Books like ‘The Secret’ have sold millions in recent years. It’s true that known as a nation that moans about anything, we are not really set up to be ‘perfect manifestors’. But also people who think positively in Ukraine, have not managed to stop bombs raining down on them, and many people who go around permanently smiling and chanting positive affirmations tend to irk many of us!
So what’s the truth? Does manifesting and the law of attraction work, or is it simply a load of bunkum, so multi-millionaires can sell more books? Do you have to pay hundreds of pounds to buy a course on how to live a happy life, or can you ‘attract’ your dream lifestyle simply by doing nothing (or meditating or praying or chanting mantras). As you likely guessed, the truth is a lot more complicated than the books and courses make things appear.
Manifesting for Beginners is a nice little book by a life coach Victoria Jackson, who is also trained in NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) and EFT (emotional freedom technique) and a clinical hypnotherapist. She turned her own life around and now helps you to do the same. This book is beautifully written with a cute design, so takes all the good stuff, without making unrealistic claims. Contents include:
- Visualise your future self
- Set your intentions
- Connect with the universe
- Raise your vibrations
- Embrace the energy of gratitude
- Believe
- Take action
- Let go of the outcome
- Pay attention to synchronicities and signs
But in truth, manifesting is not that simple. Yoga teacher Steve Ross once wrote a wonderful book called Happy Yoga: 7 Reasons Why There’s Nothing to Worry About. He has spent many years in India with ‘the real gurus’ and says that most of them have happiness, simply because they have no desires. He mentions ‘hungry ghost symptom’, where you manifest a car or a house and are happy for 10 seconds. Then when you get it, you go onto the next ‘desire’.
He says actually that to manifest something so easily, means you have to have focus like Jesus (walking on water or turning water into wine). And most of us in the real world can’t do that, because we have relationship to maintain, children/pets to look after, jobs to do and bills to pay, people to avoid!
He writes of a young woman in his yoga class who was a bag of nerves (so bad she had to leave class after 1 minute of meditation). At the end of class she would approach him and say how she was unhappy due to not having the man, the job, the apartment, the car etc. He said it was a good job she took a breath! After 3 months, the woman still had the same problems. But after attending yoga daily, she asked him why she was so calm and happy. He then writes that once she stopped chasing life – life started chasing her. She got the man, the job, the apartment and the car and apparently is now a famous actress, though he doesn’t say who.
This is similar to a wonderful post by Sen at Calm Down Mind. He says in essence that to manifest something, you simply have to let go and ‘manifest a relaxed state of being first’ to change your energy. You’ll likely know that if you like someone and don’t stop bothering them, they’ll flee. Same with manifesting. People who can ‘manifest’ do truly let go after planting the seeds. They don’t keep digging up the plants to see if it’s grown. This lovely woman manifested her apartment in 48 hours (right down to the area, design and colours of the furniture). But she’s not some get-rich-quick entrepreneur, she’s a highly trained astrologer who knows the most important parts are ‘write the goddamn list’ (to focus) – and then to let go!
12 Tiny Things looks at ways to live an intentional life through areas: space, work, spirituality, food, style, nature, communication, home, sensuality creativity, learning and community. By taking one tiny action in each year, you can grow and renew your life. This leads to a spiritual practice to promote a more reflective, rooted and intentional life. Regardless of how the ground feels underneath your feet, trust there are roots there to tend. By trying one tiny thing at a time, you can slowly and deliberately remember who you are. And nourish your being with tenderness.
