Hello!
The topic of this week’s post comes from a discussion with a friend on Friday: manifestation or letting go?
Manifestation is a popular term. It refers to the type of activities done to make things you want happen in your life by using various techniques such as visualization, specification etc. Let’s say you want to buy a house. You make a vision board, believe that you already have it (and then do the work towards it, of course). It is based on the specific wish you want to happen. It seems to have helped a lot of people and is widely popular. The popularity of the documentary The Secret on Netflix (and the book) shows this.
One of those people in the documentary, Joe Vitale, wrote another book later: Zero Limits. It is based on a Hawaiian method of cleaning. It is based on the idea that you keep cleaning yourself metaphorically by repeating certain phrases. As you clean yourself, you lose all your limits (zero limits) and become one with the Divine. At that point, you no longer want things as in manifestation but rather, what you need to do for your good or for others’ good become obvious to you. In this way, all you do is cleaning and you let life naturally unfold. Joe Vitale in fact says that this method is better than manifestation and asks his teacher what he should do with his previous books that have the “false information” (i.e. manifestation). His teacher says he should just let it be because it is stages of reaching zero limits (but zero limits is the ultimate way).
To me, the second idea is a lot more attractive than manifestation. For one, sometimes we want things but they are not good for us. So, I am always wary of wanting specific things. Second is more personal: when I want something specific, I get overly ambitious and burn myself out. I have been practicing the idea of zero limits in the past year and it worked miracles for me. But I can also see that the human mind tends to get lost if there is nothing specific to focus on, so sometimes specificity might be needed. Also, for some personality types, clarification is the way to go.
Now I want to hear your thoughts. What do you think of manifestation and zero limits? Have you been applying either of these? Let’s discuss!
Thank you for sharing this great post, Betul! Great read. I’ve been a student of the law of attraction for many years; it’s true. I’m posting another article on it very soon, which may be helpful. I hope you won’t mind, but I’m providing a link to one of my articles that includes quotations that I’ve come across in my study.
Very nice to meet you during our meeting the other day!
Art
https://think2wice.me/2021/04/28/affirming-truth/
Hi Arthur! It was great meeting you indeed! Thanks for sharing your post. I will definitely read it!
Visualization can be a useful technique for people who have something that they want to accomplish. Goals are essential but need to be flexible. In the complete absence of a goal, you are probably just wasting the most precious commodity, time. However, due to changes both within you and around you, your goals need to adapt.
You can get to the same place as visualization using a flow chart or process model which articulates the steps need to reach the goal. These are all fancy words to describe basic planning.
The problem with the zero limits concept is the inherent fallacy: limits exist, whether imposed by physics, biology or society. Letting the Divine decide your path is an easy excuse for doing nothing at all, or worse, for uncaging primal urges best kept hidden. Jimmy Carter was dead on in saying that people harbor thoughts never meant to see the light of day.
I also would think so but the zero limits idea made me a lot more productive than I would have been. I no longer work all the time but when something comes up, I do my best. I generally do better when I do not have strict rules or deadlines. It eliminated me running after things. But I can see how it can lead to laziness.
And I agree. As long as you do not obsess over goals, that is great. I have not found a way not to obsess over my goals yet:(
Interesting. I don’t do the manifestation technique, but am interested in the zero limits one. What are the phrases used? What about prayer? Could it be prayer, especially repetitive prayer to bring you closer to God and to want what He wants?
I started with the technique in the book but turned it into prayer myself actually. The idea is kind of the same to me.
Not really a fan of either one. Too much of a pragmatic realist (with a touch of optimism) for that sort of spiritualistic stuff to work. Sounds like one is fantasizing about an outcome.
I know a lot of people think it’s great but in my experience, visualizing something builds up one’s anticipation of something but does nothing to make it more likely to happen. (I suppose it could help you if your motivation was flagging.) OTOH, when something fails to work out, it makes the disappointment worse because you have preinstalled the result as a part of your being and then lost it.
I already know what I want to achieve and why. I don’t need to visualize it. I might do with a checklist though. Or if it is really complicated, a flow chart. Otherwise, I’ll forget something important. If I visualize anything it would be as a simulation to look for problems.
As far as Zero Limits… feels like fuzzy New Age self-help that borrowed a bunch of catchphrases from Buddhism.
Reality does not exist entirely in your mind. It is your perception of reality that’s in your mind. Actual reality exists independent of you except for what actions you take to modify it. The key to “survival” is to match your perceptions to what actually exists and react appropriately. The key to “success” is to take that accurate assessment of reality and use it to predict the outcome of what actions you might take (“if… then…” statements) and then choose the best course of action.
The farther into the future you can accurately project, the better. Some people are better at coming up with possible actions to take than others, some are better at predicting results than others, while some just have dumb luck on their side or against them.
