The art of manifesting: How to align mind, science and soul

Want to master the art of manifesting? In this blog we’ll unpack the mechanisms behind manifestation through neuroscience and psychology, so you can learn how to align your mind, science and soul to create whatever you’d love to create in your life (as told by a hypnotherapist and mindset coach).

What is manifestation?

Firstly, let’s cover off what manifestation is. 

Manifestation is the process of bringing your desires, goals, or intentions into reality by focusing your thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and actions toward them. It’s based on the idea that what you consistently visualize, affirm, and align your energy with, you attract or create in your life.

It combines mindset, intention-setting, and often subconscious programming (like visualisation or affirmations) to help you act in alignment with your desired future.

In short: Manifestation is turning thought into reality through belief, focus, and aligned action.

Manifestation: Beyond wishful thinking

I was introduced to the concept of manifestation in my mid 20s. I was anxious, negatively wired, yet ambitious, and I’ve always wondered what the meaning of life was, why I was here, and I’ve always thought there must be more than meets the eye when it comes to life. 

I read The Secret (a well-known book on manifestation), and the concept blew my mind. 

It opened up a world of possibilities, and was the first time I was introduced to the idea that the quality of my thoughts and my mindset had a huge impact on the reality I was creating for myself. 

That’s what sparked my own personal growth journey, and the rest is history, really. I started working on my mindset, thoughts and self-belief, and my life started changing in the best possible way.

I became a world champion bikini bodybuilding athlete, travelled the world, started multiple businesses and almost doubled my income within a few years! 

While I’m not saying that you can manifest yourself a Ferrari by the flick of your magic wand (like it implies in The Secret book), what I am advocating for is how your mind and thoughts on a daily basis shape your reality and determine your outcomes in life, so to manifest, you need to think the right thoughts, instill the right beliefs, and take aligned action. 

Let’s cover why this works. 

Where pseudoscience meets science 

Because I’m an analytical thinker just as much as I am a creative one, it sparked me to do my own research into why manifestation is a thing and how it really works, by blending neuroscience and psychology with the seemingly ‘woo-woo’ idea of manifestation. 

Manifestation is often portrayed as a mystical process, but emerging research in neuroscience and psychology reveals tangible mechanisms that underpin this practice. 

By understanding how our brain filters information and adapts to new patterns, we can harness these insights to align our thoughts, emotions, and actions toward desired outcomes (this is what I specialise in working with my clients on in my She Thrives Coaching & Hypnotherapy program!). 

So let’s look at pseudoscience alongside science, to master the art of manifesting. 

The Reticular Activation System: Your brain's filter

The Reticular Activation System (RAS) is a network of neurons located in the brainstem that plays a crucial role in regulating wakefulness and attention. 

It acts as a filter, determining which sensory information reaches our conscious awareness. This is important because we are surrounded by an insane amount of stimuli at any given moment, and this filter allows us to focus. 

For example, when you’re in a busy restaurant, the RAS is what enables you to hear and focus your attention on your hot date in front of you, rather than hearing all the commotion and tuning into all the conversations happening around you at once. 

Have you ever wanted to buy a silver car and then suddenly you see them EVERYWHERE? It’s like every woman and her dog owns a silver car now. But it’s not because the silver cars weren't there before, you just weren’t aware of them before, and now your RAS is looking out for them, because they’re in your conscious awareness. 

The same thing applies to how your day goes. Have you ever started off the morning not so great, maybe you spilled your coffee down your white shirt, and said to yourself ‘Welp, today’s going to be a shit day!’ and then your day DOES ACTUALLY TURN TO SHIT? 

Thank your own mind for that. It’s on the look out for things to prove you right, always. So if you want to look for and create bad things in your day, that’s the filter in which you will see your day play out. 

What does this tell us? 

When we focus intently on specific goals or desires, the RAS prioritises related stimuli, making us more attuned to opportunities aligned with our objectives. So it’s important we’re feeding it good stuff to look out for, not bad stuff. Capiche? 

