I asked a group of Potter Pundits earlier this week if they’d ever heard or read about a connection between author J. K. Rowling and the word “manifesting”? I didn’t recall anything about in her work but thought maybe she had in an interview. I got several responses, most of the “Nope, never” sort — and one with the link to the YouTube video above from ‘Mystica Finance.’ That’s not a typo; there’s no ‘l’ intentionally. Here’s how the site describes what they do:

Dive into a universe where the mysteries of the cosmos align with the dynamics of the monetary world. Here, we explore the ancient secrets and energies that influence our financial decisions, intertwining fate with finances. From historical tales of wealth and prosperity to modern financial strategies infused with mystical insights, Mystica Finance is your guiding star on a transformative journey to financial enlightenment 🌌💰

Here at Mystica Finance, we blend cutting-edge AI technology with expert human oversight to bring you unique and insightful content that merges cosmic themes with financial expertise. This innovative approach ensures accuracy, creativity, and a touch of cosmic wonder in every piece we present. Content on Mystica Finance is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is not intended as financial advice. Always consult a professional for personalized financial guidance before making any decisions.

I highlighted their “blend” above because the video does indeed display some “cutting-edge AI technology” in its likenesses of Rowling, images that suggest she participated somehow in this project. I suspect that will be more and more commonplace but it is still jarring to me.

I asked my team of Backchannel Moderators about “”manifesting” because I had been asked the same question by a researcher looking into the work of Baptist de Pape, a writer most famous for a 2014 book titled The Power of the Heart: Finding Your True Purpose in Life. For more on that book, see its website, watch the trailer for the documentary movie based on it, or read the Simon and Shuster promotion page for it. In brief, de Pape’s thesis is:

With exciting spiritual and scientific insights, The Power of the Heart presents fascinating evidence that the heart is more than a physical organ. It possesses its own intelligence, capable of transforming your views of money, health, relationships, and success. Mindfulness exercises and contemplations guide you to activate the heart’s special powers—including intuition, intention, gratitude, forgiveness, and love.

As an Orthodox Christian and Perennialist, outside of the money bit and New Age exercises, I’m sympathetic to books about the cardiac intelligence rather than the cranial, discursive kind. As a charter member of the Royal Society of Rowling Readers, I’ve had to give a lot of thought to the power of the heart or at least the meaning of it as a symbol, cf., my Ink Black Heart and Deathly Hallows: The Heart is Not About Emotions and Affection but the Human Spiritual Center.

The man who wrote me, though, wasn’t writing about de Pape’s first book but his latest, a book published today by Inner Traditions and Simon and Schuster, Manifestation Perfected: Six Steps to Embody Your Soul. He wrote to ask me about the J. K. Rowling content in this book. From Perfected‘s Amazon blurb:

HAVE YOU BEEN WONDERING how to realize your dreams more effectively? In Manifestation Perfected, Baptist de Pape gains insight from the lives of three of the most important personalities in the realm of manifesting—Oprah, J. K. Rowling, and Anita Moorjani. From vital health to professional standing and fame to financial success, he examines their similarities, differences, and life lessons to provide a full set of guideposts for our own manifestation process.

How have these three master manifestors become so successful while following what is essentially a path of spiritual trust? Building on their inspiring examples, Baptist guides us through the process of successful manifestation, removing it from the unrealistic realm of magical thinking and grounding it fully in the mechanics of creating the life each of us was born to live. You will discover how to align yourself with your soul’s intentions, how to stay aligned no matter what anyone says, and how to develop spiritual trust to know that the universe will support you so you can proceed with confidence. As you adopt a series of six easy-to-follow intuitive steps, you too will enter the boundless flow of creativity and become the master creator of your life and happiness.

Join me after the jump for a discussion of Rowling’s repeated and dismissive statements to readers about the the supposed “secrets” or “rules of writing” that explain her success, what those “rules” are according to her and according to click-bait marketers, and how de Pape probably uses those “rules” as the foundation to his claim that Rowling is a “master manifestor” whose model you can and should imitate. [Read more…]