There are a lot of theories about how to manifest your dreams: imagine everything you want as if it’s already playing out, make room in your life for the things you don’t have yet and they will come, ask the universe to bring you what you seek, etc. There are plenty of books and step-by-step programs that claim they will walk you through the process of manifesting your dreams into reality. 

For a lot of my life, I’ve had a knack for manifesting some pretty unlikely scenarios. I went from being single, broke, and living in New York City – only dreaming of owning a farm with horses and being married to a man with parallel passions and life goals. Now here I am, and I have exactly what I wished for. And I’ve got to tell you, I made this happen without any real plan or step-by-step process.

Over the years I’ve studied a lot of different ideas about manifestation and “the way” to do it, but nothing ever seemed to really hit the nail on the head, for me. I decided to write a post about manifestation because I believe we’ve made this topic a bit too complicated – and for a lot of people, it’s all just a little too confusing and vague to put into practice. The Law of Attraction says that positive thoughts attract positive things, and negative thoughts attract negative things. But you can't control your thoughts, and thoughts will come whether you like it or not.  So, instead of focusing on thought – let's focus on feeling.

I believe there’s a simple core concept at the root of manifestation, and it’s the source of all of our success in aligning on our path of true purpose. It’s the same concept I return to during almost every topic I speak of, because really, it’s all the same thing. There are so many terms for it and so many different ways to explain it, and quite honestly, it’s a lifelong journey: it’s the process of connecting to our authentic self. 

My first real introduction to authenticity was years ago when I was studying acting at the Method Studio of London. I learned that just imagining a scenario that I had never experienced before was not enough to convey true authenticity, and that the audience would feel that it was phony. Instead, I would have to find a true emotion inside of myself, something that I was feeling presently, in order to be authentic in the scene. Therefore, it’s expected that no scene would ever be performed exactly the same way twice, because you are changing from moment to moment – authentically, you will feel different tomorrow night than you did tonight.

Just like the audience can read whether or not an actor is being authentic in a performance, the world reads our authenticity, as well. Subconsciously, people are always reading our authenticity level, and it’s no surprise that people are more drawn to us when we’re being authentic & fully present.  

So here’s the real secret: you don’t have to learn a specific process or follow any rules to manifest your destiny.

One of my personal mentors once told me that divine ideas come from a place of not-trying. Your innate wellbeing is always there, it can never leave you, and you can always call on your own inner-wisdom as a guide. 

I believe that manifesting dreams, or aligning with our true purpose, is only possible when we are present in the moment. Being present is what allows us to feel. Nature teaches us this, horses teach us this, our own body can teach us this. When we are present in the moment, we can listen to –or feel– our inner-guide instead of the thoughts inside of our head. 

Have you ever noticed that throughout your day, you’ll have inclinations that seem to come out of nowhere? You’ll think of someone, or suddenly you’ll have the urge to do something. You may even get excited for a moment. But before you can even begin to make a move, your thoughts have already begun talking you out of it: “…they don’t know me that well, it might be weird”, “I’m not important enough to waste their time”, “that’s not what I was told to do…”, etc. You easily rationalize away your feelings with thoughts that override your intuition or gut feeling. 

Here’s the thing. There’s nothing to worry about because you can’t make a “wrong” move or decision. With every step you take, you can always get feedback and readjust in the moment. The trick isn’t to make all the “right” moves, it’s to listen to your inner-guide, the place of non-thinking, and go with it. Our path is not a linear one, but it will get us where our true self wants to be. If only we can tune out the noise of our false-self: the thinking, the judging, the criticism – and tune back in to our true nature, the authentic self: the being, the now, the knowing. 

Unfortunately, being fully present doesn’t come very easy to us. We’re so used to listening to that roommate living inside of our head –our false self– that true authenticity is a challenging journey. But have no fear! Progress happens in baby steps, in moments – and every new moment is a new opportunity to manifest your dreams.

 On Saturday, July 21st, I’m holding an introductory workshop that will teach you the essence of this practice. We will explore authenticity and learn easy tools that you can use in your everyday life. If this interests you, sign up now (because space is limited)!

Otherwise, I encourage you to start listening to your intuition more, and try tuning out those pesky thoughts that are talking you out of it! Explore the possibility that your inner-guide may know more about how to achieve your dreams than your “logical” thinking does. If something feels good (before the fear-based thoughts set it), try it! Sometimes, it’s really that easy.