The Law Of
Abundance
The more you learn what
to do with yourself, and the more you do for others, the
more you will enjoy the abundant life. —William J.
H. Boetcker
Abundance has been defined
in a variety of ways, by different people at different times
and in different cultures. Today, we typically measure abundance
in terms of the money and objects we possess. We think that
those who possess the most are the most free and powerful
individuals and that they therefore enjoy the most abundant
lifestyle. Yet for Plato, Aristotle, and the Roman Stoic philosophers,
the most free and powerful individuals were those who could
be happy with the fewest things. While our culture values
those who earn and hoard the most, among certain tribes in
New Guinea, the most valued members of society were those
who gave away the most.
In the end, we could say that
abundance is the feeling of enough and to spare. Well all
right, but how much is enough? Does a man with a "net
worth" in the millions, whose mood fluctuates with the
stock market, and who feels himself to be lacking relative
to his country club companions, experience abundance? What
about a "primitive" in the rainforests of the Amazon
who, with the simplest of technologies and a leaky temporary
hut for a shelter, feels himself blessed by the bounty of
the forest? Clearly, having no quantifiable frame of reference,
abundance is a state of mind, or more precisely, of being.
In attempting to define abundance,
a look at the origin of the word itself as well as those of
other terms we associate with wealth and prosperity will help.
The word abundance is derived from the Latin abunda-re, meaning
"to overflow." Wealth is derived from the Old English
wel or wela, meaning "well" or "well-being."
Well is to wealth, as heal is to health. The word prosperity
is derived from the Latin prospera-re, meaning "to render
fortunate." Rich comes from the Old English rice, meaning
"strong," "powerful." While today we associate
all these terms almost exclusively with money and material
gain, in their origins all had meanings that address quality
of life in broader terms.
To live by the law of abundance
is to be fully alive, free of any sense of lack or desperation.
The following little story gives the essence of abundance.
A man leaves the remote peasant village of his birth and travels
the wide world. After many years, he returns home. His friends,
relatives, and neighbors gather round him and ask, "How
is life in the world?" He replies, "Same as here.
It is good for those who know how to live."
The law of abundance is not
the art of making money, but the art of knowing how to live.
This knowing how to live is the essence of what I call the
"Tao of Abundance." The Tao of Abundance is a not
a "get rich quick" or "think your way to riches"
approach to prosperity. It does not encourage you "think
like a millionaire," "dress for success," or
"climb the corporate ladder." It speaks to deeper
experience of abundance than can be realized by the mere accumulation
of goods or by amassing an impressive balance sheet.
Applying the eight principles
of the law of Abundance may, in time, bring greater material
abundance into your life. Certainly, applying these principles
will assist you in opening to receive the creative ideas from
which all wealth ultimately springs. Yet this increased material
abundance will come not from struggling to attain it as a
goal in itself, but rather as a natural by-product of experiencing
a deeper state of psychological abundance. The new feeling
of abundance that you enjoy within will come to be reflected
in all aspects of your outer life, including your finances.
Yet even if you make not one dime more, or even a few less,
but come to earn your money in a way that truly reflects your
nature and expresses who you are, your experience of abundance
will be enhanced. Indeed, some may find that a truer experience
of abundance requires that they relinquish their attachment
to social status or excessive material consumption.
Real abundance is about so
much more than money. A "healthy bottom line" does
not equate with a healthy and abundant state of mind. Evidence
of the psychological and spiritual poverty of the rich and
famous fills our newspapers, magazines, tabloids, and television
programs and hardly needs repeating here. Suffice to say that
many who own great stockpiles of material possessions, and
who are, to all outer appearances, extremely wealthy individuals,
do not enjoy real abundance. They are never content with what
they have and live in fear of losing it. Clearly, real abundance
must be something more than having a lot of money and things.
But then how do we approach it?
The fundamental premise of
the law of Abundance is that the universe is you and is for
you. If you put yourself in accord with the way of the universe,
it will take care of you abundantly. To experience this abundance,
there is nothing you need do first. It is not necessary for
you to earn one more dollar, get a better job, buy a new home
or car, or go back to school. All that is required is that
you become aware of the inner process through which you create
an experience of lack and struggle in your life, and refrain
from doing it. Feelings of abundance and gratitude are natural
to the human being; they do not need to be added or put on.
We have only to become aware of how we are resisting and inhibiting
this natural state.
The law of Abundance asks
you to accept responsibility for creating your own experience
of abundance or lack. Of course, no individual operates in
a vacuum. It would be absurd to deny the impact that the values
and organization of the broader society have on us as individuals.
In an effort to secure the ever-expanding productivity and
consumption upon which its "health" depends, modern
commercial culture vigorously promotes a "lack consciousness."
We buy things we don’t need (or even want), because
we have become convinced that we will be somehow lacking or
inferior without them. We do work we don’t want to do,
because we have become convinced that there is a scarcity
of good jobs and that we can’t create our own work.
Thus, even while we amass more and more stuff, the feeling
of abundance keeps eluding us. In addition to the role that
the values of the broader society have in promoting a psychology
of lack within the individual, the current organization of
society poses institutional barriers to his or her creative
development and financial independence.
(Continued
In Law Of Abundance Pt 2...)
| Authors Details: Laurence G. Boldt,
author of Tao of Abundance Web
Site |
Articles On The Law Of Abundance
(The
Law Of Abundance Part 1)
(The
Law Of Abundance Part 2)
(The
Law Of Abundance Part 3)
(Abundance
& SynchroDestiny)
(Abundance
& Your Inner Child Pt1)
(Abundance
& Your Inner Child Pt2) |
