The Universe Is Not Uber Eats: The Truth About Manifesting with Colette Baron-Reid | 377 - This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil

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[00:00]
A
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[00:40]
B
I am Nicole Kahlil, and you're listening to the this Is Woman's Work podcast, where together we're redefining what it means, what it looks and feels like to be doing woman's Work in the world today with you as the decider. And there are lots of ways that we decide a lot of things that shape how we move through the world. Some of them are external the voices, expectations, and experiences that try to tell us who we should be. But there is also always the internal our intuition, thoughts, our feelings, our hopes, our head trash and those quiet, unique abilities that make us us. And the tricky part is, most of us have been trained to listen more to the noise around us than to the wisdom within us. We've been conditioned to seek validation instead of alignment. And when the outside world gets loud with opinions, pressure, and the endless shoulds, it's hard to hear the whispers of our inner knowing, isn't it? Which is why I wanted to cover today's topic on the show. Because it lives right at the intersection of intuition, creativity, and trust. A topic that I'll admit I have a complicated relationship with. And that's manifesting not because I don't believe in it. I do. I believe that there are things that we can't explain, energies that we can't measure, and gifts that connect us in ways that logic never could. I believe intuition is real. I believe some people just know things. And I'm fascinated by all of it. I mean, historically, women who have had these gifts, oracles, healers, and the deeply intuitive were called witches and burned for it. Maybe that's part of why I've always been drawn to the mystical. I even live in the town where more witches were put on trial than anywhere else in American history, which feels less like coincidence and more like cosmic assignment. But here's where I struggle. I believe powerful words like manifesting have been hijacked, watered down, turned into hashtag spirituality and influencer slogans. The real magic, the power, the mystery, the potential has been stripped away and packaged as 30 second reels. And I get that. That's my judgment. And like most judgments, I know it says more about me than about anyone else. But I am fascinated and I'm also resistant. I'm curious and skeptical. I crave the mystical, but still want to understand it with my brain. So in this episode we're opening our minds and more importantly our hearts to explore the art of manifesting. Our guest today is Colette Baron Reed, internationally respected author, intuitive and Oracle expert. Her best selling books and Oracle cards are published in 27 languages. And her new book, the Art of Manifesting, co authored with Anna Denning, is offers a meditative drawing practice to rewire your brain and to co create with the universe one circle and a few flowy lines at a time. So, Colette, thank you for being here. And I have to ask, as you are the expert, how do you feel about how manifesting is being portrayed?
[03:56]
A
Everything you said, I'm like, I'm like nodding, I'm going, this is the best introduction I have ever heard. I am exactly the same as you. I've been. I'm a complete skeptic and excited about the subject and everything that I've done up until now too. I came from academia, so it was. I've always wondered what the heck? And is there a science that can show me what this is? Can somebody explain it to me beyond the anecdotal evidence? But what you said about the way and performative spirituality, when it becomes a hashtag. I'm not a big fan of social media, even though my publisher makes me go on there and I have to figure a way how to say smart things in short times. But I've always been fascinated with this topic and very frustrated by it too. And I've experienced it both ways, both in the way which I talk about in the book, which is to align yourself with a state of being and becoming the person that has the experience that you say you want, as well as chasing something which never works, where the attachment to an outcome decides whether I'm successful or not, and very much relative to materialism. So I think what happened in 2006, first of all, manifesting is not new. I mean, when I first got introduced to it as a topic was 40 years ago when I got clean and sober. I just thought I would throw that in too. And I went to Unity Church and that's when I got completely dunked in the manifesting waters. Of the New Thought movement. But they really did have it right because they talked about the spiritual alignment and that when you are in this co creative flow in partnership with the divine. Right. So I was really lucky in that I was first introduced to it. Not so much as a process of go get the thing you want and more about be curious and be grateful for the gifts that spirit gives you and transform along the way. Because every time you set out to co create deliberately in partnership with a conscious universe, you are setting yourself up for a transformation journey too. Because you don't manifest what you want, you manifest what you are. Right? So. And that's what gets so confusing because people took it to go get something and that's not anyone's fault. We've been trained to be very linear, to go after things, to be entitled. Especially in the west, there's a huge entitlement like I should have that right. You know, I deserve that. I should go get, I should have that. If I look at it, that's what that secret did, right? That movie, like you just look at the bicycle and it's yours. That's not how it works. The universe is not Uber eats. You're in a partnership. You have to show up, you have to do the work, you have to become that person. Like if you have a goal in mind that you really want to create for yourself, but you haven't done any of the work to get there, how are you going to do that? You think you're just going to wiggle your nose? What happens, for example, to people when they win the lottery and they're not ready? They have no concept of holding space and, and, and, and being respectful of the money that they got? They spend it all, they squander it, right? It's like, who do we become in, in order for us to have the experience that whatever thing that we say we want implies is gonna give us?
[07:28]
B
I love this because this is, I think my beef with it is it's using manifesting to get what we want. And when it doesn't work that way because you don't manifest what you want, you are, as you said, and I wrote that down because I'm gonna keep that. We think we're doing it wrong or we think it doesn't work. And so I guess I wanna circle back. You said curious and grateful. Those were words that jumped out at me. But it sounds like it's less of a doing and more of a being.
[07:56]
A
Correct.
[07:57]
B
How do we be in a way that we manifest our desires? So let me Start there. Because I have a second follow up question. But how do we begin to be in a way that we co create?
[08:12]
A
Perfect. Okay, great question. Very great question. Okay, so let's first go quickly through the. Why do people want this, right? Why do people even go to manifesting for the first. Usually people get excited about manifesting because they think they're gonna have control over the world, right? The external world will be in their control. So first we have to let go of that, right? Because any kind of attachment to an outcome with the hidden agenda that I'm going to control my future is going to fail, right? Because we don't become what we need to become, right? And then the minute we start to blame ourselves, right? Then we then start to rehearse a feeling state. So this is the sciency part. So when we hold space for a feeling state that relates to say, I want to create this or I want to experience this in my life. So well, how do I go from A to B to get that right? To have that experience? So in advance of having it, you have to rehearse the having, right? But you have to really drill down for what's the why? You know, am I chasing this because it's going to redeem me in some way? Because it's going to make me safe? Because it's going to like, what are your whys for the point of it or is it just because. Wow, this is so curious and it's fun and let's see, right? The more we can be loose, wear the world loosely around our desires, the more likely they're going to show up. But not necessarily in the form that we think is right. That's the fun part. The curious part is, well, how will that show up for me if I don't have any attachment to the form? And I can trust? Remember we talked about trust? You brought that up first. Deep sense of trust and be grateful I've immersed myself in the state of gratitude and awe that there even is a conscious universe that I am a part of. Let me see what happens then. Lead with curiosity and follow the crumbs, which is the intentional synchronicity. Now let's look at.
[10:12]
B
Hmm.
[10:13]
A
What are the meaningful coincidences that show up for me that can tell me whether or not I'm on the right path or do I need to go on a detour to become, to learn more about life and myself so that I can actually land in that space? Did I give too much?
[10:31]
B
No, no, no, no. This is great. And I'm going to Try to put it what I heard, I think in the form of an example you used the winning the lottery. If we think about rehearsing the having as you said, what we might rehearse is being abundant, being generous, being disciplined. I don't know. There are a lot of ways of being that we can rehearse. When we think about generating or having a lot of money and then being curious that it might not show up in the way of winning the lottery, it might show up in a bazillion different ways. And then following the breadcrumbs when they pop up and give you insight into if your the way you're being is in fact generating and being curious about. Am I on the right track?
[11:17]
A
Yeah, you're totally on the right track. Yeah, you're totally on the right track. Being curious about what the next step is like show me the next step. And what happens is, is we always get that crumb that we might get a we might be walking outside and we see it on a billboard or you know what I mean? Or a song shows up or whatever that. And then we get hope. This is about bringing our hope back and our agency to make choices back. Cause we lose our agency in our modern world, especially women when we're expected to be all things and we've taken on the concept of superwoman and go get it and hustle and I'm so against the hustle culture. And also the there should never be blame in this game. This is all about self evolution, right? This is. And our brains change when we do this too, right? So when I am grateful for whatever form shows up and I can be joyful no matter what and then get curious about well, I wonder what that's gonna look like. Then all of a sudden, you know, something in my brain starts to turn on because I've told it and as a matter of fact it's the reticular activating system of the brain. If you don't mind me if I go into the sciency piece because it happens to all of us, right? There's real legitimate, you know, research on this that we all are born with a sorting system and that's like our own gen, our own algorithm in our head, right? So imagine it's like a bouncer at a party. If you keep rehearsing fear, it's going to let only the fear things coming in and it's going to show your eyeballs the lit up places in the world where you're going to see that that evidence reported back to say that yes What I am holding in here is evidential external to me because that's how we view the world. And if, for example, when you, when you're in a really freaked out mood and you are late, don't you notice all the red lights happen and then the road rage and somebody crosses in front of you. But when you're in a good mood, you're early.
