The Law of Attraction & Manifestation
I’m quite experienced in using the Law of Attraction and manifesting… this means I’m often asked about this topic, and I find there’s so much I have to say about it, that I can’t simply just share in one short conversation or a text message. So: I’m blogging about it and hope that you find this interesting and useful.
My own Manifesting Journey
In San Francisco, on the holiday I manifested
I’ve always believed that there’s a little magic out there, and that if I really want something, I will get it. But I didn’t look into this topic properly until around 2016, when I came across a manifesting course (by Denise Duffield-Thomas, it’s not available anymore but I recommend her book Lucky Bitch). Since then, I’ve manifested many, many things, including:
A trip to California: I worked out how much I needed for my dream California roadtrip, including flights, hotels, car hire, etc. and it came to around £5,000. I then set about manifesting (see my methods below). A few weeks later, I received - out of the blue - a cheque for £4,888 as a PPI refund! I booked flights to San Francisco the next day. We went in September 2019 and had an amazing two weeks.
My dream house: I listed everything I wanted - a quiet village location, detached, a minimum of three double bedrooms, a nice view, a hot tub or the ideal space to put one, a lovely garden, walks on my doorstep and within my budget. Even though I’m a firm believer in the law of attraction, I still expected to have to compromise (as you often do, when moving house)…however: I’ve got exactly what I wanted.
Meeting my favourite band, Take That (see pic below of me and Gary Barlow).
Several financial goals and business successes.
and much more.
…all of this stuff still took effort, and work. You can’t just make a wish and expect it to come true. More on that later.
What is the Law of Attraction?
So - the primary thought is that like attracts like. If you put positive, high vibrations out into the world, you will get the same returned to you. If you set intentions for your life and consciously try to pull in what you want, then the universe will deliver.
Meeting Take That
This doesn’t mean that if you think negative thoughts, you’ll have negative things happen to you - so don’t worry about that. However: have you noticed that some people believe they mostly get bad luck? They are very negative and say things like “typical, this always happens to me”, and then their experiences in life are mostly negative, and it creates a vicious circle because what you believe, is often true. So start to truly have faith that good things will come your way (I truly believe this for you!) and see what happens.
This is not a passive process, you have to meet the universe half way. If you want to manifest a new friend, you obviously have to go out and try to meet new people, you can’t wait for that friend to just knock on your door. You need to decide what you want, make steps to make it happen, and then let the universe (or ‘grace’ or ‘luck’ or ‘god’ or your ‘spirit guide’ - whatever you believe in) - do the rest.
If you’d like to delve into this in more detail, try reading The Secret by Rhonda Bryne, and/or check out Emma Mumford on YouTube (she’s got lots of great content out there, and has written some fab books, too. I did some 1-1 coaching sessions with her, she’s lovely).
Start Manifesting
Over the years, I’ve read a lot of books, watched a lot of videos, and tried various different methods to manifest what I want. I’ve put my learnings together here - some ideas, tips and actions to get you going:
Figure out exactly what you want
Set some goals or intentions and write them down. You could start small; how about manifesting a free coffee, or a bunch of flowers? It doesn’t always have to be something life-changing.
Work out exactly what you want and be specific (if you say you want more money, and someone gives you £1, you’ve got more money! so be super clear, e.g. “I want £5,000 extra, on top of my usual income, by the end of this year”… even better: focus on what you’ll spend the money on, vs the actual cash).
Not sure what you want? Try doing a ‘Wheel of Life’ - you can find lots of articles about how to do this online. It basically takes you through all the areas of your life and helps you to decide what you want to work on, first.
Declutter
Happy in my new home
You want to make room for the things you plan to call into your life, but decluttering also helps to raise your vibration (see below). We all get too bogged down in all the ‘stuff’ (physical and otherwise) hanging around in our environment and heads.
Your environment: Physically declutter your space. Go through your home (and anywhere else you spend time like your car or workplace) and remove anything that isn’t either useful or beautiful (if you need some inspiration watch Sort Your Life Out on BBC iPlayer, I love this show and all things organisation).
Your digital space: Clear your inbox, delete apps you don’t use, remove Facebook friends you don’t really know, clear your computer/laptop and iPad. Go through your phone photos. Get rid of anything you don’t use or need.
