If you ask people to make a wish, the #1 request would probably be for money.

We generally believe that money will solve all of our problems. If we have a lot of money, we can buy what we want, live where we want. We can travel. We always have plenty to eat. The world is our oyster (so they say) and we can take advantage of everything it has to offer.

On the other hand, if we don’t have money, we can feel worried, stressed, and frustrated. Sometimes not having enough money can make people depressed or ill or feel hopeless. It is important that we have the ability to make enough money to support ourselves and our families to the level we are comfortable. Otherwise there is an ongoing struggle and life can feel very challenging.

Then again, money is also said to be ‘the root of all evil’. The hunger for money drives some people into madness. They can become greedy and lose their way. Some people become violent, exploit others, steal, cheat, or scam causing great harm to others.

Sometimes, too, people become so fearful of losing the money that they have that they change in other ways. The fear of losing everything can make them stingy, suspicious, selfish, or cruel.

Simply put: money is complicated. It is possible to develop a healthy relationship with money and invite plenty of it into our lives. But how is that done? What can we do to cultivate a healthy financial attitude?

This is where an abundance & prosperity practice comes in.

An abundance & prosperity practices allows you to contemplate money and how you relate to it to try to be healthy with it. For example, we know we need money, but how much do we really need? What is not enough? What is just right? What is – maybe – too much? When does money add to our lives and when would it become a burden? How much is plenty? How would you get it? How would you manage well?

An abundance & prosperity practice promotes a mindful and deliberate approach to financial life. It allows you to plan what you need to do to make it, to manage it, and to keep it, while allowing it to come in and out of your life in healthy flow, where every time you spend you know it will be replenished. With a healthy flow of money, you don’t hold on too tightly, but you don’t over spend in an extreme way either.

Defining these things is a very personal process. What might be a lot or too much for one person may not be enough for another. And each person’s relationship with money can be different. Maybe you have positive examples of successful people who did well financially and were happy with the money they earned and spent. Maybe you have known others who struggled and could not overcome their financial challenges. Maybe you knew another person who was kind until they received money. The changed them into someone arrogant or superior and that created an aversion to money for you.

In this practice you can also can even consider the messages about money that come our way. For example, what are we taught to be and to want through celebrity culture, our media, and advertising? What is inspiring and what is distorted and destructive? What can give us ideas about what is possible to improve ourselves or our lives? What can influence us in negative ways?

An abundance & prosperity practice can be done in several ways. You can work through it on your own by reading some books and doing some contemplative exercises. You could would with coaches and advisors who help in this area. There is no right or wrong answer. The general goal is to find a way to invite abundance and prosperity into your life and find a healthy relationship with money and what it means to you.