Could Your Manifestation List Be Limiting You?

The manifestation list is a mainstay of the law of attraction philosophy. But you may be surprised to learn that this tool can actually be detrimental when used incorrectly.

The basic premise of a manifestation list is that the more precise and specific you can be about what you want the more likely you are to attract it. In actuality using this type of list can turn out to be surprisingly limiting when it comes to attracting what’s truly meant for you.

To understand how an effective manifestation list works, we first need to understand where our wants and desires come from. There are two perspectives our desires are sourced from. The one we are most familiar with (because it’s the one most of us use without realizing it) are the personality drivers. Personality drivers tend to be based in lack with an energy of “not enough.” As in…

• I want more money… because I don’t have enough.
• I want a better body… because the one I have is not good enough.
• I want a new house… because the one I live in is not big enough.
• I want a new car… because mine’s not flashy enough.
• I want a new relationship… because I don’t have the one I want.

You get the gist. “I feel a lack or an absence of something. Maybe this thing I’ve identified will fill that hole.” Herein lies the inherent flaw in the common use of a manifestation list. They are nearly always based in lack. This type of list leans heavily on a personality drive for achievement, acquisition or accomplishment to fill the void of lack.

What is a manifestation list?

The problem with this approach is two-fold. Firstly, when your manifestation list is sourced from lack it is also often filled with criteria you are unconsciously measuring yourself against. As in “this is who I should be, what my life should look like, what should make me happy and fulfilled.” At the same time you are judging yourself for not already having these things; for not measuring up. From this energetic frequency, by extension, you unconsciously deem yourself unworthy of what you desire, be it love or success.

This all sets you up to remain in the energy of wanting. As in, I don’t have it so I want it. Inevitably we are left wanting. Meaning when you look at your manifestation list you are actually affirming the fact that what you want isn’t actually present. If it’s not actually here we end up inadvertently maintaining the energy of wanting which in turn keeps us locked in the energy of wanting.

What a viscous cycle. And one that keeps what we want at arms length. The energy of wanting keeps what you desire away from you. It can actively repel the very thing you are hoping to attract. This means what we want literally can’t manifest.

The other problem is that manifestation lists are made up of what we consciously think we want. Scientific statistics tell us that our mind is 5% conscious and 95% unconscious. Generally, when you are making your manifestation list where are you primarily making it from? Yep. The 5%! That means that you are missing out on 95% of what’s possible that you may not currently have access to and therefore can’t see. Made from the 5% based on personality drivers, your manifestation list may be limiting you.

Finally, left to its own devices our brains tend to conjure what it already knows. Be it from experience, conditioning or exposure. That’s why it is often so hard to make a change. We start out in life by recreating what we saw modeled by someone else. As we move through life we end up recreating what we’ve already experienced which is generally based on what we modeled.

This is where the other source of our wants and desires comes in. Rather than Personality Drivers which are more “externally referenced,“ Soul Motivations are things we may not be conscious of yet they are the key to what will bring us the most fulfillment and satisfaction. However, we are likely not conscious of them (unless of course you’ve had your Divine Coordinates identified), meaning we don’t know what our Soul really wants.

It doesn’t leave room for us to be surprised by what could be. In fact, the most wonderful something (or someone) could come into our lives and we may not even notice because it doesn’t match our pictures. A manifestation list based on Personality Drivers also operates from the assumption that we need to manipulate the universe in order to have the life that’s meant for us. That’s never true! What’s meant for you will come to you when you are in alignment with your Soul.

How to write a manifestation List

Here’s where a true manifestation list comes in. As we’ve covered, making a detailed manifestation list of things we want to have in our lives can limit what could happen. Even if you did manage to manifest or attract (the law of attraction) them, these items won’t necessarily bring you the fulfillment you imagined. Due to them being based on the limited awareness of our conscious mind and/or driven by the Personality, these are likely only things you think you want (or think you should want) based on external pictures, comparisons and perceived inadequacies. Your Personality doesn’t have access to the big picture of our Soul.

True “creation” comes from the place of not knowing – from that 95% that you don’t have a conscious connection to. The personality loves certainty and control so this is not a place the personality loves to hang out in. A traditional manifestation list goes against true creation because it comes from the assumption that you know exactly what it will take to satisfy you and says these specific things you’ve listed are required for you to be fulfilled. In 99.9% of cases, your list is actively limiting what you could have. Read that again.

Soul Motivations aren’t based on achievement, acquisition or accomplishment. The true desires of your Soul aren’t something you shop for, strive for or search for. Your Soul is uniquely (and specifically) designed for a certain set of experiences – the four directional coordinates of your Divine Coordinates. Creating and having those experiences is what will bring you satisfaction – nothing more nothing less – because they will bring you face to face with your Soul.

Understanding that an effective manifestation list is based on the experience behind the “thing” is the first tenant to employ to ensure your deepest (and perhaps still unconscious) desires come to fruition. The second is that there is no “making it happen” when it comes to true manifesting from the Soul. You received them. You don’t achieve them. Writing a manifestation list from the perspective of your Soul Motivations will always be based in the experience you want to have of yourself.

When you write a manifestation list from your Soul your desires are “internally sourced” instead of “externally referenced.” This shift will change the quality of your requests; leaving you feeling full rather than lacking. Each item will be an experience you can cultivate and have in real-time. You won’t have to wait for something “out there” to change before you feel satisfied.

