As with every new moon for the past few years, I have performed manifesting rituals. I have also done a lot of work exploring and processing conscious and subconscious beliefs that may be blocking me from attracting the things I desire into my life. Although I am a believer of the concepts of manifesting, positive thinking and clearing sabotage pattern, I have still yet to manifest certain things into my life. Sometimes, the lack of tangible results leaves me feeling frustrated and I know that I am not alone. I have heard from so many about their frustration with the law of attraction which has left many of us wondering what we are doing wrong. All over social media, I see so many messages about the power of manifesting and I am kind of tired of hearing about it. Many of these manifesting messages I have found to be very materially based. These “pop spiritualists,” as I refer to them, neglect to mention a very important aspect of spirituality. We are here on this planet to learn through our experiences in order to evolve spiritually. Although, yes, we attract in the material world what we focus on consciously and subconscious, but more importantly, we also attract what is needed for our spiritual growth. Some, if not many, of the things that we desire are ego-based, which is not necessarily in line with our highest good. For example, if you came into this lifetime needing to learn how to navigate the world single, you may not necessarily manifest a life partner, no matter how hard you try, because manifesting a partner would not necessarily be in your highest good. If you need to experience poverty in this lifetime, you may not necessarily be able to manifest abundant wealth.

Although this may sound pessimistic, on a more positive note, I do believe that we can change our life circumstances and manifest things we desire once the spiritual lesson in learned. There is a Buddhist proverb that states “Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what you have to learn.” Because the circumstances in our lives are part of our spiritual journey, it is useful to keep in mind that you and your life are exactly how they are supposed to be right now and that many of the experiences you are encountering are part of this journey. Although this may be difficult to accept during a time of adversity, keep in mind that there is a reason that you and the universe have created the situation you are in right now. Even in the most trying times, instead of judging them and feeling like a victim, we can embrace them and realize that at some time we will understand the lesson to be learned. The situation is temporary and it too shall pass. You can learn to trust that the universe is providing you with all that you need at the moment. Even in the most trying times, it is important to embrace the present exactly how it is and trust that what you are going through in the moment is important for personal and spiritual growth. This can help us move from victimhood to becoming empowered by the situation we are in. Buddhist philosophy also emphasizes that our suffering is created by our desires and expectations, but once we accept the present moment exactly as it is, our suffering ends, because we have no expectations of how it should be. So instead of lamenting about what we are struggling at manifesting, we can learn to practice radical acceptance. Although I will keep setting intensions on the new moons, I will also be practicing the concept of accepting what is in the moment and focusing on understanding what I am learning through my experiences. I hope you will join me!