Let’s Build Our Abundance Skills

I’ve got to make an admission, and maybe some of you can relate – the topic of abundance principles and having an abundance mindset used to really annoy me.

When people talked about abundance and the idea we could experience something different by thinking different, I’d roll my eyes and groan… “Not another one of those ‘woo-woo people.” I wouldn’t listen to anything they had to say. It all boiled down to me judging and having a closed mind.

Thankfully, my mind didn’t stay closed. Today, being open to abundance principles has a positive impact in every area of my life.

Abundance is not all about money.

Sure, mostly we think about abundance as being about having money – and it’s fine if that’s what draws you in right now. Money’s important!

Abundance is about feeling 100% supported.

We feel abundant when we have all we need to live out the gift of our life. (We need more than money for that.)

It’s about needs being met and dreams becoming reality.

It’s about love, relationships and expressing our unique creativity!

When we lean into life and practice sharing our unique gifts with the world – I’ve found that abundance shows up one way or another – almost like it simply has to!

Let Me Tell You About A Little Book With A Big Invitation

I was introduced to The Abundance Book (it introduced me to abundance principles) by John Randolph Price through a coaching program several years ago. The book was originally published in 1987. I learned recently that the author passed away in 2014 and think it’s cool that his little book continues to get shared today.

My perspective on faith at the time felt threatened. I worried the ideas he presented weren’t ‘biblically sound’. I lived in a place of wanting to be ‘right’ about anything I gave my time and attention to. The author’s perspective IS largely Bible based – but his language stretched beyond anything I’d been exposed to. Since I couldn’t be sure it was right, I tossed it out.

Two years later, my friend Rayven Monique opened up a coaching program and I decided to join. As it happened, she made a meditation and journaling project from the book an important focus of the program. (FYI: Rayven isn’t currently offering this coaching… but maybe sometime in the future she will!)

My faith was in transition and I felt less driven by a need to be right. I decided to be willing to lean into ideas about abundance principles with a more open mind.

This is important. I decided to be willing.

Our perspectives on anything can change when we’re willing.

The book introduces 10 Principles of Abundance. Each is a statement of truth – you might think of it as a confession of belief. I think of them as ‘leaning in’ affirmations of what I want to experience.

Readers are invited to spend time meditating and journaling on these abundance principles, one after another for forty days.

(Note: I personally choose to reduce that to a 30 day/business day only cycle – which means you cycle through the full set of ten three times.)

When I tackled the Principles, I diligently confronted my beliefs about provision. I tussled constantly with the language the author used – but shook off the desire to judge word choices and focused on the possible truth of each idea. It was tough as hell and rattled my spiritual cage constantly!

In the end – it was as awesome as can be.

The author’s perspective is that we are meant to have abundance in our lives. He takes a stand that humankind’s natural state is one of abundance and anything else we experience is a result of being out of tune with the truth.

Here’s where I say that I’m still a massive work in progress in the area of comprehending abundance and abundance teaching.

I don’t believe every little thing the author says. Heck, I’m not even recommending you read it from cover to cover. The only part I really like are the principles. When I used them to turn my consciousness toward abundant thinking, when I leaned in and intentionally changed my focus – abundance started to appear around me.

At the beginning I was glaring woefully at a $72k tax debt. Shortly after completing the practice, I sent payments that cut it in half. In less than 18 months, I paid it off completely – all the while having had a major income stream cut off by our global pandemic.

I’m mystified by how provision flowed around me through that time. An old version of me wants to figure it out and understand what I DID that make it work – but honestly, I don’t care about that anymore.

What feels true – what resonates deeply with me – is this:

I am connected to a source that abundantly supports my life. When I focus on living my life, practicing my gifts, leaning into curiosity and creativity – this source rises up to support me in amazing ways.

• You may call this source God.
• Some call source the Universe, meaning all the energy and substance there is.
• Some just say source/consciousness and feel a deep sense of connection with it.

I’m not going to tell you what to think or believe.

Turns out not being sure if I’m right is a more peaceful way to live than when I felt afraid that I wasn’t – or worked so hard to prove I was.

Leaning into the abundance principles has been good for me.