[13:09]
B
Yes. Right.
[13:10]
A
So, so anyway, so imagine that bouncer, when you're just immersed in gratitude, says wow, well, that's important, whatever it is that that person is holding space for. So I'm gonna only let that come into the, into the party. Everybody else has to go now. We're gonna have a brand new party and we're also gonna, and we're gonna see the lit up Runway of people, places, things, opportunities that show up for us, that make no sense whatsoever. Because that's what synchronicity is, meaningful coincidences. And we start to see them show up for us because that's the job of our brain. But I know what the big curious part, which I still don't have an answer for, even though I've been in this world, in this intuitive world for 36 years, but I've still fascinates me. What is consciousness? How does the universe answer us? Why does it, you know, like what, what? And, and I'm still discovering that because I know it works, you know, it really does. What is it? Maybe that's what we're never gonna find out until we, we die.
[14:17]
B
Right.
[14:17]
A
Even mediumship has been something that's been very curious for me. With a big question mark. Well, how did that work? I don't know.
[14:23]
B
Right.
[14:23]
A
So really when you come down to it, I really don't know. Right. And it's like, and I think may curious hopefulness that we don't know, but maybe that's not for us to know. That the fact that remains that there is something even quantum physics. Now there's this new manifesto for post materialist science where all the greatest thinkers in the world have signed this document saying that consciousness is fundamental to life. That means everything is alive, everything is conscious. So when we're talking to the universe, it answers us in kind because we've rehearsed a state of being and we're gonna see more of that in the outer world.
[15:00]
B
Yeah, you were saying about you don't know first. I appreciate you saying that. Right. I think a lot of times we think we're supposed to have all the answers and, and all of that. And so there is still some mystery and some unknown. And it reminds me, often I tell myself, because my lean is to want to know. I want to know. I want to understand. I want to have the facts. And so sometimes I tell myself, your job isn't to know. It's to trust.
[15:27]
A
It's to experience.
[15:29]
B
Right, Right.
[15:30]
A
Experience and then discover. So, yes, to trust. I agree with you. Faith is about trust. Trusting in something that was ineffable and it's omniscient and we know it's there. We know miracles are true. We know that manifestation is a true thing because we're doing it all the time. You know, collective manifestation is being shown out on the world stage everywhere. When groups of people are very organized around thought or a concept, they can make huge either positive inroads for humanity or very negative ones. Like when entire cultures hate another one.
[16:04]
B
Right.
[16:04]
A
You can see how that works. You're swept up. You don't even know why. There's also cultural overrides. So what I talk about in the book is regardless of the chaos of the external world, we still can have faith and trust that something beautiful both and can exist at the same time. And that's why I wrote this book. Cause we need hope right now. We need hope. Do I know 100% how the co universe works? No. I had did so much research for this book, I drive all the science writers at Hay House crazy. I phoned them all the time. Okay, guys, this is what I experienced. One of my clients had this thing happen. What happened? Can you explain this to me? And they're like, well, I think it's this. I'm like, awesome, thank you. And then I go and research it again. And is that. And then people find out something new.
[16:52]
B
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[18:33]
A
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[18:55]
B
+@1Peloton.Com I have so many questions, but one of them is if we don't manifest what we want, we manifest who we are.
[19:05]
A
Yep.
[19:06]
B
And I know sometimes we feel like we're doing it wrong because we get what we don't think we want. Is there some value in I don't know if reverse engineering is the right term, but looking at what we're generating and going, what is that telling me about how I'm being or the beliefs I'm operating or what I'm practicing unconsciously, not from like a judgmental place, but from a neutral curiosity of like, what is what I'm manifesting telling me about how I'm being? Hello.
[19:38]
A
Yes, this is the best podcast I've ever been on, by the way. This is so good.
[19:43]
B
Thank you. Yes, of course.
[19:44]
A
Because why wouldn't we use it as a manner of self reflecting? Now that said, when difficult, really painful experiences happen, manifesting does not remove suffering from our lives. Right. Or from like problems or challenges or circumstances in our lives like death and illness. And well, sometimes we can create our illness. And that is true too. Like, what is this telling me? Like when I broke my foot two years ago, when I actually this is how I created this because I couldn't stand in front of a canvas and I'm like, well, I'm going to do line art then. So I realized that and slow me down. Okay? The broken foot was because I needed to slow Down. God forbid that I have to keep breaking my foot or something to slow down. But certain things happen because my. Our energy creates a circumstance where we actually have to learn something. But then there are other things where, like my grandfather was a. In the French resistance movement and we believed he was a French Jew and was killed in a concentration camp. He didn't manifest that. Right. He. Right. You know what I mean? So you can't say everything happens for a reason. But people experience their lives in such a way that within those circumstances, they still can manifest something extraordinary. When you say what we are. I'm a recovered addict, alcoholic, right? My spiritual life, all of this came about because I hit bottom. I had sexual violence in my 20s. I had a lot of stuff happen to me that, you know, created to a point in my life. In my early 20s, I wanted to kill myself. Right? And I'm walking proof that you can transform. And what I had to do in order to become this person that I am today, to have this extraordinary life, is reflect and inventory as often as I could to see what was I co creating. What in me was reflected in my choices that were unconscious. Like, oh, geez. It took me a long time to realize all the dysfunctional relationships I had. I was the common denominator. Like, wait a minute, right? You know, so it's like those kind of things, I think are really crucial. But I want to go back to the I didn't get what I want part. But what if you didn't get what you want yet? And I think that's it. We get very hung up on timing and form. We say, I want to be on this. I want to experience this wonderful thing. And then we get on that path. And you know how like I. My whole life I saw myself with a microphone in front of thousands of people. Well, that actually, I'll give you a perfect example. There's a place in Toronto, I'm Canadian, called Massey Hall. And I always visualize this. This was my dream, to be. To be in front of thousands of people with a microphone in Massey Hall. Now, my original dream was to be a recording artist. I did have that life. I have two lives, right, whatever here. But this was my true path. And I left the music industry. This became quite obvious that this was what the spirit had chosen for me. And one day Hay House did a big event at Massey hall. And I stood in front of thousands of people. And it hit me. There I was with the microphone. They were playing my albums in the background, right? While the people were coming in And I'm like, oh my God, I see it now. This, this was all about service, right? So when we are conscious of what do we want from the thing we say we want, right? Like, like you brought up like discipline. Imagine generosity. I always think of compassionate prosperity. When I want to create something. I want to create a new business something or something I want to make. I want to see people. My excitement is seeing the people light up. Like with this book, I know this is like once somebody does it, they'll tell their friends. And that was like. And it will their agency and their hope back. For me, that was the, that was the juice, right? So we, when we focus on the juice, we have no control over that though. And we let it go. We surrender it with joy. That's when the magic can happen. And that's the surrender part that people have trouble with.
[23:45]
B
Well, and I can also attest to how often in my life I've gotten exactly what I wanted. Sometimes it looks how I thought it would, but often it looks very different. And I found myself going, wow, you know, that's interesting. I got what I wanted in. In a. Oftentimes a much better, more aligned way. It shows up in a way that's truer to who I am. Whereas often when I visualized it back when I didn't know myself all that well, it was for different reasons or different purposes.
[24:18]
A
I'd like to add to that what you said, because I think what you said was very crucial for everybody who's listening. Because it is about who you. You were tr. Who you are. And so we might get a facsimile of it that in the beginning you say, well, this is sort of. Because it was true to who you were, right? And as you change and as you grow and you get more self aware, because it's really requires self awareness to do this, right? To do it. To do it in a way that is graceful and giving yourself grace, right? And then having a sense of humor and being neutral, like you said, that observer, you know, being in that kind of space, like, oh, that's interesting. That's actually one of the things. One of our mottos in one of my schools is, that's interesting. We just stay with curiosity. Well, I wonder what that means, right? And that's the other thing. We also are meaning makers. We assign meaning. The human beings assign meaning to everything. What are you making this mean? You know, like my husband and I are perfect examples. We're. Well, he's my type now, I'll tell you. He's the most gorgeous man I've ever set eyes on in my whole life. But he was too pretty. I never dated a guy that was so handsome and blonde and these eyes. I always dated swarthy Italians or Moroccan, I don't know, like just dark haired bad boys. And he was the nicest man, the most best looking guy ever seen. I was so intimidated. And he normally dated tall blonde models. He just never dated outside his type. And we met and that was the end of that. And I'm this curvy little thing, you know, that does this weird stuff for a living. And it just worked perfect. But neither one of us would have ever imagined the other, right? But it's the best thing that's ever happened to either one of us.
[25:55]
B
I say the same thing about my husband. We joke that if we would have met each other any earlier than when we did, neither one of us would have. I would have never seen him and he would not have been impressed by me. Right? It was divine timing that we met when we did because it couldn't have happened anytime previously because I wasn't who I needed to be and he wasn't who he needed to be.
