Our Wacky Wednesday radio show received a text from a listener who asked about the growing trend of manifestation journals that are being sold beside Christian devotionals in some stores. What is the best way to help someone who confuses manifestation journaling with authentic prayer?For those who never heard of it, manifestation journaling is not related in any way to prayer because it’s based in the New Age's Law of Attraction - the belief that our thoughts can bring something into reality simply by establishing the right expectations in our mind.
For example, as this Law of Attraction website explains, “Simply put, the Law of Attraction is the ability to attract into our lives whatever we are focusing on. It is believed that regardless of age, nationality, or religious belief, we are all susceptible to the laws which govern the Universe, including the Law of Attraction. It is the Law of Attraction that uses the power of the mind to translate whatever is in our thoughts and materialize them into reality. In basic terms, all thoughts turn into things eventually.”
This is exactly what manifesting journaling is all about. As this promoter explains, “A manifestation journal is one of the most powerful ways you can intentionally utilize the law of attraction, as well as cultivate daily inner peace.”
She recommends the “55” method which involves writing down what you want 55 times every day for 5 days. This wish should be written in the present tense, as if it has already been received. For example, when she was manifesting her house, she wrote, “I am loving living in a house surrounded by trees.”
She asserts: “The power of this method is that it not only ingrains the idea into your mind, but makes it feel real . . . I try to write my sentence so that it conjures both gratitude and excitement within me. The more positive emotion it conjures within you, the faster it will come into your reality.”
It’s one thing to have a dream and plan ways to achieve it, but manifestation journaling crosses the line between devising realistic plans and believing a dream can be achieved by concentrated thought.
As another promoter writes: “The goal of manifestation journaling is to create new neural networks and belief systems. By writing each goal and each experience in the present tense to convince your mind into thinking it’s already a reality. This primes your subconscious mind to be able to make the changes to achieve your goal while helping you shift self-identity. Remember, the goal here is to bring something into reality by establishing expectations.”
Manifestation journaling for Christians has the same problems as the Law of Attraction – it negates the action of God’s will and the need for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It essentially reduces the sacredness of our life’s purpose into a kind of DIY project. Instead of believing in God and His will for our lives, we simply create it for ourselves through the power of the mind and with the guidance and cooperation of the universe.
For this reason, manifestation journals are better suited to the “Fantasy” section of the bookstore, not on the same shelf as books meant to facilitate authentic Christian prayer.
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