Manifestation has a bad rep. Some claim that visualising a desired future will cause ‘the universe’ to somehow bring about that outcome. Quantum physics is sometimes suggested as the mechanism for bringing about change, which is convenient as nobody understands it. Scientific critics of the theory bristle whenever it comes up describing it, with some justification, as ‘magical thinking’.
Now, I am not saying that it is impossible that quantum effects are implicated in manifestation—I keep an open mind about that—but I do think it is important to look first at processes that we can understand and study. Fortunately, it is not necessary to invoke the arcane laws of quantum mechanics to conceive of how we can create the life we crave by changing our thinking. One woman is particularly well qualified to suggest how it might work in practice, and that is Dr Tara Swart. She is a neuroscientist and former psychiatric doctor who is a senior lecturer at MIT Sloan and Kings College London. She is also the author of “The Source: Open Your Mind and Change Your Life”, and coaches leaders in business and media.
Swart argues that we can use the power of our incredible brains to help create the future we desire.
“The true power of the brain lies in being able to integrate what we think we think with how we feel – the cortex and the limbic system together – with what our gut tells us and what we sense throughout our entire bodies. This creates an experience of life of which we can take true ownership; one that is filled with a trust in our own amazing ability to navigate circumstances with every part of us aligned and fully immersed.”[i]
One of the barriers to change is to break out of the automatic behaviours that are profoundly attractive to our brains. Our brains are, to put it mildly, very busy. In every millisecond, the brain’s 86 billion neurons are handling the vast amounts of sensory data fed to it from all of our senses. From this, the brain constructs our reality, creates meaning for us, and guides our behaviour, which is a ridiculous amount of work (for which it receives little thanks, by the way!) These neurons make connections and build pathways to respond to patterns in our environment, the effect of which is to make much of our behaviour driven by subconscious processes. It’s as if we live most of our lives on autopilot:
“Following this autopilot means that life follows very familiar patterns, which is much more efficient for the brain as it requires less energy. Also, the brain is wired to avoid change which it perceives as a ‘threat’ and to which it creates a stress response that stops us from taking risks and powers down our higher thinking (the executive functions of the brain, such as regulating emotions, overriding biases, solving complex problems and thinking flexibly and creatively) to keep us safe. It opts for instant gratification and the path of least resistance whether or not is it in our best interest for us to do so”.[ii]
This Naked Mind’s Affective Liminal Psychology (ALP) methodology recognises that this autopilot function is why many people find it hard to moderate their alcohol consumption. Alcohol is an addictive substance and so stimulates our reward pathways, which creates cravings, and as Dr Swart mentions above, this creates a tendency to follow the path of least resistance. However, our subconscious is also where a lot of our beliefs about alcohol reside. Although the physical cravings for alcohol only last for a few days at most, the beliefs about alcohol are much more stubborn and it is these that drive many people back to drinking even after successful periods of being alcohol-free. That is why it is vital to work on those beliefs and replace them with new beliefs that are both true and less likely to make us drink when we don’t want to.
At This Naked Mind, we also recognise the importance of moving towards an emotion-based goal. There’s a wealth of evidence that this is a highly effective means of bringing about behavioural change. [iii] Our coaches have tools and tactics to help this process and Dr Swart sets out how processes such as visualisation can be harnessed to bring about an alignment of executive functions of the brain with emotional pathways, such as those of the limbic system.
Tara Swart’s take on manifestation, or the ‘law of attraction’ is that we can change our future by changing our thinking. She calls the totality of the whole nervous system that controls our behaviour, “The Source”. The key to harnessing The Source is to develop awareness about neural pathways and the patterns of their activity that direct how our unconscious minds respond to events—this is completely congruent to our Affective Liminal Psychology method mentioned above.
This understanding of how our unconscious minds direct our behaviour means that we can find a mechanism that enables us to shape our future without recourse to speculative theories about quantum mechanics:
“The law of attraction is at the heart of The Source. In short, it describes the way that we can create the relationships, situations and material things that come into our lives as a direct consequence of the way we think. We ‘manifest’ them by focusing on them, visualising them and directing our energy towards them through our actions. This is the idea that by choosing to focus your energy and attention towards something, it can be manifested in your life.”[iv]
What I really like about this book is that Dr Swart backs up all of her assertions with scientific evidence and well-founded principles of psychology. As a result, she shows that the six principles of the law of attraction that she sets out do not require external forces to shape our future, but rather are explained by how we respond to our environments. As the Stoic Epictetus said, “It’s not what happens to you but how you respond that matters”.
The first principle she discusses is Abundance. An abundance mindset is one where we have the core belief that there is enough to go around for everyone, and it is up to us to make the best of it. This mindset correlates with generosity and positive thinking, feeds our self-esteem and helps us to be resilient in the face of challenges. The opposite of an abundance mindset is one of lack, which tends to create fear and attune us to what we don’t have rather than what we have. An abundant mindset also helps us to reframe failure as learning.
The second principle is Manifestation. Dr Swart believes that there are sound scientific principles that explain why sometimes people envisioning a possible future helps it to come about. These principles are selective attention and value tagging. Selective attention, as the name suggests, is the brain’s tendency to save energy by screening out what seems to be irrelevant. You may have seen the famous experiment where the subjects are asked to focus on a group of people passing basketballs between themselves. A man in a gorilla suit walks through the scene unnoticed by most people watching the video. Manifesting is a way of bringing focus to particular stimuli, just as when you are in the process of buying a new car, you seem to see an abundance of them on the road. Value tagging is part of selective attention and describes the process by which the brain assigns importance to information. This may be logical or emotional. Thus selective attention and value tagging make us more likely to spot opportunities in our lives that may lead us towards the future we desire.
The third principle is Magnetic Desire. This simply means that if we are optimistic and positive about change, we are more likely to achieve it, even in the face of setbacks and challenges. A key feature of magnetic desire is the intensity of the emotion.
Principle four is Patience. Most major life projects, such as a change in career, involve some sort of hiatus between committing to change and seeing the benefits. Giving up when the going gets tough is unlikely to lead to success.
Principle five is Harmony. This principle recognises that mind and body are intricately connected and that we need balance to be well and successful.
Finally, the sixth principle is Universal Connection. This is the recognition that we are social beings and need connection to others to be happy and effective. Swart points out that attachment emotions such as love and trust trigger the release of oxytocin and dopamine, which are part of the brain’s reward system.
I’ve barely scratched the surface of the wealth of helpful techniques that Dr Swart sets out in her excellent book. The main takeaway for me is completely aligned with our beliefs as This Naked Mind coaches, which is that we all have the power to influence our futures by paying attention to our thoughts and beliefs and using them to change our trajectory and bring about a better future for ourselves.
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] Shiota, M. N, Papies E. K, Preston, S.D & Sauter, D.A. Positive Affect and Behaviour Change. Current Opinion in Behaviour Sciences. Vol 39. June 2021, PP 222-228
[iv] Ibid.
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