Manifestation: The new spirituality trend?

Manifestation, in relation to spirituality and belief, is the public display of emotion or feeling, or something theoretical made real. It is a concept where a person focuses their energy and positive thoughts upon their dreams and life aspirations, with the goal of the subjects of focus coming true as a result of this. It seems rather inconceivable at first, as most people believe that there is no ‘set path’ for everyone and that by simply wanting something hard enough, doesn’t guarantee you to magically 'get' it.

And that is true, to some extent. The process is not as straightforward as simply making a “wish” as we once believed in as children. However, after the release of the number one bestselling novel “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne, the dawn of ‘The Law of Attraction” began and people started questioning whether there was actually some truth in ‘Manifesting’ after all.

The Law of Attraction is a concept where it is believed that “everything that’s coming into your life you are attracting into your life.” (Byrne, R.) It is believed that these ‘things’, whether that is family, wealth, happiness, or friends, come into your life as a result of of the images you are forming in your mind, both consciously and subconsciously. The way that a person thinks, whether that is positively or negatively, and what things they value, determine what their life has to offer. The use of the Law of Attraction and Manifestation has become more prevalent in recent years, with Google Search Results for the term “Manifestation” in the United Kingdom showing a significant rise in the past 12 months.

Manifestation can be practiced through the use of “positive affirmations”, which are statements in relation to what you want to attract to your life, which retrain your brain to behave a specific way. These affirmations can be sayings such as “I am worthy of love.” By repeatedly telling oneself that they deserve what they are manifesting, the mind rewires itself to focus on achieving the goals which the repeated message is relaying.

While Manifestation is an action that people choose to believe in, a lot of manifesting actually happens within the brain’s subconscious. For example, a person may wake up in a negative headspace, believing that they are not going to have a good day. Due to this negative mindset, the brain’s subconscious will begin to produce more negative thoughts, and this will attract negative energy. Have you ever had a bad day that just kept getting worse and you couldn’t understand why? You were most likely manifesting it subconsciously.

In recent years, more teenagers and young adults are becoming disconnected from faith and religion, and are turning towards spirituality as a form of faith. Astrology, tarot and crystals are just a few areas of spirituality which can be linked to the modern practice of manifestation. Beliefs include the concept of the “Universal Energy” which is believed to be given out by the earth for humans to channel and access infinitely to tap into. Intuition is also focused on, as when the energy is consumed, it provides us with guidance for the right path. The ability to harness the universe’s energy enables us to manifest our desires and take control of one’s own destiny.

I guess we will never really know whether these beliefs or actions have any cause and effect in our lives, just as with any religion or spiritual practices. I'm unsure what I believe in myself, but what I do know is that having a positive mindset on things always improves my day, and often encourages me to uplift others as a knock-on effect.

[1] Rhonda Byrne, The Secret, (Oregon: Beyond Worlds Publishing, 2006)