Hello,
Welcome.
My name is Lou Redmond.
Thank you so much for practicing with me.
Today is gonna be a talk and a meditation that is going to challenge the concept of manifestation.
I know that some people love manifestation and are all about it.
And so I want to name that,
That a lot of the things we talk about have a similar energy,
But I want to point to a word that I feel is more resonant.
And that word is realization.
I believe that everyone has the power to realize their dreams and who they are.
And when I think about the difference between realization and manifestation,
Realizing,
Realization is taking something that was born in our hearts,
That has always been there,
And making it real.
Manifestation is making something up that we want and trying to manipulate the world to get it.
Realization moves in an unfolding from within.
Manifestation moves by efforting to get from without.
Realization is more about being pulled by something.
Manifestation is about pushing.
Enforcing.
Realization is like the sculptor cutting away the stone,
Cutting away everything to get to the essence of the image and the vision that they have of what they want to create.
Michelangelo was famous for saying that he could see the David.
The sculpture was already complete in the marble block before he started and his job was just to chisel away the material that's getting in the way.
Manifestation is like seeing a sculpture block and then creating a sculpture outside of it,
Like a big mask of David and then putting it on this block.
So it's like this addition rather than cutting away,
Getting to the core and to the essence.
And if you're feeling like,
Lou,
Yeah,
I don't know if I really agree with what you're saying.
Here's the biggest key factor in the differences.
I want you to try this on.
Say,
I just realized something.
Notice when you say that,
I just realized something.
Go ahead and try it.
What you notice is that there's this lightness.
It's like,
Ah,
I just realized something.
Now to try,
I just manifested something.
Doesn't have the same feeling.
If anything,
There's like this almost puffing up,
Oh,
I just manifested something,
Some like prideful arrogance to that.
So notice how the actual feeling of each word gives us clues.
Now let's dive a little deeper to the root of what these words mean.
So realization comes from Latin,
Realis,
To make actual.
It is part of how Maslow in his Hierarchy of Needs talks about self-actualizing people,
Actualizing a potential that is within us.
Now in spirituality,
They also talk about realizing,
Self-realizing,
Which is more in a spiritual God realization context,
But for just the essence of we have a potential inside of us,
We are self-actualizing,
We are making it real,
Making it actual.
Manifest,
The root of it means to strike by hand,
To physically touch,
To be caught in the act.
That's a much different feeling than where realization comes from.
And just think of this term.
We don't self-manifest.
We self-realize,
But we don't self-manifest.
That term doesn't make sense.
Realization focuses us on the process.
We are realizing,
Like we are making it real and more real every day.
We are in the process of it.
Manifest is kind of outcome focused.
It's we either manifested it,
It's here or it's not.
And it leaves us in a state of disappointment often.
Like we're always waiting to get somewhere and if we're not there,
Then I haven't manifested it versus I'm realizing it,
I'm making it more real every day.
A term that people often use in the manifestation world is being a magnet.
You're magnetizing the things that you're wanting to manifest.
But have you ever seen a magnet bring filings to it?
It's all dirty.
It's all gunky.
I don't know about you,
But I don't want to magnetize energy from outside of myself and put more gunk on me.
I don't think so.
What I want to do is,
Like the Michelangelo sculpture,
I want to clear away what is already on me.
I want to clear away what is getting in the way of that essence,
Of that flame,
Of the realization that is already born inside of me.
So there's nothing to magnetize.
There's only something to realize.
Joseph Campbell said,
The journey of a lifetime is being who you are,
Becoming who you are.
And that's what realization helps us do.
So how do we do that?
Well,
It's going to sound a little similar to manifestation with some nuances.
The first is connecting to the vision and a vision is more powerful when it comes to us.
So with manifestation,
It's like,
Well,
Let's create a vision board.
No,
Let's actually let a vision come to us.
What's the vision that is born inside of us and really then feel,
Feel what that vision is.
And next are examining the beliefs around it,
Believing in your vision.
And what I want to make the claim is that at the core,
At your essence,
You already believe.
And so that's the difference in realization versus manifestation.
Manifestation was like,
Okay,
I need to change my beliefs.
I need to,
To,
To adopt more empowering beliefs.
And there's an essence of that is true,
But I like you to think about it more like I am letting go of,
Or I'm not even letting go.
Examining the parts of myself that don't believe.
And not in order to push them away,
But to see that I've probably been hurt before.
I probably had something happen where these beliefs helped me.
And to honor that they've helped you.
And to notice that as you bring them back home,
As you come back more into who you are,
Naturally,
The belief is gonna grow.
It's gonna grow strong because at your essence,
At your core,
You do believe.
You know,
It's deeper than belief.
The next step is acting on the vision,
Which of course,
You've heard that with manifestation.
The difference here is you act on things that are worth doing for their own sake,
Rather than acting in order to get something,
In order to manifest.
So doing something that's actually fulfilling as you're doing it,
Where you enjoy it and there really doesn't have to be an outcome,
Versus the manifestation is all about getting something.
Doing something to get somewhere else other than you are.
The last step is to learn from failure,
Learn from refining the things that don't go right.
