How Manifestation Really Works

Don't dream it, be it.

Regardless of whatever the hell was going on at the ending sequence of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Frank-N-Furter spoke, or rather sang, his wisest words in the entire film.

Then he died, because he ultimately, and unintentionally, played a large part in manifesting his own destruction. 

I'll spare you the film analysis for now.

The Frank-N-Furter with a peacock head you didn't know you needed.

So what even is manifestation? For starters, we are always manifesting. We never stop manifesting. So long as we have both conscious and subconscious thoughts, we are guided by said thoughts until they materialize in the physical world be they positive or negative.

Almost every article I've read as of late on this topic seems to point out that manifestation is not scientifically backed, as a disclaimer, before proceeding to describe what it is. To be scientifically backed, a study must have clearly defined terminology, quantifiability, highly controlled experimental conditions, reproducibility, and predictability and testability. With those guidelines for scientific backing, we just eliminated the majority of studies done in psychology as being completely valid according to science.  The only field of psychology that comes closest to being most scientifically evident, then, is neuropsychology which is incapable on its own of explaining all human behavior. The rest is difficult if not impossible to prove empirically.

Take this whole "not backed by scientific evidence" thing with a grain of salt, then, because science cannot even prove what the mind itself actually is and whether it's separate from the brain. We know, however, that while the mind would not exist without the brain, the way we respond to our brain signals is ultimately controlled in the mind. 

Your brain may say you have an itch, and you can decide, in your mind, whether or not to scratch it.

I digress.

On the flip side, the term "manifestation" gets a bad rap for being "woo woo" and too spiritual in nature. I'm convinced that The Law of Attraction is hyper-focused on the spirituality perceived in manifestation as a marketing tactic. Admittedly, however, my own curiosity in studying the concept of manifestation began with tarot cards which have grabbed my attention over the years not because I believe in them but because I'd like to understand why they're so widely used and whether they play any kind of productive role in peoples' lives--a topic, combined with astrology, I will write about in a future post.

In particular, my focus is on the "Magician" card. The meaning behind this card, when you look it up, is all about taking your innermost desires, of which you apparently have some kind of soul connection to, and making them reality--almost like magic. When this card is pulled from the deck, you are the magician and you have the power to turn your thoughts, through your actions still yet, into reality. It seems to me like a cute story-book way of explaining manifestation that perhaps too many people take seriously.

The point is that manifestation is not just sitting on yer arse and believing something into reality. If you see results from just that alone, it's either pure outlier coincidence with low statistical probability, or you're delusional to the point where you think you're seeing results when you're not. This idea that your thoughts and beliefs can make things magically materialize in the physical world more likely comes from the fact that, when we really, truly, believe something about ourselves and our immediate surroundings, our actions which naturally follow bring about more opportunities or allow us to notice more opportunities without really realizing it. That can feel like magic but isn't.

Regardless of what I or anyone else thinks of tarot, this deck has the coolest artwork by Ana Juan.

Manifestation is really as much a psychological process as any other mental skill we learn throughout our lives, like how to recognize social cues or how to communicate our wants and needs. Manifestation is how we make our innermost desires real and tangible. It starts with belief--belief in self, belief in community, belief in action. It doesn't end there.

Your mind is a fucking powerhouse. Your body is the vehicle for your mind.

When you've trained your mind to believe something about yourself, you naturally apply the action. You can truly believe yourself worthy of love, and through that you will love yourself unconditionally first because the first person to recognize you're worthy of that love is you. Your manifestation could end there, but often it doesn't. From there, through your words and actions, you show others how to love you and therefore recognize and attract the healthiest versions of love from other people into your life. See how that works? That's manifestation. It starts with your mind and the rest comes naturally from your own self-presentations and perspectives of the world.

Otherwise, you can believe yourself to be unworthy of opportunities of all types due to your lack of self-esteem. That will manifest itself in the form of self-sabotage when opportunities do present themselves. Everything you think you want in the world will never materialize for you. 

To put it simply, the power of  deliberate manifestation begins with a growth mindset, as opposed to a fixed one, and is followed by the actions and perspective guided by that mindset.

"Dress for the job you want." A common phrase all of us Anglosphere dwellers have heard at some point or another. First, you decide what job you want. Then, you observe the way those who work that job dress, behave, and do in order to complete that job. After that, you convince yourself that you can embody all that you have observed. You add in the belief factor and say, "I believe this can be my reality because I believe in my capabilities of making it a reality." You incorporate the actions associated with that job along with the "dress" factor necessary for convincing the physical world that you belong in that job.  Sometimes convincing the physical world that you belong in that job means you need the diploma or certificate showing you've acquired the skillset. Other times, it's simply being good at interviews because you can have all the skills required but if you fail that interview because you cannot embody the image a company or workplace idealizes for the position they're hiring you for, you won't get the job.

