The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity: A Simple Guide to Unlimited Abundance by Edwene Gaines (2024)

Edwene Gaines. Rodale Press, $19.95 (217pp) ISBN 978-1-59486-195-6

Prosperity, says Gaines, is our birthright, a divine inheritance that incorporates not just material abundance but also a comprehensive knowledge of the consciousness of God. Gaines, a Unity minister, was once down-at-heel and wondering where the next meal was coming from, but now lives a life of luxury. She claims that to follow her example, readers need only put into practice four simple spiritual laws: tithe ten percent of all they earn or receive; set specific financial and spiritual goals; forgive others and themselves daily; and find and commit to a divine purpose. Gaines is well-schooled in Unity principles and the basic New Thought understanding of the power of positive thinking. Thus, for example, she includes an exercise for readers to utter no negative words for 21 days and watch, amazed, as their lives are transformed. Some of the book's stories of divine assistance with finances will spark skepticism in even the most credulous of readers, like Gaines's anecdote about winning a $100 grocery spree immediately after praying for food for her refrigerator, or a story about dreaming that she was supposed to go to Knoxville, Tenn., the night before a study group in that town sent word that they were looking for a Unity minister. Gaines's program is clear and her tone endlessly enthusiastic, but many readers will undoubtedly question her claims of limitless abundance.