The Art Of Knowing What You Want
Here’s the dirty little secret about manifesting that no one tells you: once it materializes, it may very well look and feel nothing like you expected it to. Sometimes it does. Sometimes the man of your dreams literally walks into your life (or the café you frequent). Sometimes you land a position at your favorite company.But more often than not, the thing we so desperately thought we wanted doesn’t feel like we thought it would. Or we find we wanted it for the wrong reasons. Why does this happen?When I was a little girl I used to ask for things just to see if I could get them (I’m not proud of this, but it is true). It was a game I would play against myself. What strategy would I use? Most often, I just begged until I wore my parents down. And it worked. This was the case one winter vacation we spent in Florida when I was obsessing over a coveted Pound Puppy (the toy, not an actual dog—that came later, once I upped my game). I pleaded with my parents until they agreed to take me to a toy store. My mother, relieved, handed me the Pound Puppy. “Nah,” I said. “I want this other doll instead.”It was a pattern that (unfortunately) stuck well into my early 20s, until I began to make sense of what I had been doing. Once I recognized the game I was playing (and my desire to win), I would ask myself “is this a Pound Puppy or do I actually want this thing?” Meaning, what’s driving the desire?Truth be told, sometimes I couldn’t tell. The key, I realized, is the feeling underneath. I began to ask myself: why do I want this? What’s its purpose? We manifest most authentically from our hearts, not our minds. That’s where our power lies. We forget that. We think we need this and that, that our lives are incomplete without it. But it’s simply not true. And when we attempt to manifest from this place of lack, we often end up receiving less than what we had hoped. The truth is that we have everything we need inside of us. Our job is to tune into that and to allow for grace. It’s about the intention. What are you intending to create in your life and why? What feeling do you want to experience more of? Because what’s the point of having your dream house if you’re lonely in it? Or your ideal man or woman if you don’t feel the connection? So here is what I propose as we move into 2016: drop the script. Tune in and listen deeply to your inner self. What is it that you really crave? Let your heart speak and let the universe deliver. You may be (delightfully) surprised by what shows up. And what’s more magical than that?Artwork by Michelle Favin of Whys LA for Poppy & Seed. Connect with her @whyslosangeles.
