The Law of Abundance and Consumerism

Does the idea of consumerism align with The Law of Abundance?

Consumerism is aligned with egoic thinking. The idea is: Hey, if I buy that new thing, then I will be 1) cooler 2) cured(!) 3) better than someone else 4) happier 5) safer 6) smarter...this is NOT aligned with the law of abundance.

Of course...the buying of the the thing and the thing itself are innocent bystanders in this trade...there is nothing inherently unconscious (or egoic) with stuff alone...

...but when the ego is involved with making the decision, then you are attempting to add to your false sense of self...and you will also identify with the new thing and temporarily feel "good" about buying the thing.

This "False sense of Self" is commonly referred as "The Ego".

Of course everything that the ego wants is fleeting and temporary...so people end up with piles of "stuff" in their homes and continue to feed their egos need for MORE.

So consumerism...the thing driving our economy now...is totally based on an unconscious need to feed a false sense of self....NOT the law of abundance

I can see why "producers" of stuff what to sell to the ego...makes perfect economic sense...the ego always wants more, more, and more.

The supply and demand system requires the opposite of the law of abundance...

...a mindset of scarcity...a purvasive belief that there is never enough...

never enough jobs, money, wealth...to go around so...which is today seemingly true enough right? ...but we CREATED the system...

...if you look at the natural world...which is aligned with the law of abundance...there is a flow between feast and famine...in the spring and summer...there is abundance... ...you use your time to store up fat or food to survive the time of famine...

...this system works...it keeps popluations in check...and works in harmony with nature....and the law of abundance. Our economic system may be trying to replicate this natural system...but it is not really aligned with the law of abundance ...most people I know live this way between pay checks...most people don't save up nuts for the winter...

If our ecomomic system were aligned with the law of abundance...we wouldn't all become billionaires... we would all shift our needs to preferences...we would no longer live in a state of "longing for STUFF"

I like to remember the 23rd Psalm "The lord is my sheppard, I shall not want"...I would rather that say..."I am abundant... I need nothing"...it's more positive...when you say "I shall not want" you are really saying is "I WANT!"...but it's still a good thought.

So now consumers have stopped consuming, relative to pre-recession levels of consumption...and that has the producers a little put off...they are asking congress to give the consumers a tax holiday in order to encourage them to go out and do some more consuming for the good of the country...

...what a load of crap...

I guess the people running the country like having MORE than they could ever need... seems like they are in accord with the law of abundance, some of them might be, but maybe not...

...the test would be how they survive a total or near total loss of all assets... those that are aligned with the law of abundance wouldn't care...they would just get busy getting more nuts and soon enough they would have more than enough again...

Those that were not algined with the law of abundance would feel as though they lost everything and spend a lot energy into getting it back instead of just starting over...

I have not changed my spending habits one lick since this whole deal with the recession happened...I don't spend much money anyway...my wife is in charge of doing most of the shopping...so I wasn't a good little consumer before the recession, so why should I change now.

If the producers decide to give me a "tax holiday" then I will keep the money for the holiday and then give it to them when it's due...we will earn more of interest...thanks producers! Sorry I can't help you out with that consumption issue.

Perhaps, during the recession, people will come to realize that they didn't need to get all that stuff to begin with...and that they are not lacking in anyway when they don't "consume" stuff that the ego desires.

The Law of Abundance -- How did we get a Consumerism driven economy and what comes next?

The producers figured out that they can feed consumers a endless stream of stuff and the consumers did their jobs by consuming.

Now, in a recession, people are buying less stuff and the producers are worried that profits will diminish if the consumers stop consuming.

Was this really a healthy way to run an economy? I don't think so. I watched a movie called "Maxed Out" about many people that were so wrapped up in wanting to be a good consumer and fitting in with the other consumers that they went into a bottomless pit of credit card debt.

Many people, then committed suicide because 1) to avoid having to pay the debt...because they didn't think could manage and 2) without more credit and no "disposable cash" they were unable to play the consumer game and felt less valuable to the world.

The banks love these people that get into deep credit card debt and chase after all their money...that's where they get all their profits.

So we have banks, feeding off of consumers until some of the consumers actually died indirectly from debt...the banks were ok with them dying, because a new batch of consumers show up to college every year.

So...what comes next?...I dunno. I hope we come up with a way to work the economy in a more consciousness manner...I think we can, but I'm not sure we will...it feels to me like this recession and Mr. Obama getting elected are part of a major global "Shift in Consciousness"...I hope we get a lot of people to become more aware of what is happening.

The Law of Abundance -- Can I buy things without being egoic?

Sure. I do all the time (I think). If you bring in a level of consciousness to your thinking and buying, then you can enjoy "stuff" without thinking it is part of YOU.

You get the thing and realize it is just a thing...it will not change you in anyway...it won't make you 1) happy (for long) 2) healthy 3) sexy 4) cool or whatever label your ego is looking to add to...

...it will be around you for a while and you can enjoy it or not...it may even have a (gasp!) practical purpose for you.

The Law of Abundance -- But if I don't buy things...doesn't that mean I don't think I am abundant?

You are aligned with the natural state of the universe...when you are in a state of abundance you are without NEEDs of any kind...you are far beyond survival mode...you have all you could ever want...

...if this were the case, why do you need to go shopping all the time?

Because the ego's idea of abundance is WANTING more and more all the time.

Is the law of abundance Excessive?

Some people might think that someone with a lavious lifesylye is living the law of abundance...maybe...maybe NOT.

When I feel abundant...I don't NEED the most expensive car...even if I could afford it...that is my preference...if I had more money...I might get the "best car" for me and not care about the cost, but I would not be doing it to "pump up" my ego identity or impress people...and I wouldn't care too much if I lost it.

This too me is the law of abundance...it's a way of thinking about stuff in the world...whatever I need to flourish and thrive on earth, I will get...but I won't identify with the stuff and if I lose it I can always get more...

How do I shift into The Law of Abundance?

I wrote a page about that I called "what do think about money" and this my take on how change the way you think about money and stuff...

...this took me a long time to change my thinking to the law of abundance and I read many books that helped me along the way...

Become aware of your "thinking"...that which Eckhart Tolle calls the voice in your head. I have read two of his books: "The Power of Now" and "A New Earth...Check them out at Eckhart Tolle's Web page.

A "A Course in Miracles" is very cool and helped me move toward the shift towards the law of abundance.

Anything by Wayne Dyer is a great place to start. This book "The Power of Intention" has a whole chapter about the law of abundance...

Steve Pavlina's web page rocks!!! Check him out for free.

Deepak Chopra has written tons of books...I read "How to Know God"...He is a very articulate writer.

Before you make your next purchase, try to meditate for 10 minutes before you make the buy...then if you still think you want it, go ahead and buy it and take it home and then try to figure out if YOU bought it or your ego bought it...it might even be a little of both.