Tag Archives: manifesting

Manifest This!

Posted on by
4

m1

I know, I know. I’ve done this rant before. But obviously I didn’t rant thoroughly enough to get it out of my system. So here we go: Manifest Rant, the Sequel.

Manifest is a verb (used with object). It does not mean to attract like a magnet in a steel ball bearing factory. It is not a synonym for “magic trick,” where getting what you want is as easy as reaching into a magician’s top hat. And my favorite anti-definition – gleaned from an internet search: Manifesting is NOT “goosing the quantum field” to create a world in which “everything you desire is yours for the taking.”

Based on an internet search using the phrase “how to manifest,” I discovered that people are searching for ways to manifest…

  • money
  • love
  • whatever you want
  • instantly
  • anything
  • your desires
  • your dreams
  • winning the lottery

True confession: I used to use the term “manifest” in pretty much the same fashion, although I never goosed anything, quantum or otherwise.

I do believe we can create what we truly desire in life. I do believe there are forces – both seen and unseen – that can and will assist us once we are clear on what it is we truly want, once we put that energy “out there” with confidence and trust.

But I don’t believe that whatever we desire is “ours for the taking.” Ever.

So what does the verb manifest really mean? Here you go:

Manifest – verb (used with object)

1. to make clear or evident to the eye or the understanding; show plainly:
He manifested his approval with a hearty laugh.

2. to prove; put beyond doubt or question:
The evidence manifests the guilt of the defendant.

Alrighty, I feel all ranted out now. I’m going to go manifest my curiosity now, by trying to figure out just how one really goes about goosing a quantum field.

M  M is for Manifest.

Pink Feathers

Posted on by
5

“Go in search of pink feathers,” commands the channeled spirit, “and you shall find them.” Indeed I did find them. They were on sale at a store right around the corner. Manifested just for me. Must be a common directive for this mystic.

feather
“Don’t just ask the Universe for a thousand dollars,” advises one motivational speaker. “Be specific.” So I asked for one thousand two hundred thirty-two dollars and fifteen cents. I’m still waiting for the fifteen cents. Universe, do you hear me?

I don’t know when manifesting became akin to ordering from the Sears and Roebuck catalog. Don’t get me wrong. I believe wholeheartedly in manifesting.

My concept of manifestation, however, is the good old-fashioned kind. The kind where what one sends out vibrationally into the ether comes back in the form of self-fulfilling prophecy.

Henry Ford was on board decades ago, long before the “secrets of the Universe” crowd showed up (or did they manifest?). His oft-quoted words sum it up nicely:

Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you will be right.

Perhaps a bit less mystical, but no less powerful. You are what you think. You attract what you think about. You are limited by your limiting beliefs. And yes, there is a vibrational field that holds your vision and works on your behalf to help make manifest your intentioned outcomes.

There, I said it. So I am a little woo-woo “out there.” But I’m comfortable with that. And I don’t need a pink feather to prove to myself or anyone else that manifesting “works.” And if – at the end of the day – I come up fifteen cents short, so be it.

It’s a beautiful morning, and I’ve sat at my computer long enough. I think I’ll head out to see what I can manifest today. No matter what order we place with the Universe, the Universe has an uncanny way of surprising us.

I like surprises. Sometimes.

manifest1

In response to The Daily Post prompt: Community Service

Dancing Water (photo essay)

Posted on by
4

Along a street that I have driven hundreds of times in the past, my eyes were drawn this morning to a water feature in front of an office building. The early morning sunlight sparkled brilliantly off the cascading stream that cycled through a structure of concrete, rough boulders and river rock. I pulled over to check it out.

1

The fountain itself isn’t much to look at. With a casual glance from the street, one sees a sheet of water pouring over a concrete crossbeam and disappearing amidst some nondescript boulders.

Closer examination reveals that the water has been intentionally channeled (“choreographed,” one might say) to flow in streams that dance and glisten in the sunlight as they freefall to the rocks below.

2

I am reminded of the phrase “water over the dam,” which implies that something is over and done with and cannot be retracted or reconsidered. How many of us live as though the decisions and actions of our past have left us in a freefall of dire consequences over which we have no control?

4

Maybe water over the dam should mean that whatever happened in our past, “good” or “bad,” served to push us beyond sitting stagnant behind a wall of mediocrity, and has freed us to dance and sparkle in the sunlight on our way to something new.

5

We can choose to see the fountain as half empty or half full. Oh, wait, that’s an entirely different analogy. Never mind.

3

I’m glad I stopped to look at the fountain, and I’m going to try to be more observant of my surroundings in the future. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow I’ll find some water under the bridge.

6

Upriver

Posted on by
2

water2
My current home is
ninety-five miles upriver from
the coast where I grew up.

Had I allowed myself to merely drift,
I would now be thirty-two leagues out to sea,
floundering at the mercy and
whims of capricious waves.

