A few years ago, I clicked on a YouTube video that promised to show me âhow to manifest my dreamsâ. I was at university, settling into the idea that my life would probably go on to be ordinary, yet still hoping that there might be a chance I could one day do something extraordinary.
Through the smudged screen, an Australian YouTuber greeted me â perfect tan, perfect hair. As she launched into a spiel about how sheâd manifested her perfect beachfront house in less than a year, I realised I was about to listen to ten minutes of bullshit. âNonsense,â I thought. âYou just wanted a nice house, found it and had the money to buy it.â Manifesting, I decided, was simply the rich, Goop-accredited way of writing to Santa.