Blind Faith? Unbelievable!

Having been raised as a Catholic in Ireland, the notion of ‘blind faith’ is not at all new to me.

From no age at all, I was traipsed into Chapel every Sunday, where the priest spoke proudly of God and His son, the stars of the biggest-selling book in the world.

Surrounding the congregation were vibrant stained-glass windows, statues of various biblical icons and detailed paintings depicting key biblical events - there’s no denying that a Catholic Church provides some show-stopping interior design – all of it there in order to inspire the believer and serve as a reminder of the main events of their faith.

Hearing stories of how Jesus fed 5,000 people using just two fish and five loaves of bread, or how he cured a paralysed man, a blind man and even brought a few back from the dead (shoutout to Lazarus, Jairus’ daughter and the widow’s son!). Let’s also not forget the memorable moment he decided to hop out of a boat and take a stroll across the water – what a guy!

As a child, these stories are fantastically fun to hear. However, even children are doubtful, like the apostle Thomas, if we are to stick to the religious theme. “Did that really happen? How do we know it happened? Isn’t that impossible? Where’s the proof?” Such endless questions were directed at my parents and teachers for years. The response to such questions? “We can’t be certain, but we just have to believe.”

This is why many people would argue that the faith of religious believers could be called ‘blind’ faith. The Bible, contributed to by many different authors over many, many years, acts as a huge source of our knowledge of the events that took place thousands of years ago. However, the editing and redaction that the Bible went through is surmountable, so it is not surprising that some people find it hard to believe in such a text.

Now, this post isn’t really about me tarnishing the Catholic faith. I think everyone should believe in what they want to believe and every religion is deserving of respect. I merely mention my own experience of Catholicism as it is an example of how we don’t always need full, clear evidence in order to believe in someone or something.

There is a new form of blind faith emerging in society at the moment. This blind faith comes in the form of manifestation.

I first encountered the term manifestation around a year and a half ago, when I was going through a rough time and was looking for inspiration, for some indication that life is good, and I can make my life better.

Manifestation initially sounded incredible: think good thoughts, be grateful, write down what you want and watch as you suddenly become a millionaire and are living the life of your dreams. I was in such a state of desperation that I was hooked in by the practice of manifestation instantly. In the space of a few hours, I had written a gratitude list, created a vision board and was passionately speaking affirmations into the mirror. I guess this links back to religious faith – some turn to God and prayer in moments of despair, but I turned to the Universe and positive affirmations.

Some people will absolutely swear by manifestation, promising that it changed their life for the better, that everything they had on their vision board came true in a matter of months and that the whole process was incredibly easy for them. Such declarations encouraged an intense level of blind faith within me – even though I hadn’t manifested anything, nor seen the impacts of affirmations in my own life, I was converted to the manifestation faith.

After one month, still no drastic change. After two months, I had still not won the lottery. After three months, I still hadn’t bumped into Harry Styles on the street. My blind faith was waning and the natural human desire to have proof in order to believe was creeping in. My logical brain was fighting with my blind faith, demanding physical evidence before it could continue to believe so strongly in manifestation.

The catch with manifestation is that you need to put total faith into the process in order to see results; there can’t be any doubt in your head, as this will delay your manifestations arriving into your life. That’s a fun catch, right?

I am not the only one to place such belief into the process of manifestation. My TikTok feed is overrun with videos on the subject, with people claiming that they are the happiest, wealthiest, and healthiest they have ever been thanks to manifestation, with videos providing tips and tricks to help your manifestations arrive quicker and with greater ease.

The thing is, these people claim that their lives have improved as a direct result of their manifestation practises, but how can this actually be proven? Perhaps it was just sheer luck or coincidence that they asked for more money, then received a tax rebate the very next day. It is not as if the Universe provides you with a receipt detailing your orders, so that you can say, “Thanks Universe! I’ll place another manifestation order on the next full moon.”

So even though I can’t say for certain that manifestation works, I still have this blind faith that it does, as I want so hard for it to be true. I want to believe in it because it gives me hope and offers me comfort and encouragement when times get tough, which is the same reason that many people have religious beliefs. The logic and evidence is not always necessary, but rather it is the ‘blind’ faith of the believer that matters, and I think that is really quite lovely.