God, The Universe, Allah, Shiva—these are just a few of the higher powers people around the world look to. Even if we use different names, there’s a shared human experience for many of us: looking up at the sky and believing in something bigger than ourselves. Something we can’t see, but feel intrinsically pulled toward, without fully knowing why.
The mainstream has embraced the word ‘manifestation,’ and spiritual circles often use it. But it carries a stigma, conjuring images of someone cross-legged on the floor, with crystals surrounding them and incense filling the room. And while that ritual is beautiful, manifestation doesn’t have to look just one way. At its core, manifestation is simply the idea that you can bring something into your life by intentionally focusing your thoughts, beliefs, emotions, or actions toward what you’re envisioning.
Before diving into the spirituality of it all, for those of you who need something more concrete, let’s talk facts. Has manifestation been scientifically proven? The short answer is no. But, I think we can all agree that people who clearly define their goals, actively work toward them, and make decisions aligned with those goals are more likely to reach them. What we believe feels possible for us often shapes what actually becomes possible—a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. In simple terms, what we believe is and isn’t available to us impacts how we move through the world and what we experience within it.
These intentions and beliefs—especially when paired with action—do influence how our lives unfold. Yes. But I’m here to talk about something else, too: what’s happening above our heads, running through us, moving with us, even when we can’t fully rationalize it.
The everyday magic of intention
I’ve recently been going through a big life transition—struggling to find my footing in my career, my relationships, my mental health, and my relationship with myself. Feeling exhausted, I sat down one evening, pulled out my markers and notebook. I wrote down everything I loved about myself. Every characteristic, strength I admire, and where I want my career to go. When I finished, I held the notebook against my heart, closed my eyes, and said out loud, I’m listening.
I consciously tried to open myself up and actively connected with the higher power I believe in: the Universe. I envisioned the best version of myself I could. Holding the notebook close, I focused as deeply as I could on feeling my own energy.
A week later, I landed a big contract with a freelance client I had really wanted. The following day, I got an interview with a major New York agency I’d been hoping to work for. I don’t believe my quiet ritual magically handed me these opportunities. I know I hustled my ass off for months. Building my portfolio, sending dozens of emails to CEOs and HR teams, practically begging for interviews, and overextending my consulting offerings. I worked hard for what I believed could happen. But I also spent time every week looking up at the sky, asking for help in moving toward what I was envisioning.
So what was it? The relentless emails—or the sky talking back?
It was both.
Manifestation is where you put your energy. It’s where you put your time. It’s what you believe in your heart and what you think about all day. Every one of us can practice this way of relating to ourselves to better achieve our goals—and many of us already are. I just want to take these ideas out of churches and forests on psychedelics and make them accessible everywhere.
It’s with us every moment of every day.
The power of presence
A Christian kneels to pray and takes comfort in the belief that God is looking out for them. A Muslim lays their mat down for Ṣalāh—the five daily prayers. I go outside and place my hand against the damp grass to feel connected to the earth’s energy. These are all expressions of the same instinct, of the belief that allows so many of us to connect more deeply to ourselves.
You can find this connection in quieter moments, too: taking a deep breath while stuck in traffic, feeling the sun warm your face on the walk into work, pausing an extra moment to really taste your food.
We are often disconnected from ourselves, from the inexplicable magic of simply being alive. We forget how incomprehensible it is that we’re here at all. Do you ever consider everything that had to happen for us to even be standing on this earth? It’s almost funny how often we stop short of believing we deserve more—more fulfillment, more alignment, more possibility.
I want to pause here to acknowledge something important. Opportunity, resources, and education are not universal rights in the world we live in today. Systems discriminate against entire groups—countries, religions, races—and deny them care and access. So no, we can’t all write down a desire on a piece of paper and expect our lives to change overnight. I’m not trying to make that point, and I don’t mean to undermine the very real struggles of those simply trying to survive.
This inner connection exists beyond the trivialities of daily life. It’s something more than any of us can fully understand, and I’m not sure science will ever be able to prove it. But maybe it doesn’t want to be proven. Maybe it’s meant to be believed in.
And while accessing that understanding can feel difficult, the good news is this: humans have been talking about it for a very long time.
Being the universe: lessons from Alan Watts
Alan Watts was a British philosopher, writer, and speaker. He was best known for translating Eastern philosophies—particularly Zen Buddhism and Taoism—for Western audiences in the mid-20th century. My dad introduced me to him, and his work offers deceptively simple yet profound ways to understand the concept of manifestation in a deeply spiritual way.
