I know a lot of people, including me, who want to instantly manifest their desires for wealth and prosperity. There are even tons of books and videos, workshops and presenters that tell you how to do it. The truth is, however, most of us miss the point of the exercise of what’s being taught, so we manifest disappointment, not delight!
The book Oneness, received and transcribed by Rasha (2006), provides enormous support in cultivating the capacity to manifest one’s heart’s desire. It virtually says the same thing that every other source of expertise on the subject suggests: To notice and acknowledge limiting patterns of thoughts that are not in alignment with total and complete openness to receiving your heart’s desire.
I mention Oneness here only because, for me, its gentle yet persuasive encouragement allows me to come to an understanding of this practice of manifestation is really about. It’s about uncovering "truths" I’ve been living with. Many of these "truths" are unconscious and have been limiting my capacity to be me in my fullest expression – this includes manifesting my heart’s desires!
If I truly want to practice the art and science of manifestation, then it requires disciplined presence and practice. It may also require getting some support from a coach or thinking partner who can help you see what you currently can’t see, or don’t want to see for yourself.
I’m as reluctant as anyone else to put in the work. However, as I remain open and curious to wisdom and discoveries, I find that the evidence unearthed in these practices is exceedingly worth the dedication and discipline. It can be as simple as watching a movie or some show that engages me in ways I haven’t yet tapped into.
Here’s an example:
Watching The Great British Baking Show is one of many therapies I employ throughout my week to bring me into a state of being that I love. The quality of the experience for me is engaged connection. I love the earnestness of the bakers. I love how they truly care about each other. I love the British characteristics that are just so much a part of this program.
The show itself is so unlike U.S. productions, which pits individuals against each other – making it more about winning or losing and not about being your best and bringing your best. U.S. baking shows like to add the hype and drama. They are way over the top with competitiveness for me. (Everyone has their own preferences, eh?)
As banal as some Americans might find this British show to be, for me, it’s about all the excitement I can handle these days. No violence, very little drama, and lovely, pleasant people doing what they love – baking.
The simplicity of the format, the lack of cluttery hype, the consistency of the hosts, all add up to a very good therapeutic session for me. Yes. That’s right! While I’m watching this show or a good movie, I become highly aware of what arises within me. Observing when and where I’m triggered, where I’m deeply moved, or where I’m sobbing, allows me to discover untapped "truths" which lie buried within. Quite often I deeply relate to the character, and in doing so I’m able to acknowledge truths that keep me from moving forward with that which I truly wish to manifest.
During the show I watched two nights ago, the dreams of Iain were dashed because of the neglect of one of the other bakers. He was so upset that he threw his cake pieces into the trash and abruptly walked out. Someone had taken away his dream, and he was so devastated that all he could do was what he did. I sobbed “ not for him but for me!
While I felt in myself the devastation that Iain must have felt, more so I felt into old memories within me of all the times that I was robbed of something that I wanted so much. Growing up in a family of nine, that can happen a lot!
By feeling into my current experience while watching Iain leave the show, I saw how I came to choose to believe and see myself at the mercy of others. The belief that became clear to me, as I sat with myself is that, "By myself, I can’t have what I truly want. I have to rely on the mercy of others." Sigh!!
As I watched myself watch Iain, I could feel how alone I believe myself to be. I could see how I came to believe that I’m beholding to others to have what I want. I realized the degree to which I trained myself to not want what I believe I can’t have. I saw how, though I’m taught to reach for the stars, I have no doubt that my hand will be cut off in the process.
These are not pleasant realizations. However, to see the patterns of these experiences of my life and to reveal the beliefs that were created because of them, I realize how these underlying "truths" that reside deep within me diminish my capacity to manifest having the stars fall into my lap effortlessly.
Here’s the deal: If I want to manifest my desires for the stars, I have to let go of the belief that I’m at the mercy of anyone or anything. Make sense? This was a big revealing for me that I’d not sincerely looked at or seen before. On top of that….
Last night, watching the final episode of the season, I sobbed with the announcement of the winner. I felt the loss of not winning, not being chosen, being less than, of always being the underdog, of always being the bridesmaid and never the bride.
The realization that in the deepest recesses of my being I carry this belief too, that I’m an underdog/loser, allows me to choose to free myself from this belief that constrains the stars from falling into my lap.
Now perhaps you think I’m reading too much into all of this. Yet, that’s what a good coaching/therapy session does; it allows the client to experience the authenticity of their being; it allows underlying themes and patterns to arise, so they can be distinguished from the normal bantering of one’s mind. In this case, it allows me to see that the pattern of being a loser/underdog is something I’ve been living with for as long as I can imagine. But it isn’t who I am. It is only a way of being that I’ve been wearing, like a layer of protective cloth.
The protection provided by limiting beliefs such as seeing myself as a loser/underdog means I’ll never be surprised by coming in second. However, this protective layer, like Teflon, also resists manifesting my truest desires. The stars may be falling my way, but like the Earth’s atmosphere, that protective layer deflects those stars from their destination – me!
Subsequently, the exercise of manifesting is not so much about obtaining riches and wealth that are desired. The true purpose of the exercise is to realize the capacity to discover, recognize, and surrender those constraints which block effortless manifestation from occurring.
For me, as for all of us interested in this ability, the practice is to grow my capacity to be curious, to explore, to investigate, to be vigilant and to scrutinize my thinking and feeling for limiting patterns of thoughts. Once revealed, then it makes perfect sense to let them go.
This morning I’m able to distinguish, to a greater degree, the truth of who I am as the essence of Oneness with no limits to what I can manifest, from the "truth" of being alone, a loser, and at the mercy of others for what I can and can’t have. The task now at hand is to discipline myself to notice when I’ve fallen back into "loser/underdog," and to shift myself back into being free of the constraints of that limiting belief.
What I realize over and over again is that, had I been given wealth and prosperity without engaging in this sometimes arduous process of self-discovery, I’d not have experienced the wonder, the awe, or the Oneness of all that is. The more I understand, the more sense it makes that I am already being showered with all that I desire. This occurs more and more effortlessly when I free myself of the constraints of limited thinking.
It also becomes less important what I manifest. What becomes more important is the relationship I’m cultivating with myself and with Oneness. It’s becoming an incredibly intimate partnership. And with that, the stars appear in my lap!