Paradigms That Shape Us

Abundance and lack are opposite heads of the same coin. They fall under Nature’s Law of Opposites, which states that everything has an opposite – up and down, in and out, tall and short, positive and negative. These natural laws have always existed throughout time, and always will. Our role in this game of life is to learn and understand their applications, then put them to use for the benefit of all.

Unfortunately, humankind has been programmed since birth that there is not enough to go around for everyone. This is referred to as scarcity mentality. Examples of this are that there is not enough success, money, food, love, attention and everything else under the sun. The result is the unwillingness to give freely, or to seek power over others.

Scarcity mentality holds the belief of a win-lose situation and isolates us into a ‘me-you’ or ‘us-them’ group. From here, a sense of competition and comparing is established. Scarcity driven attitudes are the result of an inner belief that we are not good enough; that the possession of things or status will remedy what ails us. As Gary Zukav expresses, author of “The Seat of the Soul”, “Scarcity of self-value cannot be remedied by money, recognition, affection, attention or influence.”

The opposite of scarcity is the mindset that there is more than enough, that the world we live in is an abundant world. With this belief, we act from a place of generosity, patience and trust while letting go of our need to control others. With this belief, we come from the place that “I am enough.” The abundance belief, or paradigm, views the world in the terms of boundless potential and there is the possibility of more than enough for everyone.

When we live with the paradigm of abundance, we can then rejoice in the successes of others because we know our own successes are not hindered by the successes of others.

We learned about scarcity and abundance throughout childhood. If we experienced a childhood in which our emotional, physical or psychological needs were not met, we were inherently receiving messages that there is not enough. However, if our needs were met on a regular basis, we were ingrained automatically with the belief that we are good enough, and that we do desire to have our heart’s desires. Through childhood, we emerge with a view of the world around us as one of optimism or pessimism.