Does Manifestation Work: Theories and Truth

It’s easy to dismiss the power of manifestation. After all, if creating the ideal life was as simple as closing your eyes and making a heartfelt wish, everyone would live in a happy home with a satisfying job that paid plenty of money for the necessities with enough left over for savings and fun. 

A quick look around tells you that’s not reality. 

However, that doesn’t mean throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater. After all, enough people have produced the results they desire through manifestation that you’ll find hundreds of books on Amazon on the topic, along with scores of websites and YouTube and TikTok channels. 

What’s the truth? Although you won’t find a consensus among experts, several theories abound. Does manifestation work? Let’s consider the possibilities. 

Theory One: Manifestation Manipulates Energies on a Subatomic Plane 

One theory of how manifestation works gets into the realm of subatomic particles and waves. Some heavy-duty scientific minds are intrigued by this possibility, including Wolfgang Pauli, an Austrian-Swiss physicist who collaborated with Carl Jung, physicist Nick Herbert and spiritual health guru Deepak Chopra. 

At a subatomic level, what we think of as “matter” may behave as a wave or a particle. Not all fundamental particles have mass — for example, light has none but carries electromagnetic force. 

Here’s where you have to leap off the diving board of what’s known into the realm of theory. According to the “law of attraction,” the quantum energy impulse creates a unique vibration. When an external force notices the impulse by interacting with it, it transforms into a particle and attracts others with the same vibration. 

The practice of cymatics attempts to make these vibrations visible. Techniques include using objects like Tibetan singing bowls or chanting a powerful “om” in yoga class. 

The basic idea behind this theory of how manifestation works centers on the idea that your thoughts are energy. Directing enough attention to them gives them weight. It changes their vibration to align it with similar ones, drawing the people and circumstances necessary to actualize what you want to materialize. 

Theory Two: Manifestation Invokes the Power of Invisible Beings to Bring About Your Reality

This theory of how manifestation works may be more comfortable if you grew up in a religious household. Indeed, many faithful consider prayer a direct conversation with the divine, where you surrender your troubles to God and seek guidance. 

However, you don’t have to believe in one omnipotent deity to get behind this theory of how manifestation works. Some people consider everything in nature to have a spirit, while others turn to angels or their ancestors when they speak to the heavens for help. 

Whether or not you believe that manifestation works through this theory is a matter of faith. Humanity at large may never know, as each individual’s relationship with the divine is unique. 

Theory Three: Manifestation Creates the Right Psychological Conditions for Change 

A final theory of how manifestation works has to do with your mindset. Think of it this way: What’s the first step in training for a marathon? It isn’t selecting the right pair of shoes, locating the ideal training regimen or signing up for a race a few months in the future. 

It’s deciding that you want to run a marathon. 

Once you fix that idea in your mind, it becomes a goal. What happens when you have a goal? You devote mental and physical time and energy to achieving it. Therefore, manifestation works less through the direction of invisible forces and more through the concrete attitudes and behaviors you adopt that make your dream into your reality. 

Sometimes, it’s easier to see this principle in reverse — when it brings you what you don’t want. For example, say you want to work from home but have a deeply held belief that you’ll never find such a position and every such opportunity is a scam. That mindset prohibits you from applying to jobs that otherwise seem perfect. You’ll never know if a missed opportunity was your ideal position because your attitude and behaviors inhibited you from taking the necessary steps. 

Although this principle might seem mundane, making you say “duh,” when explained simply, it can nevertheless be overwhelmingly powerful. For example, many people theorize that actress Natalie Wood’s lifelong fear of drowning, coupled with the belief in a dire prediction that she would die in dark water, led to her untimely demise. 

The bottom line: What you believe can be powerful regardless of which theory of how manifestation works you prefer. Why not focus your mental energy on the life you want to achieve instead of dwelling on the things you dislike? 

Does Manifestation Work? The Search for Truth 

You aren’t alone if you want to know if manifestation works or to give the practice a skeptical eye. However, science has offered two solid theories on how the magic happens. 

In the end, you may decide it doesn’t matter what theory of how manifestation works is correct. Directing your mental energies toward the life you want to achieve can create happiness in the journey — and joy may be the best manifestation of all.