Sage Advice for a Stress-free Life

“I do not worry about what will happen, only what needs to be done.”

- character Luscious Hart in The Village

According to…Carnelian Sage in her little book The Greatest Manifestation Principle in the World, if a person’s behavior epitomizes a stressful, angry reaction to all life has to offer, it doesn’t matter how many times he or she affirms a new, ideal situation or visualizes the physical item longed for. Affirming a change in personality, for instance, while roaring at the world will not help manifest the desire because as Sage says, “Every thought, action, decision or feeling creates a vortex of interconnected, dynamic energy fields of life that leave a permanent record for all time” (41-2). Life is responding to that “permanent record,” not to the new desire for which a person is affirming. You are also responding to that “permanent record,” so perhaps the answer to less stress can begin with some emotional and mental housecleaning.

The best tool in your anti-stress arsenal is love, but what exactly is love? Sage says, “Love is a state of being not a state of feeling. It goes well beyond the realm of the emotions. It’s an attitude of benevolence and kindness towards all creation, including one’s self, at all times and under all circumstances” (67). Sage further describes love by saying, “Any endeavor that employs the magnetism of love MUST necessarily manifest because love’s frequency is a vibrational match to that of God, who is the architect of all creation” (67). Detach yourself from a state of wanting (56).

Not only are our limiting thoughts working within us, but even the so-called positive thoughts may be tainted by a needy, lower vibration. Sage explains, “You see, positive thoughts and feelings are not all created equal. Just thinking of something pleasurable or delightful creates vibrations of a lower frequency than love because those thoughts and feelings are self-oriented (receiving) whereas love is outwardly-oriented (giving)” (86). Sage speaks of an energy field “that surrounds and permeates all things, embodying all existence, both seen and unseen” (4). No matter how you name this source, it is this energy field to which Sage refers when she writes, “It is when you transcend your ego, let go of your desires, and stay in harmony with this field, that your desires can and MUST necessarily manifest into existence” (6). After all, “Positive thoughts and feelings mean very little unless you can make it a habit to focus on them frequently throughout the day” (46). Perhaps there is too much emphasis on positive and negative, but basically, if you are walking around saying, “I won’t yell at my kid,” or “I’ll try not to argue with my spouse,” clearly an approach in harmony with Love would be more effective. It is less stressful if, when facing your stressor, you can take responsibility for what you are bringing to the situation.

Stress won’t be able to accompany an event if the event isn’t negatively judged because you will remain connected to the energy field (119). To illustrate, if you are meeting with someone in whose presence you always feel powerless and bullied, standing in the vibration of the all-encompassing Love and know ahead of time what you will and will not allow can reduce stress. Sage advises, “Instead of preoccupying yourself with the event, person or situation that your ego has perceived as being the cause of your negative emotional state, separate yourself from your ego and realize that you are the spectator of the thinking” (128). Listen with Love, knowing that it’s safe to say no if you’re uncertain about your present course of action. Acknowledge yourself for making the right decisions and examine emotions that may surface. Noticing if you’re judging your actions rather than discerning that you have a right to say no, for example, may help you stand up for yourself without guilt. After all, as Sage states, “The source of the disappointment stems from the way you see things and label things. With constant surrender, however, virtually all things that you regard as undesirable ─ including illness, lack, hostility, heartbreak and other challenging issues vanish ─ and your life becomes transformed” (119).

If people could stop and ask themselves, “How can I bring love to this interaction?” manifesting desires would be successful, though perhaps not with the outcome at first expected (68, 71). With Love, Sage says, “You’re simply envisioning something that’s already real in the energy field” (56) Sage’s definition of love “is a way for you to be ─ as opposed to merely a way for you to act, look or behave” (80). Sage reminds us, “You can find beauty and love in yourself by moving yourself into the field of awareness that you are love” (116). A bonus is that peace accompanies love (116). Remember, “Love is not just something you do. It’s what you are” (93).

Surrender is allowing a moment to flow without trying to manipulate it, to please others, or to force something to happen. Surrender can help you have a stress-free life. If what you want in life is more time to read and broaden your horizons, then writing down a description of where you want that reading to take place may help to organize your thoughts on creating the possibility. For example, I wrote down what I wanted my future job to look like and one stipulation was that I would have opportunities to read. I ended up becoming a sign language interpreter who reads whenever my clients are busy working. I was doubly blessed because I was either doing what I loved to do, interpreting, or doing what I loved to do, reading. My point is that I was clear about my goal and had no doubt that it would manifest, but I maintained detachment about the particulars of when or how it would be realized. As Sage writes, “In order to get what you want in life you have to let go of wanting it in the first place” (52). It requires surrendering “your desire to the divine” and “what you get is infinitely better than what you desired in the first place” (53). Concerning my initial goal to acquire a job that allowed ample opportunity to read, as an interpreter I am able to use the built in down time to conduct research for a book I am writing.

