redefining manifestation
The term manifestation has been hijacked.
Somewhere along the line, the definition of manifestation has deviated from its original one to a superficial one (I’ll take some more time in the future to look at the etymology and breakdown it’s meaning, but that’s research for a Periodical, not a Daily Note).
A quick Google search for the definition of manifestation returns,
“an event, action, or object that clearly shows or embodies something, especially a theory or an abstract idea.”
Nowhere in this definition do you see what manifestation has come to mean today, which is basically “want or wish for something to happen and it will.”
I blame the popularity of the book The Secret, which I believed started with good intentions, but when the book publishers finished with their input, it became a book encouraging people to create the futures and lives they wanted by wanting it bad enough.
Years later, add social media to the equation, and the story of wanting something, maybe even writing down and then seeing it appear in the future is easy to sell to people who are unhappy and want a quick and easy solution—the influencers have run with it.
Manifestation is not about wanting something and having it magically appear.
Manifestation is a real phenomenon, and it deserves much more space than today’s Daily Note can provide; I hope one day to find the time to give it more attention—in the meantime, I’ll share resources from other people who have done the research. But, for now I want to get you to rethink how you understand the word, reduce some of the “woo” factor that surrounds it, and hopefully get you a little more comfortable with the idea of manifesting aspects of your authentic life.
Let’s return to the first definition I shared, specifically the part about embodying something.
Embodying something, let’s say a future version of your Self, is not just wanting to be a better version of your Self. There is a component of desire, but when you are embodying your future Self, you are feeling what that version of your Self is like, acting as you are already that person (changing habits, changing thoughts, etc,), visualizing what your life is like, and finally, and most importantly taking steps to move in that direction.
Manifestation is the combination of desire, visualization, matching energy or frequency, embodiment, and ACTION; the final ingredient is the one that the superficial definition misses and is the most important of them all.
When you are using all of the ingredients I mentioned before, you will subconsciously do the things you need to do to bring that future version of your Self to reality—we say it’s the Universe bringing it to you, but the truth is you are seeing a path that you couldn’t see before because of your focus on where you desire to be. There will undoubtedly be Divine Intervention that will help you along the way–those “coincidences,” signs (bald eagles for me), and other synchronicities, but these only happen when you take action.
So yes, you can manifest.
And yes, you should use that term for certain goals in your life—attaching “manifest” to a goal signals a much greater commitment than other goals you may have.
I plan to incorporate manifestation as a part of my planning with my clients in the AlignedLife+ and LifeDesign+ relationships—but only with those who understand the true meaning of manifestation and how we can integrate it with their financial plan.
The truth is, you’ve probably manifested something in your life without knowing it—-think of an opportunity, a purchase, or an outcome you desired more than anything else and decided to take steps to bring your vision to reality only to see what you desired to come to you.
I’m certain you’ve done it--you just didn't know it.
And now that you know, you can use it in your planning to move closer to your authentic life.
🎧 Listen to today's Note on the LifeDesign+ podcast.
See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,
JC
🦅 Some ways I might be able to help you live your authentic life:
🤝 One on Ones Let's hop on Zoom to do a guided meditation, a creative brainstorming session, or an overcoming an obstacle session.
📝 LifeDesign+ LifeDesign+ is rooted in the Kinder Institute of Life Planning’s EVOKE process, which is a five-step process to help discover what your authentic life looks like and begin to design a plan to bring that life to reality. It continues to incorporate the alignment of your spirit, mind, and body to ensure you evolve with your authentic life, as the authentic life is not a destination, it’s an evolution.
💸 AlignedLife+ AlignedLife+ (and the one-time engagement AlignedLife) takes LifeDesign+ to the next level by aligning your finances with your authentic life at RLS Wealth. For individuals looking for a financial advisor to help design and manage their financial plan while maintaining the alignment of spirit, mind, body, and money, AlignedLife+ was created specifically for you.
📈 LifeDesign+ for financial advisors LifeDesign+ for financial advisors mirrors the LifeDesign+ relationship, including the focus on the alignment of spirit, mind, and body, with an important distinction—once the plan for your authentic life has been designed, we shift our focus to integrating your new plan with your practice.
🤝 Outsourced life planning As your outsourced life planner, you bring me in to take your client through the Kinder Institute of Life Planning’s EVOKE process to help them better understand who they are, what they want their life to look like, and create a vision of this life for you to execute on the financial plan. Since you are their financial advisor, you will be a part of each of the meetings, so you understand the “why” behind your client’s new plan.
