Lessons from our 21 Days of Abundance Meditation Series
There is no time like the present to reflect and shift how we live, work and relate to others, ourselves and the earth. Having our world turned upside down (for better or worse) during a pandemic, Zest Wellness formed a meditation group and journeyed into 21-days of tasks, meditation and reflection to manifest the life we all deserve.
For many of us, it was our first time meditating. Our initial thoughts included – “Meditation is hard!” “How do I quiet my mind, especially through such a time of uncertainty?” “How do we find time in our day while juggling both home life AND work-life in the SAME space?” Recognizing that meditation requires practice without judgement we proceeded to step into each day with an open mind, armed with our daily mantras and centring thoughts.
I, myself, have dabbled in meditation but never prioritized it as part of my routine. Looking up to the Bill Gates and Yuval Hararis of the world, I thought “if they can find the time, so can I.” Echoing others, Bill Gates has said in the past “I thought of meditation as a woo-woo thing tied somehow to reincarnation, and didn’t buy into it – but now I meditate for two to three times a week for about 10 minutes each time”.
Yuval Hariri, the author of the international sensation, Sapiens, credits meditation to his success: “…the ability to focus on something like the breath gives you the discipline to focus on much bigger things and to really tell the difference between what’s important and everything else.”
But you don’t have to go on a 60-day meditation retreat like him every year to reap the benefits. Committing to sending out daily meditations for 21 days, I made it a habit. A habit, that taking only 15 minutes a day, would lead to a productive day, week, year and lifetime.
Our practice each morning consisted of a simple task with reflection (such as writing a thank-you letter to someone who offended you), a guided meditation with Deepak Chopra and a centring thought of the day. Interwoven in this journey were the seven spiritual laws of success. These are laws that we can easily incorporate into our everyday life to find happiness. As we progressed, we learned that these principles are not difficult; rather they help us flow with ease through life.
First up – the law of pure potentiality. The first couple of days were focused on understanding that there is unlimited abundance in this world. Any limitations we feel have been imposed by our collective unconscious, passed down through the generations. We need not accept how others think things should be. Rather, we need to set aside our social conditioning and recognize that there is nothing but pure potentiality. Meditation allowed us to go inside to understand ourselves and notice that the gap between our thoughts is full of creativity. This pure consciousness will change how we think about the world. By being a silent witness of our thoughts, without judgment, we can see and embrace our potential to be, do and have whatever can be dreamed.
We were encouraged to change the past conditioning that tells us there is a lack in this world by completing tasks focused on gratitude and recognizing patterns that prevent us from achieving our goals. We learned that there is an infinite source of abundance and that we are as deserving of happiness as the next person.
Understanding the reality of abundance and its unlimited source then segued us to the law of giving and receiving. Energy is a flow that cannot stagnate. Much like everything in nature – a lake, the ocean, trees, flowers - it is malleable and generative - which gives rise to all possibilities.
We can circulate the flow of abundance by helping others get what they need. For example, if it is love you desire – offer love to others. If you want joy, give joy. The concept is simple, however often our ego gets in the way to protect our sense of individuality, buying into the notion there is not enough to go around. Or maybe you are a constant giver and your energy is depleted by the perception of not having the energy returned to you. As much as you are open to giving you also must remain open to receiving. When one succeeds we all succeed for we are all completely connected.
This concept was further ingrained into my consciousness by the mindfulness conference we attended the same time we were going through our meditation series. The keynote speaker, Dr Rick Hanson, a psychologist and a New York Times best-selling author, stated that suffering is caused by feeling that there is not enough. Once we understand that abundance is unlimited, we can expect and accept abundance to flow easily and accept things, situations and events as they occur. When we let this principle guide our life, we are no longer operating from an egocentric standpoint.
He further explained, when we think of lack, we move to a competitive space with others, which does not benefit either party. However, if we see the abundance in all we do, we know there is enough to go around and we can celebrate each other's successes rather than bring up feelings of jealousy or envy. This is what Dr Hanson referred to as operating from an allocentric viewpoint. By letting go of positionality and righteousness, we will have a softened self-world.
When we relinquish the need to always defend our viewpoint and be open to the vast sea of possibilities we are living the law of least effort. We simply accept ourselves, others and events in their current state in this current moment.