[26:18]
A
I love that you said that too, because I think for anybody who's listening to the show, you have to know you guys are already manifesting all the time. We're always manifesting. We just want to do it consciously and be aware, Right? And then be really excited to see how the universe answers in the question and answer period. It's like, okay, universe, here's what I'm saying. And the drawing piece of the Art of Manifesting is the conversation. Like, you have the conversation by doing the doodles. And anybody can do it. Anybody can do this. You do not need to have one artistic bone in your body to do this.
[26:56]
B
So that's exactly where I wanted to go next. Because when I saw the title of your book, the Art of Manifesting, I didn't know you. We were actually talking about art, Right? The drawing element. So can you share a little bit about what this means and what it even looks like? I know the book walks you through it and gives examples, but for those people who can't see.
[27:17]
A
Oh, you. Okay, Right. So let's pretend we're not. We're not on video. Okay. So easy to do. All right. Easy peasy. So first of all, if you were five years old, ever, and you ever doodled on a piece of paper, you can do this. And the reason the doodling works, and I'm gonna just call it doodling Cause it takes off the pressure of art. Meditative drawing practice. Right, I get it. Like, we should have just said, doodle your destiny, but whatever. Anyway, so, so first of all, you prepare your paper and you create a symbol so that the paper then. So you do it actually by creating friction in your hands, and that actually activates something called chi. They teach this in qigong and tai chi, and this is not new. I'm a reiki master, too. So it's like a way for us to have the sense of energy. So we kind of put our hands together like this, and we wait until we feel pressure pushing back between our hands, and then we push that energy onto the paper by assigning meaning to the piece of paper. So now the paper represents the universe because it's a living thing. It's conscious, it's aware it's energy, because everything is energy. And science has proven that. I didn't make it up.
[28:28]
B
Right.
[28:28]
A
So then what we do is we place a dot on the page. We just draw a little dot on the page. No bigger than American dime, a little bit smaller. So, yeah, us dimes are tiny, right? So like, just a little smaller than a dime. And then you stare at it, and you start to notice that. That the paper just. You stare right at the. The black dot. And you'll notice that through your peripheral vision or your intuitive spidey senses, you start to see things that weren't there before. And it's kind of weird. And you'll see these little dots start moving around, and you're like, what am I looking at? But it's just a way for the brain to go, well, that's interesting. We need to pay attention to this. So basically what you did was you taught yourself something. You signal to the brain, this is alive. I felt it with my hands. Now I saw something that wasn't there before. So we are calling the invisible to visibility, right? That's what we're doing. So then the simplest way to do this drawing is circles. So we did a lot of research around circles. And when they first showed up in human art, like before there was spoken language. We spoke to each other through drawings. So back, I think it was. I might get this wrong. I think it's 600,000 or 700,000 BCE in India was the first rock drawings that we know of human art that we have evidence for that are circles and wavy lines, right? They're on this rock. So we're like, oh, that's interesting. And then you start seeing these things in cave drawings and things like that, hieroglyphs. So the round circle has always represented wholeness to us. Also, babies will, will grab a ball before they're going to grab anything sharp because we instinctively know that is safe. Our cells are spherical. The universe is made of spheres, right? So everything is spherical except the two dimensional world which we see, you know, that has a lot of sharp to it. So we draw a circle. So that circle becomes what we call a portal. So we just draw it really like go round and round, just focusing on gratitude. And if you can't think of something you're grateful for, if you are a mom, I always say, let's go back to a sense memory. If you've had a kid, the first moment you set eyes on that baby and that came out of you and you smelled its little head, right? And you fell in love with that, right? Just like, wow, right? For me, I haven't had kids. I couldn't have kids because of what happened to me. But I have. I rescue dogs, right? So the first time I set eyes on a dog that I know is for me, I'm like, oh my God. This, there's this relationship that I feel, other people might feel like when they got their first job, you'll just have to have a memory. So like I can recall that experience without thinking about a baby or a dog. Just that feeling. And then I could just go with it. So you go round and round and then you take these things called frequency lines. Now, now, so imagine right now you're looking at a page, a dot in the middle and a big circle around that, right? That you've done poorly, likely because it could look like a potato and it's perfect and you've traced it a few times. That means there's spaces between the lines. So you're seeing this kind of funky, funky circle of dot from the dot, which represents your intention to be grateful for whatever it is that you want to manifest, right? You take lines that are wavy and you don't have any pot, they go anywhere they want. They just have to go to the edge of the page. And these are flowy lines that don't repeat, they just go all over the place and you just let yourself flow. And I like to just do start with four, and then I go to eight. That tends to look the nicest anyway, and it's easiest. And then you trace those back. So that's your broadcast. Now human beings, all of us, broadcast our thoughts, feelings and beliefs continuously as a frequency to the universe. Like we're radios. You ever ask you ever thought about where a song goes, right? Like, where is that song that we hear on this, right? Like when you think about it, where is it? Like, where the heck is that? Well, we're the same. We are the radio and we're also receivers. So the universe is going to respond. So we pull back a line, like, we trace it back. Doesn't have to be perfect. As a matter of fact, perfection is not. We don't, we don't like perfection, right? So just bring it back as easy as you want. And that represents the universe answering a couple of times back and forth. And you go, I'm speaking to the universe. Universe is, I'm gonna expect. I trust and expect the universe is gonna give me an answer. Even if that answer is no, not yet, maybe tomorrow. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, even if it's that, like, I'm just gonna trust that there's an answer. But if I'm grateful, no matter what, the form is always gonna be perfect, right? If we start with gratitude, how can you, right? Even if it's like be happy with an O, you know what I mean? Like, I always also say, take it away from me if it's not for me. Take it away. And let me know really obviously that this is not for me, right? And I'm always amazed because it's always exciting to see what the universe says. So back to the drawing. So you put round, tiny. So you just stay with your drawing for fun and just keep drawing tiny little circles everywhere. Just fill it up with circles and just keep saying thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you along those frequency lines. And there's obviously more to it than this, but that is the way to do it is just to draw circles and say thank you. And if that's all you do, that's all you learn how to do. It still works.
[34:08]
B
So I'm excited to try this and for you, the listener. The book again is called the Art of Manifesting. It walks us through this and more. And it brings me to my last question. If we are broadcasting and receiving constantly and we are made up of our beliefs and our experiences, my question is, through the art of manifesting, through making different choices, through being differently, how much do you believe we are able to change or impact or how much is destiny? I'm curious, you know, what the science and the experience.
[34:51]
A
We need a whole hour.
[34:53]
B
I know, I know. Okay.
[34:55]
A
I believe two things. One, that we are responsible response, able to co create our reality in partnership with, with divinity, conscious, universe, whatever you Want to call it quantum field. But I also believe there are certain things that are going to happen and there are certain things that are destined. But for example, if you looked at my astrology chart when I was drinking and drugging and hurting myself and doing all of that, you would see the potential for what I became. But if I was drinking and drugging and not going to change, none of this would have happened. Do you know what I'm saying? So we are responsible for the experiences and also to be really aware of that conditioning, for example, because we're often unconscious about those choices and those beliefs, et cetera, because they've been conditioned. You started the show by talking about that. Right. So I think it's a mix of both. I think we have free will and there are certain things. I don't believe in absolute determinism. I believe all of us have the capacity to change and therefore impact the outer world. I do, yeah.
[36:01]
B
I don't have any evidence to support it, but that's what I believe too. So I'm glad you're here getting the evidence for us. And thank you, Colette, for being on the show, for doing this important work and for taking manifesting out of this sort of silly, I don't know, social media. You know what I'm saying? I greatly appreciate it. So again, the book is called the Art of Manifesting. You can find out more about Colette, all of her work on her website, colettebaronreid.com or going to put all the links, all the ways to find and follow Colette in show notes. Colette, thank you, thank you.
[36:37]
A
What a great show.
[36:38]
B
My absolute pleasure. And thank you for saying that. Okay, friend. What I love most about this conversation is that it reminds us that manifesting isn't about control or luck or doing everything right. It's not about getting the universe to say yes to you. It's about saying yes to the universe and to yourself. It's alignment, intention, participation. It's co creation. Not because you can control the outcome, but because you're choosing to engage with possibility. It's about remembering that creation doesn't just happen out there in our goals and in our achievements. It starts in here, in the spaces that we make for stillness, curiosity and for trust. We just have to be willing to listen to the whispers, to the nudges, to that deeper knowing that's been trying to get a word in edgewise beneath all of the noise. So whether you're a believer, a skeptic, or somewhere in between, maybe the point isn't to prove or disprove the mystical. Maybe it's just to stay open to the possibility that you are co creating something bigger than you can see right now. Because that trusting your connection, your intuition, your creative power, that's the real magic. And trust me, you are magical. You are mystical and you're here for a purpose, on purpose. So do your magic, because that is woman's work.

