The truth about manifesting
Imagine you are sitting in the middle of a dark theatre. Then suddenly a spot light appears. The only thing you can see is whatever the spotlight shines its light upon. That is your reality. You may think that is all reality but the truth is it is only a fraction of it. You decide where to point the light and wherever you do that's what you get ! The universe is a mirror of us. Our external reality is a reflection of our internal reality. The world reflects back to you whatever you believe about it and your place in it.
Are you getting the opposite of what you want ?
Imagine you are the captain of a ship sailing on the wide open ocean. The crew follows your orders to the letter. You just need to tell it where to go. But instead of telling it where you want to go you keep on telling it where you don't. "I don't want to go to Hell Island! it's full of horrible people there and there is nothing to eat and the weather is terrible all year round! No, I don't want to go to Hell Island! Please don't take me there!"
Guess where you end up going ? The crew doesn't know where else to take you, all they hear is "Hell Island! Hell Island"!
So stop asking for what you don't want and focus on its opposite: What you do want.
Asking for what you want...
Some people use this simple principle to try to attract to themselves what their ego wants in their life. More money, a better job, a mate, you name it. And although there is nothing wrong with wanting these things, if the request comes from your ego you may end up in trouble when you do get what you asked for. This is because the ego tries to get you 'stuff' based on a dream, a fantasy of what getting that stuff will be like. Often we have no idea what that really would entail and it might just be the opposite of what would make us happy !
What if I don't know what I want ?
The other problem is that we often have no idea what we really want, and that's because the ego has no idea what would satisfy our deeper needs. It hears ideas about money or fame or having children or achievement as the ultimate goals that will bring it happiness and believes the story. The problem is that's just a story and what makes somebody else happy might not make you happy. The ego doesn't know what would make you happy. Only your deeper self does. (More on this later, read on)
I don't have enough money...
Many people think that if only they had more money then everything would be ok. There are many problems with this:
- money is a means to an end and not an end in itself so you'd be better off asking for the end object or service than money itself. ie. "I want to go on holiday to the Bahamas", not "I want money to buy a ticket to go to the Bahamas".
- asking for money reflects the idea that we don't have enough. If you believe that you don't have enough then the universe will register that and will keep on giving you more of the same. Instead try to focus on being grateful for what the many blessings you already have and you'll get more of those.
- too often underneath the idea that you don't have enough lies the basic insecurity that you aren't enough. And if you aren't enough, anything you get is not going to be enough. So you are just stuck in a scarcity mentality.
Fear vs Freedom
What to do instead ? The solution to this conundrum is to surrender to the higher self, the inner teacher, the part of us that is much bigger and wiser than our ego. This inner voice, the inner counsel always knows what is best for us in a way that might even frighten the ego. This is because the ego wants safety at all costs, while our higher self wants our ultimate growth, happiness and freedom to expand out of our comfort zone. You will be most aware of the difference between the ego and the higher self when you have a decision to make.
Your 'head' will always counsel you towards safety. Your 'heart' will always counsel you towards expansion. Your head tries to keep you small. Your heart wants you to grow. But growing can be scary, because you are entering unknown territory, so if you feel a little scared of what one of the inner voices is telling you to do you might just have tapped into the wisdom your heart.
How to be happy
So listening to your 'heart' (or your inner teacher, wise counsel, higher self, sometimes also experienced as God) is the way forward.
But what if you cannot hear the voice of the inner self ? It is hard to listen to the inner voice if you are surrounded by constant distraction and never spend a moment looking inside. Facebook, mobile phones, TVs are pulling our attention away from the inner voice on a regular basis.
A simple practice to connect to your Inner Guidance
Switch everything off, sit down (or lie down) and be still. Take a few deep breaths and relax for a few minutes.
Go to a place of peace or stillness in your mind and allow yourself to feel your feelings. Do not try to feel differently from what you are feeling, just accept whatever it is you are feeling.
If you notice the feeling is negative , while accepting what you are feeling, imagine what you'd like to feel instead, as if your life were already perfect. Connect to this reality and let yourself experience it as if it were already real.
Ask for your Inner Teacher to appear. Maybe it is just a presence, a feeling, or a knowing or maybe you can even see it. When you are connected to the inner wiser self ask: What feels like the right thing to do for me to bring about this change ? What is going to get me closer to what I want ? What feels right ?
Now listen and make space to receive. Open your heart to its wisdom.
If your analytical mind is interfering with the process by distracting you with judgements you need to relax more and pay no heed to its criticisms. It's just the ego getting scared and trying to protect you from the unknown. You can reassure yourself you'll listen to it later. But for now pay attention only to the exercise. Drop your judgements and connect to the deeper truth of the present moment.
Follow these steps and you'll access the most valuable teacher and therapist you'll ever have. The coach that knows you the best. Remember this is a PRACTICE. You don't run a marathon by going to the gym once. You need to keep at it and commit until you get the results you want.
Remember, it is never the experiences we have that keep us stuck but the judgements about them. It is the resistance to feeling our feelings. Move into the feeling and trust it has something invaluable to teach you.
For more articles on related topics see
