Key Takeaways
- 1Manifestation is not a trend, it is the way your repeated thoughts and words train your brain to look for certain outcomes.
- 2The reticular activating system acts like a filter that highlights whatever story you tell about your life most often.
- 3Prayer and manifestation follow a very similar rhythm: speak it, trust it, release it, then move in alignment with it.
- 4Different spiritual practices or cultures are not automatically harmful, and curiosity can live next to faith.
- 5Changing one repeated sentence about yourself can shift the way you feel, the choices you make, and the reality you start to notice.
If you have ever typed "is manifestation real or just fake" into Google while you scroll in bed or ride in the passenger seat, this one is for you. I filmed this during a solo road trip from Florida to Georgia, somewhere between Wawa breakfast and my favorite wing spot in Atlanta, and my brain went straight into the science behind manifestation, prayer, and why words matter so much. I have spent years creating content about self love, mindset, and personal growth, so you already know I care a lot about how we talk to ourselves.
Picture this. It is just you, the highway, your snacks, and your thoughts. No one else in the car, just you and your brain for six hours. At some point the music gets old, the podcasts go quiet, and you start hearing your own thoughts a lot louder. That is when you really notice what you believe about money, faith, goals, and what is “possible” for you.
On this drive I found myself ranting about manifestation, religion, yoga, and why people call things “evil” just because they are different. So now you get the cleaned up version, without the part where I almost dropped my camera when a cop showed up next to me on the ramp.
What do I actually mean when I say “manifestation”?
People treat manifestation like a trend. Cute Pinterest boards, crystals, pretty journals, “lucky girl syndrome.” That is one side. Then there is the other side that hears the word and instantly thinks “wrong,” “scary,” or “not in my faith.”
Here is how I see it. Manifestation is not some special club. You are already doing it all day long. Every thought, every story you repeat, every line you say about yourself and your life turns into a filter on your brain.
Think about stuff you say without even thinking:
- “I never have money.”
- “People always leave.”
- “Good things never last for me.”
Your brain hears that on repeat and says, “Cool, got it. Let me look for proof.”
That is manifestation. Not the aesthetic version. The regular, everyday version.
What is the reticular activating system and how does it fit in?
Here is the nerdy part. Inside your brain you have something called the reticular activating system. I know that sounds like a robot, but stay with me.
This part of your brain acts like a bouncer at the door of your attention. Out of everything happening around you, it decides what feels “relevant.” It listens to what you focus on and repeats.
If I tell you, “Notice every red car for the rest of the day,” you will suddenly see red cars everywhere. Did a bunch of people buy red cars at once? No. Your brain just moved red cars higher on the priority list.
Now swap “red cars” for “I am broke,” “no one likes me,” or “everything goes wrong for me.” Your brain starts scanning for proof that those lines are true. Not since you are cursed, but since that is the script you handed it.
The flip side is real too:
- “I always figure it out.”
- “I attract kind people.”
- “There is room for me.”
Say those often, then your reticular activating system starts looking for proof of that instead. That shift is what people call manifestation. It feels mystical, but the process is very human.
Is manifestation against God, prayer, or religion?
Here is where people get tense. Some hear the word “manifest” and instantly think “you are trying to play God.” For many, prayer feels “safe” and manifestation feels “wrong,” even though the structure looks very similar.
When you pray, you speak from faith, you ask for something, you trust the timing, and you release it. When you “manifest,” you affirm something, you hold the vision, you trust the timing, and you release it. Different language, very similar rhythm.
I am not here to tell you what to believe. I am not religious myself, and I respect that people land in different places. I just want you to see that using your words with intention does not suddenly turn you into some villain. You already do it when you say, “God is going to make a way for me.” That is you speaking a future into the present.
If prayer feels right for you, keep praying. If affirmations feel natural, use them. If both feel aligned, you can hold both. The key part is the trust behind the words and the way you move after you say them.
Is yoga or eastern spirituality “bad” by default?
This came up on that drive too. I talked about yoga and Buddhism and how fast people slap the word “demonic” on anything that did not start in their hometown or their church.
Yoga came from a part of the world with different languages, different customs, and different names for the creator. Stretching your body and breathing with intention does not suddenly make you a bad person. Different does not equal harmful.
Same with Buddhism. When you actually read about it, so much of it lines up with what a lot of people say they value already:
- Kindness
- Non judgment
- Letting go instead of clinging
- Looking within instead of pointing fingers
You can visit a temple, sit in a church, watch a sermon online, meditate on your floor, and still hold your own relationship with God or source. Curiosity does not cancel your faith.
How do you use all of this in real life?
This is cute in theory, but you need something concrete. So here is how I use this on a regular Tuesday.
1. Catch yourself when you talk in lack
Listen to the way you talk about money, love, time, and your future. When you hear yourself say, “I can’t afford that” or “things never work out for me,” pause and rewrite it.
Shift it to:
- “I choose not to spend on that right now.”
- “I am learning to pick things that support me.”
Same reality, different story. Your brain will start scouting for proof of the new story.
2. Match the version of you that already has what you want
Pick one thing you want. A healthy relationship, a stable car, a new city, a steady creative career.
Ask, “How would the version of me who already has that move?”
Maybe she:
- Treats her body with more care
- Talks to herself with more respect
- Sends the email instead of spiraling
- Saves slowly instead of telling herself it is impossible
Start with tiny moves. Walk like you already belong in the life you want. That is not fake. That is alignment.
3. Stay open instead of scared
When you hear something new about spirituality, yoga, or any practice you did not grow up with, let curiosity answer first instead of fear.
You can say:
- “Let me read about this.”
- “Let me listen before I judge.”
- “I can take what feels right and leave the rest.”
Closed minds rarely create soft lives. Open eyes and open hearts create space for real peace.
A challenge for your next “mental road trip”
You might not be driving six hours to your favorite chicken spot today, but your brain is still going on its own road trip.
For the next week, pick one sentence you are no longer available to say about yourself. Maybe it is “I am behind,” “I am hard to love,” or “I will never figure this out.”
Then pick one new sentence that feels loving and believable. Repeat it out loud, write it in a note on your phone, pray it, affirm it, sing it if you have to.
You do not control every detail of your life. You do control the script you hand your brain. That script shapes what you see next. So talk to yourself like someone you want to see win.