Emotionally declutter, too: One way to do this is to write down all the bad things that have ever happened to you, all your perceived mistakes, all the things other people have done that you didn’t like, all the injustices you’ve faced. And then go through the list and keep repeating to yourself a positive mantra, for example: I forgive, and let go. Then: burn that list! Or shred it. Or destroy it however you see fit. This is a really cathartic exercise.
Raise your vibration
What I mean by this is: be the most positive version of yourself. If you want to bring good things in, you have to put good things out.
This has actually changed me, regardless of manifesting, into a more upbeat, ‘glass is half full’ person with better resilience and mental health.
I have a list of positivity-tools that help to get me feeling positive and sending out good vibes into the world:
A daily gratitude ritual - this could be gently noting that you’re grateful for the basics like shelter, food and running water… or more specific good things that have happened to you that day, nice things others have done, fortunate events, etc. (write it down or just think about it).
Visualise - close your eyes and picture yourself having already achieved your manifestation. Picture everything in vivid detail; the place, colours, sights, people, smells, sounds. Try to visualise the outcome, so if you want more money don’t visualise yourself with tonnes of cash; picture what you’re going to spend that on, e.g. a holiday/car/house/clothes/etc. When I was manifesting my dream home, I pictured as much detail as possible, pictured myself walking through the house, looking out at the view, sitting in the garden, meeting the new neighbours, and even considered how I’d decorate.
Affirmations/mantras - this is a sentence you repeat to yourself/write down regularly. If you search online, you’ll find affirmations for just about anything you want to feel, do, or to manifest. For example, say you’re looking to manifest a new job, you could have an affirmation like this: I deserve to do a job I love, and new opportunities are coming my way (repeat this often enough, you’ll start to believe it).
Be kind - random acts of kindness, doing nice things for others… it’ll make you feel good - and putting that kindness out into the word, attracts more good things back to you.
Mindfulness - mute your phone for a while and practice some self care, go for a nature walk, enjoy a hobby, take a bubble bath, meditate… do whatever brings you some peace and clears you mind for a while.
Other things you can do
Create a vision board with images of all the things you want to call in (this might be a physical board or a digital one - there are lots of apps you can use… you could even create a mini one on your phone or in your journal). When I was manifesting my California roadtrip, I put photos of all the destinations I wanted to visit on my board, along with a fake cheque for the amount of money I needed to book the trip. I couldn’t believe it when I received the money just a few weeks later. My current vision board has photos of the next trip I’d like to take, some affirmations, my goals, and pictures I found on the internet of healthy women out hiking, as I really want to get fitter.
Create a manifestation box - mine has scrolled up bits of paper with my intentions written on them. I put some dried lavender, herbs, crystals and other things in the box (but if that’s a bit witchy for you, just do whatever feels right). Every now and then I go through the box and refresh it. Removing the scroll that read “Meet Take That” was a pretty fun one.
Draw or paint your manifestation. I’m not an artist, but I often doodle myself (as a stick-person!) doing whatever it is I’m attempting to manifest.
Write the story of your day/week/month/year/life, exactly as you’d like it to be.
Learn to let go
So, some people believe it’s good to really focus on your intentions, think about them every day, keep writing them down and visualising as much as possible.
Others believe it’s best to let go and trust the universe.
I like to do a little of both: if it’s something I need to do quite a bit of work on myself, I feel that keeping it in mind, giving it focus and remembering what I’m working towards/co-creating with the universe is really helpful.
Othertimes, it’s good to not obsess and just trust that what is meant for you, will find you.
Loving life, in Yosemite after manifesting the trip.
Believe
What you believe, is true. So trust the universe has got your back!
Also: remember you deserve good things.
Be ready to receive
Self-sabotage is a common problem! Look out for the ways your manifestation is coming true. Maybe you’ll see signs, gain inspiration or small things will happen. For example, say you want to manifest some money for a holiday. And you’re going out for lunch with a friend, and they offer to pay for that lunch. Well, accept! And remember that money you’ve saved - that’s something towards your holiday.
In summary….
Ask for what you want, and be specific
Believe you deserve to receive it, and that you shall
Raise your vibration
Be ready to receive….