Written by: Daniel Mangena, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
A lot of hay is made of ‘Manifestation’ these days. We see the term bandied about in all sorts of online courses, webinars, coaching books, and so forth. Like many phrases ‘du jour’ — manifesting has become big business. The cynical side of this is people trying to insinuate that they can teach you how to conjure money out of thin air. On the more benign end, it’s about getting you to focus, but what is manifestation?
I’ve spent a lot of my coaching career (and the many years leading up to it) studying manifesting and unpacking it for people. The core truth that I’ve come to understand is that ‘manifesting’ as a term is somewhat misleading.
Let me explain.
The simple truth is that we’re always manifesting.
What manifesting is at its core is the world told through your eyes. It is the input of the universe, the reconfiguration of that input within you, and the resulting output/experience that you witness.
You are constantly manifesting. You do it innately throughout your day, based on various inputs and desired outcomes, the vast majority of which are subconscious. Deliberately manifesting a desired outcome requires consciously chosen inputs with consistent choices and actions. We have many tools at our disposal that enable us to do this, and while the concept is simple, reconfiguring ourselves to produce new outcomes is far more complicated.
A lot of manifestation teachers seem to miss is that it’s not just one thing that allows us to manifest. Meditation or mind-maps alone will not bring you your desired outcome. That’s not to reject them or any of the more esoteric practices outright. On the contrary, I think they can be fantastic tools of manifestation when embarked upon with the correct intention. If we really want to see something show up for us though, we need a more holistic approach.
I’m sure you can see sense in this. Scrunching your eyes up real tight and repeating ‘there’s no place like home’ isn’t going to get it done in and of itself. We need to ally it with the appropriate action and intervening steps that will get us there.
Just as with anything that we want to create, manifesting must be done using the tools that make the most sense for us. In other words: the tools that align with who we are and how we create most effectively.
Meditation and visualization (for example) have great utility in focussing our mindset. This is vital if we want to forge a path to success in any field of endeavor. They alone won’t create a seven-figure business or develop a clean energy program, but they can create alignment for you to facilitate those things effectively and efficiently.
Everything has a frequency.
We are all operating on an energetic frequency. Emotions are really how we feel those frequencies, but there are other ways to measure them. Suffice it to say: the emotional state you will feel upon realizing your vision/dreams has a frequency too!
What practices like meditation enable us to do, is cultivate and hold that frequency in the now. This, in turn, creates alignment with that future outcome, enabling you to move towards it inexorably.
We not only need to create that alignment but also remove the barriers that stand in our way. What is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) barriers that we face? Us! As much as we need to remain in the driving seat consciously throughout the manifestation process, we also must recognize how we obstruct our manifestations.
It is very easy to get in our own way, especially when we fixate on an outcome. I know that might seem counter-intuitive, but thinking of nothing but your dream life all day isn’t helping. It is very important to do the homework of visualizing and understanding exactly what you want to manifest. Once that work is done, it can be counterproductive to spend too much time dwelling on it.
This can be for several reasons. In his book, “Reality Transurfing,” author Vladim Zeland talks about this at length, but it really boils down to creating the wrong frequency or energetic charge around your goal. One big problem with this is that it builds up your goals and places a lot of emphasis on them.
“What’s wrong with that? So I have lofty aspirations, isn’t that a good thing?!”
Of course, it is, but if you emotionally charge your dreams to the extent that they become all-consuming, you will subconsciously see them as unobtainable. You’ll also run into the thorny issue of unworthiness and self-sabotage.
If subconsciously, you think that being a millionaire (for example) is such an overwhelmingly lofty aspiration/endgame, your subconscious will interpret that as ‘not achievable’ and/or ‘something that we are not worthy of.’ It will throw you unwittingly into a state of overwhelm, such that you are frozen and unable to take action.
Manifesting requires action too!
Action is concurrently the most and least important part of the process.
Most: because nothing happens without it. You have to take action, however small if you want to experience something in your life.
Least: because blind action produces random results. You obviously have to direct your physical actions in a specified direction to see specific results.
Meditation and mind-movies are really groovy tools, but they must be seen as part of the process of preparing you to take action. This is what I meant earlier when I talked about intention. They will help hone your understanding of what action is required, such that when it comes time to take it, it’s effortless.
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.” - Abraham Lincoln
I love this quote, and it really speaks to what I’m talking about here. You need to ‘sharpen your ax’ through mindful practices and taking care of your physical body, such that you are enabled to take effortless action in pursuit of your goal. Otherwise, you’ll spend your life hammering away at the tree with a dull ax and getting nowhere.
You still have to chop down the tree, though!
So what is Manifesting really?
You already know the answer to it. You’ve been doing it since you were born. My encouragement to you is to recognize that, take ownership of it, and understand that you must do the work to be present in the process to start seeing new outcomes in your life. Seek out practices that will enable you to consciously choose a more abundant, joyful, and purpose-driven life.
It sounds hard, but I promise you: you have it within you to manifest whatever life for yourself that you want. You have to start choosing it!
For some free resources that will help get you started, please check out the link to my website below.
Daniel Mangena, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Dan Mangena is a best-selling author, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and public speaker. Recently named in the Wall St Journal as a "Master of Success," he is completely self-made and has spent decades perfecting his world-class coaching methodology. His books, podcasts, events & retreats continue to help captains-of-industry, and private individuals alike live an abundant, joyful, purpose-driven life. He offers many unique and effective free tools via his website.
