“There is no failure, only Divine Redirection... Each failure is a progression forward with the grand framework of our inevitable, complete success. Every disappointment, every failure, is guiding you in silence to your intended destiny.””

— Chin-Ning Chu, "Do Less, Achieve More"

So, you want something out of life. You think about it all the time, but nothing comes of it. If you don't manifest your dreams, it may seem like there are forces working against you. If you are stuck in a rut, it may feel overwhelming to believe that positive change will occur.

This article takes a look at WHY reflection is the first step to manifesting your dream life.

My Manifesting Journey

I began my manifesting journey in 2016 when I was a new mom. I was feeling lost and suffering from a pervasive sense of melancholy. I felt empty and dull. The thing I wanted most was a sense of purpose and sustainable joy. I didn’t even know what I wanted to manifest.

That’s when I created the first version of the Vision Crafting Method.

The goal of Vision Crafting is to create a detailed mental picture of your dream life so your heart and soul know what you truly desire. Only then can the Universe begin to conspire in fulfilling your wishes.

Vision Crafting looks at life from nine different perspectives in order to identify clear goals. I call these areas of your life, The Nine Realms. This allows you to break down your life so you can reflect on specific areas and design detailed visions of your dreams.

Six months after starting my Vision Crafting journey, my melancholy was gone. I still wasn’t clear on my purpose, but I had goals I was working toward. And, I could reflect on my vision and see that I had evidence that my dreams were coming true. I began to see myself as the author of my own life.

A year later, I finally felt confident about which direction to focus on. I had a clear sense of what I wanted to do with my career (in that season of my life). I also began to actively manifest a cross-country move to New York, as well as a Grand-Family Homestead.

In 2018 my husband, our twin boys, and my parents moved to a gorgeous home in the Hudson Valley. I was confidently working on Magical Homemaking, stepping ever more boldly into my role as spiritual mentor.

In 2020 we bought our homestead, 20 acres of land with two homes joined by a breezeway. These are the big things that I manifested, but in-between were things like date-nights with my husband, beautiful clothes, art supplies, paying clients, a wood stove, and health improvements.

Why Reflection is the first step in the Vision Crafting Method.

1) Get clear on where you are, currently.

Without reflection, it’s like looking up directions with out a starting location. You can’t get from A to B if you don’t know where A is. It is important to take an honest look at how your life is. There are several clues imbedded in the joy and sadness of your current state.

2) Honor Your Feelings

First of all, it’s ok to be sad. Many teachers will focus on positive thinking without acknowledging a person’s suffering. Suppressing your emotions will only make them fester. Mental and emotional wellness depends on acknowledging your pain and accepting it as part of your journey.

Your discontent, frustration, and irritation are helpful signs. Your anger and sadness reveal where your life is out of alignment. If you ignore these emotions, you bypass their teachings and the possibility for growth.

How can we ever improve the situation if we don’t know what’s going wrong? And this is where your next step comes in. Once you’ve become aware of what isn’t working, you have to start finding out what IS working for you!

3) Look for Clues To Your Purpose

I used to hope that one day, someone would tell me my purpose, and then I would suddenly be happy doing that work. But, purpose is not something we find! It is something we develop over time. YOU CREATE YOUR PURPOSE. Look to your joy, your talents, and your curiosity. These are the moments when you were living in alignment with your purpose. These are the kinds of experiences that make a dream life.

4) Recognize Your Overwhelming Abundance

My family lived in Ukraine in 1998, not long after the wall fell. When we first got there I was struck by how little people owned. Most people lived in tiny apartment buildings with very few luxuries and just enough food to get through a day or two. Fruit juice was considered a luxury. Everyone hung their clothes to dry. Few people had vacuum cleaners or even washing machines. My family moved to Ukraine with only two suitcases per person. And yet, we felt rich. Many people would have considered where we lived a third-world country. This was my first experience living with less.

The truth is that we all have so much more than we realize. However, most people live their lives unaware that they are abundant and don't even know what real abundance feels like inside them. It has been said that our thoughts create our experience of life. And when we focus on lack, then lack is what we experience in our lives. That is why so many people struggle to manifest abundance into their lives—because they are tuned into lack consciousness rather than on experiencing true abundance in their life.

Gratitude is the key. Gratitude creates a positive cycle of emotion around the things that we have to be grateful for in our lives. This can lead to a stronger focus and determination on manifesting our goals and dreams. Reflecting on all that is good in life, reminds us that in many ways we are already living the dream life. And this is the trick to manifesting!!! If you live in a constant state of wanting, wanting, wanting, the Law of Attraction creates further experiences of wanting. BUT, if you focus on appreciation and love - the Universe brings you more to love and appreciate.

When to do Reflection?

Energetically reflection is extra powerful at the end of a cycle, right before starting a new cycle. For example: the dark moon, Winter Solstice, New Year’s Eve, the end of the week, month or season.

Always trust your intuition. The Reflection phase of Vision Crafting can be done at any time.

This year I did the “It’s Ok to be Sad” reflection in the morning, took a break, and did the High-Vibe Reflection in the evening.

Because The Nine Realms correspond with the Seasonal Celebrations of the year, I also recommend reflecting on different realms at different times of the year. Reflect on your JOY at the Spring Equinox. On the Fall Equinox, review how FAMILY life is going. Early February is a good time to reflect on your CREATIVITY, and ABUNDANCE would be the focus of early August.