The Art of Manifestation

By Natalie Daniels

Manifestation is a new trend that has infiltrated TikTok this summer. Also called the law of attraction, it is described as the act of bringing something to life through thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. Early teachings of manifestation began during ancient times in regards to Buddhist and Christian teachings. In the 19th century, the law of attraction was introduced to the public by occultist and philosopher Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and author Thomas Troward.

Some TikTok videos give only some insight into how the process of law of attraction and manifestation works. Katherine Hurst who is the creator of the community and website “The Law of Attraction,” provides a step by step process on the mechanics.

According to Hurst, manifestation is when “thoughts and energy become someone’s reality.” This means that if you have negative feelings and energy, you will attract negativity. If you have positive feelings and energy, you attract positivity.

Hurst has a four-step process on manifestation.

Step 1: Choose What You Want to Manifest

When deciding on what to manifest, know exactly why you want to manifest a certain thing. It should be something you want for yourself and for the greater good. Is it something you really want? How will you benefit from having this? When you think of having this, does it feel right? How will it be good for you and others?

Step 2: Get Rid of Things that Stand in Your Way

Find out what things could refrain you from receiving what you want.

Toxic People:

No one should be holding you back. Make sure you are removing yourself from people who don’t believe in you.

Timing:

You have to be patient. Things won’t come right into your lap right away. Refrain from giving up if you haven’t received what you want.

Negative Thoughts:

Remember, if you have negative thoughts, you will attract negative things. You have to put yourself in a good headspace when you’re about to manifest. This could be through self-care techniques like meditating or journaling.

Oftentimes, we tend to look outward towards others rather than looking inward towards ourselves for fears of seeing ourselves in unflattering ways. This is when shadow work comes into play. Shadow work can help open yourself and help you grow as a person, connecting you to a higher power.

A lot of the time, shadow work is done through journaling. You identify parts of your personality that you do not necessarily like. These are called your shadows. Through writing these down you learn to accept these parts of yourself with no judgment. Through this acceptance, you learn to love these parts of your personality and learn how to use them to help you grow in your morals and beliefs.

I have attempted some shadow work in my spare time. Following a TikTok account, I found some prompts that helped me look more inward towards myself.

Prompt 1: Write yourself a letter of forgiveness

Prompt 2: What emotions do you try to avoid feeling? What experiences made you dislike these emotions?

Prompt 3: What positive traits have others said you have but you can’t see in yourself? Why is that? Do you envy others for that trait?

Prompt 4: If you could change one thing about your life to make it better, what would it be? Why haven’t you done it yet?

Prompt 5: If you could have a conversation with a past version of yourself, how would it go? What age are you in this conversation? What did you need to hear from someone at that age? What would you have told yourself if you could go back and talk to yourself then?

Step 3: Visualize What You Want to Manifest

Put the focus on visualizing what you want. Imagine that thing you want has already happened. What does it feel like? How does it make you feel? Incorporate as many details into your visualization as possible.

Step 4: Take Action to Manifest what You Want

Follow your gut. If this means living normally as you would then do so. If your intuition is telling you to do something, then do it. It’s all based on how you feel and what you think.

I tried manifestation for myself. I have visualized things I want while also writing stuff down. When writing stuff down I have followed the “3,6,9” method inspired by TikTok videos I’ve seen. This process has you write the person or object you’re thinking about three times. Then you write your intention six times. After that, you write down the action you want to happen between the person or object you’re thinking about nine times.

After watching several TikTok videos of people receiving what they wanted through this manifestation technique, I started to believe in it as well. At the same time though, I have been working on manifestations that haven’t seen the light yet. Maybe it’s because I’m subconsciously doubting the process, or I’m not doing it right. All I know is that I’ve become interested in connecting more with my spiritual self, whether that is through journaling or visualizing my life. Gaining a new perspective on the law of attraction and manifestation has helped me grow spiritually and physically. If you have any interest in growing your spirituality, I recommend it. You may find things out about yourself you never knew you had in you.

Natalie Daniels is an editorial intern for Dreamlette. She is a journalism major at Emerson College with a love of storytelling. Her favorite topics include entertainment, fashion, lifestyle, social issues, and music.