To think manifesting works?

[itsatin]

That's it really..
I'm reading a lot about it and I'm hoping it does work although I'm not wholly sure how to go about it for effectiveness.

It does make me laugh when books like Manifest by Roxie Nafousi become bestsellers.

She's a rich ex-Made in Chelsea cast member - all she needed was an idea and someone gave her the money to make it happen!

It's similar with famous entrepreneurs from wealthy families talking about the importance of "learning from your mistakes".

If you have a rich father bailing you out, then you have the luxury of learning from mistakes until something eventually works.

The average person, no matter how talented or driven they are, will never be able to reach that as they'd most likely be bankrupt from past "mistakes".

It could go either way, I guess. Perhaps manifesting could turn into daydreaming, in which a fantasy life is substituted for one's real imperfect life, while the daydreamer remains passive. But a more active form of manifesting which promotes a curiosity about how, concretely, one could actually achieve the fantasy in reality - now that could actually work.

And of course manifesting won't fix structural discrimination, wars, sickness, etc. It's a somewhat effective mind trick we play on ourselves, not actual sorcery.

I think as long as you manifest stuff that you are capable of achieving, legally and with hard work and dedication it probably does. It used to be called ambition. I’m afraid that most people are more interested in instant gratification or results without the hard work.

I dreamt/manifested being able to retire before 60 on a decent pension. Fully achieved but it took 35+ yrs of graft and at times sacrifice. So yes it does work but the act of manifestation is only the start. Screwing up your eyes and wishing hard, well that’s a total waste of time.

@Angrymum22 it seems to me that you set yourself a goal, and then worked towards achieving it. Where did manifesting come into it?
Genuine question - it’s not something I know anything about.

Yep I agree!

I think when you're in a good mood you notice good things, you act nicer, you smile more, you get treated nicer etc etc. And vice versa. Try it and see. I absolutely notice this in my own life. When I'm a miserable bitch, life is shit

100% it worked for me.

I manifested meeting my now fiance and my current job.

Was listening to someone talking about it on the radio and they were saying it primes your mind into narrowing down your thoughts to a goal, and so sets you thinking of the road to achieve that goal and so you are more likely to achieve it. I like that idea!!

*User623
“I think it's dangerous and can cause serious mental health issues in those prone to them (such as OCD, psychosis and delusions)”

m00nGirl:
Wow. A comment on how victim culture increasingly pathologises positivity, aspiration and achievement.
Thinking positively to help manifest carefully crafted personal goals is not in any remote sense "dangerous"*

I disagree with this reply, and agree with the poster who made the first point. While having goals and “thinking positively” is obviously a good thing, believing in manifestation can play into mental health issues - things won’t always go to plan, goals aren’t always realised (or even possible), and people end up blaming themselves for ‘not being positive enough’ rather than understanding that we simply can’t always get what we want and adjusting their expectations.
I’ve known people who believed they could ‘manifest’ things like a relationship with a specific person, or a lottery win, just by putting their energy into ‘visualising’, which can lead to obsessive thoughts and behaviour (along with self blame) that isn’t helpful to them.

As other posters have said, it works on a psychological level in that if you’re focused on a goal and believe you can achieve it your thoughts and actions will automatically align with that goal, which makes success much more likely (not guaranteed, but your chances are better).
Thinking that it’s all mystical ‘putting out energy into the universe/the universe will listen and eventually deliver’ could absolutely be dangerous for some people.

It's ridiculous.
More snake oil for the terminally underconfident and daft enough to believe that thinking about something makes it happen
Manifestation should be kept in the world of ghosts and ghoulies where is belongs

A friend gave me a book about it when I'd had recurrent miscarriages. Wonderful way of telling me that I just wasn't thinking positively enough about have a successful pregnancy.

The word just always reminds me of those starry eyed wannabees on X factor who bleat on about how much they WANT this and their nanna / mum / cousin in a montage talking about how they've "worked so hard" singing into a hairbrush since they were three and usually overcome some terrible tragedy or illness along the way.
There's a brilliant quote by the late Terry Pratchett..something like "if you believe in your dreams and wish on a star and follow your heart, you'll still get beaten by the person who got their head down and did some hard work.".

You might be interested in reticular activation and the reticular activation system

You clearly cannot magic things into your life merely by thinking about them.

You are more likely to achieve what you want mby devoting time and effort into them.

As an interesting counterpoint to all the ‘be positive posts’ , there is some research that shows people who just spend time day dreaming about what they want are less likely to achieve it, those who are anxious about not achieving their goal are motivated to work towards it and henceforth achieve it.

No of course not. It's a load of nonsense, backed up with a heavy dose of confirmation bias.

It’s worth pointing out that manifestation is just a secular version of prayer.

This is the pernicious side of manifestation. I was told my MIL had ‘manifested’ her terminal cancer ( as she had always been scared of cancer). Utterly disgusting thing to say.

I’m willing to bet you were going out and meeting meeting or doing OLD when you found your fiancé, rather than he just knocked at your door and said, ‘Hi I’m Mark, the Universe sent me’.

Ditto similar with your job.

Nailed it.

It doesn't work in any kind of supernatural sense. It can work as a form of positive thinking in that, by focusing on your goals and being clear about what you want, you are more likely to make efforts and see opportunities to achieve them. But you do have to remain realistic. There is no point 'manifesting' that you want £1million to land in your bank account out of the blue, but you could 'manifest' that you want a specific, better paid job, or to be successful in starting your own business.

I can remember reading years ago that positive psychology was in effect blaming individuals for the faults of the system. The example used was if people were unhappy in their work the advice was for them to approach their work in a more positive manner ( basically try harder) when in reality the employer was taking advantage of the employee.

I have been practicing it for a long time and unexplainably believe it works. In terms of what I do, I thank the universe for all the things I am grateful about (list them) out loud, and then I ask for what I want or need. It is like praying. That is all I do, and time after time the thing I have asked for has happened, be it more money, a job, a school place, a new flat to rent in a certain place, cheaper rent, a bonus at work, help with weightloss etc. I don’t ask for help with serious medical issues or ask for anything beyond the realms of possibility. But anything job or money related seem to transpire. What is the harm in trying, it costs you nothing.

This is just a different type of religious thinking, along the same vein as faith healing.

The universe isn't Uber Eats. You can't order something and it will somehow land in your lap.

Millions of really good, kind, happy, positive, well-meaning people live and die in horrible conditions - poverty, disease, war, etc.

To believe in manifesting is to believe that these people weren't good enough for peace and riches. That's a really shit way to view the world.

The better way is to accept the dumb luck and circumstances in your life, work at bringing more good into the world than existed before you came along, and seek contentment. Happiness is fleeting, but contentment can last a lifetime.

Look into Stoicism. That's a solid way of thinking that won't steer you wrong in life.

Funny how people always “manifest” quite banal things like a new job or partner.

No one ever manifests an elephant walking through their town on a Monday morning or for people living in war zones not to have a bomb dropped on their house.

Only ever used it once and that was for our dream house.
Everyday I imagined the house I wanted so much as home with all my belongings, putting the key in the door.

It fell through and someone else bought the house.
It doesn't work.