Manifest that Ish like Our Ancestors Did

When we aren’t fully aware of our influence and stake in our lives, we opt for feeling powerless. Powerlessness is useless. I for one refuse to buy into that feeling because after 400+ years of slavery my ancestors never did. They proclaimed, believed, fought, and ultimately manifested their wildest dreams.

I know some people believe that the practice of manifesting is all hocus-pocus. Like believing in our creator, it’s not easy to believe in something that we can’t readily see. Even if self-confidence is all you’ve walked away with at the end of the day, I think it’s safe to say that you can do a lot more with that sort of charisma than you could ever do with feeling powerless. 

Atlanta, GA February 7th-9th, a manifestation.

The exact process of manifesting your desires and needs can look different for everyone. Taking after Leonardo DiCaprio’s ability to artfully plant ideas into people’s dreams in the 2010 blockbuster hit, Inception, I want you to see manifesting as your way of beating the odds with your words. When you dream during REM sleep, you see color, motion, and characters. There is so much specificity in what you see and experience. Yet often when you wake up, you can’t quite remember every detail of your dream. 

I like to think of manifesting as a way of dreaming with my eyes open. I manifest out loud and through writing so that I’ll never forget those details that are lost when dreaming with my eyes shut. My pen and paper speak to each other in a space that I previously referred to as my idea book. Drawing from the experiences of my visionary ancestors, as opposed to just writing down ideas, I now spend my time writing in my manifestation journal affirming and attracting abundance, opportunities, wealth, and success. 

As 2019 came to a close, I spoke a hope of mine into existence, prayed hard, and watched it manifest this year. I’m sure I would have been blessed with a car a lot sooner if I had embraced the shame that I felt for not having one. I was dreaming with my eyes closed or practicing wishful thinking rather. The minute I opened my eyes, what I saw was blinding and better than I could have ever thought. 

Ajayi: When you return from the Christmas holidays, I’m going to have a car. 

That was the manifestation that I had put out into the universe to one of my closest friends, Shainae. When she returned, I came back from the dealership with a brand new 2020 car! I had shown up to the dealership on that day hoping to purchase a used one. The night before my appointment at the dealership, I was overwhelmed with the thought of having to purchase my first car all on my own. However, I knew I was clear and intentional about what I specifically wanted to manifest. So it was at that moment that I decided to trade in any doubts I had for faith by praying for that blessing in a way that suggested that I already held it. 

Take yourself to a place where you can already see and feel what you want. This is the power of vision boards and as I’ve put you on to already, vision words. When you’ve arrived there, I want you to express the utmost amount of gratitude and appreciation for what you feel, see and have been blessed with. 

If you don’t believe in what you’re trying to achieve yet, this is the best way to convince yourself.

You can find the confidence and power to manifest what you desire out of life by drawing strength from our ancestors. A few months ago when I saw the film Harriet, I had no idea that what made our sister Harriet Tubman so special was her ability to manifest. She beat the odds by following visions that she got from God. Visions, that successfully freed over 500+ slaves from bondage and became one of the most radical movements in history, the Underground Railroad. 

I believe and decree that this is the best way to reflect on all of our local and national black hidden figures, ceiling breakers, movers, and shakers this Black History Month! We are blessed because they were blessed. They were blessed despite their circumstances simply for being black, talented, and equipped with a deeper knowing of who they are and how to get where they aspired to be through belief. They believed in their “freedom”, long before they got it. Self-pity and powerlessness were never part of the fight.

You are your ancestor's wildest dreams and manifestations, so start acting like it.