Due to popular demand -- actually, my own suggestion and one other poster's request -- I'm starting a thread on how to correctly manifest.

Over the last decades, I've gained a lot of experience in manifestation (and a lot of was trial and error) and have become astute enough that some of my New Age friends have called me "the Manifestation Queen."

I noticed that in my free Tarot readings (click here to see the thread), I often give advice that has to do with changing your life by creating your own reality. Many people don't seem to really know how to do that, though.

So I'm going to try to provide some ongoing lessons here for everyone interested, and you're welcome to ask me questions pertaining to your own situation.

Of course I won't be on this thread 24/7 to participate and answer question, but I'll do my best.

Let's get started, but first a few preliminaries:

1. Atheists may hate this thread because I happen to believe in God/Spirit/Creator. Well, actually, "believe" is not the right word, since I have had close encounters of every kind, so if people ask me if I believe in a higher power, I usually say, "No, I'm not a believer, I'm a knower." May sound arrogant to you, but that's just how I feel. In any case, this "knowing" definitely plays into my manifestation lessons.

2. All the stuff I tell you is not something I read in books, but things that I have experienced myself... thus arguing with me about its validity is kind of moot. I'll only be able to respond with "But I experienced it myself," so there's really no basis for an intellectual argument here... in other words, please don't start one. It's your prerogative not to like this thread, but then just don't post in it.

And with that said, here's

Lesson #1: Getting what you want

First you should ask yourself: What do I WANT, what do I really NEED, and what is my heart's desire?

Those can be differing vastly from each other. From my own experience, it is often much easier to manifest the latter two than the former. Spirit/the Universe does not give you every single thing you want, and I'll explain that later.

Let's say you want to win the lottery (which seems to be what a lot of people try to manifest, for some reason). Do you NEED 25 million dollars? I doubt it.

If you need money for something -- let's say because your car has broken down, or you have trouble to pay your bills, or you're struggling with your mortgage -- then you should be asking for the THING you want rather than for the money to buy it.

If you need a new car, then ask for a new car -- on the cheap or even for free, if you can't afford to buy one. If you CAN easily afford to buy one, though, Spirit/the Universe will not look kindly upon your request. It'll basically dismiss you as a cheapskate and go its merry way.

Likewise, the Universe will not support greed. If you ask for a bigger house because you know your kids and Granny are going to move in soon, that's one things. To ask for a bigger house because you want to keep up with the Joneses or simply want to brag about it, forget it. At times you might even get what you asked for, but boy, you're not going to have a good time with it.

So to increase your chances of manifesting successfully, you need to ask for the right things to be manifested.

Examples:
- a job/new job, becoming self-employed, finding the perfect job, etc.
- a house if you need one, or need a bigger one, or in another location
- a car if you need one
- love and happiness
- being able to pay your bills easily
- finding the perfect pet
- finding the perfect spouse
- fulfilling your life's dream
- travel
- inspiration to write a book/poem/paint/invent something, etc.
- peace of mind and contentment

Maybe I forgot something, but it seems to me those things are pretty much all one could ask for, right? I mean, if you had all the above, would you really need a luxury yacht or 25 million bucks?

I'm pretty convinced that many of the material "wants" people have come from being emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually unfulfilled... nothing more than a feeble attempt to fill that vast emptiness inside of yourself. Think about it for a second -- does that sound like you?

If it does, know that you can turn your life around for the vastly better in a heartbeat -- just start wishing for the RIGHT things, the things you REALLY want, instead of a pile of new clothes and Gucci bags.

- to love and be loved
- to be liked and respected
- materially, to have enough so you don't have to worry all the time
- to have a job that fulfills you, or to work for yourself in a line of work that fulfills you
- to be able to feel good about yourself

Isn't that really what everyone wants? And that's the kind of stuff the Universe loves to deliver. Of course, you can't just go and say, "I want to be liked and respected" and it will manifest. It's not that simple.

First of all, you can never say "I want" when manifesting -- that will only increase the wanting, not the getting.

Check your old beliefs at the door

I was going to get into the practical aspects of manifestation here in #2, but then realized that before you can actually start, you really need to know the "rules."

