I am one with the Force and the Force is with me.

  • vexikron@lemmy.zip
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    9 months ago

    Myself never, but there probably … millions? tens of millions? of tiktok brained Americans that believe in ‘manifesting’, so being irrationally delusional is pretty trendy right now I guess.

    • GardenVarietyAnxiety@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Manifesting is a thing, though. It’s not magic, but it is a way to trigger the placebo effect which is an observed phenomenon.

      I can’t manifest a jet, but I can manifest a new car. Just by believing I’m going to get one somehow, my brain is going to start doing a lot of subconscious things that are going to add up to getting one. You can manifest a promotion and you will start to work a little harder or more efficiently, maybe add new skills.

      Why not just -do- these things? If you can, great! But if not, your subconscious is capable of things your conscious may not be… You could be in a cycle of self sabotage that manifestation can sidestep, for instance.

      It’s an incredibly powerful tool that people disregard as woowoo because even the people selling it don’t know how it works.

      • vexikron@lemmy.zip
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        9 months ago

        Wait wait.

        Its… an incredibly powerful tool, but people don’t know how it works.

        But also it works by triggering the placebo effect.

        Ok so can you show me maybe something like a scientific study that shows that manifesting practitioners have a ‘powerful’, measurable, meaningfully different … any kind of outcome whatsoever, compared to non manifesters?

        Is there evidence that manifesting actually triggers the placebo effect, as you claim it does?

        You dont manifest a new car. You either make a plan to figure out how to acquire one, and it either works or it doesnt, or maybe you get lucky and you get gifted one by a friend, or you randomly encounter a scenario where you stumble across a great deal.

        Compare the number of people who are manifesting that they want a car and end up with a car and the number of people who are manifesting a car and do not end up with a car vs non manifesters who do and do not end up with a car, in a given timeframe.

        Im not aware of any studies on something like this because the notion is dubious on its face, not even having a proposed causal mechanism as you say.

        But I would be very strongly inclined to believe that if a such a study were done, what you’d end up with is that manifesting has no statistically significant relationship to acquiring a car, and probably something like overall income or wealth and maybe number of fairly wealthy friends/family do actually have observable effects.

        Look I totally am for a reasonable amount of positive self affirmation and self confidence.

        But manifesting takes it to literally absurd lengths.

        • GardenVarietyAnxiety@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Its… an incredibly powerful tool, but people don’t know how it works.

          But also it works by triggering the placebo effect.

          The people “selling it” don’t know. Or at least likely don’t know. It’s trendy right now, definitely.

          After that, though, you’re asking for studies that are virtually impossible to conduct as your bar for proof, reinforced your bias, drew your own conclusion, and dismissed my position as extreme.

          I can’t provide black and white data for you, with the exception of maybe placebo effect studies. But what I can provide for you is experience and understanding of how our brains work. And you can take it with a grain of salt, as I’m not classically educated, but it really is just breaking down common observable behaviors.

          I’m not a “Manifester,” but I’ve used the basic methodology to see change in my own life with things I’ve struggled with for years. You can call it manifesting, positive thinking, discipline, whatever. It just takes convincing yourself of something. This greatly increases the odds of that outcome by putting your subconscious to work on achieving it.

          I can do it, you can do it, anyone can do it. And it. Kicks. Ass.

          Look I totally am for a reasonable amount of positive self affirmation and self confidence.

          But manifesting takes it to literally absurd lengths.

          People. People take manifesting to absurd lengths. Also, you guys seem to be seeing this on TikTok? The app is designed to show you extreme positions that keep you engaged… You’re gonna see the weirdos.

          • angrystego@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            I don’t have resources either, but I’d like to add that I studied biology and was taught about the mechanism of this at university during some classes. It’s a proven thing.

      • livus@kbin.social
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        9 months ago

        my brain is going to start doing a lot of subconscious things that are going to add up to getting one

        Can hotwiring be subconscious tho?

      • shalafi@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Yep, no hoodoo involved. You can brainwash yourself, make things happen. One time dad lost a shitload of weight after I hadn’t seen him for a long time. “I brainwashed myself into believing that being hungry was a good feeling.”

        I think you’re the only person I’ve seen in forum posts that actually gets it.