The question “Is manifestation real?” has been debated for years, as the concept is subjective and varies based on individual beliefs and perspectives.
For some people, manifestation is a process through which we can achieve goals by harnessing positivity, faith, intention, and imagination.
When one is clear about their goal and imagines that they have already achieved it, while maintaining faith in its realization, it inspires them to take action toward achieving those goals.
Others may view it as a psychological phenomenon, where the belief in achieving a goal and maintaining positive thoughts can lead to increased motivation, ultimately resulting in the desired outcome.
For me, manifestation is real, and it works. Whenever I want to manifest something, I make sure I’m clear about my goal—what exactly I want to achieve. Then, thinking about how it would feel once I achieve it inspires me to take action toward it. It gives me the motivation to work toward that goal and builds the belief that I can achieve it.
Proper Use of Manifesting
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When you use manifesting properly, what you do is remove the obstacles of self-doubt, resistance, being cautious, focusing on tiny minutiae, and feeling blank and overwhelmed.
You remove all that, you retrain your mind, and you retrain your nervous system, and you retrain your spirit to help you get the things that you want in life, and when you manifest properly, what it does is inspire you to take the actions that lead you to what you want.
How Manifestation Works
Some people think manifestation is a mystical woo-woo thing. Tap three times, vibrate for five minutes, and do this and all will come true. you think it’s a mystical manifestation.
Manifestation is just saying to get something that you want in your life, you manifested it, anything you got in your life you achieved in your life, you manifested it that’s simple that’s how I see it.
If you want to manifest something, you have to start with the foundation, for manifestation is always the present moment, not the future.
Jesus explained it in one sentence: Whenever you pray for something, believe that you have received it, and it will be given to you.
Now, the key is that he did not say believe that you will receive it because that puts it into the future. He said when you pray for something, in other words when you want something, believe that you have received it.
Science Behind Manifestation
Every time I hear the sort of woo statements about the secret or manifesting or intention, all of that captures a fundamental principle of the way that our neurology works, which is that the prefrontal cortex, as a rule-setting but flexible machine tapping into the dopamine system, can adopt new rules for reward release in the brain.
There’s only one reward system; there’s also the serotonin system, but the dopamine system is the major currency of reward. So much so that, for instance, everyone knows that food is rewarding.
We anticipate food; we eat a delicious steak or something, and we feel rewarded.
However, if you are somebody who can attach thoughts such as fasting is good for me, I’m going to do intermittent fasting, or I’m not going to eat those foods, and therefore, I’m going to attach my thinking to the rewards that will come with better health, better aesthetics, etc.
The dopamine system responds. It’s not just a belief in a narrative; it’s a real response. What starts to happen is that people start to enjoy the foods that they are restricting themselves to more.
There is beautiful data on this from the laboratory at Stanford: if you believe a food is nutritious and good for you, it has a better impact on your physiology. Of course, there are rules of physiology and nutrition that still apply.
You can’t tell yourself that the garbage is good for us, but there’s a significant scaling up of the positive response that’s associated with dopamine and hormonal cascades similarly if one adopts a sort of Carol Dweck’s growth mindset approach.
It’s not about receiving the reward; the more strain I feel, the more effort I put in, and the closer I’m getting to my goal. Over time, this will become a rewarding state. Even though it’s important to have higher and lofty goals, the dopamine system is incredible because it is depletable, yet renewable and self-amplifying.
What I mean by that is, let’s say that I’m somebody who doesn’t know what I’m working toward; I don’t have a specific goal or question. By completing even what seemed like menial tasks, such as making myself a cup of coffee, drinking it, cleaning up, completely drying the cup, and putting it back in the cupboard.
What happens is that even if you make that seemingly trivial goal—the goal, in addition to making the kitchen look nicer—completes a circuit.
It closes the dopaminergic circuit, and when dopamine is released, it will be, maybe not to the same extent as publishing a novel, but to some extent, dopamine amplifies our ability to think into the future, to make additional plans that are unrelated to what you just did, and it increases confidence and energy.
Why? Well, for the following reason: we all think about caloric energy, but most people are never taught. And if I had 10 things I could teach people, one of them would be about adrenaline and epinephrine.
They are neural energy; it’s your ability to get up and go. It’s the thing that makes you jittery when you’re a little nervous, but it’s also what allows you to move forward, to go out for a run, to pursue any goal, cognitive or physical, etc.
Epinephrine, which is also adrenaline, and those are the same thing, is literally manufactured from the molecule dopamine.
If you look at the biochemical cascade, it is dopamine that is converted into adrenaline, which is the basis of all energy, all neural energy — including thinking.
If one is not in a place of being able to set their goal on a particular lofty goal, such as a graduate degree, a book, etc., yet, the way one gets to that is by completing things in their immediate environment.
Completion of even trivial tasks like putting away a cup will give you more dopamine, which would give you more adrenaline.
In this analogy, whether one finds themselves back on their heels, flat-footed, or forward with their center of mass, regardless of their starting point, let’s say, when feeling depressed, being back on one’s heels can tilt you forward a little bit.
And that’s a question of what you think of and what you do with it. Therefore, cognitive appraisal is critical because the prefrontal cortex plays a crucial role in establishing which of these loops gets repeated.
The cognitive appraisal is critical. I’m somebody who can get things done, even if they’re small.
Common Mistakes in Manifestation
1. Lack of Clarity
Vague goals lead to vague results. Be specific about what you want to manifest.
2. Focusing on Negative Thoughts
Many people unintentionally manifest negative outcomes by focusing on what they don’t want instead of what they do want.
3. Not Taking Action
Visualization and positive thinking are only half the battle. Action is a crucial component of manifestation.
4. Obsessing Over Instant Results
Patience is key. Obsessing over immediate outcomes creates resistance, which can block your progress.
How to Manifest Correctly
This manifestation depends on the assumptions and beliefs we make. So, the sooner one impresses these assumptions on one’s subconscious mind, the sooner their work will be done.
Once you have impressed your subconscious mind, no one can stop you from achieving your goals. It must be a manifesto. We may think we consciously control most of our actions, but in reality, it is our subconscious mind that guides us.
That’s why the subconscious mind plays a significant role in our lives. Whatever methods we use – affirmations, scripting, visualization – are simply meant to program the subconscious mind and nothing else.
The easier, more effortless, and natural you make this process, the sooner you attain it. The sooner our subconscious mind attracts things.
You should understand it like this: when we remember a very beautiful memory in the present, how we feel is very natural because it leaves a deep impression on our subconscious mind, bringing all the related emotions into the present.
Its impact is powerful. Your manifestation should be as easy and natural as a memory – it has happened, it is my reality.
Making it easy means there is no resistance. When there is no resistance, things manifest quickly. Faith also plays a significant role in your manifestation; only those who trust this process will be able to manifest.
However, a common mistake people make is starting but abandoning it midway. Why? Because of excessive obsession, desiring instant results. Your obsession creates resistance, preventing manifestation.
Transitioning from an old belief system to a new one takes time, and that’s okay. Trust the process, do not give up.
Shift your focus repeatedly from old beliefs like “I am undeserving, unimportant, unworthy” to new beliefs like “I am important, worthy, deserving of all happiness.”
It may take time to shift, depending on the strength of your conditioning. But once you pass this transition period, you will see everything happening automatically for you.
