Stochastic manifestation

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Woman manifesting

One of the most common themes in modern spirituality is the idea of manifestation or the Law of Attraction, popularized by the self-help book The Secret. In capitalist Christianity this is known as the Prosperity Gospel. More generally, all forms of prayer that seek favors from the universe (supplication) invoke the principle of manifestation. The general idea is that your conscious thoughts can somehow manipulate the universe to fulfill your wishes or desires.

"Your thoughts greatly influence how you feel and behave. In fact, your inner monologue has a tendency to become a self-fulfilling prophecy." -Amy Morin

When interpreted literally, manifestation is a bunch of pseudoscience and woo. But the phenomenon of the self-fulfilling prophecy has a very real basis in psychology, since our beliefs will inevitably influence our behavior. Is it possible to create self-fulfilling prophecies intentionally? Even if it doesn't guarantee success, can we increase the odds in our favor?

When you focus your mind on a particular outcome, you become more likely to do the things that will lead to it. When you tell other people about your desires, they are now able to help you achieve them if an opportunity arises. The more things you actually do to further your goal, the more likely it is that they will eventually pay off. Given the vast complexity of the universe and the fact that a small action can lead to a very large and unexpected result (i.e. the Butterfly Effect), you can never know when one of those actions can lead to an opportunity years later due to a long chain of improbable coincidences.

Stochastic manifestation is the idea that the "energy" you put out into the universe consists of very real thoughts, words, and actions that can slightly increase the odds of your dreams becoming reality. The more you do, the more it improves your odds. Actions that further the goal directly are obviously best, but simply telling people about your goals improves your chances that one of them will help you. This is also known as networking, but that is nowhere near as exciting and woo-inspiring as manifestation.

The etymology comes from the term Stochastic Terrorism, where leaders manifest terrorist acts from their followers by dropping coded hints that increase the likelihood of an independent person or group acting upon them. Stochastic manifestation is nicer, though.

Karma is a related concept that also works in a similar way. Doing altruistic things that make people happy makes them more likely to return the favor. Same things with being shitty to people. Doing these things over the course of years puts you in an environment that is significantly shaped by the accumulated consequences of those actions. These accumulated effects can significantly alter the probability of karmic rewards or retribution in the future.

This is an example of metaphor mapping, where spiritual allegories are reconsidered in light of the underlying scientific principles that might have given rise to those beliefs.

This concept is explained in detail in the book Mind Magic: The Neuroscience of Manifestation and How It Changes Everything by James R. Doty. This interview on the Ten Percent Happier podcast gives a good summary.

The Science Of Manifestation: The Neuroscientist And The Skeptic


The Neuroscience of Manifestation


FLUKE: chance, chaos, and why everything we do matters - Brian Klaas


Boddhi Satva - Manifestation (Full Album)


These music videos depict the kind of woo woo manifestation that most people think of. Unfortunately, there are no songs about secular deconstructions of manifestation using neuroscience.

Peachkka & Kierra Luv - Manifestations


This wiki tends towards secular music rather than gospel, but there is no denying that this song is topical, and that it rocks.

Enrique Holmes - Manifestation