I wrote these words down to myself one night, when I was battling with many defeating thoughts in my head. I was feeling very stuck in a downward spiral and I felt like I wasn’t enough…

And then these words came to me…

I must believe in abundance
Then only I can see abundance
If I believe in lack
Then I shall only look for lack and hence I will see plenty of lack!

I must believe in availability
Then only I can see what’s available
If I believe in unavailability
Then I can’t see what’s available
So I can continue to believe in unavailability

Isn’t this true, dear friends?

What you believe is what’s going to define how you feel and how you act.
And the outcome of your interaction with your living environment will become self-fulfilling prophesy for what you believe consciously, and more so unconsciously.

Example #1

In my former workplace, I often heard from different colleagues how hard it was for them to apply for something they want or need. One day, upon moving into a new office space, I decided that I would like a round table in my room. I spoke to a few people, they all thought I was probably too ambitious to try to fit a round table into my small room. Moreover, it’s probably hard to actually find a round table in the organization, unless they were willing to buy a new one for me, supposing if there was still budget for that. But in my imagination of my room, I could really see a round table fitting in nicely with 2 chairs. So despite the discouraging views from my colleagues, I still put in the request for a round table. Not long after, someone from the acquisition or purchasing (?) department came and looked at my room. He then said that he might actually have an unused round table somewhere in the building that might fit into my room. Shortly after, they really sent the round table with 2 chairs!! And they look perfect in my room.

You must believe in abundance so it can start happening for you!

Example #2

There is a shopping mall that I often go to. The parking is usually full. But what I’ve noticed is this:
When I set my mind to go to the mall, usually I just entered the parking area without even considering the possibility that I might not find a parking lot, even on a busy weekend! I just expected to find one somehow. And I almost always did!

But then, some days when I was feeling a little ambivalent about going to the mall, but still made my way there… Deep inside I could hear my own doubts… Like I wonder if there’s parking or not… Those were the times that I usually won’t get a parking and in the end, that became an excuse or “sign” for me to not go shopping that day.

The deeper truth may be, I was already unsure about going to the mall, hence I was merely using circumstantial data to confirm or disconfirm my doubts within… In contrast, whenever I was sure of my plans, I would typically have no problem finding a parking lot, even if I might have to go a few rounds looking – but I don’t let my circumstantial difficulties deter me as easily.

You must believe in availability, then you can begin to see it.

Both examples reflect our daily thought patterns and the actions we take based upon those thought patterns. If only we can learn to pay more attention to how we think, we might be able to choose more wisely, the actions that truly align with our deeper desire and true being.

Even when in doubts, our doubtful thoughts merely serve the purpose to slow us down a little, so that we can discern more clearly within our heart, what might be our fears, hopes and competing desires. The more we can be in touch with ourselves, the better judgement and decisions we make with regards to the people and things that we allow into our lives.

And even as doubts help us to clarify, what will bring abundance and availability to us is still our mindset. Whenever we are ready to shift our mindset, we see change happening quickly to how we think and feel about our circumstances. And subsequently, how we respond to our external circumstances would also quickly dictate whether we can create a better or worse outcome for ourselves. This is especially true during these difficult times of the global pandemic and economic recession.

We can feel more empowered when we know we can be the change we want to see in our lives.

As we celebrate Raya this week, let us not forget to celebrate the abundance in our lives too!

Article by Dr. Ng Wai Sheng

Image by Thanh Thắng Trần from Pixabay