Written by Rahim Paul Nanos, The Modern Spiritualist
Rahim Nanos is a multi-disciplinary spiritual teacher and practitioner with over ten years of experience in modalities such as martial arts, Sufism, divination, and contemporary shamanism. He teaches classes on manifestation, healing the inner child, and healthy energy body cultivation.
Here’s something many coaches won’t tell you: manifestation is an inside job. What do I mean when I say this, and what exactly is manifestation?
I use the term manifestation to mean making your dreams a reality.
Manifestation is the whole arc of a process, from dreaming up what you want to fully actualizing it in physical reality.
However, manifestation requires action, so what do I mean when I say it's an inside job?
What if I told you that everything your eyes can see, the external world is a reflection of your internal state?
Our perception of the world affects how we see it. In other words, how we respond to what comes to us externally depends on the internal organization of our perception.
This makes sense from a purely psychological perspective. Absolute objective reality is unknowable because we are limited by our bodies and minds. We can only understand reality through the felt sense in our bodies and the stories we make of those sensations. These stories about sensation become perception.
Why does this matter? Because the actions we choose to take, or not take, depend entirely upon what we believe is possible based on our perception.
Manifestation in action
Here is one great example of why manifestation is an inside job. I’ve used this example before in a previous article that you can read here.
We have a protagonist. Let’s call him John. John desires to share a life with an intimate partner in true love.
John believes he is inherently bad because his father heavily drinks and his mother is so lost in her grief about her husband’s behavior that she forgets to ever pay any attention to John.
The reader knows that this childhood upbringing says nothing about John. John is not responsible for his father’s behavior. John is not the reason that he is ignored by his mother. However, growing up, John’s childhood mind could not comprehend the fact that his parents weren’t parenting because of their own failures.
The only conclusion that little John could make was that he was ignored by his parents because there was something fundamentally wrong with him. He must be inherently bad. Because John holds this belief, the actions that he takes in life reflect this belief, manipulating his outcome.
John grows up. John meets Jane. John wants to ask Jane to go on a date with him. But John believes he is inherently bad. Because of this belief, it affects the way John asks Jane.
John approaches Jane. John is reasonably attractive, but he wears ill-fitting clothes and it’s clear John doesn’t take great care of himself. This is because he doesn’t believe he is good, so he doesn’t believe he deserves to take better care of himself.
This is strike one for John in trying to woo Jane, not because he’s inherently unattractive, but because he is unkempt, giving him the appearance of being unattractive. John could have made a different choice here which would impact the outcome, but John doesn’t see any other choice. He believes he is inherently bad.
Unkempt John approaches Jane. As he gets closer, Jane takes him in. John keeps his head down and slopes his shoulders. He doesn’t make eye contact.
When he finally gathers the courage to ask, “Will you go on a date with me?” he is convinced she’ll recognize his inherent badness and say no.
He asks her so fast he barely gets the words out. The words are slurred and slightly panicky. He’s still not making eye contact. His feet aren’t turned towards Jane. They are turned away as if he’s in danger and preparing to run. This is because John doesn’t want Jane to see his badness, so he creates an exit strategy that keeps him from fully connecting with Jane.
Jane is confused. Jane has no idea what John just said or what he wants. She’s getting anxious from his approach, but she doesn’t assume she’s in danger.
She simply asks, “What did you say?” because she didn’t hear him the first time. John takes this response as an outright rejection without understanding that she didn’t hear him.
John runs away. John doesn’t get the girl. Not because of his inherent badness. John doesn’t get the girl because of the choices he made out of his belief in his inherent badness. This is the power of story.
Now let’s see what could have unfolded instead.
John grew up in a chaotic household. His father was a heavy drinker. His mother ignored John because she was too busy playing damage control with her husband’s behavior.
In this scenario, little John could have understandably developed a belief about his inherent badness, but he didn’t.
John had an elementary school teacher who knew the power of how our beliefs can impact our outcomes. John’s teacher ensured that John knew he was lovable. As a result of this, John grew to trust his teacher.
John told his teacher about his trouble at home. As an adult in John’s world, John’s teacher contextualized the situation for him. She explained why his parents might be ignoring him without excusing their behavior. She affirmed him and then told him stories about people like John who felt isolated and unloved, but found a way through.
