Manifesting is a concept that has been talked and written about for many years. It is a controversial topic. Often the word is associated with greed, as if manifestation is only about acquiring luxury things. Manifestation as a concept is of itself neither negative nor positive. It is just what you yourself give it connotation. Anyone can manifest. In fact, you do it every day. The problem arises when what you really want to manifest remains unattainable for you. In this article I am going to explain what is behind this and what you can do to make the manifestation process work for you.

The meaning of manifesting

Manifesting = bringing a thought or visualization into physical reality.

That thought or visualization can then look like the following:

• A wish
• An intention
• A goal
• A dream
• An ideal

The thought or visualization forms a “blueprint” of what you want to manifest. You can think of the blueprint as a sketch, detailed or otherwise, of it. Compare this to a blueprint of a building to be built. The building does not yet physically exist, but there is already a sketch of how it should become. Manifestation is then about the process between the creation of the blueprint and the realization. Keep in mind here that it can be about both physical and non-physical things.

“The Secret”

Rhonda Byrne’s 2006 book “The Secret” caused a stir and became a bestseller. It gave a new dimension to the concept of manifesting. One of the core ideas of the book is believing, visualizing and positive thinking. You imagine what you want to manifest and by feeling as if it has already happened you attract it faster.

In my opinion, this book tends to say that an ancient secret book of spells was found. And if you start using those spells then that dreamed luxury campervan will come driving right up your driveway. If only it were true! Manifesting involves much more than the book indicates.

Manifesting involves much more than powerful visualizing and believing. If you do not fulfill all aspects, chances are that you will accomplish nothing. The techniques in “The Secret” can be useful (you can find them everywhere, that’s why I won’t discuss them further), but then applied in combination with the aspects I will explain below.

What drives you

The basis of powerful manifesting revolves around the questions: What drives you? and What are your deeper desires? These are things that fit the path you are walking. Things that make you truly happy and usually involve your greatest talents and skills. You can imagine that something you really want to realize hangs around you like a powerful energetic cloud. The more powerful the more easily you can manifest it.

I make a distinction here between deeper desires and ego desires. The latter are desires that are initiated from outside. You want something because everyone else wants it or because your neighbor has it. Or you want something because of the status it brings or because it somehow puts you in the picture. The ego (= your imaginary personality) is always preoccupied with the outside world and has a craving for attention, whether positive (status, achievement) or negative (pity, victimhood).

Ego desires are desires on the surface; they do not come from the deeper feeling, the core of your being. The energy field it creates is weak and therefore has little appeal. And that is why such desires will hardly be realized. A small group of people get it done, usually with blood, sweat and tears. Broken relationships, quarrels and abuse of power. And yet they are put on a pedestal. Completely unjustified. The question is: Can they really enjoy their manifestations? Let alone the road to them?

Example

Imagine that you have figured out that you want to manifest a big boat. People you hang out with also own a boat and you want to fit in. Moreover, you want to impress your wife. You don’t yet have enough money to purchase it. So you grab the book The Secret and start applying the tips and tricks from this book every night. Without success. In fact, you recently lost a lot of money because of a bad investment. Why is this unsuccessful? Because you want to manifest from the wrong motives. Because actually you have nothing to do with boating.

Examine very critically what you really want. Make a priority list of values. A short list of what you want to realize. What are your deepest desires? These can be physical things like a house at the edge of the woods, but also, for example, a sports store that you want to flourish. Or a talent with which you want to make a living. And maybe a hobby for which you need certain things. Anything is possible, nothing is too crazy!

Being authentic

Being inauthentic is the result of being influenced by your environment. By interacting with others, they “color” your person, so to speak. They bounce back an image of who they think you are. You are pigeonholed, so to speak.

You also add to this self-image through experiences. All these life experiences have shaped you, they say. All in all, you think you know who you are. You are such and such, with status/position/job x and characteristics and preferences y and z. Period. Nothing more to add.

No? I can be very clear about this: this is not who you really are. You are much more than this self-created image. People are very multifaceted. They have many sides. Many more than they think. And all those sides together form a colorful whole. A whole that is unique. There is no equal of it in the whole world.

Being authentic means being original, complete with all your facets. Being who you naturally are. It is simply very natural to be authentic. Let’s play with some terms:

Natural = efficient, just look at nature, it is super efficient.

Efficient = synchronicity, achieving your goals with the greatest possible ease.

Synchronicity = magnetic, you attract what you need in your manifestation process.

