If there’s one thing that has truly kept us strong in 2020, it’s thinking positive. (That, and praying for miracles.)
Many of us have taken a lot of unexpected knocks to our emotions, friendships and finances in the last year, so it’s little wonder that we’re searching online more than ever to find some control over all the uncertainty.
Wouldn’t it be nice, for example, if we could ‘think’ things into reality? To make good things happen, just because we ask the universe for them.
Actually, that’s already a thing. It’s called ‘manifestation’ and search traffic suggests that it’s a particularly hot topic right now.
In August, Google reported a 400% increase in the number of people searching for the term, compared to pre-coronavirus. Meanwhile, on TikTok, the hashtag #manifesting has had 334m views as well as racking up millions of mentions on Instagram, suggesting that we’re curious, to say the least.
If you’re still unsure, you’re not the only one. “I started out on this manifesting journey as a hardcore skeptic,” admits award-winning spiritual life and business coach Joanna Hunter. “I heard the spiel: “change your thoughts, change your life” and I thought what utter rubbish.
“My life at the time was difficult, I was deeply in debt, my relationships felt unsupportive, I worked a nightmare amount of hours just to keep my head above water – there was some New Ager telling me my life would be awesome if I just learnt to change my thoughts – yeah, right!”
So Joanna set out to challenge this ‘cosmic ordering’ approach 15 years ago, only to find that it would change her life completely.
“I have never been so happy to be wrong,” she continues. “There is not an area of my life that has not improved. My relationships have healed, I have been debt-free since 2008, my work is now deeply transformational and fulfilling, but best of all I feel happy and I know that when I don’t feel happy, I have a powerful tool in my life that can change it – it’s totally within my control.”
That’s when she founded My Million Dollar Experiment, a quest to ask whether a mindset can help you create a million dollars in a year. The experiment starts on 31 December – just in time for 2021 – and we have to admit, it’s piqued our interest.
So, whether you want one million pounds, a new house or a new boyfriend, here’s Joanna’s guide to manifestation and the ways it could help improve your fortunes.
What is ‘manifestation’ and can it can really change us?
‘Manifesting’ in the simplest of terms is harnessing the natural laws of the universe, using them to your advantage to bring things from the ‘unseen’ world (your dreams, hopes and aspirations) into the ‘seen’ physical world (where we all live).
If it’s money that you want, it can feel like magic but we have to appreciate that everything ever created in this world by humans was a thought, first and foremost.
Take a look around you at the things you already own. Everything in your home started life in the unseen, non-physical, quantum realm first, somebody thought of it – the idea had no form to start with. Then through a process was manifested into the physical world as an object.
Whereas manifesting itself doesn’t change you, the process of manifesting can have a profound and positive effect on the people who practice it.
How does the process of manifestation work to ‘rewire the brain’?
Your brain is like a giant chemistry lab. Any feeling inside your body is a direct result of the chemical/hormonal cocktail whizzing around your bloodstream.
When we take control of our thoughts, we take back control of that crazy chemistry lab you call a brain and fire the mad scientist that’s been running it all!
By taking control of your thoughts, you take control of the gateway for higher consciousness, the parts of our brain which separate us from the animal kingdom and give us more power over our circumstance.
How might we ‘manifest’ things like more money, day-to-day?
Here’s the ultimate hack for manifesting day-to-day. Think of something you want. Let’s say it’s a new house. Think about having it already like it’s a done deal and it’s yours – how does it make you feel? Write it down.
We live in a universe where everything is energy, when we think of energy we need to understand every energy has a vibration and frequency. How the idea of having that house felt is a vibration, which you experienced as feelings. What you experienced is the energetic address that house lives at. To manifest the house you simply need to be on the same energy frequency – that’s how you attract the means to receive it in.
There is not one thing you desire in life that won’t contain a vibration of gratitude – practicing daily gratitude in your life places you on the vibrational frequency of everything you have ever wanted and desired in life.
Joanna’s top five tips to get what you want:
Clearly ask the universe for what you want.
Avoid sending mixed signals or ‘flip-flopping’ in your desires. Be specific – remember if you want more money, one penny is ‘more money’ but I’m pretty sure you desire more than just an extra penny showing up. Say the amount you would like, don’t just ask for “more money”.
Never act out of a sense of duty
…Or resentment and feeling hard done by. Nothing good lives at those energies. An open and grateful heart is the ideal energy to act from, choose these feelings before anything.
Turn your belief into knowing.
If you order a pizza, you don’t feel the need to check it is, in fact, coming. When we order from the universe we need to display the same faith as we do in pizza. This requires trust. Practice trusting the divine.
Meet the universe halfway.
If your desire is to meet the love of your life but you’re a total introvert who never leaves home, there are only so many attractive single delivery people that could randomly come to your home, so if you feel inspired to go somewhere new – do it! Stack the odds in your favour.
Receive – should be the easiest step of all, right?
Actually, it’s the hardest, not because the universe isn’t delivering but because we aren’t always open to receiving. If you’re a person who struggles to receive even a compliment, start with those, or if someone wants to buy you a coffee, let them. This builds your receiving muscles to accept the goodness of the universe.