As a result of this loving relationship, John sees a window of opportunity to develop a different belief instead. Instead, John grew up to believe: “Life can be complicated, but I am inherently loveable and capable of bringing myself through challenges.”
John grows up. John approaches Jane. John knows his father screwed up with his mother. However, he recognizes his power and choice to write his own story. John holds his head high as he approaches Jane. His eyes are bright and full of hope. He is dressed well and Jane notices how attractive John is.
John asks, slowly, strongly, and clearly, “Would you like to go on a date with me?”
Jane feels comfortable with John’s clarity. John’s excitement and hope are contagious, making Jane feel hopeful too. Jane says yes.
Same John, different story, different outcome.
The thing that I find so powerful about this example of manifestation is that it shows you a very commonplace way that we can screw up our own manifestations without realizing it.
Take a dream house as another example. Yes, you have to take action to buy the dream house. But no, you will never buy the dream house if you perceive yourself to be unworthy. You won’t take the steps. You won’t move up at work, you won’t save, you won’t even look. This is why I say that manifestation is primarily an inside job.
However, I am not restricting this to a psychological framework.
Do I believe that manifestation is a form of prayer? Yes. When we create affirmations, when we cast spells, when we ask the universe for help, I believe that the universe responds.
This magical perception of manifestation can really jam us up too, however. If we create a dynamic with the spiritual world that enables us to pray, believe, and infuse love and light into everything, we may use that faith as an excuse not to take action. We then run the risk of not
being able to accurately examine issues that aren’t at this “high vibration” we’re trying so foolishly to achieve.
Much of manifestation is about reception. Are you ready and willing to receive the manifestation you’ve been dreaming of? Do you recognize your own manifestation when it comes through?
Much of manifestation is understanding that what we naturally gravitate towards, what we desire, what we want, is already a part of us. Otherwise, we wouldn’t want it in the first place. If the manifestation is a true and real desire for you, then why don’t you already have it?
It is easy to become disidentified from the things that come most naturally to us in a culture that places judgments, labels, and limitations on who we truly are.
Manifestation is about getting out of our own way. It’s about removing the ways that we are blocking what is already trying to come through.
Try this exercise out
Step 1
Bring yourself to a point of clarity. Sit and relax. Sit in nature or a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed.
Have a pen and paper handy, or at least something to write or type with. Put your favorite music on.
Light a candle or diffuse some essential oil.
Create a landscape for yourself where you are free to openly dream.
Sit and breathe until you feel your body relaxing and your consciousness expanding. Let the other facts and details of your life and environment fade away for now. Pretend that none of that exists except for the present moment and the space you have created for yourself.
Now, sense into who you are and what you want. Do things feel clearer? More crystalized? Calmer? More matter of fact?
When we create a space to dream and get clear with ourselves, we come into a greater sense of simply knowing, knowing who we are and what we desire to manifest.
This is the place to begin.
As soon as we consider our external lives and challenges, the mind presents all of these very reasonable limitations as to why our manifestations aren’t achievable. Very few of us put enough clout into how things can shift when we truly zero out and dream.
This is why Step 1 is removing yourself from the noise.
Step 2
Once you’re clear about what you want, get yourself into an ecstatic state. You can dance or move your body around.
Turn up music with a serious groove or beat, run in nature, or find some other way to get your energy up and excited.
Now, imagine the manifestation that you want. It could be your dream house, dream job, dream relationship, etc.
Imagine yourself fully in that manifestation as if you have already achieved it. Dance into it. Playact it.
Don’t worry about how stupid you “look.” Get into your internal feelings and let the vision get big.
Pretend for a moment that you are fully in this reality and continue to ignore the facts and details of your current life. (We don’t ignore this all the time. It’s only for this exercise.)
What you’re doing here is getting into the energy field of your manifestation. You’re sensing into what it feels like to be in it, and how your body expresses your manifestation as it moves through that field.
This not only signals to the spirit world and the subconscious mind that this is something that you want, but it teaches you what your body and heart feel like in that manifestation, and it teaches your body how to express that manifestation out into the world.
