Why Manifesting is Prolonging Your Awakening
There might be a bitter undertone to this blog. Because after years in this space, I finally reached enough.
Over it.
Manifesting is a bit played out.
I say this with a disclaimer:
This is how I feel. It’s not truth. It’s not right. It’s just how I feel. This is my blog, where I process and share my journey into awakening. It’s not a space with all the right answers. It’s just my space. So move forward with an open mind and heart, but the last thing I want to be is someone in the spiritual space telling people how they should walk their path. Do you bb. And you’re welcome here anytime to see how I’m doin me.
Back to manifesting and how much I hate it.
Ok, hates a strong word.
But really, let me tell you what I really feel about manifesting and why I’m calling bullsht on the entire movement—which, btw, isn’t anything revolutionary. (new age ain’t new—it’s more alternative than anything.)
Someone once told me the manifesting movement started at a churchy cult in Southern California as a tactic to get people to donate more money. Not sure if that’s true, but I sure as hell enjoyed talking sht about manifesting with that person.
Manifesting can be dated back to the 19th century. (that’s a pretty fascinating article I just linked there btw.)
That’s what I’m saying. It’s nothing new. People have been trying to change their lives with the power of thought for centuries.
Humans have been hating their lives and wanting new ones for hundreds of years.
Nothing new.
But here’s my problem...
Stay with me here...
Who is it that wants to manifest and change their lives?
Who?!
“Me, Janelle. I want to manifest and change my life.”
Ok, but who are you? Who is the “me” that wants to change? Who do these desires really belong to?
I told you—stay with me...
It’s the mind. It’s the mind that wants this and that and the other. It’s the mind that is NEVER EVER satisfied.
It’s the mind.
In yoga we call it the ego. In Buddhism, mind. In Human Design, mind and not-self.
I like the term mind. So we’ll stick to that here.
It’s the mind that is not happy with the current situation and wants to change it.
But here’s the thing my friend—when the mind does eventually manifest the thing it wants, guess what, it’s gonna want something else.
You want a nicer, bigger home. Ok, you manifested it. Now you want a cleaning lady to maintain this big home. Ok, manifested. Now, you want a 6ft, blue-eyed husband to keep you company in this house. Ok, manifested. Now you’re bored. You want children. Manifested. Now you're bored again. You want your own successful business. Manifested. The husband isn’t exactly what you thought it would be. Another husband. Manifested. Still bored. Let’s travel the world. Manifested. Actually, the big house is too big. A condo in the city is much better. Manifested. Kids are older. Ah. Grandkids, that’s what I want. Manifested. You’re 90. Next thing you know, you’re on your deathbed manifesting your funeral.
Literal situation right there. The majority of us spend our lives like this, chasing, chasing, chasing. Manifesting, manifesting, manifesting. Where in all of this did we ever stop and just enjoy what we ALREADY have? Like, stop and stay there.
We didn’t. Because the mind will never be satisfied.
I cannot stress that enough.
The mind has no idea what it wants so therefore it will never stop wanting—because it doesn’t know what it wants.
Am I beating a dead horse yet? No? Ok. Let’s continue.
So you have two options here:
You can spend your whole life chasing your mind’s desires, never reaching a place of true peace and joy.
OR
You can spend your precious time waking TF up and learning how to use your mind, not the other way around.
Clearly, I’m committed to the latter.
There are those people that will argue: “There is nothing wrong with having desires. It’s your soul’s compass to guide you in fulfilling your life’s destiny.”
In which I respond: “Cool. Do you bb.”
And then there are those people that will argue: “Fulfilling your soul’s desires and waking up are not mutually exclusive. You can want nice things, have nice things, live a life you love AND wake up.”
In which I respond: “Cool. Do you bb.”
(I don’t argue with people anymore.)
The thing is, as long as we’re stuck in the mind, even if it’s only part-time, we’re just prolonging enlightenment.
I’m not in the business of fulfilling desires. I’m in the business of waking TF up. Like radically annihilating the not-self and waking up from this dream movie.
That’s just me though.
