You understand the power of visualization. That which you can see vividly in your mind’s eye is bound to emerge in the physical world.

You know that affirming your desires will help train your thoughts. And you understand that what you think and feel about on a continual basis will ultimately manifest as your reality.

These simple basics are central to the understanding of attraction and manifestation. But there’s another truth that is less easily grasped, yet infinitely more powerful.

To have, do, be, and otherwise  experience our desires in this life we must come into complete alignment with the reality we wish to manifest.

This concept is difficult for most of us to grasp at first. In a way, it’s along the lines of time travel and teleportation.

What I mean is: attaining a new alignment is like moving to a new space/time reality in a way that’s not fully explainable via modern science.

In his book Thought Vibration, Law Of Attraction In The Thought World, pioneer thinker William Walker Atkinson spoke of using the will to “see the truth” despite the interference of the present reality. Atkinson was urging his reader to develop an ability to transcend the illusion of current results.

Most of us allow our minds to be imprisoned by what we see and experience as the world around us. Understand that I am a strong advocate of allowing the present moment to unfold, but this doesn’t mean we must accept current circumstance as the truth.

I’m getting fairly deep into the philosophical here so let me move a bit closer to the surface. Consider this statement:

The way things are in your life right now, is the result of your previous thoughts and actions. These present circumstances are certainly real, but they reflect what you have previously created rather than what you are now creating.

With me so far? Great.

On the basis of the above statement, what will happen next in your life is the result of your current thoughts and actions. If you fixate on the present state of things, you will create more of the same in the coming moments, days, months, and years.

Again, it’s important to embrace the now. This moment is where life happens, and right here and now is the sum of all universal creation.

But a paradoxical sense, it’s equally important to be in a state of pure potentiality and not fettered by the facts and figures of right now. In other words, as you embrace this moment allow your mind to remain free of attachment so you can vibrate that which you wish to create.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you want to lose 10 pounds so your pants are more comfortable and so you look more attractive to the opposite sex without your clothes on. While some people might call this vanity, the fact is you are entitled to have the exact body you want for whatever reasons suit you.

It’s important to keep living in this moment. Embrace the now, and be grateful for all the good things in your life. And certainly you are using your current body state (10 pounds too heavy) as the contrast to form your desired direction.

However, if you are to actually lose those ten pounds you must align yourself with the you who is ten pounds lighter! In other words you need to really feel and vividly think like the person you will be, and not like the person you are at this moment.

This is a highly experiential process. I can only go so far toward describing it with words. But I hope I am leading you to some level of understanding the nature of this metaphysical transformation.

Because your “future” is the response to how you think and feel (your vibratory expression) right now, it’s imperative that you quite literally become the person who has already lost ten pounds in every sense of the word. Here are two more things for you to think about, both of which may help you wrap your mind around the idea of aligning with the person you will be.

Everything Is Vibrating Energy

Only a little research is required to learn that everything in the universe (that we know about) is vibrating energy. This is true even of “solid matter”.

A bone may appear to be quite solid to the naked eye, but placed under a microscope it becomes clear that even a bone is made up of vibrating energy. Most of our universe is “empty vacuum” with vibrating particles in the interim.

With this in mind, and in consideration of the fact that consciousness appears to be the force behind all of nature, it should not be difficult for you to grasp the idea of shifting from one form to another.

Evidence That Our Minds Define Our Reality

You can find a wide range of studies to indicate that all of our reality is defined and organized for us by our minds. In fact there is no tangible reality in the absence of intelligent observation.

Did you know the same part of your brain processes vision whether you are looking at an object next to you, thinking about the same object with your eyes closed, or dreaming about the very same object in your sleep? Think about what that must mean for a second!

Also consider this: Documented cases of people with multiple personality disorders show human beings in dramatically different physical states depending on which personality is active.

In some cases patients have medical diabetes when one personality is in charge, but have a healthy pancreas in another personality! And at least one study actually documented a woman with a scar on her face while one personality was active, but when other personalities surfaced the scar was not visible!

Back to the premise of this article…

Getting back on track, my point is simple: To have the life we want, it’s important that we make a shift in consciousness so drastic that we honestly begin to embody the person we intend to become.

Read this article again. Meditate on it. And ask yourself without prejudice how you might be able to use this information within your own life.

It’s hard for most of us to let go. We want to be proactive, hands-on, and fully involved.