Instead,
I am resting on a verdant shore
watching the sunlight sparkle
across gentle ripples of water
under an azure sky.

Sometimes it pays
to swim against the tide.

Photo101 Assignment Three: Water

World Oceans Day (photo essay)

Posted on by
4

Expansive and deep,
beautiful but volatile,
ample force to turn
vessels to splinters.

ocean3

Teeming with life,
ceaselessly churning,
an indefatigable
dynamo.

ocean4

Kissed by the sun,
caressed by the winds,
extolled by poets
and sailors alike.

ocean1

Sustainer of life
as we know it on Earth,
yet with all its
grandeur and might…

still fragile.

ocean2

What could be big enough to threaten and endanger our oceans (and thus our planet)?

Microplastics.

Microplastics particles, which are smaller than five millimeters in size, likely pose a massive environmental and human health risk when they enter our natural waterways.

Toxins including DDT, BPA and pesticides adhere to the particles, and because they can resemble plankton, they’re often ingested by small aquatic life. The toxins biomagnify as they move up the food chain, accumulating in birds, fish, marine mammals and potentially humans.

Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation (ASC)

June 8th, 2015 is World Oceans Day.

What can we do to help “turn the tide” on the dangerous amounts of plastics polluting the oceans?

  • We can work to increase awareness of the issue. Here’s a video of how one artist is doing that: Invisible Ocean: Plankton and Plastic. But it doesn’t have to be that complicated.
  • We can choose not to buy and use products that contain plastic microbeads (as in certain brands of toothpaste, facial cleansers, soaps…).
  • We can avoid using disposable plastic bags. (Take the Better Bag Challenge.)

These may seem like small steps toward tackling such a large problem ( just “a drop in the ocean,” so to speak), but that’s how things get done. Small actions lead to big changes.

Let’s act today.

starfish with rock

Thanks to Jane (Just Another Nature Enthusiast) and her challenge at UNLESS: Earth-friendly Chroniclers: Challenge 11~ “Healthy Oceans – Healthy Planet” for the inspiration.

If Only

Posted on by
2

butterfly2

If I only had wings, 
I tell myself longingly,
I could explore so many new places,
savor so many new sights,
immerse myself in so many
new adventures.

Yes, I muse,
sighing as I sink further
into the soft cushions of the 
well-worn couch,
propping my perfectly functional feet
onto the matching well-worn ottoman.
If I only had wings...

butterfly1
butterfly3

Weekly Photo Challenge: Motion

Spelling it Out

Posted on by
4

Assignment #3. Prompt: Trust. Form: Acrostic. Device: Internal Rhyme.

Many think acquisition is what it’s about,

Affirmational memes that give wishes more clout.

No blindered belief can create from thin air.

Intention sows seed, to be tended with care.

Fruits borne of our actions are all ours to keep,

Evinced in the fraction of harvest we reap.

Squander your limited time if you wish.

Tell the Universe what’s on your magic wish list.

I‘ll trust that the Universe knows what is best,

Not putting the forces of ego to test;

Giving thanks for whatever my life manifests.

Manifest

Manifesting through Stained Glass

Posted on by
2

NOTE: This post was the first written for my now defunct blog Glass Manifestations. I have since folded many of the Glass posts into my What Rhymes with Stanza blog.

Manifest —

3. verb (transitive) to show plainly; reveal or display

  1. to prove; put beyond doubt or question

Creating stained glass panels is a very personal process for me. From the inspiration, to the design, selection of colors and textures, and then to the actual crafting of the piece. Sure, I like to sell my work and keep my cupboard stocked with food and my studio stocked with glass.

But what mostly matters to me is the process. The quest for ideas and inspiration and the way they “manifest” out of the seemingly mundane fabric of my simple life. The challenge of translating those ideas into a dynamic two-dimensional design. The sensory pleasure of looking at material options, feeling the heft of the sheets of glass, holding them up to the window to study the interplay of color and light, tracing my fingers (carefully!) across the surface to gauge how the texture will contribute to the overall design. And then the careful application of age old techniques to craft the materials into a final cohesive piece of art.

And finally, the moment of truth, when I lift the completed panel off the work table, move it to a window to let the sunlight filter through, step back and experience how my original inspiration has morphed into a tangible representation constructed with glass and lead.

I gain a lot of insight during the process of creating a panel, and again whenever I contemplate the finished piece.

Glass Manifestations [My original blog site was] about glass (sort of) because working with glass is how I do a lot of my processing (thoughts, feelings, ideas, inspirations…), and hence a lot of my thoughts, feelings and ideas are made manifest in my art. But it’s also about insight and growth, in the hope that what I manifest tomorrow, or next week or next year – in life as well as in glass – will continue to improve. In quality, in meaningfulness, and in pure, simple pleasure.