The Relevance of Can vs Will in Manifesting

Look at how in manifesting it is rarely set it or forget it, context matters, and how it's better to ask will vs can questions if you want guidance which is useful.

Transcript

The Relevance of Can vs. Will in Manifesting

There is an all too common aspect of manifesting which is so very frustrating on multiple levels, but doesn't get much airtime and that's the issue of having been guided to do something or having gotten guidance about manifesting your goals, but then nothing works.

How many times have we felt all the stars align, gotten synchronicities, heard from our guides and other sources and with so much confirmation we allowed ourselves to trust the process, only to have what we're working on give meagre results or to fizzle out before anything got really started? Or, on the other hand, to have all this confirmation, then put in years of effort for things to never achieve anything but the most basic of our expectations and so become a frustration headed towards failure?

All the "common wisdom" out there about these situations is either to try harder and give it more time because giving up isn't spiritual (*sigh*). Or your told to back up and check yourself because obviously you got the math wrong on your spiritual equation and you need to check your work to see which piece of things needs tweaking for the rest to fall into place and give you the "right" answer.

But when putting more effort into something just ends up being more effort with no improvement and you've checked your spiritual math four times, always getting the same results, then what gives?

In my experience there are 3 major reasons why this happens, none of which are about you needing to keep trying harder or just keep going. Each of these are, however, incredibly important to successful manifesting things, especially things which are meant to be long lasting and even foundational for you and those around you like businesses, relationships, or careers:

1) Context Matters

While many manifestation modalities focus on us as the center of our universe and our ability to generate energy and create whatever we choose like Mickey Mouse in "Fantasia" or the Magician card in the Tarot, this ignores the fact we are just one being among millions, all of whom are manifesting at the same time, often at cross purposes to each other. Think of yourself as one ball in a McDonald's ball pit to get a feel for how energetic, chaotic, yet functional this process can be. 

On top of which, while energy is ever abundant and never exhausted, the physical world is a living ecosystem which has lack and scarcity built in. Humanity is currently experiencing this not only due to supply chain issues and worker shortages, but also through resource destruction due to ever multiplying weather and climate events.

We live in an interdependent world which means we are able to participate, influence and navigate things, but not fully control much beyond our own actions and our local sphere of influence. Which is why, while modern methods for manifesting will suggest you need to concentrate harder, be more in alignment with your goals, or listen more to your guidance when things fail, this advice becomes less like wisdom when applied to the bigger context of the world around us. For example, it is highly unlikely those currently being shelled in Ukraine are out of alignment with their goals or unable to hear their guidance clearly. Yet they are currently unable to manifest an abrupt end to the war or even the shelling, raping, and murder in their own neighborhood. On the other hand, the Uighurs in China being rounded up and put into concentration camps for being ethnically Muslim (racial profiling) don't seem to be having difficulty with will power, but instead with facial recognition technology and a regime which is practicing ethnic cleansing.

So as we are souls living an embodied life, we need to factor in the embodied part since the world we're living in molds and shapes us and our circumstances as much as we shape it. If your manifestation project isn't working, it's important to step back and take a look at the context you're in. It may be the market is flooded with the same service you're trying to offer, so now might not be the right time to offer it because you're going to have too much competition and not enough return on your effort. Or the way you're offering what you do/make or how you're marketing it might have been a good fit 5-10 years ago, but how we consume marketing, advertising, and services is changing more and more rapidly so you may need to reconsider how best to reach your audience. You may also need to rethink who your audience is because as times change, the needs and desires of groups change, and you need to be able to change with them.

2)Manifesting is rarely set it and forget it

While manifesting relatively small or discrete things, like single objects, can be a one and done thing (set the intention, activate it with energy and emotional alignment, then go on with your day) most larger projects have multiple stages, almost like individual manifestations within the process or spiritual Russian dolls.

Personally, when I think of this aspect of manifesting, I remember this quote by Helmuth von Moltke, "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy." Meaning what you thought things would be like, how they would play out, or how much effort they will require will not be 100% accurate and things you didn't expect will affect and shape the outcome. A road trip which seemed easy and affordable is now out of reach due to rapidly changing gas prices. A job which was advertised as including local and international travel now requires you to do things via Zoom at times which don't make sense for your quality of life due to time zones. Or something which seemed like it would be easy, and you could do yourself, now needs to involve several different parties who all need to come to an agreement which will take weeks if not months to achieve.

So when manifesting, I recommend you listen to the advice of the band 38 Special: 

Just hold on loosely

But don't let go

If you cling too tightly

You're gonna lose control

Just because you saw things going one way or you wanted them to work like this rather than that, it doesn't mean you're not going to achieve your goal when they don't. It just means you need to continue to be involved in the process like a gardener with crops. You can't tell the plant how to grow, but you can encourage it to do its best and do it the way which works best for you.

3) Can vs. Will

Have you ever experienced the conversation where you ask someone if they can do something and they say "Yes" and then nothing happens? So you ask them why they didn't do the thing and they remind you your question was about their ability to do the thing, not a request for them to actually do it. Yes they can, but you didn't ask if they would or if they will. To which there are many appropriate responses, but usually I opt for :P.

However, this Can vs Will issue is incredibly important when we are asking for guidance and advice about something we are attempting to manifest. For example, if we ask whether or not our starting a business can provide us the quality of life we want to have or the funds we need, the answer often is "Yes". This is because the question is about the capabilities of the business outside any specific context. The answer will be very different if we think to ask, "Will starting a business provide me the quality of life I want to have or the funds I need in the way I need them?" 

And if we begin working to manifest our project into being, we're going to get as much support as is possible from our guides and the universe, yet the project may fail or be only marginally successful due to all the other factors we haven't asked about. 

This isn't a setup to failure on the part of our guides or the universe. While it can seem as if we're Charlie Brown while the universe is being Lucy with the football, this is actually us falling into the Can vs Will issue. When we ask "can" questions we are often assuming everything else we want, all the context inside us, all the unspoken but implied bits, are included when they aren't. For example, if we're trying to manifest a partner and we ask if this person can be the partner we want and need, we're assuming this means they will be able to partner us fully, be a good fit for us sexually, won't have baggage of their own, and will want to build the same type of life we want to build. But this isn't necessarily the case. If your guides say this person "can" be your partner in the way you want, they are telling the truth. However your question doesn't factor in if this person is willing to do so, when they might work to achieve any or all of these qualities, nor does it ask about things which might interfere at the moment such as their unprocessed trauma or childhood issues.

Asking if they Will be a good partner to us now, in this relationship we are attempting to create, with all they are as a person in this moment will get you a much more in-depth answer. Or you'll get an answer which is confusing because there's too much information to impart clearly through the method you're using to communicate with your guides. I mean, if you're using a pendulum, and you ask a "will they" question, the answer is far more involved than "yes" or "no" and it can send your pendulum into a tizzy or stop it all together, which can and should cause you to go "Huh????" 

So when asking about what you want to manifest, it's important to keep in mind your desire, intentions, will and energy are only part of the equation. Before you start putting things out there it's helpful to check the context you're going to be working in locally, globally or both. It's also good to plan for multiple stages along the way just in case things need to adjust as rubber hits the road. And when in the planning stages it's key to be asking "will" as well as "can" questions because knowing if something will or won't work the way you're intending it to is fairly crucial for the success of your efforts.