What is abundance?

Abundance is everything. Abundance comes in so many different forms. Because believing that abundance is only money and nothing else is a huge limiting belief.

Abundance energy comes in many forms.

Money is probably the most common form of abundance—at the very least, it’s what people seem to seek the most with their manifesting efforts. 

But if you’re only focused on manifesting cash and nothing else, you’ll truly miss out on the many blessings the Universe has to offer you! In this post we’re going to talk about some of the ways the Universe can send you abundance energy besides cash money! 

I love sharing all the different forms of abundance as I experience them over on Instagram. Some quick examples I’ve shared before of abundance are free antique books being given away at the library, a stranger paying for my coffee, me literally digging up coins from my yard, other moms freely giving me their hand me downs for my own baby, people or restaurants bringing in free food to work to share with everyone, my neighbor giving me a dozen perennial ferns she removed from her own garden, the list goes on. 

I wanted to make a dedicated post about the various forms of abundance so that you’ll have a wider idea of what being abundant actually looks like

Gifts From Others

Accepting the generous gifts of others does many wonderful things to boost our abundance mindsets. For starters, it makes the person giving the gift feel appreciated. They would be happy to know we’ve graciously accepted their help, and it made a difference. 

Also, accepting their gifts tells the Universe we will welcome help from outside forces. We understand the importance of community and how much further we can go with the help of other people. We may be capable of doing everything, but that doesn’t mean we should. 

Do you feel guilty or ashamed when you accept help from others? Do you refuse things from others, or feel very uncomfortable receiving anything from anyone else? That could be compliments, money, hand me downs, gifts, or anything someone tries to give you. 

This state of mind usually has nothing to do with the other people, and everything to do with our self worth. If someone offers us their help out of the goodness of their hearts, refusing to take it is quite insulting to them. But it’s also insulting to us because we’re denying ourselves the opportunity to receive abundance. 

This act tells the Universe we think we don’t need or want anyone else’s help. Placing so much of our own value on our ability to do everything for ourselves puts so many unnecessary roadblocks on our paths. 

Humans are not meant to be solitary creatures—we are meant to be part of a collective team that works together. 

So graciously accept gifts and help when they are generously offered to you! The Universe is using other people as conduits of abundance. Be open to receiving!

Minimalist Lifestyle Choices

The term “minimalist” is often associated with extremists who live in all white homes and only have one dinner plate and nothing else. But that’s not what I mean when I say minimalist—I’m not advocating that we all go without the things we love or want. 

What I really mean is making lifestyle choices that don’t revolve around impulse or unnecessary buying, excessive stuff or clutter no one wants or uses, and being mindful about which items we own and bring into the home. 

These sorts of choices raise our self-awareness, ease the tension on our wallets, and allow us the time and energy to focus on things that really matter most.

Always use what you have first. Even if you think you don’t have something that will work for what you need, just get creative. A lot of us have houses filled with things, so it really makes the most sense to examine the things we already have to see if they serve the purpose we need. 

In this way, we are already quite abundant. We just need to re-frame our thinking to realize it. 

If we truly don’t have the physical item we need, we could always ask to borrow it from someone else. We probably aren’t the only ones in our family or friend group with a house filled with useful things. If you treat the items with respect and always ask nicely, I’m positive no one will have any issue with you borrowing some things you need. 

And don’t forget to reciprocate. Maybe eventually we can buy our own, but if we only need it once or twice, why not ask to borrow? Abundance! 

We all could work a little harder at putting a stop to our collective habit of only using things once and being done with them. Not just from an environmentally conscious standpoint, but in relation to everything we could ever own. 

Always try to use your items to their fullest extent before moving onto a newer version. Cars are a good example, as are clothing. If we take good care of our things, they will last for such a long time and save us money, space, and pollution. 

Up-cycling is taking an old item and repurposing it into something more useful. This is so fun to do, especially with children. You’ll likely end up with a unique item no one else has, save yourself some cash, and get to exercise your creative muscles. 

