Manifestation has become one of those words that gets thrown around so much that it ends up being a bit misunderstood. I hear a lot of people talk about manifesting things into their lives, as if it’s some kind of magic gift from the universe. I’m definitely willing to accept that there are limits about what humans understand in terms of whether there is a “universe” (or god or whatever) but I think it’s really disempowering to think that you’ve wished for something and got it. It’s also just not factually correct. Because when you’re manifesting what you’re actually doing is using the Reticular Activating System.
What is the Reticular Activating System?
It’s a bundle of cells that sits in your brain stem and acts like a filter. What you see (or don’t see) as you go through the world depends on this filter. We are bombarded with millions of pieces of data every day as we walk through our lives and we would go mad if we tried to process every single one. So, the job of the Reticular Activating System is to filter some out. Which means that you could be standing looking at the same thing as someone else and see it differently because of this filter.
Your core beliefs feed the Reticular Activating System
Core beliefs are formed before the age of 7 and they sit in the unconscious, silently controlling what you think and how you behave. Part of the resilience coaching process is often rewiring these core beliefs. Because, if they are negative, then they are constantly tripping you up. These beliefs are the reason why you might see situations repeat in your life or find yourself attracting the same kind of people. Although consciously you might think you’re doing things differently, 95% of what you do each day is driven by the unconscious so that’s the place to look if you’re trying to do things differently and failing.
Also called The Confirmation Bias
The Reticular Activating System is also called The Confirmation Bias because it basically looks for things out in the world that will confirm your biases (your core beliefs, identity, limiting beliefs etc). So, if you have a core belief that you don’t deserve to be wealthy, as you go through your day you will see evidence that confirms that belief. And – crucially – you’ll miss anything that is evidence of the opposite OR which could change your current circumstances. You won’t notice the great investments, the amazing job opportunities, the winning lottery ticket because your Reticular Activating System will filter them out as ‘not relevant’ because they don’t align with your core beliefs.
So… manifestation
When you start manifesting you’re using the Reticular Activating System by feeding into it new visuals about what you believe you deserve, who you are and what’s possible for you. If you start visualisiing yourself as wealthy, you’re going to rewire that core belief, which is going to mean the Reticular Activating System starts picking up on opportunities for wealth. And – like magic – you suddenly seem to become a wealth accumulator. Similarly if you don’t believe yourself worthy of love but start visualising yourself with someone wonderful – that’s the evidence the Reticular Activating System is going to look for. The Reticular Activating System function is not able to make choices about what you see or don’t see – the parameters for that are set by your mind. So, if you want to use the Reticular Activating System to manifest that’s where you start.
Visualisation is the key
I’ve mentioned visualisation a couple of times and this is the key to using the Reticular Activating System – to manifestation. It’s about picturing yourself as that person, in that place, with that stuff but most importantly it’s about how that will feel. If you start tapping into how it will FEEL to be wealthy then you’re going to fuel the fire of the Reticular Activating System.
Visualisation and the Reticular Activating System function are both tools that we work with in resilience coaching. Because being resilient means being able to understand and use all aspects of you to create the life you want. If you’d like to explore the potential this has to change your life book a free intro call.
