Have you ever tried using the Law of Attraction and felt it didn’t work—despite your focus, belief, and effort? There’s a reason for that.

In the first article of this series, we saw how the popular interpretation of thought-manifestation, known as the Law of Attraction (LOA), is incomplete and to some extent misleading. We saw how this perspective often overlooks the deeper, more nuanced teachings found in ancient Yogic and Hermetic traditions.

The original spiritual teachings on the topic emphasize that true manifestation requires more than just “ask and believe”. As outlined in the first article, we must also:

• align ourselves spiritually with our goals
• create a powerful thought-current by cultivating the four elements of concentration, willpower, faith, and feeling
• make sacrifices for what we wish to manifest, to generate more prana for it
• confirm our belief by taking consistent action aligned with our vision

The above elements are either absent in the modern LOA movement, or heavily de-emphasized—because they are a big ask, for many people.

Now, in this second article of the series, we will dive into the more spiritual elements of this art, covering three more principles found in the ancient traditions.

These are elements not covered within the popular versions of the LOA at all, and these topics will feel really “out there” for many people. I can only recommend that you read with an open mind, see what resonates for you, and work with it.

Principle #3: Work in Harmony with Nature

Imagine a sailor on an island, with a small boat, wanting to get to another island quite far away. He may have skills, a good boat, all the right equipment, and a lot of will to undertake the journey—yet it would be unwise of him to begin that journey without first checking the weather, the tides, the currents.

If he decides to start the journey now just because he wants to start it now, he may actually arrive later than if he starts it tomorrow, when the weather is more favorable. Or, worse, he may not arrive at all. All because he ignored the ways of nature, or arrogantly thought of himself as above them.

The same thing is true about manifesting our thoughts into reality. If the currents in the astral world, described in Part 1, are favorable to what you want to manifest, it will be much easier for you to succeed. If they are not favorable, either you will not succeed, or it will take you much more time and effort. The stronger the current against you, the harder you’ll have to work at swimming upstream.

Many people who have achieved tremendous success in their field often say, “I was in the right place at the right time”. Of course, they also took the right action, and did so consistently, but they can’t—and don’t—deny the power of right timing. The currents were in their favor, and therefore their actions bore more fruit—they were multiplied.

So what are these currents in the astral world? What creates them, and how do we know if they are favoring us or not?

Collective Currents

Every living being creates currents in the astral world. Every thought and emotion creates a current of power proportional to the energy of the being who created it. And when many people believe the same thing, feel the same way, and act with the same intention, all their individual currents merge into a larger entity. We experience this in sports matches, music shows, political debates, wars, propaganda, trendy social media discussions, and group worship.

If what you want to manifest into the world requires going against a current much mightier than you, then you will need to find a way to work around it, or wait for a better time.

When it comes to manifesting larger changes in society and ideas, for example, we’ve repeatedly seen in history how a certain movement may come “too early” and die off, only to be successfully reignited years or decades down the track, when the time was ripe. The old current was dying off, and the new current got a lot of passionate believers, so it manifested into real change.

The French writer and political thinker Victor Hugo summarized it beautifully when he said that nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come.

If what you want to manifest is just something in your own personal life, still it might clash with the ideas, desires, and emotions of other people, or go against the current economic and social climates. Therefore, it’s important to recognize these environmental forces, so you can choose your timing and strategy carefully.

Astrological Currents

Other than the astral currents created by people—individually or collectively—there are also the astral currents created by the movements of the planets and stars. From the point of view of the wisdom traditions, celestial bodies are like people, influencing us with their own energy or “spirit”, but at a much higher magnitude.

From this insight the science of astrology was developed in many ancient civilizations, such as in India, China, Persia, Arabia, Greece, Egypt, and the Maya civilization. The astral currents created by celestial bodies were perceived to be so powerful, albeit invisible, that these ancient cultures evolved complex astrological models to try to understand them and predict them.

It’s All Connected

Your manifestation practice doesn’t happen in a vacuum. We live in an interconnected universe, and everything affects everything. So if you are struggling to make something happen in your life, seek the right timing to take action. Combine your own power with the power of the existing currents.

To figure out the right timing:

• Observe keenly what is happening in the world, in society, and in the environment in which your manifestation is to take place.
• Develop your intuition, through sensitivity and repeated practice, to “feel” the subtle currents.
• Make use of astrology to discern the best time to take action.

In sum, work in harmony with nature. Navigate with the currents, not against them—as much as possible. Let the invisible tides of the world carry you faster toward your goal. Then you, too, will be able to say, “I was in the right place at the right time”.

Principle #4: Clear Your Karma

All major Asian spiritual traditions believe in the law of karma, though they may interpret it differently. According to this law, every action we take, every word we say, every intention we have, is a force that produces a counterforce of the same nature.

Think of it as the equivalent to Newton’s third law of motion: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

Without going into the infinite complexities of how karma works, the key idea is that our actions leave energetic imprints in our soul, which then attract favorable or unfavorable circumstances. In simple terms: what goes around comes around. According to the spiritual traditions, this constant karmic rebalancing happens continuously throughout lifetimes—not just in a single life.

This explains why some “bad people” can apparently get away with their actions, and why some “good people” may suffer all sorts of misfortune without any apparent cause. This would all seem deeply unfair and random, if not seen under the light of the law of karma. The Buddha and other ancient masters said that the consequence of every action always comes, albeit not always in the same lifetime.