All these things and more contribute to a minimalist lifestyle approach. Doing these sorts of things will help us realize we don’t need to spend money to be abundant—we likely already have access to all the things we would ever possibly need for anything we could ever possibly want. 

The Universe is always providing for us, we just have to keep an open mind and look around at our lives to see the potential.

With material items and the Law of Attraction, less is always more. Finding alternative ways to gain the material items you need or want (rather than always buying new, cheaply made things the second you think of them) will give the Universe more time to send them to you, in ways you probably weren’t expecting. 

Minimalist lifestyle choices really help us be more mindful of the physical items we own, and question what physical items we truly need to own. No need to live without the things you love to have a minimalist lifestyle approach—just be more deliberate in your choice of items and how you get the items. 

Volunteering and Sharing

Like already mentioned, borrowing, sharing, and gifting things to other people is a great way to tell the Universe we’re abundant. When we have enough to spare for others, the Universe takes notice and will continue to send us more blessings. 

That way, we’re always in a position where we could share more. It’s a wonderful cycle! This could be in the form of volunteering our time for a cause we’re passionate about, or donating money to that cause. 

We could also share our food, clothes, knowledge, or anything else we have with others. In this way, they are receiving abundance, while also getting more abundance.

It’s best not to share or volunteer with the expectation of getting anything in return. However, we almost always will get more blessings in return for our generosity. 

As long as our gifts come from a place of love and selflessness, we’ll continue the cycle of abundance. The more gifts we give, the more abundant we’ll be. And not just in material items, but in love. Our heart will be so full, and it will feel so amazing to know we’ve helped others in need. 

Opportunities and Possibilities

This is a very broad category because the Universe is most likely to send us abundance in the form of opportunities. The opportunities always match your unique circumstances, so it would be impossible to list all the specific opportunities. It is up to us as individual masters of our own reality to recognize and seize the opportunities when they arrive.

The opportunities could be opportunities to share, borrow, gift, receive, or volunteer! Like we already talked about. 

 I remember my Sunday School teacher told us a story once of a man whose town had flooded. His entire house was almost completely underwater when a rescue team came up and offered him a spot on their boat. 

His response was, “No thank you, God will save me.” The water continued to rise as two more rescue teams came and tried to bring him to safety. Each time, his response was, “No thank you, God will save me.” 

The man ended up drowning in the flood, and when he met God in Heaven, he asked Him why He didn’t save him from the flood. God responded, “I sent you three opportunities to escape the flood, and you refused each one.” 

This little fable always stuck with me. It taught me to always be looking for opportunities from the Universe, rather than simple solutions from the Universe. 

The Universe is very parental in this way. It always provides opportunities whenever possible rather than just handing the solution to you. That doesn’ mean a solution won’t show up, but there’s less of a lesson to be learned by you if you’re just given the answer straight away. So opportunities are preferable! 

Epiphanies and Breakthroughs 

Few people realize this, but a strong epiphany is a fantastic form of abundance from the Universe. Having a breakthrough could cause a shift in perception or a change in direction. 

It could be the single thing that makes the biggest difference. These sorts of realizations allow doors to open and other doors to close, which will ultimately present us with several more opportunities to take advantage of. 

When things just “click,” it becomes impossible to go back to the old way of thinking. Part of manifesting something new is changing our mindset to fit what it is we want to manifest. 

Having an epiphany or a breakthrough could be the key to accomplishing this shift in mindset. They are catalysts for growth and expansion. 

We may not force or predict epiphanies, but they are still signals from the Universe that our manifestation is coming and it would be wise to prepare mentally for it. 

Heightened Intuition and Spiritual Awareness

Similar to getting an epiphany, increasing our levels of spiritual self-awareness will probably lead us down a different path—a path that can take us to bigger and better places. 

