Blog » Inspired Everyday Living - Transform Your Home and Life

January 12, 2012 by Laura and Alison

How to Manifest Your Dreams

Our friends often call Laura the “manifestor.” Whether it is finding a dream home, getting a book published or a physical healing, her intentions often become reality. She has been asked how she does it many times, so we thought it would be great to share her process– a combination of inner- and outer-work.

Before we start, we want to mention that we realize that we just wrote a blog about self-acceptance and letting go of goals, and now we’re about to explore setting intentions and manifestation. They may seem like contradictory topics, but we believe can coexist quite beautifully… hang in till the end, and you’ll see why!

The Inner-Work

I have found there are three inner keys to manifesting your dreams: clarity of purpose, purity of intention and unwavering faith. In my experience, if a goal is not coming to fruition it’s because one or more of these three keys is lacking.

Clarity of purpose: In order to get what you want you first need to know what it is you want. This sounds obvious, but I notice that when I take a deeper look at my intentions, sometimes I see that I am ambivalent about one of my dreams—even if it is something really positive. One of the best ways to find out how clear you may or may not be and achieve clarity is to write your intentions—a process described in the outer work section below. Bear in mind that clarity is not something that can necessarily be forced. Sometimes we have to wait for clarity. I have wasted a lot of energy trying to define goals when it simply was not the time to move that area of my life forward.

Purity of Intention: Pure intentions are clear, in service, and free of baggage. Often we want something, but our intention is not pure because we are holding onto a limiting belief. The most common limiting belief is that we do not feel we are worthy of or deserving of our dreams and goals. Other examples of limiting beliefs include: the harder we work the more we succeed, being self employed and doing what we love is not the “real world,” we can’t be wealthy and be a good person, or we can’t have a successful career and a happy marriage. There are many, many more! We need to unearth any conscious or unconscious beliefs or patterns that are in conflict with our intentions. Once our intentions are pure we want to keep our attention on our intentions and also maintain a positive feeling state of being, as if our intentions are already reality.

Unwavering faith: With clarity and purity we may then let go and trust. We must know and feel wholeheartedly that our dreams will be realized. We do not need to keep checking in and wondering how it is going. Often it takes time and patience. I find that dreams do unfold—just not always in the time frame I imagine—manifesting can take a long time or very short and surprise us.

Part of having unwavering faith is also trusting that everything is unfolding for our happiness and greater good even when we face challenges or our goals are not realized. Sometimes if a dream is not manifesting, or things are not going our way it is because the universe has even greater joys in store for us. Also consider whether we want to manifest our dreams or co- create with life. What I mean by this is we can only dream from our current circumstances—who we are now. However, when we leave room and stay open, life often creates things we could not possibly dream up- we want to make room for the extraordinary.

If you’re still struggling to have faith in your dreams consider that ideally intentions are at least 50% believable… I want to earn a million dollars by the end of year may seem like a great intention, but if you’re currently making $80,000 a year and don’t have any career changes in mind, you may not find it to be believable. Others may or may not believe it, but you need to.

The Outer-Work

I also use a process that involves “outer” work. Each year I create what I call a life vision or life map, based on techniques from the University of Santa Monica, David Allen, Leo Babauta and my own creation. The format for my life vision has changed significantly over the years. My life vision used to be a list of intentions or goals that began with my life purpose and worked its way down to projects and action-steps. This process was very effective and as I mentioned I achieved many goals.

My Life Vision used to be formatted like this:

Life Purpose:
To fully and joyfully be the most of myself and my potential in service to myself and others.
.
Values:
Love
Optimal Health
Peace
Simplicity etc…

Areas of focus and responsibility:
Relationship with Spirit and Self
Optimal Health: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual
Wife and Marriage
Mother and Parenting etc…
5- 10 year goals:
Speaking and consulting internationally etc…
1-2 year goals:
Publish a book, move closer to the ocean in my ideal home etc. Projects:
Write a book proposal, find a soul-centered real estate agent etc.

Action Steps:
Ask Mark for a copy of his book proposal, send an email to friends asking if they know of a great realtor and make a list of the qualities of my ideal home etc.
*This or something better for the highest and greatest good of all concerned

Often I would add detailed “ideal scenes” for various goals—a list of successful positive outcomes written in the present tense.

What I have noticed in the past few years is that most of my “goals” are no longer focused on external things that I hope to achieve, but rather an inner state of being. My goals turned into fluid intentions that are centered on my day to day living, quality of being, how I am with myself, my values and habits. I started calling these new intentions “process goals.” To me a traditional goal has an ending—something concrete so you know when you have achieved it, but with process goals the process is the goal realized and the process is continuously taking new shapes. Other names for “process goals” would be themes, habits, qualities, routines, practices, or values.