1. No-no's:

As I said in Lesson #1, don't be greedy; don't be a selfish bastard.

And most important: NEVER, ever try to manifest in order to harm someone or bend their will to yours.

A good example for this could be if you're infatuated with someone, but he/she doesn't seem to love you back. So you think a little manifestation to change their mind couldn't hurt.

Let me tell you, oh yes, it could. Violating someone else's free will is going to backfire on you big time. You don't want that kind of ramification, trust me.

So to make a long story short: The more innocent and pure your intention, the better the outcome will be for you.

2. Forget what Dad told you about money

Many people seem to have problems to manifest money. If that's you, then you will have to examine your deepest and most ingrained beliefs about money. Have you heard any of these in your childhood?

- Money doesn't grow on trees.
- There is no such thing as a free lunch.
- Making money is very hard work.
- We can't afford this.
- etc.

Do this little exercise: Take a notepad and a pen and some quiet time. Write down the sentence "I pay all my bills with ease and always have money left over." Then write it again... and again... and again. Keep doing it.

Watch your thoughts while you're writing. If you have money problems, every time you write that positive affirmation, you should notice that nagging critical voice in your mind, trying to throw you off. Typical things that voice will say are:
"This is bull#."
"Come on, you're wasting your time here."
"Money doesn't grow on trees." (A-ha! Notice something?)
"You're a loser, you'll never have/make enough money."
"This sounds too good to be true."
"There is no such thing as a free lunch."
and so on.

So what you do is you write down what this critical voice says, alternating with the positive affirmations. It could look like this:

I pay my bills with ease and always have money left over.
Oh bull#, who are you kidding?
I pay my bills with ease and always have money left over.
You idiot, you really believe that, don't you?
I pay my bills with ease and always have money left over.
You'll never amount to anything.
I pay my bills with ease and always have money left over.
Look at yourself, you're broke! How are you gonna get money?
I pay my bills with ease and always have money left over.
and so on.

How often do you have to write the affirmation? Until the critical voice runs out of arguments and shuts up... if that takes 100 times, then so be it, if it takes less, great. In my experience, on average you have to write it 20-30 times to silence the critical voice.

This, of course, does not only go for manifesting money -- you could have the same negative beliefs about a healthy relationship, good physical health, or anything else. Often those criticisms come from our parents and early peers and have been so absorbed in your subconscious that today you're most likely not even aware that you have those detrimental beliefs.

3. This is magic, and magic doesn't exist, so it won't work.

This is most likely the atheist and extreme-skeptic stance. Thing is, it's not true. Manifestation is not magic; it's your God-given right as co-creator.

I know that sounds very New Agey, but doesn't the Bible say God created man in His own image? Do you honestly think that means God LOOKS like us? No, it means that aside from free will, we have the power to shape our reality -- with God's (Spirit's/Universe's) help.

For all you skeptics: If you learn about up-to-date quantum mechanics, it becomes pretty obvious that there is really no such thing as an objective, "material" reality. Subatomic particles can express themselves as waves or particles, and which one they do express themselves as often depends on the expectations of the observer.

Also, there's a great video that was recently posted here on ATS: Perception --- the Reality Beyond Matter. You might find some of the propositions a little far out, but it's very interesting and mind-boggling, if you allow yourself to at least consider that there might be some truth to it.

So, if matter isn't really as solid as it seems and maybe everything we see outside of ourselves is really just pictures in our brain, created by electric impulses reaching our brain... then maybe, just maybe we have to rethink our worldview just a little bit.

I recently listened to a fabulous Coast 2 Coast show, with a sociology prof. as a guest who taught at some university and, in his spare time, was a member at the Society of Scientific Exploration. Usually the members in there have to wait until they get tenure because their mainstream, closed-minded peers will shun them or they might even lose their job if they investigate anything that goes against the mainstream-science grain.

Anyway, this guy (forget his name) started to study "anomalous healing," i.e., psychic healing. He didn't really believe in it, but he himself was healed from severe back pain by a psychic healer. So he started to follow that healer around for years and observed him working on clients. (Interestingly, the healer seemed to be able to heal malignant tumors, but not warts and such little things.)