Authentic = natural, meaning:

Authentic = natural = efficient = synchronicity = magnetic

So my conclusion is that being authentic makes you magnetic, so you quickly attract (=synchronicity) that which helps you achieve manifestation. You resonate with something that really suits or belongs to you. And what you want to manifest will resonate with you, it works both ways.

What happens if you are not authentic? You are then a subpar version of yourself. You are floating much more in a gray area where many people are. A gray area of sameness and wearing masks. And what are you creating in that case? Those things that fit the common denominator. That doesn’t have to be wrong, but the question is does it all fit you? You are then hardly magnetic for what you really want.

Power and letting go

When you are clear on what you very much want to manifest you will give it your due attention. You are focused on everything that can help you in this process. You can quickly slip into this. You cling very tightly to your wish image as if you are terrified that it might just blow away. It is the fear that your wish turns out to be just a mirage.

With this, unfortunately, you bring about the opposite of what you want to realize. There is a law of physics that says that the physical force you apply to something generates an equal opposite force. This is happening here on a nonphysical plane as well, because as you want to forcefully drag your wish image toward you you push it away from you with the same force. The same effect has this on people whom you sit and pull because you want something from them. They run hard away from you because they don’t want to act as a pull puppet.

Do you see the problem of wanting too much and giving too much attention? You know what you like and yet you bring nothing to fruition.

The solution is: letting go. Not letting go of your dream, because you may cherish it. You may let go of the manifestation process. This process can unfold in many ways. And several of those ways are not in your view. You think you know how the process will unfold and want to give this process a hand by directing it and giving it a mountain of attention. Too much attention and steering becomes forcing and convulsiveness. Nothing will come about that way.

Letting go is an aspect of working from power. From power you work with a rock-solid inner confidence that everything will fall into place. It gives peace, and through that peace come the insights and ideas that help you further with the manifestation. The counterpart of power is force. With force you have the tendency to want to force something through with a lot of effort. Result: much loss of energy and little result.

Giving and receiving

Giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin. They work together. Without giving there is no receiving and without receiving there is no giving. Think of it as one big spinning cloud of everything that exists, with things being put in (giving) and things being taken out (receiving).

If you want to manifest something you are focused on receiving. But what about the giving? If everyone only wants to receive, nothing will happen. There will also have to be giving. Ask yourself what you want to contribute. Can you give unconditionally without wanting anything in return?

If your nature is stingy and you hardly want to give anything, you block the flow of abundance. In other words, you frustrate your manifestation process. Because you are also not helping another in his/her manifestations. This works like a boomerang, it comes back to you.

Opposite of stinginess we find generosity. Generous people also get back generously. This does not necessarily have to be the same as what they give; this can be done in different ways. What is quite common is that generous people have difficulty receiving. They grant others much but hardly grant themselves anything. A sense of inferiority may underlie this. They also block the flow of abundance. If this applies to you, then you may learn to receive.

Gratitude for what you receive, big or small, also contributes to the creation of abundance and at the same time to your manifesting power. If you like to manifest, i.e. receive, then it helps to show gratitude for everything that comes to you. The proverb If you don’t honor the small, you won’t outweigh the big is very applicable here. Take a critical look in the mirror. Are you genuinely grateful when you receive something or do you usually think it is the most natural thing in the world?

Giving in a business?

Unconditional giving (see above) and working from a business seem to bite each other. After all, for services or products you offer in business you ask for money. Asking money for your offer is logical, there is nothing wrong with that. The unconditional nature is in this the way you give. Do you really want to help others? Do you do your work with a certain passion? Do you give a little extra on a regular basis? If so, you’ll find that your clients are happy to pay your price. And moreover, start buying off in large numbers.

With the transaction process in a business (not just owners, also employees), take a look at where your focus is. Do you see your customers flat out as cash cows who come to bring you money, or do you want to offer them as much value as possible first and foremost? This makes a significant difference to your manifestation ability.

Self-sabotage

Ego likes to keep you in your smallness. It prefers you to conform to your environment, society, and that’s where most people get stuck in their smallness. Realize that many people are waiting for you to stand in your greatness. If you stay in your smallness then you want to keep pleasing other “small” people and you never attract those people who would love to meet the “big” you.

This is beautiful wisdom from writer Marianne Williamson. Staying in the shadows, not raising your head above the ground that feels nice and safe for many. “Secretly” you hope to bring about something unique, but…….the ego-fueled fear sabotages the whole thing. Nothing happens.

From the aforementioned drives, a purpose emerges. You will want to set a powerful intention to make this goal come true. Next, commitment is needed. Commitment is a combination of your intention and the willingness to take action. And somewhere between intention and action, self-sabotage acts as a game breaker.

