What is abundance?It is not about the amount of money that we have in our wallet or bank account. It is about how much consciousness we have. It is a knowing that we are always supplied with every requirement in every moment. It is a knowing that all is well.  If we want to experience more abundance, don’t just go out and get another job, begin to give gratitude for all that you have. Really, begin to count your blessings. It works!

I believe I have always been an abundant person, even when I was struggling financially. I never felt poor. Sometimes, I would get scared that I wouldn’t be able to meet a bill, but something within me was stronger than that fear. It was faith. I see now what Ernest Holmes means when he says we can build faith. I didn’t have complete faith at that time, but I did have enough to bring me peace of mind when I really needed it. I built that faith into knowing the years went by. I kept working on it, studying and applying what I learned.

When I say I never felt poor, I mean I might have been broke in the way of money, but my spirit has never been poor. I loved to celebrate even if it was with the cheapest wine and ramen soup. I’ve always loved life and I’ve always known it would getter better and better and that I’d be okay.

Today, I’ve learned that being “just okay” is not enough for me. I want to experience more in the world of travel. I want our Center to grow into an entity that can truly do more and more good in the world. I celebrate abundance and its expansion in my life.

If I had to look back at the turn around in my abundance over the past twenty years, two things would stand out. The first is my belief in and practice of tithing. Going all the way back to my days as a Mormon, I’ve understood the Law of Tithing. I swear by it.

If you do not know what tithing is, a law that states that 10% of everything you make goes back to your source of Spiritual nourishment. Metaphorically, you are giving it back to God. I’ve read about it and I do not know if the Law is manmade or biblical, really. What I do know is for me it works. There is a universal law of giving and receiving. We cannot hold too much good in our hand, as Emerson once said. It has to go out.

I do not tithe to get back or to be okay. I tithe because I can. It brings me piece of mind because it tells me that I always have enough. I used to tithe only what I thought I could spare that month. That never worked. I ended up with less and less to spare. It was only when I tithed first, that things began to change.

The second thing that shifted my abundance was when I began to give back to myself. I began to treat myself better. I put money aside to do the things that nurtured me. I’ve told people the Starbucks banana story. There I was buying a $20 gift certificate for a friend and I wouldn’t buy myself a $1 banana because I thought it was too expensive even though I was hungry. That was a turning point in my consciousness towards myself.

Oh…there is a third thing. Abundance comes from everywhere. Never name your where your good comes from. Yes, it can come from your job, but it’s the surprises that are amazing. The Law works in ways that we cannot fathom with our limited minds. Expand your mind and stay open.

Life is abundant. There is always enough. I’ve proven this in my life. I understand that it begins in consciousness. I understand that abundance is not money. Money and things are an effect of an abundant consciousness. If you want more things in your life, I invite you to begin to build your consciousness. Look at the trees, the oceans, the grains of sand, there is so much flow that it is falling off and growing again and again. We are each part of that abundance and just like the birds and animals that are always provided for, so are we.

Abundance is a state of consciousness that is filled with faith, peace of mind and a knowing that all is always well.  A grateful heart is an abundant heart.

Love and Aloha,

Rev. Rita