The prof. tried to coax the healer into coming into the lab with him and doing controlled scientific experiments. He persuaded him to do a certain experiment involving mice: They were going to use cancer-infected lab mice that had a pre-determined 100% mortality rate, and the healer was supposed to hold his hands around the cage for one hour per day, and they'd study the mice and see if there'd be any healing.

The healer agreed, and the prof. set up the experiment -- with a lot effort and networking and pleading for support, because obviously he wasn't funded by anyone. So after all this hassle, at the last minute the healer butted out and wanted nothing to do with it.

But they had already set up the whole experiment, so his colleagues told the prof: "Why don't you do it? YOU hold your hands around the cage." He said he wasn't a healer etc., but since he pretty much had no other choice, he did -- one hour each day. The mice did develop cancer and the whole thing didn't look good. The tumors got bigger and bigger until the prof. was ready to call off the experiment. But his colleagues pleaded with him to do "just one more day," and then another, and another.

Finally the mice's tumors IMPLODED and they were completely cured. Moreover, the experimenters tried to re-infect the mice and the cancer wouldn't take! They were immune for life, and lived our their normal lifespans.

Now, of course in a scientific setting, ONE experiment doesn't count -- it has to be repeatable, under the same controlled conditions, over and over. So the prof started hiring first-year science students to hold their hands around the cages, with the intention to heal the mice. The only condition for a student to be picked for the experiment was that "they had to laugh in my face," he said. He did not want any "believers" to be part of it. Some of the students, he said, even thought he was bull#ting them and secretly doing a sociological experiment on gullibility or some such.

Anyway, the results were the same -- all the mice were cured and lived out their normal life spans, immune to cancer.

The prof -- who is a true skeptic in the best sense of the word, i.e., not a debunker like most "skeptics" but someone with a truly open mind in either way -- said that he had to conclude that everyone can do psychic healing. Also, they started doing long-distance healings, where the "healers" were far away (up to 2,000 miles) and had only a photo of the mice to focus on. Same result.

This is absolutely stunning... and IMO, another piece of evidence that we have a lot more power than we believe.

So... start believing it! Start believing that you CAN have a wonderful, nurturing love relationship, that you CAN have enough money to be comfortable and content; that you CAN heal from whatever disease you may have; that you CAN have a life full of laughter and happiness and awesome adventures.

That's when you will start manifesting successfully. BUT... there's STILL more to it. I get to that a little later.

How to manifest in practice

Basically, I know of two ways to manifest (there may be many more): in written form or verbally (you can call it prayer). I've tried both, and both work equally well, in my experience. However, if you're a Christian and used to praying, and you've been disillusioned over time because you feel your prayers aren't heard or answered, then you might try the written/more ritualistic form for a while, just to get out of your fixed mindset.

How to phrase your manifestations:

This is one of the most important parts. For some reason, manifestation only works if you state what you want to manifest as if you already have it.

What doesn't work: "I want a new car."

The Universe reinforces the energy of what you tell it. In this case, that means the "wanting" will be reinforced, not the getting. All that will happen is that you will want a new car... basically forever.

What doesn't work: "I will get a new car."

You're talking to an energy/a being that thinks in terms of eternity, time- and spacelessness, infinity, and so on. Future tense does not work. Besides, with the "I want" as well as the "I will" statements, you basically declare that you don't have this thing in your life right now... that you're lacking a car. Thus you're coming from a space of lack -- which is detrimental to successful manifestation.

What works: "I have a new car."

Lack is an illusion; there is no such thing. All that exists is already here and abundance can be in your life if you just let it happen. By putting your statement in present tense, you're telling Spirit/the Universe that you're aware of that fact.

BUT... the devil is in the details... we'll talk about being specific in a moment.

Specify, specify, specify - Metaphors work in poetry but not in manifestation.

Just as "Location, location, location" is the realtors'/retailers' mantra, so should "Specify, specify, specify" your mantra when you try to manifest.