This self-sabotage can take the following forms:

• Doubting very much (making up excuses)
• Being overly cautious in everything (constantly exploring paths to failure, not those of success)
• Hesitating (putting off until tomorrow)
• Not daring to accelerate (doing everything at half power)
• Lack of self-confidence (no faith in your own qualities)
• Inferiority complex (pretending to the outside world that you are great, boasting)
• Lack of ambition (laziness, letting yourself down)
• No patience (hiding behind “it won’t work out so I’m quitting”)

Do you recognize one or more of these saboteurs? If so, you will need to look closely at the underlying causes. For example, where does your feeling of inferiority come from? Why the hesitation all the time? If your answer to these questions begins with: “Yes, but……..” then you are trying to justify your behavior. It’s time to stop fooling yourself.

Fear in any form is always the deeper cause of self-sabotage. Always! And every human being carries fear with them. So do you. There is no need to be ashamed of that. Realize that 95% of that fear is unreal. It comes up from the unconscious caverns of your system and is only imaginary. Becoming aware of your self-sabotage and stepping through the fear by taking action can bring you a lot when it comes to manifestation.

Sacrificing

Ancient peoples were very active when it came to making sacrifices. Sacrifices to their gods for the purpose of obtaining bountiful harvests. Sacrifices to nature spirits, as the American Indians did before killing bison for their meat and hides. These sacrifices were primarily a tribute. This whole idea of sacrificing has something beautiful, carries something valuable.

“Without sacrifices you get nothing (done)”

This is my statement. You can see this as an extension of the “giving and receiving” paragraph. A sacrifice can be a contribution, a gift, an honor or an effort. It can also be denying yourself something. It can involve pain and willpower.

Do not confuse sacrifice with self-sacrifice. Self-sacrifice is undoing yourself and that is not necessary at all. You are then selling yourself short. Sacrifices, although they sometimes involve pain and effort, may be made with pleasure and surrender. If you cannot bring this up then you must ask yourself how much you want to manifest something.

If you want to be a top performer in sports, you can’t eat and drink just about everything. You will have to deny yourself things in that. You will have to “train” to make things your own, for example improve the skill set you need to best serve people in your business or job. Also consider a substantial financial investment of your savings in your business. Do you dare to do that? Sometimes you need patience before you manifest something. It takes time. These are your sacrifices. And you want to make them with all pleasure, an occasional off-day or doubt notwithstanding.

A sacrifice also means going your own original way. The easy and broad way, the way the bulk of people go is not your way. The ancient Lakota Indians called this the black road. Your unique way they called the red road. The red road is a winding path, difficult to tread and full of obstacles. Not always recognizable either. It is the path of honor, power and vision.

Going the red road will not be easy at first, but it delivers all the more. Here you cannot hide behind others, you do not walk in step, but go the path that is meant for you. This path requires more sacrifice but will be much more exciting, vibrant and ultimately feel like a coat that fits like a glove. Going this path requires courage.

In short, going the red road and sacrificing will bring you closer to what you deeply want to manifest.

 

The 80/20 principle

The 80/20 principle is the universal principle (discovered in 1897 by Italian Vilfredo Pareto) that 20% of input, causes and effort produces 80% of output, consequences and results. Certainly in business we see this reflected. Inverted, the bottom line is that 80% of our effort is fiddling at the margins.

The ratio of 80/20 is not fixed. It is the rule of thumb for an average. Because relationship between effort and result can also come out to 65/35, 80/1 or 95/5. But the outcome rarely comes out to be 50/50. There are forces at work in the universe that constantly create disproportionality. Now the point is to embrace this fact and take advantage of it.

For example: 10% of your marketing efforts generate 75% of your sales. Or 25% of your daily work hours generates 85% of your income.

Now what does this principle have to do with manifestation? Very much. I think this principle is about energy and specifically energy that resonates and works magnetically. When you do, create or offer something where your unique skills and passion come together it works very magnetically. This attracts the one(s) that resonate with it. You can think of clients in your business, but also when it comes to (love) relationships. Here you are then on the side of the 20% that generates 80%.

If, on the other hand, you are doing things that resonate much less with you, then that hardly resonates with others either. It attracts less. Less clients and less that which really suits you. You can put in a lot of time, money and energy (80%), but it will be shooting with buckshot.

This principle also teaches us that creating something, manifesting something does not have to be a matter of blood, sweat and tears. If you do the right things, things that are written on your read then this works very powerfully. You become a magnet. You attract what helps you to effortlessly manifest what you want.

