Is Manifesting Even A Thing? Part 1

We all want abundance. And we’ve all heard about “manifesting abundance”. But what does that actually mean? Is manifesting even a thing? And what does it mean if things aren’t magically just falling into place in your life?

In asking these questions, I can hear the collective gasp of the spiritual community. People ready to jump up defensively at how even asking questions like these somehow belies a lack of belief, which in turn must mean a lack of abundance, and with thinking like that, MUST be in a ‘low vibe’ state so unfollow this person immediately!!!

So…to the spiritual community who hasn’t already unfollowed me, how am I doing? On the right track?

Here’s the thing. It’s just a question. And it’s a very reasonable question.

If you’ve followed me for awhile, you know that I believe in using conscious tools AND spiritual practices. You know that I believe that we can live powerful, amazing and abundant lives, and that we do need to put in focused intention (i.e. effort) to do so.

Sister beliefs: Manifesting abundance + prosperity gospel

For those who have never had much interaction with the protestant church and its denominations, it might surprise you to hear that the concept of manifesting abundance is very similar to what is known as the “prosperity gospel”.

To its credit, modern spirituality has blended ideas and ways of being from a spectrum of world religions and beliefs.

Malumir Logan, Acorn + Burdock

The benefit of understanding how the prosperity gospel has played out for its adherents is that we can learn from its successes and failures.

First, let’s make sure everyone knows what I mean when I refer to “manifesting abundance” and “prosperity gospel”.

Manifesting abundance

Many leaders and practitioners in modern spirituality talk about the idea of manifestation and manifesting abundance. Here’s a very high-level overview.

The idea is that our thoughts are powerful because thoughts are energy, and that with our thoughts, we are creating our reality. The belief is that like attracts like, that if you’re immersing yourself in thoughts (energy) of a specific goal, then you’re attracting that energy from other places to you. So if we focus our thoughts on a specific intention of something we want, then we can bring it into our lives.

Another important factor is that manifestation requires such great focus and belief on the desired outcome that there is no room for doubt, because doubt (which is low vibration) will prevent the manifestation.

Prosperity gospel

The prosperity gospel was a trend that gained momentum in many 20th century charismatic protestant churches, and continues today. The trend began in the US, and spread from there.

The idea is that faith activates spiritual forces to allow us to create our desires into reality. The belief is that faith results in tangible material benefit (financial success and good health), and that nothing can prevent adherents with sufficient faith from receiving these benefits.

Another important factor is that the prosperity gospel requires faith, and that failure to achieve desired material outcomes points to a lack of faith.

Why the similarities matter

There are clearly some strong similarities between manifestation and prosperity gospel:

• Clear desires that we have are possible
• It’s up to us to have complete faith/zero doubt (two sides of the same coin)
• Having complete faith/zero doubt and being clear about what we want causes energetic/spiritual forces to work with us so we get the material things we want.

Why does this matter? Studying history provides the opportunity to avoid previous mistakes. Sure, that doesn’t always happen, but it’s an opportunity.

The recent resurgence of manifestation thinking has begun to expand from more esoteric communities, increasingly to broader society. As these ideas are adopted by more and more people, it’s an excellent time to consider what does and doesn’t serve us when it comes to manifesting abundance.

A common theme of modern spirituality is the shift away from clear-cut establishments that don’t allow for a sense of inclusion of people or diversity of thought.

Malumir Logan, Acorn + Burdock

However, human behavioural patterns have stood the test of time – for better and worse – across history. Since we seem to be reviving a previous/similar concept, we should take full advantage of learning from others’ experiences.

After all, if the idea is to welcome the wonderful and improve our lives, why not make sure to avoid common pitfalls?

So you think you want to manifest?

Well, you probably can. First things first. If you want to practice manifesting abundance, it’s important to think through what abundance actually is and the common pitfalls to avoid. Next week we’ll discuss what manifestation involves.

Abundance

Sure, abundance certainly can refer to material wealth. But it doesn’t make sense that it’s simply a particular dollar figure.