Our intuition is the little voice inside speaking on behalf of our soul. It sees and knows more than our ego does. It speaks to us when it has something important to say. A heightened connection to our intuition is a reminder from the Universe that we already are everything we ever hope to be—that we already have everything we could ever possibly need. 

This deep inner knowing is very comforting and will always bring us closer to the Universe. The stronger our connection to the Universal source of love energy, the more easily we can manifest abundance and experience all the wonderful things life has to offer.

Relationships and Connections

So much of our legacy and impact comes from the richness of our relationships. They aren’t always easy, fulfilling, or even healthy. 

But relationships always teach us something (in most cases, they teach us lots of things). We cannot put a monetary price on our relationships, even the bad ones. The successful, loving relationships we have are the most valuable. 

There’s no limit to the amount of abundance we can receive from our favorite relationships—with people or with animals.

Beyond relationships, abundance can come to us in the form of networking connections. Building powerful connections with influencers and other industry leaders can help propel us deeper into our chosen careers. This might result in plenty of new opportunities, a.k.a. abundance! 

And likewise with building strong connections with friends, acquaintances and families. You never know who knows whom and when that might provide the Universe a chance to send abundance our way. And you never know when you’ll know just the right person for someone else! 

Mental and Physical Health

If your heart is beating, and your lungs are breathing, you are blessed. There are probably going to be times where your physical and mental health aren’t at their peak (to put it lightly), but you’re still alive. 

At the very least, isn’t that something to be grateful for? Isn’t that an act of abundance right there?

Abundance can come to us in the form of good physical health, even if we aren’t athletes or nutritionists. We can be mentally healthy, with positive mindsets, even if we are experiencing anxiety and/or depression right now. These hardships mean we’re living a true human experience—a pure form of abundance courtesy of a loving Universe. 

During those times where you’re not struggling with mental or physical health and you’re feeling great, it’s easy to take your health for granted. But a working body and a supportive mindset are truly abundant resources because they are the catalyst for manifesting even more abundance in other forms. 

And during those times where you are struggling with your mental and/or physical health, we are still being offered an opportunity to receive abundance. Our symptoms are highlighting roadblocks in our minds, bodies, and overall lifestyle that are preventing more forms of abundance to come. 

In a way, the Universe uses our health as a communication tool to tell us exactly what we need to focus on to manifest more easily. 

What is happiness?

I believe abundance and happiness are closely related, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to give you more examples of abundance besides money. When you’re able to see abundance all around you in many forms, it’s easier to realize where happiness truly comes from. 

“Recognizing the many forms of abundance” is the long way of saying “gratitude.” What we’re actually doing here is looking around our lives with a new perspective. We’re beginning to realize how we define our own sense of abundance, success, and self worth. 

It’s empowering to understand that you have this level of control, along with the ever-benevolent Universe always conspiring in your favor. 

Happiness is a mindset that we choose to embody. Having gratitude is the fast track to embodying happiness. 

Being grateful might seem overly simple, even cliche. But it truly is the most important aspect of discovering inner happiness and manifesting a new reality. Gratitude fosters happiness. 

Happiness doesn’t come from outside circumstances, it comes from within once we see our outside circumstances with love instead of frustration. 

Happiness is always available in this moment, no matter how horrible we think it is. We have to make the choice to be grateful, which will change the way we look at things. 

We can think, “I am extremely grateful for all I have today, even though I am still working towards a better tomorrow.” 

We can be grateful even at the lowest points in our lives. We can be abundant even when we’re working on manifesting something different. These things aren’t at all mutually exclusive. 

I never want anyone to be stuck in the limiting belief that abundance energy only comes as money. Or that your happiness levels depend on whether or not you’ve manifested your dream life. These beliefs will hinder all your spiritual growth. 

Instead, I want to challenge you to embrace abundance in all its forms. Every time you receive something, exclaim out loud “Abundance! Thank you Universe!” And then thank yourself for accepting the abundance. This is a life changing mindset shift that has the potential to change your entire manifesting journey.