Is this contradictory to making sacrifices and walking the red road? No! It is precisely by courageously walking the red road, occasionally sacrificing, that at some point you will be able to manifest fantastic things at lightning speed. In any case, much faster and more effortlessly than if you go on the black road and omit the sacrifices.

Miscreation

Unfortunately, many people have the experience of attracting something they don’t want at all. Indeed, they manifest something contrary to what they have in mind. What happens here?

First of all, this is because without realizing it, people’s main focus is on shortage, lack or inability. For example, they want to manifest a lot of money but have absolutely no confidence that this will ever become a reality. There is fear behind this. Perhaps they think money is just “dirty,” have been raised in an environment with constant money shortages or barely allow themselves anything.

If you find yourself in this situation, you will tend to regularly express that you don’t want a money shortage or don’t want…………….. You form matching images to that. Images of that undesirable situation What you do is then focus on money shortage or something else that is undesirable. And what you give attention to you attract more quickly.

Second, we have already seen that pushing something away from you (just like pulling something) only produces an equal opposing force. You fight, push off with all your might against what is undesirable, in this example money shortage. As a result, money shortage comes back to you like a boomerang. Then you fight even harder, resulting in an even more powerful boomerang effect.

So it is important to realize that somehow putting energy into what you don’t want actually brings that thing closer. Are you creating plenty of things you don’t want, that which you are actually afraid of then your focus is wrong. Shift that focus to what you do want to manifest is the remedy here.

What are your manifestations?

Everything you manifest are your creations. It carries your energy. Your unique imprint. Now take a critical look at the manifestations you have done over the past few years. Look at them objectively, both major and minor manifestations. What do they look like? What kind of energy do they carry?

Does that energy, that aura around those manifestations suit you? Do they make you happy? Do they give satisfaction?

Are there any miscreations among them? So things that you did not want to manifest. For example, a shortage in something.

In addition to miscreations, you can also manifest things that you initially wanted, but which ultimately do not give you satisfaction. The latter will be the case with ego desires. Behind these are the wrong intentions. These are desires that give pleasure only temporarily. After a short time it no longer gives pleasure, you want more of it or the bar must be raised.

If you have manifested something from your soul desire, it will at least give you pleasure and satisfaction for an extended period of time. These are your creations that truly resonate with you, and that makes a big difference from ego desires.

In short, can you conclude that you are hardly manifesting what is at the top of your priority list, things you really want, then something is not going right. What you do manifest will have arisen primarily from ego desires or will simply be creations you did not want at all. You will have to do things differently.

Magic happens!

This article is not meant to discourage you, just to bring you face to face with the facts. Manifesting does not have to be difficult; anyone can do it. Even you! The problem is that schools, parents and governments do not teach you how to do it, what is involved. In fact, a lot of emphasis is placed on ego desires and momentary pleasure. Just look around you, you are constantly being pulled. To help you? Unfortunately not much, if at all. You get to continue filling the fat wallets. All this commerce around you only brings confusion.

You will have to withdraw from this for the most part. You will especially have to stay with yourself to find out what drives you and what suits you. Regularly seeking rest or nature can help you with this. Meditation is also very powerful.

In peace or during meditations you can make contact much faster with your core, your center. This can produce the following:

• Knowing what you really want, and what you don’t want
• Knowing what works for you, and also what doesn’t work
• Knowing what is important to you (prioritizing)
• Inner confidence
• Peace and space (letting go when things get too convulsive)

It’s all going to feel much brighter when you take steps in this. You will become much more magnetic with the result that you attract what resonates with you. This happens automatically, very naturally. Synchronicities arise around you. Synchronicities are apparent coincidences. You attract situations, people and things in a way that is similar to “a cow catching a hare”(dutch proverb). This appears to be great coincidence but it is not. It is the universe at work for you.

 

 

A tip here is: be open! Be open to advice, stimuli and hints that you would normally ignore, but which can be a synchronicity. Realize that help can present itself in many forms. There may be a completely different route in store for you than you thought of yourself. Out of the box situations you never anticipated. Let yourself be guided and……magic happens!

Finally, I’d like to share with you that my intention with this article is not to suggest that it’s all about manifestation itself. Suppose you have your ideal business pretty clear in your mind. The idea is not that you can only enjoy it when it’s finally there. The road to it is just as important. A road that may have ups and downs, that is part of it, but which you can walk with a certain pleasure and at certain moments with passion. It also requires surrender. Surrender to the process that is unfolding. If you find that you cannot bring this up, you have to ask yourself if you are on the wrong path. Do you really want to manifest this?