The Truth About Manifesting (+ Myths Debunked)

Manifesting this, manifesting that. The topic of manifestation has been hot for some time now but what is it really about? Well, let’s talk about the truth and debunk some myths…

Let’s start here – what is manifesting anyway? Manifesting is basically the Law of Attraction which is a philosophy that whatever thoughts you entertain, become the reality you experience. Now, it is quite understandable why some people are sceptical about this notion, there is simply no scientific evidence of this being true.

However, I am a firm believer that whatever you believe is real and true is real and true. What makes us believe that something is real are the little bits of evidence we have collected in our lives. If you believe in the existence of aliens, it’s because you have seen suspicious hints that they are living among us. You believe in God because of the miracles that have happened in your life. If you believe your partner is cheating, it’s because of the way they have been acting strange lately. Right? You believe what you believe because you have basically ‘seen’ it to be true!

A Short Testimony

The same goes for Manifestation. The reason why I personally believe it is because of my past and present situations. Ask my family, they’ll hate to tell you but when I was a teenager I was such a negative person. And I felt like a superhero when I would casually say something like, “Ugh, I just know I am going to fail this test even though I have studied and actually know everything,” and to my surprise, it would happen. I was just so convinced I was brought into this world to suffer while others live lavishly. I believed it and you couldn’t tell me otherwise.

That’s where the idea of unconscious manifesting comes in. What this basically means is that the thoughts that you do not intentionally create still have the power to become your reality. Which is why you absolutely have to be aware of the thoughts you allow to linger in your mind because they will end up manifesting into your physical world.

Are we being misled?

The reason why manifesting feels unreal to some people is because those that do believe and practise manifesting have distorted how it actually works. We have seen from thousands of Tiktokers that manifesting is like an instant, overnight thing. Some people even post things like, “I am manifesting a car,” knowing damn well that they have already bought one and they are going to pick it up next week.

So now when they come back and post, “Omg! I literally manifested my dream car and I am so thankful to the Universe!” you fall to your knees at Walmart and wonder why such great things don’t happen to you when you manifest even the smallest things.

But Mbali, they said we should meditate

Let’s start here and be honest with ourselves – meditating is not something you can just get into and master within a few days or weeks. It takes time. Not only that, there’s no end goal – you can never claim to be a professional meditator. It’s a continuous journey that needs you to frequently tend to.

So now that that’s out the way, let’s relate this to manifesting. We hear people saying that in order for you to manifest your dreams you have to meditate for 10-15min a day. I get the visualization POV but that’s not true. Besides that, hearing all these things you need to do to manifest what you want ultimately creates limiting beliefs in your head because you are now so convinced that if you don’t do all these things, you won’t be able to manifest successfully.

Oh, hold on! Let’s talk about the ‘Methods’

Man oh man! All these manifesting methods that keep popping up on how to effectively manifest what you want! There’s the 5×55 Method, the Pillow Method and wait, there’s also a 369 Method on manifesting your ex back in your life *insert twitching eye emoji*!

Now I am no spiritual guru or anything like that but I can assure you, you do not have to write down or chant what you want to manifest in order for it to happen.

Cue in more testimonies

• in 2018, I told myself that I am going to pass my degree and move to New York the following year. First of all, how I passed all my modules that year was honestly a miracle – a story for another day. When applying to be an au pair, you can be placed literally ANYWHERE in the states, but tell me why all my potential matches were only in the east coast, super close to New York where I really wanted to be. The family which was most compatible with me though? New York!
• 2021, one thing went wrong in the beginning of the year and my teenage self got activated. I had no positive thoughts in me – about my job, my future, my day-to-day life, my relationship, everything! And you know what happened? Everything went spiralling out of control. I knew I somewhat had a hand in it and to be honest, I just couldn’t stop! I even went to the extent of thinking and believing that I am not a good writer and wasn’t built for it. You want to scroll through my website a bit? Yeah, there’s nothing much from last year.
• beginning of 2022, I set my mind on having a good year. I didn’t have any goals or any plans in particular and I am not going to lie, this year has been one of the best years of my life. Despite not having a job, not traveling as much as I used to and not seeing my family for another year. I am content, I am at peace and I am just loving life.
• during a conversation with a friend, I mentioned that I want to collab with big brands and experiences this year. I said that ONCE! Who reached out to me since then? Studio by Tishman Speyer, Washington D.C. Metro, ARTECHOUSE and Herman Miller! I didn’t reach out to them. I didn’t grow my following nor post new, different content to attract them. It was all just from one thought.

My point is, you do not have to engage in all those ‘methods’ and techniques – I am not shunning them or saying they do not work. I am simply showing you that one thought is enough to manifest an experience. It’s not magic so don’t expect things to work out when you want them to. In that case, you would have to look into divine timing and understand that everything that is meant to happen will happen when it is supposed to happen too.

So what about coincidences?

You know when you think or talk about someone you haven’t spoken to in a long time and they randomly text you or bump into you in public? The first thing we cry out is, “Oh my! What a coincidence?” Or better yet, when you are going through a tough time and a stranger in public gives you a random advice on the exact thing you are going through, without you mentioning anything!

Again, this not something you have to believe but it wasn’t a coincidence. The Universe does this thing of aligning us with guidance through people we know and strangers. It’s really up to us to accept it as such or not. But ‘coincidences’ are also a form of unconscious manifesting.

Okay, let’s wrap it up…

The bottom line is, you can easily manifest what you want. It’s really in all the thoughts in your head. So be careful of what you welcome in there because whether you believe that thought or not, it can actually manifest into your life.

You really can’t avoid negative thoughts, they just randomly pop up. What I do when those uninvited thoughts come in, I simply say, “That’s not true,” and sometimes I have to say it multiple times until it goes away.

So do the same, make your mind a healthy place for thoughts to be especially if you are interested in trying out Manifesting. It’s not that hard nor do you have to have a special manifesting method, chant or daily routine – just focus on the thoughts you entertain.