I was recently sitting with my friend for a cozy afternoon tea. I had the baby with me. One of his new accomplishments – a typical baby action – is dropping things, waiting for them to be picked up and given back to him and letting them fall once again. My friend commented that we should learn from children – they have no problem letting things go!

This is the first exercise in letting go because if we are grasping on to something tightly, how can we be open to receive? It is by opening and letting go that we enable God, Guru, the Universe, the Infinite to provide for us, to provide us with abundance. A child has no doubt of this, he or she freely drops things, and always expects to receive more. Young children are never worried about what they will get – they simply expect it and it is so for them. Perhaps that is why it is said, that children bring their own prosperity with them.

If we cling tightly to the belief that what we have is not enough, how can we be open to receiving more? If we hold on tightly to a system of dealing with our personal finances which does not work for us, how can we expect God to provide better for us? By the same token, when we learn to give within our ability to give, we are letting go, and thereby opening the door to the flow of prosperity in our lives. We must examine what it is that we are holding on to so fiercely, and we must learn the simple trust of children again. Prosperity consciousness is a journey. Releasing of convictions which impede us from giving and receiving is one step on the journey.

When first confronting the issues of prosperity consciousness, it is vitally important to assess our personal financial situation. I have seen over and over again how very difficult this is in the beginning for so many people, myself included. For best results, this assessment requires creating a personal budget, and in this process it is imperative to accurately judge expenditures. Very often there is an element of blissful ignorance (how much do I really spend?), often elements of fear (will I find that there is enough to cover my needs?; am I doing everything right?), which need to be confronted, but the essential function of this exercise is to enable us to examine our expenditures versus our needs.

Sometimes, in order to get our finances straight and create a solid foundation for prosperity to enter our lives, it is important to eliminate some unnecessary expenditures. At the same time we must clearly evaluate mandatory expenditures, while keeping an eye open for the possibility to reduce them. Upon first entering into this process, it can produce a feeling of having to do without, which may or may not be true. Sometimes restrictions need to be applied. For example, my motto for my life is: “God guides, God provides”. However, this is not a carte blanche invitation to relentless spending. To start on my path towards prosperity consciousness, I initially gave myself a spending allowance and stopped taking my checkbook and credit card with me on shopping trips. For me a part of this process was learning what I really needed and what was compulsive or unnecessary spending. Once I could reach this level of clarity and honesty with myself, it was easier to determine what I needed each month. But even more importantly, it allowed me to see how much I have – as opposed to thinking about what I don’t have! I had previously thought I didn’t have enough to make ends meet, and yet when I went through the process, I found that I did.

My prayer is that we may all find the strength to trust the Infinite, to give freely within our means to give, thus allowing the shower of abundance and good will to saturate our lives and our consciousness.