Manifestation: fact or fiction?
I know, I know, I know… we’ve all heard those success stories about how poor man Robbie used the power of manifestation to think his way into winning a million dollars. You may have read those stories and thought “pfft, if thinking positively could do anything, no one would be dying of cancer right now.”
I get it. When I first started getting into new ageist philosophy, some of it seemed like a bunch of crap to me too. In fact, when The Secret first got published in 2006, most critics laughed at it. It’s not easy to grasp the idea that you can build the life you want by simply envisioning and believing in it.
But I ponder that the real reason people don’t wanna believe in the idea is because it puts too much responsibility on the individual. If it were true that you could manifest any life you wanted, then ultimately that means you are in charge of your own destiny - so the fact that you’re still feeling unfulfilled in your crappy 9-5 job and studio apartment must be your fault, right? Wrong.
True manifestation is not about solving world hunger or owning a Ferrari. Instead, my life operates under the principle of Conscious Manifestation. In our day and age of interconnectivity and heightened use of social media, it’s easy to fall into the ego trap of comparing yourself to others and noticing what you lack. So everyday you wake up feeling ungrateful, lousy, unfulfilled - and you manifest from ego (i.e., how can I attain what I want?). This type of manifestation doesn’t work, because your mindset is still one of scarcity. You could land a promotion and feel good for a couple of weeks, but eventually the dopamine rush will wear off and you’ll be left wanting more again.
On the other hand, when you manifest from consciousness (i.e., what does the universe want from me?), you begin to operate with a mindset of abundance. Only here will you really see results - let me explain why in layman terms.
Think of the universe as one big magnetic field and everything in it as tiny magnets (people, thoughts, actions, etc.) The law of attraction is a universal law that all souls alike operate under the idea that like attracts like. Each thought contains a certain vibrational frequency that can work as a magnet to attract other things that operate on the same vibrational frequency (re: like attracts like). As a rule of thumb, good thoughts have higher vibrational frequencies, and they make you feel “good”. Bad thoughts have lower vibrational frequencies, and they make you feel “bad”. Remember that your thoughts are on constant auto-pilot (re: stream of consciousness). If you are constantly emitting a low vibrational frequency, then you will only be able to attract things that are on par with that same low vibrational frequency.
The issue is, the universe does not understand the negatives. The universe only knows your thoughts. It does not understand that you do NOT want something (i.e., I do not want this bad grade), it only knows that you are thinking of a bad grade. Thus, it is important to think of things that you DO want, in order to manifest those positive realities (i.e., I want a good grade).
And it is a domino effect – that one positive thought launches you into a stream of consciousness that constantly attracts positive features in your environment. Thinking of a good grade may have attracted to you a happier teacher (thus a better grade), a better diet (thus better brain power), more money (thus better resources), and this will catapult you into a never-ending path of positive manifestations.
Another thing that’s important to note is: simply thinking is not enough. You need to actually embody those positive thoughts. Realistically, if you’re trying to manifest a loyal and outgoing friend group (i.e., I really want loyal friends), but you whine and bitch about everyone you come into contact with - you’re more than likely going to end up surrounded with negative and disloyal friends who are vibrating on the same low frequency as you (it’s just science, bud).
That’s the hard part. The universe has an unlimited supply of abundance, and is there for the asking. But not everyone knows how to access that abundance. It’s easy to think of the things we want, but if your aura emits a low vibrational frequency - your magnetic field won’t be open to receiving them. It all starts and ends with you (insert cheesy quote: be the change you wish to see in the world).
So the million dollar question here is: how can I raise my vibrational frequency to be on the receiving end of abundance?
First and foremost, recognize egoic patterns in yourself. Whenever you are in a negative state, there is something in you that holds on to the negativity: the anger, anxiety, jealousy, resentment, discontentment - that is ego.
Some examples include but are not limited to:
Gossiping, projecting onto others, judging through a lens of superiority.
Me vs. them mentality, needing to have “enemies” (i.e., feeding into the false idea that others are bad)
Allowing temporary ego inflation by reacting angrily, taking things personally (i.e. people/the world is out to get you)
Subjectively making yourself right and others wrong, applying negative mental labels to things or others
The ego plays this role because it carries with it the flawed unconscious belief that it is not enough (i.e., I am not enough). But in essence, you are neither inferior nor superior to anyone. Comparing yourself to others is an act of violence against your authentic self - true humility transpires out of that realization. The moment you realize that your negative thoughts are not you, is the moment your worldview shifts from ego to awareness.
And with awareness comes total connectivity to others and the universe. With awareness comes a constant stream of consciousness rooted in positivity and high vibrational energy. With awareness comes openness, compassion, gratitude and eventually - abundance.
So manifestation is real. Just not in the way you might think. It’s not just about creating visualization boards on Pinterest and writing down your desires 100x in your journal. Manifestation is a way of life. A mindset. Living fully in the present moment and being grateful for the beauty which surrounds you.
Immanuel Kant said that we have these categories of the mind; think of them as borders (limitations, if you may) surrounding our perceptual abilities. They limit us from viewing anything beyond the borders of these categories – and thus we never really know the true thing in itself, only what we were predisposed to see. This is why awareness is important – and why meditation is important. Because if reality does not exist beyond the categories of our mind, then we must manifest the correct types of categories. We must sit quietly, observe our thoughts, our perceptual and mental predispositions, and make sure that we positively and accurately manifest the good things we want to see.
You are the universe.
Sending love and light,
Ayla