This is a visionary exercise, and it creates the “True North” for the manifestation that you’re creating.
Step 3
As you begin to cool down this exercise, get your pen ready. Hopefully, you’ve already been jotting things down as you’ve been envisioning. Now, pause, breathe, and feel the energy of everything that has just arisen.
You should have an ecstatic, moving, breathing, field of energy as a result of the way you have just moved your body through the dreaming.
Begin to bring yourself back into the facts of your life. As you consider the bridge between where you are and where you’re going, write down the next steps. They can be big or small. At best, there should be a mix of big and small steps.
Now, envision yourself taking those steps.
If some of them don’t seem doable, this is where the work begins. Consider who in you is afraid to take that step. Meet that afraid person inside you, bringing with you all of the ecstasy from the envisioning portion of the exercise.
Begin a dialogue with that part of you. You can even write out the conversation between you the part of you that is afraid.
Ask them why they’re afraid, how they’re protecting you, and what you need to do to support them in taking this big step.
It’s important here to remember that you are not your enemy.
“Being in your own way” is simply an aspect of self-protection that has gone into overdrive. This is usually based on unfavorable or traumatic past experiences.
To meet the fear, summon all your love, strength, and wisdom, and let that afraid person in you know that you’ve got their back, and bring them into your trust.
You may need to work with this inner self for a while before taking your action steps. There is no need to rush.
However, with any new thing, there is always fear when taking action. Make note of when your courage arises to a level that you can take the step anyway. This is the true key to manifestation
– not waiting for the perfect moment, but taking action even though it feels imperfect.
It’s important at this step to understand that it takes real work and action to manifest the field of energy you created in Step 1. This is where qualities like patience and persistence are key.
Another thing to note is that you do not control the timing of the results. Like tending a garden, things simply grow as they grow. You can’t force it. What you need to do is hold a dynamic tension between your vision and the action steps you need to take every day to get there.
Bridging the gap
Manifestation is a dance – a delicate dance between staying real with the present moment and daring to dream into a different reality. Then, bridging the gap between where you are, and where you’re going.
Bridging the gap requires an inner resolve to address the parts of you that are in fear, and taking action steps (no matter how scary or begrudging) to make it real.
It takes courage, persistence, faith, trust, dedication, and patience.
While we all wish we could snap our fingers and manifest what we desire, the fulfillment of the soul comes from meeting challenges and tribulations with a courageous heart and a dedicated spirit.
This is the legendary journey of being a vulnerable human navigating a big world.
When we radically embrace the journey, we stop needing to be anywhere other than where we are right now, because we know everything we want is already inside of us.
If you’re ready to join me in manifesting a world of people who live well in harmony with the web of life, I offer several services in which we can work together to heal on a personal and community level.
Energy Body Mastery is my 8-week class that helps people re-establish a healthy connection between their mind and body. This teaches us the energetic cultivation of grounding in dynamic balance with the energies of the earth to embody what we intend to manifest.
In the following 8-week class, Energy Body Clearing, we meet and reconcile our relationship with our Inner Child. This allows us to assess who in us is keeping us trapped in cycles of manifesting things that we do not consciously desire.
In my 8-week manifestation program, we clarify, deepen, and enhance the energy body methods necessary to succeed in making our life’s dream a reality.
I also offer tarot readings, astrology readings, and one-on-one per session spiritual coaching.
If you are interested in scheduling something with me, please email me at modernspiritualisttarot@gmail.com or visit my website.
If you are interested in pursuing the source of these teachings, visit the Last Mask Center for Shamanic Healing.
Rahim Paul Nanos, The Modern Spiritualist
Rahim Nanos is a spiritual visionary with roots deeply embedded in ancient spiritual lineages. Originally a student of psychology, Rahim's experience of chronic childhood abuse caught up with him in forms of anxiety and depression that prevented the further pursuit of his studies. He began seeking other modalities of healing through authentic spiritual lineages and quickly healed through them. During his healing journey, he noticed disparities within both the psychological and the new age framework of healing that felt counterintuitive to the true core of healing work. From there, he dedicated his life's work to bringing holistic modalities of healing into people's lives as an alternative to reliance on broken or incomplete systems.
