The principles of manifestation are the principles that create the magic of life. For a person who harmonizes with those principles, life is magical. The energy of the universe that is within all creation flows freely in their experience. The manifestation I am talking about is not particularly about money, although money is subject to the principles of manifestation. I am not talking about the accumulation of physical things, although physical things are subject to the principles of manifestation. These are the principles that bring the manifestation of life, and life more abundantly, in and through a person and in the creative field that surrounds that person.

When the principles are followed by a group of people—a family, a community or an organization—life increases for the members of that group and for the group as a whole. When those principles are not followed, the universal energy didn’t go anyplace. It’s just that it is not flowing creatively for the people involved.

The principles of manifestation rely on the energy and intelligence of the universe—God, by whatever name you want to give to God. We have a particular part to play in bringing the magic of manifestation. As human beings, we are the means for magic to manifest on earth. All of creation at all levels is a part of God; and we, as human beings, are God the Means. Most people have lost track of that reality. Not just the name God the Means but the reality of the experience of being the means by which magic happens and life manifests.

The manifestation of life on earth relies on the already-existing energy of the universe. We as human beings don’t have to make that up; it’s already there. Our job isn’t to make it so—it already is so. We are not making our heart beat, and we are not consciously orchestrating many of the other vital processes that are going on within us. That is all happening because of the universal energy that is at work. Thankfully, there are ranges of that operation that, for the most part, we cannot alter consciously.

We call the potential that is inherent in the power of the universe God the Possible. There is God the Possible related to every person and every circumstance. There is what could be, what could manifest. There is power within all creation. We would have to acknowledge that God is not just any old power. God the Possible is an intelligent power, because it is clear that there is an intelligent pattern to the manifestation of life. There is both intelligence and power at work in the principles of manifestation. Using other words for the same realities, there is both truth and love. That is God the Possible, and it is already present. But we have a part to play. So what is our part in letting God the Possible be God the Manifest?

There are two key components to the human capacity that allow us as human beings to be God the Means: conscious thought and emotion. There has to be a change from the usual state of human thought and emotion if a person is to become God the Means. That change occurs when a person’s thoughts and emotions turn toward God the Possible. If that turning was a physical process, it would be easy to learn. But it isn’t. It is an internal process that involves parts of us that we cannot see. And yet, the turning is as real as it would be if it were a physical act, and the results are profound.

Put simply, here is what you have to do to become God the Means: stop obsessing in thought and emotion about what is happening to you. Take time to turn your attention from that to God the Possible—to the intelligent power within you. Invite peace. Invite the possible. When you do, you will immediately notice that there is a new flow in your thoughts and your emotions. They begin to entertain the creative possibility of what could happen. They begin to paint the world of your observation with a vision of beauty. You have become God the Means, and God the Possible is moving through you.

This change in orientation is the process of spiritual centering. As human beings, we are designed to be centered in God the Possible. Spiritual centering is a foundational principle of manifestation. A true spiritual practice evokes spiritual centering, perhaps in a time of meditation, attunement or prayer. The daily application of the practice maintains spiritual centering while engaging in the activities of life.

Spiritual centering is the simplest and most foundational of principles. It is the consistent practice of it throughout life that brings fulfillment. Neglect of the practice dissipates the experience of life. Spiritual centering brings the experience of God the Manifest—physical forms that are full of life. The closest physical form we each have is our human body. Spiritual centering certainly brings more life current to it. There are so many other physical forms that give shape and dimension to our life, and they can all be part of God the Manifest.

Jesus of Nazareth was perhaps the greatest spiritual teacher the world has ever known. In the Christian world, there has been a fixation on his birth and crucifixion, and the teachings of those who came after him. As a result, his own teachings have been largely ignored. For a person who receives those teachings with fresh eyes, there is amazing instruction in the principles of manifestation.

Jesus knew the key issues that people face in becoming centered in God the Possible. There is resistance in the human makeup to turning to face the real potential for our life, and Jesus spoke to that resistance in clear and unequivocal terms. Here are three issues he addressed in his teaching of spiritual practice:

1. Self-preoccupation. Concern for what is happening to me, what I will get, and the credit that will come to me.
2. The need to control. The need to manage how the process unfolds.
3. Self-will. The desire to be the ultimate determiner of what happens.

Here is how his teaching was translated in the beginning of what is referred to as the Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

The first line invokes the turning to God the Possible, and then the prayer addresses the issues.