I would rather spend my days waking up and reaching a point of having no desires, or at least having no attachments to them.
I would rather find the peace and joy we all long for here and now, rather than there and later.
The problem with manifesting is the whole “life will be better when...” shtick. New Agers are all running around, anxious AF, tensely trying with all their mighty power to manifest this that and the other.
The best part—they then want you to pay them to tell you how to manifest. “You see, I manifested $20k through this course that shows you how to manifest. Now join this other course so I can show you how I manifested $20k for that course.”
It’s the oldest trick in the sales book. Don’t fall for it.
Like I did.
I believed all the coaches when they said, “Just believe you’re worthy, create your vision board, dream BIG, don’t play small, live the life you deserve, and pay me $1k to show you how.”
After years of anxiously trying to visualize the sht out of my “dream” future, I started to question all of this advice.
Because I come from the school of thought:
If the majority is doing it, question it.
First of all, why is my worth tied to the level of luxury in my life?
Do I even want that walk-in closet full of designer bohemian clothes?! Do I really want to fly first class every single time?! Do I seriously want to make 10k a month?!
What do I REALLY want? Not what does my mind want...what does my soul want?
I started to dig past the superficial desires—aka the mind’s desires—I mean really, really dig:
Ok. I want a lot of money. Why do I want a lot of money? —> So I can travel the world whenever the hell I want. —> Why do I want to travel the world whenever the hell I want? Like truly Janelle, why? —> After some “I love culture and food and blah blah blah” surface level stuff, I reached my deepest answer.
Because I want freedom.
Ahhhh! Ok. Now I was getting somewhere. Is traveling the world really going to give me the freedom I desire? After more digging I realized—no. No it wasn’t.
Waking TF was going to give me THAT level of freedom.
My friend, there is nothing free-er than freedom from the mind.
I did this questioning and digging with my other big desires and I concluded that what my soul really wants is peace—sht. She wants unconditional love, joy, and peace.
And I should know, after 33 years of fulfilling my mind’s desires, that nothing outside of me will ever EVER fulfill those deeply rooted soul desires. Because those things are literally who I am—I just have to wake up and realize that.
My time is better used awakening those qualities within me than chasing outside things that will never give that to me.
You still with me?
And here’s another thing: Waking up from his dream movie will help you realize it’s all a dream and then you can really just manipulate the dream and do whatever you want in the dream—but by then, you won’t even want to.
Jesus said it himself: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.”
In which I interpret: “Wake TF up and THEN sit back and enjoy the show.”
Manifesting keeps you in this viscous cycle of want fulfill want fulfill want fulfill. Manifesting keeps you stuck in the dream movie.
But even worse, manifesting keeps you in your mind. And I’ll never shut up about this—
You are NOT your mind. The mind is separate from you. The mind will never be able to make the best choices. It has no idea what it wants. It wasn’t built to decide.
It’s not all useless though, and it’s definitely not our enemy.
The mind is here to help you analyze, plan, plot, measure, but it has not a clue what it wants. It’s like the dog from the movie “Up” every time it sees a squirrel.
Our role here is to learn how to observe the mind so we don’t keep chasing squirrels. Once we can observe it, then we can detach from it’s list of never satisfied desires and focus on what actually matters—
Waking TF from the dream movie.
Manifesting does the complete opposite. It keeps you in the dream.
“I want this. Now I want that. This will make me happy. I want that because I’m worthy. Now I deserve even more because I just realized I’m more worthy.”
When does that ever end? It doesn’t.
That’s all mind, not-self, dream state stuff.
And again, nothing wrong with that. If you’re enjoying the dream, stay sleeping and please, enjoy it for as long as you want.
But, if you’re anything like me, you’re ready to wake TF up, sit back and enjoy the dream movie.
This isn’t a matter of this is better than that. It’s a matter of reaching a point on your journey where you literally have no other choice.
No other choice but to stop getting distracted with the pretty sparkly manifesting gems on the path to awakening and accept that waking up isn’t about bliss or heaven, but about necessity and urgency.
When it’s time, it’s time—to wake TF up.
