"manifesting" - DUH!

[Radharani]

I had posted a while back on the subject of "manifesting" (a "new-age" activity, not to be confused with the AYP practice of samyama).  I completely believed and practiced it in my youth, for many years, "the power of positive thinking," "if you can dream it, you can be it," etc., until eventually convinced by the School of Hard Knocks that not only was it NOT working, it was actually making my life worse, so I gave up.  

Then after my reality shifted in 2011 one of my yogini friends who is a very successful Life Coach and an expert at "manifesting," recommended that I give it another try.  I figured why not, maybe now that my reality has changed, perhaps it will work. I used her program and gave it the most sincere effort, clearly visualizing stuff as having already happened, etc., (you know the routine) and wholeheartedly believed, but without results.  I ran it by advanced yogi friends here at AYP who have experience in "life coaching" and after discussing it with them, decided I would rather go back to just keeping my mind on God like I normally do (as opposed to putting energy into "visualizing" or whatever).

Lately on Facebook I've been getting posts from this guy Justin Verrengia (seems like a really nice guy) promoting his "manifesting" program, with all kinds of rave reviews, and again it crossed my mind, "Hmm, good for them, I wonder why it never worked for me?  Oh, well."

Then suddenly it hit me like a bolt of lightning:  DUH!!!  It totally f*king DID WORK!  My one focus, and my heart's truest desire, has been for GOD - and I have Him.  Since May 2011, after 35 years of yoga practice, I have been blessed with nearly continual awareness of the Divine Presence 24/7, waking and sleeping, very often in lucid dreaming, and even in the midst of deaths, poverty, legal/family difficulties, fires, floods, etc. - His Love and Bliss is right here, and incredibly growing more intense and palpable over time, in part due to interactions with the sangha, sharing that bhakti/ devotion with others.  

So yeah, DER, I totally got what I always wanted.  Maybe it took the lack of material success to realize and appreciate that fact.  If so, it was absolutely worth it.  In any case, in the words of Metallica, "Nothing else matters."   Wow.

I feel pretty foolish.  

[SeySorciere]

I have always been pretty skeptical of the New Age style manifesting thingy as well. Always felt that it assumed the Universe to be unintelligent, but working as a force like gravity (drop an object, it will fell; ask the Universe, it will give) which it is not. I feel it is only when your Will and God's Will are aligned that manifestation successfully takes place.  

So glad it worked out for you Rad

Actually, it's been doing its magic here as well...

Sey

[Radharani]

quote:Originally posted by SeySorciere

I have always been pretty skeptical of the New Age style manifesting thingy as well. Always felt that it assumed the Universe to be unintelligent, but working as a force like gravity (drop an object, it will fell; ask the Universe, it will give) which it is not. I feel it is only when your Will and God's Will are aligned that manifestation successfully takes place.  

So glad it worked out for you Rad

Actually, it's been doing its magic here as well...

Sey

Glad the Magic is happening for you as well!  

[Vimala]

Hahaha

It's seems that it's easier to get God than a new sport-car

[Radharani]

quote:Originally posted by Vimala

Hahaha

It's seems that it's easier to get God than a new sport-car

yes!  but God is SOOOO much better than a sports car in so many ways...  

[bewell]

My wishes "manifest" as if by magic on occasion, without any conscious effort. Recent example: The store does not have ripe bananas, so I don't buy a banana for my walk home, which is usually my pattern; then, as I'm walking home, I find a banana, nice and yellow, obviously unclaimed. Did I eat it? Of course! It was amusing and tasty. But did it make me a happier person? No way!

Radaharani, I applaud your style of 'manifesting' what really matters.

[Vimala]

quote:Originally posted by Radharani

quote:Originally posted by Vimala

Hahaha

It's seems that it's easier to get God than a new sport-car

yes!  but God is SOOOO much better than a sports car in so many ways...  

No doubts about that![3]

But how could it be that the best thing is easier to get?
Reality works in a different way: if you can get the best, then all other inferior stuff will be in your immediate reach.

For example, if I strive to get a very well-paid job, I can have the money-benefit of all the lower jobs.
I can afford all the stuff that the guy with a lower job can buy.

[crazymandrew]

quote:until eventually convinced by the School of Hard Knocks that not only was it NOT working, it was actually making my life worse, so I gave up

I can really really relate to this. I've had periods where I feel as if I'm being targeted by a lot of negative spirits for doing manifestation work!  I also have had periods were for instance,  I swear that I find better music if I don't bother with doing an manifestation work.  It's almost like natural was better for finding music.

On the flip side.  Thoughts definitely work for protection. I swear when ever I'm feeling bad vibes or uncomfortable,  I think of peace and protection and I feel better.  I haven't really had any problems with people since I started using law of attraction for protection.

