in defence of manifestation
10 reasons why it's worth exploring; a way to view it sans cringe
*Some additional material is included in this article’s voiceover.
Manifestation is not new; it’s a topic that has been cat-fishing and over-promising as it’s made its way from one human’s mind to another for years on end. With commodities like The Secret and a self help industry that profits millions of dollars from it, one might question the motives of sharing on such a topic, and whether it’s all just a multi-level-marketing scheme (‘I’ll tell you how to manifest your dream life, and that’s how I’m funding mine, which is funding another’s and another’s up the line.’). So why is it that I felt like I could say a few words in defence of it? Why would I spend two years writing a book about it if it’s a theme that draws so much controversy and slyness in its online industry?
My answer lies in the approach with which I have preferred to explore it. A few articles ago, I wrote about how manifestation is just a collection of ideas that humans decided was a thing. And so because of its arbitrary nature, and the freedom of ideas to be tumbled and exist, various takes are welcome and very possible. There are ten ways to approach manifestation for every nine there are to skin a cat, and it can be as tacky and foolhardy as you like, or as wholesome and practical as feels fit to you.
Some may not agree with the view I’m about to describe, but I see manifestation first through a practical framework, where occasionally, magic gleams between the rungs of the ladder we make the effort to climb. And whilst the apprehension in people’s comments and on their faces when I mention ‘manifestation’ makes me often wish to lean away from the subject or from having any affiliation with it, there are aspects or elements of it that have admittedly had a positive effect on me.
Prior to exploring the idea of manifestation, I didn’t give much thought to my mindset, my thoughts and influencing my own circumstances. I was born in a year where learning about mental health during teenhood was still a young topic, and so any recommendations didn’t stretch much past ‘speak to someone’ or ‘you’re not alone’. The idea that working on my mindset could shift the trajectory of my future was as groundbreaking to me as Peters’ Drumstick Minis (a Drumstick ice cream in miniature version – it was a big deal to 13-year-old me).
Suddenly I was eager to learn as much as I could to keep myself on a path that led to a place I liked. And so manifestation became the flavour with which I chose to explore my own personal growth and development. It was more fun this way rather than improving myself so I could ‘win friends and influence people’, and had an element of mystery that was nice to confuse for magic.
So here’s some of the good that exploring manifestation did for me.
Because manifestation is commonly explored via inspecting how you think, feel and act, it inherently introduced me to self-reflection. This also included self-image. When I read a popular book that leans on the concept of valuing yourself, though I might not have agreed with all the contents of the book’s message, it got me to do a mirror exercise. Through all the cringe and discomfort of expressing ‘love for oneself’ via a mirror, I learned that self-loathing wasn’t a very obvious thing; that it could hide beneath avoidance and thus not really be recognised. This was the first step for me to start respecting myself as much as I might have others. As imperfect as what I’m about to say may be, I think self-reflection via manifestation was more palatable to me — because ‘loving myself’ wasn’t the main gig, I tricked myself that it was going to help me in the pursuit of other things, and that reduced my reluctance to take part in it. What resulted, I guess, was a journey where I also learned about boundaries, valuing what I have to offer, and being assertive in pursuing things I desired.
Affirmations, though simple and amusing to make fun of, are actually pretty great. They work in that they have helped me think of something different to what’s otherwise been/going to be the cause of me crashing out. When I think past the fact that I’m repeating things that don’t seem true yet to myself and I just accept them for being a phrases that remind me of what I find inspiring or important, any strangeness dissipates. It feels like any other day where I’m working towards a goal and enjoying the journey. Affirmations have helped me keep crises at bay when life is taut with chaos pulling all its strings; that is, when I want to be helped out of the feeling (sometimes wallowing feels a bit necessary) and they can be done anywhere, anytime.
It helped me to dream past what I’d let myself dream before. Prior to exploring manifestation – regardless of how sound its concept is or isn’t – I never really thought about ‘dreaming big’. For the first time I was actually thinking past the limits of what I thought was possible, even if just for fun. What resulted from doing this led to me fulfilling many goals I had (travelling for a year, working for myself for a period of time). Sure, there are other ways I could have worked towards goals of mine, I don’t believe this would have been exclusive to exploring manifestation; it just so happened that manifestation was the flavour I came across in my early 20s and that I happened to grow fond of.
It helped me actually set goals and feel like there was a way there. The idea of manifestation may be flawed, giving people the impression that anything, anything is possible regardless of how little effort you put towards a goal (see The Secret). But if there’s anything good that came out of this superficial idea for me personally, it was expanding my views in that there was possibly a way to the things I might have desired where previously I thought it were non-existent. This alone made me have the courage to set goals that I thought were silly and too big in the past. By looking into manifestation, I managed to surprise myself in achieving quite a few of them along the way.
It broadened my perspective and worldview to accept that things that have never happened before can. And this can eliminate much anxiety, and renew fun and lightness on the journey. Each time something I’d never thought would happen did, I was wow’d, and still am. Is it a result of manifestation exclusively? This, I can’t say. But like for many others, it takes a lot for my own mind to be convinced, and manifestation was a set of ideas that I felt came together to support this rather reasonable fact quite nicely.
