The neuroscience of manifesting and my story

When I first came across Tara Swart’s The Source: The Secrets of the Universe, the Science of the Brain, it felt like finding a missing piece. Here was someone who spoke the language of both intuition and neuroscience, offering a framework for creating tangible transformation. Swart invites us to see that manifestation is not just “wishful thinking,” but a practice grounded in how our brains actually work, and how we can rewire them.

Her core message is that our thoughts, emotions, focus, and actions interact with our brain’s plasticity (our brain’s ability to change and form new connections) to shape what becomes possible. She speaks of selective attention and value tagging (i.e. how the brain prioritises what matters) as foundational neurological processes that underpin manifestation. She outlines a kind of four-step method:

1. Raise awareness (notice limiting beliefs and mental habits)

2. Focus attention (observe and redirect)

3. Deliberate practice (embed new thought–action patterns)

4. Accountability (tools or supports to sustain change). 

Swart also reminds us that manifestation is not about passive dreaming. It requires that we act - but from a place of alignment, rather than force or desperation. She reminds us that the brain is naturally wired to focus on potential threats or risks - which is why negative thinking can feel so persistent. In other words, our “protective” pathways are stronger by default (it’s an evolutionary thing!). Real transformation means gently retraining the brain to move away from those fear-based loops and towards more balanced, positive ones - a process that takes mindfulness, time and consistency.

There’s also a deeply nurturing strand to Swart’s work: caring for the brain (nutrition, rest, emotional regulation), integrating logic, intuition, creativity, and cultivating a mindset of abundance and connection, not just scarcity. 

All of this gave me a language for something I had already begun doing - getting clear on the life I wanted and externalising my intentions. 

From vision list to real life: my manifestation story

In my mid-30s, as the pandemic began to unfold, I made the very tough decision to relocate back from Australia - my beloved ‘spiritual’ home of six years - to the UK, where I was originally from. It was a choice driven by love and proximity: to be closer to my family, to the people who truly mattered to me. But it came with a deep sense of grief too - leaving behind a life and community that I loved so dearly, and that had shaped me so profoundly.

I remember being on that plane, mid-COVID, knowing I was stepping into a new chapter that felt supremely fragile. I was terrified. Yet in that liminal space I decided to write a list -  not of material things, but of intentions that mattered to me and of qualities I most wanted to bring into my next chapter. On the list was a home with light, nature, sea views (!) and warmth in ample supply, a pattern of work that allowed me to make a fair living from yoga and work that felt meaningful, space to be creative, frequent live music, daily ocean time, relationships rooted in soul connection, and abundant health. I didn’t hold back!

Looking back now, I can see how that act - of putting my intentions into words - set powerful processes in motion. Not because of magic, but because of how the brain works.

In The Source, Tara Swart describes how writing down goals and visualising them activates a network in the brain called the reticular activating system - the filter that determines what we notice and what we overlook. When we get specific about what we want, our brain begins to tag those things as significant. Suddenly, we start spotting opportunities, people, and possibilities that were always there, but previously hidden in the noise.

Swart also explains the role of neuroplasticity — our brain’s ability to rewire based on repeated thoughts and emotions. Each time I imagined that light-filled home, or the rhythm of a life aligned with purpose, I was effectively strengthening new neural pathways that supported those realities. My focus shifted from what I was afraid might happen to what I was ready to create.

And so, slowly, the outer world began to mirror the inner.

Within a year, I found myself standing in a home that ticked almost every item on that list — light pouring in, a view of the sea, a feeling of peace that felt almost too precise to be coincidence (it also involved a hefty renovation that’s still in progress but hey, step by step!) I slowly transitioned away from advertising, did more and more yoga work while staying financially independent, and began to rebuild my health after years of imbalance. I also had a good amount of ocean and music fun along the way!

It wasn’t about forcing outcomes, but aligning focus, emotion, and action — what Swart calls “the neuroscience of manifestation.” When our internal landscape becomes coherent, our external world tends to follow suit.

Some reflections & tips from my journey

• Write what you deeply feel, not what you think you should want.
  Your brain is sensitive to emotional charge. The more your list resonates at a soulful level, the more your brain can “value-tag” those possibilities and start scanning for them.

• Use all senses in your visualisation.
  Swart emphasises that vivid, multisensory imagining helps the brain treat your desires more like reality. Smell, light, textures - bring them alive in your mind.

• Catch the negative thought loop early and switch gently.
  When fear or doubt arises, don’t beat yourself up - observe, acknowledge, then gently redirect the energy attached to the doubt. That’s what disrupts old wiring.

• Consistent small acts matter more than sporadic “big effort.”
  Small actions, repeated, wire new pathways. You don’t need a dramatic leap every day - incremental steps accumulate.

• Patience is a spiritual muscle (not one I was born with!)
  Just because things don’t manifest immediately doesn’t mean they won’t. The brain and the world often need time to catch up.

• Support and accountability amplify change.
  A friend, coach, partner, accountability tool, journal - they help sustain momentum when things feel too much and your own resolve falters.

• Health and brain care are foundational.
  Your brain is the engine that bridges inner desire and outer result. Nourish it through sleep, nutrition, movement, and stress regulation.

This is about more than “getting what you want”

In sharing this, I’m not trying to boast or convince anyone that anything is guaranteed. My journey has been hard in parts, and I’m still on it. What I want to emphasise is this: transformation isn’t reserved for some people - it’s an emergent process when inner clarity, neural rewiring, emotional resilience, and inspired action align.

Reading The Source alone didn’t change my life. But it gave me a framework, a mirror, and a language for what was happening -  and renewed my faith that what we imagine internally can ripple into the external.

If your mind has ever whispered a dream that seems too big, or if you’ve struggled with fear and felt stuck - I hope my story helps you see that the path is walkable, though it demands courage, patience and consistency.

If you’re thinking of making a change or you’ve also gone on a similar journey, I’d love to hear from you! You can contact me here.