History (and current society) is littered with people having massive income and property, but also having massive debt. Or having significant financial affluence and notoriety, but lacking in healthy, supportive relationships.

Obviously statistically there must be financially wealthy people who are genuinely financially affluent AND have healthy relationships.

This is not to say that money doesn’t matter. As someone who remembers what it’s like to live as a single adult below the poverty line, I can tell you that having sufficient resources to pay bills and live life does in fact matter.

It’s just the definition of ‘sufficient’ that can change. And financial wealth is not a prerequisite for happiness.

Pitfalls to avoid

What are the pitfalls of the prosperity gospel, anyway? And how are they relevant for manifesting abundance?

Pitfall 1: Unhealthy prioritization of appearances

The optics of prosperity can unintentionally become the main goal of a manifestation mindset that lacks perspective. The prosperity gospel in many churches led to an over-focus on others’ health and wealth.

Where is the room for genuine relationship, growth and joy when all the attention is on the external?

Consider also that the sparkly outward appearance you see doesn’t always reflect the daily reality. For example, the most gorgeous, cute or inspirational Instagram posts don’t tend to relay the Instagrammers’ daily or internal realities. In fact, those posts can fuel a sense of comparison. Comparison without a healthy, personal sense of purpose breeds a lack of satisfaction.

And I encourage you to consider that you can have incredible internal wealth without necessarily having financial affluence. Again, I’m not preaching poverty, either. All I’m saying is that true wealth and outward appearances can be very different, and sparkly optics do not equal internal congruence.

So what is it that you truly want?

Pitfall 2: Judgment/exclusion based on ‘lack of faith’

Another potential pitfall of a perspective-free manifestation mindset is judgment of self and others. This phase happens as a natural consequence of the previous pitfall’s overemphasis on appearances.

As some people achieve/receive what they have “manifested”, it’s easy for judgment and exclusion to occur. It happens when there’s a belief that anyone can have anything and so if they don’t, they lack faith or they’re low frequency.

Judgment and exclusion of those who experience difficulties has been a source of immense pain for many who have practiced the prosperity gospel. People going through legitimately difficult times don’t receive the support they truly need. “Her husband got cancer and the procedure didn’t work because she didn’t have enough faith” is sadly not uncommon to hear in those circles.

Before anyone gets on a high horse about how religion is to blame for this, consider how popular the book The Secret was, across “western” civilization as a #1 New York Times bestseller. The Secret is all about manifestation. And generally speaking, the Christian church was opposed to the book.

I’m not criticizing the book. I’m simply pointing out that the belief that you have brought into being EVERYTHING in your life is a privileged viewpoint that can lead to the exclusion or beration of people whose circumstances are not privileged.

Here’s a question to ponder. If someone is taking on the role of the ‘faith police’, how genuinely happy and at peace are they? Do you truly believe that even if you’re in a really great place now, that nothing negative could ever possibly happen to you? Do you believe that your material life is truly invincible?

Pitfall 3: Missing the forest for the trees

In getting caught up in the prosperity gospel or manifestation mindset, it’s common to miss the forest for the trees. To become so focused on having a manifestation/prosperity mindset that perspective is lost.

Here are a few empowering questions to support perspective in manifestation:

• What exactly is it you want? Take a pause and really think about that. What do you want?
• What does the fuller picture of the life you want actually look like?

I’ve emphasized previously my belief that we cannot always control our circumstances. And we’ve discussed above that having financial affluence and perfect health are not indicators of true happiness.  

What does happiness look like to you? It’s likely that having sufficient funds is part of that, but if having money is the only thing you believe you need in order to be happy, I would encourage you question where that belief is coming from.

Part 2 of this article follows here. In the meantime, perhaps it’s worth taking a few moments in the coming days to ponder what you really want.

If you’re serious about taking steps to experience life in the way you really want to, then let’s connect. The P.A.T.H. coaching program may be right for you.