Manifestation, what it is and how to manifest your desires…
Introduction
Manifestation has roots in the 19th century in certain spiritual traditions. Manifestation is the concept of manifesting your reality through thought which includes eastern concepts which focus on uniting your mind, body and the universe. This included beliefs that our thoughts and how we shape them can influence the material world. Positive thinking and affirmations are key to our earthly problems. More recently this idea has entered our eco-system through the Secret, where manifestation is described itself as the process of ‘the law of attraction. Interest in manifestation has been gradually rising since 2017, with searches for the term increasing by a whopping 669%. This article will define manifestation, the process of it, methods and general do’s and don’ts.
What is Manifestation?
A manifestation is a tool used to help create a future based on your current desires. This could relate to hobbies, career, love life, friends & families - essentially any facet of life. One source claims that by simply reading, watching or learning how to manifest you’ve unconsciously manifested the information you are consuming. You have unconsciously manifested everything that has ever happened to you in your life. Now you may ponder, “Why would I manifest the bad things that have happened to me in life?” - well this could mean that certain times of adversity were deemed necessary by our higher selves to grow. The evidence for this comes from asking yourself (if you have processed your trauma) whether you would change what happened. For most people that would mean changing the period that made them grow and take necessary turns in their life, and therefore the answer in a lot of cases would most likely be no. The process is the same one we go through whenever we work on ourselves. It involves intention, mindset and directed action. You could use the simple analogy of what people who work in strategy do all the time. When they are coming up with a future vision for a company, they are essentially manifesting. A high-level vision, of what is to come and a loose plan of how to get there. The rest of the process is not dissimilar to that of any feat we accomplish in life. (See below)
How does Manifestation work? (The process)
The essential idea of manifestation is to think your personal goals into existence. Now, this may sound far-fetched, but with continued repetition, you can create a vision for the future in your mind. Once the vision is established in our minds, we are put to work. This could be in a multitude of ways. We may begin noticing that goal in others. We may begin to inquire about that goal; online, to friends, families and ourselves. The initial part is about setting our intention and concentrating our focus on whatever goal we are trying to manifest. Our thoughts, emotions and actions then slowly become aligned with our goals. Patience is required in this stage. This is to prevent frustration and becoming disillusioned with the concept of manifestation. It will take a period before we start noticing the change within ourselves and, for better or for worse, the changes we begin to notice will feel natural.
We begin to adapt to become the person we need to be to achieve the said goal, our emotions would be the first point of change - where previously we may have been battling resistance to accomplish our goals, we are now dealing with any blockages that have prevented us from working towards our goals; this could be confidence issues, low self-esteem issues, anxiety etc… New influxes of thoughts will begin to appear in our minds which help change our attitudes. The shift in thinking will again take a period, and will normally depend on whether we resist the change. For example, if you need to start working harder to achieve your career-based goals you will begin having thoughts on how to work harder, habits you should develop and habits you should drop. However, if this is a big shift for you and you are unlikely to welcome it at first, the shift will take longer. Alternatively, if you welcome the shift you are more likely to embrace the changes in attitude and behaviour and begin working towards your goal. The mindset will shift from focusing on the goal to focusing on the journey, and you will be working toward your goal at a micro level (day-to-day basis).
Eventually, you will reach your goal. Now you may be wondering at this point, whether it was a manifestation that got you to this point or it was your shift in attitude, behaviours and motivation. The truth is, it would have been probably been a combination of both. Where manifestation led to you adapting to the version of yourself you needed to be to accomplish the goal, but ultimately, you stayed dedicated, focused and adapted where it was necessary.
How to manifest? (Methods)
Many methods come up in searches for ‘How to manifest’. The simplest methods are affirmations and meditation. Although they are mentioned as simple, they require honest work that only you can do. Both methods are encouraged to be used in tandem (together), this will allow the best possible chance of manifestation.
Affirmation based
For this method, it is important to understand what you’re manifesting. For example, if you are looking for your life partner; it can be easy to write an affirmation such as; “I would like to meet my life partner”. Now although this may sound like a manifesting affirmation, it is almost the opposite. By stating that you ‘would’ like to meet your life partner, you are telling the universe that you have not met him yet, and thus you are opening up the idea that you may not meet him/her if the universe does not intervene. When we write our manifesting affirmations, we must make statements from the idea that we know we will meet them. This may bring conflict within yourself, as part of you may be doubting whether this may or may not happen. For manifesting purposes, you must ensure that your statement is certain. An affirmation like; “I am filled with love for myself, and love to express to my life partner. Potential life partners are flowing into my life abundantly” The difference in the statement, is the acceptance that this process is already unwinding, and allows you to create a shift within yourself. You will soon see that the doubt you had about the situation will begin to fade, as you repeat your affirmation. Finally, if you find yourself thinking about the situation, gently remind yourself of your affirmation and that it will happen when it is meant to happen.