First of all (let's take the example of the new car again), find out what you really want. Do you just need a good car that gets you everywhere and won't break down every couple months? Then say so. But don't use the phrase "won't break down"!

That's another of those "rules": any and all manifestations need to be phrased in a positive way. The Universe doesn't recognize negative ("no") words, so "won't break down" will be translated as "breaks down"... and you don't want that. So in this particular case, you would say, "I have a car that is completely reliable and takes me everywhere I want to go."

If you want that car also to look really nice, then you have to say so. Like to a small child, you have to spell everything out --- otherwise it may not manifest, or you may end up with a totally reliable but ugly beater car.

If you want a car that has room for your whole family and lots of trunk space, then say so too. Or if you want extremely good gas mileage. Or if you need it to be a truck.

I don't recommend going for specific brands, though, because while describing the features is one thing, specifying TOO much can be detrimental as well. For example, you may ask for a Honda CRX, but could have gotten something better if you hadn't insisted on that Honda.

You need to give the Universe some leeway to act and fulfill your manifestation in its own way. I promise, you won't be disappointed... but trust/faith is essential.

So there are a lot of pitfalls -- you see why I like writing the stuff down.

Also, you want to put in a "clause" that precludes anything bad from happening. I do that by adding at the end of my manifestation write-up: "To the highest and best of all concerned."

You don't want to ask for money and then get it because your mother got hit by a train and left you an inheritance. "To the highest and best of all concerned" takes care of that dilemma, and Spirit/the Universe will only manifest the things you want in the most beneficial way.

So a typical manifestation paper I write would look like this:

Great Spirit, my angels and spirit guides,
hereby I ask you to help me manifest the following:
I now have a car that is beautiful to look at, with shiny exterior, comfortable and clean interior, and a large trunk.
The car has enough space for two adults, a child, and two dogs.
It is completely reliable and only needs to go to the garage for annual inspections.
The tires are brand new.
It has a working radio and CD player, and the seats are comfortable... etc., etc.
To the highest and best of all concerned, so be it.

Thought, word, feeling, action

Now, when you're done writing down your manifestation paper (and it can be as long as you want... but only ask for one thing at a time!), keep it and re-read (I do it out loud) every day for about three weeks.

But that's not all -- that's only the "word" part.

Thought, word, feeling, and action need to be aligned in order to manifest successfully. If they're not, nothing will come of it.

Thought: For example, if you write your manifestation paper about "I pay my bills with ease and always have money left over," and re-read it dutifully every day, but secretly don't believe that money could flow into your life, you'll never manifest anything.

Same with the Word: If you write this manifestation down, but then tell everyone you meet how broke you are, you'll never manifest anything. Bite your tongue if you have to, but strike the terms "I'm broke," "I can't afford that," "I don't have any money," etc. from your vocabulary.

Feeling: Thinking positive is not enough... you really have to feel it. That, of course, is much easier if what you want is really a heartfelt desire or need, not just some whimsical "Oh, I'd like a blue dress." Feel it with every fiber of your heart, give it all you got. The feeling must be genuine and deeply felt and strong enough to make a real impact on you... at least if you want something really big, you have to put all the feeling you can into it.

Action: Your actions, too, have to be in alignment with the rest. If you want to manifest some money, go and SPEND some money... show the Universe that you know abundance is waiting just around the corner for you. It's an expression of faith. Now, I'm not saying throw thousands out the window... just allow yourself that little something that your reasoning mind tells you you really shouldn't buy because "you have to be sensible," whether it's going out to a nice restaurant or that cute $30 skirt that jumped out at you the other day.

In another example, if you would like to travel to another country but need the funds, go and buy a travel guide about that country, or a new suitcase. If you want to learn scuba diving, buy a mask. It doesn't even have to be something you have to spend money on -- you can also start researching the topic (car, vacation, scuba diving seminars) on the Internet. Call a few places, get information, anything. But you have to show Spirit/the Universe that you're not just going to sit on your butt waiting for the stuff to fall into your lap. During your 3 weeks manifestation time, make a real effort.

