By Rana Zalghout | Staff Writer
Love is an intense feeling of deep affection; it is considered a human need for many. Indeed, finding love is an immense desire for most people because it makes the individual feel safe, accepted, and cared for. However, there are many individuals who are incapable of finding their “soulmates,”. This leads to many just fantasizing about celebrity crushes or watching romantic movies that help them fill the void of being single. Nonetheless, finding and attracting a lover is much less complex nowadays because, as per social media influencers, people can easily attract their soulmates into their lives with manifestation.
Manifestation is a style of intention setting in which one concentrates one’s mind on a desired outcome until it occurs. The idea of manifestation has been prevalent since history in different forms. For instance, praying and wishing for certain things from God is considered a form of manifestation.
In the past two years, the trends of manifesting money, love, success and so many other desires have been all over social media. Gen Z, in particular, has learned how to manifest on TikTok. For instance, TikTok content creators who deem that they are spiritual advise their audience to use certain manifestation methods to attract their soulmates into their lives. The manifestation methods vary across the platform, such as the whisper method, the window method, repeating the phrase “I don’t chase, I attract”, the perfume method, the “O” method, or listening to a specific song that makes your crush text you. Another manifestation style is buying a rose quartz crystal and keeping it wherever you go so you carry with you a “love energy”. Even though these manifestation techniques have crucial differences, there is one similarity that permits individuals to achieve their dreams; intention. In fact, manifestation revolves around setting an intention of what you want and believing that the universe is going to make it come to reality.
When this manifestation trend first became popular, many people on TikTok, especially those who support only science and deny any metaphysical or supernatural aspects, started attacking those sharing their manifestation success stories. In fact, people that oppose manifesting love believe that manifestation means being delusional and unrealistic, as those who advise others to manifest are just doing it for views and money. When it comes to the success stories of manifesting love, some disbelieve them and consider the love story coincidental. Moreover, some creators on YouTube and TikTok support the claim that manifesting love is real and scientifically proven through the law of attraction which is highly linked to programming your mind and the placebo effect.
Therefore, can we really manifest love? The answer is certainly! However, manifestation can’t be done quickly, you can’t just decide to get a boyfriend/girlfriend and then get one quickly while you’re sitting at home and not meeting new people. Manifestation is a complex process that requires you to be healed and aware of your desires. For example, one can not be unrealistic and manifest a millionaire boyfriend with perfect looks and personality. Manifestation emphasizes that people should be realistic, understand what and who they want, and be ready to love themselves and be grateful. Once a person discovers oneself and loves that version, this person will radiate a beautiful energy that attracts people. What’s more, is that people need to fully believe that they are going to receive what they ask for; being skeptical won’t do anyone good. Thus, when individuals believe that their aspirations and desires are coming into reality, they will be more patient, have trust in the process and time, and work harder towards achieving their desires.
At the same time, many individuals have made their best efforts towards manifestation and still haven’t found their person yet, while others worked on manifesting love and ended up finding it. Hence, one should be realistic and not too delusional about having the perfect flawless person. But there is always a high possibility of finding your true love once you find your real self, love yourself, and appreciate yourself. Indeed, accepting your flaws, working on healing, and setting realistic expectations are key to feeling comfortable in social situations and to finding love.