Chapter 8 - The Three-Stage Manifestation Process

As I hear you speak these words, I feel a sudden rush of excitement all over my body. It’s like a sudden rush of inspiration, of possibilities…

That is the feeling of alignment… of being aligned with your highest good, and having very little resistance in the moment. Most people dismiss good feelings like this when they feel them throughout the day. They think they are just “feeling good” and there is nothing special in the moment. But there is something special in the moment. Something more is happening than what meets the eye. When you feel a sudden sense of inspiration or exhilaration, you are energetically moved to a more powerful and attractive place. And if you allow yourself to remain in this inspired state for a longer time, then more and more powerful and attractive thoughts will come to you. Thoughts and impulses that will move you towards your highest good. Someone who feels a sudden rush of inspiration or possibilities is feeling very little resistance in that very same moment.

What I have learnt from reading your books is that these good “feelings” are something special. They point to something greater.

That’s right. These good feelings are not just mere sensations which we feel under our skin and all over our body. These good feelings are what I call precursors to our manifestations. They let us know if we are on the right track. The problem is that most people do not pay attention to them, because we are so focused on the external evidence and signs. We are too busy looking at outer, physical reality for signs of our manifestations that we miss these inner good feelings entirely.

When you pay more attention to the way you feel on the inside, you’ll find that the good feelings can be very exquisite. If you’ll keep your focus entirely on the inside for most of the time, you’ll start to recognize that you have a wonderful inner state! You’ll have many times throughout the day where you feel a general sense of flow and momentum, as if you are being propelled by Universal Energy. Those are the times when you know you are aligned with Universal forces and moving powerfully along in the direction of what you want. Then there are other times when you feel awful, like you are working so hard against the grain and just wearing yourself out. Those are the signs to let you know that you are trying too hard, or that you are focused on something that puts you at odds with these Universal forces. You can learn a lot about the manifestation process just by turning your awareness inwards. There is value in both the good feelings and the bad feelings. The bad feelings are letting you know that your focus is misplaced.

Take us through a typical manifestation process. When should someone focus on the outside and when should he focus on the inside (his inner state)? Or should he focus on both at the same time?

Manifestation typically starts with an outward focus. In other words, we notice something that is undesired on the outside and desire for that condition to be changed. Or we notice something that is pleasing to us on the outside, and wish for something similar (or more of it) to come into our lives. So manifestation always starts with an outward focus, as adopting that focus allows you to clarify and choose what you want. Think of it as going to your favorite store with a wonderful array of items and choosing what you like from the shelves. For me, I love to go to a big electronics store to check out all the items on display. There are gadgets that I like, and things on display that I do not particularly care for. However, the mix is what makes it all so exciting. I never know what I’ll find. I pick and focus my attention only on the things that I like, and let the other products just fade into the background. I accept them as part of the choosing process. I do not start demanding that the store remove all the items I do not like! This is an analogy that has also been used by Abraham-Hicks, to illustrate that manifestation is about placing your attention on and choosing what you like from the mix, rather than placing your attention on and feeling bad about all the things that you do not like. Just let what you do not like gently fade into the background without trying to change or argue against any of it.

Once you have clearly identified what you want on the outside, it’s now time to gently turn your focus inwards and focus entirely on your inner state. You set your intentions by turning inwards and not outwards. You maintain those good feelings of your desire already fulfilled right now on the inside. The key to effective manifestations is to immerse yourself in this inner state for as long as possible until an outer manifestation occurs. Once an outer manifestation occurs, you can then turn your attention back again to the outside to enjoy the “fruits” of your manifestation. If you have done the inner work necessary, you should find the inner world to be just as enjoyable and pleasurable as the outer physical world.

Using the electronics store analogy, let’s suppose that I set my sights on a new Mac computer. It becomes the object of desire that I want to bring into my life. What does one usually do when they see something they like at the store? They focus on all the positive aspects of it. They allow themselves to thoroughly enjoy the process of checking out all its functions and features. They feel the joy of learning about the product and using it. This whole process is no different from your other manifestations in the real world. Once you have identified the thing you like, you immerse yourself in all the positive aspects of it. You think about its good points often and savor it. You imagine yourself using it and feeling so good from the experience.