Coming back to the topic of manifestation, the reason why it may not be working for you could be that there is a karmic blockage. For example, if you have a karmic blockage around money or career, your manifestation practice in those areas of life will face an invisible obstacle.

Maybe you are not “meant” to succeed. Not because there is a divine force forbidding you, but because your actions in previous lifetimes have created a sort of “karmic debt” that needs to be paid off through repeated failed efforts.

This doesn’t mean that your manifestation practice in these areas will never succeed—that would be determinism, an idea that I do not believe in. But it does mean that you will need to put in more effort, and be more patient.

Imagine a hypothetical scenario where three people want to manifest the exact same outcome. They the have the same amount of mental power—the concentration, willpower, faith, and feeling we talked about—and they are taking the same type of action, at the same time, with the same consistency.

Here, the thought-current they are creating is the same, and the external currents in the astral plane are also the same. Suppose that all parameters are the same—yet one succeeds in a month, the other succeeds in two years, and the third doesn’t succeed at all. Why?

Karma.

Each of them has an individual karma to be worked through, presenting different levels of resistance to the desire they wish to manifest.

Is there anything we can do about this, other than just keep on trying and being patient? Yes, there is. The ancient masters figured this one out as well. To remove karmic obstacles, you need to take remedial action. The formula for that is very simple:

Give what you wish to receive.

This is an aspect of “making a sacrifice” that we spoke about in the first article.

If you want to:

• grow in your career—help others grow in theirs
• attract financial abundance—donate more
• manifest a home—support the homeless
• get pregnant—help orphan children
• find love—become more loving
• grow in wisdom—help others grow in wisdom

In sum: if you want to fulfill your wishes, help others fulfill theirs. This gives you karmic credit that will automatically help remove invisible obstacles in your way. But do that with the noble intention of spreading love and goodness, not as a way to trick the universe.

I personally value growth, wisdom, and empowerment; therefore, I help people achieve the same—by sharing the vast majority of my work free of cost, such as through this blog and my YouTube videos.

Karma is invisible. If you are very intuitively attuned, and if you have the help of certain tools such as astrology, you can get an idea of what is going on and why—but, ultimately, you can’t be 100% sure.

Knowing this, have patience when you find that manifesting your goals is taking time. Do not give up. And help others who are seeking the same thing. Nobody knows how long it will take, but if you follow this strategy, you will definitely get there—and also make many friends along the way.

Principle #5: Know the Advanced Tools

By applying the first four principles, you will have all the tools you need to manifest. We discussed how to:

• align yourself with your goals in the spiritual plane
• create a powerful thought-current in the astral plane
• take consistent aligned action in the physical plane
• work in harmony with nature by properly timing your actions
• work through karmic obstacles with patience and generosity

With this complete picture, you can manifest whatever you wish into reality—provided you are willing to pay the price and have a realistic deadline.

Now the ancient traditions that first spoke about the law of thought manifestation also developed elaborate tools to accelerate this process. These tools were developed by full-time, dedicated practitioners, building on centuries of trial and error, and guided by intuitive wisdom gained from deep meditation practice. These tools are ritual and mantra.

Learning how to manifest using the power of your thoughts alone—as explained in this article—is like learning how to swim using your arms and legs. Manifesting by using ritual and mantra is like receiving a boat and learning how to sail, so you can navigate much more effectively.

Unlike the simple thought-manifestation using visualization and affirmation, ritual and mantra are actually incredibly complex. They are more powerful, for sure, but they demand great commitment to be learned properly, through a one-on-one, student-mentor relationship with an expert in the field.

Exploring these tools is beyond the scope of this article—and of this website in general. But you can check my other website, Shakta Tantra, to learn more about using mantras for manifestation.

Where to Go From Here

With the information in this article you can practice thought manifestation on your own.

If you want step-by-step guidance in this path, check out my Manifestation Coaching program.

Or, if you want to take the path of self-study, you can learn about the more spiritual aspects and advanced tools by studying the following books.

Eastern Tradition (Yoga, Mantra)

• Yoga and Yogic Powers (by Yogi Gupta)
• Mantra Yoga and Primal Sound (by David Frawley)
• Practical Hypnotism (by Narayan Dutt Shrimali)
• The Ancient Science of Mantras (by Om Swami)
• The Path of Mantra (spiritual podcast by me)

Western Tradition (Hermeticism, Kabbalah)

• Thought Power: Its Control and Culture (by Annie Beasant)
• Initiation into Hermetics (by Franz Bardon)
• Real Magic (by Dean Radin)

Parting Thoughts

In these articles, you’ve learned about the original spiritual teachings around manifestation. These teachings are at the root of what The Secret and the Law of Attraction say; yet those modern movements left out a lot of important elements, especially:

• The need for cultivating the faculties of our higher mind—especially concentration and willpower
• The need for also taking disciplined action in the physical world, and making sacrifices for our goal
• The role of astral timing and karmic clearing in the process

Without taking these elements into account, the simple practice of visualizing, asking, and believing loses a lot of its potency—which explains why less than 0.1% of people succeed at the LOA.

Embracing the real secret is a much deeper practice—more effective, and more sacred too. I hope that these articles have helped open the doors of this wonderful world for you.

If you found these ideas helpful, please share these articles with people who might appreciate them.