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A topic almost guaranteed to present itself in my daily conversations is “Manifestation.” Manifestation constantly alters my reality for the better; why wouldn’t I want to share that magic with others? However, despite its relevance in my life, I am often asked the question “Wait, back up, what is manifestation?”
Table of Contents
What is Manifestation?
As defined by Vocabulary.com:
Manifestation (Noun): the public display of emotion or feeling, or something theoretical made real.
Manifestare, the Latin root of “Manifestation,” means “to exhibit or to make public.” To further answer “What is Manifestation,” to manifest (verb) something means to literally make the dreams that are living in your mind present and public in your physical world.
Why Should You Manifest?
Two Reasons:
- You’ll get what you want
- You’ll get rid of what you don’t want
You Will Get What You Want
To manifest something is to make what you would like to experience (wealth, love, success, happiness, etc.) a reality.
By manifesting, you are acting as if the life you want is already present by using your mind, attitude, and actions as tools to achieve your dream life. By being intentional in how you think and act in accordance with your desires, you bring what you want closer.
So, Is Manifestation Always Intentional?
Nope. If manifestation was always intentional, we would only manifest our dreams and desires. We wouldn’t manifest drafty houses, mean bosses or unreliable cars. Thankfully, we can intentionally manifest to remove the negatives components of our lives.
What is Intentional Manifesting?
Intentional Manifestation (Noun): a shift in your subconscious beliefs and dominating thought patterns to support the reality you want to experience or create; using learned techniques to alter your reality
You’ll Get Rid Of What You Don’t Want
Each and every day, we are manifesting.
Before even knowing the answer to “What is Manifestation,” you manifested the life you are currently living.
When we don’t realize this power or ability to manifest the life of our dreams, we let our lives manifest on autopilot. Our reality is traced back to the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs practiced by you, whether intentional or not.
In order to get rid of what you don’t want, you must first come to terms with the fact that you created the circumstances that you don’t want. Your life RIGHT NOW is a reflection of your past thoughts. By taking accountability for the unwanted parts of your life, you take control of the change that can occur against it.
Before telling you how you can do that, let’s do a little housekeeping on your inner skeptics.
Who Can Manifest?
- Anybody
- Everybody
- And all the people in between
We all have the capability to bring energy (a thought, idea, or goal) into our physical world.
Does Manifestation Really Work?
Yes! And it works best by understanding its power and trusting the process of manifestation.
The headlights on our trucks and cars beam about a hundred feet before us. That’s it. And yet, we can drive from one state to another in the middle of the night because all we needed to see was that next one hundred feet. That is how manifestation works. All we have to do is know where we want to go and take the next step (even if we can’t see what comes after it).
Even if you don’t understand or believe it works, it’s working. You can make it to the destination of your dreams by driving in the dark just like you can manifest the life of your dreams without knowing each and every step in between.
Thoughts become things. If you can think about what you want in your mind and make that your dominant thought, you will bring it into your life.
Do you need proof? –> Everything that surrounds you right now in your life, including the things you’re complaining about, you’ve attracted.
But how??
How Does Manifestation Work?
The simple answer? By asking for your desires (but we will jump into step-by-step “How to Start Manifesting” later in this post).
For starters you must understand two concepts:
By asking for (or thinking about) what you want, you get more of what you want. (Love, abundance, growth, health, etc.)
By thinking about what you don’t want, you get more of what you don’t want. (Jealousy, resentment, dissatisfaction)
This is called the Law of Attraction.
What is the Law of Attraction?
Law of Attraction (Noun): energy of the same frequency is attracted to each other, positive thoughts and actions bring positive experiences into a person’s reality while negative thoughts and actions bring about negative experiences
Made a well-known concept by the 2006 bestselling book, The Secret, The Law of Attraction helps to fully answer “What is Manifestation?” because it explains the energetic forces necessary for manifestation.
Like attracts like.
Birds of a feather flock together.
People are made up of energy. We tend to like people who share our “energy.”
Animals are made up of energy. Dogs tend to like play with dogs who share their same “energy” level.
Thoughts are made up of energy. Thoughts tend to more easily accept other thoughts that support their beliefs.
Everything is made of energy. And energies of the same frequency are attracted to each other.
