The Daily Groove
Invisible Abundance
by Scott Noelle, posted on 2006-08-28
Belief in abundance is crucial to the transformation of your daily grind into a joyful groove, because virtually all suffering derives from belief in scarcity.
When you believe there is PLENTY of good stuff — time, energy, and especially LOVE — most problems simply dissolve.
For example, you wouldn't worry about your children's behavior if you believed that there's plenty of time for them to find their way, plenty of energy (including money and material goods) to empower them on their paths, and so much love that no amount of "misbehavior" could render them (or you) unlovable.
"But how can I believe in abundance when I see so much physical evidence of scarcity?"
If you paid more attention to your Inner Knowing, you'd "see" much more abundance than your eyes reveal.
Scientists have recently discovered compelling evidence that 95% of all matter and energy is invisible to our physical senses and our finest instruments. That means there's 20 times more "stuff" than we previously "knew" existed!
Today, make a point of noticing whether your thoughts and statements are based on belief in scarcity... or abundance. Which way feels better?
befriending time
I'm on a roll - I just posted RE "Positive Apology" and as I nursed had to re-read another article (I've read them all at least once!). This one drew me, and I know why. I've really cornered the little thought bugger that's at the root of much of my angst lately - the belief in the scarcity of time. Time to get it all done, time to sleep, time to simply enjoy my children, time to "make" money, time for myself and time to fufill a few dreams of my own (other than the dream of having a happy family, although it would certainly include family, yet a happy me is part of a happy family...). Time to enjoy time, I want more time!
And that leads to wanting more money, so I can pay someone to do things I'd rather let someone else do while I spend my time the way I'd prefer, it leads me to wanting more consideration from my mate and my children so I can free up time (from picking up toys and socks and muddy boots and more), it leads me to want more things that promise time-savings. It leads me to want to be more efficient, to simply have more conscious and deliberate control over how I spend my time. Which is good. But help!
My mind can kinda grasp the idea that time is not inflexible, any more than anything else is (hey, I read A WRINKLE IN TIME about 100 times as a kid...), and I know from experience that time can actually expand for us as we are actually present in our nows (because we are fully aware), but I'd love some hints on how to, in the moment time seems limited, to free myself. When all four of my children want my time at the same time, say, or I need to get to the bank b4 it closes, or I'm trying to get out the door for that skating lesson. These are the times of my greatest stresses it seems, the times I am most usually not the parent I want to be. This hissing voice of "not enough" seems sneak in, along with a feeling of impending failure, then guilt and even resentment, all because time seemed tight...
We live in a world that runs on time, so it's an issue. Saying "sometime" or "one day" works for abstract dreams, but not for everything. Even saying "in good time" is nice, but there are a lot of things that have specific timelines, not to mention things my children or I really just simply want NOW! LOL! Yes, visualizing can bring us into the experience now, and I know that is where we all gotta start, but first I personally need to create more time to visualize.... (hey, I managed to create time to write all this today, so I guess I'm doin' something...)
Ah, just ready to embrace time as a friend, it has been an enemy for so long.
Grins again,
Dawn
P.S. I'm actually using the "3rd possibility/solution" technique right now... I needed time nurse my youngest, give some attention to my 3 yr old (who was asking for it by being "clingy"), take care of my children's clothing and food needs, get them packed up for an excursion and go to the bank, take a shower sometime, clean the house (that's a long list), process and write and find more joy... I did not know how I possibly had time for it all. I let it go - there weren't just 2 possibilities, one being get it all done and the other one being failure, but perhaps a third...
The reading and writing and processing took over as I nursed, and as I felt lighter I realized I didn't really have to go to the bank today, Monday would be fine. My children nabbed some yogurts on their own, and the older two found clothing and are looking fine even if a bit mismatched. I did get my 3 yr old dressed, and he has watched me type a bit as I read aloud to him. He thinks "I'm on a roll" is funny, so I guess I'm leaving that part. The baby is now sleeping and I will actually get a shower in. Cleaning, well, I'll work on thinking about exactly what I want to accomplish and how to be efficient with it as I shower. Time is already being flexible for me!
Dawn in the World of WI
Mother of Four & More
***ARTIST*WRITER***
"Life's like a movie. Write your own ending,
keep believing, keep pretending."
-- Jim Henson
Thanks...
...for answering your own questions and saving me so much time. :)
What you've hit upon is a sort of paradox: the more you perceive time as abundant, the less time it takes to achieve what you want, and vice versa.
Another tack is to practice looking at situations from a broader or more spiritual (i.e., eternal) perpective. What's an hour of housework compared to a few billion years of life on Earth? What percentage of Eternity must be lost before you have "not enough" time left?