Summary6 min read

Episode Overview

Podcast: This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil
Episode: The Universe Is Not Uber Eats: The Truth About Manifesting with Colette Baron-Reid (#377)
Release Date: January 7, 2026
Host: Nicole Kalil
Guest: Colette Baron-Reid (Internationally respected author, intuitive, and Oracle expert)

Main Theme:
This episode demystifies the concept of "manifesting," exploring its real roots, common misconceptions, and practical ways women can engage with it authentically. Nicole and Colette discuss manifesting not as a tool for material entitlement, but as an invitation to conscious co-creation, alignment, and transformation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Manifesting: Beyond the Hashtags and Hype

(02:00–08:10)

Redefining Manifesting:
Nicole and Colette share skepticism around the commodification and dilution of manifesting in pop culture.

"Manifesting has been hijacked, watered down, turned into hashtag spirituality and influencer slogans. The real magic… has been stripped away." – Nicole (02:48)
Historical & Gendered Roots:
Nicole notes the persecution of intuitive women historically, underlining the ongoing tension between intuition and societal expectations.
Colette’s Perspective:
Colette aligns with Nicole's skepticism, revealing her own quest for scientific validation and her frustration with "performative spirituality."

"You don't manifest what you want, you manifest what you are." – Colette (06:38) Colette emphasizes manifesting as aligning with a state of being, not merely chasing outcomes.

2. How Manifesting Actually Works

(07:55–14:20)

From Wanting to Being:
Manifesting is less about "getting" and more about embodying the qualities you seek.

"How do we be in a way that we manifest our desires?" – Nicole (07:57)
Rehearsing the Having:
Colette explains the need to rehearse the feeling state you wish to experience, drilling down to your "why" behind desires, loosening attachment to specific outcomes, and cultivating curiosity and gratitude.

"The more we can wear the world loosely around our desires, the more likely they're going to show up. But not necessarily in the form we think is right." – Colette (08:53)
Following Synchronicities:
Colette advocates for trust, attention to meaningful coincidences ("breadcrumbs"), and leading with curiosity to recognize if you’re on your path.

3. Brain Science and Manifesting

(11:40–14:59)

Reticular Activating System:
Colette details the brain’s filtering system as the "bouncer at the party" that sorts evidence according to your rehearsed emotional states.

"If you keep rehearsing fear, it’s going to let only the fear things coming in... When you’re just immersed in gratitude... I’m going to only let that come into the party." – Colette (12:23)
Synchronicity & the Unknowable:
Both host and guest accept the element of mystery — even as science advances, not everything can be explained.

"What is consciousness? How does the universe answer us? ...Maybe that's what we're never gonna find out until we die." – Colette (13:35)

4. Reflection, Agency & Self-Discovery

(19:00–24:20)

Interpreting Outcomes:
Nicole asks if we can reverse-engineer what we're manifesting by examining our current realities. Colette encourages neutral curiosity over judgment.

"Why wouldn't we use it as a manner of self reflecting?" – Colette (19:44) She emphasizes pain and suffering are not always "manifested," but our responses and learnings are within our power.
Timing & Surrender:
Not getting what you want may be about timing, not denial.

"What if you didn’t get what you want yet? ...We get very hung up on timing and form." – Colette (21:10) Colette shares her life story and how, in hindsight, her desires appeared in more aligned ways than she could have imagined.

5. Practical Manifesting: The Art/Doodle Practice

(26:55–33:55)

Introducing Doodling as Manifesting Practice:
Colette describes the core exercise from her new book, The Art of Manifesting: a meditative drawing/doodling process designed to rewire the brain and embody intention.

