062: Abundance

What do you think about when you hear the word Abundance?

Here’s a definition I found:

an extremely plentiful or oversufficient quantity or supply: an abundance of grain.

overflowing fullness: abundance of the heart.

affluence; wealth: the enjoyment of abundance

What sounds better to me came from Depok Chopra when he said:

“Abundant life is not about external comparisons.  Instead, a life of fulfillment comes from within—from the knowledge that you were created with everything you need to be happy and successful and can access those seeds of abundance at any time.”

I’m excited to talk to you about Abundance today and why it is so important to know How and Why Abundance can change the way we feel on a daily basis.

I’ve been thinking about abundance for almost a year now.

It’s the word I chose to focus on when I began my yearly goal setting.

In case you’re new to this podcast, I’d better give you a little background here.

I start my new year on my birthday.  My birthday is in November.  I kind of like to go against what everyone else is doing sometimes.  Since everyone is all into goal setting in January, I like to do mine in November.  I have nothing against setting goals whenever you feel the bug to do so, I just like doing it on my own terms, not because I’m “supposed to” set goals when the calendar turns to a new year.

So, last October I go to thinking about what I wanted my new word for the year to be.

I started a list on my desk and added anything that came to my mind over the next few weeks. 

The closer it got to my birthday, I started crossing words off that didn’t hit me as something really powerful at this stage of my life.  I’ve been doing this for quite a few years so I’ve done this a few times.

When the time came to choose, one word stood out more than anything else.

Abundance.

The thing that’s weird about that is that I didn’t feel abundant.

I’ll admit, and this isn’t news to you if you’ve been with me for a while, things don’t always flow into my life in a way that I’d call abundant.

Don’t get me wrong, I have everything that a person needs.

I have love.  Food.  Shelter.  Clothing.  All the necessities are met and then some.

But its never flowed in a way that I would call ABUNDANT.

Feels like I have to work hard to get any of it.

That isn’t the way I wanted to feel.

Still don’t.

That’s why I think Abundance was the word that felt right.

I needed to begin to allow abundance to be more apart of the feelings in my life.

Usually, I think when anyone hears the word abundance, they automatically think about money.

Guilty.

But I wanted to change the focus on that too.

I know that abundance can be felt in lots of different ways, and I wanted those to be my first thoughts instead of just money.

We can feel an abundance of:

Love

Health

Success

Friendship

Compassion

Empathy

Joy

Vitality

Energy and

Material Wealth

This list could go on and on.

So, I began looking for ways to learn about abundance.

All year I’ve been listening to a podcast by Depok Chopra called “Creating Abundance” a 21-day Meditation Challenge.

This podcast has 21 days (plus a few extra) of meditations where he teaches the different ways we can feel abundant and why it is possible for all of us.

I have loved this practice.

I know a lot of you are saying, I can’t meditate, my mind is always racing with thoughts.  I could never sit and think of nothing.

I hate to break it to you but we’re all like that.

We all have more thoughts than we know what to do with.

Meditation helps you to have a time in your day where you focus on slowing those thoughts down.

It’s called the practice of meditation for a reason.

We have to practice to get better at it.

No one just sits down and has an empty mind for an hour.

I’m still trying to keep my thoughts on my breath for 5 minutes without loosing my focus.

You will feel the benefits just by trying.

You’ll get better the more you do it.

I’m challenging you to try it.

Usually I’ve done it in the morning and whenever possible, I listen at night too.  I’ve gone through the 21 days multiple times and still feel like there is so much to learn.  He starts each 15 minute or less session by teaching something about abundance.  He uses words from his religion and culture, but I haven’t found it hard to make it fit into my own beliefs using wording that is more familiar and in line with what I believe.

One of my favorite things I’ve learned from this series is in Day 5 when he taught,

“Attention energizes and intention transforms.  What we place our attention on expands in our lives.  And our intention for the object of our attention will orchestrate the forces of the universe to support our desired result.” 

Cool, right?!  Where we put our attention is what becomes bigger in our lives.  When our intention is to do the same thing, we start taking action on the things that we want to have happen.

Another favorite is from Day 6,

“Abundant life is not about external comparisons.  Instead, a life of fulfillment comes from within—from the knowledge that you were created with everything you need to be happy and successful and can access those seeds of abundance at any time.”

I’ve taught this in my Keeping it Together community for years and it felt good to hear someone as well revered teach the same thing.  Everything we need is inside of us.  All the experiences we’ve had in the past are preparing us for what’s coming in the future.  I love it SO much!!!

All year I’ve been trying to change the way I think and speak about things.

If there’s something I want, I try to say it in a positive way instead of speaking it as if it will never happen.

Here’s a few examples:

I’m never going to have enough time to >blank<

Changed to

When I >blank<

How are we going to pay for that?

Changed to:

Won’t it be exciting to see how the money shows up for us to pay for that!

Can you feel the difference in those examples?

I sure have.  Negative thoughts turned into positive ones even though the circumstances surrounding what was happening, didn’t change at all.

One definition of abundance that I found really felt good to me.  It said:

an appreciation of life in its fullness, joy and strength of mind, body and soul.

Another definition was:

an extremely plentiful or oversufficient quantity or supply: an abundance of grain.

overflowing fullness: abundance of the heart.

affluence; wealth: the enjoyment of abundance.

I like the first one better:

an appreciation of life in its fullness, joy and strength of mind, body and soul.

Shorter and simpler.

The opposite of abundance is scarcity.

Here’s the definitions of scarcity I found:

insufficiency or shortness of supply; dearth.

rarity; infrequency.

Another is: when the means to fulfill ends are limited and costly.

Other words for scarcity are:

Lack

Going without

Shortage

Want

Inadequate

When you think about how you feel when I say scarcity, what do you feel?

Compare that with how you feel when we were defining abundance!

This is why I want to choose abundance!

What if you just ALLOWED yourself to feel abundant?

What if you’re blocking good things from coming into your life because you are looking for scarcity instead?

As with most of the things I teach on this podcast, I just want to help you to become aware of how you are moving throughout your life. 

I’m not anywhere close to perfect at feeling abundant all the time.

I am closer than when I began thinking about it more.

One little step at a time.

Thanks for joining me here today and remember:

I see you.  I understand how hard you’re trying, and I’d like to help however I can.

Have a wonderful day and I’ll see you back here next week.

062: Abundance
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