I would argue that New Age Spirituality is really arrogant on this subject.  They make it sound easier than it actually is.  I think Manifestation can be as difficult as reaching Enlightenment is some ways.  It's like an art form.  

Stand Up comedians poke fun at books like "The Secret" (which is about manifestation).  I can understand why a lot of people don't believe you create your reality with thought.  

I truly believe I create my own reality with thoughts.  But there are a lot of negative forces out there that make it difficult to use it's full potentially for positive things.  Not only that there are lot of factors involved.  It can be done though!

I love Basher's 7 steps of manifestation:

1.  Vision
2.  Desire (for the vision)
3.  Belief (have to believe it's possible)
4.  Acceptance (of the belief)
5.  Intention (you expect something to happen)
6.  Action (you act like something is going to happen)
7.  Allowance (no attachment to results, a paradox of manifestation)

The video got taken down from youtube!  It was a great video, stinks!  I think step 3 and step 5 are the most important.  Step 5 truly makes things show up in your life,  it's pretty cool!

By the way,  this guy actually claims to be an Alien!  I'm not Joking!  He is really interesting if you check out some of his youtube videos.

[Radharani]

quote:Originally posted by bewell

My wishes "manifest" as if by magic on occasion, without any conscious effort. Recent example: The store does not have ripe bananas, so I don't buy a banana for my walk home, which is usually my pattern; then, as I'm walking home, I find a banana, nice and yellow, obviously unclaimed. Did I eat it? Of course! It was amusing and tasty. But did it make me a happier person? No way!

Radaharani, I applaud your style of 'manifesting' what really matters.

Bewell, yes, that sort of thing also happens for me frequently.

[Radharani]

quote:Originally posted by Vimala

quote:Originally posted by Radharani

quote:Originally posted by Vimala

Hahaha

It's seems that it's easier to get God than a new sport-car

yes!  but God is SOOOO much better than a sports car in so many ways...  

No doubts about that![3]

But how could it be that the best thing is easier to get?
Reality works in a different way: if you can get the best, then all other inferior stuff will be in your immediate reach.

For example, if I strive to get a very well-paid job, I can have the money-benefit of all the lower jobs.
I can afford all the stuff that the guy with a lower job can buy.

Vimala,

Yes, that is a good point!  Indeed, when I thought about it later, your comment, "It's easier to get God than a new sport car," I wonder if maybe you were just being facetious?  

Because now that I think about it, no, obviously it is NOT easier to get God.  Even in this little impoverished hick town I know of LOTS of people who have very nice sports cars!  But I know hardly anyone, aside from my fellow yogis here at AYP and a few more I've met via the internet, who have God consciousness/ Divine union.  Even among serious practitioners people lament who hard it is, how long it takes, etc.

Assuming it actually did work that way, as far as getting other "inferior stuff," I guess you would have to really WANT it, which apparently I didn't want it badly enough.

[Will Power]

The Secret & the Silva method helped me for the last push to finish the university. It helped me study harder (more time). Sort of an autohipnosis

[Radharani]

quote:Originally posted by crazymandrew

quote:until eventually convinced by the School of Hard Knocks that not only was it NOT working, it was actually making my life worse, so I gave up

I can really really relate to this. I've had periods where I feel as if I'm being targeted by a lot of negative spirits for doing manifestation work!  I also have had periods were for instance,  I swear that I find better music if I don't bother with doing an manifestation work.  It's almost like natural was better for finding music.

On the flip side.  Thoughts definitely work for protection. I swear when ever I'm feeling bad vibes or uncomfortable,  I think of peace and protection and I feel better.  I haven't really had any problems with people since I started using law of attraction for protection.

I would argue that New Age Spirituality is really arrogant on this subject.  They make it sound easier than it actually is.  I think Manifestation can be as difficult as reaching Enlightenment is some ways.  It's like an art form.  

Stand Up comedians poke fun at books like "The Secret" (which is about manifestation).  I can understand why a lot of people don't believe you create your reality with thought.  

I truly believe I create my own reality with thoughts.  But there are a lot of negative forces out there that make it difficult to use it's full potentially for positive things.  Not only that there are lot of factors involved.  It can be done though!

I love Basher's 7 steps of manifestation:

1.  Vision
2.  Desire (for the vision)
3.  Belief (have to believe it's possible)
4.  Acceptance (of the belief)
5.  Intention (you expect something to happen)
6.  Action (you act like something is going to happen)
7.  Allowance (no attachment to results, a paradox of manifestation)

The video got taken down from youtube!  It was a great video, stinks!  I think step 3 and step 5 are the most important.  Step 5 truly makes things show up in your life,  it's pretty cool!

