What is abundance?

There seems to be some confusion as to what is abundance. In our current social environment, it would seem to be money.

I am constantly getting emails from strangers telling me how I can make a "six figure income" on the Internet using their same methods. Or, my personal favorite, the frequent email offer to "earn $7200 a month working from home." I'll admit I was curious. So instead of simply deleting the emails, I read a couple of them. I found that the "six figure income" offer in both emails was exactly the same - exact same sales pitch, exact same copy on the sales letter, exact same screen shot of the income adding up in the account - it was just from two different people (supposedly). Interesting. The price for learning the secret to unlocking these riches was different as well. Perhaps "Paul's" secrets were better. But what kept jumping out at me was the focus on money.

Now, there is nothing wrong with money. I love money. Not for its sake alone but for what it enables me to do. And that's the key.

Money alone is not abundance. Money is a tool. Real abundance doesn't require money at all. Real abundance comes from living a joyous and fulfilled life. There are a lot of rich people who are not living abundant lives. They may have millions in the bank but they are living empty, meaningless and painful lives. Check the daily gossip columns if you don't believe me.

Understanding abundance and putting it to work right now is one of the vital elements in creating the life you want to live.

Here's why.

Your subconscious mind doesn't know the difference between what's real and what's imagined. It responds to your emotions. If you feel poor, if you believe you are living in a world of scarcity, your subconscious mind will work to keep you poor and living in scarcity. If you believe abundance is directly tied to your checking account balance and your balance is in the red, you'll be focused on a feeling of lack. And your very powerful subconscious mind will work hard to maintain you in a place of lack.

Remember: Energy flows where attention goes.

So how do you change your feelings to ones of abundance when the news, advertising and maybe even your family and friends are all talking about economic "hard times," dwindling resources and a lack of jobs?

Try one or all of these:

(1) This one comes from the movie, "The Secret." Get yourself a "gratitude rock." If not a rock, then some other item that you decide will be your trigger for putting your focus on all the wonderful things you already have in your life. In hypnotherapy terms, this item will become your "anchor" to switch your thoughts from habitually thinking about what you don't have to the new thoughts you want to make a habit. Carry your anchor with you. Every time you touch it or see it, stop and mentally list all the wonderful things you already have in your life. Again, and I will repeat this over and over, this is a process so at first you may feel as though you're really reaching for things. Just keep at it. You'll find that with a little time you are truly feeling grateful for a number of wonderful things that already exist in your life - right here and right now. How about good friends? Or a loving pet? Or a favorite book? They are all part of the abundance and richness of life.

(2) This one comes from prosperity master Edwene Gaines. Buy something that you can afford that will make you feel rich. When Edwene Gaines had no money and was working toward manifesting a trip to Mexico City, she bought olives with almonds in them because she believed that they were the type of thing that rich people ate. She, therefore, felt rich when she ate them. And she did manifest the money to pay for the trip to Mexico City. I have an antique amber ring that I wear when I want to feel rich. It's not really an expensive piece of jewelry. It is, however, quite ostentatious and it puts me into a feeling of being abundant when I wear it. It's my power ring and I know I can make good things happen when I'm wearing it - no matter what my checkbook might say at the time.

(3) This one comes from Oprah. Keep a gratitude journal. Writing down all the things for which you are grateful sends a very powerful message to your subconscious mind and to the higher intelligence from which all abundance flows. Make it a habit. Every night before you go to bed, write down at least five things for which you are grateful from the day. If you set an intention to make it five new things each night, you will start focusing on noticing new things for which to be grateful. As you do, you will find that you are surrounded by abundance. Your list doesn't have to be about big things that happened that day. Even small things, such as seeing a hummingbird outside your window, are worthy of your gratitude. Be grateful for everything.

One final point: If you followed the instructions on how to set an intention from my earlier post, Setting a clear intention, you will have described your life as you want it to be. You will have written down all the elements of that life, not just money in the bank. As I said earlier, money is a tool. When you think rich and think abundantly, you're subconscious mind has no choice but to make it happen. You will be inspired. You will suddenly see opportunities you may have missed before. Your life will grow even richer in all areas, including your finances.

Joseph Campbell said, "Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls."

Find the bliss in your life right now and those doors will start opening.

Oh, and if you start to focus solely on money or the lack thereof, and think that having more money is going to make you happy, I have four words for you:  Lindsay Lohan  Michael Jackson