soulful.life.creation.

How to Manifest...  It’s a hot-button topic. Everyone has dabbled in, or at least heard of, the Law of Attraction and the like. And I would venture that the reason for its popularity is partly because most people have likely had an experience of “manifesting” something into reality through what felt like sheer magic. Things just “lined up”, and suddenly there you where, getting exactly the improbable thing that you asked for. It worked out just a little too well to be comfortably explained away as a series of coincidences, or a lucky break. So with extreme excitement you think: “Hey, maybe there’s something to this. Maybe the Universe isn’t a heartless, random vacuum. Maybe joy is our birthright…” and proceed to visualize/vision board/magic-list your way to a wad of cash, a mansion on the beach, and a brand new Ferrari. It doesn't work.

Yes, you are {partly} right. It doesn’t work... like that.

Logically it makes no sense that the Universe would be one that would manifest everyone's desire for a Ferrari, or a mansion, or a harem of hotties, or world domination. Bitch please! We would detroy the earth and ourselves in a matter of minutes if this was the case, which is why in Divine Design, that is not how it works. I don’t even like the word {Manifesting} because it carries so much skewed information and negative connotations. Not only is it burdened with a billion eye rolls and more skepticism than you can publish in a best seller, but it is shallow. Think about a bunch of people sitting on their couch wishing to be better looking, richer, and more travelled than anyone they know. When was the last time you tried to manifest world peace, endless love, and enough to eat for everyone? Yeah...didn't think so. Don't feel too bad. There is a reason why that's not on the top of your wish lists, and it's not because you are a shitty person. At least your Core Self isn't...

 Step 1: True Desires

One of Martha Beck’s most salient lessons is the idea that Life Creation/Manifesting/Intentional Living/Whateveryouwannacallit is {only} effective when you are dreaming and creating from your Core Being instead of from The Shallows of your Ego. Your Core Being is your timeless self {or soul if you will} that can see the whole picture of creation and where you fit into it. It isn't interested in consumerism or domination. It is interested in BEING IN HARMONY WITH ALL CREATION. It is interested in joy, and in love.
It is also the “you” that is a unique fingerprint in the world. The “you” that has a special combination of gifts and experience that no other person on earth has or will ever have. It is the TRUE YOU. It is the part that has direct access to the energy of the Universe. It is, simply put, where the magic happens. From your Core Being you create soul-nourishing dreams with {feelings} as the focus instead of {things}.

Conversely, in The Shallows you will find what many spiritual teachers refer to as The Ego. You can refer to The Ego and The Mind interchangeably- depending if you are of a spiritual or scientific bent. The ego, simply put, is ONLY concerned with lack and attack. In any moment, it is either worried about losing something/ not having enough, and it is attacking or fearing attack. It believes that you need {things} to bring {feelings} of safety and happiness. It is a shitty entity..but it is not really who you are.

If you want manifesting to work for you, you need to identify your CORE DESIRES. They are already hiding inside your shallow wishes, shrouded in your Ego's unoriginal lack/attack thoughts. Behind the wishes that look like the inside of every glossy magazine lies what your soul is trying to tell you.
When you are thinking/dreaming/making a list of what you want, try using only {feelings} instead of describing things. I will use money as an example, because it is undoubtedly on your list:

An ego wish: “I want X amount of cash.” Or, “I want to be able to afford anything I want”.

 Instead, try getting to the {root} of what money represents by using feeling words. “I want to be free to live life to the fullest, and on my own terms. I want to be able to experience the world fully: to taste, touch, smell, see, and hear all the beauty the world has. I want to nourish my soul. I want to feel safe and supported. I want to have peace of mind and be worry-free.”

The difference is in the ENERGY behind the THOUGHTS. When you want a big wad of cash, it is because you feel like you don’t have enough right now. The energy of NOT ENOUGH brings more of the same into your life. It is a worry that comes from the Ego-and the Ego can't manifest shit. When you switch to thinking about what your Core Being wants, it is a pure, clean, and expansive energy. That is the energy you want more of. You are putting out what you want to get back, instead of unknowingly putting out what you don’t want.

The same goes for using negative statements. Stating: “I don’t want to be tied to a job and in debt” is not the same sentiment as: “I want to be free to live life on my own terms”. The first carries the energy of contraction, aversion, and negativity. {Again, the universe responds to energy, not words, and reflects that energy back to you as the reality of your life} With that statement of what you don’t want, you may as well be wishing for a lifetime of serfdom. It is OK to think about what you don’t want, as that contrast is the only way to narrow down what you do want, but it is not enough. You need to shift your focus onto what you do want, and keep it there.

Step 2: Keeping it there

{You do not attract what you want; you attract what you are.}

You need to stay in the energy of the solution. What that means is that once you have found the {feelings} you want, you need to focus on those feelings more than you focus on the things you don’t want. You need to BECOME the feeling of freedom, or prosperity, or beauty, or love. You need to FIND IT in your everyday life.

{Right now.} Take action in that general direction. When you take one step toward your dream, it takes a thousand steps toward you. Take the tiniest step everyday toward a delicious life. If you want freedom, for example, do something that makes you feel free. It might be setting up an automatic savings plan no matter how much you feel like you don’t make enough to save anything. {Trust me, you don’t even miss that money if it just automatically comes out of your account}. Maybe it’s looking into a crazy hobby you have always wanted to try, or just admitting to a far-flung dream of a vocation/location change. Maybe it is allowing yourself a nap when you are tired. Celebrate where in your life you already are enjoying the feeling you want. Put something out into the universe with the same energy vibration as what you want. Do things simply for the joy of doing them, instead of with an outcome in mind. This brings me to the last step…

"Treat {the thing you want} like a bad boyfriend" says Poehler. 
"{It} won’t take care of you. It won't call you back or introduce you to its parents. {It} will openly flirt with other people while you are around…it is healthy to remember you can always leave him and go to sleep with somebody else" -Amy Poehler

Step 3: Detach

Don’t think constantly about the outcome. Don’t wonder where your stuff is. Be in the moment and live your life. That is the final, and most important key to getting what you want. When you are constantly looking for the changes, you will not see them. We have ALL experienced the phenomenon where we DON’T care about something {anymore} or stop thinking about it, and then get the results we want. Just like the bad boyfriend that is only interested in you when you are too busy enjoying your life without him. THAT IS EXACTLY the game you should play with your goals or desires. When you are detached from the outcome because you are just too busy enjoying your life as it is, you are “pressing send” on your request and then it is only a matter of time. The key is to be so engrossed in the joy of living your life that getting the things you want is just a happy by-product.  It is an I-could-take-it-or-leave-it feeling. That is the comical paradox of the Universe. Therefore, you simply MUST practice finding joy first, and the things you want will come. Thinking you need a certain thing or circumstance to be happy is simply the biggest lie of our time. THAT, not manifesting, is what obviously isn’t working.