"We are calling the invisible to visibility, right? That’s what we’re doing." – Colette (28:33)
Basic Steps:
- Rub hands to activate energy (chi).
- Imbue a piece of paper (the universe).
- Draw a dot (your intention) and a circle (wholeness/portal).
- Trace intuition-driven wavy lines ("frequency lines") from the dot to the edge.
- Trace back some lines, symbolizing the universe’s answers.
- Fill with small circles along lines, repeating “thank you.”
- Focus on gratitude, openness, and non-attachment to results.
Inclusivity:

"Anybody can do this. You do not need to have one artistic bone in your body to do this." – Colette (26:39)

6. Destiny vs. Free Will

(34:50–36:01)

Colette’s View:
Life is a mix of fate and free will; some things are destined, but our choices, conditioning, and conscious agency shape what unfolds.

"We are responsible—response-able—to co-create our reality… but there are certain things that are destined." – Colette (34:55)
Nicole’s Reflection:
Both agree on the blend—full determinism doesn’t ring true, nor does the idea we have total control.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Social Media Manifesting:
"I am fascinated and I'm also resistant. I'm curious and skeptical. I crave the mystical, but still want to understand it with my brain." – Nicole (03:03)
On Who We Become:
"You don't manifest what you want, you manifest what you are." – Colette (06:38)
On the Role of Suffering:
"Manifesting does not remove suffering from our lives … we can’t say everything happens for a reason. But people experience their lives in such a way that within those circumstances, they still can manifest something extraordinary." – Colette (19:46)
Surrender & Trust:
"When we focus on the juice, we have no control over that though. And we let it go. We surrender it with joy. That's when the magic can happen. And that's the surrender part that people have trouble with." – Colette (23:12)
Manifesting as Conversation:
"The drawing piece...is the conversation. Like, you have the conversation by doing the doodles." – Colette (26:41)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:00 | Nicole describes manifesting’s current pop culture narrative | | 03:56 | Colette’s reaction and history with manifesting | | 06:38 | “You don't manifest what you want, you manifest what you are.” | | 07:56 | Nicole: “How do we be in a way that we manifest our desires?” | | 08:11 | Colette: The importance of letting go of control | | 11:17 | Rehearsing “having”; cultivating curiosity and gratitude | | 12:23 | Reticular activating system analogy (“bouncer at the party”) | | 14:16 | Accepting the mystery & limits of knowing | | 19:06 | Nicole: Reverse-engineering what we manifest | | 19:44 | Colette: Manifesting as self-reflection—pain, surrender, growth | | 23:45 | Nicole: Getting what she wants, but not how she expected | | 26:39 | Drawing/doodling as a manifesting practice ("anybody can do this")| | 28:28 | Step-by-step meditative drawing method | | 34:50 | The mix of destiny and free will | | 36:37 | Nicole’s closing reflection on manifesting as trust, alignment |

Engaging Takeaways

Manifesting is not wish fulfillment:
It’s about co-creating with the universe—a process of becoming, not controlling. Release attachment to outcomes and focus on who you are being.
Curiosity, gratitude, and trust are crucial:
Stay open, curious, and grateful—lead with these rather than rigid expectations.
The power of embodiment and ritual:
Colette’s doodle/drawing practice offers an accessible, embodied approach that anyone can use, shifting manifesting from the conceptual to the practical.
We are always manifesting:
Awareness and intention transform this constant process from unconscious creation to empowered co-creation.

Final Words

"Manifesting isn't about control or luck or doing everything right... It's not about getting the universe to say yes to you. It's about saying yes to the universe and to yourself." – Nicole (36:37)

Want to try the practice?
See Colette's new book, The Art of Manifesting, or visit her at colettebaronreid.com.

—
Summary by This Is Woman's Work with Nicole Kalil, Episode 377:
A must-listen for anyone ready to strip away the noise, embrace authentic inner work, and co-create with the universe—on purpose.

