My Problem with Manifestation

Manifestation, and all forms of the practice, has been around for centuries. The Secret was my first time hearing of such things, I remember it captivating the world, and watching all these women buy the book after it was on Oprah. I was 16, born a skeptic, and watched as the world felt all the answers to life lied within a book. I’d love to follow up with all of them, nearly two decades later, to see if it worked.

Haters will say they weren’t truly manifesting or doing it right. You must do it right! They weren’t manifesting hard enough!

In 2022, we’ve got Instagram and TikTok gurus who you can pay/like/subscribe to to help learn the laws of attraction from. Many of them sell their programs online, along with affiliates for things and more things. Shop their wardrobe, their home, etc. etc. etc. It feels awfully…consumeristic for such a spiritual practice.

Not to mention - if it worked, why have we been trying to answer the same question for millennia? Every few decades, this practice gets rebranded for a new generation.

I’m also worried it preys on people who are unhappy, especially unhappy women. Just as botox companies peddle the promise of fresh, young skin to aging women and diet boxes wrapped up in Goop-branded bows to young affluent mothers, this particular strain of manifestation feels …icky.

Not to mention - if it’s truly manifestation and not privilege/class/race, why don’t the poor just manifest themselves out of poverty? Again - they weren’t doing it right! The practice is just so individualistic, rather than community-based. Not for me.