Working on an Abundance Mindset may be the single most powerful work you will ever do.  Whether you feel like you never get a lucky break, are always cheated out of love or never have enough to pay the bills, it is always the abundance versus scarcity mindset at play.

Last time I asked you to think about everything you ‘learned’ about money, love, your body, success.  If you missed that blog, you can read it here

Did you have any ‘aha’ moments? Did you take the time to think back and really make the connection between the belief, the person who ‘taught’ you about it and how it is playing out in your life today?

Let’s look at a couple of examples that will help you with your own work:

The Belief:  I can never get ahead.  There is never enough.  Money goes out faster than it comes in.  Money doesn’t grow on trees.  (Well, actually it kinda does…most money contains paper to some degree so it does, technically grow on trees!)

The Origin of the Belief:  This lesson came from my mother.  At first, I agree that this describes my experiences related to money.  I note examples of it in my life.  Bills piling up, overspending, no savings in sight.

Challenging the Belief: (This is what I need to explore) Why is this true in my life?  Why do these statements define my experiences?  Technically, those were my mother’s experiences with money.  And she sought to teach me through her interpretation of those experiences.  This does not have to be my story.  I don’t want it to be my story.

Changing the Belief:  I can change the story.

I can consult professionals to reduce my current debt: Https://www.nomoredebts.org

I can increase my earnings: ask for a raise; get a temporary second job

I can reduce my spending:  create a budget; stop impulse buying

I can increase my savings:  put aside 10.00 per week beginning January 1 and have 520.00 to spend by December or I can start today and have 600.00 by December

Remember, believing in something always makes it seem true! Let’s try another one:

The Belief:  There is nobody out there for me.  Love is for someone more beautiful, sexier, smarter, thinner, richer or fill in the blank for whatever you think you don’t have.

The Origin of the Belief:  I may have heard this from someone else OR more likely, I will have assumed that I am unlovable or undeserving of love because of the way I interpreted a childhood experience.

Challenging the Belief:  Why is this true in my life?  Who hurt me?  What experiences make me believe this to be real?  How long ago did these things happen?  Are they still relevant? This does not have to be my story.  I don’t want it to be my story.

Changing the Belief:  I can change my story.

I can think about the fact that there are about seven billion people in the world ready for love.

I can focus on loving myself and making my life wonderful and exciting by spending more time at the yoga studio, taking a night school class, travelling alone, joining a club

I can be grateful for all the beauty and love that already exists in my life

I can practice mindfulness

I can truly believe and be open to love

Developing an Abundance Mindset means challenging every single scarcity thought and believing, truly believing that there is more than enough love, money and success to go around in this world.  Limiting thoughts and beliefs create blocks which prevent the flow of energy.  Love is energy, money is energy, we are beings made of energy.  The biggest energy blocks are created by fear, hurt and resentment for which the only cure is forgiveness. The Abundance Mindset simply cannot gel without forgiveness. My workshops teach that:

Unforgiveness or resentment is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die

We are not really certain where that saying came from, some say The Buddha.  For me, it truly expresses the harm that holding on to past hurts can bring to our present lives.

I have given you lots to think about!  Work through the concepts.  Think about challenging the beliefs you wish to change.  Think about creative ways to accomplish the changes.  Think about changing often throughout your day.  Say, “I am willing to change’. Make it your yoga intention; integrate the work into your life.  Use the example template I provided.

Prepare your mind for next time when we explore forgiveness work.  See if you can say this,

“I am open to forgiving (think about someone who hurt you)” if you feel resistance, don’t push it.

See if you can say this instead, “I am open to the thought of forgiving (in general terms)”

This will begin the healing process and prepare you for the challenging work of forgiveness.

You can do this.  I believe in you.  You deserve to have a life full of love, prosperity and happiness.

If you have any questions or want to delve deeper, please write to me at:  feathersnmoonbeams@gmail.com

Written by: Pina Marino, Self-Care Educator

Do any of these sound familiar to you? …

“There is never enough time”, “I never have enough money”, “Money goes out faster than it comes in”, “All the good ones are taken”.

These words come from a scarcity mindset.

A scarcity mindset makes you believe that there will never be enough.  It keeps you holding on to things that you don’t need.  It makes you jealous of others.  It makes you afraid. 

You worry about your bank account, so you wait until the last minute to pay your bills.  You worry about how much you spent at dinner and you under-tip the server.  You envy your colleagues because they make more money than you.  You don’t share ideas because you believe someone will ‘steal’ them from you.

Hoarding.  Overbuying when something goes on sale.  These are actions based in fear.

You may think that buying 10 cases of water when they go on sale will fill your home with abundance.  Bear with me as we unpack that thought.  It can actually be related to fear. Overbuying items on sale often originates in scarcity mindsets-hoarding the items because there will not be any left for you.  Another related thought is the belief that when the item is at full price, you will not be able to afford it. Again, this is scarcity thinking.  The thoughts are buried under layers of defense and rationalization mechanisms.  After all, we are just being ‘smart’ consumers, right?  However, over buying actually feeds the same consumerism that is filling our planet with plastic waste.

