It’s not how much we have, it’s what we think about we have that produces happiness. Thoughts of scarcity make us function in deficit, so life begins to look bleak and that affects everything: our relationships, money, love, security, purpose, image and our overall quality of life. Scarcity is a blindness, and the media and society we are surrounded by perpetuate these thoughts, but there is a way to fight the negative aspects of the consumerist world we live in!
Seeing A World Of Abundance
If scarcity is a blindness, abundance is an awareness. You can have every optimal opportunity laid before you; every resource and still not see it. Abundance is the lens that focusses our mindset in order to see the perfection in you and the world around you. So how do we gain this sight? I think it begins with awareness of our True Self. Everyone is born out of their own True Selves, and we cannot fully expand into abundance when we’re stuck in a state of scarcity.
What is The True Self? It’s that non-translatable ‘life energy’ that abides in everyone and everything. It’s what powers your physical form in a tangible environment and helps you reach your full potential with the primary focus of well-being. When we feel good about ourselves we are tuned into our True Self and the more you get there, the more you will stay there.
Abundance According To The Experts
Patañjali refers to this through the Yoga Sūtras:
You are that true Seer. You are not the body nor the mind. You are the Knower or Seer.
Through this sūtra he’s suggesting we take a step back. Chill out! Don’t you feel like letting yourself off the hook and everyone else for a while? Just be the Seer. Tell yourself you’re doing just fine, that you are on your path. Feel good about where you are: at the perfect place, in the perfect time and let the True Self delight in simply being alive!
Everyone gets caught up in bogus feelings of scarcity or the limitations placed on you by others. Know you have the ability to refocus the lens and see the other side. By allowing your awareness to default to it’s natural state of abundance you can then pay attention to that wellspring of happiness that is inside you, beyond the body or the mind.
Becoming Aware of Abundance
It takes mindfulness and awareness to shift from the scarcity taught to us by advertising and media, into a more permanent mindset of abundance. A big part of any daily abundance strategy is building daily compassion for yourself and a positive internal dialogue. Try it!
Set aside an entire day to invest in appealing to your True Self. Throughout the day, ask yourself these questions:
- What would my True Self benefit from in this situation?
- How would my True Self like this day to end?
- What would my True Self choose for me right now?
You will be amazed how taking care of your True Self results in a calmer, happier and more contented mindset. Before long you’ll have be actively taking care of your True Self, and the abundance will be more visible in what you have.
Living An Abundant Life
To recap: living an abundant life means taking care of ourselves beyond our body and mind, and looking at our True Selves. In order to do that, we need to be mindful of the desires of our True Selves when they’re not clouded by ego or external influences. Once we do this regularly, we’ll find ourselves living in a state of expansion and contentment. When we live in that state of expansion, we reap a whole host of benefits:
- Living with compassion towards your True Self allows you to live with a new sense of humility and a perspective of the bigger picture.
- Rash decision-making fades and your decisions become truthful and contemplated. If you’ve rejected scarcity, you’re less likely to jump into a quick-fix relationship, comfort eating or making unaffordable purchases.
- You’ll increase security in the world you’ve created, increase faith in yourself and understand why you make the choices you do.
- You’ll develop a sense of worthiness as resistance lessens and a sense of thriving enters.
This kind of positive thinking acknowledges your world in the now. It helps us see the good things in our lives, rather than only seeing what we don’t have. So what can we do everyday to extend and expand?
Four Ways To Practice Abundance
1) Meditate for at least 15 minutes a day.
Quiet the mind and simply be. If you’ve never meditated before, don’t worry! There are plenty of meditation apps or downloadable guided meditations out there for people with all levels of experience.
2) Go outside, no matter the weather.
Take a few minutes to appreciate the planet. On your daily run or walk to work – you may pass the same things every day. Next time you see the same, familiar scenery, try consciously saying, “You are my favourite field; you are my favourite flower; you are my favourite tree…”
3) Being grateful.
Meditation apps are pretty standard, but have you ever heard of gratitude apps? The best one is simply called Gratitude, or try journalling to rest your focus on two or three areas of your life you want to transform.
4) Look up and out.
By taking a minute to stop what you’re doing and take a breath, you can reconnect with your True Self and check in. Taking a break gives you the perspective to appreciate all you have achieved to date.
Give it a try, and let us know how it works for you in the comments! Did taking a minute to ask how your True Self is feeling redirect your day? Has journalling helped you banish scarcity in an area of your life? Or is there a technique I didn’t suggest that has really helped you? If you take just fifteen minutes a day to follow one of these practices, you could be astonished by the way abundance can take hold of your life.
