Ben: Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him.
Luke: You mean it controls your actions?
Ben: Partially. But it also obeys your commands.
―Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker (Stars Wars: A New Hope)
My daughter is the science fiction lover in our family, so I’ve been obliged to watch my fair share of the genre over the years, including all the Star Wars films. And I’ve got to admit that the more I study and apply the universal laws of success, the more I’m convinced that Star Wars creator George Lucas wanted to teach us something bigger, and more valuable, than I ever realized before: we actually do hold the power.
Within all of us, there is a life force. And that life force is neutral as it flows through us, but our brains are the switching station to manage that energy—it obeys our commands. And that’s why learning to manage our thoughts, rather than allowing them to manage us is so crucial. We can choose to live on autopilot and never address our discontent, or we can trust life and pursue our longings, knowing there is more than enough resources to go around. This is the universal law of abundance. But like Luke in Star Wars: A New Hope, we need to believe in it first in order to see it at work in our lives.
So without a mentor like Obi-Wan at your side, how can you learn to believe in abundance? With practice. Below are the four simple steps you can follow to begin to activate your belief in abundance today.
1—Identify whether you’re ready.
The universe doesn’t hold abundance back; we hold it back from ourselves. So simply ask yourself if you’re open to living a life of abundance. Start with questions like: “Am I willing to be open and receptive to all the abundance the universe has in store for me? Would it really be okay if I began to have what I really want for myself?” What thoughts come up for you? Maybe you’re skeptical, or reluctant to believe it’s as simple as making a choice. That’s okay—being aware of those thoughts is the first step to changing them. For example, imagine there are two houses—one humming with light and activity and the other dark and quiet. What if I told you both houses are wired for electricity? That means those in the lit house figured out how to hook up the power. They aren’t lucky—they simply plugged into the laws of electricity. In the same way, people who achieve success in life are not lucky. Well-being and a sense of fulfillment are not accidental. The people who live in an ever-improving state of well-being actually do things a certain way. They have learned the secret of the universal law of abundance, and they practice it with ever-greater skill throughout their lives. So try this: take a big breath, and then try to take a little more, as much as you can take in. And look—there’s still an abundance of air left over, right? Abundance surrounds you. Are you willing to ask for what you desire?
2—Change your mindset.
Say “YES”—wholeheartedly! As you do, you’ll set new things into motion. Your affirmation will align you with a power greater than yourself and you will begin to see evidence of your choice. However, if you respond differently, with something like, “What does she mean?” or “It can’t be as easy as that” or “Yeah right, what do I have to sacrifice first?” then your hesitation indicates that you’re unable to manage or even imagine a broader level of experience. It indicates you’re not willing to change your mindset. But if you say, “I really want to live in harmony; I really want to experience and live in the abundance of the universe,” then your willingness will begin to manifest a new capacity within you for experiencing the flow of abundance.
3—Increase your set point.
Unknowingly, we all have a set point for how much abundance we believe we deserve. If you want to know what your set point is, look at the results in your life. We create the lives we believe we ought to have: a certain amount of love, a certain amount of money, and a certain amount of happiness. These beliefs may not be conscious, but they are still there, controlling the level of abundance we allow into our life. Of course, sometimes something extraordinary overcomes our set point—we might get a bonus, an inheritance, or a windfall. These kinds of surprises are wonderful, but unless we’ve built a consciousness that can hold the experience and make it ours, we will find some way to get rid of it. Take for instance, lottery winners. Over 90% of those people return to their original incomes within three years of winning the lottery—even those who win millions and millions of dollars. Somehow they spend the money, give the money away, or buy things that lose value, until they have no winnings left, and they have returned to their set point. To really win the lottery, you have to build a consciousness that attracts, accepts and stabilizes abundance. There is no set point in the universe for abundance, but our set point is marked according to our own thinking. Pay attention to your set point—the freedom and flow with which you move through the material world—and how it plays out in relationships, finances, and career opportunities. Become aware of your thoughts and feelings around abundance, so you can assess what areas in your life you might be shortchanging in favor of another. By knowing your set point, you can start dialing up one area and the other down.
4—Practice gratitude.
Every moment of every day we are generating one of two energies: expansive or contractive. Think hot and cold, active and relaxed, night and day, etc. Guess which energy attracts abundance? No surprise here: the expansive one. Research even tells us that the fastest way to expand our energy is to practice gratitude. When you receive abundance and you’re grateful, more comes your way. And when you carry a sense of scarcity and complain about it, the more you lack. This is where the hardest work lies: being grateful in the middle of hardship. So take a moment to reflect on your life today. Where are you feeling a sense of lack? Look deep and find one thing that’s positive in that situation or area. Now, practice gratitude. Writing it down can help. Only when you begin to see the facets in every mirror will you be able to buff out the flaws.
Ultimately, all four of these tips have to do with learning to manage your thoughts, so that they don’t manage you. And like Obi-Wan Kenobi said, “The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.” So become aware of your beliefs, be willing to change them, use your power for good, and feel abundance flowing through you.
Here’s to you, being you, and realizing all the abundance that you deserve! May the Force be with you!
Share your thoughts with me in the comments below and/or join my Facebook Community and get the support needed to tap into your power! https://business.facebook.com/igettobe.me