There are times in our lives when no matter what we do, we can’t seem to create the results we are looking for. Maybe we’re trying to manifest something and it’s just not appearing. Or maybe we’ve worked REALLY hard on a project and it’s just not taking off like we’d hoped right away or as quickly as we like. Or maybe a relationship that we’ve been working really hard at improving appears as though it is failing.

But is that really what’s happening? Are things really not turning out like they’re “supposed” to?

That’s just it. Maybe they are and we just don’t know it yet. The truth is that EVERYTHING happens for a reason, whether we realize it at the time or not. It’s not just a saying. It’s the truth. There’s just no possible way in this big Universe that we can ever know everything that’s going on “behind the scenes” that might be affecting the outcome of our lives. There are unseen forces at work all around us ALL THE TIME.

Influences that can affect manifestation include:

1. You are a powerful creator, but you’re not the only one. Each and every one of us is constantly creating and recreating our worlds around us. Each of us influences our surroundings all the time. Imagine how your ability to shift things just might possibly shift things for someone else and vice versa.
2. World events can shift energy very quickly. Something big like the hurricane we just experienced on the East Coast, or other disasters that make the stock market plummet such as 9-11, are great examples of events that have such an impact on the world that it shifts everything for a lot of people – and quite often toward the negative financially, mentally, and emotionally.
3. Astrological influences can really have an impact. Most people know, for example, when Mercury is in retrograde. Technology goes haywire, meetings and phone calls get missed, and we almost feel like we’re taking steps backward instead of forward.
4. Special projects we’re working on can even place a hold on our manifestation efforts. The reason why is because we might be pouring and excessive amount of energy into a particular project just to see it come to fruition. This may not only be exhausting, but it truly can be a drain on our valuable creation energy – even more than we realize.
5. Other people. It doesn’t take much explanation to delve into this one. How many times have you found yourself blaming those around you for your bad luck or things not turning out like you want. Yes, people can interfere, but remember – only as much as we let them.

So what do you do about it?

The first thing you have to do is RELAX and BREATHE. TRUST and KNOW that you will receive what you are asking for when the time is right and in the form you are intended to receive it. After all, aside from all the possible influences I described above, there might be a really good reason you haven’t received what you are asking for yet. Maybe you need to be right where you are right now for some reason you don’t quite understand yet. Or maybe you are better off NOT having it just for now. You really don’t know what sort of things will come along with it and maybe you’re just not prepared yet for the shift. And that’s OK. You WILL be – when the time is right.

Stay positive! Don’t allow yourself to revert to negative thinking just because things are not going exactly as planned. And don’t stop trying and don’t give up, just because things are not turning out EXACTLY like you had hoped. It could be that things may actually turn out BETTER than you had expected, even if it’s not originally what you had planned on, just because it happened a bit later than you expected. Instead of seeing it as a bad thing, try looking at it as a GOOD thing.

And lastly, just because you feel like influences outside of yourself and outside of your control may be interfering with your manifestation process, remember, nothing is really outside of your control. It’s all about how much you let the outside influences affect you and how much your believe in their ability to control you and your ability to create.

Remember, YOU and ONLY YOU are the powerful creator of your own experience – no one else but you.