Manifestation isn’t just for the big things and the big dreams. You are manifesting all day long. So what are you manifesting right now based on where your head is at? 

Are you manifesting a crap day or a great day? Because what we focus our attention on grows. 

Confirmation bias and the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’

Confirmation bias is the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories, which creates a “self-fulfilling prophecy”. 

Our brain naturally does this for us whether we like it or not. If we believe something is true (whether it’s a positive or negative belief doesn’t matter), our brain will do its best to try and prove us right by focusing on perceived ‘evidence’ that supports our expectations, and filtering out anything that goes against it. 

Our brain always wants our reality to align with our values and beliefs and what we focus on, so we end up meeting our own expectations by creating exactly what we believe about ourselves because of our expectations. 

For example: If we believe that we’re bad at maths, our brain will look for evidence to confirm this belief. 

Our brains are wired to confirm what we believe and see (confirmation bias), so it will then seek out ways to turn your vision into reality. 

Priming the subconscious mind

Priming is a psychological phenomenon in which exposure to a stimulus influences how a person responds to a later stimulus—often without conscious awareness. It's part of how our brains process information quickly by creating mental shortcuts.

In manifestation practices (e.g., visualisation, affirmations, vision boards which we’ll cover soon), you're essentially consciously priming your mind with certain thoughts, images, or beliefs so they influence your subconscious behavior, decisions, and attention.

This works through a concept called selective attention: when your brain is primed to focus on certain thoughts or desires, you're more likely to notice opportunities, people, and decisions that align with that focus—without even realizing it. This is similar to the Reticular Activating System (RAS) filtering information that’s relevant to your goals.

To sum it up: 

• Priming influences us subconsciously. It can shift our behaviours, decisions, perceptions, and even abilities.

• Our minds are highly suggestible—meaning the content we consume, the words we repeat, and the environments we place ourselves in shape our default thoughts and responses.

• Priming = training your subconscious to believe and act as if your desired reality is already true.

So to manifest something, you need to be priming your mind for it as often as possible. 

Creative visualisation and mental rehearsal for manifestation 

Creative visualisation, also known as mental rehearsal, is a powerful tool. It’s been used by athletes for many years, and it works for achieving our goals too. 

There have been plenty of studies that have shown that the brain can’t tell the difference between what’s real and imagined, and that by simply visualising something, like playing piano, it can actually improve our abilities. 

Studies on the power of visualisation 

A study "Visualisation techniques in sport–the mental road map for success” found that athletes of the highest level in many sports (athletics, football, baseball, tennis, golf, rugby, skiing, gymnastics, swimming, basketball etc.) use visualisation techniques to improve motor skills, grow muscle strength, increase self confidence, attention concentration and decrease anxiety. 

Through the use of visualisation, pain management, endurance, performance motivation and physical performance can also be enhanced in athletes. 

Another study examined the effects of positive visualisation on strength training. Student-athletes were asked to positively visualise themselves performing lifts that they physically executed frequently in their training regimen (bench-press, back squat, clean or deadlift). 

A directionality analysis demonstrated that, compared to athletes who did not, participants who positively visualised had a significant increase in weight moved during a lift. 

The positively visualising group demonstrated a 10-15 lb. increase in weight moved, while the control group only demonstrated a 5 lb. increase. 

The study found that athletes are more successful when incorporating positive visualisation into their training.

Plenty of other studies have been done on visualisation and its positive effects on performance. 

This study on the effects of Mental Practice on performance of pianists found that Mental Practice (visualisation) improves actual motor performance, although not to the same extent as physical practice. 

In summary: Our minds can’t tell the difference between what’s real and imagined when we visualise with detail and use our senses and emotions. Therefore, simply by imagining something, you can change your physiology and your outcomes in life. 

Are you beginning to see the science and psychology behind manifestation now? I hope so! 