So you can manifest "love" from a general standpoint. You can also manifest a job--or career field more like. What else can you manifest? Can you manifest yourself into becoming a race other than what you were born as? 

Some people, such as Rachel Dolezal, seem to think so. She, in fact, had many convinced that she was black for many years. But she still isn't black. So, no, you can't really manifest that in this day and age.

Can I manifest myself into having lots and lots of money?

Depends on when you want lots and lots of money, what kind of morals you're willing to override to acquire the kind of money you want, and whether you can handle the setbacks in your journey to obtaining that money. If you're trying to manifest a winning lottery ticket, you'll have to rely on statistics and buy a ton of lottery tickets to ensure your chances of winning that money is high enough. Even then, it's perhaps not so reliable of a source of manifesting money into your life unless you believe in lottery tickets so much that you will spend every dollar on them until you get a million-dollar winner. Seems... Obsessive. A definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results and I'm assuming you'll have to buy a lot of tickets before you get that big cash winner.

Money in this country, unless you invest in your own skills and market them as a sole proprietor, is often associated with reliance on others' labor. Jeff Bezos didn't become rich overnight. He worked really hard on a start-up, having so much belief in himself and his vision as to not give up despite setbacks, alongside others, until he made a money-making corporate machine that treats its laborers like garbage and uses very little of its philanthropic potential. 

So, can you manifest lots and lots of money? Yea, probably. With enough self-belief translated into a vision which you can put into action even if it's morally wrong. You just have to believe that you can and follow a plan of action fueled by that belief and be prepared for setbacks.

Jeff "the Pooh" Bezos sitting on his arse think-think-thinking his wealth into reality while his employees are overworked.

Can I manifest myself into being skinny?

Well, first, skinny doesn't necessarily mean healthy. You could be skinny and have miserable health. Convincing yourself into believing you're skinny could also have adverse effects, such as tricking your mind into thinking you can afford to not eat healthy options and skip exercise. I lost weight this year, personally, by manifesting my physical health as opposed to the way my body looked. I felt very uncomfortable with the way my body moved, how "in the way" my gut felt, and how fatigued I always felt. Instead, I manifested a healthy lifestyle by believing my body is a temple and deserves utmost respect and care or else it will crumble and cease to be sacred. That was my method, anyway. Basically, you can manifest yourself into being skinny, but it ultimately depends on whether you manifest it in a healthy way or not for your personal contentment. Obsessing over personal image whether you are skinny or not certainly does not lead to contentment.

Can I manifest someone's feelings for me? What about a Ferrari?

If you're aiming to manifest someone's feelings for you, I'm guessing you've found yourself in a state of limerence in which your object of "affection" is really just that--an object in which you have no regard for their own state of being as a human being with their own choices and desires in life. So, no, you can't manifest someone's feelings for you unless your plan of action involves manipulating them somehow through lies or pretending to be someone else which is morally wrong. In that case, they still won't develop feelings for you but for some idealized version of you that will crumble to reveal the real you at some point. It's simply not worth trying.

If you want to manifest a Ferrari, but you don't currently have Ferrari money, you could probably do it. I'm questioning your priorities in life as manifestation usually requires great determination, often from a subconscious level, in pursuing your goals by believing those goals can be obtained and applying action to them. In essence, if you're manifesting a Ferrari, you've made the Ferrari part of your identity. The simplest solution I'd suggest to manifesting a Ferrari without losing your head over a material object is to craft a Halloween costume and physically become a Ferrari for a day. That could bring you and others quite a lot of joy. Healthy manifestation.

On the flip-side, you can easily be the Ferrari via costume on your journey to obtaining a Ferrari in order to express gratitude for the resources you already have--a very important component in manifestation.

Can I manifest myself out of poverty?

Now this one is difficult. It's important to understand that manifestation still relies on realistic expectations as opposed to toxic positivity. We couldn't manifest lots and lots of money from a lottery ticket. If you're in a state of poverty, and you wish to manifest yourself out of poverty, it would require seeking realistic resources for getting out of poverty. Much of poverty is based in race, generational poverty, community, level of education, etc. I know it's not impossible, but perhaps very difficult depending on your circumstances. I cannot answer this question directly as only you know what kind of opportunities are available to you. If there are, in fact, opportunities available to you, you can manifest yourself out of poverty by believing in yourself, which can be extremely difficult if you have insecurities associated with your economic status leading to low self-esteem, and from that self-belief the action will follow in pursuing the opportunities available to you. You must believe yourself worthy of those opportunities, however. When you do, you may even notice more opportunities as they present themselves.

