Benefits: Learn what manifestation really is and how neuroscience is proving that you can manifest what you want.
So That You Can: Embrace the ideals of meditation, mindfulness, and manifestation and create the fulfilling life you were meant to live.
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Can You Really Manifest What You Want?
My mission is to build a community of Deliberate Thinkers who are committed to facing their limiting beliefs so that they can realize their full potential!
Every post that I publish revolves around this theme in some way. Naturally, I think about Deliberate Thinking a lot (HA!).
But I never thought of Deliberate Thinking as a synonym for Manifestation. When I think of Manifestation, I think of a robed person sitting criss-cross applesauce (as the politically correct kids say) in a low-lit room — filled with pillows, varied fabrics, and the overpowering smell of incense. This person is wishing upon a star that whatever they want in life will magically appear at their feet.
Manifestation sounded like a bunch of hooey to me. Not because I don’t believe that you can create the life you want but because I believe you go after the life you want and create it in a logical way. Not by hoping for it. Not by trying to “manifest” it; whatever the heck that means.
Then bloggers with names like Spiritual Growth Club, Law of Attraction Coaching, and Manifestation Experts started following me on Pinterest. And a lot of the people following me seemed to be interested in “manifesting what you want” and LOA (law of attraction; I had to look that up). So, as a Deliberate Thinker, I became interested in learning more about it.
Does Deliberate Thinking = Manifestation?
This was the question I was beginning to ask myself. We’ll get to the answer, but first, let’s talk about what I mean by Deliberate Thinking.
As I mentioned, my mission revolves around Deliberate Thinking. I didn’t coin the term, but I did create the Cycle of Deliberate Thinking. The Cycle is based on philosophies I have absorbed from Abraham Maslow, Jordan Peterson, Mel Robbins, Brene Brown, Noam Chomsky, and Gary John Bishop, to name a few.
At its core, Deliberate Thinking is the philosophy that you can realize your full potential (or become self-actualized as Maslow would say) by examining the expectations you are willing to live by, which will transform the way you see the world. You transform the way you see the world is by embracing the Cycle of Deliberate Thinking. (You can read our full philosophy here.)
The Cycle is comprised of five interrelated components:
- Examining expectations (limiting beliefs)
- Personifying core values
- Executing with intention
- Respecting other points of view
- Staying curious
As you embrace The Cycle, your authentic self begins to emerge. You will feel a greater sense of connection and belonging, and that will allow you to realize your full potential.
This concept of mine is an amalgamation of many teachings that I’ve studied, but it turns out that Deliberate Thinking may actually be Manifestation. Whoa! Keep reading to find out why.
What Does the Science Say?
The reason I believe in Deliberate Thinking so much is that there’s scientific evidence to support it. Deliberate Thinking changes the pathways in your brain, which will literally change the way you see the world. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what a couple of doctors have said:
Your brain is tremendously plastic, and it’s being shaped, both structurally and functionally, by everything you do; but also by everything you don’t do.
Dr. Lara Boyd, neuroscientist
Every thought, feeling and action creates a pathway in your brain. . . . Whenever you do something over and over, that pathway becomes stronger and stronger. The stronger the pathway . . . the easier that behaviour, thought or feeling will be.
Dr. Karen Young, psychologist
According to Dr. Joe Dispenza, neuroscientist and meditation expert, your thoughts are a reflection of your environment. Therefore, in order to truly experience personal growth, you have to “think greater than your environment.” Or, to use a cliche, you have to think outside the box.
You do this by changing your personality, which is the fusion of the ways you think, act, and feel. “Your personality creates your personal reality.”
You change your personality by changing your thoughts, behaviors, and habits. But most importantly, you have to change your emotions. Your emotions are part of your identity and have great influence over your thoughts, behaviors, and habits.
You Can Rewire Your Brain
How do you change your emotions? You have to rewire your brain by learning something new (Stay Curious!); this creates new connections in your brain. These new connections will reflect a different perspective of the world back to you.
Another way to rewire your brain, pursuant to neuroscience, is to visualize the changes you want to see in your life. Here’s the crazy thing — your brain doesn’t know the difference between an event that actually happened and an event that you imagined. The same pathways can be formed, which will reflect the same perspectives back to you. Trippy, right?
All this rewiring will create a new “state of being,” which is a combination of how you’re feeling and what you’re thinking. When your thoughts and feelings align, you can manifest what you want.
Manifestation Truth #1 - Seek Direction
According to Gabrielle Bernstein, to manifest what you want, you have to dwell in a place of believing that you’re already where you want to be. Then you allow The Universe to catch up with you. You do this not to get something but to “claim the energy of what it is you want to feel.”
Hmmm . . . this sounds pretty similar to some of the neuroscience theories we just discussed.