Meditation
Meditation as a method for manifestation works behind the scenes. If the affirmation is what we use to align our intention, meditation allows us to work on our inner mechanism so the alignment of mind, body and soul is more prominent. Meditation helps you to identify your blockages faster and helps you overcome them. This could be things like doubt and fear. Through meditation, we can feel these emotions (doubt & fear) and feeling them is what allows us to be able to let them go. Meditation helps us understand our intuition better and therefore it helps us with an important law of manifestation: Inspired action. An inspired action is key and it is guided by our intuition. This is that feeling we sometimes, have that may tell us to do one thing or another. For manifestation, it is key because it helps guide us toward the goal we have set out for ourselves. It also allows us to change our behaviours as we continue to listen to our intuition. Meditation can help you become more positive, this positivity is important when we are feeling down about our goals not coming as fast as we would like them to. Finally, meditation helps us visualise. This is another key tool in manifestation. We must be able to visualise ourselves as having achieved that goal. Visualisation aids our minds, in experiencing the goal we are trying to accomplish. For our minds imagined reality is the same as experiencing reality. Therefore imagining our goal being accomplished helps our mind to grasp the necessary tools to be able to achieve that goal and create the necessary mindset.
General Do’s and Don’ts
There are many methods to manifestation, and thus many rules or none at all depending on who you ask.
Do’s
Be very clear on what you want to manifest - The more specific and detailed your goal is, the more accurately the universe will be able to materialise it.
Trust that the universe has a plan for you - The universe may have a plan for you that is even bigger than the goal you have set yourself. As you begin manifesting you will see clues and hints, take notice of what the universe is showing and be patient.
Continually check in with your goal - Although we are manifesting, it is important to have daily/weekly check-ins on how progress is going. This will allow you to see if any changes need to be incorporated.
Make manifestation a part of your routine - If you have set yourself an affirmation, say it twice a day. If you are meditating to align yourself, schedule it into your weekly routine and give it your all.
Don’ts
Be vague or half-hearted on what you want - Ask yourself: “Is this what I truly want?”. If your heart isn’t in it, you’ll struggle to put your full energy into the goal that you are trying to manifest.
Expect what you want to come instantly - Manifesting is about tuning your energy, so your behaviour, mental attitude, and feelings can align. If you are hoping for an instant goal, you will end up pushing your desire away as you simply want it too much.
Give up - If you’re feeling like your manifestation goal is not happening as fast as you would like it, don’t give up. Allow the timing of what is coming. Ask yourself: Is it too vague? Does your goal involve someone else doing something?
Be afraid to ask for help - You may be overwhelmed and not know how to ask for help. That is okay, you’re not alone. There is plenty of guidance available, through coaches, spiritual counsellors, YouTube videos and online information.
Final Thoughts
A manifestation is an incredible tool when used in the right way. That is not a ‘wishing’ well that produces instant fantasy lives. It is a tool that helps us realign our intentions with our feelings, thoughts and behaviours. With its origins in eastern cultures, we can see that it was a tool that was used to help us get in touch with the universe and ultimately has faith in it. The process of manifestation involves a genuine change in the attitude of an individual. This helps you become aligned with your goal and discourages habits that block the pathway to it. The attitude shift doesn’t change who you are as a person, however, it enables you to bring forth dormant qualities that you already have within you. This article has listed 2 out of many major methods for manifestation. Meditation is a key enabler of getting in touch with your true essence of being, aiding the process of manifestation by letting go of desires that may not serve you well long term. This makes it easier to manifest, as you become aware of the desires that you truly want. Affirmations as a method are suitable for writing the goal you are trying to manifest, and constant repetition (when done correctly), helps you visualise achieving that goal. On the whole, manifestation gets a strange reputation. There is simply not enough education on alignment with the universe, and therefore it can come across as far-fetched. If you are interested in manifestation, then try the methods in this article and see how they are fair for you.
Alternatively, if you want some help with it try reaching out to specialists in this area.
Have you ever thought about manifesting your dreams?
What are your thoughts about manifestation as a whole?
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