You Cannot “Do” Receiving
We live in such an action-oriented world, that even receiving has an element of doing. How can this be? Receiving is by nature an accepting of something. But what I have noticed is that even when I think I am in “receiving mode” I am still in an active, “doing” mode. And therefore not truly receptive - or available to receive.
Like on my birthday, this is supposed to be a time of relaxing, and just receiving. But somewhere inside of me, I feel I need to gear up for the receiving. I need to be considerate of the others who are gathered to honor me. I need to be gracious and thankful. To be honest, for me, receiving is really hard. And I bet for you also. I think this is why they say it is better to give then receive. Not because giving is more virtuous, but because receiving is harder than giving. - LOL. So much so that doing it (receiving) takes more real effort.
I think this is why many teachers use the word “allowing” instead of “receiving”. They are trying to get around the issues inherent in the word receive. But if you have been studying the art of allowing, you notice that allowing is about receiving, and if you have an inherent problem with receiving, then you are going to have a bit of a block when it comes to the allowing part of wealth attraction and abundance enjoying. And the crazy thing is you probably don’t even realize you have hang-ups with receiving.
I have been intending to expand my ability to receive, so when I heard this message “You cannot “do” receiving” in my meditation, I was surprised.
We are so used to efforting, that even inside of receiving we think or unconsciously feel effort is needed. And really it is not. In fact, real receiving is not a doing at all. It is a state of being. A relaxed state of effortlessness, of receptivity, purely and unconditionally.
For probably 99% of us we very rarely experience this state of receptivity, past early childhood. When we are kids, we know how to receive unconditionally...but as time ticks on, we learn all of the earth-bound rules about giving and receiving; appropriate behavior, social niceties, and other expectations, all of which go into our inability to effortlessly receive. And this is really too bad, as effortless receiving is the way we were meant to experience life.
Also, if you have been learning about the law of attraction and the process of creation, you know receiving/allowing is the key to experiencing that which you say you desire. We have an inherent need to get “receiving” right and develop the ability to receive...more efforting - right?
For me, the felt-sense of receiving is similar to the felt sense of a-job-well-done after I have completed a good day of work or that exhausted, relaxed feeling after exercising or working hard in the garden. There is no physical or mental resistance. You are in a receptive state of being. It is also the feeling many get during mediation.
The interesting thing is, I don’t think you can tell yourself you are ready to receive or make yourself ready to receive... you just know if you feel you are. And for me, the more effort I put into being ready to receive the counterproductive it seems to be.
What I am taking away from all this is that putting “receiving” on your to do list is somewhat futile, and for me, creates resistance. Meditate for the sake of enjoying the moment, work out for the enjoyment of feeling your body, work hard for the joy of a job well done and if you slip into a receptive-effortless-state of mind and body, just enjoy it!
Live Long and Know You Are Prospering - Effort-lessly