Friday, September 24, 2010

Opening to Receive

I apologize for the lack of blogs recently, but I've been crazy busy.  I'm sure many of you know how difficult it is to balance home, work and family.  Now I'm looking forward to the cool, Fall days that surely lay ahead.

I've had a lovely summer meeting clients old and new and have received the loveliest gifts!  One client gave me an angel figurine that I adore.  Another woman knitted me a beautiful meditation shawl that I can't wait to use as soon as the weather turns a bit chillier.  An artist painted me a spectacular rendition of a waterfall that now hangs in my office.  Just this week a client brought me a brass bowl brimming with crystals she collected while living in Saudi Arabia in the 60's.  Here's where the topic of the blog post comes in.  My response is always gratitude touched with a tang of guilt.  I often say, "You didn't have to do this."  Or, "This is too much."  And sometimes, I'm embarrassed to admit, I'll say, "Can I give you something in return?"

Yes, folks, it's true.  I have a problem with receiving.  I'm great with giving, but when I receive gifts and unexpected moments of receiving, I feel an imbalance is occurring and I want to correct it. So I bought a great book by Catherine Ponder called Open Your Mind to Receive.  In it, she outlines a three step process to receiving your good:

1) She believes we all need to tithe 10 % of our income.  She says this shows faith in God that all our good will be supplied to us as long as we continue to contribute to the circle of abundance.  For me, I choose to tithe each week 5% to my church and 5 % to a charity, person or event that needs help.

2) She believes we need to give to ourselves.  Each day, try to find something comforting you can do for yourself -- a hot bath, a nice run, a massage, a manicure, an hour in a book store, a movie.

3) Give to others.  Ponder says it's important to give abundantly of our time, talent, and money to others who need us.

This, she says, will begin to lay the foundation for a heart that's ready to receive.

My affirmation today is:  I receive all my good today.  All my good is coming to me now with speed and ease.

2 comments:

  1. It must have to do with the balance we are trying to attain as Geminis.
    When my friend and I would debate who was going to pay the dinner tab, she would look at me and say, "Just say thank you". It was much harder than it sounds! I'm still practicing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes! My practice is also to simply say thank you when someone gives me a compliment. :)

    ReplyDelete