Neuroscience suggests that you can rewire your brain through visualization, which will change your personality and, ultimately, your state of being. When you change your state of being, you realign your thoughts and feelings, which sounds like another way of saying that you are “claiming the energy of what it is you want to feel.”
Ms. Bernstein suggests that after you visualize, you have to “trust The Universe” by:
- Recognizing when you are trying to control a situation in your life.
- Asking your Inner Guide to “reinterpret the situation” for you.
- Allowing the direction of your Inner Guide to come forward.
Let’s reinterpret these 3 steps from a neuroscience slant:
- You experience personal growth when you recognize that your environment, which is a reflection of the thoughts you are trying to control, no longer suits you.
- You then have to “think greater than your environment,” outside your regular thoughts.
- Then you allow new pathways to form, which will change your emotions, thoughts, and actions so that your brain reflects a different view of the world back to you.
Pretty cool, right?
Manifestation Truth #2 - What You’re Really Trying to Attract
Dr. Wayne Dyer was speaking to Oprah about the art of manifestation, and this quote of his really hit me.
I will attract into my life what I am; not what I want.
In his opinion, this is the true purpose of Manifestation. His interpretation really changed my perception. I was under the impression, based on the proliferation of information I see online, that Manifestation is about wishing for things you want — money, careers, love interests, etc.
But after listening to Dr. Dyer, as well as a few other legit proponents of manifesting, I now understand that it’s really about finding your true self. Figuring out what you need in this life. Figuring out what your natural gifts are so you can use them to meet those needs. And being grateful for all that you have, which will curtail your wants.
That is exactly what Deliberate Thinking is all about — becoming your authentic self and realizing your full potential!
- Finding your true self by examining your expectations and limiting beliefs.
- Figuring out what you really need in life by defining your core values and personifying them.
- Figuring out what your natural gifts are by staying curious.
- Curtailing your wants by living intentionally.
Manifestation Truth #3 - Harness Your Awareness
This pearl of wisdom came from Dandapani, a Hindu priest:
Where awareness goes, energy flows.
He presents this powerful analogy. Energy is like rain. When rain falls from the sky, it doesn’t discriminate; it waters the flowers and weeds equally. The same is true of our energy. We have a finite amount of energy, and it will flow toward whatever our awareness is focused on. If our awareness is focused on fruitful thoughts, our energy will continue to feed those thoughts, and positive things will start happening in your life. And, of course, the opposite is also true.
This is where meditation comes into play. Meditation is a practice that will condition your brain and change the focus of your thoughts and emotions — in other words, meditation will change the focus of your awareness. You can focus your awareness toward what you want to attract in your life, which will change your perception of the world, and you will start to recognize opportunities that will allow you to manifest what you want.
Let’s go back to the neuroscience one more time. Recall that your emotions influence your thoughts, behaviors, and habits. Therefore, it is important to manage the focus of your emotions by rewiring your brain (meditation). Rewiring your brain creates a new “state of being” (awareness). When your thoughts and feelings are aligned within this new “state of being,” you can manifest what you want (because that is where your energy will be flowing).
Phew! Did you get all that? ?
The point is, neuroscience is proving what Hindu priests, monks, and yogis have been teaching for thousands of years. This amazes me and inspires me to promote the ideals of Deliberate Thinking even more!
How Will You Use Your Power?
We all have immense power within us, and this power can help us “. . . become everything [we] are capable of becoming,” as Abraham Maslow would say.
I wholeheartedly believe that you can become everything you are capable of becoming by embracing the Cycle of Deliberate Thinking. In addition, I think it is worth your while (and mine) to embrace the ideals of meditation, mindfulness, and manifestation.
Click here for more posts with a “manifest what you want” theme.
Be sure to check out my follow up post “How I Accidentally Manifested My Dream.”
And, of course, take advantage of our FREE worksheet that will get you started on this path.
COMMENT TIME . . . I’m definitely not a manifestation expert. If you have anything to add to the conversation, please do. Or, let us know what you would like to manifest? I would love to know, and seeing it in writing will be the first step toward changing the pathways in your brain. No one will have access to your email address except me, and you can enter a username if you prefer.
Until next time . . . STAY CURIOUS!
Only Have 1 Minute
Links
It’s Not Magic — It’s Manifesting, posted to YouTube by Gabrielle Bernstein on 11.19.12
Dr. Wayne Dyer on the Art of Manifestation, posted to YouTube by OWN on 3.26.12
DANDAPANI: How To Attract Anything You Want In Your Life, posted to YouTube by Be Inspired on 9.04.18
After watching this, your brain will not be the same, posted to YouTube by TEDx Talks on 12.15.15
‘Don’t Think of Pink Elephants!’ – The Secret to Replacing Negative Thinking With Brave Thinking, Karen Young, Hey Sigmund
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