We’ve all heard this concept of manifesting, and the law of attraction flying around, and for me, I honestly can’t hear the words “law of attraction” without cringing. Social media has misconstrued it and kind of taken the magic out of it for me. BUT there is some serious truth to these concepts, even if the workout dbags of Instagram have forced me to come up with my own verbiage for the sake of my ego.
The idea of the law of attraction is that our minds create our reality, and if we can trick our brain into thinking the things we want it to think, we can control our entire reality. We use manifestation to attract that reality.
Which is true! I mean, it is how some people actually find rehabilitation in prison, or how Viktor Frankl survived the Holocaost. I mean shit, it’s how I’m 26, living with my parents, burning my way through my savings, yet still feel happy.
Where I find the disconnect is how these concepts have turned into hardo buzzwords on social media. These things take deep work. It’s not just thinking about them, or doing an action, it’s about deeply believing them.
For starters, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to practice these things. We simply do not know enough about energy or the divine to know exactly how it works. Second guess anyone that tells you “you have to do it this way”. Now excuse my hypocrisy as I write an entire blog post on how to manifest.
We are meant to approach spiritual work with surrender. Surrender the things we think we know. Surrender the things we think we should have or should be doing.
The reason is that our brain tricks us….a lot. It is really difficult to discern what our genuine desires are, versus what we have picked up from society. The concept of miswanting comes into play here. We want something that we believe will bring us our desire, but the thing that we are grasping for does not always bring us the satisfaction we think it will.
For example, you want body peace, so you begin manifesting a smaller waist. Through the law of attraction, you get that smaller waist, but then find that you still don’t have the body peace you were longing for.
That is why I encourage you to begin manifesting by asking yourself, “what is the unmet emotional need here?”.
Do you want a smaller waist? Or do you actually want confidence and empowerment? If we manifest with awareness of our emotional needs, we are able to send a far clearer message to the Universe.
Where I also find problems with the social media manifesting practices is when I see people obsessively repeating or fixating on the object of their manifestation. Yes, I’m talking about the vision board on your wall.
By fixating on the object of your desire, you’re essentially saying, “what I have now is not worthy of my focus, and I need “this” to be satisfied”. Then when you finally achieve that thing you were fixated on, what do you do? Start working on the next thing you want to manifest.
The reason? We aren’t manifesting things that bring us satisfaction. We are manifesting things we think will bring us satisfaction.
If your vision board brings you joy, by all means keep it! But be aware when you are using it as a way to escape your current reality.
SO do I just not manifest????
No! I manifest consistently. But, I do not manifest everyday. You see, the Universe does not need a daily reminder of your desires. The Universe knows what you want even better than you do. When I have something I want to manifest, I will feel it with my whole being, and speak it to the Universe maybe three times.
Even just thinking about your dreams for the future is manifesting. The bravery to give voice to the future you desire is really all we need to manifest it.
I have found it most supportive to manifest consciously. If I feel like I want to manifest a boyfriend, I will ask myself why?
What is the unmet emotional need that I believe a boyfriend will fill? Fulfillment? Stability? Connection?
Rather than focusing on the boyfriend that I think would bring me those things, I focus on manifesting the emotions I want to feel. Two weeks ago I manifested loving and supportive relationships, and I just made three new friends.
No I didn’t get a boyfriend, but I’m assuming that’s because the Universe knows a boyfriend would not serve me at this time. Instead I know these new friendships are going to fill that void, and support my expansion.
Rather than guessing about the things I think will fulfill my desires, I just tell the Universe exactly what I want to feel, and then I do this really crazy thing where I simply just let it go, and allow the Universe to start working her magic.
I don’t know what’s best for me. While one option may seem more fun or easier, I don’t know what important lessons may be waiting for me with the other. That is why I prefer to allow the Universe to do that beautifully divine work for me.
I am merely human, and I often don’t dream big enough. I am so grateful I give the Universe space to work her magic because if I was in charge? Oh boy…..
ALSO BIG NEWS! I am launching a 1:1 Manifestation workshop! Together we will meet for 45 minutes. If you’re new to manifesting, we can work together to uncover your desires, and how to begin manifesting them. If you already have a manifestation practice, I will have you share your current process, and we will work together on how to improve it!
It’s only $30 to begin manifesting your dreams.
Sometimes we think we already have manifesting ‘under control.’ But I’m really grateful for Genevieve who asks questions and poses different ideas, to broaden my own perspective on the metaphysics behind it. Thank you so much for some much needed aha moments !
– Paloma Martinez, CA
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