When I think of the emotion of jealousy, I am reminded of my father who taught me that envy is a useless emotion and a quote by one of my favourite humanist authors: “Don’t waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself” – Kurt Vonnegut
A lot of the teachings throughout our 21 days focused on the law of intention and desire. The daily meditations allowed us to set our intention for the day and release it into the universe of all possibilities. Writing our intentions in our journal allowed us to crystalize tour vision further and get more specific. By setting our intention, we could pay attention during the day to see how our actions are supported by cosmic intelligence.
An intention is our vision and transformative, whereas our attention to supporting forces energizes us to attract what we desire. In other words, a thought is attention and intention is an expectation. Attention can expand, whereas intention can orchestrate the forces of nature. According to this law, simply by changing our thoughts and focusing on what we want to attract into our life, we can change our perception and ultimately our reality.
I, for one, pictured myself having a daily meditation practice (on top of living on an island with a vegetable garden surrounded by the sea). Is it a coincidence that during the same period as our journey, I re-discovered my old yoga teacher on Insta Live AND connected on LinkedIn with an old friend and joined his mindfulness conference last minute at the EXACT time? No. I may have thought in the past that this was purely coincidental, however, this series enforced that where we put our attention the universe swoops in to support us every way possible.
Transitioning into the next principle, we learned that when things don’t go our way, there is probably a reason for it or another possibility we may not have noticed. Being attached to a specific outcome before even taking the first step on our journey toward that goal is the easiest way to feel discouraged or ‘stuck’. What if the outcome is not what we need or want?
Instead, we can find security in the wisdom of uncertainty by letting go of any attachment to the outcome. Yes – we can cast our intention without any attachment to the outcome. The law of detachment is where I discovered the most freedom.
As an example, my partner and I had been looking for a house in Toronto for some time now – our search was very narrow in scope to the neighbourhoods we most like. We lost many houses in the seller's market with multiple bids. Circumstances had it that the condo we were renting would be sold at the end of the month. We never did find that house, but ended up halfway across the world in a place we could never be happier. Had we tried to force the outcome, we would never be where we are now.
Though the universe can take care of the scraggly details, we still need to take SOME action toward our dreams. Every action generates a force of energy that is returned to us in like kind. This is where we discovered the law of karma. This is a great law to live by as it will help in our decision-making process. When you are not quite sure what to do – always choose actions that bring happiness to others and that will allow the flow of happiness to you.
Through all of our meditation and journaling, we were constantly requested to study our talents and ask ourselves how we are best suited to serve others – to serve humanity. The law of Dharma allows us to live our true selves and in the state often referred to as “flow”. When we live in this way, we are permitted to express our unique talents, all while discovering our true self. So pay attention to your talents and how you can meet the needs around you. This will ultimately bring happiness to you and to those you are surrounded by.
Bringing mindfulness and gratitude into our lives through daily meditation has greatly expanded our world, connected us to others, and encouraged us to go about our day with a new perspective, openness and kindness. Kindness matters more than ever before and abundance will never run out.
Well, that was lengthy for a blog post, but we learned a lot on our journey! We would love to hear from others about their personal experience. Until then, I’ll leave you with a basic bullet list of life’s simplicities, which pretty much says the same thing in case you are decided to scroll to the end.
Tune into yourself without judgment: live in alignment with your soul, spirit, and source. Ask yourself what your true talents are and how they can help make the world better. Trust in the process (no whens or ifs).
Surround yourself with happy, warm and genuine people: draw supportive people and circumstances to you and do not listen to scarcity and negativity. Engage with inspirational people, sites and sounds.
Pay close attention to coincidences: notice when support arises out of the blue and daily coincidences that guide you on your journey. Recognize the signs and that there is a divine plan moving you forward.
Silently commune with nature: nature is the perfect symphony of the cycles of giving and receiving. Take time to connect every day with it, be it on a walk or sitting under a tree.
Make good choices: be aware of the choices you make – pick the ones that make your heart sing and others happy.
Wish people well: smile and compliment those around you. Be present and interested in the lives of others and offer your undivided attention and assistance.
Take life less personally: Remove the ego and release the perception of separateness. Refrain from competitiveness and support and celebrate one another. There is enough abundance for everyone.
Detach from the expectation of outcome: accept uncertainty and remain open to choices. Surrender to the universe of all possibilities.
You are worth it: you are deserving of happiness and responsible for attaining it. Enjoy the little things and remain grateful.
Live with love: love always remains in good times and bad times. Have the inner resources to be here now and exist at a higher-level full of generosity.
Impermanence is permanent: This too shall pass!
