Cloud Shaping: How to Use Your Mind to Influence Physical Matter for Fun and Profit

By Matthew Joyce

I was at a restaurant the other night and the conversation turned to artistic expression. Several people at the table were musicians. One was also a poet. Two were painters. They were a creative bunch to be sure, but my art form was the one that caught everyone’s interest.

“What do you do?” they asked.

“Cloud sculpture,” I replied.

Cloud sculpture?

Yep, they heard me correctly. I shape clouds.

I’ve long been fascinated with fleeting art forms such as Tibetan sand painting or sand castles for that matter. They are creations made for the sheer joy of creation rather than for any sort of lasting significance. And no art form is more fleeting than cloud shaping.

Cloud shaping is the art and practice of manipulating the shapes of clouds using the creative power of your mind.

Think of it as mental sculpture on a horizon-wide scale.

Cloud shaping is similar to traditional clay sculpture with a few important differences.

When you work with clay to create a sculpture, you do a few basic things. You conceive of the shape you want to create and then you use the energy in your hands to mold the clay according to the pattern that you have in your mind. As you consistently apply the energy in your hands, the clay takes on the shape that you desire.

It’s the same with clouds.

Except that instead of shaping the clay, you work with the water vapor in the clouds, which is a highly pliable medium.

But obviously you can’t reach the sky.

So instead of using your hands to change the shape of the clay, you use your mind to change the shape of clouds.

How do you do that?

Cloud shaping works on a basic premise: you don’t need to use your physical body to create the experiences you desire. Creating with your mind is a basic principle in the practice of manifestation and it’s one we cover in detail in our Manifestation & Creation workshop. If you have taken the workshop, you already have some experience with this fanciful art form.

But you don’t need to have taken a manifestation course in order to be successful at cloud shaping. You do, however, need to be willing to accept that you can influence physical matter with your thoughts.

It’s your thoughts that shape the clouds.

Or more specifically, the energy that shapes the clouds responds to the particular pattern in your mind in the same way that the energy in your hands is guided according to the pattern you are trying to create. In effect, the wind, sun, and air become extensions of your mind.

But you don’t need to focus on wind, sun or air. They respond surprisingly well.

It’s actually much easier than it sounds. Clouds are a very thought-responsive medium.

How to Shape Clouds

You can practice cloud shaping in a variety of different ways. Probably the easiest place to start is by vaporizing a cloud and making it disappear until only blue sky remains. To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Select a time when you have at least 15 minutes of uninterrupted time.
2. Find a comfortable place where you can recline and look at the sky or take a walk somewhere with wide open vistas.
3. Look up in the sky and find a patch of clouds.
4. Select a cloud that you want to vaporize. I recommend beginning with a fairly wispy cloud. You can work your way up to more substantial ones as you repeat the process with new clouds.
5. Create in your mind the pattern of the new experience you desire. In this case that would be the experience of seeing blue sky where there is currently a cloud. Imagine that this experience has already come to be. In your mind see the blue sky and feel your elation that the process worked. (This is a very important point! You are not actually reshaping the cloud, per se. Instead you are creating a new experience of the sky without the cloud.)
6. Release the outcome and trust that it will come into being. You don’t need to provide all of the energy for the process. There is already enough energy in the sky to change the shape according to your desires. You are just providing the new shape or pattern. Releasing is the practice of maintaining the mental pattern of the new experience that you want, while simultaneously letting go of the responsibility for creating the outcome. This is what enables it to come into being.
7. When you are ready, open your eyes and look at the cloud. For some people it may disappear quite quickly. For others the cloud may gradually dissipate over several minutes as the cloud adjusts to the new shape you desire.

Want to ensure that it wasn’t just coincidence? Repeat the process over and over until you feel sure. You can also select a second “control cloud” that you want to remain intact while the first one dissolves.

Other Ways to Shape Clouds

This exercise can be repeated the same way with differing intentions. For instance, after vaporizing a cloud, you might want to try poking a hole in a cloud so you can see blue sky through it while the rest of the cloud remains intact.

With success at vaporization you can move on to cloud shaping proper. Again, follow the steps above. Select a cloud and decide on a new shape for it. You might start out by making a puffy cloud into a long thin one, or vice versa. From there you can try to shape the cloud into something specific, such as a heart shape or a circle.

Or you might decide that the cloud almost looks like a particular shape, such as a dragon, horse, etc. In that case you might create a pattern that is even more complete and detailed, holding the pattern in your mind as the water vapor shifts to bring it about.

If you really want to be creative, try to create a cloud where none currently exists. That’s also fun.

OK that’s fun, but what about the profit?

Cloud shaping is a lot of fun, but it can also be profitable.

Try it a few times to get the hang of it. Then when you are out to dinner with your friends you can mention your new artistic skill. Chances are they won’t believe you. Bet them your share of the dinner bill and prove it to them.

Not only will you be introducing them to this new art form, you will also be building confidence in your ability to create whatever sorts of experiences you desire.

Let us know how your cloud-shaping goes.

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