The first step of any manifesting journey is to be clear in your vision. To put it simply, you can’t get to where you want to go if you don’t know where it is you are headed. So, before anything else, you need to have clarity on what you want the universe to provide you with.
I should begin by explaining why knowing exactly what you want, and then visualizing it, is so important for manifestation. When we create an experience in our mind, our brain responds as if it is really happening. Neuroscientist Dr Tara Swart explains in The Source that ‘visualisation works because there is surprisingly little difference to the brain between experiencing an event directly in the outside world and a strongly imagined vision of the same event’. For example, if we visualize ourselves in a stressful scenario, our brain will respond as though it is really happening: our nervous system will prepare for fight or flight and will release the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. This will cause our heart to beat faster, our breath to shorten and our blood pressure to rise. By imagining a stressful situation in our minds, we create a literal and physiological stress on our body. If, on the other hand, we imagine ourselves in a serene and peaceful setting, our brain will trigger the nervous system to calm down and encourage the body to relax. The images we form in our mind create a physiological change in our body and therefore have the power to influence the reality we then experience. So, as we visualize ourselves having the things that we desire most, we will create a physiological change that will shift our energetic vibrational frequency and consequently determine what we attract into our lives, by the law of attraction.
Visualization helps us to manifest in another way too: when we start to regularly practise visualizing the things that we want, our brain responds by altering our behaviour patterns and our interpretations of our surroundings in line with the imagined goal. It also becomes more perceptive and open to new opportunities that will align with our visualizations, while filtering out any unwanted information that does not. This means that we can literally prime our brains to drive us towards our desired future.
Visualization is probably the most talked-about manifesting tool in the media. Countless celebrities, athletes and CEOs attribute much of their success to repeatedly visualizing their goals. Swimmer Michael Phelps, who won gold at the Olympics a record-breaking twenty-three times, said he used visualization to prepare for all of his races: he would imagine not only winning, but also things going wrong and seeing himself overcome any challenges with ease. By visually rehearsing all the scenarios and always seeing the best possible outcome, he was able to go into any race totally prepared to win, no matter what.
The more elaborate the visualization, the more real it will feel and the more powerful it becomes. To really bring your visualization to life, try to gain clarity on as many details as you can. Be as specific as you can when you are designing your dreams. For example, if you are imagining your dream house, can you specify the location, the number of bedrooms and the layout? Can you see the colour of the front door or picture the flowers in the garden? Think about your visualizations like this: if you were getting in the car to drive to the airport, you wouldn’t just type ‘airport’ into Google Maps and then expect to be led there, would you? No, you would specify the exact airport and the exact terminal you wanted to end up at. Being vague in your visualizations simply won’t be enough. The more details you can include and the more specific you are, the clearer you will be in your vision.
The real secret to effective visualization, though, is in understanding that it is not enough to just see the things that you want in your mind. No, to visualize effectively for manifestation, you must immerse yourself in the feeling of having them. Remember, we attract what we feel. It is only when we can see what we want and then create the emotional experience of having it that we change our vibrational frequency. So, when we imagine our dream home, for example, we must also imagine how it would actually feel to live there. The more intensely we can create the feeling of having what we want, the more easily it will come to us. Similarly, if you want to manifest meeting your soulmate, then try to visualize not just your perfect partner but how the relationship will make you feel. Can you conjure up those feelings of unconditional love, safety, warmth and of ‘being at home’ with someone? Whenever we use our visualizations to create a feeling within us, such as contentment, joy, confidence or love, we raise our vibrational frequency (aka our vibe), which allows us to attract high-vibe abundance back to us.
Some of you reading this may be thinking, ‘I actually don’t know what I want to manifest, and I am finding it really challenging to visualize something specific that I want.’ You may not know what job you want, or where you’d like to be living, or how you want your life to look like one year from now. You may be at a pivotal moment in your life where you are seeking change but you don’t know which direction to take. If that’s the case, then you’re not alone. In fact, many people seem to find the magic of manifesting when they are feeling lost, directionless or stuck in their lives. If this is you, then I encourage you to focus your visualizations solely on how you want to feel. For example, you may want to manifest feeling more confident in yourself, more satisfied, more passionate, more driven, more in love, more at peace. You can absolutely manifest a feeling.
