Manifestation – true or utter nonsense?

It’s the tik-tok trend on everyone’s #fyp (for you page, duh) that’s skyrocketing with millions of views. “I don’t chase, I attract, what belongs to me will find me,” utter nonsense? or is there some truth behind the infamous law of manifestation?

What is manifestation and why is it so popular?

The law of attraction (LOA) or better known as “manifesting” is the practice of making aspirational thoughts come to fruition, and it has tracked an overwhelming amount of popularity in recent months. Mid-last year, Google searches for the term skyrocketed 669 per cent and according to Vox Media, “shut-up I’m manifesting” is among the defining memes of 2020.

During the pandemic, people were limited to what fun they could make secluded within four walls, so it’s no wonder the practice of bringing your thoughts to life has gained so much traction. Like many other quarantine trends – baking, dancing, and tie-dying – manifesting can be seen as an escape from the powerless feeling of being trapped at home.

Yet, even pre-pandemic, the frenzy surrounding manifestation has been gradually rising since 2018, with an increase in the, #self-care side of social media. Meanwhile, stereotypical practices of witchcraft involving crystals, tarot cards and herbs have sparked the attention of a wider audience, particularly among young adolescents.

Ten years ago, the concept of manifesting and attracting energy was conventionally seen as witchy and mysterious, particularly for old-school celebs like Fleetwood Mac’s, Stevie Nicks. But today these traditions have become trendy and cool with stars like Megan Fox and Miranda Kerr discussing how manifestation has changed their life.

What the heck is a manifestation coach and mentor?

Mindset and manifestation coach Shari Angelina gained a large following on Instagram for her healing and mindset advice. Her page features daily motivational videos, posts and a ‘sexy, soulful and magnetic membership’, including video calls with Shari herself.

“It's all to do with our internal belief system, you need to shift to be in alignment with your desires”, she says.

“The law of attraction and the law of action go hand in hand. Most people forget about the law of action, but this is crucial if you want to manifest your dreams. Every decision you make in life will put you on a different path. If we identify our goals and desires it makes choosing these paths a lot easier.”

Shari says her clients often come to her for more materialistic goals like finding true love and being rich and successful, and she believes that by helping her clients become fully aligned with themselves, they can then manifest anything they want.

“Reframing and seeing the positive in things is very important but forcing yourself to see the positive while you subconsciously actually don’t believe it, you’re never going to see results.

“You want to feel like a magnet for miracles, you don’t want to feel like a magnet for things that feel like sh*t or things you don’t want to attract”.

The power of manifestation relies solely on the mind and by closing off the opportunity for it to even be real initially, you will never experience the power of its benefits.

The phenomenon has been circulating in the spiritual community for decades, but Shari believes that the tik-tok craze has just cultivated more attention.

One of Shari’s clients says, “her calls changed everything for me, it’s so powerful, I don’t know how people haven’t heard of it before”.

Forget the spiritual woo-woo – is there any logic behind manifestation?

Fulfilment mentor and manifestation coach, Laura Grady, provides insight into the career side of manifestation on the Happy Hour Podcast. She has coached several celebrities including YouTube vlogger Shani Grimmond and has gained over 14K followers on Instagram

“I am here to help people believe in themselves more than they do, my job is to help people feel as aligned and inspired as possible”, she says.

Alignment and self-love are two of Laura’s biggest considerations when working with clients. Her background in psychology led her down a path called NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) and a hypnosis course.

“I did the course for reasons unrelated to my career but fell in love with it, I didn’t understand how people hadn’t heard of it before. I knew I had to share this message, it’s too important and people don’t know enough about it”.

In a world flooded with aspiring social-media influencers, spiritual gurus and self-help mentors, it can be hard to decipher between a social-media-savvy influencer and someone who has experience and expertise.

“I think the word coach is very twisted at the moment, there are some people that do mindset, others that are more spiritual, but for me, my job is to get people where they want to be”, she says.

Although the spiritual side of manifestation has gained a lot of attention on social media, there is some logic and reason behind all the charm and enchantment.