That right there is the secret – the secret behind The Secret if you will. This is what a law of attraction coach would describe as being in resonance or vibrational alignment with what you desire. However, most don’t know this secret themselves so they certainly aren’t able to tell you how to do it. Because we are energetic beings we must work with the energy behind and beneath the desire in order for it to manifest. Meaning, when you get the internal energetic alignment the matching results will begin to appear externally. The great secret to a happy life is that only things that are “internally sourced” will ever bring you joy, satisfaction and fulfillment.

Manifestation list examples

If you’ve already got a current list, stop reading and go grab your list now. If you don’t have a current list, stop reading and make a list now. As you are writing manifestation list, let yourself forget everything I’ve already told you about what to do or not to do. Just let whatever desires you are aware of pour out onto the paper. For our purposes here it doesn’t need to be long. In fact, there’s another point. If you put too many things on your manifestation list at once, it’s not really possible to build the energy behind any one specific desire making it hard to manifest any of them. Keep it short. Before moving on, do that now.

Next, we’ll go back and review that list to look for the experience that lives within each specific outcome you’ve captured on your manifestation list. For the purposes of this exercise, select one item from your list. It might be fun to choose one you think seems the most farfetched or unlikely for you to achieve quickly or easily. As in your brain says “I have no idea how that could be possible.”

Let’s take for example a desire that ends up on a lot of manifestation lists: the house on the beach. Imagine yourself in that house. What do you see? What do you smell? Perhaps you’re sitting on the deck looking out at the sunset (or sunrise) over the ocean. Maybe you’re walking along the beach. Feel the sand between your toes, the waves lapping up around your feet. Are you alone? Or are others present? If so, how many others?

Once you feel immersed in the experience, connect to what you are feeling. What experience does this imagined environment and circumstance generate within you. For one who found themselves on their own the experiencing could be peace. If you are with another it might be connection you are feeling. A sense of community may be prominent if you saw multiple people. Your walk along the beach might give you a sense of expansion. Or if you are walking along the beach holding hands with a current (or future) romantic partner perhaps you are feeling open-hearted.

Even if two, or three or four people have “beach house” on their manifestation list the experience they are each after can and will likely be different. For one it might be an escape from a high demanding job, while for another it may be a place to play. For yet another, it may be for solitude, where for someone else it’s a place to gather. Identify the Soul Motivation behind the Personality Driver. You see, a Soul isn’t after a beach house. Souls really do not give two cents about anything “out there.” Your Soul is after the experience you’ll get to have from being at the beach house. Your personality not knowing how to interpret that makes it about having the beach house.

Once you’ve identified the specific experience, you’ll hone in on the experience energetically. Be it joy, peace, oneness, prosperity, abundance, or something else. In case you’re having trouble getting into the nuance of this exercise, if you’ve always imagined painting ocean landscapes on the deck of a beach house you may actually be craving self-expression or creativity more than actually owning a beach house. If you’ve imagined being at a beach house making elaborate meals for your loved ones, it may be nourishment or nurturing you are seeking. See how that works?

You don’t actually need the beach house in order to begin to have these experiences in your life. You can connect with the energy of the experience you’ve identified in this very moment. No need to wait for the beach house in order to experience what you actually desire. Here’s where things really get good. What if the beach house can only appear once you are vibrating at the frequency of that experience? Because in truth that’s really how a manifestation list works.

Now, if you’re game, go back and walk through the same exercise for each item on your manifestation list. By doing this you will get a much clearer picture as to what you want your life to feel like even if it doesn’t look like what you think it needs to in order to feel that just yet.

Becoming a Master Manifestor

As we’ve discussed, manifestation is all about energy, vibration, experience and frequency. Using the method described above you’ll be well ahead of anyone using a manifestation list filled with externally referenced personality drivers. While we may be able to attract and manifest some things using this method, it’s like riding a moped when what’s meant for you is a Bentley.

A master manifestor uses the power of intention instead of the law of attraction. Intention is always based in an energetic experience rather than a result. Using a true intention allows you to create those “after” experiences we uncovered earlier with your sample manifestation list – right here, right now.

A true intention is never a tangible item. It doesn’t include dates or quantities. (Those are goals.) When they go through Divine Navigation’s proprietary intention setting process people are often surprised by what their Soul’s intention is for them at this time – and the surprising ways it shows up! 

To become a master manifestor, it’s time to really get your Soul involved. If you truly want to attract into your life what is meant for you, you need to know your Soul’s ultimate intention for you. You must know exactly who you are at an energetic level. Being all that you were designed to be and living in alignment with the specific energies your Soul intended for you to express and experience (your Divine Coordinates) will bring everything that’s meant for you to you.

And what’s meant for you may not be something the limited awareness of your conscious mind can conceive at this moment. What your Soul has in store for you will include everything you never knew you always wanted. Likely not something you ever would have even thought to put on a manifestation list.

Ease, flow, effortlessness and fulfillment are waiting for you. All it takes is your whole Soul.

Since 2011, courageous men and women around the world have chosen Divine Navigation and committed to the extraordinary and transformative experience of Aligning with their Soul – through their Divine Coordinates. We invite you to also explore the journey of living your Divine Purpose.