I’ve always considered my business and really my life as a whole to be a laboratory to experiment with my ability to intentionally create– both the inner feeling states and the outer circumstances that I find preferable.
What I’ve discovered is that this ability is truly the most important skill we can develop as human beings. Very few of us learned this skill growing up in school. In fact, much of what we were taught has actually suppressed this powerful ability. To become a master creator, we have to unlearn much of the conventional rules and dogma that we’ve been indoctrinated with from a very young age.
I’d like to share an insight about this topic that is often overlooked, even altogether ignored in spiritual and New Age circles. This insight has come through a lot of trial and error in my own life. I’ve had some amazing breakthroughs in terms of manifestation and intentional life design. In fact, I base much of my success in my coaching work around this ability to align my desire with outer reality. This ability didn’t come without sacrifices.
Before I knew what I’m about to share with you, I suffered a great deal trying to figure this out. I always felt I was missing a key piece of the puzzle, yet couldn’t quite grasp what it was. If you watch movies like ‘The Secret’, or read a lot of self-help books about this topic, it sounds easy, right? Ask. Believe Receive. Whatever you ask for, the universe will give it to you.
All that you need to do is be clear about what you are asking for and see it as already showing up in your reality. Initially, I was very excited about this idea, as it seemed like a gateway into the invisible world, where I could finally tap into a power source that was beyond the mundane physical reality we share as humans. My first attempts at intentional creation, however, were met with severe disappointment and confusion. I tried my best to create things, but they didn’t show up as a I desired.
What I now know is that the typical teachings on this subject commonly lead people to feel this exact same way. Some people have great success. Some get mixed results. And some fail miserably. Why isn’t there a more uniform pattern if there is indeed a ‘law of attraction’ that works the same for all of us? This question really confused me for quite a long time. Here’s the big insight I had… and this only came to me after years of struggling with this topic:
In order to master intentional creation, we need a dynamic balance between non-attachment and desire.
If we get disappointed or upset about the ‘results’ we are getting, it means that we are attached. We are holding onto expectations, which inevitably clogs up our energy field and undermines our ability to create powerfully. When I work with intentional creation in my life (and I consider it very much a daily practice), I now start with mindfulness practice. I allow my current reality to be exactly as it is without resistance. I drop any tension I feel between what is here now and what I desire.
This neutralizes the momentum of the ego, which is steeped in resistance to what is and is fueled by a lack-based approach to life. Through mindfulness practice, there is often a state of deep, unconditional relaxation and peace that arises, where it becomes fully evident that literally NOTHING outside of us or in the future can generate true happiness.
From this state of being at peace with what is, I can now focus on what’s coming next in my experience. I can see what I desire as if it’s already here. What’s interesting is that, from a state of deep acceptance of what is, the imagined state of what is desired feels just as real as what’s here now. You see, without entering a state of relaxed non-attachment first, the whole practice of manifestation inevitably becomes a big ego game. We focus on what we want, but it is fueled by expectation, hope, and fear.
There’s a sense of constriction around it, where we are operating from a state of believing that what we are asking for isn’t here with us now. In this way, we are repelling what we desire. Chogyam Trungpa called this spiritual materialism. From what I’ve seen, most New Age approaches to manifestation are stuck in this paradigm. The irony of manifestation practice is that we have to completely let go of what we desire.
There’s a simultaneous focus on surrender to what is here now and engineering what comes next. The logical mind can’t quite grasp this, which is why many people struggle with this practice. As human beings, what we care most about by far is our feeling state. If we want more money, that desire is fueled by a belief that it’ll trigger certain positive emotions within us. If we want a soulmate, we feel that another person will trigger the experience of love within us.
Through mindfulness practice, we see that we can generate whatever feeling states we desire from within– joy, peace, abundance, confidence… all of these states show up in their true form when they aren’t based on external conditions. As we generate these states from within, life can only respond with more of the same externally. This is how we shift our circumstances to align with our core desires.
It’s such a radical way of living, is it not? I mean, we don’t have many examples of people choosing this way of being. Everything we see around us suggests that our power is ‘out there’ and that the best we can do is use will power and force to acquire more of what we think is missing. No matter what your circumstances look like in this moment, you have an ability to generate whatever feeling state you desire.
Isn’t that amazing? Take ownership of this ability as the starting point of the transformational process. Keep going deeper until you can genuinely get to a place where you love your current reality just as it is. From this place, now you have an ego-free zone to create what you want, from a place of innate fullness.
Your life is ALL about momentum. Most of us were never taught how to shift momentum.
We keep banging our head against external circumstances, focusing our energy outside of us. Are you sick of that way of being? I mean, really exhausted by it? That’s usually the entry point into taking your power back. To keep things uber practical, here’s my recommendation: 10 minutes a day of mindfulness practice, accepting what is. 10 minutes a day of intentional creation practice, designing what’s coming next. Do this every day for a couple of months.
You’ll notice your feeling state changes first. Simply put, you just feel better. From there, your outer world begins to shift.. but don’t give that too much of your focus. Helping you make this radical shift in momentum out of victimization and into empowerment is the first step in my coaching work. Without this, whatever else we do for your business will likely feel like you’re just spinning your wheels.
Here’s what a wonderful naturopathic doctor who recently signed up for my coaching program, Practice On Fire, had to say about his experience:
When I hear my clients say things like this, I KNOW they are on the right track.. and that HUGE growth is imminent. After all, your business can only grow to the extent that you do. Make it your #1 passion in life to stop living in default mode, where you habitually react to whatever life gives you. This is a recipe for suffering and limitation. Take control of your creative power! The simultaneous practice of surrendering to what is and consciously designing what’s next is the magical combination that’ll open up new frequencies of reality, where abundance, connection, and clarity are the backbone of your human experience.
