“Anyone who doesn’t believe in miracles is not a realist.”
David Ben-Gurion
The above picture is from my wedding a few months ago. I had long dreamed of having a traditional wedding, complete with big poofy dress and elegant scenery. I got to have it exactly as I always wanted, and I looked like the princess I always wanted to be.
It was then followed by a wonderful honeymoon in Hawaii.
Then by finding and buying the ideal house in ideal circumstances (with far, far too many happy coincidences to be believable).
In perfect timing, a new income opportunity presented itself with ease and basically started running itself while I was still breathless from the house.
I am not sharing this to brag, though when things start going this well there is a desire to tell the world. Rather, as a somewhat successful student of manifestation, I have come to greater clarity about it and a deeper teaching to share.
The clarity is that there are levels to manifestation, and you have to start where you are in order to advance. The reality is of course more nuanced than that, but this idea can be considered a starting point.
Level 1 – Need
This is the level when you don’t have enough money, or are otherwise struggling. Such struggle is equivalent to not getting enough sleep. You simply can’t function at a “higher vibration” because the survival level need will undercut your efforts.
This level operates by fight or flight, and does not do higher reason. I’ve experienced it at multiple times in my life, but most noticeably when I first moved to Portland. I had no job, money, or friends, was overweight and deeply anxious.
I also was very spiritual and meditated every day, but I struggled in a key way until I got my first full-time job.
When here you have to get a job and take other concrete physical steps in order to meet the base need of security. Once that is in place you can add on top of it, but without a fundamental level of support no amount of flowery language or high-minded ideas will help. In fact, those ideas may hurt as they can be used as a means of escapism to avoid the real tasks your life demands.
Actions: If you need money get a job. If you’re in poor health take care of your body. Essentially, take physical actions to support your physical needs.
Qualities: The most useful internal qualities to cultivate at this level are reliability and friendliness. These will open the most doors with the most ease. I recommend practicing mindfulness meditation and regular self-care in order to develop them.
Level 2 – Want
This is when you have your basics covered and can relax a little. You have a life that’s moving along, it may be a little bumpy but you feel okay on a day-to-day basis.
There’s also a deeper want here, a desire for something more fulfilling. You might crave purpose or direction, or more meaningful relationships. You might feel “stuck” in some way. This is when you can start working with higher-minded ideas because you are in a higher-minded place.
Most people will identify primarily with this stage.
Actions: Ask, “What helps me feel alive?” and base your goals and activities on the things that answer this question. You can keep your day job while exploring avenues that may lead to a more fulfilling career and life.
Qualities: Motivation and peace. Motivation to help you stay out of the ditches of complacency, where you settle for a life that’s less than what you want. Peace to help you enjoy what you have and become more grounded in the energy of “having”, which is how you advance to Level 3.
Level 3 – Have
This is where I am now. It’s a sweet spot of flow where everything works not just with ease, but with a natural momentum toward the best possible outcome. I didn’t just find a house in my price range amid a market of raging bidding wars, it’s the ideal house. It’s perfectly maintained, everything on my wish list, and near the same neighborhood where I currently live.
Then Britain left the European Union, and somehow this more than halved our closing costs.
Then we got additional credits back on payments already made, and can expect a check in the mail after we close (it feels a little like being paid to move in).
And that’s just the story of the house. The stories of the honeymoon and wedding before that are equally miraculous. Not to mention job changes and more. There has been such a noticeable, unrelenting stream of improbable good luck for the last three years it is at a level where no rational observer can dismiss it as mere coincidence.
This is the nature of the third level, when the details of life meet you in such a way that it feels effortless.
Actions: Being in flow. Clicked into an inner sense of “rightness”, where you do something because you intuitively know it’s time, even if your rational mind is confused. It’s being Forrest Gump and simple enough to start running just because it’s time to run.
Qualities: Gratitude and trust. Gratitude to fully allow the experience of having, and trust that your intuitive knowing is on track. It’s also trusting when things don’t go your way. For example, my husband Scott lost his job directly after we got pre-approval for a mortgage loan. We both knew it would be okay and actually felt like it was good news. It turned out to be, as he got a better job with better hours, a signing bonus and competitive pay, but there was a two month interlude of waiting for it to show up while spending our money on the upcoming wedding.
Notice that in discussing these levels I do not mention much about emotions or vibration. This is because thinking about them isn’t particularly useful or necessary when getting into the realities of how manifestation works. For example, I still have bad habits, frequently worry other people don’t like me, and am ridiculously skillful at being unhappy.
In fact, many if not all of the things I set up as “I have to fix this in order to have the life I want” have proven not to be true because I haven’t managed to fix any of them.
Instead I got to a point where my basic necessities were met, struggled for a while to be happy, then stopped struggling and started going.
In order to get to Level 3 you have to master Levels 1 and 2 first. Similar to how abstract artists first learn to paint with realistic detail, Level 3 can fly because first it walked.
Also, people never stop taking Level 1 actions, but they become increasingly more playful in feeling and less caught up in results. I’m currently a full time student finishing my BA while running my business and in the middle of moving. My schedule is insane. But it feels effortless because I rest in the miracle.
At the same time, most people have a “talent” for something, an area where they experience Level 3 flow without consciously trying. Someone I know who’s struggled in most areas of her life can always find a parking spot, whether it’s downtown during rush hour or a crowed parking lot. Someone else I know had a career open at her feet while continuing to have trouble with relationships.
Life gives you what you show up for and are willing to embrace, both in action and in heart.
Different areas of your life will be at different levels of manifestation at the same time. Noticing and appreciating the things that flow in your life can help you address the areas of need and want, because you embrace your ability to have.
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