Back to Manifestation Basics (I re-read The Secret!)

The other day, I was looking for my next book to read and I felt called to download & re-read The Secret. It had been years since I read it at all; I believe I first read it in 2010 whilst in college and it changed soooo much for me in a positive way.

So I listened to the nudge, downloaded it and it actually really, really helped current me.

*The Universe is always sending you helpful nudges - listen to them!*

Now, The Secret receives some criticism from today’s manifestation teachers at its lack of depth. I’m at a point where I’ve been studying manifestation for over twelve years, so I know manifestation on a much deeper level. And while yes The Secretdoesn’t talk about the need for doing the inner work and reprogramming the limiting beliefs within your subconscious mind so you can fully believe everything is possible for you - it does still have such amazingly helpful lessons and truths.

Honestly, I find that sometimes the modern spiritual community over-complicates manifestation. There’s so much emphasis placed on regular rituals, more courses, just learning that one more thing, sooooooo much shadow work (like non-stop shadow work)… and all of those are helpful and can do the trick, but in reality, the main tool you need really is just your mind.

Your mind is truly the most powerful tool you will ever wield.

Don’t get me wrong, I love journaling, I think shadow work is the most important, subconscious reprogramming is everything for stuff you’re struggling to manifest, & you know I do daily affirmations … but I think back to 2010 me, having just discovered The Secret and without knowing all that deeper stuff I was able to manifest some pretty cool things. And I did it all simply just by choosing positive thoughts about what I wanted and feeling sooooo grateful! It stemmed down to willing it into existence by knowing what I wanted was inevitable. Like The Secret   advises, I'd act like it was already done. 

I manifested an apartment in NYC for college. My friend and I were told our budget in our desired location was impossible. We were feeling hopeless and school was starting soon… but instead I just overpowered my thoughts and I kept imaging a 2 bedroom apartment within our budget, two blocks from our school and I knew it would happen. I felt sooo much gratitude for it.

I went to sleep and when I woke up the next morning, first thing I did was check apartment listings. A newly published post listed a 2 bedroom apartment, only $100 over our budget, 2 blocks from my school. That apartment became ours.

I also manifested seeing Daniel Radcliffe in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. His run was ending soon and I was sad I didn’t get to see him because I would have loved to see him live in person - he was Harry Potter after all! Tickets were expensive and I was a college student so buying wasn’t an option. But nevertheless, I set the intention and believed I would see him. I just knew it. Sure enough, later that week, I received an email from our Student Government telling us they had $20 tickets available for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying for next week (still within Daniel’s run!). I got the tickets and went and it was amazing.

I manifested a trip to London for after college! I wanted to go to London so badly but again obviously money was an issue, that and convincing any of my friends to go with me. But I knew I’d get there as visiting London was my dream. After college, I wound up working at a summer camp in The Hamptons that hired workers from all parts of the world … mainly, the UK. My closest friends that summer happened to be a group of girls from the UK… and after camp, they each said I should come visit them in their own cities! I used my camp money (Hamptons parents tip well! LOL) and booked a flight to London for a few months later. Not only did I get to go to London, but I also got to go to Cornwall, Wales, Leicester, and Manchester visiting a different friend at every leg of the trip. So, not only did I manifest a trip to London, but I manifested going all over England and Wales for 2 weeks, staying at my friend’s houses (so no hotel fees), and being shown around by locals. It was amazing.

I did all these things (and more) by just thinking them, knowing without a doubt they’d happen, and feeling grateful. And that was it.

So long story short, sometimes the simplest manifestation methods can be the most effective.

Yes, I’ll always acknowledge that if you’re really struggling with manifesting something, you will need to go deeper. You’ll need to find the root cause of why you are struggling to believe it’s possible for you, and to restructure the story you’ve been telling yourself. We all have areas of our life that need extra reprogramming in order for us to believe.

But for most things, you really can manifest it simply, like The Secret details, by choosing better thoughts.

As The Secret points out, we sooooo often are focusing on what we don’t want. We’re focused on there’s no good people to date, or our credit card debt is too high, or a co-worker is mean to us, or our instagram engagement is low, or how are we ever going to do what it is we really want to do?

The Universe doesn’t necessarily care what you’re thinking - it’s always going to deliver what you’re thinking back to you.

So, if you’re on a frequency of constantly worrying about your credit card debt, more is going to come to you. If you’re on a frequency of getting worked up over your co-worker being mean to you, they’re going to keep being mean and maybe more people at work will start being mean. If you’re constantly agonizing over how no one appreciates you or everything sucks … guess what? No one will appreciate you and everything will suck.

So, instead it’s really up to you to overpower these bad thoughts and choose the thoughts that do support the reality you want; ones that support the story of your life you want to be living.

Your expectations are so powerful; whatever you expect to happen, most likely will (unless there’s divine intervention of course but more on that in a bit!)

I had a friend back in the day, who I taught The Secret methods too, and she used it for school purposes. This was one of my UK friends from that summer spent in The Hamptons and while there, she forgot she had a summer assignment due like instantly. She was a fashion designer so it was impossible for her to put something good together while all her equipment and stuff were back in the UK and she was here in the US. However, she submitted whatever she could and she kept believing that she’d pass and it would all work out. A few weeks later, she got word that she passed and would be able to continue onwards with her schooling. She even told me there was absolutely no way she should’ve passed, but she did because she believed no matter what she would!

