“Just pretend that you already have it!” By now, everybody has heard that phrase.
And everybody knows the term “Manifestation.” With manifestation you can have everything you want… or not? By some definitions, manifestation means “an event, action, or object that clearly shows or embodies something abstract or theoretical.” But what does that even mean?
Manifestation asserts that we can achieve our dream life just by believing in it. No action, just thinking and affirming.
On TikTok, we have thousands of master manifestors offering (expensive) coaching and (expensive) classes on achieving your dream life just by rewiring your brain. It is that easy, right? Right?!
Every manifestation coach says that manifesting is the easiest thing in the world. I mean, according to all the experts you just have to feel like you have it. So why do people still not have it all?
Is manifesting just a delusional coping mechanism or real science? And why do only people from the West profit from it?
I, myself, manifest every day, and I can say that even with all the odds against me, I have managed to get many things I wanted. Were those only coincidences? No, surely not, right? I mean, I am not the only one—others have managed to manifest things they want, too (according to their profiles, at least).
The first rule of manifestation is: Ignore the 3D, keep pretending and persisting.
But I cannot help it. I cannot shake the feeling that there is something wrong. It is just like Jaden Smith said: “Can we please talk about the political and economical state of the world right now?”
War, poverty, hunger, genocide, human trafficking, terrorism, rape, mass femicides, and school shootings. This is the real state of the world right now.
I wonder, and I am sure that I am not the only one, that if manifesting is real science, how come we have not achieved world peace. Because by the logic that master manifestors use, we should already have it, no? Does nobody want world peace? How come nobody is manifesting it?
I know I am, right now, disobeying the first rule. I am not ignoring the 3D, I am embracing it. I sit on the coach, write on my iPad Pro, I eat, and I drink. Which is funny, since I am manifesting a better life than the one I currently have, but this exact scene is someone else’s dream life. See how weird and dystopian it is? My country is not in a war, I have a stable home and food (yes, I mean I am still from a working class family and a woman of color and I see my parents struggle with the bills every day and also see them praying to God as well), but still, I have everything someone else wants.
My biggest wish is world peace, so how come we do not have it yet? Is manifestation only individual? Can it only be applied to individuals and not to world events? Is that the loophole? Because if we are being honest, the people living in war zones—Are they not praying for the end of war, safe shelter, and a stable government?
I am not a master at manifesting by any means. I have been struggling to manifest the things I want since 2022, and I think that has been my problem the whole time. I do not understand manifestation, because how come someone can manifest their dream car but not the end of a war they are facing?
Jasmin Acikgöz is a 20-year-old Turkish-German writer, born in Germany. She graduated from high school in June 2025. She uses writing as a way to explore emotions and questions of identity, her work often involves around social issues and experiences she has made in life so far. She’s currently on a spiritual journey.
Featured image by Pablo Heimplatz on Unsplash.