Visualization is a good way to do this. Re-read your list, then sit down with your eyes closed and visualize the outcome -- NOT how you'll get there! -- of your manifestation. Make this as realistic as possible. Take Greensage's farm, for example: Visualize yourself sitting in a green pasture with a view of the farmhouse. Involve all of your senses: you see your beautiful, lush surroundings and the house, you hear the birds chirp in the nearby trees and the bees humming, you smell the scent of fresh-mowed grass and wildflowers, you feel the warmth of the sun on your face, etc.

Make it as intense and realistic as you possibly can. Breathe deeply into your heart chakra and open up your chest. Feel pure love and adoration stream out of you and into this picture. If you can manage to visualize this dream of yours so vividly that you burst into tears of joy and delight, then you've done well.

Do this often, along with re-reading your paper. Then stop. After building up energy for the manifestation, release it into the Universe. I often do that in a ceremonial way by burning the paper together with white sage and sacred tobacco, saying prayers and doing breathing exercises while it smolders away. Then I grind the ashes up and throw them into the air (outside, obviously ).

You could also bury the paper or just put it away in a drawer and not look at it anymore. I guess I just like dramatic gestures, and the burning (fire, air, ashes flying towards the sky) is a nice symbol for setting the energy free and handing it over to the Great Spirit. From that point on, I try to not even THINK about the matter anymore. If you do, you just keep the energy here, with you, instead of handing it over... at least that's my personal experience. And believe me, I've manifested some pretty big stuff in my life.

Tests

My personal experience is that if you want to manifest something really big, something life-changing, for example, it might very well happen that Spirit/the Universe will test you to find out if you're really serious about it. If you fail that test, it won't bother manifesting what you wanted.

I'll give you a longish example from my own life:

I lived in Germany and hated it. I had lived there my whole life, I was working as a copywriter in advertising, a real glamor job but after nearly 13 years not fulfilling anymore. My whole environment -- my job, my feeling of being stuck in a rut, my circle of friends, my coworkers -- everything depressed me. All I wanted was out, start a new life, leave everything behind.

One of my friends told me about Sedona, AZ. I looked it up on the Internet -- it was stunningly beautiful, with impossibly vast skies, majestic red rock formations that surrounded the small town... just incredible. I started dreaming of Sedona and finally booked a flight to Phoenix (just for a vacation) to check it out myself.

That I was overwhelmed would be a complete understatement; it just took my breath away. I loved the large New Age community there -- finally I was among kindred spirits!! -- the artist community, the feeling of total freedom, the magic of the Red Rocks (and they ARE magical; I could tell you stories...); I just loved everything about it.

When I came back to Germany, I fell into the deepest depression. I hated everything in Germany -- the country, the people, the language, the stuck-up mentality, the narrow-mindedness, my career. All I wanted was move to the US and live in Sedona.

For the natural-born Americans here, I have to mention that the US has one of the strictest immigration laws (wouldn't imagine that, with all the illegals, would you?), and there are only a few ways to immigrate for good:

-getting married
-getting a job here and your employer petitions for you (but then they have to prove that basically no American qualifies for the job they hired you for, so it can't just be any old job)
- investing half a million to one million dollars, opening up a business, and hiring Americans
- through American relatives who already live here and can petition for you
- through the so-called "Green Card Lottery," where they basically draw names out of a hat and let in a certain contingent from other developed countries

That's pretty much it... there's no other way I know of to be able to stay here. So it was a major, MAJOR challenge.

I started spending every vacation I had in Sedona, and my resolve to live in the US became firmer every time. It got to the point where my yearning got so great that I would start crying when I saw a car commercial on German TV that had a Red Rock-type backdrop to it.

In February 1998, right after my last vacation, I'd had it. I told all my friends, my mother, and my then-business partner that I would leave for the US next year. No one took me seriously; they were all like, "Yeah, right, how are you gonna do that?"