How to visualise properly  

According to studies, to achieve the best results, visualisation techniques should include the five major senses (touch, hearing, sight, smell and taste) and should consider key aspects such as perspective, emotion, environment, task and timing. 

For example: to visualise: 

1. Set a clear goal, such as landing a job interview for your dream job.

2. Visualise yourself preparing for the interview, sitting in the waiting room, and hearing your name called.

3. Try to “feel” every moment as if it were really happening, from answering tough questions well, to accepting the job offer.

4. Imagine what you could see, hear, smell and even taste. See the event in your mind’s eye detail by detail.

5. Feel the great emotion of being offered the job and what that would be like. 

Need help? Download my 10-minute morning guided manifestation self-hypnosis meditation from my shop!  

How to ‘manifest’ (a simple 5-step process)

How to ‘manifest’ using the RAS and self-fulfilling prophecy in 5 simple steps: 

1. Write it down (get clear on what you would LOVE to create)

2. Read it silently

3. Read it out loud

4. Visualise it with the senses 

5. REPEAT 

Effective manifesting techniques 

To effectively harness the power of manifestation, consider integrating the following practices into your daily routine:

• Visualisation/mental rehearsal: Regularly imagine your goals as already achieved, engaging all your senses to create a vivid mental picture. Use my visualisation self-hypnosis meditations if you prefer a guided experience.
  

• Vision board, scripting, or a mind movie: Create a digital or physical vision board with everything you want to manifest, write a journal entry as if it’s already happened, or use Canva to create a mind movie video of everything you want to manifest, and look at these/read daily.
  

• Affirmations: Use positive, present-tense statements to reinforce your intentions and beliefs. Read them, or listen to them, ideally daily.
  

• Hypnotherapy/self-hypnosis: This is like visualisation on steroids, which primes your mind and programs your subconscious for changing habits/behaviours and aligning with the outcome/s you want. Learn more about hypnotherapy.
  

• Journaling: “What would I LOVE to create?” Document your goals, progress, and any synchronicities you notice, reinforcing your commitment and awareness.
  

Tips for more effective manifestation 

Manifest first thing in the morning and before sleep: 

First thing in the morning your brain is in the theta–alpha brainwave state—deeply relaxed, impressionable, and not yet overwhelmed by the day.

Before sleep your brain is transitioning from beta (alert) to alpha and theta states, making the subconscious more open to suggestion.

Build belief and trust: 

You can visualise what you want and do your affirmations until the cows come home, but if you don’t truly BELIEVE them your subconscious mind will reject it and you’ll stay in the same place. Work on shifting your belief systems and building trust in yourself and that your dreams will manifest. 

Watch your language: 

Be mindful of the language you choose and use (internally and externally) that are limiting you.

For example, ‘try’ implies failure to the subconscious mind. Instead of: I’m trying to get a new job. Say: I’m getting a new job.

Instead of focusing on what you don’t want, focus on what you’d love to create (not what you want - the word want indicates separation and lack). 

Take aligned action: 

Manifestation doesn't happen without action. It's up to you to take action that aligns with your goals, and that means going for the opportunities that present themselves even when it's scary. It's about stepping outside your comfort zone and becoming the sort of person who achieves their goals.

Don't just sit on your a$$ and wait for things to come to you, go out there and make it happen!

You got this! I believe in you 100%.

Get manifesting! 

Now you’ve got some tips and tricks for getting started with your own manifestation practice, and you know a bit about the science behind it, why not start right now?

Shop my self-hypnosis meditations to get started. 

If you want to take this topic deeper with 1:1 support, book a free consult with me – I’m a certified life coach, hypnotherapist, NLP and somatic practitioner who specialises in helping ambitious peeps like you to reinvent themselves from the inside-out and achieve their biggest goals.  

If this blog resonated with you, be sure to check out the Finally Thriving Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts for more conversations on healing, growth, and reclaiming your confidence.🎙️✨

Thanks for reading! If you want more, check out my other blogs, follow me on TikTok: @janelle.keesue and Instagram: @janellekeesue.coaching