Vishen Lakhiani explains why manifestation works: it's not about wanting things, but about becoming the person who already has them. Spiritual teacher Michael Beckwith called the Law of Attraction "bunk" and introduced the Law of Resonance instead. Real change comes from identity, not goals.
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I used to think I got manifesting, and I bet you do too. But for me, the big aha came one morning in 2019 in Portugal. I happened to have the opportunity to sit down for breakfast with a living legend, the Reverend Michael Beckwith. He's been featured in The Secret, bestselling author. So I'm sitting down with Michael, he's about to speak on stage at my event. We're having breakfast, and I needed to use this opportunity to tap his brain and suck out his wisdom. So I asked him, "It's been 20 years since you've been in The Secret, and if you could look back at the last 2 decades, what would you change about your advice?" And Michael looked up at me and he said, "The Law of Attraction is bunk." My heart sank. What? That was why I was having this man get on stage in the first place. So I told Michael, "Well, what's the correct response?" And Michael goes, It is not about the law of attraction. Rather, the universe operates based on the law of resonance. You see, Vishen, the universe does not care what you want. It doesn't give you what you want, but it will reflect back to you who you are. Resonance. This was a powerful idea. Michael Beckwith was essentially saying that it's not about wanting, it's about being. The universe is forced to reflect back to you your identity, your attitudes, your mindset, the essence of who you are. And if you go further in this idea, if you pick up that bestselling book, Atomic Habits by James Clear, James Clear speaks about this in relation to habit. He says, if you're trying to take on a good habit, people do it in one of three ways. There is process, there is outcome, there is identity. Now process is basically this. I'm gonna wake up Monday, Wednesday, Friday and hit the gym at 7:00 AM. There will be Mondays and Wednesdays and Fridays when you will wake up and it's going to be cold and you're going to want to wrap yourself in that blanket and go, "No, I need some self-love. I read that sleep is so important. I cannot make the gym." You will abandon that. A slightly better way, according to James, which increases your odds of hitting your goal is outcome. You give yourself a target. I'm going to drop 5 kilograms. That's slightly better. You are more likely to wake up and hit the gym because you have a target. But there are still going to be days when you're going to question your sanity for pushing yourself to wake up at 7 AM, cycle through the snow, and lift weights. But the best way, according to James, is identity, not process, not outcome. Identity is the answer. Look at these circles that he drew in his book. He said, take on the identity that you love exercise and that you're an athlete. An identity such as, I have the body of an athlete and I love to move. I love exercise. Identity construction is the secret. So whether you look at it from habit psychology or law of resonance and spiritual psychology, the answer is same. It is about identity. So my question to you is, what is your identity? What do you believe about yourself? What do you accept as your truth? What is true for you? Because that is the secret for manifesting. Now, at Mindvalley's Manifesting Summit, we bring in incredible teachers that go deeper into these ideas. Our summit is free this year. Last year it was $49 to attend on Zoom and about $500 to attend in person in LA. This year it's all virtual and it's completely free. If you found this interesting, join us.