I had a client who I worked with very closely last year. When she first came to me she was truly at her rock bottom. She had tried numerous types of therapy and healing techniques, but none of them seemed to work in helping her to create lasting change. She said to me, ‘I know you speak a lot about manifesting. Do you think you could help me to manifest, even if I don’t know what I want?’ I smiled at her and nodded. I asked her if she would be open to doing a meditation with me. She agreed and I guided her to a place of relaxation then asked her to visualize herself six months on from that moment. I asked her to try to identify how her ideal future self would feel, encouraging her to really embody that feeling. After I’d brought her back to the present moment, she explained that what she wanted, more than anything, was to be able to wake up in the morning feeling energized and hopeful about the day ahead. Like many people who have struggled with their mental or emotional health, that was not something she had felt for a long time. In taking her through this visualization and asking her to imagine how she wanted to feel, I had enabled her to begin her manifesting journey. Within six months, not only was she waking up energized and excited about the day ahead, she had gone on to transform her internal and external world in every way. She was thriving in her work, in her personal relationships and in her relationship with herself, and it all started with one thing: a feeling.
When visualizing your ideal future, visualize not just what you want to manifest, but the person that you want to be. In fact, the question ‘Who do I want to become?’ might be the most important of the whole manifesting process. When you imagine your future self – the person you want to be tomorrow, next month, next year – ask yourself: how does this version of yourself feel physically, emotionally and energetically? How does this version of you behave day to day? What habits do you commit to? How do you handle stressful situations? What values and beliefs do you hold? What kind of relationships are present in your life, and how do they make you feel? Get crystal clear on the person you want to be and love that person unconditionally from this very moment. Know that this version of you already exists within you, dormant, but patiently waiting to be brought to life as you follow the rest of the steps in this book.
THE GREATEST GIFT THAT MANIFESTING CAN OFFER US IS NOT TO HELP US ATTRACT THINGS FOR US TO POSSESS BUT TO HELP US UNLEASH THE MOST EMPOWERED, AUTHENTIC, SELF-LOVING AND TRULY MAGNIFICENT VERSION OF OURSELVES THAT THERE IS.
Whenever I want to immerse myself into a visualization of my future self, I use meditation: I simply sit in a quiet space and focus my attention on my breath, and on the rise and fall of my belly as I inhale and exhale. As I bring all my awareness to the present moment, I can feel my mind and body begin to relax. Once I am in this relaxed state, I allow my imagination to take myself forward in time and then I begin to create my visualization, filling it with colourful details and conjuring up strong feelings and emotions. I usually sit in my visualization for ten to fifteen minutes and I repeat this two or three times a week.
If you are new to meditation, I suggest that you listen to a guided meditation to help bring you to a relaxed state or to take you through your visualization. There are thousands available online – explore a few to find a narrative voice that you really connect with. I love using YouTube as a resource for visualization meditations. Apps such as Calm and Headspace are also very popular and offer a variety of meditations to help bring you into a relaxed state. Alternatively, you can visit my website, where I have created some specific Manifesting Meditations to help you all with your visualizations. (www.roxienafousi.com).
FAQ:
Q: Can you manifest more than one thing at a time?
A: Yes, yes, yes!! Many of us will have multiple things that we want to manifest at any time and, as long as they are aligned with one another, then you can absolutely manifest them all simultaneously. During a visualization meditation, however, try to connect to just one goal or desired outcome at a time so that you can really sink into each imagined experience.
Once you have an idea of where you want to be, who you want to become, and the things you want to manifest into your life, you can create your vision board. A vision board is a visual representation of how you want your life to look. Making a creative vision board allows you to have a clearer overview of all the different things that you want to manifest into your life while also adding another dimension to your visualization.
Note: Whenever you are visualizing the things you want or creating a vision board of your perfect life, make a conscious effort to be completely authentic in what it is you want. In other words, it is important that you are not writing down what you think you should want, or what someone else wants for you, for example, your parents, teachers or partner. For your vision board to be effective, it must honestly represent the person you truly want to become. You must not compare your manifestation to anyone else’s either: you don’t have to want to manifest a mansion just because your best friend does. The most important thing to remember, though, is that manifestation is not about just attracting things into your life. Rather, it is about empowering yourself to live your best life – and let me remind you that the clichés are very much true: true contentment and joy come not from material possessions but from the relationships around us; from our sense of purpose; and from our ability to live in a way that reflects our most authentic self. So, when you are deciding what you want to manifest, choose the things that will bring you the most fulfilment possible and know that the only person who can decide what that is, is you.
