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Article Troubleshooting The Manifesting Process The process of manifestation is a fairly simple one on the face of it. You find a desire that is meaningful to you, you imagine it happening it and feel the intensity of the imagination, you get ready to receive it, and then you act in whatever way is appropriate to help it happen. That's all there is really. Certainly there are a myriad of techniques and styles you can use, but these are the basic elements. Most of the techniques are there to maximize the emotional energy and focus used in the imagination. The technique doesn't really matter, it's the emotional charge and the maintaining of focus that counts. So why do people have trouble with this? It's an individual thing and there is no one simple answer. We're dealing with a subjective process, not an objective one. One useful model is that of an inner reality that we can access which creates the templates for our outer reality. Another model is that of a computer and the manifestation process is akin to changing the operating program. However, you want to look at it, it's clear that the inner conditions need to be right before anything useful results. Looking at movies like The Secret and books on the Law of Attraction, one might get the idea that anyone at any point in their lives can manifest anything they want right now. And when things do not happen as they expect them to, they usually choose to be disappointed and frustrated, rather than consider that this is a simple but subtle process. It requires a little more finesse that at first appears. Now let's look at some common problems and their solutions. What's your motivation? If you don't fully understand your motivation for what you want to manifest, then you are not likely to manifest what it is that you truly desire. A vague sense of what you want, as in "I want to feel better" or "I want something grand to happen in my life" isn't the kind of focus that brings good results. At the most fundamental level, everything that you want is based on a desire to feel better than you currently do. And not being clear about your desire leaves huge room for interpretation. Something grand happening in your life may end up being a close encounter with a very large piano. Remember, your life is all about feelings. Underneath each desire that you have is a desire for one or more specific feelings. You want to be clear what feelings you are looking for. Feelings are the object of manifestation as well as the engine for that manifestation. Is your desire borne out of fear or love? The more successful approach is to be meticulous about keeping your focus on the things that you anticipate will bring you good feelings, and that you really do want. So check in with yourself and ask, is this something that I am manifesting that will bring me joy and add to the love around me? If it is, you will have all the energy you will need to bring it about. If it isn't, you will simply compound the unhappiness you are trying to get out of. Will it violate anyone's free will? Suppose you want someone specific to love you. Seems reasonable; there are an awful lot of songs written about this idea. But you need to be aware the other person is living in his or her own world, essentially their own Universe. Your subjective world isn't and never can be the same as theirs. If, in fact, you could get them to love you against their will (or even just respond to your no-doubt generous love), then they would be something of a slave or a dog, certainly less than a fully empowered human being. I doubt that you'd be satisfied with that for long. More importantly, what is your real motivation here? Are you looking for someone to love you in a way that makes you feel complete and vital? That's not anyone else's job. That's your job. You are the one who needs to be loving yourself unconditionally, generously, and with adoration. No one else will do a good job of that for very long. The great love of your life is a do-it-yourself project. Other people can show you how good it feels to be loved deeply. But then it's time to love yourself completely. At that point, relationships with others are enjoyed without neediness, dependence, or expectation. I would guess that that is what you really desire in the first place. Can you feel the pleasure of anticipation? If what you desire doesn't excite you in some way, why should it come to you? For instance, suppose you want to bring in more income and you heard that the local restaurant was hiring. You figure that you are sufficiently qualified and so you try to manifest that job. But if your deeper self doesn't really want this job, you're going to have a hard time getting it. And that's just as well. You don't want to set up new internal conflicts; you have more than enough already. If it's not for fun or love, why bother? If, for example, you want to manifest a new home for yourself and your family, you would first picture the home in your mind and then you would sit with the feeling that you want to be having in that new home. Love the new home as fully as you possibly can. Once you have done this, don't just let it go. The end of many prayers is something like amen, meaning "so be it." If your belief is absolute, you have done your part by deciding what you want and energizing that desire. Now you can let the Universe (or whatever you