I know I’m not alone in thinking that the movie “The Secret” left out a lot of critical information about the Law of Attraction, which is why so many people struggle to make it work for them on a consistent basis.

On the other hand, many people (myself included) were introduced to the concept of manifestation by this movie, and for that I’m extremely grateful to Rhonda Byrne for producing it. I wouldn’t be where I am today without it. It was the catalyst for me to set out on a quest to discover the truth about manifestation and how it works. I don’t profess to know all the answers by any means, but I will share with you one of the fundamental principles that affects your ability to manifest your wishes.

I’ve heard the Law of Attraction referred to as a force like gravity that is always working whether you believe in it or not.  That’s true on one level, but unlike gravity which is a purely physical force, the power behind manifestation has intelligence and is affected by so much more than positive thinking or the desire for material possessions.

The ability to manifest our desires consistently requires a higher consciousness. By that I mean that it is impossible to manifest positive outcomes when our ego is in charge – we have to be operating from our Higher Self with an alignment between our conscious and subconscious mind. So we have to work on our conscious evolution from the 3rd dimensional world of ego to the 4th dimensions of Spirit and the Higher Self.

Mindfulness

The difference between the 3rd and 4th dimensions is that the 3rd dimension is egoic and the 4th dimension is spiritual, hence the title of this post, that manifestation is a spiritual process and requires that we evolve from 3rd dimensional thinking to 4th dimensional consciousness (and above).

Ego is the part of us that is fearful, vulnerable and associated with the physical body so it believes in mortality. The physical body eventually “dies” so the ego‘s job is to protect us. It is also linked to our personality in this lifetime so it is vulnerable on a psychological level and is the source of limiting beliefs and self-esteem issues.

The ego is responsible for the voice of our inner critic, trying desperately to stop us from stepping outside our comfort zone and putting us at risk… of harm, failure, criticism etc.

Mindfulness is the 4th dimensional state of consciousness in which we are aware of all our thoughts and feelings, consciously choosing which thoughts to allow into our consciousness. It is the consciousness of unconditional love, self love; love is the power behind everything we do and in our relationships with others. We believe in our immortality as spiritual beings and we are connected to God, Source, Spirit.

To attain a state of mindfulness requires focus, commitment and self-discipline in which we replace egoic, fearful, negative thoughts with “Higher” spiritual, loving and empowered thoughts. Recognizing and transforming our thought processes involves facing and dealing with our core issues and limiting beliefs. It is a process that is compared to peeling off the layers of an onion; as one issue is dealt with and peeled away another one is revealed.

The reason why manifestation can be a roller coaster ride is that when the ego is in charge our mind is focused on fear and negativity so we manifest more of what we don’t want – problems not solutions. Those thoughts reflect our subconscious core issues that still need resolving. It seems like we’re failing to manifest, but we’re just manifesting the result of those negative thoughts.

The things we manifest easily are the things that have no limiting beliefs or core issues associated with them, so we can stay in our Higher Self; our conscious desires and subconscious beliefs are in alignment and everything comes easily. So one person might easily manifest perfect health, another person might easily manifest financial abundance.

By recognizing what comes easily and what seems to be a struggle you can identify the core issues that need work. You can also identify them by the quality of thought associated with them. Core issues will be associated with fearful, anxious and stressful thoughts – the product of the insecure ego.

Resisting the ego delays the process of evolution – what you resist persists. When egoic thoughts arise don’t hate or resent them, or get frustrated because it seems as if you can’t get rid of this particular issue. If you do, you’re reacting from ego and actually strengthening it!

Instead, become the detached observer of these thoughts and feelings – rise above them – and thank the ego for drawing this issue to your attention. Recognize the trigger that made these thoughts arise, then consciously replace the negative thought with a positive thought. Do this each time the thought arises and you’ll train your brain to think the positive thought instead.

This is the process of a lifetime – it is our soul mission to deal with these aspects of ourselves, so don’t get disheartened if the same things keep coming up for you. Some resolve quicker than others. Just acknowledge them with gratitude, shift the thoughts into the positive and you’ll not only make steady progress in clearing these issues but your ability to manifest positive outcomes in that area of your life will increase too.