Less Really is More...We have all seen and heard the popular tenets of modern spiritualism - particularly those who see Law of Attraction as spiritual - that creation of abundance is as simple as a thought. We can just wish for it and it will appear.
While this could be true on a technical level, we mere humans struggle to create the abundance we truly want. Part of the reason we struggle is because we are in conflict about the definition of what it is that we want. When we are unclear about what we want, we send an unclear message to the Universe... and it responds with unclear circumstances. 
Here is an example...
Social media is quite crowded with Spiritual and Law of Attraction Groups. Within the groups, you will see someone post a picture of their vision board, complete with fancy cars, giant houses, and piles of money. An in all honesty, most people never quite manifest what is on the board... and the ones who do, are often not as happy with their attraction as they imagined.
Why does this happen?
If you ask this question in one of those groups, you will get many responses... most of which will be centered around releasing negative emotion toward the desired request. While those responses are very true, the real answer is at a deeper level... deeper than our conscious thoughts... deeper than our subconscious fears and resistances. The answer lays at the soul-level... our inner-being.


What our spirit, soul, inner-being - or whatever name is attached - wants most is freedom. It wants to be free to experience life, express itself, learn lessons, share knowledge, and contribute to something greater, through us... through our physical being.

But because our physical form is susceptible to outside influence, our ego causes conflict with our inner-being. We think we want a 5 bedroom ocean-front mansion with two swimming pools because our ego, and the false image it creates, tells us that we would be happier. We would command status and respect.

Getting back to the visionboard, let's say you manifest that money, that car, and that house.

You work hard every day. You put in your time at a career for years and the big break finally comes. You get that big promotion. Your salary skyrockets, and the company is moving you to the coast. This is the chance to make all of your dreams come true. This new salary means freedom. Freedom to do what you want, have what you want, and go where you want.


But what do you want?

Without a clear understanding of your spiritual needs, and what freedom truly means to you, your ego can take command. Your ego can begin to navigate the direction of your life based on false self-image and outwardly influenced ideas. When that happens, your path may look something like this...

You want the freedom to travel on the weekends. The freedom to go where you want and do what you want. So the first thing you do is purchase a big SUV. It has room for everything. It has BlueRay players in the headrests, heated seats, and the works. This is cruising in style. You've never felt a smoother ride in your life. You have big plans to travel on the weekends and enjoy your new abundance.

Now it's on to the house...

It has 5 bedrooms, the master suite opens onto a rooftop veranda, the salty breeze blows in from the ocean and sunshine fills every room. It's everything you ever dreamed. The mortgage is on the high-end but still within your means. But now you have to fill it with stuff.

You need big screen TVs, lavish furnishings, artwork, and other domestic staples. So you make purchases. the finances take a bit of a hit but you reason that they were one-time purchases. You believe that if you are careful, you'll replace those funds in no time.

You host dinner parties and pool parties. But after a while, it get's old, people stop coming as the social circle shifts to another of your friends.


All the while, that big pile of money has shrunk considerably. There doesn't seem to be as much as there used to be. No problem... you just work a little harder and make a little more money.

Suddenly, you never have time for those weekend trips in the SUV because you're too busy working. And when you do have time off, you have to tend to the grounds, or paint a room in the mansion, or clean the pool.

Now you're paying top dollar for a vehicle, top dollar for a mortgage, and with all of the work you're doing, you don't enjoy your life.

Is this what you really wanted?


Your spirit has become slave to what your ego has created.


I will say it again... Your spirit has become slave to what your ego has created. You see, more does not equal better. Quantity does not equal quality.



Creating more abundance through minimalism.

We often think of minimalism as shedding away our external possessions and living with only the essentials. Certainly, this is very much part of it. But it also entails clearing space in our homes and schedules to concentrate on what’s most important to us.

When we stop wasting our time, money, and energy on things that don’t really matter, we create lives with more savings, more space, more health, more happiness, and more clarity. Then there is nothing in the way of what our spirit needs most - freedom to learn our lessons while pursuing our greatest passions.

I embrace a minimal life-style because I have less clutter. Our living space, its cleanliness and its order is usually a direct reflection of our inner being. A person who has a lot of clutter in their home tends to have a lot of clutter in their mind and spirit. Cutting out the physical clutter in my life gives me more time to clear mental and spiritual clutter. I feel free to pursue what my spirit compels me to pursue.


I indeed want to live near the water. But I am happier in a two bedroom apartment with a balcony that looks over the bay, six minute drive to the open ocean, and can be cleaned in 15 minutes a day. Being small, it is furnished quite nicely, but clutter-free and I keep the amount of furnishings to a minimum. Since my son and I are the only occupants, it suits us very well.

While a vehicle is a basic convenience in the modern world, but rather than a large and luxurious SUV, I drive a small convertible. It offers a greater feeling of freedom with the summer breeze blowing through my hair as I drive with the top down.

Because I live a more minimalist-type lifestyle, my finances are easy to manage.

My rent is cheaper than a mortgage and the upkeep is paid by the landlords. My car payment is less expensive because my small car costs less than a large SUV.

And because I keep my costs low, I don't have to work as many hours as other people. This gives me more time and money with which I travel, have fun, and do good things.


Less stuff equals less expense. Less expense equals less work and more money. Less work and more money equals more time and more freedom. More time and freedom equals more joy.


Less really IS more...


Stay Zen!


Joe




Joe Vulgamore is a Life Coach and Leadership Development Specialist - as well as a Personal Development Author and Speaker. He works with people to develop life and leadership skills to sharpen their edge, perform at optimum levels, and achieve excellence. He has 30 years of leadership experience and a proven track record of helping thousands of people from over 14 countries, across 5 continents, to make life-transformations through one-to-one coaching and workshops.