How to Manifest More Abundance
I haven’t always felt abundant. After getting two degrees, I owe way more student loans than I want to think about. I rent a condo and share a car with my boyfriend. And like many Americans, I live paycheck to paycheck.
So I was excited to attend an online Living Abundantly workshop with Rev. Ken Daigle. It was an eye-opening experience that left me thinking about the concept of abundance in different ways. Here are the biggest lessons I took away from the event.
Abundance Is Not Just About Money
When we talk about abundance, I always tend to think in terms of financial prosperity, but there is much more to it. Rev. Ken defined abundance as “the free flow of ideas and an effortless way of life.” This may include:
- Vibrant health—Having vibrant health doesn’t mean that there aren’t any health challenges, but rather that you are not defined by a diagnosis.
- Fulfilling relationships—We are here to connect with each other, and having meaningful relationships adds to our fulfillment.
- Work you love—We can do our divine work in any job. Also, to explore work you love doesn’t mean you can only look for paid opportunities.
- Financial freedom—While abundance is about more than just money, it’s easier to feel abundant when you have financial freedom. When you are feeling tight and constricted, you may need to look for another channel to be opened.
- Leisure time—Abundance is also about having the ability to sit back, relax, and enjoy your life.
When I thought about it in that sense, I realized I actually do feel abundant. I’m healthy and I have a very close family, wonderful friends, an amazing partner, and a vibrant spiritual community. I have more than enough time and, most important, I love the work I’m doing.
It was helpful for me to consider opening more channels for more financial freedom. I realized a great way I could open another channel of prosperity was by selling more books.
I started getting excited about carrying letters out to the mailbox and raising the little red flag, knowing I was helping to spread joy and gratitude, even in small ways.
I am an author on the side. I currently have nine books published—five young adult novels, a nonfiction writing craft book, and three books of poems—although I haven’t done much marketing or advertising for them in the past few years.
I have worked in the field of marketing for most of my career, but when it comes to marketing my own books, I get a little overwhelmed. It always seems like this huge, daunting job.
After thinking about opening more channels, I decided I needed to make it a goal to manifest more book sales.
So how do you manifest more abundance? Rev. Ken gave us four steps.
The Four Steps of Manifestation
- Name and claim your dream—It’s important to define what you specifically want. It’s important to step up and name what you are looking to bring into your life so you can have clarity.
- Take concrete steps—It isn’t enough to declare to the Universe that you want a new job. You can also look on different job boards online and submit your resume. You can go to networking events. You can take classes in your field.
- Share your journey—When you hold on to your desires too tightly and don’t share them, you miss out on the help and resources that others could provide for you. For example, if you share with your friends and loved ones that you are looking for a new job, you never know when someone might have an opportunity to pass along to you.
- Be open—Sometimes what you are trying to manifest will not show up in the way you are expecting. Don’t be so attached to details and specifics of what you think you want that you miss the good trying to show up in your life.
I really appreciated when Rev. Ken talked about the importance of baby steps. I had written down a list of marketing ideas for my books a long time ago, but I hadn’t completed any of the tasks listed on it. What if I returned to that list and spent 15 minutes a day working on them? That seemed like something I could manage.
Using Vision Boards
Vision boards are a powerful tool we can use for visioning—a mental picturing process in which we allow ourselves to be able to hear, feel, and imagine a plan for our life or for a particular area or part of our life. A vision board is a collage you make with images and words from magazines, printed images, or even drawings to represent the good you are claiming for your life.
You can add affirmations to your vision board or images that inspire or motivate you. Create a vision board that makes you feel excited when you look at it. It should remind you of the infinite opportunities life has in store.
I had made more general vision boards before, and they certainly helped me manifest things like going to water aerobics and getting more fit, finding a loving partner who is perfect for me, and even being named Best Local Songwriter in 2010 in the Atlanta-based arts publication Creative Loafing.
I had never tried making a narrowly focused vision board. So I made one with a specific emphasis on my career as an author and manifesting more book sales.
A Daily Practice
Before he ended the session, Rev. Ken gave us a daily practice to help us manifest more abundance in our lives:
- Morning—Set an intention or tone for the day using prayer, meditation, or journaling.
- Daydreaming: What would be fun for you? What would you like (or love)?
- Spend time in visualization. Imagine an abundant future.
- Hourly—Set an alarm or reminder on your phone eight times a day to look and see the beauty of the things around you.
- Evening—List three or more things that you appreciate from your day and share them with a partner or friend.
I really liked these ideas, especially the one about setting an alarm on my phone to stop and appreciate the beauty around me throughout the day. I already journal quite a bit, and whenever I start my day journaling about my intentions, it does tend to go better.
By the end of the workshop, I’d realized that I am abundant—and inspired and excited to implement these techniques and practices.