CREATING YOUR VISION BOARD
If you search online, you will find a number of different ways to create a vision board. There is no right or wrong way to do this; you can create a vision board in any way you like, as long as you make something that best helps you visualize the life that you want to manifest.
You can choose to design your own style of vision board or you can follow along with me:
1. Set the scene
Light some candles, play some relaxing music and create a calm and meditative environment. Make your vision-boarding exercise a sacred event for you to enjoy and indulge yourself in.
2. Choose your medium
Take a large sheet of card or paper and choose whether you prefer to write down your goals using different coloured pens (either in bullet points or as a free-flowing description) or whether you want to use images (draw them yourself or cut out pictures or words from magazines or newspapers that reflect the things you want to draw into your life).
Choose whatever feels best for you – just remember to have fun with it.
3. Choose your timeline
At the top of the page, write the exact date by which you want to manifest what’s on your vision board.
You could choose to do a six-month, one-year or even a five-year vision board. Personally, I like to do all three.
I sometimes find that people can struggle to know, and visualize, what they want their life to look like one year ahead yet they may feel much more able to visualize their life in five years’ time, or vice versa. So, if you are feeling a little stuck, remember: you can always choose a different timeline.
4. Get in the zone
Before you start adding things to your board, make sure you are already embodying the feeling of your future self. Pause for a moment, take a few deep breaths and imagine yourself exactly six months, or one year or five years from now. Create a clear and vivid image in your mind as you ask yourself the following questions:
As you answer these questions, allow yourself to be completely free in your dreams, desires and wants. Do not allow fear to hold back your imagination; instead, take your mind’s eye to the exact place that you want to be. Allow the image of your future self to really come to life as you sink into that visualization.
5. Separate your life into categoriesfn1
Split your vision board into six categories:
6. Design your life
For each category, write down all the things that you want to manifest within it. If you are using cut-out images, such as an image of your dream house, stick them on to your vision board.
I would try to have a minimum of three things for each category. but there is no limit on how many things you can add to your vision board.
7. Put it away
After creating your vision board, put it away somewhere safe and set a reminder to come back to it on the date you wrote at the top.
As the things on your vision board begin to manifest into your life and you begin to embody the person you have always wanted to be, your desires or goals may change or expand. As you grow, your dreams will grow, too. Go with the flow of it and be totally flexible with your visualizations. If you want to go back and add something to your vision board, or take something away, feel free to go and do that.
Remember: you are the designer, curator and architect of your life and you always have the power to rearrange, alter and dictate how you want it to look.
Knowing what you want is the first step of any manifesting process. But before I take you on to the next steps, there is something I want you to remember:
To truly understand who we want to become and to begin that journey towards meeting our most empowered selves, we must first let go of the person we once were and the person we thought we should be. Our past is equally as responsible for getting us to where we are today as it is for holding us back from where we want to go. Many of us hold a subconscious assumption that we are unchangeable. How many times have you heard, or said, that phrase, ‘A leopard never changes its spots?’ This proverb literally tells us that it is impossible for someone to change. Or how many times have you said something along the lines of ‘I’ve just always been that way,’ or ‘That’s just who I am?’ While they might just seem like harmless expressions, they support an underlying belief that only one version of us can ever exist. This creates a lack of trust in our ability to transform, evolve and grow, which serves only to hold us back from doing so. But change is not only possible, it is inevitable. The person you were yesterday is not the person you are today or the person you will be tomorrow. So, as you go forward on your manifesting journey, throughout this book and beyond, I encourage you all to honour your daily transformation.
With each new day, honour who you are and the person that you want to become without being constrained by your past. It’s OK to feel differently, it’s OK to want something different and it’s OK to become someone new. Lean into it and allow the magic of manifesting to propel you into becoming your highest self.
WITH EACH SUNRISE, WE RISE INTO SOMEONE NEW.
As you embark on your manifesting journey, take time to really consider what exactly you want the universe to bring to you, connecting to why you want it and how it will make you feel to have it. Be as specific as you can with your dreams, and if you can’t yet visualize a ‘thing’, then re-create a feeling. Practise regularly sinking into a visualization of your future self, allowing the feeling of it to change your vibe instantly, while simultaneously directing your brain to begin driving you towards reaching that goal. Then have fun with your dreams: create a vision board that represents your best life and allow it to become your reality as you continue uncovering my 7-step guide to manifesting.