my personal guide to choosing from core manifesting/shifting concepts
disclaimer: these charts (and the following words) are my current views of some frameworks that are often discussed in relation to manifesting/shifting. i've been picking up diagramming these days — these were originally supposed to be my own notes, but i figured they could help some of you, especially baby manifestors/shifters! if i had these charts at the beginning of my (conscious) manifesting/shifting journey i'd probably have an easier time figuring out which concepts i liked and sticking to them. these views may change with time. i'm not persuading anyone to see these concepts the way i do—so feel free to pick anything that resonates, or discard it all.
notes
from the charts:
[1] a lot of the concepts you and i see floating on this side of the 'blr have a common essence — the ones i've put in gradients are the ones i consider to be "umbrellas" with the most impact/reach ("central concepts") — which often have several variants being discussed around. i think the arrows are self-explanatory, but feel free to ask if something's unclear. i'll add edits with explanations here. (although if i've put in a concept separately in the charts at all, it has considerable nuance to how people perceive/use it, which separates it enough to stand out.)
[2] non-dualism's essence is the idea that there's no separation between you or me or a zebra in some grassy plain or said grassy plain or your best friend or your worst enemy or the dust bunnies in some wizard's cellar — and no one's the boss. as with all "fuzzy concepts", people have derived specific variants/builds/flavours of non-dualism to explain what made the most sense to them. from the charts (and a few extras):
advaita vedanta: advaita means non-dual ('a' as a negator, 'dvaita' as dual/divided, thus 'not-dual'), so you can consider this to be one of the, if not the oldest formally studied school of thought about non-dualism. but!! the idea here is that suffering (want/desire) is caused by the perception of a separation (an illusion btw) between oneself and the universe. the goal is to transcend that suffering by realizing that there's no separation. does it give you a cosmic control panel/wish granter? not necessarily. does it give you peace? with enough practice, yes.
zen buddhism: fun fact about me — i come from a family that often discusses/partially practices both advaita vedanta and zen buddhism. the discussions usually result in this: they both point you to realizing the interconnectedness of the world, although that blissful state of interconnectedness isn't super easy to maintain throughout the ups and downs of modern urban life™. zen, essentially, guides you to the "fact" of the nature of one's own being. it discourages the overintellectualization of one's life and would rather have you hold the "fact" with your naked hands lest it slip away. attaining buddhahood here looks like getting over the disturbances caused by our minds and attaining harmony in unity with everything. again, do you get a remote to control your surroundings? no. will you attain peace? again, yes, with serious practice.
neo-non-dualism: we have a choice of comparatively recent authors to thank for this. the branching point here is that this part of non-dualism insists you are the source — kinda like metaphysical solipsism? idk i'm no philosopher. but let's look at this in short questions. the goal/task here? realizing your "true" nature -- which is the source of all there is. "i am that i am" in the interpretation we're familiar with is a quote that's from here. are you in the cosmic cockpit? sorta. will you "get" your "manifestations"? not necessarily — here there is nothing to get, since "your" awareness is just "looking" at illusions. it might be playing. magical play. can be liberating, if taken gently.
loa-flavoured non-dualism (lfnd): now this one gets interesting — diverging from the previous flavours. here we go into no-separation with the intend to get/experience. does it enhance interconnectedness? depends on how you personally see it. is it truly non-dual? depends on how you see "not-you", if you believe that exists at all. peace? it doesn't liberate from want, but if getting everything you want with maximum autonomy/agency/creator/god-pass is your thing, yes. "divine play" can be a concept here. i think this is the most flexible branch of ND present here. you don't need to strictly carpe diem, you can carpe omnia. very fun.
void state: god state/creator state/the true nature of your being, only that you have the remote control over your surroundings. a lot like lfnd.
