Abundance has been percolating in my brain for a few weeks now. If you read my last post, Unattached, you would have read how I was helping a friend with her budget. The focus of that post was my realization of how attached I was to her doing what I suggested. The other realization for me of this ‘helping my friend with her budget’ is the idea of abundance.
Let’s start with the belief I personally hold to be true: that the universe is an abundant one. But, you may ask, if it’s so abundant why are some people struggling financially more than others? Therein lies the crux of the matter. Abundance is not just about money. It is about every part of our lives though we often emphasize its importance around money. How then do I tap into this abundant universe?
The answer is through your mind. When the mind is focusing on what is missing then what is available becomes invisible. Thinking that there is not enough to give effectively closes you off from being able to receive. There is an element of faith and trust in this, yes, and it takes dedicating yourself when what you see in front of you is a state of neediness. In Spiritual Economics: The Principles and Process of True Prosperity author Eric Butterworth says, “There is an answer for every problem, substance for every financial requirement, a job for every willing worker. The economic indicators will not tell you this. The welfare agencies will not tell you this. You will need to tell it to yourself, for economics is a spiritual process.”
When you read the whole book it becomes apparent that this is more than “If you only believe, it will come true.” It is belief in something - some call it God, a Force, or the Universe - more powerful than you yet totally invisible to you. It is knowing that you actually need nothing, though you don’t sit around waiting on ‘manna’ to fall from the sky. It may look like you are jobless, for instance, but when you have a mind focused in abundance you know that when you do your part of the job hunt process there is “…a job for every willing worker.”
Now back to my friend and her budget. There are areas where she spends her money that I disagree with especially since she has a tight budget and needs to be careful until she gets on her feet again. For example, she is very generous and gives small gifts, which in my view are unnecessary, to the people around her and this is cutting into her limited resources. “Cut it out,” I said. Yet I believe in an abundant universe so I watched myself saying it and noticed how I was feeling like a hypocrite! If I suggest that she stop giving aren’t I then moving her toward a closed way of being? Won’t her generosity be stifled? And in an abundant universe isn’t giving the best way to open ones self to receiving?
While I was busy pondering those questions my friend went about her generous business. You can imagine my surprise when she called to say that a totally unexpected source of income had opened to her and would help her cover the budget! I would not have said that my friend’s mind was rooted in thinking abundantly and that she was lucky in this case. Maybe, but what is clear is my own limited thinking.
Feeling like a hypocrite was my first clue. If I had approached her situation from the mindset that all her needs would be met, and we were doing the ground work to get a handle on her finances, then I would not have felt hypocritical. I would also not have been surprised by her unexpected source of income. When you are open to the Universe, focusing on the fact that all needs will be met, those needs can come from anywhere, expected or not.
As a Reiki practitioner I cannot see the energy I claim to use but the results that clients experience are undeniable. I know, without doubt, that when I use Reiki healing happens, regardless of what I see in front of me. Now I ask myself again, where is my mind focused when it comes to abundance? Am I trusting that all my needs will be met by a God or a Force that I cannot see? I talk the talk but I may not be walking the walk. How about you?