In 2013, I was in one of the most stressful periods of my life.
From the outside, everything seemed fine.
But inside, I was living in a constant state of overwhelm.
I was burning the midnight oil almost every night, convinced that the only way to make progress was to outwork everyone else.
I pushed through exhaustion like it was some kind of badge of honor.
I told myself it was just “temporary” — that soon I’d catch up, soon I’d find balance.
But weeks turned into months, and the pressure didn’t ease up.
In fact, it built even more.
I was sleeping less.
Working more.
Ignoring the signs my body was desperately trying to send me.
My health wasn’t in top shape either — the result of too many late nights, too much stress, and too little self-care.
But like many high achievers, I thought if I just powered through it, if I just stayed one step ahead, everything would eventually “click.”
Spoiler alert:
It didn’t.
One night, sitting alone at my kitchen table — tired, restless, wired but exhausted — I had a call scheduled with Srikumar Rao, a legendary MBA business professor (and now Mindvalley author) and sage whose teachings I’d admired for years.
Honestly?
I almost canceled.
The thought of one more meeting, one more conversation, felt like too much.
But something in me—some small voice still holding on—said: “Show up.”
So I did.
On the call, Rao could sense my exhaustion almost immediately. And intuitively, he paused our scheduled conversation. “Vishen, before we continue I’d like to read you a poem” he said.
In my mind, I was thinking, “Do we really have time for poetry?” But I paused and listened.
And then, instead of offering advice or “success hacks,” Rao did something unexpected:
He simply read me a poem by Rumi—a poem that would go on to alter the trajectory of my life:
“When I run after what I think I want, my days are a furnace of distress and anxiety;
If I sit in my own place of patience, what I need flows to me, and without any pain.
From this I understand that what I want also wants me, is looking for me and attracting me.
There is a great secret in this for anyone who can grasp it.”
Do you get it? Read that a second time if you must.
That poem cracked me open.
Here’s the thing about Rumi:
He was a mystic who grasped what modern science is only now beginning to hint at — that reality is fluid, and that it’s our resistance, not the circumstances themselves, that creates our deepest suffering.
When I heard those lines, I realized something profound:
I wasn’t manifesting.
I was manipulating.
I was clinging to old ideas of success.
I was trapped in a cycle of effort, overwork, and control.
I was forcing life to move at a pace that my soul knew wasn’t sustainable.
And it wasn’t working.
Rumi’s words invite us to a different way of being:
To shift from pursuit to attraction.
To stop running frantically after dreams… and instead sit—centered, aligned, open, and allow the dreams already seeking us to flow naturally into our lives.
This is the “great secret” Rumi speaks of:
What you seek is already seeking you.
The key isn’t more struggle.
It’s a deeper surrender.
Surrender isn’t giving up.
It’s giving over.
Giving over the frantic timelines.
Giving over the illusion that we have to fight for everything.
Giving over the belief that worthiness comes from exhaustion.
When I shifted — when I finally gave myself permission to trust, to breathe, to realign — everything started changing.
Not because I worked harder.
Not because I found the “perfect strategy.”
But because I let go.
And when I let go, what I truly needed was able to find me.
Manifestation isn’t about chasing.
It’s about becoming magnetic to the dreams that are already yours — waiting for you to open the door.
And magnetism?
It’s activated through surrender.
“Manifestation happens when you release your white-knuckled grip on life — and trust that the dream is running toward you, too.”
If you’re reading this right now, maybe it’s your moment, too.
Maybe it’s time to stop sprinting toward your dream. And start inviting it to sprint toward you.
Why you’re not manifesting faster (and how surrender collapses time)
Let’s get brutally honest for a sec:
If manifesting your dream life were as simple as “think positive and wait,” you’d already be a barefoot billionaire, sipping fresh coconut water in Bali, meditating on mountaintops while your inbox explodes with dream opportunities.
But here you are—still hustling, still hoping, still wondering, WTF, Universe?
And guess what?
It’s not because you’re broken, lazy, or “bad at manifesting.”
It’s because nobody ever taught you the second half of the process.
Manifesting isn’t just about setting intentions and visualizing until your third eye begs for mercy.
It’s about mastering the art of surrender.
Miss this part?
You’ll stay stuck in that maddening limbo — seeing signs, feeling progress… but never quite crossing the finish line.
What’s really killing your dreams
Here’s where 90% of conscious creators trip themselves up.
They set bold intentions.
They visualize so hard that their third eye practically needs an ice pack.
They create vision boards so grand they could hang in the Louvre.
But then…
They grip.
They obsess.
They panic.
And whether they realize it or not, they start sending out a dangerous broadcast to the Universe:
“I don’t actually believe it’s happening.”