“I turn the spirituality side of manifesting on and off depending on my clients, it’s all the same stuff, you either use spiritual lingo or more logical phrases, it depends on the client. I teach the same lessons, but I try my best to make sure that it makes sense to them in a way they will hear it and understand.

“I love the spiritual part of it, but sometimes it’s not always the best way to manage it,” she says.

The science behind manifestation

Despite manifestation being a very real part of many people’s lives, there are limits.

Many psychologists believe manifesting is just a form of positive thinking and there is no true higher power or energy alignment involved at all.

Psychologist, Dr Neil Farber states that LOA (The Law of Attraction) is a “perfect law” and should result in a “perfect life”. If manifestation is what is made out to be then ultimately there is no such thing as an unrealistic goal.

“Reality check: life is not perfect, it can be great, fantastic, amazing, incredible, even optimal. But perfect? Won’t happen,” Dr Farber says.

It seems that the modern concept of manifestation circulating the internet by journaling over and over, rubbing crystals together and waving around funky incense is a short-term fix for people with no motivation to chase after the things they want in life.

“Fantasising and striving for perfect makes you feel better in the short term but actually reduces your chances of attaining your goals and results. If you are only going to be satisfied with perfect results – perfect health, perfect body, perfect marriage, perfect friendships, perfect job and a perfect life; you are in for perfect disappointment”, he says.

Dr Farber refers to the new tik-tok craze as a way of attracting views and publicity, not to educate and harvest results.

The concept of apophenia is the belief that there is meaning behind random data and explains why people advertise their success more often than failure.

“That’s where the law of attraction and manifestation get misconstrued. Yes, making your goals clear and strong does ultimately assist in you making better choices, thus bringing about a career change or new relationship, but the idea that you can bring about these things by clicking share or liking something is totally incorrect”, he says.

According to Dr Farber, people focus on coincidences without regard to the much greater number of times that they do not experience coincidences and that is why seeing the letter of your future husband multiple times a day or 11:11 on your clock can make people believe these signs are powered by some kind magic.

The Placebo Effect

The science behind manifestation can be super complex and difficult to understand.

Medical ethicist and anaesthesiologist, Henry Beecher, has proven the power of thought through a phenomenon known as the “placebo effect”.

The placebo effect was used to prove the healing power of the mind. Patients were given medication with no actual healing treatment, e.g., a sugar pill, and the scientists recorded significant improvements in their conditions without any actual pharmaceutical aid.

Put simply, the patients were given medications with no actual healing properties; what healed these people was nothing more than the power of belief.

Is manifestation the new era of modern-day religion?

It is also interesting that today, fewer people conform to traditional religion, yet there has been a rapid increase in the number of believers in manifestation, divine energy and even astrology, another trending topic on the platform with the #astrology having over 25.6 billion views (Tik Tok. 2021).

It’s not rare that an astrology meme like ‘all Sagittarius love to explore’ shows up in your feed, and in the last decade these types of posts have exploded across mainstream social platforms.

Astrologer Ashley Lanese explains several reasons why astrology has gained so much attention.

“Humans are on a constant journey to find sense and meaning, when faced with something that doesn’t make sense, they try to find answers. But sometimes these answers just simply can’t be found, and that’s where astrology comes in,” she says.

True or utter nonsense? – it doesn’t really matter

Even despite a lack of firm science and research behind the new craze, its popularity and following have skyrocketed across many platforms with millions of views, followers and even coaches.

But is the whole “I don’t chase, I attract, what belongs to me will find me” concept just an escape from lockdown boredom or could the law of attraction and manifestation be the new era of modern-day religion?

For further information and interviewee contacts, please contact:

• Ashley Lanese – Instagram @ashleylanese, Twitter @AshleyLanese

• Laura Grady – Instagram @lauragradyy, Website https://www.lauragradycoaching.com/

• Neil Farber – Twitter: @neilfarber, Linkedin @neilfarber, Email equiform via psychology today

• Shari Angelina – Instagram @Shariangelina.coach

Read the full article here: https://preview.shorthand.com/lk6u1291BVLCp7Ls