Manifestation journaling.

The Child and I have shared a gratitude practice since she was tiny.

It began simply (prayers before bed) and, over time, has grown more complex.

It wouldn’t be overstating to say I’m proud of how grateful she is.

Sure she’s 12 and possesses all the snark & entitled moments of any tween, yet at the end of the day she’s appreciative for all she has.

(Even when, at times, the ‘all she has‘ isn’t as nice or fancy as all she used to possess.)

As a duo we’re pretty thankful and, when all went to shit in my life, gratitude was something which grounded us both.

Recently, however, I’d begin to intuit there’s a narrow gap between abundant gratitude and scarcity mindset.

It felt like a crazy notion (aren’t we exhorted to be grateful?), yet I couldn’t shake the feeling thankfulness over simple stuff was blocking abundance from my life.

I knew worrying was praying for what I did not want.

I knew I kept bumping up against challenges which, more than causing frustration, made me stop and ask: What lesson am I meant to learn here??

I knew, if I were to employ Law of Attraction language, I needed to shift my vibration.

I needed Jasmine.

60 minutes later my mind, as the Child no longer says, was blown out.

To remove my roadblocks I had to get clear about what I wanted.

Meditate.

Meditation launches and wraps up my day. As I’ve remarked on the regular to the StillHusband, meditation ensures my days begin & end positively. The rest of my 24 hour cycle may not go smoothly, however, morning minutes and evening moments bookend my days with calm.

My first attempt at manifestation journaling fell flat. I couldn’t envision anything I desired let alone visualize it transpiring. Through trial & lots of error it became apparent meditation before manifesting is key in order to shift into the abundance mindset I desire.

Ask. Believe. Elaborate. Achieve.

I journaled immediately following my call with Jasmine. I wrote in detail how the ah ha moment she’d sparked during our conversation felt in my heart and in my head.

I know myself. I knew the urgency of my feelings would fade when minutia of life intruded. I needed to capture exactly how I felt during our chat so I could remind myself why manifestation writing worked.

It boiled down to four words: Ask. Believe. Elaborate. Achieve.

Be clear on what I want. Be confident it can happen. Be able to describe how feels. Be unstoppable.

I wrote the four on the inside cover of my journal. I print these words at the top of each page before I write.

ETA: When I’m excited–I yammer. I’ve shared with others my newfound journaling-love and learned the 4 word concept is a common one.

Identify past “luck.”

Have you ever felt lucky? Can you identify actions you took which made this ‘luck’ occur? I could not. I’d experienced luck. I had no idea how I did it or why I no longer felt lucky. I needed to feel lucky. Luck, to me, equates to hope.

My first journal entry flopped. I pretended I could recreate Lucky Carla, but Id begun to view myself as IfShitCanHappenItWillToMeCarla.

I needed to remind myself I’d done this before. I’d manifested everything I’d desired–I’d just never defined it as such. I wrote at length about all the times I’d stumbled into good fortune and seemingly serendipitously received all I desired.

In order to begin my manifestation journey I needed to BELIEVE I’d been capable of this before.

Write with clarity.

My entries are filled with vivid present tense detail. My pages read as though what I yearn for is happening in that moment.

I faked it till I made it with this one. I pretended until I could wholly buy into the idea what I was writing would come true. I chose to believe more detail = more of a chance to receive all I desired.

To my surprise journaling this way did not feel like a GIMMIE! letter to the Universe. As I reread entries I saw how evidence of my gratitude naturally emerged in my words (I loved how my new car encompassed me and felt safe. I thanked the Universe for that gift.).

As I concentrated on writing with detail/depth I was reminded thoughts are energy which contain power to influence experiences. The words we speak, or in this case write, create the house we live in.

Commit.

Commitment didn’t used to challenge me, yet the past few months I’ve merely chosen to be involved. I knew for this to work I had to be all in. For me committing means rereading entries until my words ‘come to life‘ on the page. For others it may mean doing work around believing they ‘deserve’ the reality they’re trying to create.

I was also aware none of this would ‘work’ if writing was all I committed to. Manifesting had to become part of the way I lived my life.

I had to be certain of positive outcomes. I needed to be all in. It was incumbent upon me to not dig up in doubt what I’d planted in faith.

If I believed the universe would provide a safe new car then I needed to go out and purchase a key chain.

I am writing the reality I want to live.

For me manifestation journaling is a perfect fit.

I’m words not images. I believe once sentences leave my brain and hit the paper they’re part of the physical world.

Manifestation journaling forces me to clarify what I desire and acknowledge possessing desires is not a bad thing!

It’s a reminder gratitude is crucial, yet I concurrently need to remain in a state of expectation.

It’s a reminder I was stopping the universe in her tracks when I consistently conveyed my needs were met.

My gratitude indicated I was done. I had enough.

I don’t. I want more. I’m writing the reality I’m choosing to create.

And you?

• Have you tried manifestation journaling? What does your process/approach look like?