If you want better people in your life, you must work on being a better person yourself.
Leon Brown
We’ve heard quotes and advice that speak to the principle of the Law of Attraction and now it seems to start making sense.
How Does the Law of Attraction Work?
With your energy or vibrations. There is an energy field (commonly referred to as “The Universe“) where all energy lives and interacts with itself.
This energy field has been referenced by influential figures under many names:
Albert Einstein – “Zero Point Field“
Pam Grout – “Field of Potentiality“
In fact, reality is nothing but waves of possibility that we have ‘observed’ into form.
Pam Grout, #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author
Abraham Hicks – “The Vortex“
Whatever you call it, Zero Point Field, the Field of Potentiality, the Vortex, or the Universe, know we are all talking about the same thing.
The subatomic particles (protons, neutrons, and electrons) in this energy field that make up human beings, the Universe, and its properties are in a constant state of vibration. We can either cause these particles to vibrate at high speeds (and attract things that are also “high-vibe”) or vibrate at low speeds (and attract things that are considered “low-vibe”).
What Does “High-Vibe” Mean?
High-Vibe: When your emotional state is elevated due to happiness, love, or freedom causing your subatomic particles to vibrate at high speeds
We subconsciously display our vibration all day, every day. You could be at work, speaking only in the context of work things, and a fellow employee may just know that you had a magnificent date the night before because of the high vibration you simply exude. That vibration can be felt by other humans, animals, and the Universe itself.
Think about it: the Universe interacts with the vibrations we broadcast. If you have a high vibration, you will attract more high-vibration beings and experiences. If this particular day at work is when your boss was going to announce a big raise, give out a compliment in regards to customer service, or put someone in charge of an important task, who would be more likely? The person who is sharing humble exuberance with his or her colleagues (even though that state of mind was unrelated to today’s work day).
This is the snowball effect of having a high-vibration. Like attracts like.
What Does “Low-Vibe” Mean?
Low-Vibe: When your emotional state is low due to sadness, guilt, or anger causing your subatomic particles to vibrate at low speeds
Okay, same concept. Different vibe.
You could be at work, speaking only in the context of work, and your fellow employee may just know you had an awful date last night because of the low vibration you exude. Your shoulders are down, eye contact is low, and your smile is forced. Your vibration is picked up by your boss as:
- “Why me?”
- “I’m not worth what I want.”
- “Just leave me alone at work today so I can sulk.”
In this moment, you were thinking about not getting granted the partner you desire, but those subconscious thoughts will plow into all other components of your life. With this low vibration, are you still just as likely to attract the abundance of money, desired responsibility, or warm conversations at work while in this state? Alas, that is the snowball of effect of having a low vibration. Like attracts like.
How is the Law of Attraction Related to Manifestation?
Our vibration is felt by all other vibrational beings (animals, people, the Universe itself) and then the Universe acts accordingly to bring you what you are.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that your dreams and goals exclusively exist in a high vibration state.
The Law of Attraction states that “like attracts like” so in order to live a life of happiness, fulfillment, and peace, you must first cultivate the emotions associated with that lifestyle in your body’s vibration. Your elevated emotional state will attract the people, experiences, and opportunities aligned with your goals. This is where people usually tap out (sadly).
Why Do I Need to Feel / Act Like I Already Have My Manifestations Before They Exist?
Because the Universe is a mirror.
The Law of Attraction will mirror back to you your dominant thoughts. If your thoughts demonstrate you do no have your desires yet, you will continue attracting not having it yet.
“So all I need to do is think positive thoughts and my dream life will be mine?”
Does this sound like a bunch of nonsense?
That’s because it is. In what world would you just need to say, “I want a dog” and then the next day one shows up on your front porch, completely vaccinated, potty trained, and in the exact breed you want. This is why you need to feel and act as if your specific desires already exist.
Think of this scenario: You love dogs. You want a dog. You start taking action to come closer to owning a dog while expressing to yourself and others the emotional state of what it would feel like to have that dog.
What would that elevated emotional state look like? You would walk around thankful and happy, stopping to pet puppies on walks, volunteering at your local rescues, or working at a doggie daycare. Friends, family, and daycare parents see how much you light up around dogs, how knowledgeable you have become on the topic of owning them, and know how much you want one of your own.
