The difference between dreaming and manifesting

I write a lot about intuition and about playing with the Universe to manifest things into my life. I write about it because I feel with such certainty and experience that this is something we all can enjoy, and it’s something we can easily do. But if you are not so familiar with your superpowers yet, it can feel very fluffy and intangible. If you have no real life experiences with playful manifesting, it can feel like you don’t know where to start.

This morning I was listening to one of my favorite podcast shows, Hay House World Summit (pretty much anything that Hay House produces is awesome). This time there was an episode with Sonia Choquette talking about the three best superpowers we all have; Meditation, Imagination and Intuition. She had such a great way of bringing the concept of manifesting into words that I wanted to share it.

The gist of it all? Do not hope for things to happen. Do not force or convince yourself that something is possible. Do not wish upon a star. Just simply KNOW that it is already happening.

Daydream your life away

When I think about creative living, it’s not so much about creating art or other elements we associate with the word creative. For me it’s about creating your entire life, creating it as we go, creating as we want it to appear. And this all starts with imagination. If you cannot imagine it, you cannot create it. If you cannot expect it, it will not find its way to you.

We understand this in business or in entrepreneurship. ‘Can you imagine…‘ has been in the minds of many entrepreneurs before they started to create their ideas or businesses, eventually bringing something new into this world. We often dismiss imagination as something childish, but it is, as Choquette calls it, a very important superpower.

When we want to dream big, we fist need to imagine big. The bigger the better, because if we cannot even imagine it, surely the chances of it manifesting into a reality will be much less. The trouble often is that our imagination is very limited. We tend to think in the context of the box we already live in, thinking that the possibilities that are available to us are according to our past or according to that which we see around us. Dreaming bigger and bolder may feel crazy and unrealistic. But of course it is unrealistic! You are creating your reality, it is not yet real, but that does not mean it will not get real.

Be out of your mind

When I was working in a corporate office in Finland, I entertained myself with crazy thoughts. ‘Can you imagine…‘ I would say to my partner, and then the dreams would pour out. One dream in particular would not leave me, the dream of living in the tropics doing something completely different, doing something we both had no experience or training in. But in my imagination it was all possible. In fact, in my dreams it was already a reality. In my visions I saw myself on a beach, lively and vibrant, happy and content. My future self was calling to me across the space and time, saying ‘See, I’m here already, it is possible, now get over here!’

In my reality I started to take small steps towards that dream, and Universe reciprocated. Until one day not long after those initial imaginative silly thoughts (well, 1.5 years but is that long?), we sat on a plane flying towards our dream. For years I would swim in crystal clear waters, the color of our company logo, imagining swimming in the dreams I created, in the dreams I made true by being out of my mind.

There are other examples as well. Have you read the funny story how I manifested plane tickets for the two of us between Finland and Philippines (which came with the additional gift of 5 nights in various 5 star resorts for free)?

Or like I wrote last time, I manifested everything I now have, to the exact salary and (almost) exact starting date of my job.

Stop hoping, and start knowing

But of course you also have dreams. So what is the difference between dreaming and manifesting? Maybe you have been dreaming for years, wishing and hoping, taking actions, but nothing is yet coming. So what’s wrong?

The final secret is not in the hoping, but in the knowing.

I cannot tell you how to give yourself to the Universe and trust. Except that the Universe would tell you: I heard your prayer, now trust my timing. The main principle and idea of Law of Attraction is that you cannot attract that which you are not. You only attract that which you already are, you only attract that which you already have. Tricky, but actually not. What it means is that you have to get into the same energetic frequency with your dreams and desires.

Esther Hicks, one of my all-time-favorites when it comes to playing with the Universe calls this “getting into the vortex.” Basically it means getting with the program of joy, playfulness, trust and knowing. It means shifting your focus from the lack of not having the things you want, into imagining having them already, and feeling the feelings those things would bring you. Love, gratitude, happiness, excitement, you name it. Universe doesn’t match your thoughts, hopes and dreams, it matches your frequency. Your energy does not lie, and if you are only focusing on the LACK in your life, your energy will only match with more of that which you already have. Not enough.

Don’t get off the train

The main point is that we will need to find a place of knowing. A place where you have no doubt in your mind that what you are walking towards is actually happening. The same way when you are driving from one city to another, you trust that if you just keep driving to the right direction, you will eventually get there. You are not in agony wishing and hoping you will get there, you are not doubting your direction or your ability to get to your destination no matter how long the journey. You trust that your car (or the train / plane) will take you where you need to go. Only when you get off the train in mid-journey filled with doubt and confusion, you will obviously not get to your destination.

What helps with achieving this certainty? One of the other super powers Choquette mentions is meditation. Which means, creating space and stillness to connect with who you are within. This is the place where we can sit within the peace that we are, and feel the connection to the larger things in life. It will also help with feeling your intuition (the third superpower). Meditation will help taming the rattle of the mind and to allow the connection to soul to appear again from underneath.

So where can you start? What dreams are you going to manifest into reality next? Start playing with small things, and enjoy the endless playfulness of the Universe!