As Dr. Joe Dispenza teaches:
“Your personal reality is created by your personality — your thoughts, emotions, and energy.”
When you radiate fear, doubt, or neediness, you don’t just delay your dream…
You push it away.
Energy master Jeffrey Allen puts it even simpler:
“Every second, you’re either pulling your dreams closer — or pushing them away.”
And the wild thing is:
It’s never about how hard you work.
It’s always about the energy you’re vibrating.
The real science behind “letting go”
Surrender isn’t just “giving up” with a sad shrug.
It’s precision energy work.
Here’s what modern science tells us:
Your Reticular Activating System (the brain’s filter) literally tunes reality based on your emotional expectations.
Your heart’s electromagnetic field is 5,000 times stronger than your brain’s — and it syncs your outer world when you lock into elevated emotions.
Translation?
Feel fulfilled before your dream arrives — you magnetize it.
Feel lack, neediness, or tension — you repel it.
You don’t manifest by needing harder.
You manifest by untangling your happiness from your goal.
Have a goal, but don’t tie your happiness to achieving it. Be happy BEFORE the attainment of your goal.
What the masters know about surrender
The world’s most powerful manifestors don’t hustle harder.
They master surrender. Let’s look at some of the quotes and advice from Mindvalley’s panel of Manifesting teachers who will be on stage at the upcoming Mindvalley Manifesting Summit on May 17-18.
Joe Dispenza: Feel it first
Joe Dispenza teaches something that should be carved onto every vision board:
“Feel the emotions of your future—before it happens — and you’ll change your destiny.”
The world’s greatest manifestors don’t sit around waiting to feel happy after they get what they want.
They step into the emotional energy of fulfillment now, knowing that life will eventually rearrange itself to match.
You don’t wait for your dreams to make you feel whole.
You become whole, and your dreams catch up.
Regan Hillyer: Trust the future you
Regan Hillyer didn’t create a 7-figure empire through spreadsheets and micromanagement.
She manifested it by releasing control and focusing on becoming the future version of herself who could easily hold that success.
Her mantra was simple but powerful:
“If not this, something even better.”
When you trust that something even better is on its way, it is.
Roxie Nafousi: Radical self-worth
Roxie went from rock-bottom addiction to bestselling author and transformation coach.
Her secret?
It wasn’t trying harder.
It was claiming her worth before any outer success showed up.
By deciding she was worthy first, she stopped clinging.
And when she surrendered, her life exploded into miracles.
Her book Manifest went on to sell a million copies. (How’s that for alignment with the Universe)
David Ghiyam: Certainty is Light
The Kabbalah master David Ghiyam says:
“Certainty brings Light. Doubt creates delay.”
In every moment you choose certainty, you become a magnet for miracles.
In every moment you indulge doubt, you slow your own timeline.
Why surrender collapses time
Because attachment slows you down.
Because fear fractures your field.
Because obsession keeps you vibrating in lack.
When you let go, you’re not “giving up.”
You have faith. You simply know it’s “on the way”.
This is the secret Rumi speaks about.
3 rituals to master surrender (starting today)
1. Future gratitude (the Roxie Nafousi method)
Every morning, take out a journal — nothing fancy, just something you can fall in love with — and start by writing:
“Thank you for my thriving business.”
“Thank you for my soulmate connection.”
“Thank you for vibrant health.”
Feel it as if it’s already here.
Smile as you write it.
Let your heart swell with gratitude for a future that already exists in the field, waiting for you to align.
This simple daily practice wires your body to believe — and when your body believes, the Universe responds.
2. Bold action + radical release (the John Lee approach)
Every day, take one bold, scary, courageous action toward your dream.
Send the email.
Launch the product.
Ask for the introduction.
But then — and this is crucial — release the outcome.
Say to yourself:
“I plant the seed. I trust the harvest.”
Because farmers don’t sit around digging up the soil every five minutes to see if the seeds are growing.
They plant, water, trust, and know.
3. Daily energy reset (inspired by Jeffrey Allen)
Find a quiet place.
Sit still.
Close your eyes.
Feel for any tension in your body — any clenching around “when will it happen?”
Breathe golden light into that tension.
Exhale the fear.
Imagine each exhale dissolving layers of resistance.
With each breath, come back to that sacred knowing:
“It’s already on its way.”
You don’t need to hustle the Universe.
You just need to stay open.
Final word: You’re manifesting right now
You’re always manifesting.
The only question is:
Are you broadcasting lack?
Or certainty?
Next time your mind says, “It’s not happening fast enough” —
Smile.
Laugh.
Whisper:
“This or something better is unfolding—right now.”
Because the faster you surrender…
The faster your reality bends.
As Rumi reminds us:
“Be crumbled.
