Manifesting isn’t magic

So why does everyone keep talking about setting intentions, saying prayers, and letting everything all fall into place just as it’s meant to?

When I started my business I was struggling. I took a leap of faith that was rather premature and I was falling a whole lot more than I was flying. Ends were simply not meeting.

My big wish was to provide for my family while doing work that I felt 100% called to do and believed in with all of my heart. (That is still my wish..and it is coming true.)

I asked for guidance from a lot of people and read a ton of blogs geared toward spiritually minded creative people. The messages were largely the same: Set your intentions, visualize your ideal life everyday, make a plan, let go of the plan, and relax and trust that it will all come exactly as it should.

So I did. And slowly, very slowly a little bit of progress happened. But not nearly enough.

I decided that there must be some internal belief that was keeping me stuck. Maybe I still didn’t believe I was worth it? Maybe I had some random karma to work through?

I wrote in my journal, meditated about it and repeated mantras and kept plugging way. Again, a little bit of progress.

The whole process was really familiar. I had followed a similar path in many other areas of self study, growth and evolution – namely food, body image, self-esteem, relationships, and self-worth.

In all cases the magic didn’t happen until I decided to stop believing in magical thinking and embraced practical magic.

Intentions, prayers, and opening up to grace are the keys to success – in business, health, love, finances and every other area of life – but they must be paired with practical action.

So how do we make the leap from magical thinking to practical magic?

We make sure that each intention, prayer or affirmation is paired with a practical inspired action every day.

This is not the same as creating a to-do list.

This is a focused task that is 100% based in your intentions and brings the feeling of what you are seeking into your life – now.

Note that the feeling of what you are seeking is not the same thing as the actual thing/person/circumstance that you desire…but it is a step in the right direction.

You will feel like you are on the right path. You will feel in the flow. You will feel like you are making progress and that life is working.

So how to choose your task?

Some days it is easy and the best inspired task seems obvious and feels effortless. Other days your mind may feel like it is filled with 5000 different to-do lists that are all jumbled into one massive mental messy cluster of post-it notes.

On the messy mind days I get clear by making tea and sitting down with my notebook to:

1. Write down how I am feeling and what is going on in my life. Briefly, and to the point.

2. List all of the the to-do items that are floating around in my head – in no particular order. With no guilt or shame attached to the unfinished tasks. With no doubt or fear attached to the tasks that seem like big dreams. With no deadlines.

Once my mind is clear I take a deep breath, tune in and get clear about my intention and my bigger purpose – then I choose ONE action to take right away. The one action may be on the list already, or it may be a new task that pops into mind.

Sometimes the one action feels amazing and sometimes it is exactly the action that I have been avoiding and building up resistance too. Either way – it becomes the top priority.

Next, I cross off everything on the list that isn’t urgent (such as organizing the closets) and schedule everything that needs to get done but doesn’t have a specific time in which it must happen (such as writing projects.)

Finally, I take a moment to move my body or enjoy another cup of tea so that I can approach my top priority renewed and inspired instead of overwhelmed, and then I get to work.

The intention is the key – but we still have to turn it in the ignition if we are going to go anywhere. We must take action.

How are you going to turn your magical thinking into practical magic? What do you want? What are you going to do today to make it happen?

Let me know. I would love to hear about it, support you and cheer you on.

If you have a friend who may enjoy this concept and practice please share.

Make today amazing.

Much love,

Katie