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Transcript46 lines

[00:00]
A
Hey, it's Brooklyn Adams and I'm partnering with Abercrombie to tell you about the newest drop from their active brand, your Personal Best YPB leggings are made with buttery soft fabrics that hug you in all the right places. And common Abercrombie's viral curve Love fit designed to eliminate waist gap, paired with sports bras and super soft sweatshirts. It's activewear that supports every part of my busy lifestyle and gives me my best butt ever. Head into the new year feeling your personal best Shop Active by Abercrombie in the app, online and in stores.
[00:40]
B
I am Nicole Kahlil, and you're listening to the this Is Woman's Work podcast, where together we're redefining what it means, what it looks and feels like to be doing woman's Work in the world today with you as the decider. And there are lots of ways that we decide a lot of things that shape how we move through the world. Some of them are external the voices, expectations, and experiences that try to tell us who we should be. But there is also always the internal our intuition, thoughts, our feelings, our hopes, our head trash and those quiet, unique abilities that make us us. And the tricky part is, most of us have been trained to listen more to the noise around us than to the wisdom within us. We've been conditioned to seek validation instead of alignment. And when the outside world gets loud with opinions, pressure, and the endless shoulds, it's hard to hear the whispers of our inner knowing, isn't it? Which is why I wanted to cover today's topic on the show. Because it lives right at the intersection of intuition, creativity, and trust. A topic that I'll admit I have a complicated relationship with. And that's manifesting not because I don't believe in it. I do. I believe that there are things that we can't explain, energies that we can't measure, and gifts that connect us in ways that logic never could. I believe intuition is real. I believe some people just know things. And I'm fascinated by all of it. I mean, historically, women who have had these gifts, oracles, healers, and the deeply intuitive were called witches and burned for it. Maybe that's part of why I've always been drawn to the mystical. I even live in the town where more witches were put on trial than anywhere else in American history, which feels less like coincidence and more like cosmic assignment. But here's where I struggle. I believe powerful words like manifesting have been hijacked, watered down, turned into hashtag spirituality and influencer slogans. The real magic, the power, the mystery, the potential has been stripped away and packaged as 30 second reels. And I get that. That's my judgment. And like most judgments, I know it says more about me than about anyone else. But I am fascinated and I'm also resistant. I'm curious and skeptical. I crave the mystical, but still want to understand it with my brain. So in this episode we're opening our minds and more importantly our hearts to explore the art of manifesting. Our guest today is Colette Baron Reed, internationally respected author, intuitive and Oracle expert. Her best selling books and Oracle cards are published in 27 languages. And her new book, the Art of Manifesting, co authored with Anna Denning, is offers a meditative drawing practice to rewire your brain and to co create with the universe one circle and a few flowy lines at a time. So, Colette, thank you for being here. And I have to ask, as you are the expert, how do you feel about how manifesting is being portrayed?
[03:56]
A
Everything you said, I'm like, I'm like nodding, I'm going, this is the best introduction I have ever heard. I am exactly the same as you. I've been. I'm a complete skeptic and excited about the subject and everything that I've done up until now too. I came from academia, so it was. I've always wondered what the heck? And is there a science that can show me what this is? Can somebody explain it to me beyond the anecdotal evidence? But what you said about the way and performative spirituality, when it becomes a hashtag. I'm not a big fan of social media, even though my publisher makes me go on there and I have to figure a way how to say smart things in short times. But I've always been fascinated with this topic and very frustrated by it too. And I've experienced it both ways, both in the way which I talk about in the book, which is to align yourself with a state of being and becoming the person that has the experience that you say you want, as well as chasing something which never works, where the attachment to an outcome decides whether I'm successful or not, and very much relative to materialism. So I think what happened in 2006, first of all, manifesting is not new. I mean, when I first got introduced to it as a topic was 40 years ago when I got clean and sober. I just thought I would throw that in too. And I went to Unity Church and that's when I got completely dunked in the manifesting waters. Of the New Thought movement. But they really did have it right because they talked about the spiritual alignment and that when you are in this co creative flow in partnership with the divine. Right. So I was really lucky in that I was first introduced to it. Not so much as a process of go get the thing you want and more about be curious and be grateful for the gifts that spirit gives you and transform along the way. Because every time you set out to co create deliberately in partnership with a conscious universe, you are setting yourself up for a transformation journey too. Because you don't manifest what you want, you manifest what you are. Right? So. And that's what gets so confusing because people took it to go get something and that's not anyone's fault. We've been trained to be very linear, to go after things, to be entitled. Especially in the west, there's a huge entitlement like I should have that right. You know, I deserve that. I should go get, I should have that. If I look at it, that's what that secret did, right? That movie, like you just look at the bicycle and it's yours. That's not how it works. The universe is not Uber eats. You're in a partnership. You have to show up, you have to do the work, you have to become that person. Like if you have a goal in mind that you really want to create for yourself, but you haven't done any of the work to get there, how are you going to do that? You think you're just going to wiggle your nose? What happens, for example, to people when they win the lottery and they're not ready? They have no concept of holding space and, and, and, and being respectful of the money that they got? They spend it all, they squander it, right? It's like, who do we become in, in order for us to have the experience that whatever thing that we say we want implies is gonna give us?
[07:28]
B
I love this because this is, I think my beef with it is it's using manifesting to get what we want. And when it doesn't work that way because you don't manifest what you want, you are, as you said, and I wrote that down because I'm gonna keep that. We think we're doing it wrong or we think it doesn't work. And so I guess I wanna circle back. You said curious and grateful. Those were words that jumped out at me. But it sounds like it's less of a doing and more of a being.
[07:56]
A
Correct.
[07:57]
B
How do we be in a way that we manifest our desires? So let me Start there. Because I have a second follow up question. But how do we begin to be in a way that we co create?
[08:12]
A
Perfect. Okay, great question. Very great question. Okay, so let's first go quickly through the. Why do people want this, right? Why do people even go to manifesting for the first. Usually people get excited about manifesting because they think they're gonna have control over the world, right? The external world will be in their control. So first we have to let go of that, right? Because any kind of attachment to an outcome with the hidden agenda that I'm going to control my future is going to fail, right? Because we don't become what we need to become, right? And then the minute we start to blame ourselves, right? Then we then start to rehearse a feeling state. So this is the sciency part. So when we hold space for a feeling state that relates to say, I want to create this or I want to experience this in my life. So well, how do I go from A to B to get that right? To have that experience? So in advance of having it, you have to rehearse the having, right? But you have to really drill down for what's the why? You know, am I chasing this because it's going to redeem me in some way? Because it's going to make me safe? Because it's going to like, what are your whys for the point of it or is it just because. Wow, this is so curious and it's fun and let's see, right? The more we can be loose, wear the world loosely around our desires, the more likely they're going to show up. But not necessarily in the form that we think is right. That's the fun part. The curious part is, well, how will that show up for me if I don't have any attachment to the form? And I can trust? Remember we talked about trust? You brought that up first. Deep sense of trust and be grateful I've immersed myself in the state of gratitude and awe that there even is a conscious universe that I am a part of. Let me see what happens then. Lead with curiosity and follow the crumbs, which is the intentional synchronicity. Now let's look at.
[10:12]
B
Hmm.
[10:13]
A
What are the meaningful coincidences that show up for me that can tell me whether or not I'm on the right path or do I need to go on a detour to become, to learn more about life and myself so that I can actually land in that space? Did I give too much?
[10:31]
B
No, no, no, no. This is great. And I'm going to Try to put it what I heard, I think in the form of an example you used the winning the lottery. If we think about rehearsing the having as you said, what we might rehearse is being abundant, being generous, being disciplined. I don't know. There are a lot of ways of being that we can rehearse. When we think about generating or having a lot of money and then being curious that it might not show up in the way of winning the lottery, it might show up in a bazillion different ways. And then following the breadcrumbs when they pop up and give you insight into if your the way you're being is in fact generating and being curious about. Am I on the right track?
[11:17]
A
Yeah, you're totally on the right track. Yeah, you're totally on the right track. Being curious about what the next step is like show me the next step. And what happens is, is we always get that crumb that we might get a we might be walking outside and we see it on a billboard or you know what I mean? Or a song shows up or whatever that. And then we get hope. This is about bringing our hope back and our agency to make choices back. Cause we lose our agency in our modern world, especially women when we're expected to be all things and we've taken on the concept of superwoman and go get it and hustle and I'm so against the hustle culture. And also the there should never be blame in this game. This is all about self evolution, right? This is. And our brains change when we do this too, right? So when I am grateful for whatever form shows up and I can be joyful no matter what and then get curious about well, I wonder what that's gonna look like. Then all of a sudden, you know, something in my brain starts to turn on because I've told it and as a matter of fact it's the reticular activating system of the brain. If you don't mind me if I go into the sciency piece because it happens to all of us, right? There's real legitimate, you know, research on this that we all are born with a sorting system and that's like our own gen, our own algorithm in our head, right? So imagine it's like a bouncer at a party. If you keep rehearsing fear, it's going to let only the fear things coming in and it's going to show your eyeballs the lit up places in the world where you're going to see that that evidence reported back to say that yes What I am holding in here is evidential external to me because that's how we view the world. And if, for example, when you, when you're in a really freaked out mood and you are late, don't you notice all the red lights happen and then the road rage and somebody crosses in front of you. But when you're in a good mood, you're early.