So wildflowers will come up where you are.
You have been stony for too many years.
Try something different.
Surrender.”
Master surrender—LIVE?
Join us at the Manifesting Summit 2025. You can attend live in LA or join online on Zoom for just $29.
Learn from the masters — Vishen, Joe Dispenza, Regan Hillyer, Roxie Nafousi, and more — how to set intentions, embody certainty, and collapse timelines like a pro.
Get your ticket here.
The future’s not waiting.
It’s listening.
PS: If this stirred something inside you — a spark, a shift, even a tiny “hell yes”—drop me a comment below and tell me what hit home. I actually read every single one, because your insights are the magic fuel behind everything we create.
And if someone you love needs this nudge, too? Forward it to them. Good energy multiplies when we share it.
With Love, Vishen
82 Responses
Beauty, awe and gratitude 🙏🤍
This was exactly what I needed to read in that moment. Thank you for your energy!
I actually got this mail 2 days ago, but just now read it. Then I read it again. Then I read it to my girlfriend.
And because I find myself to day in the exact same situation that you were in in 2013, it is certainly no accident that I read this mail tonight, right here. Right now.
✌️ Gary in Germany
Hi Vishen,
Such interesting concepts & a timely reminder for me too, thanks!! The Concept of Feeling the Energy of my future self is not new to me but somehow it just REALLY RESOUNDED with me today in the WAY you explained it. I realized how I have been waiting for someone Else to give/lend me the confidence to move forward but that’s really for ME to realize & apply MYSELF. I REALLY LIKE your 3 Steps process at the end of your letter…..a kind of BRIEF Action Plan….that’s ‘doable’ as it’s SIMPLE & not overwhelming. Thanks so much for ALL you do. You make the world a better place for me. : ) : )
This. So exactly the wisdom that I needed to be reminded of. Brilliantly expressed. I never comment on blog posts but felt compelled to do so.
I believe in the power of synchronicity and the fact that you write about Surrender and Letting Go is magical – I have also been talking about it for the last few days. And the way you talk about it is liberating.
Thank you for your wonder-ful words.
I found your breathwork class several years ago…. I am a physician and was going through career burnout then and recovering from it again ….
I used it for awhile and then recently joined Mindvalley again recently….
It is so true when you think you just have to power through and fix yourself and think you just have to keep pushing through and it will be OK again. This time around I am learning to surrender and look at joy/play and gratitude. I can not fix myself again the “old way” . This time it has to be a complete rewiring/reworking of how I take care of myself .
I 100% related to your post, thanks for sharing!
I just quit my job because the stress made me ill. I really love the things I do in my spare time and would like to be a meditation teacher for a living. ( I give the lessons in my spare time) I also love when I lead a dialogue because people really connect)
I visualize my future doing these things but first I will take the time to heal, to enyoy more time with my family. Thank you for this beautiful article, it gives me the reassurance that everything will be ok even if I don’t have a job next month.
I am currently in Türkiye. My neighbors are magicians and they can reach anyone they want from the computer and cast spells. I realized that spells are electromagnetic waves. I am moving to Bulgaria or America, I can’t decide where to move because of electromagnetics. I see and feel electromagnetic waves. I realized that computers can turn into dangerous electromagnetic weapons. I realized that artificial earthquakes can also be made with electromagnetic waves. How can we protect ourselves against EMP? Computers are not safe devices. I made an affirmation to myself so that my business would be good, and when I listened to it over and over again, I learned that it was effective. Should I listen to it from the computer or from an mp3? Computers are not safe devices. I couldn’t decide which country to move to because I was afraid of electromagnetic attacks. I love America very much, can I move to America?
Wow Vishen, it was as if you heard me here at home today , all irritated and a bit in too much in need of a financial solution immediatly …..the word need popping up way too much. Whilst I am busy working on self care, and changing the way i go about manifesting my dreams or setting my goals …… this does not change the fact that money issues keep flowing into my inbox, and as much as i want to change from needing money or changing from anxious fear of not meeting payment deadlines some people don’t think the way i do ….. but also my practicing of creating money to a consistent flow of energy and abundance into my account is hard ,
I believe , I trust …. but when I get a phonecall or my clients havn’t paid me and i cannot pay my debt ….this is very hard to master through …….. but I try to keep consciousness , changing my thoughts and keeping at it …… as said its hard to change this when changing and then the next debtor flies into my email inbox
Vishen,
I have been a mindvalley member. I am reading the book by Jose Silva, ‘The Silva Mind Control Method’. I have listened to your podcasts….and others. I feel every word that you have written here as part of the ‘Mindvalley Manifestation Summit’ invite. I have been following Mindvalley for the past 2 years. I believe in Transformation of Mind. The fact that it is one of the most beautiful processes that we can allow ourselves to go over is anything but miracle in itself. This strengthened my belief that I can do wonders. This also led me to take a crucial decision of leaving my job at a time when I needed it very much. I left it because I know my self-worth (more than ever). The last 2-3 years I have only studied myself and found that I exude an awe-inspiring strength to those who need it the most. Why I say this; is because in my last job I worked for children with disabilities and I realized that their strengths were far more stronger than their physiological conditions. They transferred that energy to me and I allowed that to happen. I simply thought of writing this message to you because I read in the last few lines…somewhere….that you read all messages. So, it brought a smile to my face. All the best for the Summit!