Meditating and journaling on the 10 Principles of Abundance have become a valued tool. I have been through the practice several times now.

I invited a few of my mindset coaching clients to do the practice and share their insights with me as they went.

Enjoyably, I got to see the most interesting reactions.

• Some, like me the first time, quit within the first week. Nope, not interested – not right now anyways.
• Some didn’t run away – but they didn’t fully practice either. They puttered through, missing days and rarely shared thoughts with me.  It doesn’t land for everyone at the same time and that’s okay.
• Three clients were all in. They practiced every day and almost always shared a thought or question with me.  Like my own early experience, there was a lot of tussling between concepts of abundance and circumstances of life.

I loved this coaching so much. There’s no right or wrong way to practice and I never expect anyone to think just like me – it feels easy and creates beautiful experiences.

There are no testimonials of sudden riches – but not a one regrets the invitation to think differently.  There were reports of provision and fresh creativity that surprised and delighted – just this morning (several weeks after finishing) one shared they are seeing abundance everywhere.

I hope they, like me, will keep leaning into the principles. I want others to experience something like I have – or even better!

“Lack Invitations” Are Everywhere

We get hundreds of invitations to tune our attention/awareness/consciousness into thinking about lack every day. Bills, debts, needs, fears of not having enough…

Lack says ‘I’m here! I’m here! Pay attention to me!’ (So loud and persistent, isn’t it?)

The 10 Principles of Abundance are an invitation to tune into another station on the dial. They invite us to stop dwelling on the problem – which almost seems to expand and multiply it – and focus attention on solutions instead.

Where Attention Goes, Energy Flows.

I get this sweet little visual in my mind…

I’m at a dance and there are 99 people who won’t dance with me. I’m obsessed with wanting them to want me. I’m grinding my heart up into little pieces trying to understand why they don’t ask me. How can I get them to ask me? What can I do? How can I change?

Meanwhile, there’s one person who’s been asking me to dance all along. This one person who wanted me from the beginning – who only wants to sweep me off my feet and thrill me with every enjoyment of the experience.

Only I haven’t been able to hear their voice. I haven’t been able to accept their invitation because I’m sooo overwhelmingly focused on all of the lack and need.

If this dance is life and I’m missing out on abundance because I can’t take my eyes off lack… that is tragedy indeed.

*sigh*

Want To Tweak Where Your Attention Is Going?

I highly recommend getting a copy of The Abundance Book and giving the practice a go.

Before you dig in and read his 10 Principles of Abundance, let me tell you how I use them.

1. I close my eyes, take a few relaxing breathes and use a visualization to begin. I imagine a soft white glowing rain falling over my life, soaking into me and my surroundings. I think of this rain as supply from source – abundance flowing into my world. Sometimes I spontaneously see the flow coming out of me – flowing out into the world. I love that!
2. I read a principle aloud with the intention of leaning in on the idea as a truth – or at least as a possible truth.
3. I reflect/meditate on the principle for a few minutes. I notice any resistance I have to the statement. I feel the tug and push of my intention to consider the statement true versus my own thought arguments against it. Some days there is a LOT of resistance – other days I only feel ‘Yes!’.
4. I journal. Sometimes I’m writing a lot of words, other times I’m jotting down bulleted sentence fragments.
5. If I’m sharing accountability with someone else, I send them a few thoughts – or ask them a question.

I Created A Tweaked Version of the Abundance Principles.

The author’s language didn’t always land with me. It wasn’t that I wanted to argue with the statement – I just wanted to tweak the wording to create abundance principles so that felt more authentic to me.

If you decide to experience the 30 day practice, you may love the original abundance principles as the author wrote them back in the 70s – or maybe you’ll want to tweak them a bit to line up with your own spiritual perspectives. I say do whatever it takes!

If you’d like, I’m happy to send you a copy of mine. (They might just help you create something wonderful in your life.)

Repeating my invitation: I would like you to join me for a 30 Day Abundance Practice! It’s free and easy to register for right here.

You missed the live practice but you can always jump in for a fun self-led experience… and if you crave it, you can invite me to join you for one to one support and encouragement!