Scarcity is a learned concept.  It forms part of the survival instinct.  At one point in our ancestry, humans had to compete for the necessities of life- food, water, shelter.  Even in our recent family history our parents and grandparents may have struggled to feed their families and make ends meet.  The fear that there will not be enough money or food may trigger an acute stress response because our brain perceives that our survival may be compromised.

Consider this:  The universe is infinite.  In fact, it is actually expanding.  It is getting bigger and it has no end.  There is so much wealth on the planet that nobody is really able to tally it and yet poverty exists.  There is so much food in the world that 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted each year.  Just one quarter of the wasted food could feed 795 million undernourished people (foodtank) and yet people are starving.  What is really lacking on earth is love, compassion and generosity.

This blog is called Abundance.  Why am I writing about Scarcity?  Well, because the first step to achieving abundance in all things is to change the scarcity mindset that is blocking it. The way to change the mindset is by examining the thoughts and beliefs that are keeping you stuck.

I would like you to examine your beliefs and introduce the idea that you are able to change the thoughts that are keeping you stuck.  Below are two exercises that will help you get started.  The results will be remarkable. They are based on Louise L. Hay, You Can Heal Your Life

Abundance Exercise #1

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, your arms outstretched, your face to the sky and say, “I am open to receiving all good”.  How does that feel?  Do you feel any resistance in your body? Your mind? Your heart? Do this exercise several times per day for at least a month. Begin and end your yoga practice with it.

Abundance Exercise #2:  Exploring our Beliefs

Every thought we think and every word we speak creates our reality.  Often, our beliefs are not really our own, we heard them from someone else.  As children, we were ‘taught’ by parents, older siblings, teachers, relatives how to view the world and we believed them.  Now we are adults, capable of deciding for ourselves.  Is it time to let some of those beliefs go?

Please complete the questions with whatever words or sayings come to mind.  Take your time, try to think back and imagine all the adults in your life and those who interacted with you.  Begin with your parents and write down everything they said about the topics below.  Once you have your list-look at it objectively, without blame and say-“So that’s where that belief comes from”.  Notice what you feel in your body.  Make the connection between the themes you were taught and your life events, beliefs, circumstances.

What did they say about money? About love? About your body? Limiting or negative messages?

You have a choice now, you can choose to hold on to the belief, or you can choose to let it go. You can begin by simply deciding that you are willing to change. You can decide that it makes no sense to you in your life at this time.  You can decide that you need new, loving and positive beliefs.

Written by: Pina Marino, Self-Care Educator

Stay tuned to our blog and emails as Pina dives deeper into abundance concepts and how to continue the change.

Feel free to email Pina if you need help or guidance with the above topic or if you have any questions: feathersnmoonbeams@gmail.com

This story is ending and a new one about to begin. What remains in your life after the blood moon eclipse is meant to be there….for now.

July 27th marks a much anticipated event for scientists and mystics alike. The longest lunar eclipse of the century, an enchanted red blood moon, full moon, Mars on a close approach to Earth goes retrograde, and all of this in the constellation of Aquarius. July’s full moon is also called the Thunder Moon, Buck Moon or Hay Moon.

Historically, seeing “blood” on the moon was something to be feared. Today, we know that it’s actually refracted light from the Sun. Nothing scary about that, right?

Spiritually, the event is expected to awaken our inner Warrior, stir our Karmic wind, take from us what we have refused to give up and propel us towards change.

Mars and the moon will form a conjunction in Aquarius, merging the powers that each possess. Here, the Moon represents clarity, reflection, desire; Mars our anger, aggression or passion in Aquarius, the sign of social consciousness, revolution, inspiration, change. Since Mars is retrograde our passionate anger at the injustices in our lives or the world may turn to compassion-the place where change is truly born.

Eclipses always signify change and the powerful changes expected at the blood moon eclipse can be heart wrenching if one does not practice release. My blog often talks about release, letting go, and relinquishing control. And although the concept may be simple, it is not easy.

There is a Zen saying, “When he comes we welcome. When he leaves we do not pursue”

The effects of the eclipse can last up to three months.

Here is what you can do in your own practice of release:

1. Stop criticizing yourself-right now

2. Stop finding fault in others

3. Stop reacting-stay centered and let conflicts live out their own lives

4. Have a Spiritual Bath- Water is a medium that can transfer energy. Use 3-4 cups of Dead Sea salts, Epsom salts or a few drops of lavender, peppermint or eucalyptus essential oil in the water to cleanse the spiritual body. A shower will cleanse your aura just as well. Breathe deeply, feel how ancient the water is-as old as time itself, recycled, rebirthed. Let the water absorb all your pain, grief, negativity, guilt. Imagine each emotion going into the water and being carried down the drain. Feel the water’s strength, depth and purity. Feel the water surround you and comfort you. Emerge from the water now, cleansed, renewed, reborn.

You can find info on the science behind the eclipse here.

- Written by Pina Marino, Self-Care Educator

For help and support during these events, you can find Pina at the studio or email her at feathersnmoonbeams@gmail.com