How does the business of manifesting work? Sage says, “The manifestation of desires is directly in proportion to your connection with the energy field” (54). The energy field thus will mirror back to you the connection you have with it. Sage writes, “The circumstances in your life are the energy field’s response to your communication.” The first step may be to observe occurrences in your life. Do you always seem to have the same kind of boy/girlfriend, boss, job, teacher, or car problems? Awareness is always a nice part of diagnosing stress levels. Next, if you want some firsthand tangible proof of life manifesting your desires, do an experiment. Visualize something in great detail. Perhaps draw it or write a description. Focus on seeing it come into your life like feel that something in your hand, or picture yourself stroking it, and then let the whole matter go.

I once did this with a clown. First, I imagined the most perfect clown and visualized every about it. Second, I envisioned it facing me, waving. Lastly, I let the whole thing go. Soon afterward, I heard an analogy about clowns on the radio, and someone else mentioned having a huge foot and having their shoe looking like a clown’s shoe. It was at this point that I mentally acknowledged that my clown had started to manifest in my life. I visualized the clown again, and let it go again.

Shortly thereafter, I started seeing a flurry of clowns. Millions of small clown figures were in a store window I happened to peak into, students made mistakes by accidentally signing in American Sign Language, “clown,” “circus,” and someone commented about their home being a circus.

I knew I was getting closer on the day a woman entered a room wearing a purple shirt with a clown on it, the clown being dressed in red polka dots. It was a very close approximation to the clown I had envisioned and after acknowledging that, I let it go again. Amazingly, later on that day while entering the freeway entrance, a car illegally passed me on my right and got in front of me. In its back window, I saw my clown in the form of a small figurine, right hand up, waving at me.

If we are this powerful, then surely we can find a way to surrender in life enough not to effect our blood pressure and bodily functions with too much stress and anxiety. Sage says, “You can take anything you desire from formless to concrete expression simply by reconnecting with this [source energy] field” (5). When a person realigns him or herself with this field, she writes, “All things are possible” (6).

Sage feels that a desire’s opposite will also be established just by having the desire, which she calls “the positionality of duality” (53). In its simplest form, Sage describes this possitionality of duality by saying, “You cannot perceive wealth except against the background of poverty (or absence of wealth), nor can you perceive happiness except against the background of unhappiness” (53). To be clear about the magnification of feelings, Sage writes, “‘Wanting’ things reinforces a state of lack and keeps you in a state of wanting. Focusing on this brings you more lack.” (54). For instance, to illustrate, in visualizing the clown, there was no desire. I simply expected to see it; therefore, I didn’t create “the positionality of duality” and experienced no interference with the manifestation. Sage writes, “The effortless way to achieve your heart’s desire is to let go of your attachment to results, and focus on love instead” since “Love is a catalyst by which all good things happen (68). Sometimes what you envisioned will be surpassed by the something “infinitely better than that which you desired” in the first place (68).

Waiting for a desire to manifest is revealing a lack of trust. Sage says, “Questioning the status of the manifestation of your desires, you actually slow down the process of their fulfillment because you’ve allowed your ego to dictate a time frame” (47). The concern is that it sets up “resistance, instead of just allowing the universe (energy field) to bring your desires at the appropriate time” (47). A person’s ego is most likely not aware of the appropriate time for the manifestation to take place. Also, it’s not advisable to allow the ego to decide on how your desires should be manifested either (47). People may miss opportunities with their limited thinking (48).

Part of the problem with how we react to stress comes from our upbringing. Sage writes, “From the time we’re old enough to talk, our parents, society, and the world in general, train us to be results-oriented” (68). Success is evaluated by the results of our efforts (68). This not only can cause stress, it causes people to fall into the pit of being results-minded, failing to “activate the one thing ─ love ─ that gives wings to our desires” (69). We have learned that “actions cause results,” instead of learning surrendering in the “love” state causes results (69). Sage suggests, “The best thing to do is to let go of all experiences that you perceive to be undesirable or unfortunate, and trust instead in the higher providential (karma) order of things” (51-52). Keep yourself safe, change what is in your power to change, and inhabit the Love vibration.

Stress comes from wishing and hoping and forcing reality to be different than it is. If your to-do list is unrealistically long for the available time you have allowed, calmly tend to it by being in the moment with each task until you are either finished or out of time. Getting your adrenalin pumping and becoming angry won’t help the list to be finished any quicker. If you’re experiencing stress, then you’re not experiencing kindness to yourself, so following Sage’s train of thought, stress isn’t loving yourself…or her definition of love. “Love is the attitude of benevolence, reverence and kindness for all creation, including one’s self, at all times and under all circumstances” (93). Our bodies know when it’s time to stop working and to either move onto another task or to sleep, for instance. It’s stressful when there’s still so much homework to do, but no time left. Sometimes you just need to be in surrender over the outcome of grades on a report card, lack of job promotions, and/or rising costs. Know that they do not define you, and choose health. Sage reminds us, “When you consider that superior athletes are able to break through barriers of human possibility when motivated by love, so can you break through to the unimaginable, indescribable world where effortless creation is a way of life” (68).

In order to enjoy stress-free moments, all we need is to stand in the vibration of love.

To learn more about manifesting your desires, please read, The Greatest Manifestation Principle in the World: The Missing Secret Behind the Law of Attraction That Will Enable You to Finally Manifest Your Desires by Carnelian Sage.