But when we try to hard, overthink, and just refuse to let go and allow things to flow, we risk pinching ourselves off from the source of all abundance. Life is not meant to be a dire struggle, yet many of us are addicted to the idea of struggling, pushing, and working hard to “make things happen”.

When I was younger I didn’t care much about money or responsibility. To be honest I spent most of my days drinking beer, chasing women (most of whom ignored me), and just goofing off.

I had fun. And I never went without anything.

In fact things just had a way of coming into my life. I always had enough money to get by, people gave me cars, and food & shelter were always plentiful.

Of course I eventually started thinking about having more money. And I decided to “grow up” and start working hard.

I made many big changes in my life, but the going was rough. While I was making substantial progress, it seemed there was a ceiling on how good things could get.

After a few years of traditional J-O-Bs I was able to start working from home. And I made more and more  money each year.

But at the same time, I was never able to really break free and experience the kind of abundance I wanted. Money would come in, stay for a while, then vanish and I’d really have to struggle to get it back.

This went on for a long time. Then one day as I reflected on my “past life” as a drunken couch surfer with no worries, I had an epiphany.

No, I didn’t decide to start drinking again and shut down my business. I just realized that I had forgotten how to relax and allow blessings to flow to me in the natural manner.

It wasn’t until I really began to let go of my own need to control things that my life began to unfold in the wonderful way I truly wanted. Hard work, goals, and discipline are great, and all have their place in this life.

But more important than all of these is the ability to trust the greatest good to flow through our lives. Our dreams begin to manifest when we can focus on what we want, put in a little hard work to get it, and then let go and allow things to come together without micro-managing.

Every great teacher of manifestation talks about letting go and allowing. Yet somehow these concepts are easily lost, as we strive to work work work and push things forward, so to speak.

I’m reminded of a passage from the Tao Te Ching:

“Good work is done and then forgotten, and thus it lasts forever.”

I thought I understood this verse long ago. But now, having actively studied the laws of attraction and abundance for some time, I see these wonderful words with a new and powerful clarity.

My highest aspiration now is to trust, allow, and let the great life I want manifest. Does this mean I’m all done working and setting goals?

OF COURSE NOT!

But rather than work and strain under the guidance of my ego mind, I must allow inspiration to lead my efforts. When I move from my intuitive center I am always on track to create the best possible results.

At the same time, when I expect miracles in my daily life, and wake up each day with the utmost faith that incredible things are going to happen all around me, I am harnessing the power to build worlds within my small corner of creation.

Do you find yourself often furrowing your brow, tensing up at the shoulders, and really leaning into your work with a kind of tired resignation, yet feeling always as if your dreams are just out of reach? If so begin to cultivate hte practice of just letting go and trusting the greatest good to flow naturally.

It’s incredible what happens within a small frame of time when you combine this kind of relaxed faith with confident visualization and moment-by-moment gratitude. The world has a way of opening up when you are in alignment with this simple philosophy…

There is value in “hard work” and inspired action, but the truth is good things should and usually do come easily for us. Think about it…

The best times of your life have probably happened in a very fluid, natural fashion. Am I wrong?

I’m not saying we can sit back, do nothing, and have everything we desire. Actually I think this is possible but that’s not what I’m writing about here. My point in this post is that a lot of rushing about, furrowing our brows, and straining against life is not what it takes to generate amazing results.

The really good stuff almost always comes to us wiht ease and joy.

I remember in my twenties, I was what society would call “lazy”. All I did was have fun and hang out with friends.

I seldom worked, yet never did without. And quite often people were giving me things, including cars and places to live!

I somehow forgot this aspect of my life when it came time to “grow up” and “get responsible”. For years I worked hard, set goals, and so forth, and quite frankly it was hell in some ways.

I made good money and built a business, but it seemd impossible to really get where I wanted to go. Then one day I remembered how easily things once came to me, and it became so clear:

Before I had ever “learned” about manifestation and law of attraction, I was living it in my daily life!

I now live in the same easy state of mind I had when I was younger. But I do so with the knowledge and trust I found during my years of “trying”.

It’s an interesting mix: As long as I relax and trust good things to flow to me, yet remain ready to take action and work as much as needed, my life is a wonderful journey.

But without fail when I lean too far in the direction of “trying and working” I feel a loss. This is paradox to be sure but so are all other substantial lesson as far as I can tell.