Congratulations! You are now the first person that comes to mind when they hear of a wealthy family who bought a dog (the exact breed you want), took care of all its financial needs and shots, got as far as potty training before realizing they don’t have as much time as they need to properly care for their new investment.
Guess who just manifested their dream dog by living like it was already theirs?
So, Why Doesn’t Everyone Manifest?
Excuse #1: Because they thought it was a bunch of nonsense. There isn’t enough work involved for me to believe its potential.
- See above as to why manifestation is not nonsense and it does require work / action.
Excuse #2: Because now they think it’s a lot of work.
Excuses are the death of real breakthrough. You have a dream… and you come up with an excuse. That excuse is proven invalid and… you come up with a new excuse.
Yes, manifestation requires action and action can imply “work” for the people who want to use this excuse, but if you only take “inspired action,” it will not feel like work at all.
Excuse #3: Because they tried manifesting and it didn’t work.
Here’s the problem: Most people are thinking about what they don’t want. In the process of manifesting the perfect person, they may say things like, “I want a partner who doesn’t cheat.” But your feeling the emotion / frequency / VIBRATION of what it felt like to get cheated on instead of the feeling “Wanting a partner that wants you and only you unconditionally” and then wonder why cheating significant others show up over and over again.
They also don’t know “How” to manifest. They just started saying positive dreams or desires and waited but in pursuit of your desires you need to be in a state of having, not a state of wanting. Don’t say “I wish I could have that car” or “someday I’ll have that car” because your assigning your dreams to the future and things in the future don’t elicit strong, emotional responses of happiness and gratitude.
Do you want to become a magnet to your high vibration goals? Yes? Then let’s get to work.
What Can I Manifest?
Before you can start the process of manifesting, you must first know what you want to manifest. So, what things can you manifest?
- Love / a partner
- Money
- A Healthy Body
- A Happy Marriage
- New Friendships
- A Brand New Car
- A Better Job
- A Productive Pandemic
- Building a Company
- A pleasant day
- Your Dream Home
As long as what or who you want to manifest is attracted to the person you are becoming as opposed to who you were when perusing experiences and situations that didn’t align with you, there is no right or wrong thing to manifest.
What To Do Before You Start Manifesting?
- Work on personal development.
- Practice grace with yourself.
- Obtain a growth mindset.
Most people look at their current life and go “This is who I am.” But that’s not who you are. It’s who you were.
If you don’t have as much money as you’d like or your health and fitness aren’t where you’d like it. That’s not who you are. You are not the person with no money and a untoned physique, that’s the outcome of your past thoughts and actions.
All that we are is a result of what we have thought.
Buddha (563 BCE – 483 BCE)
By saying “This is who I am” when living in your residual outcome, you are just confidently surrendering to having no money, an untoned physique, and whatever else you tell yourself “is just who you are.”
Stop that. Start now.
How to Start Manifesting?
Consistently. That’s the most important step. It takes time to reconnect to your intuitive guidance and, as previously mentioned, there is work that goes into manifesting your dream life.
Here is a quick graphic summing it up but make sure to scroll lower for all the steps in full detail:
1. Be Clear About What You Want
You need to know what you want to manifest. Simple enough, right?
When you don’t have clarity of exactly what you want, it can lead to distractions and burn out. Burn out occurs when you focus on too many things at once and get overwhelmed. When you simply say “I want more money” you aren’t telling the Universe in what form you want to obtain it so you’ll take on odd jobs that have nothing to do with your passions, watering down your lifestyle looking for the next quick cash gig.
When you say “I want to make $1,000 by the end of May from just my side hustle,” you focus only on opportunities that strengthen the money making capabilities of your own business.
The more concise, the better.
Understand Your “Why”
Dreams are a lot easier to achieve when we have motivators to push us through the inevitable hard parts of growing and gaining.
Once you know what you want to manifest, ask yourself these questions:
- Why do you want ______?
- Who else will benefit when I have ____?
- How will I make the world a better place because I am _____?
TIP: Remember the answers to these questions when you are met with your first, second, third, etc. roadblock that could cause you to quit altogether.
