Enlist the senses to manifest and heal.

Thoughts are powerful things. They plant the seeds that, when watered over time, take root and grow in our lives and often our health. If you want to manifest something quickly and deeply, however, skip the thought and move to the feeling.

Affirmations are great tools for change. In today’s world, where we like our healing on the hurry-up, we need to bring in the heavy hitters: the senses.

If you want to manifest more money in your life, remember a time when you had more money. See yourself taking that big cheque to the teller. Breathe and feel in your body what you felt when you handed that cheque to her. See the smile on her face and feel the one on your own. Remember the freedom of seeing the balance on your bank statement. Feel the gratitude you felt for the prosperity in your life. What was the first thing you bought with the extra cash? How did it make you feel feel?

If it’s deep relaxation you seek, a couple I am relaxed probably won’t make a dent in your distress. Breathe deep as you connect your breath to the time you lay on the massage table at the spa. You feel the cool breeze from an open window, the birds chirping in the trees outside, the smell of lavender from the massage table linens fills your nose. Remember the feeling of your body relaxing into the table as the massage therapist nurtures your body with warm oils. Transport yourself to that moment through your senses.

Need a boost in your mood? When was the last time you had a good belly laugh? Remember it clearly: who you were with, what it was you laughed about together, how it made you feel. Did your face hurt from laughing or your gut? Were you doubled-over, trying to see the other person through tears of laughter?

If it’s confidence you need, remember a time when you excelled at what you did. That feeling of complete competence and trust in your abilities. Recall the feeling of your stride, how you looked others straight in the eyes, and never questioned your capabilities. Did self-assurance beam from your face? Was it a quiet contentment with your work? What was your expertise and how did confidence feel for you?

If you crave nature but can’t get outdoors, or a long rainy or cold season has you down, walk around in your memory of hiking around a clear, mountain lake. Feel the icy cold of the water as you dip in your toes on a hot summer’s day. Inhale the fresh air, infused with the scent of pine, and see the blue-green water in front of you, the mountain looming large behind the lake. The memory is rich and alive within you. Draw it to the surface.

Engage your senses and walk around in rich memories, pulling them to you for healing and manifestation. Draw what you want into your life by seeing it, smelling it, tasting it, and feeling it as if it is happening right now.

If these memories are not available to you or you have not yet created them, use your imagination. What does it feel like to accept that new job? Who is with you when you get the news? What are you wearing and how do you celebrate? Do you go out for dinner? What do you order and how does it taste? Where do you feel it in your body? Do butterflies flutter in your gut from a little new-job nervousness? Do your hands shake with excitement?

Do more than simply visualize the experience over and over again, feel it as if you are there. Then let it go, not clinging to the memory or feelings, free to conjure additional sensations or engage fully in the ones around you at the moment. They may become the memories you pull from later.

Do more than just think about what you want. Enlist your senses and let them help take you where you want to be. It’s all within you to do.