Manifestation, the art of allowing your will to shape the world around you, sounds like something out of a movie. Shaping the universe with your mind, bringing your consciousness in line with that of a greater power so that reality changes… okay, it does seem like a tall order! However, manifestation is fully in line with techniques that psychologists and counselors are already implementing to create improvements in their patients’ lives. By following these techniques, you can reap the rewards in your own life as your positivity and clear-sighted goals shape the world around you.
Set A Clear Goal
You can’t accomplish much of anything if you don’t know what you want to manifest, much less if you’re wishy-washy about it. For instance, don’t decide that you kind of, sort of want your life to be happier and more balanced, whatever that might look like, identify the causes of unhappiness or imbalance in your life and set a goal to eliminate them. You might decide that you need to spend more time with your family without making less money in order to achieve balance, or that you need to drink or eat less, or that you want a spouse and children. Something is holding you back. Find out what it is.
Meditate
Meditation – putting yourself in touch with the universe, or whatever you perceive to be the source of the wonderful things you want to bring into your life – is an absolutely critical part of manifestation. Ask yourself in your meditation whether your goal is a good one. A goal that helps you without hurting others is fine (one that helps others is better!), but meditation will guide you to knowledge to ensure that your goal doesn’t actually help you at someone else’s expense.
Make A Road Map
Plan some steps to achieve your goal after you’ve determined what it is. Research what others have done, being sure to limit yourself to a certain number of books or a set time of researching so you don’t end up using research as a form of procrastination. Brainstorm and write down anything that pops into your head. Nothing is too crazy, be open to recognize that the universe will speak to you when you are ready.
It may seem counterintuitive to create a road map when you want the universe to manifest something for you, but the truth is that often, metaphysical gifts come in ways that we don’t expect. If you try to manifest money and blissfully wait for the cosmos to hand you a winning lottery ticket or a promotion, you may be missing the website advertising a lucrative new job in your field. Good things are likely to come your way if you maintain an open mind and continue meditation, but you have to get the ball rolling in order to be ready to meet them.
Meditate, Revise, Meditate, Revise
Keep meditating over your goals and your road map after you’ve laid it out. Re-evaluate regularly to see if your current plan is working. If not, try something new. Eventually, you WILL find the path that works.
Eliminate Negative Self-Talk
If you’re going to follow through with your goal, you need to really, truly believe that the goal will happen. Get rid of the little voices in your head telling you that your goal is unrealistic or crazy. If you catch a doubt in your mind, examine it. Ask yourself if it’s a legitimate doubt that will help you revise your plan or a self-sabotaging doubt that’s only there to cripple your resolve. There’s a significant difference between saying to yourself, “Wait, I don’t know if I’m qualified for that new position that just opened, I’d better double-check the requirements to make sure,” versus “Wait, I don’t know if I’m qualified for that new position that just opened, I’m sure the boss secretly hates me.”
If it’s the latter, don’t allow yourself to hold onto that doubt. Address it immediately with a piece of positive self-talk. Remind yourself “I can’t read the boss’ mind, and he treats me the same as everyone else,” or rephrase it in a useful way, “I need to talk to the boss to get a better idea of what it would be like to work with him.” The art of cognitive restructuring is an excellent tool for this.