Some people’s perceptions are more accurate for climbing a rock face and others are better suited for climbing a corporate ladder. Nobody is without limits.
Very good points. I am trying to understand one thing, though. Zero Limits sounds like a fuzzy concept and can lead to laziness or not being realistic enough. But it had the opposite effect on me. Once I started applying it, everything became so much clearer that I started getting things done with minimal effort. In other words, it made me understand what I exactly need to do and go for it. That is how my job-hunting process and dissertation defense were both very smooth this year, whereas I expected total chaos.
Bit again, I naturally tend to obsess over my goals, so maybe I needed this letting go. But would you think it could be helpful for some people?
I can’t say whether any given approach will work for another person. All I can do is look at my own experience.
I think where these techniques work best is in changing poor attitudes and in enhancing weak motivation. (OTOH, if you already have a bad attitude and no motivation, you’re unlikely to look for this kind of help.) Only those who want to change seek out change and it is possible that almost any optimistic approach will help them. IMHO if you already have a positive, “can do” attitude and good motivation, you’ve already accomplished everything Manifestation or Zero Limits can do for you. YMMV.
When i was younger I tried visualization exercises and such and all it got me was disappointment. (Maybe it was the Asperger’s in me?) When I returned to pragmatism and realism I was able to move forward. The world I see around me is a mixture of hard, cold calculation and unpredictable waves of irrationality. Believing you can do something is half the battle but at the same time, as Dirty Harry pointed out, “A man’s gotta know his limitations.” True self knowledge includes a lot of negatives.
Have you ever read “The Power of Positive Thinking” by Norman Vincent Peale? It’s like the granddaddy of the modern self-help movement.
Good points there! I also find visualization difficult, but for more different reasons. But certainly, I do better when I stay realistic, as you do as well.
I heard about that book but did not read it. Did you?
I love the second idea! I was a big vision board maker, manifester, etc., but realized that what my ego wants (job, security, etc) is not my purpose for being here. Plus, I simply want to rack up the least amount of karma in this lifetime, so letting the Universe surprise me is a better option…lol. Thanks for the post–I’ll definitely check out the book.
Please do check it out. It may nor resonate with everyone, but it definitely curbed my ambitious side in a good way.
Yes, all that manifestation stuff develop greed within us to get more and more…and our desires have no end.
I believe that having zero limits is not about ‘not desiring anything’. But for me it is releasing our compulsive desires of wanting this and that. Knowing the difference between what we actually need qnd what is just a desire or influence from outside. I also feel that we are already given everything that is needed for our good and the highest good.
But yeah as the teacher said, we try out different things, so that we can discern whether it is benefiacil for us or not and then come closer to the Truth.
I think that is what it did to me. It helped me get rid of my compulsive desires. Thank you for the nice comment and the clarification for me!
I am not in control of this universe, nor are there any ways to “attract” anything into my sphere of life. I focus on acceptance, the kind that says things are, why pretend they aren’t, being in presence as much as possible, and staying aware of probability and possibility. This perspective appears to be working well. Great post, my friend.
I agree. Acceptance worked so much better for me than attraction. It indeed works well. Thank you!
I read your post and at first was not so sure. So I revisited it yesterday and tried it for yesterday and today after listening to the audio book felt inspired. But tonight I encountered 3 situations where it didn’t work like my prayers for peace and being in Gods Will usually do. I feel empty and without focus on who I believe God is and how he wants for me to pray. I should mention I don’t pray for stuff just for directions on how to live my very best life. But interesting way to go. Perhaps I need to go on one of his retreats to fully get it but for now sticking to what works for me. Thanks 🙏 God blessings be upon you 😊
Finding the right way or balance in prayers takes some time. I struggled a lot with that too. I went from very specific prayers to just completely letting go and not wanting anything. The balance is somewhere in between but it is different to find that somewhere. A retreat could indeed help!
Betul, I read your post with interest. I think my ideas may sound a little old-fashioned. First, we need to explore who we are and what we want to accomplish in life. When we have that understanding, we can set appropriate goals. Then we need to do research and give thought to how we can accomplish these goals and formulate a plan. Next comes focus and sustained action. I think both manifestation and zero limits are contrived and limited. I believe there are no shortcuts to success and happiness.
I once heard a definition of success which I have always remembered: Success is moving in the direction of our dreams. It is a process, not a destination.
This is a really good and neat summary!
Well, I think where I often have difficulty is setting goals. If I do not apply zero limits and stay in that zone, I get too ambitious. It is something I cannot yet regulate. So zero limits has helped me a lot in that I learnt to set goals but also trust the process. Ideally, what you describe is good.
Really interesting post. I’ve never heard of zero limits but I’m not a great fan of manifestation to be honest so will certainly look into this a bit more. Thank you!
Please do!