[13:09]
B
Yes. Right.
[13:10]
A
So, so anyway, so imagine that bouncer, when you're just immersed in gratitude, says wow, well, that's important, whatever it is that that person is holding space for. So I'm gonna only let that come into the, into the party. Everybody else has to go now. We're gonna have a brand new party and we're also gonna, and we're gonna see the lit up Runway of people, places, things, opportunities that show up for us, that make no sense whatsoever. Because that's what synchronicity is, meaningful coincidences. And we start to see them show up for us because that's the job of our brain. But I know what the big curious part, which I still don't have an answer for, even though I've been in this world, in this intuitive world for 36 years, but I've still fascinates me. What is consciousness? How does the universe answer us? Why does it, you know, like what, what? And, and I'm still discovering that because I know it works, you know, it really does. What is it? Maybe that's what we're never gonna find out until we, we die.
[14:17]
B
Right.
[14:17]
A
Even mediumship has been something that's been very curious for me. With a big question mark. Well, how did that work? I don't know.
[14:23]
B
Right.
[14:23]
A
So really when you come down to it, I really don't know. Right. And it's like, and I think may curious hopefulness that we don't know, but maybe that's not for us to know. That the fact that remains that there is something even quantum physics. Now there's this new manifesto for post materialist science where all the greatest thinkers in the world have signed this document saying that consciousness is fundamental to life. That means everything is alive, everything is conscious. So when we're talking to the universe, it answers us in kind because we've rehearsed a state of being and we're gonna see more of that in the outer world.
[15:00]
B
Yeah, you were saying about you don't know first. I appreciate you saying that. Right. I think a lot of times we think we're supposed to have all the answers and, and all of that. And so there is still some mystery and some unknown. And it reminds me, often I tell myself, because my lean is to want to know. I want to know. I want to understand. I want to have the facts. And so sometimes I tell myself, your job isn't to know. It's to trust.
[15:27]
A
It's to experience.
[15:29]
B
Right, Right.
[15:30]
A
Experience and then discover. So, yes, to trust. I agree with you. Faith is about trust. Trusting in something that was ineffable and it's omniscient and we know it's there. We know miracles are true. We know that manifestation is a true thing because we're doing it all the time. You know, collective manifestation is being shown out on the world stage everywhere. When groups of people are very organized around thought or a concept, they can make huge either positive inroads for humanity or very negative ones. Like when entire cultures hate another one.
[16:04]
B
Right.
[16:04]
A
You can see how that works. You're swept up. You don't even know why. There's also cultural overrides. So what I talk about in the book is regardless of the chaos of the external world, we still can have faith and trust that something beautiful both and can exist at the same time. And that's why I wrote this book. Cause we need hope right now. We need hope. Do I know 100% how the co universe works? No. I had did so much research for this book, I drive all the science writers at Hay House crazy. I phoned them all the time. Okay, guys, this is what I experienced. One of my clients had this thing happen. What happened? Can you explain this to me? And they're like, well, I think it's this. I'm like, awesome, thank you. And then I go and research it again. And is that. And then people find out something new.
[16:52]
B
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[18:33]
A
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[18:55]
B
+@1Peloton.Com I have so many questions, but one of them is if we don't manifest what we want, we manifest who we are.
[19:05]
A
Yep.
[19:06]
B
And I know sometimes we feel like we're doing it wrong because we get what we don't think we want. Is there some value in I don't know if reverse engineering is the right term, but looking at what we're generating and going, what is that telling me about how I'm being or the beliefs I'm operating or what I'm practicing unconsciously, not from like a judgmental place, but from a neutral curiosity of like, what is what I'm manifesting telling me about how I'm being? Hello.
[19:38]
A
Yes, this is the best podcast I've ever been on, by the way. This is so good.
[19:43]
B
Thank you. Yes, of course.
[19:44]
A
Because why wouldn't we use it as a manner of self reflecting? Now that said, when difficult, really painful experiences happen, manifesting does not remove suffering from our lives. Right. Or from like problems or challenges or circumstances in our lives like death and illness. And well, sometimes we can create our illness. And that is true too. Like, what is this telling me? Like when I broke my foot two years ago, when I actually this is how I created this because I couldn't stand in front of a canvas and I'm like, well, I'm going to do line art then. So I realized that and slow me down. Okay? The broken foot was because I needed to slow Down. God forbid that I have to keep breaking my foot or something to slow down. But certain things happen because my. Our energy creates a circumstance where we actually have to learn something. But then there are other things where, like my grandfather was a. In the French resistance movement and we believed he was a French Jew and was killed in a concentration camp. He didn't manifest that. Right. He. Right. You know what I mean? So you can't say everything happens for a reason. But people experience their lives in such a way that within those circumstances, they still can manifest something extraordinary. When you say what we are. I'm a recovered addict, alcoholic, right? My spiritual life, all of this came about because I hit bottom. I had sexual violence in my 20s. I had a lot of stuff happen to me that, you know, created to a point in my life. In my early 20s, I wanted to kill myself. Right? And I'm walking proof that you can transform. And what I had to do in order to become this person that I am today, to have this extraordinary life, is reflect and inventory as often as I could to see what was I co creating. What in me was reflected in my choices that were unconscious. Like, oh, geez. It took me a long time to realize all the dysfunctional relationships I had. I was the common denominator. Like, wait a minute, right? You know, so it's like those kind of things, I think are really crucial. But I want to go back to the I didn't get what I want part. But what if you didn't get what you want yet? And I think that's it. We get very hung up on timing and form. We say, I want to be on this. I want to experience this wonderful thing. And then we get on that path. And you know how like I. My whole life I saw myself with a microphone in front of thousands of people. Well, that actually, I'll give you a perfect example. There's a place in Toronto, I'm Canadian, called Massey Hall. And I always visualize this. This was my dream, to be. To be in front of thousands of people with a microphone in Massey Hall. Now, my original dream was to be a recording artist. I did have that life. I have two lives, right, whatever here. But this was my true path. And I left the music industry. This became quite obvious that this was what the spirit had chosen for me. And one day Hay House did a big event at Massey hall. And I stood in front of thousands of people. And it hit me. There I was with the microphone. They were playing my albums in the background, right? While the people were coming in And I'm like, oh my God, I see it now. This, this was all about service, right? So when we are conscious of what do we want from the thing we say we want, right? Like, like you brought up like discipline. Imagine generosity. I always think of compassionate prosperity. When I want to create something. I want to create a new business something or something I want to make. I want to see people. My excitement is seeing the people light up. Like with this book, I know this is like once somebody does it, they'll tell their friends. And that was like. And it will their agency and their hope back. For me, that was the, that was the juice, right? So we, when we focus on the juice, we have no control over that though. And we let it go. We surrender it with joy. That's when the magic can happen. And that's the surrender part that people have trouble with.
[23:45]
B
Well, and I can also attest to how often in my life I've gotten exactly what I wanted. Sometimes it looks how I thought it would, but often it looks very different. And I found myself going, wow, you know, that's interesting. I got what I wanted in. In a. Oftentimes a much better, more aligned way. It shows up in a way that's truer to who I am. Whereas often when I visualized it back when I didn't know myself all that well, it was for different reasons or different purposes.
[24:18]
A
I'd like to add to that what you said, because I think what you said was very crucial for everybody who's listening. Because it is about who you. You were tr. Who you are. And so we might get a facsimile of it that in the beginning you say, well, this is sort of. Because it was true to who you were, right? And as you change and as you grow and you get more self aware, because it's really requires self awareness to do this, right? To do it. To do it in a way that is graceful and giving yourself grace, right? And then having a sense of humor and being neutral, like you said, that observer, you know, being in that kind of space, like, oh, that's interesting. That's actually one of the things. One of our mottos in one of my schools is, that's interesting. We just stay with curiosity. Well, I wonder what that means, right? And that's the other thing. We also are meaning makers. We assign meaning. The human beings assign meaning to everything. What are you making this mean? You know, like my husband and I are perfect examples. We're. Well, he's my type now, I'll tell you. He's the most gorgeous man I've ever set eyes on in my whole life. But he was too pretty. I never dated a guy that was so handsome and blonde and these eyes. I always dated swarthy Italians or Moroccan, I don't know, like just dark haired bad boys. And he was the nicest man, the most best looking guy ever seen. I was so intimidated. And he normally dated tall blonde models. He just never dated outside his type. And we met and that was the end of that. And I'm this curvy little thing, you know, that does this weird stuff for a living. And it just worked perfect. But neither one of us would have ever imagined the other, right? But it's the best thing that's ever happened to either one of us.
[25:55]
B