So I started manifesting. I did the visualization, did thought, word, feeling, action -- I visualized myself driving up the interstate from Phoenix and turn that one corner (forget which exit) where all of a sudden the breathtaking Red Rocks appear in front of you, seemingly out of nowhere. I pictured myself parking at a turnout, getting out of the car, feeling the warm wind, smelling the desert air whose scent is like nothing else in the world, spreading my arms wide, and yelling towards the rocks: "I'm HERE!!!" And I would feel a welcoming, loving vibe being reflected back to me from the Red Rocks.

I got so good at this visualization, i.e., it turned so real for me that I would cry tears of gratitude and wonder. I swore nothing would keep me from going to Sedona.

Then I met R.

I have to mention that before R., I had had a long, long series of disappointing, short-term relationships, infatuations, and affairs, with guys that either didn't really want me or couldn't really commit, or were too distant and aloof and wanted to play it cool; whatever... there was always something that wasn't right.

R. was totally different, and it was very clear that it was divinely arranged that we met. I was just home for one week from my vacation when my office phone rang. Some guy I didn't know said, "Sorry, but I'm a Reiki master; I saw on some Internet forum that you're one, too, and live in C. like me, so I just looked up your phone number."

He told me that he had done that 4 months ago and had planned to call me earlier, but that he had recently moved and the post-it with my name and number had disappeared in the chaos. Then, the day he called me, he had moved his desk at home, and the post-it fluttered out from behind it. (And no, I will not believe you if you tell me THAT was a coincidence!)

He said we was looking to establish a Reiki Share group, and whether I would be interested. I said, sure, and he asked if we should meet for lunch somewhere and talk about how to put together a group. The minute we saw each other, it was like a lightning strike. I fought against it, even told him I wouldn't be here for long because I was going to the US, but after meeting about 3 times, we just couldn't help ourselves... the mutual attraction was enormous. He was the most sensitive, sweet, loving guy I'd ever met; it was just great.

We started spending every free minute together, but even though I was head over heels in love, I kept telling him I'd go to the US. What really killed me was that even then, he still was supportive. He said, of course he'd be very sad if I left, but he didn't feel he had the right to keep me there if that was really my life's dream. If he had argued, my resolve would have strengthened... but with him being so accepting, I caught myself more and more often wondering if I should really give him up. We even started to look for old farmhouses to potentially move in together.

Then something happened that threw me a curve ball, though. He was still hurt from a marriage that hadn't ended too long ago, and without going into detail, one day he came to my door, devastated and white as a ghost, and said he had just learned something about his ex-wife that was so hurtful that he needed a break to be alone and think.

He said he couldn't deal with more relationship stuff right now, and if I could give him two weeks or so to deal with his emotional crap. I said, sure, and he promised me he'd call as soon as possible and keep me in the loop.

One week went by... nothing. Two weeks... no sign of him. After three weeks, I was going out of my mind.

I was worried about him; the last time I saw him, he'd looked like death, and I was afraid he'd kill himself. I started leaving messages on his answering machine, begging him to at least call me and let me know he was OK... nothing. I didn't know his friends' last names and addresses or phone numbers; I didn't know his parents, so I had no way of reaching him.

After four weeks, my worry shifted to anger. How dared he to let me hang like this, not even knowing if he was alive or dead? Finally, I had worked myself into such a rage that when he finally called, after SIX weeks, I told him to go to hell. (I apologized later, but he wouldn't hear any of it.)

From that moment on, I took a vow that nothing, but nothing would keep me from going to Sedona. And suddenly things started falling into place.

We had just gotten a client that published magazines and asked us to create a soap opera magazine for teenagers for them. We were also responsible for the monthly content and had to go to TV studios and talk to the German soap stars. For that purpose, we received press IDs. We also wrote about American soaps, back then Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place, Dawson's Creek, etc., and had an American correspondent who did the interviews with those soap stars for us.

I had the idea that I could go legitimately to the US as the "US correspondent" for our magazine. Thanks to my press ID, I was able to apply for a journalist visa... and received one that was valid for SIX YEARS! So I started dissolving my entire life in Germany. I canceled all my insurances, sold all my furniture, most of my books and clothes and other belongings, my car, etc. I orderly wrapped up my business partnership and in March 1999 I took a plane to Phoenix. That was the last time I set foot on German soil. The end.