In other words, there should be no difference between how you feel on the inside when something is not yet manifest, and when it is manifest. This is the whole secret here. I would like to emphasize this last point and really drive it home as it is the key: When you get to a point where you feel so good about your unmanifest desires such that manifestation would make you feel no different… you’re on the brink of a physical manifestation.

This is such a crucial point in our discussion that I want to make sure all our readers get it. When I get to a point where I feel so good about something that is not yet manifest in my life… such that its manifestation would make me feel not much different, that is the point when the manifestation is about to occur?

That is the point where the physical manifestation is about to occur. In fact, I would encourage all readers to try and apply this in their own lives. Pick something which you want to manifest and try out the three stage process that I talk about above. First, focus on the outside to decide what you want to manifest. Second, turn that focus inwards and just immerse yourself in the good feelings of that manifestation. Really do so until you would feel no different should a physical manifestation occur. That is when a physical manifestation should really happen for you, every single time . When it happens, you can then turn your focus back to outer reality to enjoy what you have manifested. And so this process repeats itself throughout our lives… as we bring more and more of our desires through and into physical form.

I have never seen the whole process summarized as succinctly. But I also know what some readers will be thinking: If it’s so simple, then why do so many people still struggle with the manifestation process?

I can tell you exactly why so many people out there struggle with the manifestation process. That’s because they are unknowingly tripping themselves up at several points in the process described above. I should know, because I was one of them! Back when I first started out, I didn’t have the guidance of someone who was more experienced than I was in this stuff. I didn’t have someone looking over my shoulder and saying, “Richard, this is where you are tripping yourself up and here’s how to change it…” So what happened was that I figured a lot of it out by painful trial-and-error! It took me many tries, probably thousands of tries, before I finally saw the whole process for what it was.

The advantage that our readers have in reading this series of books is that you can sidestep all the mistakes which I have made. I point out the pitfalls to you before they occur so you can recognize them and take corrective inner actions if necessary. This is where these series of books are of great value.

As you can see, there are three stages in the manifestation process described above. It is outward (to choose what you want), then inward (to manifest what you want), and finally outward again (to enjoy what has manifested). Some people trip themselves up at the first stage. They focus outwards, but instead of placing their attention on what they want, they place their attention (or allow themselves to be carried away by) all the things which they do not want. This is quite a funny example, but let’s suppose that I am an Apple fan. I walk into an electronics store that sells both Macs and PCs. A good manifestor would only place his attention on his objects of desire, which are the Apple computers and Macs. An ineffective manifestor would complain about all the PCs on display, and demand that the store only stocked up on Macs! He would spend lots of time complaining to the store manager about it and demanding that the store change their inventory and layout just to accommodate him! But guess what the store manager would say?

I suppose he would say that there are also people interested in PCs!

Exactly! And that’s why there is so much choice and diversity in this Universe! All of us do not always like the same things or prefer the same experiences. All of us have different choices and preferences, and it contributes to the dynamism and diversity of the world around us. So the world is not going to change just because you only like Macs. The PCs are still going to be there. But an effective manifestor places his focus only on things that he likes and ignores the rest. He lets the rest fade into the background through the skillful use of his focus.

Many people trip themselves up at the very first stage, which is allowing themselves to be carried away by all the unwanted things in their experience… and spending so much energy arguing for why they should not be there. If they would only use that energy to focus on what they wanted, they would multiply the effectiveness of their manifestations many times.

Next, many people trip themselves up at the second stage of the process, in which they are supposed to focus their attention exclusively on their inner worlds. What most people do is to jump between their inner and outer worlds. They keep looking to the outside for external evidence of their manifestations… and they get discouraged / worried when they see nothing happening. As I’ve mentioned, a strong sense of discouragement or worry has the power to wipe out all the positive inner work that you have done previously! So what actually happens to many individuals is that they take one step forward but then two steps back again, and wonder why nothing is happening for them!

While the manifestation process you have described is deceptively simple, there are also many pitfalls in which individuals can fall into.

That’s right, and sometimes we can be stuck in one of these pitfalls for years without even knowing it, especially if we do not have the guidance of someone who has gone through the whole process. That was certainly the case for me. I did not even know I was stuck inside one of these pits and making no progress. It was only with a lot of determination that I finally emerged from the other end of the tunnel! Therefore you have a great advantage here. You are able to learn from my mistakes and avoid them.