I had the incredible good fortune of speaking to Melissa Etheridge on the phone recently about my favorite topic: manifesting.
As the co-founder of a company focused on personal growth, I spend my days learning from incredible experts and sharing their wisdom to inspire and empower people to manifest a life they love.
And what better example of doing that than Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter, Platinum-record selling superstar and activist Melissa Etheridge? This past March, I got to meet Melissa face-to-face in Napa Valley when she performed at the ultra exclusive Live in the Vineyard music, food and wine fest.
When Etheridge graciously agreed to hop on the phone with me, we spent some time talking about how she has manifested her dream life, and the advice she has for those that want to do the same.
Here were are favorite takeaways from Etheridge on manifesting your greatest desires:
We're manifesting all day long -- all of the time. Most of us aren't aware of the fact that we are the powerful creators of our realities -- that we draw to ourselves people and experiences that reflect our conscious and subconscious beliefs. "Most of us don't understand the nature of the reality that we're in," Melissa explained. But once you harness the power of your thoughts, you can create any reality you want. You're manifesting all the time -but are you manifesting what you want?
Examine your beliefs. Manifesting begins with belief, Melissa shares, because that's what you're going to attract to you everyday -- exactly what you believe. "You have to go inside yourself and examine your beliefs," Melissa explains. "And you have to understand your hidden beliefs -- the beliefs that you don't even know you have that are tripping you up. If you understand the power of your beliefs, the rest is easy."
Be specific and you can truly manifest anything you desire. "I read so many books about quantum physics and all of the religions of the world and decided that I wanted to take my thought processes and desires to a higher level and I wanted to change the world and work with people who want to change the world. But at the end of my grand list of desires I also threw in there that I wanted to win an Oscar," Melissa told me with a laugh. And so, Melissa explained, she set that intention, too. And then as the months past, she got a call from Al Gore who was working on his global warming project An Inconvenient Truth. At the time, it was just a slide show. "I thought, great! I'm manifesting people that want to change the world!" Melissa said. "So I write a song for his film that I thought was going to be shown in high schools. And it ends up being a real game changer. And guess what? I won an Oscar for it!"
When your ego voice shuts up, you'll find your higher self inside you. "When I went through treatment for breast cancer, I wasn't working. I was in bed for weeks and at home for months," Melissa shared. "And basically what happened was that my mind tape when off the reel. I had nothing left to think about. When that voice that explains the world to me -- the ego voice -- finally shut up, I realized there was a whole higher self, a spirit, inside me. And that's where all my power is."
Your desires change -- and that's okay! As time goes by, Melissa told me, our desires shift -- what we want at one point in our lives morphs into something else. But the magic is that you can manifest your new desires and change course over and over again. "I spent my entire life focused on making music," Melissa explained. "I wanted to write music and share it and for it to be meaningful to the world." But, she continued, "you can start with one desire but then you grow and get older and what you want changes. So, 10 years ago, I realized that I don't want to just be rich and famous, I want to contribute. I want to feel that connection with my fellow men and women of the earth." And so Melissa got super plugged into making a difference -- and she's making that happen. She has also left her old record label to bravely start her own and sprung a fabulous new beginning.
At the end of our conversation, Melissa sums up manifesting beautifully: "Know that everything you say, and everything you do, and everything you think comes to you. It's an inside job."
You have the power to change your entire reality -- it's as simple as that. You ready?
Want more on manifesting your dream life? Check out this free training workshop outlining the simple steps to manifest whatever you want. No catch. Just free!
Want to see Melissa Etheridge live this summer? Check out her tour dates or come see her with me at the Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa, CA on July 25th!