The words truly resonated and felt very aligned, thank you. See you at the event. 🙂
Nowadays I handle my inbox with almost a sense of dread in my stomach. Because there are just too many emails flowing in there, in a rate that has me feel like I’m David fighting Goliath. So most emails never get read, no matter if I signed up for them. No matter if I love the subject or the sender. I just don’t have the time & energy for it. But the email containing this blog post, I read today. And I read all the way to the end.
Because it is a 100% relatable to me. I come from the place of hustling, grinding, pushing myself repeatedly to burnout, depression & anxiety. So that first poem really struck a chord. Turning myself & my life priorities around over the past years, feeling so much more alive & in love with myself, with life, but still using that same pattern of pushing to fulfil my new dreams. Because that’s the only way I have been taught.
The “release and let go” hasn’t really come to until quite recently. And now it’s here and all around me. Doing Joe Dispenza-meditations every morning, loving them, practising everything that you write about. And I loved to read it, because it just reaffirms the path I’m on, giving me more faith, more energy to continue to trust and surrender. Which isn’t easy, by the way. Neurplasticity is amazing, but it isn’t easy changing patterns mid life.
So thank you, for giving me this today. The one special thing I am taking with me is the quote: This, or something better. That sparked something in me, and I feel it almost like they are letters of fire, burning inside of me. They reaffirm my certainty, and I know I will use them to get through challenges – trusting, trusting, trusting.
With so much love & gratitude.
Anna-Karin
Hell yes…. Vishen…
I was watching this clear sky tonight and saw the first star closest to the moon. Back then in Dubai, before the party was opening I did the same thing ( thank God I have the same palm tree in front of my balcony) with Chadni.
We promised to look at the sky when we need strength or.. we miss each other.
Yesterday, before your mail which I am reading today I’ve put a picture on Facebook from our gratitude gathering in Dubai saying I want to manifest all that people in Amsterdam this August. Chadni was in the photo. Professor Rao was also in the photo cause I was watching a Quest( too 🤭 You said not to listen in the car… but nothing about scrolling on Facebook).
So, I wish to manifest Chadni in Amsterdam .
I should pay in years to manifest the answer
to this question.
Why
from all the speach
I saw in MindValley
and aaaall my life,
I should go on a lost island
with only one:
The kids dreams.
Shared to us,with dignity, courage, charm and craziness.( one wanted to be a pilot?)
Why.
Why
am I part
of those dreams?
Will I ever
find the answer?
With reverence,
A.
P.S. Do I really need
the answer
or
The beauty
is the question itself?
Just exactly what I needed to read today! Thank you!
Vishen! You achieved super start status this morning with this love letter. So much of the content resonated, I’ve even taken action straight away, must have been good.
Thank you
Sam
Thank you so much. I’m on the verge of tears reading this like you are speaking directly to me. Sending real gratitude for this message 🙏🏽
The timing of your message arriving in my inbox is impeccable! Truly aligned! Thank you for the wonderful reminders.
Hi Vishen,
Your write amazingly, and it’s truly inspiring. I feel like I have my whole life been chasing my dreams, but in reality I was working for others dreams to come true, leaving me empty, exhausted, in fear and lack. Two years ago was more or less exactly in the spot You were in 2013. I have learned that there are surrenders beyond surrenders and to stay in the humble state of letting go is a constant mindful work with ones mind’s all 6 mental faculties . Thank You so much for Your writings!
Will definitely participate on upcoming MS 2025 event!
Looking forward!
Dear Vishen,
This came at the right time – when I felt lost and overwhelmed with everything. Beautiful reminder to get back on track! Thank you!
Dear Vishen, I thank you deeply for your words. The came exactly in the perfect moment, after a long time and a night of complete exhaustion, where I realized, the same as you did, that pushing your limits is not the way. Rumis poem puts into words what my intuition did let me feel last night. And I am thankful with every cell of my being, for this instant confirmation from the universe, through your writing. Thank you for sharing, thank you for being honest about your path, and thank you for living your wonderful Vision and giving mindvalley to the world.
In ultimate gratitude,
Dorothee