Here's a question for you: what if your highest potential in this life is manifesting unimaginable levels of health, peace, love, joy, knowledge, prosperity, and everything else good, for yourself and everyone that you come across? I'm not going to claim that this is the highest height that a human can achieve, as, quite frankly, I'm not sure that it is, but you gotta admit, it can't be far off.
While I'm not 100% sure that what I just described is the "pinnacle" of human health or success, I am convinced that every human is capable of reaching the proverbial summit that I just laid out. In fact, I'm convinced that every human being has the potential to be an EXTREMELY POWERFUL force towards creating the most pleasant and health-promoting qualities that life has to offer (peace, love, joy, compassion, health, prosperity, a deep understanding of the "whys" and "hows" of reality, etc.), for ALL of humanity!
It's all a question of how close, or far, we are from seeing the truth - that we truly have this very high potential (that I just described); that we actually have the choice, and a way, to reach that max potential; that walking this path is not only the best option for others around us, but also for ourselves; that aiming this high, and having faith that we can get there, is what leads us to our ultimate state of peace, love, joy, health, compassion, prosperity, knowledge, and everything else in life that is truly good.
The way I see it is that selfishness "blinds" and compassion "binds" (to all that is healthy and good). There's the nature of what we're conditioned to be by our shared fear(s) (of death, being judged, appearing incompetent to others, etc.), that tend to drive our thoughts and actions towards those of selfishness and greed, then there's the deeper nature of who we really are, at our core - selfless, endlessly generous, kind, insightful, compassionate, etc.
And I feel that one very effective path (of many) to seeing this truth, and to truly feeling that these qualities define one's "real-self", is to deeply question ourselves about our current ways of being and our general state of mind - to put our current self-beliefs on the "chopping block", so to speak. Question whether what we believe about ourselves is true, or not. Put the question to ourselves whether we might not just be the greatest version of ourselves already, if only we can wake up to it. Search, deep inside, for these answers, and for the best possible solutions.
Another path is to "sit with ourselves" in as much (inner) "silence" as we can manage, wherein these truths will naturally be revealed in time (a powerful form of meditation). It's important to understand that our INTENTION is very important when it comes to positively evolving (spiritually) through meditation. If our intent during meditation is to simply be calmer or in more control of our emotions, it can very well help us to achieve these goals, but it's also likely to be restricted in its benefits to only those ends (not that they're bad, per se, just that we can go even higher and achieve even greater benefits).
A big key with trying to "manifest a reality" is to aim as high as we're capable of achieving, no more and no less. Thus, if we're capable of being the individual that I described in the first sentence, THAT is where we should then aim; THAT is where our intent should lie, while meditating, or visualizing, or using some other means, to try to reveal this great truth.
Another key is to be as relaxed, at peace, and present to the moment as possible, while going about making this inner-search for finding/ awakening these most desirable and beneficial qualities.
One way to achieve the latter key is to be out in nature, among the plant and animal life of an "alive" forest, or whatever type of outdoor environment(s) instill the greatest sense of inner-peace and calm - those natural environments that awaken from within us the greatest feelings of awe, beauty, and wonder. We may even be able to achieve the same by watching a nature video, as I covered in an earlier post that I just linked.
Some out there may benefit more from some type of breathing exercise, such as the 4 - 7- 8 breathing technique, but you obviously don't have to settle on just one option, exclusively. It's likely that some out there will find the most benefit by utilizing both options (being out in nature while doing some type of focused breathing exercise).
Another trick to become more relaxed and present is to simply notice the sensations and feelings happening within one's body - to direct one's attention away from the "head" (thoughts). By simply observing more of what's happening inside of the field of one's awareness, including the feeling/ sensations occurring within one's body, one naturally creates "space" - a type of "distance" from thoughts. Innate to that sense of inner-space are the feelings of peace and relaxation - what might feel more like "relief" (from obsessing over thoughts/ thinking) - which naturally makes us more present to the moment.
Now, on to "aiming high", when it comes to manifesting the best life that we can muster.
What methods or techniques may be of our greatest service to achieving such a lofty goal? Well, there are nearly limitless options and approaches, here, some of which will lead certain types of people (of a specific type of personality) to the gold in relatively short time, while one, of many, alternatives will work much better for other types.
In other words, what works best depends of where you are in life, who you take yourself to be, what you believe, and how you generally behave. Most of it really comes down to the type of personality that you exhibit, or that you take to be your true-self.
That said, the "hand-to-heart" and "hand-to-head" techniques that I covered in earlier posts may prove to be quite useful, here.
When going to the heart (focusing deep into the "heart-space"), one can pose the question to oneself: "how many of the great qualities that I, and others around me, will most benefit from (peace, love, joy, relaxation, self-awareness, compassion, knowledge, intelligence, insightfulness, etc.) are inside of me (describe/ define me)?", or some other question to that effect.
Another way to put the question that is perhaps a little more probing and, therefore, might help us to succeed in discovering even more is: "What are my truly best qualities? When I search into the greatest depths of my being... what will I find?" (leaving the answer completely open as to what even constitutes "best qualities").
Whatever question(s) we settle on, the key is to search not with one's imagination or with thinking, or analyzing thoughts, but with one's heart and WHOLE being - to go "inside", feeling out the subtleties and nuances of the expansive inner-world of one's own consciousness. We are to explore the depths of our knowing, and what, exactly, is, or can be, made knowable to us, by going DEEP inside - down through the heart of our being and into the "world" beyond, so to speak.
It's important not to get stuck on the words or concepts of what I'm saying. The aim should be to "feel them out" and to try to be guided by them, as if they're "pointers" or "sign-posts" to lead you deeper inside (to get you more in touch with the nature of your true-self, as can only be achieved by going "beyond thoughts", into the deeper world of the foundation of your very consciousness - that is your CORE SELF). Think of it like awakening your intuition, so as to use your heart, not your head, to seek out the answers to your questions.
In supplement to searching out the question in this profound way, we may choose to also direct some attention, and INTENTION, towards awakening visions/ insights into what it looks and/or feels like to be the type of person that we're aiming to be.
Instead of forcing a visual of what it looks like, and/or forcing our imagination to sense what feels like, to be at our highest potential, try to give that task to the deeper knowing and understanding of your intuition. Imagine sending the task to search out the most fitting visuals deep into your mind, through your "third-eye" (center of your skull, about a centimeter above the center of your eyebrows), and deep into your consciousness.
Don't only imagine sending the task there, actually feel out the internal processes underlying the intention to do so and then try to follow the sense of "moving energy" within that area of your skull (trying to be aware of the "head-space" around, within, and underneath, the area of your third-eye), as you release the task to this area of your consciousness. Sense everything that's happening internally, in that area of your head. Don't push or force anything, just calmly observe it.
See if you can manage giving some attention to your heart, seeking out answers to your earlier question(s) there, while simultaneously giving some attention to your head (particularly your third-eye), while seeking out visions/ insights to help you arrive at a full picture and understanding of what it looks and feels like to be your best self.
Better yet, to AWAKEN to your TRUE SELF!