There are a number of very good prosperity programs in existence.  These programs contain similar themes.  Many of them express the importance of such things as tithing, forgiveness, gratitude, visualization, and knowledge of spiritual principles.  All of these concepts, and the actions which accompany them, are valid steps toward prosperity.  With the large amount of information available to each of us through these programs, it would seem as though prosperity consciousness would be running rampant over the world.  I do not observe this to be the case, even in those spiritual communities where abundance training is available.

     How can this state of affairs exist?  There seems to be a block between the steps to creating prosperity and the ability to manifest abundance.  The block to the creation of abundance is called fear.  Before an individual can take the knowledge present in a prosperity program and fully implement it, he or she must clear a path to be able to perform the actions.  This path clearing occurs by removing fear of prosperity, especially the fear of money.

     I am actually surprised at how few of the abundance training programs discuss the fear that exists around prosperity.  Is this the case because many of us (even or perhaps especially, those in the spiritual community) are frightened of money and do not like to admit it?  I've heard many professed spiritual people express the mechanics of prosperity and yet seem to be unable to manifest it.  Is this due to skipping a step and not removing the fear obstacle?  This step is an easy one to skip since it doesn't feel to pleasant.  I am not particularly fond of feeling fear, one of the necessary parts of the process of removing it.  Personally, I can see why both myself and others would prefer the good old cognitive standby of analyzing fear away.  "Well, the reason I am unable to manifest abundance is because I just haven't done enough affirmations."

     It was Robert Frost who said, "The best way out is always through."  If you do not deal with the fear that sits between you and your prosperity, than the motivating energy driving your affirmations is not that of prosperity, but that of fear.  "If I just say my affirmations over and over, it just HAS to work, right God?"  If the energy backing your thoughts and or actions is fear of not having abundance, the end result of your effort is not going to be money or whatever makes you feel wealthy, it is still going to be fear.

The removal of fear around an issue is not a difficult process, it is however a highly uncomfortable process.  It requires you to do exactly what most of us spend time avoiding.  It requires you to feel those yucky feelings and

look at those less than spiritual thoughts behind your abundance beliefs.  I hear some of your thinking, "But if I feel the fear, I am not going to get money, I am only going to get fear."  Consider that if you are denying the fear energy that your body has already created around money than all you are still going to get is fear.  Remember, feelings are called feelings because they are meant to be felt.  What you are feeling is energy.  If you avoid feeling, having or expressing this fear energy, you are still creating with it.  Whatever you put your attention on grows, even if your attention takes the form of denial or avoidance.  It takes a lot of energy to avoid fear and that qualifies to the universe as attention.

    To increase your abundance, keep doing your affirmations, but make room for them to work their energy.  Remove the fear blocking their efficiency.  Start today.  Take whatever it is about money and abundance that scares you the most and immerse yourself in the fear feeling until it dissipates.  You can accomplish this by taking one aspect of the abundance process and educating yourself on it.  If it scares you to balance your checkbook, learn how to balance your checkbook.  If what frightens you is the stock market, or mortgages, or loans read about these things.  If it scares you to deal with credit card debt, make a phone call to a credit counselor.  If your fears are about taking a risk making a career change, take one step toward that change each day.  If your fears are more about not deserving wealth or abundance, acknowledge that you believe this, feel the feelings attached to your low sense of self worth and then participate in an activity that feeds your soul, like taking a walk or reading a book. If it scares you to see yourself living abundantly, sit down and with the words or images draw a picture of your abundance.

There are many steps you can take toward ending our fear of being prosperous.  Take these steps and remove the obstacle blocking their ability to work for you, fear.  The valuable piece to keep in mind is that no matter how good any single prosperity program is, if there is fear blocking your path and motivating your "need" for abundance, all this prosperity program (no matter how effective it may be) will produce is an abundance of fear.