Prosperity: Abundance is an Integral Part of Spirituality
Many of us received negative programming about money when we were children, especially those of us raised within the confines of organized religion. We heard quotes from the Bible about the dangers of money and how easy it was to succumb to the evil of “filthy lucre”. “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” Remember the wealthy young man who wished to follow Jesus? He was told that only when he was ready to leave all his possessions could he become a part of the group. Then there is the one that says, “Money is the root of all evil”. It’s shame that these instances were not properly explained to us as children for many of us have lived with the belief that we could not be spiritual and have abundance at the same time.
The first quote above refers not to the money itself but the emotional attachment to it. The young man was so emotionally attached to the idea of being wealthy and the status it gave him that he could not give that up to follow Jesus. The sacrifice was too great for him to make. The saying about money being the root of all evil is misquoted by most people who use it, for the real quote says, “The Love of money is the root of all evil.” In other words, putting the drive for wealth above all else in your life is wrong. A person who achieves financial wealth by working 12 hours a day, ignoring his friends and being emotionally unavailable for his family does irreparable harm to himself and those who love him. There is a fine balance to be achieved.
Not only is it all right to have money, it is a requirement in order to have the freedom to explore spirituality. Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory eloquently points this out. His hierarchy states that all people must have basic needs taken care of in order to have the physical and emotional security to be able to proceed with the process of self-actualization, or evolving into a well-rounded and fulfilled human being.
The first tier in the hierarchy is survival. A person must have shelter from the elements, air to breathe, food to eat, water to drink, warmth, clothing, and a place to sleep. These are the basic physiological needs that all human beings need to survive the physical demands of life on earth.
The second tier addresses safety or security needs, the need to feel safe in the immediate environment. This includes safety from deprivation and freedom from physical, psychological or financial harm.
The third tier, love or social needs, dovetails with the first two. A person needs friendship, a feeling of belonging, having someone to talk to and share things. Only when the first three are met, survival, safety, and social needs, can a person proceed on the path to self-actualization, being all that he/she can be. A person who does not have enough food to eat or who is forced to sleep in the park at night is not concerned with status or spirituality; he is just trying to survive day by day.
Once the basic needs are met, then higher needs are focused on. Ego or status needs call for the building of self-esteem and the need to be held in esteem by others. The need for a positive self-image and feeling confident and secure about yourself can only happen when you feel secure about your survival and your safety.
The final tier is self-fulfillment, self-realization, the ability and the freedom to look within to discover who you are and what you want out of life. It is at this stage that there is time to devote to the pursuit of learning and growing as a person to reach your full potential as a human being.
Where does abundance figure into all this?
It’s simple. A person who is struggling with meeting basic survival needs is so focused on where her next meal is coming from or where to find a place to sleep out of the cold that the spiritual side of life in inconsequential. A woman concerned about her physical safety does not spend time trying to commune with her inner self; she is too busy trying to stay alive and unharmed to do yoga or meditate.
Although some people think you cannot be spiritual if you have abundance, I feel the opposite is true. Only when you have sufficient money to buy food and clothes, have a comfortable and safe place to live, and a friend or family member to share love with can you begin to devote the time and effort needed to focus on the spiritual path in life.
Spiritual prosperity is founded on the understanding that the Source of all prosperity is the inexhaustible supply of God. Material prosperity focuses on the accumulation of things in the physical world. We can have financial uncertainty if we put our trust in the things we have in the physical. How many 401Ks, IRAs and stocks have lost money over the past year? People panicked only if their trust was in the physical aspect of those stocks and not in the underlying source of their prosperity which always remains God/Universe/Spirit.
