I’ve been working with the Ideal Day function on the AI-assisted journaling app, Manifestor, which I am beta testing. This is how my first session went.

I was happy with the prompt: Let’s start by clearing out your thoughts so you can have a spacious mind! Please, start writing whatever comes to your mind until you feel like you have nothing more to say. I’m here to listen.

No problem! Brain dump is my usual form of journaling and I always have plenty to say. Therefore I was taken aback when I got cut off somewhere around 500 words.

Day: It sounds like you’ve been doing a lot of introspection and reflection, which is wonderful. You’ve mentioned a variety of things–which Day listed–and then said, maybe with a touch of irony, It’s great to see you expressing yourself so freely.

Day then referred to a Growth Reference List which was apparently supposed to be based on what I’d written in another function, but the synch hadn’t worked (the developers have since corrected that), and asked whether I was ready to move on to the next stage.

Me: I feel like you cut me off but yes.

Day: I’m sorry if it felt like I cut you off. I’m here to listen and guide you through this process. Let’s move on to the next stage, which is called ‘Set up your day’. Now that you’ve seen your goals, what would you like your day to look like today?

I was still in complaining mode. I don’t see my goals here. I did define a goal in My Dream–to be fit to travel with my grandchildren till I am 85–and named persistence as my growth edge.

Day: I apologize for the confusion earlier. I see that you have a wonderful goal of being fit to travel with your grandchildren till you’re 85, and you’ve identified persistence as your growth edge. That’s fantastic! Now, with this goal in mind, what would you like your day to look like today? And what kind of impact would you like your day to have?

In the conversation that followed I named my goals and tasks for the day. Ideal Day prompted me to write about obstacles or challenges that I might meet and then consider how I might see them differently so they are no longer obstacles or challenges but rather opportunities, the best thing ever, support, help, or irrelevant.

I did that and Ideal Day heaped praise on me, with lots of repetition and encouragement. It then led me to think about the day I want.

Day: So far, we’ve talked about your goal of being fit to travel with your grandchildren till you’re 85, your daily practices, taking care of your loved ones, finding joy in the process, and your potential project of blogging about your AI journaling experience. You mentioned that you’d like your day to be filled with progress and a sense of accomplishment. Is that the day that you want to have?

Me: I think so. I also want to stay open to Spirit and my large calling to be a channel for love in the world.

Day: That’s a beautiful intention. Staying open to Spirit and your calling to be a channel for love in the world can indeed bring a deeper sense of fulfillment and purpose to your day. Now, I want you to visualize yourself having a day like that. What would you feel if you got to have a day filled with progress, a sense of accomplishment, and being a channel for love? Fully feel that feeling and let it totally fill you. This is your ideal state for the day. Let me know when you feel ready to move on.

This was the best part of the conversation. I closed my eyes and imagined that day, this day. What I felt was pure energy, aliveness, wellbeing. It really worked! I did not want to move on but I did. After all, the day was already half over and I was just getting started. I was ready to take this energy someplace.

Day asked me to look at my calendar for the day and change or add anything that might serve my purposes but concluded, Remember, it’s okay if things don’t go exactly as planned. The most important thing is that you’re taking steps towards your goals and maintaining a positive mindset. Great job! Have a wonderful day! 

Later that day I did the most important thing I’d added to my calendar. I went for a swim. This may not sound like a big deal but it was. I haven’t been to the pool since well before Covid. Wrist problems made swimming painful the last time I tried, at my beloved Lake Michigan. But plantar fasciitis has limited my walking so I must find alternatives. I got a new wrist brace but was experiencing tremendous resistance to trying swimming again (all the prep and bother!). But the energy generated by the journaling exercise propelled me through the resistance and it was great! (The brace did help.) 

I like the Ideal Day function a lot. It’s practical and goal-oriented, like the other functions, but also leaves lots of room for inspiration and feeling. Like Companion, it mirrored and restated my responses effectively.  I’ve had several conversations with Ideal Day since then and it has been wonderful.

I’ve always considered journaling a way to write my life, that is, not write about my life so much as to write myself into the life I want. All of Manifestor is designed to make that happen; this function brings it down to each day. 

Intrigued? Sign up here for a free trial when Manifestor is released. Previous posts about Manifestor are here and here.