"Manifesting" Happiness: Transform Your Life with Meditation

Stack of rocks near plush greenery and waterfall

Why is meditation the answer?

I want to start this off by saying that I am not a "manifestation coach" and I don't have it all figured out. If you're looking for a life coach, you can get on YouTube and find hundreds of people out there alleging to have found the secret, and for a price, they will teach it to you too. First, there is no such thing as a "manifestation coach." Everything is a "manifestation." Every thought you think, and every feeling you experience are all manifestations. Second, maybe it's my cynical mind, but if they had it all figured out, wouldn't they be exorbitantly rich and married or in a fulfilling relationship, and living a life of luxury? Why would they need to sell their services on YouTube? And why are so many of them still looking for love? These are the questions I always come to. In this blog, I will just share with you what has brought me happiness, but I will not pretend to have a perfect life with all of the answers.

Now, in this insane world we live in we are constantly being inundated with information and opinions, and it leaves little to no room for soul-searching or critical thinking. When you take a step back you start realizing that all of these beliefs you've carried for so long don't even belong to you. You've been programmed to keep busy and occupied and rarely encouraged to look at things from different perspectives and come to your own conclusions. This is what happened to me when I began a major spiritual awakening in 2018. The first thing that I started to realize was that I was not even questioning where all of my beliefs came from. Did I come into this world with all of these ideas and opinions? Or were they pressed upon me by my outside reality? And then did I find support for all of these ideals because I was out there looking for evidence to back them up? Tony Robbins has an exercise where he asks you to find objects of a certain color in the room you are in. He will say, "look for all of the brown in this room." And you will look around and suddenly realize, "wow! There is so much brown in here that I never noticed!" It is because you will find what you are LOOKING for. If you were brought up to be afraid and think the world is falling apart, you will see endless tragedy (thank you news media). I can distinctly remember sitting in the living room of my grandparents house while my grandmother watched the news. She was watching 20/20 or Dateline and they were airing a story about a girl that was snatched out of bed from her bedroom window while she slept at night. They even re-enacted it. I was terrified to go to sleep for weeks. I remember her saying "yes, these things happen all the time. You've got to watch out." She lived her life in constant fear that something terrible was waiting around every corner. This left quite the impression in my psyche. So think for yourself. What old stories and beliefs have you been carrying around, maybe since your childhood? Are they serving you well? Or keeping you stuck and afraid? Meditation allows the space in your mind to start noticing these things, and you will begin forming brand new beliefs, as if you've been born anew. It may take you all the way back to your childhood like it did for me. It's well worth the long journey to find a new life, with a fresh perspective awaiting you on the other side.

For me, meditation began mostly as a way to "manifest" the life I really wanted. I thought that if I did what I was "supposed" to do, I would get all the material things I wanted. I have been a long-time follower of Rhonda Byrne (The Secret). I read all of her books, and all of her recommended reading, and then found my way to Abraham Hicks on YouTube, and eventually Abraham's books. If you are not familiar with Abraham Hicks, it is supposedly infinite intelligence, being channeled through a woman named Esther Hicks, and this was the basis of The Secret. At first, it can seem really out there and "woo woo." I remember the first time I listened to them and I thought it was way too bizarre and immediately turned it off. I don't know what I believe that it is. I can't say whether it's infinite intelligence being channeled through a human, or Esther Hicks being able to get into a flow state to deliver fantastic advice. I don't know, and I'm not sure that it really matters. I have gotten some valuable life advice and understanding through listening to her speak on YouTube, seeing her in person, and reading her books. Maybe that's all that matters. Regardless, the advice that is always given to the audience members who ask questions is to spend 20 minutes a day quieting your mind. She usually recommends listening to a non-intrusive noise like the dripping of a faucet, or the fan in an air conditioner unit. Something that you have no opinions about that can give your mind something to focus on. The idea is that if you can quiet your mind for a bit each day, you can lower your resistance, and in the cracks allow yourself to create the life that you desire. In my quest for happiness, I followed this advice thinking I might "manifest" a new car, a new career, the perfect body, etc. What actually happened was I released my resistance to what I was desiring. I don't feel like I have to delay my happiness until I receive all of these things. I am finding happiness in my day-to-day life. I am feeling at ease. I am enjoying each moment. Things that used to bother me and bind me up into a torpedo of emotions no longer affect me. That's the irony of all of this. You go into it thinking that it's that end result, with all of the "stuff" that will make you happy, and you never seem to quite get there. You might lose some weight, and you might attract some money, but somehow it doesn't feel any different, and it's never enough. When you release the NEED for these things, suddenly you find the feeling as if you had it all along. What you were really after was the connection to who you really are, and the gratitude for each day. It has a way of (literally) making the colors of your world brighter and richer. And Abraham says that when you get to that point, you end up attracting all of your desires anyway! So it's a win-win.

In conclusion, whether you are hoping to create a brand new life, or you just would like some peace in that head of yours, meditation is a great place to start. Don't make it complicated, just start somewhere. Start listening to the fan for fifteen to twenty minutes a day while the kids are at school and the baby naps. Or get on YouTube and find a guided meditation that you enjoy. You don't need to build Rome today, just take a first step.