Manifest, Schmanifest

How often have you heard the statement, “know what you want and ask God for it?” Or in my case, ask the Universe as I am not sure what is out there that is bigger than us but I have faith there is something. God has connotations of organized religion for me and I am not a big fan of the scriptures according to whoever the man was that wrote them. I like knowing that the Universe is supporting me, listening to me, talking to me and helping me, just not God to me. What ever it is to you, having the faith that there is support for your desires that go beyond you is all that matters. It doesn’t matter to me what it is called.

So often through my life I thought this was all bullshit. To me, to get what you want meant working really hard for it. Praying for it, meditating on it, giving it to the universe and then being patient was hooey! I lacked faith that the Universe was there to support me, I thought it or God was punishing me for decisions I made. I thought everything I needed, everything I worked for was only through my work.

Years ago, a friend of mine wanted to move from New York to Florida. To do so, she looked at homes online and found one she really liked near where she wanted to live. I remember talking with her and she said to me, “It will happen, we will get this house.” When I asked how she could be this sure she just said, “I believe it will happen.” And it did. She has already talked about moving, before the house was even in her sights, she knew and believed that this would all work out. She knew she and her husband would find jobs and they would be fine. I remember thinking to myself how I didn’t have that faith. I wouldn’t have been able to tell someone I was moving until the papers were signed and the job was in my hand. She was completely clear on what she wanted, she spoke about it as if it were done and she did the work she needed to do to be ready. She was happy, felt good about what she was doing and knew it was in love and service that this was happening for her. Love of her family and a new lifestyle, service of her in-laws who they would be closer to to help them as they aged.

This lesson sat with me for a long time. How do I move from someone who didn’t pray for what I wanted but only knew you had to work hard to get it? How do I move from someone who didn’t believe in manifestation to someone who does? That took enlightenment. It took changing patterns. It took going on the spiritual journey that I have mentioned at other times and beginning to believe that the Universe, or God, was there to support and help you. Once on that journey, getting clear about what I want versus what I don’t want has been a challenge for me. Too often I was stuck on what I didn’t have versus what did I truly want, what was my heart’s desire. I have begun to practice more faith, less control and it is liberating. Now I needed to learn how to do this in alignment with who I am now.

I recently attended a retreat that focused on manifesting your heart’s desire. Although it was the focus it was through a number of practices that help you settle the mind, connect the mind and body and learn about the intention and attention you give to your heart’s desires. What gets in the way of what you want? Fear. Fear of letting go of the stories we have told ourselves. Fear of the unknown. Fear that we will not get what we want. Stress also gets in our way. When we are stressed, or allow stressors to impact us we struggle to see beyond the stress. We struggle to find ways to let go of the stress. Our mind-body holds onto the fear and stress. We need to use practices that help us rid our mind-body of the fear and stress.

We all do that in different ways. Some exercise. Some eat better. Some talk to someone. Some meditate or pray. Some go for a walk in nature. Some sleep. All of these ways can help you connect your mind and body better and all can help you release what no longer serves you. One thing I have learned though, is that you must be consciously doing this, you must be aware of what you are doing. It cannot be done without being intentional. Otherwise you are just resting but not aware. Patterns won’t change, outcomes will remain the same. Being conscious and intentional sends the right messages to the universe.

In listening to Gabrielle Bernstein this past week and her Spiritually Aligned method of manifestation, I learned and grew. Her method is simple. 1) Your desire should be backed by love and service. This isn’t “I want a new car.” This more like “a new car would allow me to safely take people where they need to go to move their life forward, including me.”  Or “sharing the work I have done to help others change their life,”  instead of asking “I want my career to grow.”  2) Believe. In her words, have faith in this or something better than what you desire. It isn’t about wanting what you want in the way you want it, it is the faith that whatever is out there for you is what you want or even better than you thought possible! 3) Patience. Oh this is a tough one! Patience that the timing is right when it happens even if it isn’t the timing you wanted or planned for. I know that I couldn’t attract the partner I wanted because I wasn’t the healed best version of myself yet. I am now, it wouldn’t have worked before. 4) Take action that is spiritually aligned. This means not from a place of greed, jealousy, judging, pushing. Aligning spiritually means, to me, living a life that is authentic, doing the work on my self and what ever it is I desire from a place of grace, love, openness.

Manifest what I want from a place of love and service. Maybe it isn’t hooey after all.