I find it helpful to set intentions and goals (whether inner or outer) that are based on qualities, purpose and values versus specific outcomes. I focus on how I will feel when I get there versus how it will unfold. While I may fantasize about the process and possible positive outcomes, I always leave room “this or something better for the highest and greatest good of all concerned” knowing that the Universe’s plan may be much greater than what I can imagine from my current space.

You will see below that my life visions are not minimalist—I like to give myself the freedom to put everything out there—and what you see below is just a snippet! You will also see that one way I stay focused on my intentions and keep it fresh is by creating minimalist affirmations. These affirmations are quick phrases, emotionally charged, “juicy,” personal, charged words, or even the names of certain people that embody the quality I hope to integrate. I find when I feel what it is I desire—as opposed to just “thinking” it- I carry the energy of the intention and then I attract and create easily.

My Life Vision now looks something like this:

Life Purpose:
To be present and experience my oneness
Joyfully express myself and inspire others
Live from a place of overwhelming gratitude

Things to keep in mind/ Themes/ New thought / shift in consciousness:
Celebrate what I already am
Live like I am on vacation
Let go of time pressure- the only time is now
Don’t sweat the small stuff
Process is goal realized
Gratitude
Jeff Foster Living
Transform from the inside out- designing my inner space
Thank you god for everything; I am receptive to the all good
Life is Good
Listen more—say only what is true, kind, and necessary (about myself too!)
Positive attitude –Be Mary Poppins
Sometimes there are no reasons; there is only Love
Self- acceptance is ultimate simplicity
What would love do?
Simplify
Spirit Provides
Make a Choice

Values:
Love
Optimal Health
Peace
Simplicity
Clarity
Creativity
Joy and happiness
Kindness and compassion
Simple abundance
Beauty
Grace
Gratitude
Wisdom

Areas of focus and responsibility:
Relationship with Spirit and Self
Optimal Health- mental, physical, emotional and spiritual- all levels
Wife and Marriage
Mother and Parenting
Family and Friends
Community and world
Abundance and Wealth
Personal Growth and Learning
Joy and Creativity
Home and lifestyle, Simplicity and Inspired Everyday Living

Process Goals/ Inner Goals/ Habits to adopt and integrate into my way of living and being
Daily meditation
Morning Intention
Evening prayer and gratitude
Whole foods diet
Exercise
Daily writing
Cooking and baking
Slowing down
Kind, grateful and positive
Drinking water
Listening more saying less
Maintaining streamlined, simplified, clean, healthy, and organized living.
Conscious communication with my husband- aware that I am teaching my children by example
Bringing more music into my life

I am realizing that the more I surrender to my soul’s path, the more I am present in the moment, and the more I continue to trust and allow life to flow through me— the more I know and trust that things are conspiring in ways I can’t even imagine for my happiness and the happiness of others.

I imagine that someday my Life Vision will look like this:

Let Life Shape Itself.

If you like this blog, you may also like:
Zen Affirmations
Designing Your Life
My Simple Spiritual Practices
Dream Home: Bringing Your Dreams into Your Home

Self-Acceptance is the Ultimate Simplicity

I’ve come to realize that when I am in a place of self-acceptance, I am naturally simplified. For years so many of my actions and choices were motivated by a feeling that I need to be more or do more—that somehow I, or my life, was not enough. On the surface this may seem like a good thing. After all, much of my writing and the personal development movement are about striving to be more of who you are—your “best self.” And while I am still a proponent of evolution of consciousness (which I believe happens despite our efforts and in its own time), I’ve discovered a more compassionate, peaceful and enjoyable way to live is to come from a place that all is well. I am well, my life is well and I do not need to fix, strive, be, or create anything other than who, where, and what I am in this moment.

When we live from a place of self-acceptance and we are at peace with ourselves, we also feel our inner-state and our outer-environment is enough—our lives become very simple, simply. Whether our goals are material or spiritual, we are not striving for “more.” We are content with “enough.” Interestingly, sometimes by accepting and doing nothing (surrendering) and feeling gratitude, “more” occurs without effort.

To truly simplify our homes and lives we can engage in an inner process: self-acceptance. A simple way to live is accepting and experiencing each moment—not trying to do more or change anything, but rather appreciating and being.

Ask yourself, “What can I be that I already am?”

Choose to celebrate what you already are.

Cultivate gratitude for your life as it is.

Show up with no agenda, but rather in service. Allow life to move through you.

Let go and trust that all is unfolding for your happiness. Self- acceptance=letting go. Allow yourself to be surprised by life by not defining and controlling. And yes– as much as I love setting intentions—let go of “intending.” Why limit ourselves to our imagination (i.e. goals, plans, ideas) when Life may have things in mind that we could not have dreamed as our present selves or from our current circumstances? In other words, if we keep on task, always focused on our goals, then we may be limited to manifesting what we can envision now. Instead be open to greater possibilities—to the things we can’t see or imagine because they are so extraordinary they’re beyond our present knowing.

