Manifestation: follow-up

Because it's not pseudoscience! It taps into how your brain actually works.

Photo by Jovan Vasiljević on Unsplash

This is for all those who downloaded the Manifestation Made Easy workbook. In truth, it might be more for those who didn’t! Or those who read the post, but didn’t go on to download it.

Essentially, my research continued, and I wanted to offer a different way of framing what it’s all about. I really do feel so strongly about its potential to help people, that I wanted to be sure I’m explaining it as clearly as possible, plus, the more I learned, the more I wanted to share, starting with this definition: manifestation is using your mind to create the circumstances that allow the greatest potential for you to realise your intentions.

This is thanks to Dr James Doty, neurosurgeon, neuroscientist, Stanford Professor, and author of a best-selling book called Mind Magic, the Neuroscience of Manifestation and How it Changes Everything (published May 2024). I think his definition, as heard on an episode of the Liz Moody podcast, neatly captures why this isn’t woo woo. The art of manifestation is not pseudoscience!

Manifestation is about tapping into the way your brain works, the neurological processes at play and how you can take advantage of both your physiology and psychology to get what you want out of life, as opposed to being scuppered by default ‘programming’ that you may have learnt (aka been inadvertently taught) as a child, that no longer serves you — this was certainly the case for me. It’s not without caveats, of course, you have to do the work. It’s not a free pass to dodge responsibility. It’s about highly considered, focused action aligned to your highly considered, focused intentions.

Here’s my original post which goes into more detail about the process itself as I define it. But, to be right up front, to download the actual 35-page Workbook you need to be a paid subscriber. As I write in the post, I debated whether to just put it out there for free, like all my previous (shorter) checklists. But research strongly suggested that the very beginning of a successful manifestation process is a commitment to change. You have to really want to do it. And that if something is given away for free, you might assign it less value than something paid for, even if only subconsciously. In other words, get it for free and maybe it’ll languish in your in-box for a week, or only be half-heartedly read. Whereas if you pay for it, you have skin in the game, and you start. So, my compromise was to reduce my monthly subscription cost to £4.49 and make it clear that you can cancel after the month, so that’s all you’ll ever pay. Less than the price of a coffee for a step up to realise your dreams? I think it’s worth it.

Now back to Dr Doty, for here are some of the key nuggets of his conversation about manifestation, paraphrased by me from the podcast...

When we are relaxed, we are more creative and productive. Sounds obvious, but the downstream effects of this are a more open mindset, improved problem-solving skills quite aside from the anti-stress health benefits. In relation to manifestation, if we can trigger this state (an activated parasympathetic nervous system) within ourselves through the development of relaxation techniques or habits (meditation, mindfulness, walking in nature, tapping, exercise etc) we optimise our brain’s ability for “using your mind to create the circumstances that allow the greatest potential for you to realise your intentions.” Not to overlook beginning a process of change with superb long-term health benefits aside from the initial goal we may have set ourselves. Which in itself will boost energy, enthusiasm and so forth.

We are all already manifesting: but it may not be what we want. Doty references the baggage we may carry from our childhoods which can often determine a lot of what happens in our lives — what you like, the job you choose, the partner you’re drawn to. This happens because patterns become embedded in your brain (your internal self-talk), that may have protected you in the past, but no longer serve you, as mentioned before. But, because they are buried deep in our subconscious, we are not aware that some of our reactions hail from history as opposed to a reasoned response to the now. It’s important to uncover, through self-awareness, or self-honesty, if this is going on for you. What might be limiting your ability to manifest your intentions? What do you tell yourself (eg do you feel in any way that you’re not worthy or deserving of happiness)?

We change this internal narrative by consciously re-wiring our brains by giving them a different story to believe. As Dr Doty puts it, “Every time you make these negative comments about yourself, it’s like laying a brick down to create a prison. And the more bricks you put down, the walls get higher, and it gets darker. But you have the power to open the door of that prison and leave it. And it’s by changing how you talk to yourself.”

There is also much to say here on gratitude (which I explored in an earlier post, Let’s Talk About… Gratitude), in terms of learning to appreciate what you already have. As Doty puts it, “don’t be so focused on picturing your future successes that you fail to vividly witness your life in the present.” However, I now feel I need to dive deeper into the ideas of attachment-to-outcome and craving (added to my list!), which leads on to the next point…

What you believe you want, and what you actually need may be different things. Society has promoted a false narrative about success, typically understood as wealth, power or position. The only way to work out the difference, is to ask yourself why you want what you think you want. And then see next point…

The Two Types of Happiness: and why we too often chase, or believe we need/want, the ‘wrong’ sort. There being hedonic happiness which is related to the desire for things, or the pursuit of pleasure for the sake of pleasure and minimising pain (which can be transitory and shallow), versus what is called eudaimonic happiness, which is associated with looking beyond yourself, and being motivated to be of service to others and the greater world. In this latter state we observe the world through the lens of abundance, compassion and connection and trigger our helpful parasympathetic nervous system (the relax and digest state), as well as the associated cognitive brain networks, and therefore our ability for “using your mind to create the circumstances that allow the greatest potential for you to realise your intentions.” To clarify though, it’s not wrong to want ‘things’, or to indulge in hedonism, it’s only if this becomes the sole focus of your life, or your mode of self-definition, that it can become damaging. You have to ask yourself, at what cost are my hedonic desires satisfied?

You can’t always expect things to happen in your timeframe. But as Loty says, “if you have this deeply embedded optimism about how things will work out, that actually sets the stage for your physiology to work at its best without constant disappointment.” This is optimism without attachment ie as I suggest in the workbook, you do the work, then step out of your way! This allows you to maintain a positive outlook and move forward in your life regardless, not flounder into disappointment and frustration. It’s not a case of either having a guarantee that something will work out or it not being worth the effort — the growth is in the process. Remembering that sometimes we may even discover that what we thought we wanted changes, and this is potentially more impactful.

I think this last one is the hardest. Speaking personally, I found myself incredibly frustrated about my house not yet being sold. Here I am rearing to crack on with the next chapter of my life but I cannot proceed without the funds of the sale. Yet there didn’t seem to be anything I could do to make it happen any faster. I felt completely stuck. I also wanted to get my second book finished and out to you, dive into the excitement of looking for my new home, and begin other projects that required that ready-to-renovate new space. It felt as if every ambition sat on the shoulders of the sale. The result was I muddled all my goals (and stated intentions) together and became totally overwhelmed!

Not to forget trying to factor in time for all the normal stuff of life that runs parallel to any endeavour. The only option was to surrender. Let go. Step out of the way. The more stressed I got meant that I was no longer engaging the clever bit of my brain, the bit that enables you to come up with solutions. I recognised that I had to follow the process for each goal, one at a time, starting with the house, and then move on knowing that I’ve done everything I can, and that the house will sell, but it’s not for me to determine exactly when. And that in truth, it doesn't stop me moving forward with some of my other aims. In fact, thinking optimistically, it allows more time for research, on all levels.

Resources…

Manifestation made Easy Workbook. 35-pages to guide you through all six steps, as I defined them, including note pages, journaling prompts, daily checklists and much more.

Mind Magic: the Neuroscience of Manifestation and How it Changes Everything (published May 2024), Dr Loty’s book. I downloaded it via Audible and am keenly listening to learn even more. Will feedback!