I say the same thing about my husband. We joke that if we would have met each other any earlier than when we did, neither one of us would have. I would have never seen him and he would not have been impressed by me. Right? It was divine timing that we met when we did because it couldn't have happened anytime previously because I wasn't who I needed to be and he wasn't who he needed to be.
[26:18]
A
I love that you said that too, because I think for anybody who's listening to the show, you have to know you guys are already manifesting all the time. We're always manifesting. We just want to do it consciously and be aware, Right? And then be really excited to see how the universe answers in the question and answer period. It's like, okay, universe, here's what I'm saying. And the drawing piece of the Art of Manifesting is the conversation. Like, you have the conversation by doing the doodles. And anybody can do it. Anybody can do this. You do not need to have one artistic bone in your body to do this.
[26:56]
B
So that's exactly where I wanted to go next. Because when I saw the title of your book, the Art of Manifesting, I didn't know you. We were actually talking about art, Right? The drawing element. So can you share a little bit about what this means and what it even looks like? I know the book walks you through it and gives examples, but for those people who can't see.
[27:17]
A
Oh, you. Okay, Right. So let's pretend we're not. We're not on video. Okay. So easy to do. All right. Easy peasy. So first of all, if you were five years old, ever, and you ever doodled on a piece of paper, you can do this. And the reason the doodling works, and I'm gonna just call it doodling Cause it takes off the pressure of art. Meditative drawing practice. Right, I get it. Like, we should have just said, doodle your destiny, but whatever. Anyway, so, so first of all, you prepare your paper and you create a symbol so that the paper then. So you do it actually by creating friction in your hands, and that actually activates something called chi. They teach this in qigong and tai chi, and this is not new. I'm a reiki master, too. So it's like a way for us to have the sense of energy. So we kind of put our hands together like this, and we wait until we feel pressure pushing back between our hands, and then we push that energy onto the paper by assigning meaning to the piece of paper. So now the paper represents the universe because it's a living thing. It's conscious, it's aware it's energy, because everything is energy. And science has proven that. I didn't make it up.
[28:28]
B
Right.
[28:28]
A
So then what we do is we place a dot on the page. We just draw a little dot on the page. No bigger than American dime, a little bit smaller. So, yeah, us dimes are tiny, right? So like, just a little smaller than a dime. And then you stare at it, and you start to notice that. That the paper just. You stare right at the. The black dot. And you'll notice that through your peripheral vision or your intuitive spidey senses, you start to see things that weren't there before. And it's kind of weird. And you'll see these little dots start moving around, and you're like, what am I looking at? But it's just a way for the brain to go, well, that's interesting. We need to pay attention to this. So basically what you did was you taught yourself something. You signal to the brain, this is alive. I felt it with my hands. Now I saw something that wasn't there before. So we are calling the invisible to visibility, right? That's what we're doing. So then the simplest way to do this drawing is circles. So we did a lot of research around circles. And when they first showed up in human art, like before there was spoken language. We spoke to each other through drawings. So back, I think it was. I might get this wrong. I think it's 600,000 or 700,000 BCE in India was the first rock drawings that we know of human art that we have evidence for that are circles and wavy lines, right? They're on this rock. So we're like, oh, that's interesting. And then you start seeing these things in cave drawings and things like that, hieroglyphs. So the round circle has always represented wholeness to us. Also, babies will, will grab a ball before they're going to grab anything sharp because we instinctively know that is safe. Our cells are spherical. The universe is made of spheres, right? So everything is spherical except the two dimensional world which we see, you know, that has a lot of sharp to it. So we draw a circle. So that circle becomes what we call a portal. So we just draw it really like go round and round, just focusing on gratitude. And if you can't think of something you're grateful for, if you are a mom, I always say, let's go back to a sense memory. If you've had a kid, the first moment you set eyes on that baby and that came out of you and you smelled its little head, right? And you fell in love with that, right? Just like, wow, right? For me, I haven't had kids. I couldn't have kids because of what happened to me. But I have. I rescue dogs, right? So the first time I set eyes on a dog that I know is for me, I'm like, oh my God. This, there's this relationship that I feel, other people might feel like when they got their first job, you'll just have to have a memory. So like I can recall that experience without thinking about a baby or a dog. Just that feeling. And then I could just go with it. So you go round and round and then you take these things called frequency lines. Now, now, so imagine right now you're looking at a page, a dot in the middle and a big circle around that, right? That you've done poorly, likely because it could look like a potato and it's perfect and you've traced it a few times. That means there's spaces between the lines. So you're seeing this kind of funky, funky circle of dot from the dot, which represents your intention to be grateful for whatever it is that you want to manifest, right? You take lines that are wavy and you don't have any pot, they go anywhere they want. They just have to go to the edge of the page. And these are flowy lines that don't repeat, they just go all over the place and you just let yourself flow. And I like to just do start with four, and then I go to eight. That tends to look the nicest anyway, and it's easiest. And then you trace those back. So that's your broadcast. Now human beings, all of us, broadcast our thoughts, feelings and beliefs continuously as a frequency to the universe. Like we're radios. You ever ask you ever thought about where a song goes, right? Like, where is that song that we hear on this, right? Like when you think about it, where is it? Like, where the heck is that? Well, we're the same. We are the radio and we're also receivers. So the universe is going to respond. So we pull back a line, like, we trace it back. Doesn't have to be perfect. As a matter of fact, perfection is not. We don't, we don't like perfection, right? So just bring it back as easy as you want. And that represents the universe answering a couple of times back and forth. And you go, I'm speaking to the universe. Universe is, I'm gonna expect. I trust and expect the universe is gonna give me an answer. Even if that answer is no, not yet, maybe tomorrow. Do you know what I'm saying? Like, even if it's that, like, I'm just gonna trust that there's an answer. But if I'm grateful, no matter what, the form is always gonna be perfect, right? If we start with gratitude, how can you, right? Even if it's like be happy with an O, you know what I mean? Like, I always also say, take it away from me if it's not for me. Take it away. And let me know really obviously that this is not for me, right? And I'm always amazed because it's always exciting to see what the universe says. So back to the drawing. So you put round, tiny. So you just stay with your drawing for fun and just keep drawing tiny little circles everywhere. Just fill it up with circles and just keep saying thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you along those frequency lines. And there's obviously more to it than this, but that is the way to do it is just to draw circles and say thank you. And if that's all you do, that's all you learn how to do. It still works.
[34:08]
B
So I'm excited to try this and for you, the listener. The book again is called the Art of Manifesting. It walks us through this and more. And it brings me to my last question. If we are broadcasting and receiving constantly and we are made up of our beliefs and our experiences, my question is, through the art of manifesting, through making different choices, through being differently, how much do you believe we are able to change or impact or how much is destiny? I'm curious, you know, what the science and the experience.
[34:51]
A
We need a whole hour.
[34:53]
B
I know, I know. Okay.
[34:55]
A
I believe two things. One, that we are responsible response, able to co create our reality in partnership with, with divinity, conscious, universe, whatever you Want to call it quantum field. But I also believe there are certain things that are going to happen and there are certain things that are destined. But for example, if you looked at my astrology chart when I was drinking and drugging and hurting myself and doing all of that, you would see the potential for what I became. But if I was drinking and drugging and not going to change, none of this would have happened. Do you know what I'm saying? So we are responsible for the experiences and also to be really aware of that conditioning, for example, because we're often unconscious about those choices and those beliefs, et cetera, because they've been conditioned. You started the show by talking about that. Right. So I think it's a mix of both. I think we have free will and there are certain things. I don't believe in absolute determinism. I believe all of us have the capacity to change and therefore impact the outer world. I do, yeah.
[36:01]
B
I don't have any evidence to support it, but that's what I believe too. So I'm glad you're here getting the evidence for us. And thank you, Colette, for being on the show, for doing this important work and for taking manifesting out of this sort of silly, I don't know, social media. You know what I'm saying? I greatly appreciate it. So again, the book is called the Art of Manifesting. You can find out more about Colette, all of her work on her website, colettebaronreid.com or going to put all the links, all the ways to find and follow Colette in show notes. Colette, thank you, thank you.
[36:37]
A
What a great show.
[36:38]
B
My absolute pleasure. And thank you for saying that. Okay, friend. What I love most about this conversation is that it reminds us that manifesting isn't about control or luck or doing everything right. It's not about getting the universe to say yes to you. It's about saying yes to the universe and to yourself. It's alignment, intention, participation. It's co creation. Not because you can control the outcome, but because you're choosing to engage with possibility. It's about remembering that creation doesn't just happen out there in our goals and in our achievements. It starts in here, in the spaces that we make for stillness, curiosity and for trust. We just have to be willing to listen to the whispers, to the nudges, to that deeper knowing that's been trying to get a word in edgewise beneath all of the noise. So whether you're a believer, a skeptic, or somewhere in between, maybe the point isn't to prove or disprove the mystical. Maybe it's just to stay open to the possibility that you are co creating something bigger than you can see right now. Because that trusting your connection, your intuition, your creative power, that's the real magic. And trust me, you are magical. You are mystical and you're here for a purpose, on purpose. So do your magic, because that is woman's work.