There are certain things that we can do to overcome some of the poverty programming that we may have received as children and to open our hearts and minds to receive the prosperity that God has for us. John Randolph Price writes about 10 aspects of manifesting abundance that never fail if applied faithfully. They are:
- Intunement: Knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that the reality of you is God knowing himself as God; God knowing himself through you; you knowing yourself as God. The master self that lives within knows that we are the energy of God and as such are co-creators with him. Within the energy of God is all that we desire. In fact, a desire comes to us when God has placed that object within the ethers just waiting for us to open to receive it into the physical. When you expand your consciousness by spending time in meditation and prayer, you draw in the presence of God within, and all things are possible.
- Choice: Think carefully about what would make you truly happy and then choose wisely the things you wish to bring into your life. There is a saying, “Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it.” I would change that to, “Be careful what you wish for because you always get it.” Sometimes, however, when you get it, you may discover that it doesn’t serve you well.
- Acceptance: The Universe cannot present you with the object of your desires unless you are open to receive it. You may have given to you, but unless you accept those things, the new house, the raise, the promotion, the new car, it still will not be yours to use. Accept your good physically.
- Have: You must know that your good is here. Affirmations are very useful in this. Use the I AM, the sacred affirming of the power of God. “I AM divinely prospered.” “I AM abundance! I AM filled with the consciousness of abundance and plenty. All the Father has is mine also and my prosperity is assured.” These affirmations used daily will help to overcome previous poverty programming and open your heart and mind to the overflowing abundance that God has prepared for you.
- Visualization: This is a powerful tool to use in meditation, daydreaming, and quick, quiet moments. See the good that you wish to manifest in your life. See the new car and be very specific about the details. See the red, fully loaded, new Corvette convertible in your driveway. Feel yourself sitting in it, knowing that you are the owner of this beautiful machine. Feel your hands on the wheel and the softness of the leather seats. Hear the rich sounds of the symphonic stereo system; feel the thrum of the power of the engine beneath your hands. Make your visualization as real as you can. The clearer the request, the more quickly the Universe can manifest it for you.
- Love: You must bring the powerful emotion of love into the process. Don’t just like what you want, love it. You must love the object you desire and the affect it will have on your life. The more you can love the desire, the clearer the visualization and the quicker the reality in your life.
- Spoken word: This is one of the most important parts of the process for this says that you have made the decision, done the visualization, loved what you have chosen and now are sending in your order to the Universe. “It is done. So be it. And so it is.” These are powerful affirmations that send out the energy to the Universe that says, “Okay, now. I am ready now for my abundance. Let’s get this show on the road!”
- Surrender: Now is one of the hardest parts, to let go and let God handle the rest. Set no limits or limitations, so don’t specify the Lotto, Publisher’s ClearingHouse, the Irish Sweepstakes, or any other single avenue or source. Know that God will send you the abundance you need in the best way for you to receive it and in the way that will most enrich your life. Let go and let God, but don’t tell him how to do it!
- Gratitude: Don’t wait to thank God for his gifts to you. Don’t wait until it is in your hand. Do it now knowing that all that you ask comes to you in the quickest and the best way. And know that if it is to be, the means of attaining it will be so easy and quick that it almost scares you. My husband and I went to a car dealer just to look at vans some years ago. Three hours later, we left the lot with a new van. All we had given them, as a down payment was a check for $25.00! When it’s right, it’s right.
- Action: If you need a new car, go look at them. Test drive them, touch them. If you want a new relationship, go where the new people are. If you need to manifest a job, fill out applications and send resumes. After all, God helps those who help themselves!
Remember that nothing is too good for you to ask for, to have, or to experience.
I AM a being of Light.
I AM the beloved child of God.
This day, and every other, only that which is for my highest good will come to me; only that which is love and light will go forth from me.
This day I thankfully accept all the prosperity that God offers me.
I AM abundance. I AM radiant perfection. I AM the ideal relationship. I AM the all-sufficiency. I AM the total fulfillment of every desire. I AM the love of God in action.
I AM a being of Light.
I AM the beloved child of God,
This day, and every other, only that which is for my highest good will come to me; only that which is of love and light will go forth from me.
Thanks be to God.
And so it is!
