THE DARK SIDE OF MANIFESTING
THE NEW AGE PRACTICE ISN’T ALL RAINBOWS, GLITTER + NEVER ENDING PROSPERITY
[MANIFESTATION — THE IDEA THAT YOU CAN CALL SOMETHING INTO EXISTENCE THROUGH THOUGHT/PRAYER/INTENTION]
HAVE YOU HEARD THE WORD? WE’RE CAPABLE OF MAGIC! It’s manifestation and if you practice it right, anything is possible.
If you do a quick google on manifestation, the results can be overwhelming. IS EVERYONE AN EXPERT ON MANIFESTING? Or perhaps, is everyone manifesting without me?
The concept of manifesting can stir some controversial feelings. Are we really able to turn our thoughts into physical manifestations? Are all these people selling me snake oil or are we actually able to exert some control over our destiny? Is this a new version of the prosperity gospel (Joel Osteen, Tammy Faye & Jim Bakker) divorced from Christianity?
As you read and research for yourself, you might find yourself thinking there’s some truth to the concept that what we focus on becomes our reality.
I’ve been aware of/reading/studying the law of attraction & different manifestation practices for over a decade — starting with the Hay House authors (Louise Hay & Abraham Hicks & Anita Moorjani) and more recently following along with the teachings of Lacy Phillips at To Be Magnetic.
Let’s start with the good —
We take time to figure out our values and goals
First, if you’re working on manifesting, you’re taking the time to think about what you want your life to look like & what you want in your life. YAY. Getting clear on what we want is one of the most important gifts we can give ourselves.
We spend so much time on auto-pilot and living inside of societal programming, that taking the time to examine our lives is a worthy pursuit.
Ask yourself why you have your goals and dreams. Turn them over, seek where they came from. Understand if they are yours or if someone placed them there for you. It’s super valuable to our overall daily and life satisfaction to align our goals with our hearts.
If you’re manifesting or curious about the practice or process I believe you’re inherently setting yourself down your own path of self-discovery.
Determining our own value system separate from any other entity is crucial to our happiness. So if that process starts for you through manifestation, that’s a great channel to dive into your own value system. A popular, simple manifestation process of making a list and searching for signs that good things are coming to you, can also be a great way to practice choosing positivity or gratitude.
Where things start to get hairy for me are some of the implicit messages floating around in traditional manifestation literature — specifically the idea that we’re inherently entitled to material wealth and are in fact rewarded for our spiritual practice through material gain.
The inverse, the idea that we bring on bad things to ourselves and that our lack of gain is a reflection of our spiritual life deeply concerning to me.
FOLLOW THE MONEY
THERE’S A BIT OF A CAPITALISTIC DARK SIDE TO POPULAR MANIFESTATION PROCESSES: PERMISSION FOR AN UNBRIDLED PURSUIT OF EXCESS MATERIALISM IN THE NAME OF SPIRITUAL PERFECTION AND PERFORMANCE.
Popular manifestation teachers encourage and give permission to dream your most materialistic dreams and pursue them with your full extent of your resources, encouraging students to get to the next level by spending loads of money on programs and coaching to achieve the material success they are peddling.
This is just rebranding on prosperity gospel. FOLLOW THE MONEY - Who’s actually getting richer?
Our lives are not an upward trend chart if we’re living that manifestation dream. IT IS NOT OUR BIRTHRIGHT TO VALIDATE OUR SELF-WORTH THROUGH MATERIAL GAIN. We don’t ‘deserve’ a bounty of material goods from the universe. Spiritual people aren’t rewarded for being more worthy than others.
In fact, if you dig into any of these people peddling to you their manifestations of wealth I pretty much guarantee there’s something behind the curtain. They are trading on their looks, they hail from wealth or they are just straight up faking it.
SIDE NOTE, HAVE YOU HEARD OF CLIMATE CHANGE?
To me, ‘manifesting’ wealth in an excess of material goods seems unethical at this point. I think we have to divorce our wishes from the reality of the environment that we live in.
Don’t get me wrong. I am a petty bitch who is into aesthetics and I have spent much of my life, time, and energy looking for the perfect cashmere sweater or pair of jeans to telegraph my personality into the world. But one might say hypocritically, I don’t believe in excess consumerism. Are these at odds? Maybe. To me, they aren’t. I think we can participate in culture and society and enjoy nice things, but in a reasonable, grounded fashion. I suppose that’s why I’m not a manifestation entrepreneur.
We’ve got to adjust our ideas around what it means to be successful, thinking about how to live with less in harmony with the planet. But, that’s not going to jive with your vibe when you’re trying to sell people on your power I guess?
BEWARE OF ‘MY PROGRAM WILL FIND YOU LOVE’
People who profit from your participation in their courses are preying on our deepest fears and insecurities — THE REASON WHY WE HAVEN’T CALLED IN THE RIGHT PARTNER? WE HAVEN’T DONE THE WORK.
IT’S OUR FAULT WE DON’T HAVE THE LIFE WE COVET (at least that’s what they want you to believe)
The implicit message can be that we’re broken or lost, and can’t get what they have unless we follow their program. All the while, they are tying your success to adhering to their programs. Well, you must not be REALLY doing the work, is the implication for anyone who isn’t manifesting their dreams.
What am I doing wrong that I can’t find love? AM I UNLOVABLE? I wondered that for years. We all have the same fears, that we’re unlovable and that no one will love us for who we really are. I am in a partnership now— I’ve got a wonderful husband, but I don’t believe we met because I am more deserving than someone else. Here is a truth though, everyone is deserving of love and you can absolutely be loved for being who you authentically are.
TO GET PEOPLE HOOKED INTO YOUR BRAND, YOU GET THEM WITH THE SHINY AND THE VULNERABLE STUFF.
THIS HOUSE? OH, YOU KNOW MANIFESTATION. THIS PERFECT HUSBAND? MANIFESTATION. WANT TO KNOW HOW? SPEND X TO LEARN MY WAYS.
Do you feel me on this? Related side note, I LOVE NICE THINGS & I HAVE SPENT A LOT OF TIME AND ENERGY ON SEEKING LOVE. So, this all comes from a place of I’ve been there and I feel like I’ve done and seen it all.
After reading the Law of Attraction and related books, I spent hours puzzling/crying over my skin and my auto-immune issues, feeling trapped that it is my own mental patterns creating my acne and my lack of perfect health. There are messages out there that acne and other physical issues and illnesses are just mental patterns being played out on the physical plane.
Is there some truth to it? Maybe, but is it the only truth? I don’t think so. You know what finally cleared my skin after I tried essentially everything for 10 years? ACCUTANE. YOU KNOW WHAT HELPS WITH MY AUTOIMMUNE? NOTHING (but hopefully something, eventually?) We are powerful, but we’re not God (if you believe in one).
Our lives are full of ups and downs. We can choose our beliefs, we can choose to see the joy and we can choose to learn lessons, but I hope you don’t choose to pin your worth to these programs.
Our lives are successful and our manifestion practice can be successful even if our live isn’t one giant upward trend graph like we’re taught to believe it will be IF ONLY WE DO THIS [INSERT PROGRAM/BELIEF/ACTIVITY HERE].
All I’m saying, is that I’m seeing so much faux-spirituality being tied up in consumerism and I don’t think you need to spend a dollar to manifest or develop intuition or to get healthy. Can you spend money on these things? Of course and honey, I DO. These are my hobbies and passions. But to have a healthy inner life and spiritual practice is reward in itself, people just can’t figure out how to capitalize on that.