short notes about the other concepts in the charts:
l.o.assumption: what we groove with, in this sphere. anything you assume to be true, is true. "it's real for me!" true. "it's not real for me!" true. there are no rules but the ones you make. "but i didn't even know X was right/existed/i assumed it was false all along so how did i assume it into being?" 'being' is the default state of... well, stuff. everything. things do this cool thing called emerge. assumptions do, too. sometimes you learn things from the "outside" — but the specifics of the answer to this question depend on how you think about the presence of other minds. solipsism isn't mandatory here. separation is allowed to cleave you. you can revise your past. you can change your present and future. loa is the cheatcode-cum-swiss-army knife of experience. a type of the cosmic control panel. "does this mean i manifested my trauma?" — this, no. before you stepped into the cockpit it was on autopilot. not your fault. "but a bad thing happened to me although i was assuming it otherwise!" first, i'm sorry that it happened. second, it's not your fault. third, this is where you take a call: revise the past? see if another concept aligns with you better? either way, take a break, and be gentle with yourself. loa won't go anywhere. you'll be always be in control if/when you decide to think from this framework again.
l.o.attraction: loa except you assume you attract things. delivery sponsored by your actions, fulfilled by a higher power. you can "match vibes" or "tune into" or anything you like towards a desire/want, and god/the universe will provide it. is it more fun/tiring/blah? depends on your assumptions about the matter.
states: loa but sometimes thought of as "manifesting your dominant state" (of being/the state you identify with). it's probably simpler to practice when you're a beginner — manifested money and appearance changes with this several times. also great for selecting your dreams.
affirm + persist: loa again but you're assuming the need to affirm and persist in those affirmations. i don't think you need to do either. i don't like affirming so i never stuck to this but many swear by it. if you like taking action (affirming) as proof of your manifestation "coming", have a blast :D
multiple realities/changing your awareness: the "ground truth" here is that you're just tuning into a version of reality that already exists. and there are infinite realities. for a good sense of what infinite means — a reality where you blinked a 1/10000000000000000000000000000000th of a second too late or too early and everything else is the same is a separate pre-existing reality. there really are no limits to infinity. and these realities are porous enough to let you pass through without knowing it. i think it links to lfnd because of "awareness" being used as the perceiver. but loa because of the assumption of multiple realities. like i said, loa is hard to disprove.
[3] on sci-backed spirituality: we're conditioned to think of science as this robust, absolute and truthful set of ideas, which is why there is often a conflict between trying to experience something for itself and seeing if "science can verify this". (zen warns against this.) before i say anything else, science is important. especially when it can prevent people from making dumb decisions or death. but science is, by design, always incomplete. always a work in progress. never a holy book with static truths/beliefs taken to be fact. remember when leeches were used to treat diseases? remember when "In 2010, a Science paper suggested a microbe could use arsenic instead of phosphorus in its DNA"? however!! if learning about the reticular activation system or quantum superposition or wave-particle duality of matter helps you feel more confident, then dive as deep as u want! from a nerd, with love. just remember to not restrict yourself to words most often approved by old men. and do not disregard the un-science-backed epiphanies of your own life.
why manifesting = shifting imo: because they both change an aspect of your perceived reality. the difference is that we usually expect a "continuity" of events when we manifest versus a sudden upheaval when we shift. i see no other difference than that expectation. if the temporary/permanent nature stands out to you, consider it like this: manifestation is permanently shifting to a reality where you have your desire, and shifting is a temporary manifestation. again, you don't have to agree to anything i just said.
closing thoughts
this is rather cursory. an overview. my intro/summary. yours will likely differ. see a concept you like? i recommend dedicated research. pick what you like, discard the rest.
also look into wu wei. maybe. didn't include here because i can't explain it well.
the above was drafted rapidly, so there might be edits or future versions.
always consult yourself first. being your own authority in your notes app/pen and paper will help you more than any external source will.
it's okay if you find out none of this (not just what i described) fits you. pull away with grace.
um. well. feel free to reach out ig? asks open <3
much love always <3

















