It’s A Kind Of Magic

Paul McKenna says manifesting is the closest thing to real magic you can get, and it’s something he’s been doing for most of his life. After spending 90 minutes in a room with this hypnotist, Sue Pritchard hopes she’s finally learnt how to dream ludicrously big.

I may have read many books and attended numerous courses over the years, but no matter how hard I tried, manifesting was still an alien concept to me. All I seemed to manifest was a confusing overwhelm of motivational mantras, complex equations, and an array of vision boards – none of which brought my dreams any closer within reach.

After seeing hypnotist Paul McKenna recently though, I began to understand how the gateway to life’s abundance hinges upon the value of our thoughts. Paul says we can all be categorised into being one of life’s rich or poorer thinkers. Whereas poor thinkers will only see a lack, Paul says life’s rich thinkers are more likely to see opportunity. Because, as I often forget, wherever your energy goes, your energy flows.

Thinner Thoughts

The last time I followed Paul’s advice was back in 2008. After reading his book ‘I Can Make You Thin’, and following his meditations and a kinder, more intuitive way of eating, I lost over three stone in weight.

I took Paul’s advice to heart when he said you’ve got to love the body you have to get the body you want, and I became the fittest I’ve ever been - going on to climb mountains, cycle hundreds of miles, and run my first marathon. I felt invincible.

It was the best ‘non-diet’ I’ve ever done. I thought I’d cracked this weight management lark and kept a lot of it off for over eight years. Unfortunately though, old habits crept back in and, well, here we are again today. But it did help me see that if we harness the power of our minds in a positive way, and transform our beliefs, we can become so rich in our thoughts we only see a wealth of opportunity before us.

Catastrophise

I have to admit, I am naturally one of those people who catastrophises their way throughout life. Over the years I’ve given far too much energy to the things I don’t want to happen. I’m not a control freak but am a worrier who thought she was planning and being prepared for every worst-case scenario, but was instead putting far more effort into her fears than she was into her dreams.

As Paul says, even if you tell a lamp post what you don’t want to happen, it’s still more likely to happen because that’s what you’re focusing on.

My husband always says what’s the point in worrying about something if it hasn’t happened yet - and of course he’s right. Whereas my daughter says she just believes everything will work out. In other words, even my own offspring puts more trust in the universe than me.

I know self-doubt, fear and worry can snuff out any spark of manifesting magic before it’s even been conjured up, but it can be hard to stop a habit of a lifetime – particularly when pushing myself out of my comfort zone on a quest to become a published author for the first time.

So that’s why I was at Paul McKenna’s recent Power Manifesting show in Brighton. Manifesting, he says, is the closest thing to real magic you can get, and it’s something he’s been doing for most of his life. Your thoughts create your world, Paul reminded us, and although we may not be able to control what happens in it, we can choose how we respond.

Seeking The Positives

I used to think I wasn’t very good at manifesting (there goes that negative self-talk again) but looking back over my life in recent years, I can see I was wrong. When I was younger my love life was practically non-existent, but when I first met my husband over 30 years ago, I just knew it was right. His refusal wasn’t even an option I considered when asking him out!

The same thing happened when I ran my first London Marathon. I didn’t consider myself an accomplished runner, but knew without a doubt I was going to finish. Nothing else crossed my mind. I just knew.

And it was a similar situation on my wedding day. Regardless of what the weather was going to be like, or what unforeseen circumstances our guests were going to throw at us alongside the confetti, I was determined to have (or I manifested) the happiest day of my life. The only thing I was looking out for was the positive in every situation.

And this is how champion athletes have clinched their gold medal winning dreams too. Gymnast Simone Biles has attributed many of hers to manifesting, while superstars such as Dua Lipa and Sabrina Carpenter also claim to have manifested some of their major musical successes. Even best-selling poet Donna Ashworth believes she manifested her books and the ability to write as a career.

Indeed, manifesting is now capturing mainstream attention. It was one of the most looked up words and named as Cambridge Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2024.

The problem is, although we can manifest some of life’s major successes, we can also do the opposite.

“Stop manifesting being unfit,” a friend reprimanded me the other day. I’d volunteered to take her on some of my local hiking routes in preparation for her upcoming mountaineering expedition to Wales.

In comparison to my friend, and my former self, I am very unfit and worried I’d slow her down. But this was the wake-up call I needed. I needed to stop focusing on what I hadn’t got and dare to believe in myself and what I can do. And do you know what happened? I smashed our hilly hike that day.

Dream Big

As Paul McKenna demonstrated during his show in Brighton, it can almost be a joyful experience to dream ludicrously big. He spoke about such extravagant absurdity that it got the whole audience laughing hysterically.

Wallpaper your house with money, he told us, and bathe in a tub full of fifty-pound notes. What he was really saying though, is the key to success lies in positive thinking, raising your vibrations, and focusing on joy and the things you WANT in life. You’ve got to believe you can catch those dreams, and then act with the happiness of a dream fulfilled.

“Don’t be surprised if things do start happening,” Paul told the packed theatre as he brought his show to a close. “After all,” he laughed, “you’ve just spent 90 minutes in a room with a hypnotist!”

And I do believe things started to happen. After learning about how to manifest abundance and bring my book-writing dream to fruition, the next morning - completely out of the blue - I was offered another writing opportunity.

And although I rarely buy lottery tickets these days, but do know you have to be in it to win it, I decided to buy my first scratch card in years.

“You’re acting as if you’ve won two million pounds,” my husband laughed at me, as I couldn’t contain my joyous gratitude when I won £2.

“You’ve got to start somewhere,” I laughed back, feeling grateful and excited about manifesting this little win for myself.

And would you believe it? After spending my winnings on two more tickets, I won another £2! I’m now going to dream ludicrously big when I go back to buy two more.

I’ll let you know what happens.

Sue pictured with Paul McKenna at his Power Manifesting show.