready for you to visualize anytime you want. It also remains private as it should (except with your trusting partner). And for those interested in mobility, like us, it is easier to carry around a binder than two huge cork boards (each).

What goes into making a Vision Binder?

Manifesting your desires or goals in life has many facets.  It is good to combine thoughts and feelings with visualizing. It is also very easy to have thoughts and feelings about something when you are able to see a visual aid or picture of that something or something else that reminds you of your desire.

For example, if you want to have abundance (cool video, ay?) in your life it would be a good idea to think about what that means to you.

How much abundance do you want? How will you feel when you have that abundance in your life?

For some, you may connect abundance with large houses, nice cars, luxury vacations.  For others it may be the freedom to travel or live in the way they wish; being less about the material things and more about choosing their job and how they spend their days.

It doesn’t matter where you fall; there is no right or wrong answer.  The point is to have a visual representation of what YOU want.

How do you make a Vision Binder?

Step 1: Purchase the materials needed. This includes:

1. a scrapbook/binder (We use the Canson scrapbook because it is sturdy enough to tape magazine pages and has a cardboard cover.  We have found this to work better than plastic page scrapbooks.), and
2. clear tape (e.g. scotch tape)

Step 2: Gather or purchase magazines in the topics you enjoy.

We typically keep a few magazines around when we want to add things. For example, we enjoy perusing Ode Magazine, Good, Yoga Journal, Mental Floss, Afar, National Geographic, and Scientific American Mind among many others. All these magazines are good for cutting out many words, quotes and pictures with many interests to add to your vision binder.

Eventually you will get to the point when you will see something in a magazine or newspaper and immediately want to add it to your vision binder.

You can rip or cut words, sentences, or images from the sources and tape into your vision binder as desired. This can be in the style of a collage or orderly, depending on your personality. The key is use your imagination, HAVE FUN, and express yourself via the vision binder.

Step 3: Tape the images in the fashion you see fit onto the pages of your vision binder.

Be creative and have fun with this! You can tape words or sentences/quotes onto images and put things together creatively.  The key here is to create a visual aid that makes you think of what you want to create in your life.

Step 4: Create an intention list and start a regular practice of using your vision binder along with an intention list to create your life. (This is explained more in the following sections and a bonus section of examples for your intention list are provided at the end of the article.)

With your vision binder now complete, it can become a part of an exciting practice you can perform daily towards manifesting and creating the life you desire.

Part 2: The process of creating the Intention List.

One thing we found to complement our vision binders is an intention list. We read it in the morning prior to meditating so that we may release our desires to the universe. You must give the universe the “what” and it will provide the “how.” This is what the vision binder aids in providing.

An intention list is a sheet of short term and long term goals coupled with mantras that will help you to shift your consciousness to focus on positive things you want in life such as love, good health, peace, and abundance.

To help get you started, I have provided some examples for you to follow. Below, in the bonus section, I have provided a sampling of examples of key mantras we have in our intention lists to read daily in varying categories.

We have perfected our list based on experience we have had. We welcome you to use some of ours as you refine your own.  They have helped us tremendously and we hope they do the same for you.

Using these intentions puts these thoughts into your subconscious mind to shift your previous conditioning.  Previous conditioning is unique to each of us but can easily include things such as lack of self worth, scarcity consciousness (i.e. money doesn’t grow on trees, I am not made of money) and the list of conditioning can go on and on. (These issues go into another conversation of understanding the unlimited potential of each of us (Perhaps a future post! 🙂  ) but for now I want to communicate the importance of these mantras in creating the life you desire. If you can’t wait, I highly recommend picking up Manifest your Destiny by Wayne Dyer. His book provides a good start to your journey towards understanding this philosophy. It was one of the first pieces of research we used to develop this philosophy into our own lives.)

Part 3: Create a regular manifestation practice by putting all the pieces together, e.g. vision binder, intention list, and regular practice.

Here, we have provided our morning practice as an example for you to either follow or use as a template to create your own.

NOTE: Most importantly, when reading your intention list and looking at your vision binder, it is important to state everything that you would like to happen in the present tense. It creates cognitive dissonance between your subconscious mind and your conscious mind and puts the best computer in this world to work, your brain. Your brain goes to work computing and creating your life through the help of the universe.

1. Flip through your vision binder, getting emotions and feelings involved. This should be a very fun practice as you feel the things you desire in your life.

2. Read the intention list. This is also very uplifting because it gives you clear intentions that match the images in your mind.