2. Then, Ask for What You Want
Only once you know exactly what you want can you start asking for it. Ways to “Ask” for your manifestation:
- Creating a vision board
- Filling a Future Box: a box of your choosing full of pictures of items, people, or experiences you want to manifest
- Writing a letter to the Universe: Begin each sentence with “I am so happy and grateful now that… (and fill in what you would like to manifest)
- Journal. Write down your desires on the daily to make your manifestations habitual
- Speaking your intentions / affirmations out loud
Your conscious mind can see what you have and what you don’t but when you repeat your positive affirmations or visualize what your dream life looks like, your subconscious mind knows what to focus on creating in your physical reality.
TIP: Repeat your positive affirmations before bed, right when you wake up, and as many times as you want in during the day.
Examples of Positive Affirmations
- I am financially free
- I experience true love with the partner of my dreams
- I am an active person who goes to the gym 4 times a week
- I have a house with 6 acres, 2 windows in every room, and a home office
- I always have a pleasant visit to the grocery store
When you say these things to yourself, you are quite literally sending forces ahead of your body that will arrange things to make your world more aligned with them.
By saying opposing things with fear or apprehension of something unpleasant happening, you are then sending hidden elements to cause something unpleasant to occur.
Say the former positive affirmations to “Fix things up” in advance, for the good instead of the bad.
3. Visualize
It can difficult to hold a picture of a static moment in time. For instance:
Think of a picture of your dog or a dog you wish to manifest. This is a static picture. An unmoved moment in time.
Now let’s add a little spice:
Imagine yourself walking into your living room where your dog is laying on the floor sleeping. You reach down and start petting under their chin softly. Your dog opens its eyes slowly, looks up at you, and let’s his cold tongue fall out of his mouth. At this point, he starts to lick your palm. You can feel the cold, wetness on your hand as he reciprocates affection. You use your other hand to start scratching their forehead…
Did this visualization bring forth more emotion than “picture your dog?”
Visualization adds movement and detail to your desires, making them seem more real and thus attainable.
Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.
Albert Einstein
Examples of Using Visualzation to Manifest
- Write your name and the address of the house you are trying to close on over and over again. Visualize your furniture in that house.
- Write a check out to yourself for the amount of money you wish to manifest. Put it in a location you can see it every single day. Visualize the lifestyle you would lead because of that money. Focus on wealth, not debt.
4. Start Working Towards Your Manifestations
Yes, you will thank the Universe for what it places in front of you, but it can’t interact with the opportunities placed before you. That’s up to you.
It’s called the “Be, Do, Have Model.”
What is the “Be, Do, Have Model?”
Be, Do, Have Model: The idea that you must first Be the person who will Do the things necessary in order to Have the things you desire.
Most people think more like this: “When I have what I want, I’ll do what I need to be the person who has those things.
That is a backwards way of thinking. Why would you expect another person (or the Universe) to give you valuable resources in obtaining your manifestations if you aren’t willing to do any work first.
Be the person who already has your goals, dreams, and desires to gain clarity on what you need to do to have everything you could every dream of…. and then do those things!
Examples of Being the Person who will Do the things to Have the things you desire:
- Leaving an spot open in the garage for your soulmate’s car / leaving a spot in the closet for their clothes
- Do you want to move to a different state / country? Cancel memberships, give away things you won’t need, pack your suitcase
5. Be Thankful
The trick to manifesting is to express gratitude for what you already have. By looking for the abundance you are already experiencing, you are welcoming the high vibration that attracts more abundance.
You need to focus on what you have, not what you don’t have.
For example, you have eyes to read this right now. That’s big.
Being anything but thankful can push your manifestations out of reach. When you receive something small in pursuit of your dreams and say “I don’t deserve this,” the Universe is listening. Replace that disempowering belief with a list of all the ways you are deserving:
- “I worked hard to get this”
- “I deserve what I work for”
- “I am on the path to inevitable success”
6. Be Flexible
I can almost guarantee that your manifestations and the steps leading up to your manifestations will not come in the order or time frame you subconsciously laid out. As previously mentioned, you need to know the “What” and the “Why” in order to lay the foundation of your crystal clear vision / dream, but let go of the “When” and “How.” The process of manifestation is fluid and aligned opportunities will present themselves when they should, and how they should.
By trying to figure out the “how,” you are emitting the frequency that contains a lack of faith. This, in turn, supports that you don’t believe you have it already, pulling you away from manifesting your thoughts into your reality.