Your thoughts can do anything! Whatever you declare to the Universe, can be yours. You can be / have / do anything. I’ve personally found that by noticing my unhelpful thoughts and simply just saying “that’s unhelpful” and then letting those thoughts go and switching to thinking about helpful thoughts (like what if it all works out and goes the way I want) it’s been enough to manifest some pretty magical things.

So, change your thoughts - expect abundance of money, expect co-workers to be nice or leave you alone, expect to meet good people worthy of dating, expect to be on time, to win that contest, to have people appreciate you, to have supportive friends, for everything to work out…

And the more and more you fill your brain with these good thoughts, the more you become a magnet to bring these to you.

& If you’re thinking “easier said than done”, well, then here’s your invitation to go deeper than The Secret. Ask yourself: why is it so hard for you to believe you can have good thoughts? Is it just years and years of having bad thoughts? Was it because a parent passed on these negative thoughts to you? Are you in victim mentality and stuck on a cycle of thinking everything goes wrongly for you? Do you think you’re not worthy or it’s not possible for you to have good things happen? Maybe by figuring out the reason, getting to the root cause, and by healing that core memory, you can be more ready to try to choose good thoughts.

You don’t have to do a 180 overnight; but maybe start by choosing one good thought a day to help set you in a better direction. Then the next day, try choosing two good thoughts, then three, etc etc. Maybe even tell yourself it’s possible for you to do this! It’s possible for you think good thoughts. The more you try and actively work on doing, the easier it can come for you to accept.

Another way if you’re struggling to think good thoughts, is to just listen to empowering content throughout your day. I personally find this one the most helpful!

Listen to manifestation podcasts, inspiring YouTube ted talks, spiritual audiobooks, follow uplifting people (like me ! Hehe) on social media  - whatever it is - find ways to flood your brain with good, empowering thoughts. The more you take in uplifting content, the easier it is to feel good and believe.

Think of how pumped up and good you feel when someone tells you encouraging things about yourself or your life? By surrounding yourself with good content, you can feel that on a regularly basis. That’s especially why for me, spiritual audiobooks are my go-to on a regular basis.

Like The Secret points out, your emotions are your indicator. If you’re feeling good, it’s the Universe signaling to you that you’re choosing good thoughts and thus manifesting good things. If you’re feeling bad, it’s an indication that your thoughts are not aligned to manifest your best life.

Honor your feelings, but then work your way up to feeling better, to choosing better. Do things that raise your mood; hangout with your best friends, dance, play, create, get out of your head for a bit and just enjoy life…and that will help you feel uplifted and choose better thoughts.

Above all, like The Secret points out - use gratitude. Daily. As much as you can. Every time you have a moment, just feel so grateful for anything and everything. Appreciate what you have currently - it doesn’t meant you’re going to get more of what you have … it means you’re appreciative of what the Universe has already given to you, and thus that’ll make the Universe want to give you more.

I think the main trouble with The Secret’s simple method is that people get discouraged when it doesn’t show up ASAP. Now, this is where the longer, bigger, deeper training comes in.

Remember, the Universe only ever has three responses to your desires:

1. Yes here you go

2. Yes, just wait, I need to align this to divine timing so it can be the best it can possibly be

3. That’s not for your highest good, just wait I have something better

It’s easy to get discouraged, but try not allow yourself to! Drill into your head that the Universe is alwayssss working in your favor! The second you speak a desire, the Universe hears you and begins to work on it. Trust even if there’s a time delay, trust that things are rearranging to work out even better than you could have ever imagined. Don’t let this make you think you’re a bad manifestor or you did something wrong. You did nothing wrong. Just trust in the timing or trust that it’s not for your highest good and something better will come along.

Also, another thing The Secret doesn’t point out, is if your manifestation doesn’t show up - ask yourself, do I really believe this is possible for me? And if you don’t, then it’s time to go deeper, do that subconscious inner work, and figure out why? When did you decide that wasn’t possible for you? What memory or childhood programming got stuck in your subconscious mind and is playing on a loop about you not being good enough / worthy enough / or things about love or money not working out for you?

Just as I suggested earlier if youre struggling to believe you can have good thoughts, go inwards and figure out why you don’t believe this particular manifestation possible for you and then work on healing it, and amending it. Let go of that old limiting belief and start telling yourself a new story, the story that supports exactly what you want to be experiencing.

It may take a bit, but the more and more you tell yourself this new story, the more your subconscious brain will start to accept that as your truth. And then, once you’ve done that, The Secret’s method of just thinking and believing will be that much simpler for you.

Using The Secret’s method, I like to visualize what I want. I feel it happening; I celebrate as if it already happened. I know without a doubt its coming to me … and I say thank you over it an abundant amount of times. I repeat thank you, thank you, thank you over and over again as I really let it fuel me, lift my spirits, and help me know what I want is already happening for me.

So while yes, there are some things The Secret leaves out, overall I still find even today in 2022 it’s an incredibly powerful book. It’s a fantastic reminder of how powerful our minds are. It really helped me re-realized that I personally had been focusing a bit too much on what I don’t want, and instead helped me re-shift to focusing on what I do want and feeling soooooo grateful for it all!

So, this may be your sign to re-read The Secret (or read it if you never have!). It may be the very basics of manifestation, but honestly there’s a reason it sold so many copies. It’s beyond helpful and everything within it holds true. Think good thoughts, feel grateful, and know the Universe is always conspiring in your favor. You have the power to choose your thoughts and in turn that will create your reality.

You can do anything. You can change your life at anytime. It all just starts in the mind, because once it feels real in your mind, it won’t be long until it’s real in the physical world. It won’t be long until you’re making big moves and making your dreams come true!