Hallowed be thy name. As tempting as it is to believe that my life is for and about me, it is not. I am in service to the possible. A name is about identity and selfhood. The purpose of my life is not to glorify myself as a human being. I honor divine, eternal being.

Thy kingdom come… A kingdom is the ordering element for the world. I acknowledge that there is an order inherent in God the Possible. I can trust that order and let it flow through my thoughts, emotions and actions.

Thy will be done…The power within me and all creation has the possibility of the manifestation of life within it. I don’t have to fabricate a purpose for my life. My life isn’t centered in what I want. I trust that the will inherent in the power of creation brings life, and life more abundantly.

The emotional realm plays an essential role in spiritual centering. When it turns to God the Possible, our feelings open up to the universal power of love. We receive love; we receive blessing. We know that we are empowered, we are cared for, by that universal power. You will find that people who live their life that way have a certain aura about them and an inner contentment.

Blessing, and the receiving of blessing, is brought on by gratitude. When we are thankful for our life, when we’re thankful for that power within us, we commune with that power and we’re filled with the spirit of blessing. We receive it personally, and we have it to give to others. Gratitude can be a spiritual centering practice.

While the words Holy Ghost have been used to mean many things in a religious context, the phrase refers to the human energy pattern when it is open to God the Possible. When there is spiritual centering, there is the coming of the Holy Ghost. This is the coming of the power of manifestation. It is the power of creation moving into the human energy field. For that power to work, a person has to stay centered. If a person reverts to obsessing over what is happening to them, the power diminishes. That’s helpful, because we don’t need great power functioning through an unaligned instrument. We need a centered instrument so that the power of the universe can work through the human capacity and bring what it’s meant to bring, and manifest what it’s meant to manifest.

As human beings, we are meant to be the means for that intelligent power to come into the human world. And the human world includes the natural world on Planet Earth. We are designed to bring an ample quantity of that power. We are actually designed to bring as much power as is needed to deal with the circumstance that is in front of us. Is that your attitude in the matter? Do you believe that you have the capacity to bring as much energy as is needed to creatively address the circumstances in front of you? Do you know how to get more energy if you don’t have enough?

Through spiritual centering, energy grows. All of the confused, chaotic factors that are present in our world can be addressed if we become God the Means, and welcome the coming of the Holy Ghost. But we have to be up for that. We have to know that we are resilient as human beings and that we have the capacity to bring the power that we need to bring to the circumstance. If you look at humanity as a whole, for the most part it’s quaking in its boots. It doesn’t really believe it’s got the power to deal withthis circumstance, whatever that might be for the individual, and for humanity as a whole.

We also need the intelligence and the control factors that are required to allow that power to work effectively. We have to be willing to receive the universal intelligence. But to receive it, we have to trade in how we want it to be, how we think it should be to receive the order and the will that comes from God the Possible. We have to let go of our beliefs about what is wrong with the circumstance as it is. And let go of all of the reasons why the people around us are doing it wrong and therefore it is impossible. That is God the Impossible. If you are honoring God the Impossible, it may be time to find a new god. It is God the Possible that’s needed. So we have to give up our impossibilities if God the Possible is to manifest in our life and in our world.

Spiritual centering brings the increase of God the Means so that the Possible can really manifest. That’s why people who understand the principles of manifestation apply the practice of spiritual centering when there is a challenge in front of them. Humility is the refuge of great character. That’s where great people go when faced with a challenge. They get down on their knees figuratively speaking, maybe even literally, and open their thinking and feeling to God the Possible, by whatever name. Because if you are faced with a challenge—something you don’t understand or something that seems like a block in your life—the way to have more of what meets that challenge is humility; in other words, openness to God the Possible.

The corollary is that arrogance is the refuge of small character, because when a small person faces a challenge, they become arrogant. They pretend that they already know what to do. They pretend that they have an ability to overcome the challenge, an ability that they do not yet have but which they could have if they were humble. They pretend that the process of manifestation is all about them. And as it’s said, “Pride comes before a fall.”

Humility is the refuge of great character. Great people are humble in the face of challenge. And being humble builds great character, because when we are open in the face of challenge, we become wise and we become strong. Those are qualities of great character.

So let us be humble and open in the face of our challenges, so that the power of the Holy Spirit can come into our world and change those things that need to be changed, and give birth to what is waiting to be born. The intelligent power of the universe is quite capable of transforming whatever blocks the manifestation of life. But only when there is the presence of God the Means—the spiritually centered mind and emotions that are open to that flow.