It's better to manifest things that bring you inner growth. Things that will ultimately bring you contentment with life. Sometimes that means recognizing you deserve better than what you currently have and doing whatever it takes to get out of a toxic situation or to eliminate yourself of toxic thoughts. Sometimes manifesting the career you want can bring you that inner growth if the work you do really is fulfilling for you. However, big lofty goals often lead to more lofty goals. As is the nature of the pursuit of happiness, and happiness is, at its core, what we often deliberately strive to manifest.

Deliberate manifestation is a growth, "can-do" mindset followed by action. It does not ignore the setbacks in life and, instead, presents a sort of resilience in the face of adversity when pursuing your goals through a deep, honest belief. True deliberate manifestation is concentrated thought, well-practiced into almost a subconscious level, so that you can have the confidence and drive to pursue the goals associated with that concentrated thought. You must concentrate that belief so much that setbacks and adversity are viewed as learning opportunities to help you reach your goal. Nobody said self-talk and manifestation was easy, but it is entirely possible.

After pondering this idea of manifestation, I reflected back on things I've manifested throughout my life.

I remember the day I decided I wanted to leave San Diego. It was the day I had an awakening--I told myself I was tired of feeling the way I felt.

I had just heard the words, "I don't give a shit if you live or die--go ahead and die for all I care!"

From a place of emotional distress, the type where you collapse to the floor in tears, I told myself I deserved better and I wanted better. I wasn't going to waste my life away to suicidal thoughts and abuse by the people I was associated with. I reached a point where I just got tired of the way things were and decided, on May 4th 2013, that I needed to get out--no matter what that meant.  Tears running down my face, I picked up the phone and called the two resources I knew I had at the time--my father and my grandparents. An offer was made--I could go live with my grandparents. 

It didn't end there. I still had work to do. 

I enrolled in a charter school that allowed me to work at my own pace. I needed to make up for all the credits I'd failed in my junior year of high school, due to poor mental health, so that I could start fresh senior year at my new high school in South Carolina. I ended up completing a semester's worth of geometry in one week. I took and passed the test the day before I was set to fly out of San Diego and into Charlotte, NC where I would get picked up and taken to my new phase in life. 

You see, even if my grandparents didn't offer their home to me, I was thinking of other back-up opportunities. The drive was there, because I had the passionate belief that I deserved better than what I had been dealt in life up to that point.

Perhaps my most favorite sketch ever. Skunks will forever be a symbol of internal strength and independence for me. Thus, a self-portrait.

When I did reach South Carolina with just a single suitcase full of what I considered important at the time, on August 14th, 2013, I had one goal in mind: growth. I imagined a future version of myself that was mentally healthy, capable, successful, and content. I strove to become that person no matter what it took. I knew I had to learn what "mentally healthy" really meant and redirect my mental processes to more productive means so that I would not become like my abusers. Some of my ideas around success and contentment changed in meaning over the years, but still remained the primary goals which I associated with my growth. It had to start with my mental health, however, which had to start with me. Nobody was going to heal me for me. I had to do it myself, and it had to come from a place of believing that I could become a better version of myself.

My journey from Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to Post-Traumatic Growth has been a long one. Years. I'm not completely free of symptoms of CPTSD. It's safe to assume that I never will be, but I can learn how to cope with them through humor and effective communication. The flashbacks do sometimes occur but only on rare occasion like when I find myself in the company of abusive people. When I am in the company of abusive people, however, the flashbacks serve as a tool. 

Many might consider me lucky to have had such great opportunities to focus on my growth to the point where I could turn my traumatic experiences into life lessons and philosophies that I live by today. They wouldn't be entirely wrong. I was lucky to have the charter school available to me--a 2 minute walk from my apartment that allowed me to work at my own pace. I was very lucky to have my grandparents. I was lucky that they lived in a state very far away from the perpetrators of my abuse so that I could both physically and mentally remove myself. I was lucky that they supported my growth and goals toward success--even if what they idealized for me is not what I ultimately desired to achieve. I was lucky to have the opportunities provided by the state to pursue some other personal goals--like college.

Yes, I was lucky.

But what's that one phrase? Ah, "You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink."

The horse has to manifest water by believing it is worthy of it so as to initiate its relentless search for water. This way, when you come along on its relentless search for water, it will take you up as an opportunity and it will, in fact, drink.

I am that horse. You are, too. 

We are also Frank-N-Furter.

I will end with a quote by my grandmother that was written in the card my grandparents gave me the day I graduated college:

"Brittney--Remember, when you were a little girl, Pop & I always thought you were the one who could accomplish most anything you determined to do. Remember--‘Pop, I'm not going to wear my floaties today! I'm going to swim!’ And you did it! Continue to pursue your dreams, but also try to have a soft heart toward others as well! It will serve you well!"

-Gram 

I will have you know that, at 4 years old, I did in fact swim without my floaties that same day. 

My grandmother retells that story every time I visit--almost without fail.

Listening to: 

"You Gotta Feel It" by Spoon

"I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty