How to manifest the love of your life

Ultimately, it’s not your job to know HOW your soulmate is going to appear. It’s only your job to be ready, willing and open to receive that love. You don’t really know exactly where air or water come from, but you totally believe that they are there for you. As a human being, you know that air and water are part of your divine inheritance.  No matter what mistakes you have made in the past, you are still going to wake up every day and have access to air and water. The same is true for love. It’s there for you. It’s always been there for you. You just need to remember the love that you are, and once you do, the Universe will bring you more of it. In other words, there is nothing for you to do; there is only a way for you to BE. Be the loving person that you are; live in the knowingness that you deserve to have a loving, committed relationship; and savor the waiting for your beloved to arrive.

Believing that your soulmate exists, that you are deserving of him or her, and that the Universe is skillfully orchestrating your meeting is the basis for applying the next part of the formula — to generate a vision of yourself and your life where these beliefs are your daily reality.

Treasure-mapping for love
Treasure-mapping is a powerful tool for manifestation, because it helps you to both intuitively and objectively clarify what your heart is yearning to experience. A Treasure Map acts as a visual reminder of the life that you are committed to creating. I have been making Treasure Maps for years, and it’s uncanny how many of the images and ideas that I mapped have manifested in my actual life. Once, after Brian and I had just found out we would need to move within nine months, I made a Treasure Map that included a picture of a bedroom with an ocean view that we found particularly appealing. When it was time to go house hunting, the very first home we saw had a master bedroom with this same view, the same carpet, and the same wooden frame around the windows. It was exactly what we had imagined. This is the power of Treasure Mapping.  

You can make your treasure map 100 percent focused on attracting your soulmate, or you can separate it into four life areas:

1. love & relationship
2. health & fitness
3. career & money
4. spiritual & emotional fulfillment

To create your treasure map, you will need:

• a good-sized piece of poster board or foam board
• a stack of your favorite magazines that reflect your unique interests and taste
• a glue stick and a pair of scissors
• several hours to devote to this project

Flip through the magazines and cut out images, words and photographs that appeal to you. Try not to think too hard about the words and images you’re selecting but rather trust your gut feeling about what you find attractive. Make sure to include at least one photo or image of a loving couple — it could be something as simple two people walking on the beach hand in hand. When selecting these images, you are looking to evoke a feeling as opposed to manifesting the models in the photos, so look for images that convey the feeling that you desire more than a particular face. Images that represent love, romance, commitment, and joy are all good. If marrying your soulmate is what you desire, feel free to add engagement rings, wedding rings, wedding cake, or anything else that is a symbol of marriage or commitment. You should also include a photo of yourself looking really happy and surround that image with words that express your positive beliefs about finding love. You want your Treasure Map to affirm that you are loved, cherished, and adored by your perfect partner.

I have heard about so many incredible connections unfolding as a result of people using the Treasure Mapping process. On the surface it seems unbelievable or miraculous, but I now understand that Treasure Mapping just helps to reveal attributes that are important to you in a partner, which you may not be consciously aware of. Looking at your map daily reminds you of your deeper values and also helps you begin noticing them where you may have missed them before.

Excerpted from “The Soulmate Secret” by Arielle Ford. Copyright(c) 2009, reprinted with permission from HarperCollins.

More in Books: Relationships Ex-education: Ten signs you're not 'just friends' What women can learn from bad pick-up lines To snag a man, let him do the chasing

More from TODAY Palin memoir reveals campaign tensions, criticizes Couric 3 Thanksgiving Superfoods you shouldn't skip Pass the remote! It's dinnertime in America Mom: Somer ‘assumed they wouldn’t hurt her’   Images: The amazing Week in Pictures

MORE FROM TODAY BOOKS: RELATIONSHIPS

Ex education: 10 signs you’re not ‘just friends’

Ex education: 10 signs you’re not ‘just friends’ ‘Superior Wife Syndrome’ aims to save couples RUEA? (That is, are you emotionally available?) Scorned lovers: Moving on is best ‘Revenge’ To snag a man, let him do the chasing What women can learn from bad pick-up lines New novel follows adventures of single women ‘Vixen Manual’ bares tricks to snare a man Boys 101: Writer offers teen girls a crash course How to get a great deal ... on a husband   Add Today Books: Relationships headlines to your news reader: