Hello,
My name is Lou Redmond.
Thanks for watching.
If manifestation has not been working for you,
Or maybe you have some resistance towards it,
This video might explain why.
If you really love manifestation,
This video might challenge you.
Because I am going to make the case that we should not use the word manifestation.
That there's a better word and a better thing that we should be focusing on.
And that is realization.
We all have something that has been put in our hearts,
A vision,
A dream,
A mission.
That our job here on earth.
Is to realize is to make real.
And that's the first distinction of realization versus manifestation is that realization is about taking something that God,
The universe,
Whoever put into our hearts and making real.
Manifestation is making up something that we want.
Not that was born in us,
But something that we want and trying to manipulate the world in order to get it.
Realization moves by an unfolding of what is within us.
Manifestation is about manipulating what is without us.
Realization is about being pulled by something.
Manifestation is about being pushed by something.
Realization is like the sculptor.
Like the famous story of Michelangelo who could see the David in the rock.
And his job was just cutting away everything that is not David.
Manifestation is like,
Let me create a mask of David and let me go put it over the rock.
Let me make something and then make this thing all bigger.
And it's not from the inside,
It's doing something from the outside.
And at this point,
If you're like,
Lou,
What?
No,
I don't believe you.
Just try this on.
This is the biggest thing that helps you understand the difference between realization and manifestation.
Say to yourself.
I just realized something.
I just realized something.
Actually say it.
Notice how that feels.
There's this lightness.
There's like a,
Ah,
I just realized something.
Now try.
I just manifested something.
There's nothing there.
It's solid and it doesn't bring this lightness,
Like I just realized something.
There's almost like a,
I just manifested something,
There's a pride,
There's a energy that's just not,
I think,
At our essence,
At our truth.
Another way that these two words are different and why realization should be what you should focus on is that Realization comes from the Latin realis,
Which is to make real.
What Maslow talks about self-actualization,
We also talk about self-realization,
Being who we are.
Manifest comes and means to strike by the hand.
It has a root of actually this physical energy.
Not the same energy of realizing and self-realizing.
You would never say,
I'm self-manifesting.
That term doesn't even make sense.
Realization is about the process,
The daily effort of making something real.
Manifestation,
You can only manifest something based on the outcome.
So until you actually manifest it,
You're in lack.
Until you actually made it happen,
You're not there.
You're manifesting but you're still stuck on the outcome happening.
When realization is just again this unfolding,
You're realizing it's becoming more and more real.
Each day you put effort to it.
I'll share,
I've had experiences in attempting to manifest something.
I did a lot of work in schools at one point and it was always this effortful thing to get new opportunities to put myself out there and it was always pushing,
Pushing,
Pushing.
And for me,
I've also been realizing this identity and this work as an inspirational speaker.
And so much of what has unfolded there has been much more easeful.
I get to do it a lot on apps and places like this,
Where it's just me being more in who I am.
And that's really what our journey is,
That realization is about us becoming more of who we are.
As Joseph Campbell famously said,
The journey of a lifetime is becoming who we are.
That's the realization path.
Manifestation is about.
Creating ourselves in some other image,
In maybe society's image.
In the manifestation world,
People often talk about magnetizing.
And if you ever look at a magnet that takes a bunch of filings,
That's gunk.
That's gunk.
I don't want to magnetize gunk from the outside.
No,
I want to realize the truth,
The spark,
The flame of God that is within me.
I want to bring that out.
I don't want to take some gunk from the outside.
You may be wondering,
Okay,
Lou,
How do I go about the process?
How do I hone in on realizing my vision,
Realizing my dreams?
And it's going to sound a little bit like what you would do for manifestation,
But with some core differences.
And so the first step is having a vision,
But not necessarily finding a vision from outside,
But knowing and connecting to the vision that you receive,
That came to you,
That is already within you.
And so there's the distinction there,
Is how do I connect to that vision?
And I'm assuming that you've had some glimpse of this,
Some vision.
And to feel it,
To really feel it.
It's different than just daydreaming and fantasizing it,
But to bring into the feeling of that vision.
That is where it's very similar to what you would do in manifestation.
The next step is similar to manifestation is believing.
Fully believing in the vision.
And where manifestation will tell you to adopt empowering beliefs and say a bunch of affirmations,
What realization says is to let's look at all the parts of ourselves that don't believe.
Not in a way to cut them away and push them away,
But let's do the work to understand why they're afraid,
Why they don't believe,
To engage with them,
To bring them back home into ourselves,
And to connect with the part of us that already knows it's possible,
That there's a part of you,
Are at your essence.
Is infinite,
That knows so much more than you know.
And so it's subtracting,
It's getting to that essence and saying,
Wow,
Yeah,
Of course I believe.
From here,
There's only belief.
There's only a knowing from this space.
And so you don't have to add a bunch of affirmation,
Empowering belief.
So those can be helpful.
But getting and subtracting,
As the quote from Rumi goes,
Our task is not to seek for love,
But to remove and find all the barriers within us that we have built against it.
It's that same essence.
It's to remove the barriers and then we just believe.
There's no forcing of it.
Next is taking action on the vision.
Again,
Similar to manifestation,
But here's how it's different.
It's acting on the process and the things that are fulfilling for their own sake.
Acting on the things that are fulfilling for their own sake,
Meaning that you're doing something because you're enjoying doing it.
Manifestation says act on the thing because we need to act,
Act,
Act,
Act,
Act to get the thing,
To get the outcome.
And you can't rest until you get the outcome.
No,
Realization is let's act on the things that are fulfilling in the process because that's helping us to enjoy it as we go along and not just waiting for the payoff or the outcome.
The last step is learning from the failures.
And embracing them,
Understanding that the failure is part of the journey,
That the failure is actually the good stuff,
The adversity is how you grow,
It's how you enjoy,
It's what makes you stronger,
What makes you more resilient,
How your gifts are gonna actually be transmitted in a more potent way is by you going through those failures,
By you going through your adversity.
Realization is helping you,
Again,
Become more,
Become more of who you are.
So the failure's gonna be part of it.
Manifestation is,
It only works if you get the thing.
So it only leads to disappointment.
Ah,
I failed,
I didn't manifest that thing yet.
Ah,
It didn't come yet.
And so you're in an energy of disappointment,
Which I don't believe is very empowering.
So I hope this video is helpful.
Again,
It might challenge some of your beliefs if you're really into manifestation.
I welcome your critique.
Feel free to leave a comment.
And if you'd like to do a practice on this topic,
I have an audio meditation that you can check out.
Around manifestation versus realization and help you tap into what you need to do to realize the dreams,
The essence,
The David Sculptor that is already within you.
So go check out that meditation if you want to do a practice on that.
And I look forward to connecting with you again soon.