It helped me take action towards my goals. Back to there being many ways to approach manifestation: mine is quite a practical one. And not just mine — amidst the dated, non-PC stories in Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich (and its absurd eleventh chapter on The Mystery of Sex Transmutation), there are descriptions of what would otherwise be very logical and practical steps that simplify the process of achievement for a reader. Pages 115 to 156 are dedicated to a chapter titled ORGANISED PLANNING, and Chapter 8 is entirely focused on the Mastery of Procrastination. Did I think of the book and its steps differently once I heard that Hill’s wife was the one who wrote the entire thing? Yes, but not for reasons that affect manifestation as an idea itself.
It got me to write a Dream Statement. I, too, previously laid my eyes on Bruce Lee’s ‘Definite Chief Aim’, a statement activity prescribed by Hill in TAGR, and got inspired by the sheer rawness of his testimony. Do I use one always? No, but I do still write and edit them to my liking, reading them in the morning and before bed if it feels nice. Needless to say, it seemed to work for Lee, and you know what? What the hell, a little writing on paper never hurt nobody.
Bruce Lee’s rendition of his ‘Definite Chief Aim’ (aka a dream statement). It fostered some helpful habits like meditation. Whilst I don’t do it everyday, there are some times where I feel like it gifts my mind with space and blue skies of peace, momentarily. I related meditation to manifestation because in 2018 both seemed like (and still are) pretty esoteric topics. And whilst Headspace was my introduction to meditation, exploring manifestation was a big reason why I continued to practice it. Because I wanted things, and being a student with finite resources, shifting my mind was one of the free things I could afford.
It helped me not be so left-brained, and be open to other approaches to achieve certain things. Regarding the idea ‘working harder isn’t always the answer’, manifestation made me have some sort of reason for this even if it was made up.
It didn’t stop my negativity, but it did raise my ability to think positively – in the realm of life, possibilities, judgements and reflections. I learned that to think nicer thoughts was a skill, not something you’re born with, and that I could change my thoughts to help me do and be better. It was a relief at times to realise that criticism and despair didn’t have to be the only answer.
When it comes to manifestation, there’s a certain kind of outlook that I enjoy subscribing to today; it’s one I feel others may also resonate with: we roll with the flaws of manifestation because we understand it’s just a human-made idea, and as a result we are unsurprised by the plot-holes in its theory. We toy with it still not because we are desperate, but because we believe that life is a little brighter with some magic sprinkled throughout it. And quite frankly, ‘I manifested something yesterday’ as a phrase is just as fun to say as ‘yes, Santa Clause is real’ and ‘the tooth fairy visited last night’.
And now, a little tête-à-tête to address a small trunked animal in the room. (Also because I find this reflection interesting and thought now that I have, it’s something worth sharing.) How would I be any different from the people who presently run courses and programs, who live their ‘dream life’ talking about this topic or its adjacents? (In quotations because you sometimes wonder whether being stuck indoors on digital interviews and livestreams is what brings happiness.) Well, you could say I’m no different; I ran a business prior to writing this book along similar through-lines, but I felt there was always an edge that tethered me home, that linked me to practicality and empathy, and kept goals and aims to making life just that little bit more magical and comfortable, rather than generating a machine to ‘lead an empire’. I’ve had my fair share of ill-tasting experiences with so-called manifestation experts and business coaches online, and whilst I can neither say that it was entirely helpful nor all of it a waste (there’s always I guess something to gain even it’s ‘what not to do’), it made me really question the ethos and motives with which they frequently operate.
As soon as I felt the wind changing in manifestation’s online culture, rather than continuing to sit in a place where integrity was being exchanged for convenience more and more, whatever I came to disagree with, I made an effort to change. Accessibility became important to me; I think manifestation is an idea that people should be able to explore for no more than the price of a nice lunch. And so I wrote a book about it. But to me, what allows me to sleep at night is the intention and mode in which I’ve chosen to go about things.
To me, what makes things different is that in the event that I were to sell 100,000 books, I didn’t tell people that this is the key to happiness; I didn’t tell people this is the answer to all their problems. I’m sharing how manifestation was helpful for me, the qualities, desires and hints of magic that I got to experience because of it. I’m telling a version of my story, and enjoying the artistry of doing it poetically. If I’m selling snake oil, it’s fully implicit and with irony baked in. And where the charades may continue online, I’m here to share the jewels I found whilst also poking fun at manifestation with you.
Whilst I do sometimes feel like I’m selling 30-cent lemonade with a stand by the neighbourhood road, there is just something so fulfilling and light and inspiring from choosing this route, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
This book is not necessarily written for the person who wishes to ‘make millions’ or ‘think and grow rich’, though none of that is condemned either; it’s really a ‘pick your own journey’ kind of adventure. Follow its steps and you may well find yourself meeting a reality you’ve desired. It’s a book that picks up on the small, daily helpful tools I personally experienced and may still do today, and smells the roses along the way. It’s written poetically, creatively, and is aware that manifestation is not a perfect idea. It’s okay with the possibility of manifestation being untrue (‘codswallop in my opinion’ – Hagrid). Because it’s the journey of exploring it as a topic that I found the most magical and rewarding of all.
The Manifestation Diaries is so-named, completely naked and without a subtitle, because there is no promise. There is no end-goal that the author felt able to guarantee. It’s an essay, an exploration, an ode to the difficulties we experience in life. It’s a book that will do its best to look for the sunlight but also splash and have fun if and when it rains.
If manifestation was doing all the steps we know to be practical and right in the pursuit of our goals, and being appreciative of whatever wind of luck, charm and whimsy that arrives, then call me crazy but this is a version of manifestation I could get behind.
