We manifest only what we surrender. ~Martha Beck, Photos From the Force

We are co-creators with God, so we have the ability to manifest what we want. However, as we all know, this is often easier said than done.

Certainly it is essential to visualize what we want, along with our excitement about it. Certainly it is essential to take consistent loving action toward manifesting our vision. But then what?

What does Martha Beck’s statement, “We manifest only what we surrender” mean?

To me, it means that, while I need to have goals, if I attach my joy or worth to achieving the goal, I am limiting my ability to manifest. The reason is that when I attach my worth or joy to getting what I want, I am in my wounded self, and the frequency of my wounded self is too low to manifest. I manifest when I let go of attachment and surrender the outcome to spirit, which is NOT something my wounded self wants to do!

My wounded self, by definition, is the part of me that wants control. Since surrender is the opposite of control, the last thing my wounded self wants is to surrender. If I go unconscious and allow my wounded self to be in charge of my intent, I’m actually creating the very powerlessness that my wounded self wants to avoid, and which is certainly not in our highest good during these challenging times.

The Secrets: Surrender and Joy

We are most able to manifest when we have defined our own worth and are in the high frequency of joy. Joy is different than happiness; happiness comes from good things happening, while joy is a gift of spirit that fills our heart and soul when we are openhearted. While we are often happy when we get what we want, that happiness is generally short-lived, and we move on to wanting the next thing and the next thing. Joy, on the other hand, is available to us any time we are open to learning and loving ourselves and others, even in the midst of this pandemic.

By staying in our mind and trying to control the outcome so that we can achieve our goal, we shut the door to joy. The wounded self doesn’t believe that we can feel joyful just in being. To the wounded self, happiness is all about getting; getting love, approval, attention—and getting what we want regarding money and achievements. The wounded self does not understand the joy of giving to ourselves and others, the joy of being, the joy of deep connection with spirit.

Manifestation is never guaranteed, but we have the best chance of moving ourselves toward manifesting our goals when we are in the high frequency of joy, rather than the low frequency of wanting, attachment, and control.

The challenge for many of us is that there is often a huge resistance to surrender and the resulting joy.

Not only does surrender feel scary to the wounded self, so does joy. Strange as it seems, the wounded self is invested in the wounded feelings of anxiety, depression, guilt, shame, anger, aloneness, emptiness, and jealousy. In other words, the wounded self is invested in suffering, because it might have been taught that God wants us to suffer.

Do you believe that there is power in suffering? Do you believe that God will reward you for suffering? Are you ready to let go of this lie?

Our creator does not want us to suffer any more than loving parents want their children to suffer. “Joy,” said philosopher Tielhard De Chardin, “is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.”  

The Law of Attraction states that ‘like attracts like.” It makes sense, then, that joy attracts joy, and that there is no joy without surrender. Surrender and Joy—the profound secrets of manifestation!

Learn to connect with your spiritual Guidance with "Frequency: Your Spiritual Guidance & The Art of Manifestation," A 30-Day at-home Experience with Dr. Margaret Paul.

Image by Sally Jermain from Pixabay