The idea of “effortlessly” manifesting money is certainly appealing, isn’t it? The word “effortless” has been dancing around in my brain for the last two weeks. For about ten days out of those two weeks, I swatted the word away as non-sensical. After all, we do have to be active participants in the process of manifesting money! Action is required, right?

I finally checked in with my Guide team about this idea of “effortlessness.” Is “effortless” money-manifesting truly a possibility?

As it turns out, there is a difference between “action” and “effort.” Action is indeed required for any act of manifestation. That’s because action is what grounds energy into this physical experience. If we wish to change our physical experience – including manifesting money and changing our financial circumstances – action is required.

We can’t help but be in action at all times – it is how we express ourselves as physical Beings. Action is a natural outflow of our energy into the world. Even if our actions don’t look particularly active, like breathing and sleeping … they are nonetheless actions. They can be witnessed by others in the physical world.

Action is a natural expression of our Being – the “doing-ness” that expresses our Divine nature while we are in this physical experience. Taking action, then, means doing what is aligned with our authentic self-expression. Action is “doing” from the inside out.

That doesn’t mean action doesn’t take energy. Of course we still have to peel ourselves off the couch to take authentic action! Nor does it mean that we are always comfortable taking action, because authentic self-expression into this physical world can be scary! Shining our authentic Selves into the world can leave us feeling naked, exposed … but when we step into action, we discover that what we first feared is actually entirely natural to us.

Effort, on the other hand, is “doing” based on external factors. Effort is acting on “should.”  Effort is calculated action, justified and rationalized by the mind. It is action based on how we might be perceived by others. It is action that is attached to outcomes, rather than action for the sake of authentic self-expression.

The difference between action and effort is subtle, to be sure. There’s a couple of ways to tell the difference:

• When we take action, the reason for that action reveals itself within the doing itself. When we make an effort, on the other hand, the reason for taking action exists first.
• When we are in action, we feel uncompromisingly like ourselves. Even if we are nervous or uncomfortable, taking action allows us to feel whole. In contrast, effort creates inner separation. There is a part of ourselves that feels compromised, left out, or unacknowledged.

On the surface, the two can look exactly the same. This article has been spooking around in my head for a while, and writing it down feels like the natural thing to do. I teach, I share, I write … it’s who I am and therefore this is what I do.

Of course, I could just as easily turn blogging into an effort, “shoulding” myself into posting because of a self-imposed schedule or because some “expert” once told me I “should” blog once a week.

It’s not difficult to see that true abundance cannot come from effort. Because effort is based on external factors, actions based in effort are not connected to our inner, infinite Source. Effort upholds a source of power outside of ourselves, something other than ourselves that determines our doing … even if that power is just society or collective consciousness. Effort cannot, therefore, manifest money. Sure, we can “earn” money through effort. But that’s not the same thing, is it?

Action, on the other hand, flows outward into the world from our infinite, Divine nature and cannot create anything BUT abundance … because the Divine IS infinitely abundant. Action is an essential ingredient to manifesting money.

So … what are YOU doing? Action or effort?

Blessings,
Andrea