Manifesting 101
What does it mean? Does it actually work? Is there any science behind it? And how do you actually do it?
The concept of manifesting is all over the culture—chances are, you’ve heard it again and again. While you might imagine that it’s about positive thinking, mood boarding, and believing it until you see it, that’s a limited understanding of how the field has evolved. In fact, there’s now strong neuroscience—we know, we were shocked too!—that supports manifesting as a legitimate tool. This process goes much, much deeper than staring at a photo of a yacht and willing it will be yours. One of the most globally beloved manifestation approaches is called To Be Magnetic: Founded by Lacy Phillips in 2018, it’s a process built with the help of neuroscientist Tara Swart, PhD, M.D.—the core premise being that you can’t begin to understand what you want, or actualize it in the world, when you’re subconscious is telling you that you don’t deserve it, it’s not safe to have it, and it’s not possible.
Within To Be Magnetic, Lacy Phillips and Chief Content Officer Jessica Gill have designed beauty pathways around money, love, career, and other emotional states—through a series of journaling exercises, guided meditations called Deep Imaginings, and structured, self-guided workshops. They also released their first ever book, How to Manifest, which offers an overview of our manifestation process—and thankfully, is available in Australia, too. We had some questions, which Jessica dives into below. (She also offered her code JESSICA for 15% off your Pathway Membership.)
MECCA: There’s a lot of chat in the culture about “manifesting” and the idea of mood boards and positive thinking. Where does this go wrong?
JESSICA: The intentions are exciting—motivating even—but the reality is that without understanding your true why (from your soul, not the ego), and without the self-awareness to recognize what aspects of your subconscious and nervous systems may be actively pushing these desires away because they don’t feel safe, manifesting them becomes either unfulfilling or an uphill battle. In my experience, the deeper I am willing to look, the more rewarding the manifesting.
MECCA: How is the To Be Magnetic process different?
JESSICA: We start with the WHY, the real why, then dive into what is in the way from a psychological and neuroscience-based perspective. As a manifestation method rooted in science, and with neuroscience showing that the subconscious mind drives nearly 95% of our behavior, we’ve found it is also the place from which we’re manifesting.
In other words, if we subconsciously believe we are worthy of something, feel safe having it, are expanded enough to see to believe it is possible for us, and take aligned action toward it, then our manifestations will come through. It’s not about “thinking positive” or getting into the vortex; it’s about understanding what parts of you are actually running the show and where they may not be aligned with what you desire.
MECCA: How would you define a “block”? And how does one go up clearing them?
JESSICA: A “block” is anything in your subconscious belief system that is pushing away your manifestation, typically as a form of protection, because that next level doesn’t feel safe yet. You can think of it like an emergency brake system: as you’re moving toward a goal or manifestation, something suddenly pulls the brake, almost as if saying, “whoa we are not sure we can go this route, based on everything we learned about who we needed to be in order to survive and be loved during our childhoods and upbringings.” The result can look like self-sabotage, energetically playing small, or leaning on old coping mechanisms that are actually taking us further from our desired version of self.
Unblocking is a key pillar in the To Be Magnetic work, and we approach it primarily through psychology-based journal exercises and neuroscience and psychology-backed reprogramming audios we call Deep Imaginings™.
Deep Imaginings™ work by guiding you into a calm, self-hypnosis theta state, which allows you to access the narratives, emotions, and sensations that are operating beneath the surface and helping you overwrite them into beliefs and narratives of high self-worth and safety.
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MECCA: It seems like many of us struggle with what we even want to manifest—do you have any tools for getting clear about the target?
Absolutely. Most people initially come to TBM when something in their life feels off; whether they hit a rock bottom, found themselves in a rut, or maybe they just know they want more for their life but aren’t yet sure what that looks like.
Before we even dive into a manifestation list, we help them understand who they are in this season of life and what they truly want on a soul level.
One of the first things I tell people when they are unclear about what they want is to write down what they don’t want. This becomes valuable information on your path to finding what is aligned.
We also have a tool called the Authentic Code, which is a guided exercise designed to help you identify four key pillars that embody what you truly want more of in your life in this season, which can offer clarity around the manifestations you want to call in.
MECCA: You mentioned feeling “expanded”—what’s an “expander”?
JESSICA: One of my favorite terms coined at To Be Magnetic is “expanders,” because it completely reframes inspiration, envy, and jealousy to be something magnetic. Expanders are the people, experiences, or dynamics that give us an aha moment, allowing us to see to believe that what we want is possible for us, too. They quite literally expand your subconscious belief system by letting you witness an aspect you authentically desire.
This can look like witnessing someone achieve a goal you hadn’t yet believed was possible for you. Or even seeing a couple connect in a way that you deeply desire but haven’t had examples of before.
Another common way expanders show up is through people you are envious or jealous of. The reason they are activating in this way is to help awaken a desire that is within you, and invite you to tap into your authentic expression of it.
Expanders can superspeed your manifestation process through the power of witnessed examples.
MECCA: For people who are new to this experience, what’s the best place to start?
The Expanded Podcast is a great place to start. It is a weekly breakdown of our process, along with powerful Expander stories from our members that help show your subconscious that what you desire is possible for you as well.
From there, I’d recommend checking out our Pathway Membership, which is our all-access pass to every single one of our tools—a library of over 70+ reprogramming Deep Imaginings™ designed to fit into your busy day, alongside workshops on love, money, boundaries, rock bottoms, ruts and more, plus our step-by-step science backed manifestation method How to Manifest, to help you get unstuck, clear your blocks, expand your subconscious and take aligned action in order to connect with your manifestations.
We also recently released our debut book, How to Manifest, which offers an overview of our manifestation process.
Personally, I am most active on Instagram and YouTube—and @ToBeMagnetic
If you’re someone who is ready to step into the fullest potential of your life, come join us: things are about to get pretty magical!