Watts famously taught that you are not in the universe—you are the universe, happening and experiencing itself. He rejected the idea that the universe responds to your thoughts like a request system. For him, manifestation wasn’t about getting what you want. It was about relaxing into who you already are, thus allowing action and opportunity to arise naturally from that place.
More bluntly: the universe doesn’t need your instructions or desires. It doesn’t need to be convinced. What it asks instead is presence: an openness to yourself as you are and a willingness to let the world meet you there.
When I think back to the night I wrote down everything I loved about myself and held it to my chest, that wasn’t a moment of asking for anything. It was a moment of being with myself—of fully breathing in who I already was. And when I later interviewed for the contract that I landed, I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I was relaxed, speaking honestly about my work and how I interpret it. They responded to that. They chose to work with me, not because I performed, but because I showed up as myself.
Manifestation through the mind: A Jungian lens
Carl Jung was a Swiss psychologist who explored consciousness, archetypes, and the collective unconscious in the mid-20th century. If what Watts had to say feels a bit too abstract, Jung approached similar ideas from a psychological angle rather than a spiritual one.
Jung believed that our unconscious mind deeply shapes our reality. What we focus on internally—our beliefs, desires, and personal archetypes—tends to influence how we perceive the world. In terms of manifestation, he argued that once you learn to steer your inner focus and behavior, you can create different outcomes. This is not because the universe “obeys” you but because your unconscious mind directs your perception.
Since the unconscious can feel hidden even from ourselves, learning to shift it can almost feel like magic. Much of our decision-making and perception of the world happens beneath conscious awareness. When we begin to consciously work with these deeper parts of our mind, we notice how profoundly they shape our lives.
One of his most famous quotes I find relevant here:
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.“
–A popular paraphrase of Jung’s ideas on the unconscious (originally expressed in Aion, Collected Works, Vol. 9ii)
To tie this back in, I’ve often struggled with self-confidence, especially in my professional life. I struggled to move from student life to commanding a room and confidently sharing opinions I was paid for. During this recent career transition, I’ve made a conscious effort to not let those insecure parts of myself lead, many of which live deep in my unconscious. Instead, I’ve intentionally worked on shifting my perception of myself. I believe in what I have to say. I trust that the education and experience I’ve worked hard for are valuable and worth confidently pitching to companies. Leading with this intention, even if it felt shaky, made me come across as confident in interviews, and I signed a new client.
I hope that you can see how this idea of “magical manifestation” is linked to a higher power. But, perhaps, that higher power already lives in us. After all, we’re all born from the same universe. Connecting with and believing in ourselves is, in a sense, the same as believing in the sky.
Sometimes, it simply helps to place a name, practice a ritual, or define language around this concept to give our limited human brains context. Whether that’s praying to God or placing crystals around you, maybe we’re really just talking to ourselves. Maybe we’re amplifying what’s already inside us, what we’re too afraid to believe in.
Faith in the midair moment
So, find where your energy feels expansive. If that’s in a church, near the ocean, in your car parked in a quiet lot, or even at a music festival (these have often felt spiritual to me), just find a space where you can connect to your inner world. Once there, focus deeply on who you are and who you’re destined to be. Focus on it until it starts to feel real—that’s you. That is who you are, even if you haven’t figured everything out yet. Our tendency to undermine our own self-confidence and sense of ownership over our lives is stifling beyond words.
Everything I’ve written here, I believe in wholeheartedly, but I also believe in a little magic. I don’t think everything comes solely from action and personal motivation. Sometimes, the Universe hides just out of view. When I notice a sign, I choose to believe it was meant for me—not just a coincidence. I write cautiously about this because, for many, it seems outlandish. But I truly think energy moves in ways beyond reasoning.
All I know is that, more often than not, you have to clear space for something new to come in. Whether it’s a belief about yourself, a situation you can’t let go of, or a person you’re holding onto, the change you’re hoping for often won’t arrive until you trust yourself to make room for it.
Imagine a trapeze. When you swing from one rope to the next, there’s a moment when you’re completely in the air—disconnected from both the rope you’re leaving and the one you’re reaching for. Life works the same way. It’s in that free-floating moment that you choose to have faith your hands will reach the rope and propel you forward—exactly where you intended to go.
