Whether it’s a dream job or true love – speaking out and visualizing our wishes should help them come true. Manifestation is the new megatrend. BRIGITTE author Monika Dittombée gets to the bottom of the matter.
My friend Bea did it ten years ago: “I am a money magnet” was the sentence she said out loud at least once a day. After a few weeks, she was offered a management position in the Netherlands with a six-figure annual salary. Until now I thought it was a coincidence, but lately I’ve been hearing from more and more friends that they are manifesting. For example, Anna lit a candle every day for many weeks and wished her ex back: “Johann and I are back together.” Months later, he called and suggested a date. But by then, Anna was already in love again.
What exactly is this manifestation?
I am surprised and read up on it. Manifesting means repeating beliefs, so-called affirmations, over and over again as if they had already come true. Because then what you want will become reality. The sentence should be as short and specific as possible. If you dream of writing your own book, you can say, for example: “I am happy that my novel makes so many people happy.”
Manifesting is trending, especially on social media. Videos with the hashtag #manifestation on Tiktok have been viewed over eleven billion times. Many “life coaches” have also specialized in manifestation, with online courses or appearances in front of thousands of people. Laura Malina Seiler, for example, describes herself as a “spiritual coach and visionary”. She is active on all channels: 418,580 Instagram followers, books, an app and the “Podcast for modern spirituality: happy, holy & confident” and reaches masses with simple messages like “Recognize the miracle that you are”. Sounds nice, but it just doesn’t work for me. In the video I watch of her, she is wearing a hat and strumming a guitar. She giggles a lot and does a lot of self-promotion: people are supposed to subscribe, register for the next event, because places are – of course – limited. I am supposed to listen to her “111 affirmations for your manifestation power” every day, even in the shower. After two minutes I click away. For me, that’s not enough substance, it’s too much “life-help light”, it’s too pushy a sales pitch.
Have your own happiness in your hands
But the idea of painting a beautiful picture of life and always being in touch with my “higher self” – wherever that is at the moment – has charm. The manifestation boom shows that there seem to be a lot of people who are fed up with conformity, pressure to perform and hierarchical structures, but would rather discover their individuality and feel like the creators of their own existence. A longing that seems understandable in the face of major crises. If you can’t influence world events, it’s comforting to focus on your own self. Matthias Horx’s Zukunftsinstitut sees the mindfulness movement as a response to digitization, globalization and the increasing speed of modern life. One of the megatrends for 2024, according to Horx: individualization.
Sentences like “We are the creators of our own reality” fit the zeitgeist very well. It comes from the bestseller “The Secret” by Australian author Rhonda Byrne. She claims to have discovered the secret of happiness: that we can manifest anything we want. Through the “law of resonance” we can bring concrete positive things into our lives through the energy of good thoughts.
How far does your own influence really extend?
Apart from the fact that this sounds a bit esoteric to me, this is where the criticism, the rift, begins. Conversely, this would mean that it is your own fault if your wish to have children is not fulfilled, your dream job goes to someone else or you get a serious illness. Too negative thinking, too little manifestation? At this point I’m out.
I’ll try something new that sounds much more serious: Dr. James R. Doty is a professor of neurosurgery at Stanford University and has just written a book about how spoken affirmations and visualizations actually change our subconscious (see next page). James Doty emphasizes the neuroplasticity of the brain, which can change in structure and function throughout life – through experience, intention, repetition and positive feelings. He sees manifestation as an active process in which small steps lead to the goal. Sounds good, but it involves effort, because our brain wants to be as comfortable as possible in order to save energy. It blocks stimuli and consciously filters out most of our impressions: “About ten million bits of data enter our minds every second – that’s roughly the amount of ten feature films in HD quality. However, our minds can only consciously process about fifty bits per second,” writes Doty.
Familiarize our brain with the fulfillment of our wishes
A massive part of our brain’s bandwidth is not available to our consciousness. As a result of this huge processing gap, our brain is programmed for inattention and inactivity rather than attention and choice. “Similar to a couch potato with entrenched habits who groans and prefers to get comfortable on the couch rather than go to a party, our brain resists new experiences that could force it to change its complex wiring,” explains the neuroscientist.
With regard to manifestation, this means that if our brain is not sufficiently familiar with our wish and its fulfillment means a completely new experience, it will automatically reject this wish because the new information uses up too much energy. Doty uses the image of the iceberg. Only ten percent of our perception occurs consciously and in the waking state – that is the part of the iceberg above the water – while the subconscious and unconscious comprise the remaining 90 percent that lies hidden beneath the water’s surface.
Better control of the subconscious in flow
How can we use this monstrous shadow cabinet to improve our lives? By regularly repeating rituals, meditations and visualization exercises, we enter a flow state in which we can feed our subconscious. “Immersion in our inner vision is the state that connects us to creativity and allows our intention to appear more clearly in our subconscious. The magic of it is that while we go about our normal everyday lives and do not constantly think about our desires, our subconscious continues to process them.” So, as we teach the subconscious mind to look for connection, joy, fulfillment and success, we will also discover more and more opportunities to experience these positive feelings in reality.
Bea is also sure that it was not just the phrase about the money magnet that helped her. The affirmation led her to think more deeply about the topic of money. She examined her inner attitude towards it and developed a positive view of abundance and prosperity. How and where can you save or invest? What reserves are necessary? Where are the highest interest rates offered? “I actively collaborated with my manifestation”says Bea.
As far as I’m concerned: I don’t have a real manifestation object yet. More of a vague ideal image of a new living environment: close to the beach again, but more urban and still quiet, with a view of the greenery and on a quiet street. But 99 other things have to happen first. But I’ve started to paint this idea even more colorfully. I like that alone – and I’m excited to see what else comes of it.
Curious? Here’s how
Each exercise requires a quiet environment, a relaxed sitting position, relaxed muscles and concentration on breathing. James Doty also recommends putting each wish on a piece of paper in a visible place, for example on the refrigerator or in the car.
Focus your mind
Is there a simple activity you would like to incorporate into your daily routine? For example, going for a walk after getting up. This new habit should be visualized so that you watch yourself and imagine how you will feel afterwards, such as refreshed and proud. This involves all the processes that have to do with anchoring an intention in the brain.
Understand what you really want
What does success mean to you? Don’t just concentrate on one image, but let your mind wander for a few minutes. See yourself as a successful person and what that means to you. Experience your success with all your senses: What does it look like? What does it feel like? What does it sound like or taste like?
Remove the obstacles in your mind
Recall a situation in which you felt cared for and valued. Allow these positive feelings to completely permeate your experience. Now gently allow some negative beliefs to come into your mind. Observe them in your mind without judging them. For each negative belief, write down its opposite, such as: “I am worthy.” Try to imagine clearly: What will it be like when you have achieved this?
For further reading: James R. Doty: “Mind Magic. How to manifest your best life – explained neuroscientifically” (336 pages, 24 euros, OW Barth)
Monika Dittombée wonders why some life coaches are so successful despite their simple messages. After all, manifestation is much more.