Manifestation Journal 101: What It Is, How To Use One & Tips For Getting Started

From reciting affirmations to vision boarding, there's no shortage of manifestation methods to try—and journaling is one worth considering.

Manifestation journals take your intentions to the next level. By encouraging you to put pen to paper, they help you carry your positive thoughts into the physical realm. No matter what you're looking to attract, here's how manifestation journals can help, plus how to get started working with one.

According to Jocelyn Kelly Reid, a manifesting expert and abundance coach, journaling is an incredible way to support and guide your manifestation process. "For starters," she says, "it can be extremely therapeutic for releasing our emotions and giving us a safe space to express everything that tells us that we can't have what we truly desire."

To that end, neuroscientist and author of The Source Tara Swart, M.D., Ph.D., previously recommended journaling for that same reason. She says journaling daily can help you recognize a scarcity mindset versus an abundance mindset—because you won't get far manifesting from a scarcity mindset!

Writing also gives us the space to give the "thinking brain" a rest and enter a flow state, Reid adds. And when we're in a flow state, we can better hear "what our heart and soul have to say about what we truly desire."

And of course, she notes, writing is a way of focusing one's energy, "which brings more potency to the manifestation process."

Any time you're trying to manifest something, it's important to get super clear and super specific on your goals. The more detailed, the better!

As Reid notes, if you wanted to manifest wealth, for example, you could write down (multiple times), "I call in $10K in the month of December 2021," and then include lots of details about all the incredible things that will come out of your manifestation.

On top of getting hyper-specific, Reid adds you'll want to really immerse yourself in the experience of writing and imagining what you're trying to manifest. The more you can really feel it as if it were already real, the more you're aligning with the vibration of what you want.

Expressing things that would bring you joy from the manifestation allows you to get into that feeling, she explains, "and that's what creates an energetic frequency that helps align you to your desires." She adds that once you're energetically aligned, it can lead to the inspired action necessary to achieve the thing you're looking to manifest.

It might seem counterintuitive to write about the negative stuff in a journal all about attracting what you want, but it's actually essential to get it out of your system. If you're feeling any sort of resistance in your manifesting process, Reid says, airing out your limiting beliefs helps "train your brain to look toward new possibilities, solutions, and opportunities vs. limitations and challenges."

And as registered yoga instructor Sonia Lopez Simpson previously wrote for mbg, even keeping a "worry list" of anything that's bothering you can help to "release the heavy energy that often keeps us stuck."

She and Reid both note doing this often makes you realize your worries might just be wasting your energy—and keeping you from manifesting.

The 369 method is a very simple manifestation practice that's perfect for novice and veteran manifestors alike. It involves coming up with an affirmation and writing it three times as soon as you wake up, six times during the afternoon, and nine times before you go to bed.

Reid tells mbg one of her favorite ways to use manifestation journals is by writing specifically what you desire, "something that feels really good, expansive, exciting to start—but also feasible." She explains that in the beginning stages of manifestation, evidence, or "seeing to believe," is really important.

So, the more you start seeing those feasible goals manifest, the more you strengthen your ability to believe in receiving something you don't already have, she adds.

Again, it's really important when manifesting to feel that it's real. Reid suggests writing about the person you would be, how you would move, what you would do in the world, etc., once your desires manifest. "This creates energetic alignment with my manifestation, which quickens the manifestation process and allows me to become the person who already has what I desire," she explains.

Journaling is a great practice to incorporate into your manifestation process for a number of reasons. Not only does it help you get clear on your goals, but it can show you what needs to be adjusted (like limiting beliefs) in order to attract what you want. So whether you're looking to make money, call in love, or land your dream job, greet your journal and get to writing.