Ok people, it’s time to get back to basics. For those of you who are new to this Law of Attraction game, today’s post will help you get a much more solid understanding of how manifesting the reality you want actually works. Those of you who’ve been around the metaphysical block a few times, well, it’s never a bad idea to review the simple stuff (especially if you have a tendency to overthink things. You know who you are…)

If you’ve read my (totally freaking free, so go download it now if you haven’t already) e-book, you’ll know that the reason I named this site and my whole business Deliberate Receiving, instead of Deliberate Creating, is because it’s not about the creating part. We create all day long. We can’t help it. We don’t really need any assistance with that. The problems arise in the delivery – we could get what we want, it was created the second we discerned (consciously or otherwise) that we wanted it, but for some reason we’re receiving some other crappy situation, instead. What gives?

What gives is that we’ve forgotten how to receive properly. We were told that things don’t just come to us; we have to go out and MAKE them happen. Money doesn’t grow on trees and no one owes us anything and people are selfish bastards who won’t help us, and if we aren’t willing to suffer and sacrifice, we’ll never get anywhere. We don’t receive, we grab and take, and eke out and scrounge for, and gather, and scrape together, and work for, and suffer for, and beg for, and demand… There’s nothing easy or elegant or balanced about it. This is war, us against them, there’s only so much to go around, and if you don’t hurry, there’ll be none left for you. So, get in there, use your knees and elbows, and go and get yours! Unless you’re a “good person”. Then you let everyone else get theirs first, while you silently resent those who serve themselves. Sarcastic Side Note: Perhaps one day we will all be good people, passive aggressively offering each other food while we collectively starve to death.

What I just described is the basic snapshot of the average person’s belief system. It gives me great pleasure to get on my soapbox and declare that this paradigm, as one might call it, this particular way of looking at the world and how the Universe works, is utter and complete bullshit. What’s more, we know that it’s bullshit. We know, deep down, that the world doesn’t have to work this way (and it doesn’t, really). We want things to be easier. We want things to flow more. We want things to be more balanced. And we want to be more successful. Most people (not you, you’re special) just don’t remember what the alternative looks like. Until now (queue angelic choir).

How the Universe really works

In order to explain how Deliberate Receiving actually works, I’m going to use a metaphor (surprise!). If you’re new to this site, let me just warn you: I love me some metaphors.

Picture someone diving headfirst into a pile full of fluffy, smooshy, cuddly puppies, and just reveling in the sheer awesomeness of it all. That’s me with metaphors. It also works with actual puppies. Except metaphors don’t pee on you when they get excited. I seem to have gotten off track somewhere… Ah yes, the Universe. Here we go:

Deliberately receiving or “manifesting” what you want is a bit like shopping in a catalog. Some of us love catalog shopping. And some of us hate it. The difference between whether you love it or hate it, is the difference between living the life you want to lead or not. Let me explain, shall I?

How do you feel when you catalog shop?

We all have some kind of catalog that we love to look at, some guilty pleasure. Maybe it’s the Skymall Catalog on airplanes (I take them home. They’re just so fascinating). Or the Hammacher Schlemmer one, or some high end clothing catalog. What floats your boat? What makes you go all warm and gooey with dreamy pleasure? Think of that catalog now (or go and get it from under the bed. Go on, I won’t tell anyone). What does it feel like when you look at the images of the clothes or gadgets or whatchamacallits? Do you get all inspired? Do you dream of the version of you whose life includes the Accoustic Immersion Pod? Do you see yourself wearing all those amazing clothes, twirling around without a care in the world? Do your catalog and possibly catalog-fume induced daydreams make you feel all giddy?

Or do you feel this sense of dread and emptiness? Do you look at the clearly overpriced and often useless gadgets with disgust? Do you find it personally offensive that anyone would spend $2 million on a Personal Submarine? Ok, considering who I’m talking to here, you probably don’t feel anything close to offended, but you might not fall into daydreamy bliss every time you look at items that are currently a teensy bit out of your price range. Perhaps you feel something more akin to sadness, annoyance or irritation.

It all comes down to perception and attitude

The difference between enjoying your romp through consumer fantasy land or not, generally comes down to one thought: “I can’t afford it”.

If, while you’re looking at the glossy pages or websites full of goodies you want but don’t need but really, really want and will definitely someday have dammit, your predominant thought is one of poverty – if you believe that you can’t or won’t obtain your dreams, the whole exercise begins to feel just a little bit sucky. If, on the other hand, you’re willing to at least entertain the idea that you can and possibly even will have these items someday, your experience will be a lot more fun. So, your entire catalog shopping experience can be either ruined or turn into dreamy funland, depending on whether or not you believe you have the ability to someday own the goodies you’re ogling.

What the hell does this have to do with the law of attraction, you may be asking. Well, let me tell you: Manifestation is like catalog shopping.

A happy, shiny shopper –

• Feels inspired when she looks at what she wants
• Appreciates looking at the things she wants, or anything even close to it
• Doesn’t need all the pages to be filled with things she wants. She can appreciate even the stuff that isn’t directly for her
• Has a positive expectation that she will get what she wants, even if she’s not currently sure how
• Looks forward to the day when she’ll have it

A grumpy shopper –

• Feels sad, irritated or even angry when she looks at what she wants
• Criticizes the goods for being too expensive, too extravagant, unnecessary, etc.
• Actively looks for reasons why something isn’t going to fit into her life, and complains that the items that she doesn’t like are even in the damn catalog
• Doesn’t think she’ll ever get what she wants, because she can’t figure out how she’ll get it
• Looks forward to the day the shop goes up in flames

Bottom line

If you

• want something and you believe that you will get it,
• appreciate what you want and anything that even comes close to resembling what you want,
• don’t push against all the stuff you don’t want,
• create positive expectation and find a way to feel good even though it’s not here yet,
• don’t need to know HOW it will come to you

you will easily line up with whatever it is you want.

If you

• want something and do not believe that you’ll get it,
• criticize the thing you want and anything that comes close to it,
• demand that anything you don’t like be taken out of your reality so you don’t have to deal with it (and that NO ONE should have to deal with it, even if they like it. In fact, if they like it, they’re obviously sick, twisted weirdos),
• are full of dread (dread = negative expectation), and are miserable because you don’t have what you want,
• need to absolutely know how something will come to you in order to be able to believe that it can,

you’re going to be sitting there empty handed for a long, long time.

This is the basic formula for Deliberate Receiving, as seen through the lens of consumerism. Because I like to keep this shit relevant, y’all. You’re welcome.

P.S.: For you young’uns, a “catalog” is like an online shop, printed out on paper, sent to your house via snail mail. You can still find them in airplanes and any other place where the elderly gather or the internet doesn’t exist. And yes, we’re sorry for all the trees that were killed to facilitate the printing of these phone book sized advertisement delivery systems. But not for the dreams. We will never apologize for the dreams.