History of Manifestation

Hello, it's Jax again.

In this article I want to explain just what the basics of what manifestation is--what people understand it to be, how it's known in popular culture, and how this idea of manifestation came about historically.

Manifestation, in its simplest form, is the belief that your inner world shapes your outer existence--your actual real life. So your thoughts, your attitude, your mentality, your beliefs… all those things lead to real-life outcomes. They affect your actions, and they can even affect the actions of the people around you.

So it can sound a little bit "woo-woo" or a little bit spiritual. I know a lot of people downplay it and don't believe in it. But that is the basic idea of what manifestation means.

In more practical terms, people might refer to it as mindset, focus, drive, motivation, or goal-setting. In more new-age terms, people might call it energy or vibration. Nikola Tesla is famous for saying that everything--existence itself--consists solely of vibrations.

But the core idea is similar. Whatever you consistently focus on, believe, and think about tends to influence you and the people around you. And then, over time, that can change the actual experiences you have in your life.

And this idea is not new. Versions of it show up across cultures throughout history--ancient history and even modern history. For example, spiritual teachings over thousands of years across continents have said that faith, prayer, meditation, and the words you speak have great power in your life and the lives of those around you.

That idea--that words carry power--is common in almost every religious belief out there. For example, in the Christian belief, they even say the Word itself is God. The Word was made flesh, the Word became Jesus Christ, and he is explicitly referred to as the Word of God.

So the idea is that what you say with your mouth, or what you say to yourself in your mind, has enormous power. That's a belief that many religions have.

Even in Eastern traditions like Confucianism and Buddhism, there's this concept that the ideas in the mind are extremely important. So they emphasize things like meditation, chants, sutras--things you repeat with your mouth over and over as you meditate.

And those words align your mind with the desires of your heart so that they work together in concert to achieve the things that you want in your real life. Or sometimes, it helps you let go of the things you want if they're not good for you.

So yes, manifestation has very deep roots throughout history. But the way manifestation is known these days in modern times has more recent underpinnings in things like the New Age movement, positive thinking, and modern self-help. You might have heard of ideas like "act as if," "claim it," "be it before you have it," or "just assume it." You may have heard of the Law of Attraction, the Law of Assumption, or "change your vibration."

People say things like, "If you're having trouble getting something, change your vibration." Or "Feel it until you realize it." "Feel it till it's real." "Feel the emotions of being rich"--if you really need money, what would it feel like to have plenty of it? Feel it first, then the money will come.

What would it feel like to be a millionaire? To take first-class airplane trips? To not worry about grocery prices? And then the idea is you focus on that feeling until it becomes a reality.

But let's be honest, right? Manifestation isn't like a lever on a gumball machine. You put in money, you pull the lever, gumballs come out. I think everyone agrees that's not how manifestation works. It's more like a system, a belief, or a way of living. It changes your mindset, which changes your behavior, which changes your lifestyle--and that changes outcomes in your life. That's what manifestation really is.

So there's intention--you have to know what you want. There's attention, which follows intention--attention is what you focus on. There's identity, which is becoming the kind of person who is able to live in that reality. For example, if you're always struggling with money, and you hate people who have money, and you think money is evil--yet you're having trouble paying the bills--how can you be open to receiving money when it comes? That change in mindset has to happen first.

Then there's emotion. You need to learn to manage your emotions, because emotion is the thing that will most commonly break manifestation. When you're worried to the point where you can't think about anything else, it can pull you right back into fear.

Let's say you need money to pay rent. If your focus is "I don't have money, I don't have money, how am I going to pay the bills," and you're focused on lack--then that lack is what you're feeding with your attention. So you have to learn--not to suppress fear and worry and doubt and push them down--but instead to move them away from your present thoughts. Then you replace them with more positive energy and more positive thoughts. You focus on what you do want--enough money to live comfortably, to pay bills--rather than spiraling into the worst-case scenario.

And then last but not least, you need to take action. You can't just manifest millions of dollars and do nothing. That's not how this works either. You need to go out there--move in faith, move in belief, move in confidence, be motivated--and do what you can within your ability. Take massive action. Send out job applications. Study hard. Learn a new skill like computer programming or AI. Start a business.

As you try to manifest good things into your life, you also need to do your part. Nobody gets anything for free. You still need to show characteristics like diligence, integrity, and industriousness. That's what allows you to get what you want in conjunction with the correct mindset. And you don't want to get things in a devious manner or by cheating people, right? We want to do things the right way, with integrity.

So you want to have the correct mindset, you want to take correct actions, and you want to move forward with diligence. Work hard. Don't be lazy. Be kind to others. And then watch as good things come into your life.

Okay--so that's the basic idea. You want to manifest good, positive things into your life, and do what you can--mentally, emotionally, and physically--to bring those things about.

In future content, I'll talk about all of this in a more balanced way--what seems to get misunderstood by a lot of people, and how to use manifestation for your benefit without becoming unrealistic or superstitious about it, or having the wrong expectations.

Thank you for reading this far. That's all for now. Until next time, see you!