Put simply, manifestation refers to bringing something into existence, abstract or physical, through thought and action. Manifestation is not to imagine for something to materialize instantly; that would be impossible. 

The act of manifestation is bringing goals and wishes into someone’s life through action and a dominant thought process. Manifestation is related to the Principle of Attraction, which describes how we receive what we expect and desire. An example of this is expecting to do badly on a test and going into it with an anxious mindset, assuming failure. This would make one perform worse than if one expected success. 

So, is manifestation a real ability? The answer could be yes. Now you can’t manifest a win at the lottery, or a billion dollars at the snap of your fingers, but there is truth to envisioning your goals. 

Manifestation could be achieved through many mediums. It can be visualizing your dreams, carrying yourself differently or writing affirmations supporting your beliefs. You would want to clarify what you want to accomplish, picture success and maintain a positive state of mind while actively working toward your aspirations. 

The results would be your life and goals morphing into what you dream them to be.

Manifestation’s goal is to eliminate the negativity living in one’s subconscious, which could potentially hold them back. 

“It’s not magic—just thinking about something won’t make it appear—but when you believe in yourself and stay focused, you’re more likely to work hard and notice opportunities that help you reach your goals,” said AP Language Ms. Alberts.

While many believe manifestation to be more spiritual, it could be more about the science and psychology behind it. An example of this is the placebo effect, which is a medically practiced technique where a patient is given a fake treatment, yet their health still improves. The “dummy” treatment can be a sugar pill instead of medicine or even a fake surgery. 

However, the effect can also be negative, such as expecting to become nauseous or in pain. The effect is based on a patient’s belief or expectation for the treatment to cause positive or negative physical effects.  

There are other physical effects related to manifestation, too. “What we know about neural connections and neural firing is that the more you think about something, learn about something, etc, those neural pathways get strengthened and require less energy to fire, and can become more automatic,” said Ms. Williams, the AP Psychology teacher at Sage. 

Another example of manifestation is self-fulfilling prophecies, in which someone has a belief about the future and takes action to confirm their belief. A placebo effect is a type of self-fulfilling prophecy. Unfortunately, these beliefs can also be negative, such as negative cultural stereotyping, where someone picks select facts about a group of people to paint them in a negative light. 

An argument disproving manifestation is framing it more in the sense of spiritual thinking, such as putting positive energy into the universe or treating it as magical thinking. Some real-world factors and elements affect us every day. We can’t control other people who affect our success, and the world doesn’t slow down for one person. 

Just hoping for something to happen won’t get you anywhere; it takes commitment and action. It can work against you if you manifest something to come to fruition, only for nothing to happen due to a lack of real effort. This can lead to someone losing motivation and not adapting to failure, causing negative feedback. 

Then, is manifestation a true tactic to achieve your wishes and desires, or is it just misleading spiritual nonsense that conditions someone to failure? The determining factor is how one decides to manifest. If you imagine your goals and opportunities to be handed to you through pure belief, you are unlikely to achieve what you want. 

However, if you combine the belief with commitment and action, your hopes will become reachable, and you will become more successful in what you want. To answer the question, manifestation is real, but it’s not magical.