If I had to list the most influential people in my New Thought journey, Edwene Gaines would be at the top of my list. When I heard that she recently left this earth plane, I felt a hole in my heart that was rapidly filled by the spirit of her life.

If you do not know who she is all you have to do is to put her name into YouTube and you will find many of her powerful messages.

This morning, as I was walking down the stairs of my home, I felt an overwhelming feeling of her Spirit filling all time and space. She was that kind of person, and she had one message: Prosperity. Yes, prosperity meant an abundance of money, and it was more than that. It was the prosperity of living fully present in all our Divinity.

I had the opportunity to assist Edwene when she came to the NoHo Arts Center for New Thought back in the early 2000s. What did she teach me? The Law of Tithing!

She didn’t mince words, and she didn’t accept excuses. “Tithe 10% of everything that comes in,” was her mantra. “10% and no less, and I’m only asking you to do it for six months.” She promised us that through the Law of Tithing, all the answers to our prosperity would unfold. And for me, they did.

Before that, I would only give what I thought I could. After Edwene, it was 10% all the way. From that time on, my life shifted. I never felt poor, although I had plenty of poor times. As I look back on it all and my unfoldment in the Law of Tithing, I can attest that I was always provided for in every moment. We don’t tithe because we are going to get something. We tithe because we are telling the Universe that we have everything and we can!

As I look at my life and think about how I lived before Edwene, WOW! I remember not even being able to afford life’s necessities. Now…I am so blessed…and I live on the Island of Kaua’i!

To this day, I give great thanks for this amazing woman, Edwene Gaines. She fulfilled a great purpose here on Earth—her purpose to lift herself and her life into abundance and, therefore, to lift all of us through her example.

So, as I mourn her passing, I also celebrate her Presence, her Magnificence. I honor and strive to exemplify her ability to speak her Truth with no ifs, ands, or buts. Just Truth—and to stand behind it.

Fly, Edwene, and thank you for all you’ve given me and this world.

Love and Aloha,

Rita Andriello-Feren
Author and Co-Founding Spiritual Director CSL Kaua’i