WEEK 5: LIVING ABUNDANTLY This week's Living Abundantly message is short - one sentence - but super powerful. This one changed my life. It's called This powerful little lesson comes from my friend Max who used to say to me, "Natoli. This is it. It doesn't get any better than this." Sometimes he would say: This is as good as it gets. This would piss me off at first. He would say this to me when I had no money, no gas in my car, my bills unpaid and when nothing was working in my life (at least from my perspective). He would sit there drinking a coffee with me, listening to my stories, always with a smile on his face, always in a state of appreciation and gratitude, and I would tell him how I hated my job, or how a particular person wasn't treating me the way I felt I deserved to be treated or how I wished things would change or improve. And he'd sit there, sipping his coffee, happy, listening to me, no cares and no worries in the world and then he would say: "This is it. It doesn't get any better than this. What could be better than this moment?"
Now... at the time... this statement made me very confused. What do you mean "it doesn't get any better than this"?? This sucks. My life is a mess. I have no money. It doesn't get any better than this? I might as well go slit my wrists. And he would just sit there smiling. He would say "We are sitting here in chairs, drinking coffee, what could be more perfect than right now? This is it. It doesn't get any better than this Natoli." So I knew he knew something that was very important, only at the time, I wasn't getting it. I knew he was offering something extremely valuable to me in those two little sentences. Thankfully, I had the good sense and willingness to open my mind up to what Max was saying... IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS. And one day, I "got it." Deep down, I got it. This moment, right now, is the totality of all there is. And when I am thinking about the past or future, I just completely missed this NOW PERFECT moment. While I am wishing my life is different, or wishing I was some where else, or while I'm waiting for my life to improve or change, I'm blind to the magnificent and splendor of this very moment! What could be better than THIS moment???? Nothing. I'm the light of the world. God is with me. I'm surrounded by love. I'm perfectly safe. Wow. This is it. It really doesn't get any better than this! This moment is the best moment you will ever experience, when you open your mind up to the magnificence of it all, right now. And then the next moment will be the best, and the next moment after that will be the best, 2
every moment when be the most exquisite glorious amazing experience when allow yourself to shift your thinking and be aware of things in a new way. For this week, please practice: When you are experiencing pain or problems, say: All difficulty comes from resisting and struggling with What Is. When you stop fighting, when you stop trying to get to the next moment (which you think will be an improvement), you will relax into this moment, which is absolutely beautiful. A miracle is a shift in perception. In this moment, shift your thinking to remember the truth. Remember Who You Are. Stop thinking about later. Stop thinking things will be better when you have more money or when people are behaving in a different way. This is it. Acceptance of everything exactly as it is will become your greatest joy!! You will not believe the splendor when you accept everything as happening perfectly. Nothing needs to be different! Nothing needs to change! This is it! 3
And the "miracle" and paradox is that when you start living in appreciation of what is now, without wishing things would change... things change! When I stopped trying to figure out ways to get money, how to put gas in my car, and I just started living in appreciation and gratitude of WHAT IS RIGHT NOW, with my eyes wide- open to the wonder that was all around me, lo and behold, I started having money to do things like put gas in my car! I stopped resisted and the very thing I wanted came, with no effort. This is the best day of your life. It doesn't get any better than this. If you have cancer or pain or no money or your relationships are falling apart or your kids hate you... Pain is bliss when you stop wishing it would go away. When you stop trying to change your experience, your experience changes all by itself! That's grace. Take a deep breath and accept the perfectness of this moment. 4
Shift your thinking to the place where you can see things from a different perspective. Realize how very rich you are in this moment. You are reading this message aren't you? Think, WOW. I have a computer or a cellphone and I am reading a message that someone wrote just for me. How awesome is this? You are sitting in a chair. Think, WOW. I'm sitting in a chair. That's amazing. I have a chair to sit in. I have eyes to look with, and ears to hear, and hands to hold. I have everything. Holy Moly, I have everything. REJOICE! In the beginning, you will probably have a lot of strong resistance and you will think of all the ways you don't have everything. If that happens, just stay with this idea: Remember: "This moment is here to show me something." How awesome is that? What could be better? 5
You will start thinking: I'm present to this moment. I don't want to miss a single minute! I don't want to miss a single second of it! I'm here in this moment, experiencing the fullness and beauty of it. WOW. After a while, your mind will no longer wish it was anywhere else. It will not wish for a better body or a different job or a different experience. That's true prosperity! Have the best day of your life, because that's what it is! Please take a few moments to think about all the abundance has come to you this week. Acknowledge God - really feel how cared for and loved you are - and give thanks for being in the flow. Love, Lisa 6