What Almost Everyone Gets Wrong About Manifestation That Keeps It From Working
A manifestation coach busts common myths and shares how manifest better.
Krakenimages.com | Shutterstock Over the last several years, manifestation has become a popular tool. This is at least in part because people think it's simple magic: think positively and what you want will appear.
While it may seem straightforward, how manifestation works is a bit more complex. Matt Cooke, a renowned manifestation coach is on a mission to help people understand the reality, including in his conversation with Andrea Miller on the Getting Open podcast, where he dove deep into the science and spirituality of manifestation.
Cooke admitted that while everyone has probably unconsciously manifested at different points in their lives, it's not a "positive thoughts only" process. He explained that 95% of our minds are "unconscious" and until we can tap into this part of our minds, we'll continue with the same narrative and feel this sense of imprisonment.
Manifestation isn't magic, and that's what everyone seems to get wrong
Cooke explained the three brains, which are the neocortex, also known as the frontal lobe, which is the seat of all your decision-making. It's the part of the brain you use when you want to change your life and when you want to earn more money at work. Then, Cooke described another section called the limbic system, which is the emotional brain and the storehouse of programming.
"It's what's running the show," Cooke said. "That and the cerebellum, represent 95% of who we are, on average." If you've ever tried to make a decision to change something in your life, but then wondered why it's not happening in the way that you want it to, it's because the 95% is what subconsciously defines you.
It's the things that people have said to you repetitively throughout the years of your adolescence and adult life, and the reason why this is important is because you need to learn what that programming says about you.
Cooke pointed out that a person can have all of the conscious will or intent to manifest, but manifesting is a subconscious, which is why some people may struggle to manifest what they want and instead bring in the opposite.
Your energy must be in alignment, and positive thinking isn't going to achieve that
Until you're able to recognize the difference between awareness and programming, you'll often find yourself stuck in this negative cycle. Now, the moment you're able to recognize that shift, according to Cooke, is when you'll finally be able to understand and say with confidence positive attributes of yourself, including that you're loved and abundant, then it's not long before manifestations start coming true.
"You can have all the conscious intent from your brain, but you've got to align the body," Cooke said. "If you do that, you've got a greater collapse ... you've got a greater ability at collapsing the wave."
One of the important aspects of manifestation, Cooke explained, was not manifesting too far out. Instead, he recommended manifesting at least 12 months out from your current reality. The best question to ask yourself is: Who do you want to be? How do you want to show up every day? What adjectives would you want to describe you in a year from now?
Positive affirmations have a place in manifestation, but they aren't the whole program
One misconception that people have about manifestation relates to affirmations, and that they need to be something extremely specific and longwinded. However, Cooke insisted that it doesn't have to be something that people spend hours on, and in fact, we should be consciously affirming every day.
"Where people go wrong with affirmations is, 'They're too complicated. There's too many of them.' Just stick to five or six that are very tailored, very aligned with that future that you repeat every day and using 'I am...' statements," Cooke said, adding that personally, he recommended people use the statement, "Every day and every way things come my way."
Unless you're willing to change, and everyone can agree that change is scary, then it's always going to be the same. If you want your circumstances to be different, then not only do you need to lean into your fears but not let them dictate how you can manifest the future that you want for yourself. It's all about making sure you're positively aligned with who you are and rephrasing how you speak about yourself and the circumstances that you're in.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.