Be in the moment. Use the energy spent bettering, fixing, looking back or scheming forward to live in the moment with love and kindness. Not everything needs to be understood and fixed. We may wholeheartedly accept and enjoy.

Claim happiness now.

You may also enjoy:
The Art of Everyday Living
How I Made Meditation a Habit After Trying for Eighteen Years
My Simple Daily Spiritual Practices

Anchor Your New Year’s Resolutions in Your Home

IEL News… Since we enjoy this time of year so much, this month we’ll be posting a few extra blogs—some new as well as a few of our holiday favorites. Wishing you a happy holiday season!

Your home can be the key to successfully manifesting your New Year’s resolutions…

The beginning of the New Year is an excellent time to take inventory of your life. It is an opportunity to reflect on where you have been and get clear about where you want to go. Often we take this time to get in touch with our dreams and set new goals, yet following through with our intentions sometimes proves difficult. This year, turn to your home for the inspiration and support necessary to successfully fulfill your New Year’s resolutions.

Your home may be the vehicle through which you manifest your dreams. Our homes are reflections of who we are and who we are is always changing. Consequently, we need to support our ever-evolving selves by consistently changing our surroundings to mirror our highest idea of ourselves and empower us to actualize our current aspirations.

Out with the old

The adage “out with the old and in with new” applies. Make space for your new dreams by letting go of things that do not support your current goals. Changing on the inside is very difficult if everything we see on the outside is in conflict with our new intentions. For example, if you worked in a candy store, imagine how difficult it would be to give up sweets.

Many of us have had the experience of setting a goal, pursuing the goal for a short time and then losing our desire to continue our pursuit. Perhaps we even went so far as to go to a spa to learn healthy eating habits or to attend a seminar that inspired us to make a career change. Frequently upon returning home from the spa or finishing the seminar we find it hard to continue the healthy eating habits or uphold the new career ideas we so easily embraced while we were away. One reason we find it difficult to maintain or implement a change is because our environments are holding the energy of our previous ideas and patterns. For example, after returning home from the spa, you find your pantry filled with unhealthy food, or perhaps the desk in your home office faces the kitchen, therefore constantly tempting you to snack throughout the day. In this situation, you would want to re-adjust your surroundings to support your new goal by replacing the unhealthy food with fruit or placing a plant on your desk that obstructs your view of the kitchen.

Check to make sure your environment supports your new resolutions. Clear your space of things that do not represent your dreams or empower you to fulfill your goals. Actually walk through your home and look at each object in every room and ask yourself the following questions:

Does this object reflect who I am now in my life?

Does it support my current goals?

Do I need it? (i.e. Is it useful?)

Do I love it?

You should be able to answer yes to at least one of the above questions for every item in your home. If your answer is no to all of the above questions consider selling the object, giving it away, or throwing it away. You may also take this time to do some physical cleaning and make sure all items in your home are in good repair. This process provides an opportunity to leave behind anything that might have been less than excellent in the prior year and start fresh. As you let go, you are paving the way for an abundance of good to come into your life and are that much closer to manifesting your dreams.

In with the new

Now that you have created a fresh space from which to start anew, it is time to fill up your space with all the good you can imagine. It may be beneficial to look at your life as a whole rather than focusing on a single resolution. Begin by writing down all the areas of your life you wish to focus on such as your health, wealth, relationships, family, creativity and career. Take some quiet time to envision a positive scenario for each area and then write down your goals and successful outcomes. You may wish to write your goals in the form of an affirmation. Affirmations are most effective when written in the present tense. To affirm good health you may write, “I am experiencing optimal health” or “I am easily and joyfully exercising three times a week.” This process taps into the idea that our thoughts create our reality. By writing down your intentions you have already brought your thoughts into physical form and are on your way to fully realizing your goals.

The next step is to visually anchor your dreams in your environment. If you wish to have more abundance in your life, fill your home with objects, art and colors that feel abundant to you. If you desire more love in your life add symbols of romance such as red roses or images of happy couples. You may wish to start small by creating a personal space in your home that lifts your energy each time you walk by. You could use the top of a dresser to place a candle, fresh flowers and uplifting pictures or photographs that represent your goals. Next, find a beautiful box and place your written affirmations inside. Each time you walk by this space you are reminded of your goals, and your energy gets a boost by viewing this pleasing scene. Ideally, every part of your home should support you in this way.

Celebrate with gratitude

Act as if all you desire is already yours by celebrating with gratitude. Take pleasure in your new surroundings and the knowledge that your aspirations are manifesting right here and now. Invite friends over, treat yourself to fresh flowers, light candles or listen to music. Thank your home for the support it gives you and enjoy the fulfillment of your dreams.

If you like this blog, you may also like:
Designing Your Life
Live With What You Love
A Guide for Clearing Clutter