On my window sill is a large jar that once contained 1.1kg of Milk Chocolate Brazils. It’s a nice jar – one with a hinged lid, which is why I kept it. The jar hasn’t contained Chocolate Brazils for some time. Right now it is bursting full of luscious pink lilies, thrusting forth their rust tipped stamens. Five are open and there are still lots more buds ready to burst into the world. To me those lilies are prosperity personified (flowerfied?). They are flourishing, rich in their fullness and there are loads more where they came from.

If anyone had asked ten years ago I’d probably have said something different. Back then I’d have said, prosperity = money, ambition, wealth.

And being a bit of barefoot backpacker, I wouldn’t have defined prosperity/money as something positive.

Back then I didn’t like money at all. After all, money is the root of all evil, right? I associated money with greed and self-serving types such as The Sheriff Of Nottingham. Interestingly I never seemed to have much of the stuff and …well … good, because frankly, money was dirty.

Then gradually, over the years I began to change my perception of prosperity. I was tired of feeling that “there’s not enough” (and lots of stuff came under that umbrella; not enough money, not enough free time, not enough peace).

I learnt that when our hearts are closed to prosperity and we are riddled with negative beliefs around “having enough” we will subconsciously block prosperity out of our lives. We will sabotage it, unconsciously steer away from and navigate towards struggle instead. To experience prosperity as an ongoing state – you have to open your heart and let it in.

The question is, how?

Through the workshops and trainings that I do, it’s become clear that using metaphors is the easiest way for people to access how they really feel about things. It allows us to by-pass the logical, rational mind and get into the subconscious where all of our deepest beliefs reside. The exercise I’m about to share uses metaphor to help shift our relationship to money/prosperity. It bubbled up one day when I was sitting at the table with my daughter. It is a good one (you will need scrap paper).

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Find a comfortable place where you won’t be disturbed. Once you are relaxed, sit and imagine that money/prosperity is a person. He or she has a face, a body, clothes, a nationality, a personality… and this person just walked through your garden gate. They are standing there, on the grass.

*Very quickly note 5 words to describe this person.

* Now quickly describe how you feel about this person coming into your back garden uninvited.

*Imagine you are standing in your doorway looking out.  Do you go out and talk to Money? If not, why not? If you do, what do you say? (Write it down).

*Now, imagine that you have really opened our heart to the stranger in the garden. What do you feel about them now? Have you prematurely judged Money? Is he/she actually friendly when you thought they were aggressive or threatening?

*What will you do next? Will you ask Money to leave? Will you ask him/her in for tea?

*How would you help Money to feel at home in your life?

*What would you want to ask Money?

*Allow the scene with Money to unfold. All the time keep note of how you are feeling and what thoughts are jumping into your head. Keep going until you have either asked Money to leave or invited him/her to stay.

*Once you are complete look at your written answers. Do they highlight beliefs, fears, misunderstandings about money/prosperity? Do they help you to see whether you like money or dislike it and why? Keep playing with this exercise, allowing Money/Prosperity into your back garden until you have developed a peaceful relationship with him/her and then take note of what happens with the prosperity you experience in your life.

If we are to experience good things in our lives we have to let those things in. We’ve got to like them, welcome them and open our arms to them.

I have grown to love Prosperity. He’s on my Valentines Card list. Our version of him has officially moved in and since that time I have noticed some massive changes – not just financially, but creatively, emotionally and socially. There’s enough of everything – with plenty to share – so please, open your heart to Prosperity. He’s a great friend to have.