You're right on, Doreen! Part of manifesting anything is learning to overcome obstacles in our thinking which stop us from achieving anything.
I think there is always hope for people, even those living in poverty but they would definitely have to some way improve their mindset and conceive of having plenty as a possibility for them. People can and do create miracles in their lives.
As far as religion giving hope-this is just my personal opinion but I feel that many organized religions actually take away people's hope. By saying things are "God's will" it takes away people's idea of creating a better life for themselves and assuming responsibility for doing so. There is the idea in Christian religion that God loves the poor and it's better to be poor than rich. This gives people an excuse not to try and achieve more in life. How about "Your true reward is in the afterlife?" In other words, if we're lucky enough to make it through this life without causing trouble to anyone, we'll be rewarded when we die.
Catherine Ponder who started the Unity Church actually taught prosperity but you won't see that in most Christian churches.
Lita, I'm glad you got something so positive from reading Wayne Dyer. He's one of my favorite authors and was teaching about manifesting long before it became known as the Law of Attraction.
