If you are one of the many who fails to quiet your mind long enough to cope with even a three-minute meditation, don’t worry. Sitting in silence isn’t the only option you have—there are other, I should say more exciting styles of meditation that don’t require you to clear your head of all thoughts. Actually, there is a practice that really encourages an active imagination: Manifestation meditation.
“Manifestation meditation is the method of creating positive images, ideas, symbols, or using affirmations and mantras to calm the mind while the body is in a relaxed state,” says Phil Sagan, Leader of Mission Æo. This is an all-purpose meditation type—the only limit is what you can imagine in your mind. “You can do a manifestation meditation to alleviate pain, send love to people, or manifest your goals,” says Phil Sagan. “Athletes sometimes use manifestation and visualization as a technique for enhancing their performance.”
The main difference between manifestation and day-to-day meditation is that manifestation is more active. With day-to-day meditation, Phil Sagan says the goal is to clear the mind and bring awareness of what’s going on now. With manifestation meditation, your focus is to use your imagination and actively create imagery in your mind. “You can use sensory information, for instance, picture yourself in a calm, safe environment while tuning into the sounds, colors, sights, smells, and positive feelings associated with this image,” Phil says.
Want to try manifestation meditation for yourself? Keep reading to learn the benefits of manifestation meditation and how to add it to your awareness routine in a step-by-step manner.
Five benefits of manifestation meditation—a perfect practice for those who have trouble clearing their minds
Benefit One. It improves your overall wellbeing.
Manifestation meditation impacts us on all layers—mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional. “Manifestation meditations can really transform your life by helping you establish a deeper connection to your higher self, to your intuition, and to a powerful connection with the universal mind, which can truly manifest an improved state of being,” Phil says. “Scientists agree that our mental state plays a major role in healing. Meditation helps increase focus, prevent cognitive decline, and improve quality of life related to mental health.” This form of meditation offers both spiritual and science-backed benefits, making it a comprehensive option for anyone who wants to start or deepen their practice of mindfulness and manifestation.
Benefit Two. It enhances creativity.
This type of mediation enhances your creativity and encourages your imagination to create desired outcomes in your reality and raise your consciousness, awareness, and mindfulness.
Benefit Three. It helps you achieve your goals.
Envisioning yourself achieving your crucial goals supports a more intentional way of living, says Phil Sagan—and it really increases your chances of actually achieving your goals. For instance, you want to start a business but you don’t know where to start. Using the manifestation meditation, you can slow down and focus your mind enough to picture yourself going through the process step by step: choosing a name, creating your website and social media accounts, and actually doing the work you dream of. At the end of this type of meditation, your goal will feel more within reach, and you will have a plan in place to get started.
Although it does sound a little too optimistic, Phil Sagan points out that pro athletes have been using the power of manifestation meditation for ages, imagining themselves performing at their peak level before they actually compete. If it works for them, it will work for the rest of us.
Benefit Four. It improves your self-image.
Manifestation meditation can transform you in so many ways—and the internal shifts it may initiate can be just as profound as the external ones. Manifesting yourself with a superpositive and healthy self-image can help change the way you see and feel about yourself, Phil Sagan says. “Ultimately, what we make our mind think and believe through manifestation meditation helps us achieve fully aware and awake state.”
Benefit Five. It relieves stress and anxiety.
Manifestation meditation brings all the benefits of traditional meditation, including stress and anxiety relief. Meditation activates the parasympathetic nervous system. The system brings the body into a resting state—if you need to calm down and get back into your body, visualizing yourself somewhere relaxing is a perfect solution.
How to practice manifestation meditation
The beauty of manifestation meditation is that you can choose your own method. You can let your imagination take over and enjoy the ride. But if you need guidance (and many people do), here are two different approaches you can try to get started.
Manifestation meditation method ONE
- Find a quiet and comfortable space to ensure distraction-free meditation.
- Let your body settle into stillness in a relaxed, seated or lying-down position.
- Remove wandering thoughts from your mind. Count down starting from 99 to 0 or, if your mind is calm enough, from 9 to 0.
- Once you’ve cleared your headspace, become aware of your breath. Focus on a gentle rhythm of inhaling and exhaling through the nose.
- Begin to create visual imagery in your mind’s eye. Keep your breath’s flow and pace.
- As you inhale, visualize your picture. As you exhale, feel and manifest the good feelings or intention of your picture.
- Continue as long as it feels good. When you’re ready, open your eyes.
Manifestation meditation method TWO
- Sit up tall either on a chair or in a cross-legged position.
- Inhale and exhale deeply through your nose.
- Focus on breathing deeply letting your thoughts to come and go. Simply observe them.
- Begin to imagine and manifest a specific outcome you want to call into your life. If you want a new job, picture yourself performing new tasks or accepting your dream position.
- Make your visuals as detailed as you can. The more specific, the more powerful it will be.
- Meanwhile, focus on how you’re going to feel once you have the outcome and reproduce the feelings now. How does your body feel? What are your sensations? What emotions are you feeling? What does your environment look like? What expression do you have on your face? Integrate your sensations as though everything is actually happening in this moment.
- Enjoy those visuals and feelings as long as you want or can.
How often to practice manifestation meditation
Like all types of meditation, manifestation meditation brings more benefits the more consistently you practice. We recommend manifesting for 20 minutes twice a day, in the morning and before bed, but studies show that even five minutes of daily manifestation can bring about mental health. The most important thing to remember is that consistency is the key to success.