3. Meditate. We currently use Wayne Dyer’s AM/PM Meditation but there are many other ways. The idea is to silence the mind and connect with your spirit, feeling a calmness and bliss inside. Doing so will release the desires you were focused on prior to your meditation into the universe.

4. Go about your day excited with thoughts and visions of what you want to create. You must act in order to receive signals from the universe. You can’t just wait around hoping for things to happen. It is through action that your desires show up seemingly coincidentally. Remember that your life is yours to create as an open palette and be patient.  You are planting the seeds of your future and they must be nurtured, not destroyed.

5. Practicing gratitude is essential on a daily basis.  We currently discuss what we are grateful for in our day prior to our PM meditation before bed.  This calms your mind for a restful and complete sleep. It also makes you realize how many amazing things happened to you that day.  You will be surprised! For how we practice gratitude, please visit our Gratitude Page.

I wish you the best of luck in your abundant creations!

BONUS: As promised, here are example key mantras for your intention list in several categories for your convenience. These examples are actually some of our general personal mantras from our intention list that we have developed from our experience. Please feel free to use them and/or add your own to the list. Use your imagination to create your own.

Read this statement prior to reading your intentions (remember, in the PRESENT tense): I intend the following into my life, always practicing my unbending intent for exactly what I want in my life and emphasizing the feelings and visualizations associated with knowing these things are already present as I read each of them:

Abundance:

• Because I think in the present moment imagining that what I want is already here, I know I have enough money to live the life I desire.
• I am abundant and have all the money and resources to live a rich fulfilling life, providing service to all I meet.

Wellness/Diet/Exercise:

• I am fit and at my healthy weight.
• I awaken early in the morning because the impact I have on humanity is bigger than myself, feeling refreshed and well rested with six to eight hours of sleep.
• I put only pure and healthy products into my body and mind.
• I make exercise a priority one hour per day because exercise is important for my vitality.

Passionate Entrepreneurial Service to Humanity:

• Our intention is providing superb service to the universe and to humanity.
• I think win-win in all my business dealings and have great integrity.
• I am successful and operate on a values based system.
• I create demand and the supply comes through my service to humanity.

Recreation/Travel/Leisure:

• I embrace a work/rest cycle and also achieve great balance in all areas of my life daily.
• I travel the world extensively, attaining a sense of awareness of the world around us.
• We are citizens of the world, exploring every end of the earth!

Cultural/Philanthropic:

• I continue to remain informed of political and world issues so that I may provide a voice and action.
• I volunteer and go to other countries to help the citizens, learning their languages and giving love.
• I tithe to charities of our choice with each check we receive.
• I just give, embrace generosity and am open to receiving.

Personal Evolution Committment:

• Every day in every way everything in my life gets better.
• I only find solutions and opportunities.
• I face my passions with ultimate abandon and freedom.
• I carpe diem/seize each moment and love what I do.
• All of my goals born in my consciousness become reality the minute they become a thought in my mind and by reviewing them daily, I approach ever so closer to seeing them physically manifest.

Relationships:

• I have gratitude for all the people who have helped me in my life get to where I am today and remember my roots.
• I only talk about the positive characteristics of others.
• I am forgiving and a great listener to others.
• I have close relationships with my family and friends, visiting and spending time with them often.

Spirituality:

• I meditate twice daily for 30 minutes to connect with Spirit.
• I express myself through activities I enjoy while accomplishing my purpose of serving and uplifting humanity.
• I detach myself from the outcomes of my desires, knowing and trusting that the universe will provide.
• At dawn, I wake up refreshed, energized and rejuvenated with new inspirations attained while I slept ready to seize the joys of the day and continue to put forth my connection with spirit to achieve my limitless potential.
• At dusk when it is time to go to bed, I shut down and rest my mind and sleep deeply reconnecting my being to the infinitely intelligent universe.
• I am grateful and humble for the amazing life I live.
• I am spirit-driven and embrace intuition.
• I think and act through love and abundance and have tremendous self-respect.
• I have empowering beliefs programmed into my being.
• I am dynamic, alive, and constantly changing, as is the universe.
• I operate daily in a high energy vibration.  This high energy positively affects humanity in more ways than I can ever imagine.
• I only attract what I want into my life by focusing on what I want, not what I don’t want.
• I treat myself as if I already am what I’d like to become.
• I am a spiritual being having a human experience and not a human being having a spiritual experience.

Are there any you think would be good to add?

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