Posted at 8:00 a.m.
What is the demonstrating ?
This movement is inspired by the law of attraction and positive thinking. The adept then employs various pseudoscientific self-help strategies intended to achieve a personal goal, primarily by focusing their thoughts on the desired outcome. “In simpler terms, the demonstrating is the act of transforming a thought into a tangible reality”, summarizes Samantha Chung, alias @simplifying.sam on TikTok and Instagram, in an interview with The Press.
PHOTO FROM INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT @SIMPLIFYING.SAM
Samantha Chung
The young American, who has more than 500,000 subscribers, is ” coach in demonstrating “. His most popular video has been viewed over 9.3 million times.
She helps her clients, the majority of whom are women between the ages of 20 and 40, to adopt “the right mentality”, with the aim of giving off “the right vibrations”, so that their desires can then manifest themselves in their lives. Hence the English term demonstrating.
Where does this trend come from?
the demonstrating has its roots in the New Thought spiritual movement of the 19e century, where it is argued that thoughts can influence the material world. This concept is also inspired by ancient spiritual teachings, including Hindu ideas about the unity of mind, body and universe.
More recently, the law of attraction, a movement that consists of believing in a direct link between our thoughts and reality, from which stems the demonstratingexperienced a lightning boom in 2006, when the book The secret, by Rhonda Byrne. The book, which has sold more than 30 million copies, was the subject of a film adaptation in 2020.
How is the demonstrating ?
Let’s take this typical example: you want to find true love and you believe in demonstrating.
To make your wish come true, you use different techniques, such as vision boards, writing in a journal, visualization, up to the ritual where we write the name of our crush in all the senses and that we fold the paper according to a precise method and then slip it under the pillow.
Jean-François Vézina, clinical psychologist for 25 years, specializes in the study of the search for meaning and synchronicity, a psychological theory according to which a coincidence suddenly takes on meaning, provokes a strong emotion, is transformative and occurs timely.
Mr. Vézina points out that the law of attraction, which is not a “law” based on scientific facts, he recalls, has rather become an object of consumption for people in search of meaning. .
“The catch with the law of attraction is that the gurus of demonstrating are going to sell an easy way. The search for meaning is a universal need, but it must be answered by the person themselves, and not by someone else,” insists the psychologist.
Magical thinking alone cannot make our wishes come true without directed actions, warns Mr. Vézina. By dint of visualizing and writing down our goals, we may end up taking actions that allow us to achieve an initial goal, without the universe having played a role in it. he.
Why is it popular?
Samantha Chung and Jean-François Vézina note that the demonstrating has seen a resurgence in popularity since the pandemic, where the need for meaning and reassurance was particularly acute. “More and more people have begun to question their lives, whether in terms of work, personal relationships or our deepest desires,” observes Samantha Chung.
On Instagram, the hashtag #manifesting reaches 2.8 million posts. On the TikTok side, the hashtag #manifesting garners almost three billion views. These social networks are full of videos explaining the multiple ways of manifesting desires in real life.
Jean-François Vézina points out that the pandemic has caused great destabilization in many people, who will therefore seek techniques that give an “impression of magic”.
“The success of demonstrating can be explained by the ease with which one has access to the answers. This corresponds to our time, where we are used to speed, ”explains the psychologist.
Are there possible deviations?
The way the techniques of demonstrating are presented can feed the feeling of guilt in the follower, observes Jean-François Vézina. “We regularly see patients who say they have tried all the techniques and who are not happier. They are told: “However, you have all the techniques to be happy. What’s going on ?” “, he illustrates.
In addition, Mr. Vézina denounces the commercial turn that the demonstrating. Although videos on social networks are free, the services of coachbooks and seminars are chargeable.
Samantha Chung admits to having detractors, but adds that there are more supporters. “I want to help people be happy. Everything that has happened in my life, be it my work or my interpersonal relationships, is the result of demonstrating “, she argues.