call the non-physical powers that be) do its job. But if there is the slightest shred of doubt, you want to repeat the process at least once a day to reinforce your belief. How are you resisting your success? Do you have a belief that you shouldn't have what you desire? Fortunately, these beliefs are held just under the surface in the subconscious and can be changed rather easily. But changing beliefs does require some trust in oneself and a willingness to be the authority in one's life. You have to decide that you are the one in charge of what you will believe and what you won't. A conscious effort to change beliefs, plus some practice and patience, can be quite rewarding. The main trick to this is to first identify the limiting belief. If you find that things just aren't manifesting the way you think they ought to be, and you're not seeing why not, then ask some of the following questions:
These beliefs stem from a core belief that there is some standard (usually quite vague) that you need to measure up to in order to deserve or be good enough. Ideas like perfection or righteousness seem nice, but they always make you "less than." They are ideals that are not fully achievable, and thus can leave you with a sense that in the great scheme of things, you don't cut it. In order to change this belief or one like it, you will need a new belief that feels right to you. A new belief like, "I don't need to be perfect; I just need to do the best I can and be true to myself" can be much more effective. A belief like, "I have come to Earth to learn many things. In doing that I will make many mistakes, but that's how we learn and I am just as good a student as anyone else," will not only help you feel better about yourself, but also help take the shame out of the necessary mistakes made in the course of everyday learning. You can believe anything you want to. In the course of your life you will change your beliefs many times. The trick to beliefs is to hold onto the ones that work well for you, those that make you feel empowered and loved, and let go of all the others. Beliefs aren't set in stone; they are your operating system that needs to be kept up to date and functioning properly. Are you concerned with what other people might think about your desire or its fulfillment? How can it be okay for me to have whatever (abundance, love, a good home, plenty to eat) when there are so many others who don't have these things? What if my desire violates the ideas of those I respect or fear? Can I trust the Universe? Learning to trust is often a gradual process that goes from choosing to trust a little bit to wholesale trust that everything is working out perfectly. But it's always a choice. It is the choice to relax and let things happen in ways that are out of your control. When you do relax, things come about much more easily for your wellbeing. It's like swimming; when you relax and move the water consciously with your hands and feet, then you can go where you want to. But if you become tense and panicky, then you lose control of the situation and things become dangerous. So choose to trust the Universe, if for no other reason than it works better than being fearful. And expecting that what you desire will be fulfilled, one way or another, is what allows that desire to be fulfilled. Am I holding onto my desire with a tight fist? If you are longing for a powder blue BMW and will only accept that, then you may be disallowing the light green Mercedes Benz that is coming to you. The point is that when you relax and are willing to accept the nearest equivalent to what you envisioned, then you are much more likely to be happy with what you receive. This is, of course, related to the trust we were discussing above. Everything about you, from your body to your mind, works better when you relax. It may be counterintuitive to be more laid back when there is so much on the line, but that's when it's important to remember that relaxed expectation is part of what makes this process work. Are you ready for the changes that success will inevitably bring? For instance, if you are looking for a fun, loving relationship, that's likely to come with being with someone for most of your free time. That will affect your sense of freedom and spontaneity. Are you willing to accept the changes your life will experience? Some of these types of considerations are in the back of one's mind when we are trying to manifest something and lead to a resistance to that manifestation. Another way of putting this is: Is this what I really want? That's always a good question to ask in this manifestation work. What if it doesn't come immediately? Sometimes we simply need to accept that the timing of the fulfillment of our desire is not in our control and our energy is better spent enjoying something else while we expectantly prepare for the eventual fulfillment. Mastering the manifestation process is a process in itself. The more we work with it, the easier it gets and the more fun we can have with it. There are few things in life that have such great rewards for the effort expended. May all you dreams come true and may you help others fulfill theirs. Copyright 2017 Stewart Blackburn Stewart Blackburn is the author of The Skills of Pleasure: Crafting the Life You Want. His website is: www.stewartblackburn.com; email: lomilomiman@gmail.com. |
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