Manifesting Your Dream Reality

Montecito-based manifestation coach Jessie De Lowe on unlocking your true potential.

By Andrea Manokian 

Photographer Arna Behar

Hair & Makeup by Whitney Destiny

Location Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens

Dress J MARIE

“Today is the Lions Gate Portal,” Jessie exclaims. “It’s an exceptionally potent day for manifestation, which I thought was so poetic.” She’s referencing the fact that we had planned to speak on this day—August 8—months in advance, without realizing we’d chosen such a significant day for spiritual awakening. She’s right, the timing is special. 

You may be new to the term manifesting. Maybe you’ve loosely heard it used in mainstream media—especially in recent years—but didn’t think it applied to you. Jessie will be the first to tell you that manifestation applies to all of us, whether we realize it or not. “The first misconception is that you're either manifesting or you’re not. Everybody is manifesting,” she explains. And if we’re all manifesting our own realities, wouldn’t it be better if we learned how to tap into this power? That’s where Jessie comes in.

“I always wanted to help people feel good and learn about themselves,” says Jessie. She credits her diverse career with giving her the means, education and platform to connect with people on a deeper level. From a young age she had an inkling she’d pursue something creative and people-centric. “In college, I studied both art and psychology. And even before that, I was interested in the books that my mom had around the house, which were all about taking responsibility for your life—essentially manifestation books,” she says. 

A master-of-many type of individual, she received a Master’s Degree in Art Therapy from New York University, and she’s skilled in a multitude of healing practices such as aromatherapy, reiki and meditation. Jessie has been an art therapist and yoga instructor, and she’s even worked in various treatment centers. “I worked in a psychiatric hospital in New York City, helping adolescents and adults who had a lot of mental and emotional challenges,” she shares.

When Jessie had her first daughter—Amelie, now eight—she shifted her focus to being a manifestation coach. Today, Jessie and her family reside in Montecito, where she helps people lead better lives through skillful manifestation. She offers one-on-one sessions, and an online course that can be taken on its own or alongside her sessions. “My online course called the Dream Catcher is a huge database of workshops,” she says. “There’s three years’ worth of workshops from myself and other amazing guests like Marianne Williamson, Mimi Bouchard, Cathy Heller and more powerhouse experts.” Jessie even partners with other coaches and practitioners to co-lead workshops at her home, the most recent focusing on creativity.

Jessie especially enjoys leading couples' sessions. “I think every couple should manifest together and get on the same page so that both their individual and shared vision can be amplified,” she says. I ask her about a success story she feels comfortable sharing from one of her recent sessions, and what she divulges gives me visible goosebumps.

She tells me about a husband and wife who recently came to her. The husband was initially disillusioned with his career and sought Jessie’s expertise to advance professionally. However, after a few sessions, he realized that what was holding him back wasn’t his skills or experience, but how he felt about himself physically and mentally. “He tapped into a version of himself that was the true him—the real him,” says Jessie. Discovering this source of discontent fueled him to lead a healthier lifestyle, and he lost 50 pounds. The kicker? A healthier approach to life helped his career, as identifying his true roadblock boosted his confidence. “He needed to plug into this version of his true self that was not running the show at that moment,” she says

For Jessie, raising vibrations is a mindset and daily practice that shapes the life you want to create. As part of that ethos, she offers her clients what she calls “high vibe gifting,” where she hand-picks items she knows will inspire and uplift them. “I have a lot of favorite products and brands that I feel elevate someone’s life, so I gift my one-on-one clients and course members every month,” she says. “Yet, manifestation is about more than just money and things,” she says. “Manifestation is about releasing limiting beliefs that are blocking you from what’s available to you in your reality.” 

We’ve partnered with Jessie to provide a checklist of 10 things you can strive for each day to enhance your life and become more magnetic.

• Create before you consume. 

Don’t start your morning with social media, the news or other people’s voices in your head. Begin instead with cultivating gratitude, visualizing your day ahead, and creating something, whether it’s a cup of joe or a journal entry.

• Lean into simple pleasures. 

Each day brings small joys that should be savored. Don’t brush off small wins and the little things that make life sweet.

• Connect with yourself. 

Prioritizing some alone time, away from others, allows you to hear your intuition and connect with powers greater than yourself.

• Connect with other people. 

Alone time is important, yet so is connecting with others. The flow and exchange of energy among neighbors, friends, family, and community is healthy.

• Share your gifts with the world. 

The more you share your unique offerings to the world—the more you are living your authentic purpose, and aligned opportunities will arise to help you reach your full potential.

• Reach outside of your comfort zone. 

Find ways throughout the day to challenge yourself. Try something you’ve never done—whether it’s a new workout class, a cold plunge, or making a phone call that gives you butterflies. 

• Adopt a beginner's mindset. 

Instead of assuming you have all the answers, let life surprise you by seeing things as if you’re discovering them for the first time.

• Allow yourself to experience awe. 

Recognize the beauty of our world and understand that we are all connected to this magic in some way.

• Help someone. 

Find a way to make someone’s day better every day, whether it’s helping one person or contributing to your community.

• Tend to your basic needs. 

Spiritual awakening can’t happen without taking care of your physical vessel. Make sure you’re drinking enough water, exercising, spending time in nature, eating foods that raise your vibrations and getting enough sleep.

Mastering skillful manifestation takes time and can be achieved when you take ownership of your focus and route your energy toward healthy goals and aspirations. This starts with how you speak to and about yourself. Something as simple as replacing “I need” and “I want” with “I am” and “I love” can bring you one step closer to becoming a skillful manifester. “If you say ‘I need’ and ‘I want,’ you’re putting yourself in a state of lack because you're implying that that thing is separate from you and that you don't have it. Whereas ‘I love’ and ‘I am’ is a recognition that this thing is already yours,” explains Jessie.

The next step is learning to manifest from the soul rather than the ego. “Manifesting from the ego is all about external appearance. It’s about people applauding you and giving you praise,” says Jessie. Manifesting from the soul doesn’t mean you can’t desire material things, it only means you do it for yourself, rather than to seek validation from others. You focus on manifesting things because you sense they will bring you a feeling that aligns with your truth or authentic self.

As a final piece of guidance, in a world full of noise, don’t let it deter your attention from what truly matters. “Where you place your attention—that's what's going to be magnified in your reality,” notes Jessie. Direct your energy and thoughts toward what you appreciate—the people, moments and sensations that spark genuine joy—and life naturally offers you more of it.