And here's the difference again,
Is that learning from failure is just like continuing to chip away the marble to come more to our essence,
Continuing to realize and realize and learn and grow.
Manifestation,
If we're not doing it,
If we're failing,
We feel disappointment.
I didn't manifest that thing.
We're in this scarcity.
We're in this,
We did it wrong.
And it's either,
Again,
Very black and white.
I manifested or I didn't manifest it.
Until I manifest it,
There's really nothing to enjoy.
And so I'm sure there's some,
You know,
You might have some judgments of how I'm exploring this,
But let's do a meditation to feel a little bit more how the difference is,
How realization might be in your body.
And try to help you realize the dream that's in your heart.
Alright,
Let's slow things down.
Go ahead,
Close your eyes.
And let's take a conscious breath together.
And maybe a sigh out.
Let everything relax.
Let your shoulders move down your back.
Let's take a few moments to shift inwardly.
And we're gonna explore in your body what both of these feel like.
So similar to when I had you make that statement about you just realized something.
Maybe you say that again here and just feel in your body what it feels like if your path is all about realization.
You might say,
I just realized something.
Just feel.
How that lands.
And now feel what it's like.
When your path is about manifestation.
I just manifested something.
Notice how that lands.
And maybe that experience is deeper for you.
But I know when I do this,
There's something that's lighter and more true about the realization and something about manifestation that tightens my body.
So you might have a different experience.
Let's move into how you realize what's in your heart.
As Joseph Campbell said,
The journey of a lifetime is becoming who you are.
So slow down and bring your awareness into your heart.
And connect with who you were.
When you started your journey.
Whatever that term means for you could be your meditation journey,
Your spiritual journey,
Your dream business journey.
And just take a count.
Seeing who that person was.
Sending them some love for having begun.
Maybe they chose it,
Maybe they got thrown into it.
And then feel how much more you,
You are right now.
You're probably a lot more yourself than when you began.
And so I want to note that that's a process of realization.
So feel gratitude for all that you've already realized.
And then looking back and seeing the vision that you received when you started,
How that's unfolded.
Maybe it's still the same vision you're working through.
Maybe it's shifted.
Connect to that vision,
The vision you have for what your dreams are fully realized.
And really paint a picture in your mind where you're living,
How you're being,
Whose lives you're touching.
See it,
Hear it.
Smell it.
Taste it.
Feel what this realization is,
This vision is.
There's likely a sense of aliveness.
In living your life to the fullest.
Maybe some of this vision has already come into your life.
You might be continuing to realize it.
And I want you to try on.
The concept that you already believe this vision is possible.
You already believe in it.
You don't have to do anything that at your core you believe in this vision.
Feel if that's true.
And then connect to any parts of yourself that maybe don't believe,
Maybe there's doubts,
Maybe you failed already and there's a part of you that doesn't believe that it's possible for you.
And see if you can pick one of these quote-unquote non-believers.
And see it in front of you.
And ask it,
What's it here for?
It's probably here for some positive intention,
Some way it's trying to keep you safe.
And so just see if you can look for that.
What are you here for?
What are you trying to help me with?
And then whatever it says,
See if you can,
If it's true for you,
Thank it for its intention.
So thank you for trying to keep me safe.
Thank you for trying to help.
Just feel it from your heart saying thank you.
For its intention.
And you might notice when you do that,
It tends to be a softening.
That voice is a little less loud because it's heard,
It's seen.
And you might have other parts of you that don't believe and have doubts and just know that you can do the same process anytime those parts come out.
And the more you do,
The more these parts soften,
The more you're able to access the belief and the knowing that's underneath it all,
That already knows.
So connecting back into your heart,
Maybe into that core,
That essence of your belief.
And connecting to these affirmations if they resonate.
I am powerful.
I am capable.
I am.
So grateful to be realizing my dreams.
I am powerful.
I am capable.
I am so grateful to be realizing my dreams.
And now from that belief Think of an action that you can take that is you realizing your dreams,
An action that you will enjoy doing for its own sake,
Not just for the outcome.
Maybe it's writing a blog,
Recording something,
Doing an art project.
Engaging in a conversation with someone.
What is an action that would be fulfilling in its own sake in service of realizing your dreams?
And feel and see yourself doing that thing with love.
Enjoying it as you do.
And then let's take one final breath in.
And letting it go.
When you're ready.
Coming back.
Opening your eyes.
If you'd like a journaling exercise on this,
It's a really cool one that I've done is to write an article about your dreams coming true.
Like as if it was in the newspaper from like a third person,
Something that's like talking about you and expressing all that you've overcome,
The doubts,
The fears,
Just,
Yeah,
It's a really fun thing to have and to explore and to do for yourself.
And as a practice,
As an action step,
Making your dreams more real.
So thanks for practicing with me.
I love them.
I welcome all the comments and feedback on this distinction between manifestation and realization.
So don't hold back.
And yeah,
Sending you lots of love.
I look forward to connecting with you soon.
Know that I am rooting for you as you continue to realize,
Know that I'm rooting for you as you continue to realize your dreams.
We'll chat soon.
Take care.