By the way,  this guy actually claims to be an Alien!  I'm not Joking!  He is really interesting if you check out some of his youtube videos.

Hmmm...  I think our experience is really different here.  When I talked about "The School of Hard Knocks" and making my life WORSE by practicing "manifesting" in my youth, I simply meant that I wasted my energy "visualizing," etc., as opposed to getting off my ass and actually DOING something, like WORKING harder and saving money and/or finding serious investors.  Instead, I listened to my New Age rock star friend who shared my dream of opening a music & meditation center and always assured me, "Yes, I BELIEVE it's going to happen!" but when it got down to it, he in fact did nothing concrete to help.  So our "belief" made it worse from a purely practical standpoint because nobody was doing a damn thing to actually make it happen.

Unlike you, I've never had a problem with being "targeted by negative spirits."  I have only myself to blame for my failures. I'm not worried about "negative forces," especially since becoming perimenopausal and embracing my own dark side. And I don't feel that I need "protection" from anybody because I can't really be harmed.

Now when you mentioned, e.g., "thinking of peace" to change a negative vibe, that sounds more like classical samyama and yes, it is very doable!  I have often used it to change the energy in a room, to avert a tantrum by a rowdy toddler, to calm a panicking horse or interact with a snake or other wild animal.

The steps you listed are the same ones my Life Coach friend uses in her program, where she goes into great depth and detail, and I followed it to the letter and was sure it would "work," but it didn't (at least not on the physical plane).  Steps #3 and 5 were easy for me; I'm guessing I failed mostly at step #2.  

If you are able to manifest physical reality via thought, good for you, but all I'm saying is I myself personally have seen not a shred of empirical evidence for it.  After discussing this a while back with Karl, who is an expert on the subject, and Etherfish, who swears that it works for him, I ended up concluding that even if it were possible to create physical things via mental energy, it would be a lot of work, and why bother?  I mean, where does it end?  Fulfill one desire and two more will come up to take its place.  So do you end up having to micro-manage the universe? I would rather just go with the flow and be happy with whatever God sends.

Now, I DO agree that "our thoughts create our reality" in some respects.  E.g., we can accomplish more when we are confident, focused and motivated, and consciously align ourselves with the Divine will.  But more importantly, we decide whether to be happy or not.  We choose how we will respond to whatever life brings.  When our happiness is not contingent upon external circumstances, that is true freedom.

And that is what a lifetime of yoga practice has "manifested" for me:  The constant ecstasy of Divine Love, and the quieting of the monkey-mind with its desires and fears.  Presumably (assuming the system does "work") that would explain my failure at step #2.  Maybe I just don't WANT anything else badly enough...

Anyway, thanks a lot for your feedback.

[Radharani]

quote:Originally posted by Will Power

The Secret & the Silva method helped me for the last push to finish the university. It helped me study harder (more time). Sort of an autohipnosis

Well sure, I can totally see that.  It is the sense in which I agree that "our thoughts create our reality," in a psychological or spiritual manner.  Boosting our self confidence, overcoming our fears, getting more motivated, etc.  Absolutely!  But that's a different thing than like, manifesting a pony or a pile of money.  

[Bodhi Tree]

quote:Originally posted by Radharani

In any case, in the words of Metallica, "Nothing else matters."

Righteously elucidated, Radharani. No material success or worldly circumstance could satiate the inner desire for the serene and divine connection to the miracle of the Eternal Now. At least you've got your priorities straight--God before the world.

It's when I put the world first that I've fallen into trouble. When I put God first, the world becomes smaller and its troubles loosen their grip on my mind. If I can fall into stillness, and let the stillness move me, then I have a chance to meet the world in a way that's not so daunting.

I'm glad you are feeling the Presence 24/7, and I hope the material variables become more aligned with your inner peace.

Unity. Strength. Abundance.

[Radharani]

quote:Originally posted by Bodhi Tree

quote:Originally posted by Radharani

In any case, in the words of Metallica, "Nothing else matters."

Righteously elucidated, Radharani. No material success or worldly circumstance could satiate the inner desire for the serene and divine connection to the miracle of the Eternal Now. At least you've got your priorities straight--God before the world.

It's when I put the world first that I've fallen into trouble. When I put God first, the world becomes smaller and its troubles loosen their grip on my mind. If I can fall into stillness, and let the stillness move me, then I have a chance to meet the world in a way that's not so daunting.

I'm glad you are feeling the Presence 24/7, and I hope the material variables become more aligned with your inner peace.

Unity. Strength. Abundance.

thanks.  LOVE.