With flexibility comes releasing close-minded norms. The most popular? “The only way I can make money is through my job.” Release this notion immediately.
Release the “how” and know “it’s on its way to me.”
7. Receive
Feel wonderful about you desires. Feel the way you will feel to receive these desires and feel it now. You must know that want you want / what you ask for is yours the moment you asked for it because when you are feeling good, you are on the frequency of receiving.
Affirmation: “I am receiving now. I am receiving all the good in my life, now. I am receiving [fill in your desire] now”
What is the Fastest Way to Manifest Something?
Your energy towards your goal will determine how fast it comes to you.
The more aligned actions you take in generating the feelings of having your manifestations, will attract them 10 fold.
Test drive the car of your dreams. Buy the containers needed to prep healthier meals. Go house shopping. Start the blog. Do whatever you have to do to feel the feeling of what it would be like to have these desires and remember that feeling. Revisit that feeling often. By quite literally “playing pretend” that this car or home or dog at the shelter is already yours in that moment, you will be ramping up that frequency in you soul to a point you have no choice but to create that reality for yourself.
The speed in which this happens is determined by your mind. When you say “This is a big manifestation, this is going to take some time” or “This is a small one, I give it an hour,” you are determining that the desired outcome in “Some time” or “an hour” away.
Feel it now. Receive it now.
How Do I Know When my Manifestation is Close?
When you stop worrying abut how close it is. It seems like a funny answer, but again wondering when and how and where makes it clear you are trusting the process of manifesting and the law of attraction.
Just believe it is already yours.
Let’s say you scratched a lottery ticket at your kitchen table and it said “One million dollars,” under a matching symbol from the top line, you would jump up and down, scream, maybe even cry. You would already feel that the one million dollars written on a piece of cardstock is yours despite the fact that you haven’t physically received the money yet.
Think of this scenario when working on “believing it is yours.” It’s a game changer.
When Will Manifestation Not Work?
When you Lack Faith
In other words, don’t second guess. The Universe likes speed and a direction for that speed to take place. When an opportunity speaks to you and the intuitive nudge is present in the opportunities wake, act.
“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.”
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
It is also important to note that manifestation cannot thrive while the opposite of manifestation is present.
When you say you need something, like money, you can only attract the “need for money” as opposed to the “having of money.” Replace “I can’t afford that” with “I can afford that. I can buy that.”
Stop thinking about the things you want from a scarcity mindset. Replace “want” or “need” with “have” and “accepting.”
This world (both what we can see and what we can’t) is so abundant. Start viewing it as such.
When You Lack Accountability
We, as humans, tend to blame things that lie outside of out control for our happiness, or lack thereof.
- My coworkers are so lazy, that’s why nothing gets done during our work day.
- My husband makes me so angry, that’s why I can’t manifest a happy marriage
- My children are so misbehaved, that’s why I can’t manifest a family vacation
By bringing other people’s actions into your manifestation, your letting other people’s actions play a part in the probability of your manifestations occurring.
When You Focus on the Wrong Thing
Let’s say you have a disease. You focus on that disease, you research that disease, you talk to people about that disease, you are going to create more diseased cells.
We have doctor’s for a reason, so they can look after that disease. Our job is to focus our minds on a perfectly healthy body and what we can do to achieve it.
Stop focusing on what you don’t want while trying to welcome what you do.
I will never attend an anti-war rally. If you have a peace rally, invite me.
Mother Teresa
It’s okay to notice what you don’t want because you can use it as a tool to realize what you do want, but that’s where it should end. Don’t continuously focus on the donts (don’t want war) when you want to create the dos (peace).
When You’re Stuck in the Past
When you live the misfortunate events and dissappointments from your past over and over again, you are calling forth more misfortunate events and disappointments for your future.
You have heard it before and you will hear it again, holding on to grudges against someone else will ultimatly end up harming you.
Let it all go, move on. Start now.
What Now?
You are the author of your story. Start it with “I am…” and finish the sentence with every and anything you desire to be and mean every last word.
If you need help, I have created a 6 page Intention / Manifestation guide to help you create a visual of what your dreams are and help you come up with the game plan to achieve them.
As always, keep growing.
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